The Virtue Girls got some time off as their names got cleared up and proven innocent of all the charges. When that occurred, the group got to enjoy a time of great fame, reverence, and celebrity. The crowds started to adore them as their craze was in full swing. They got back from a movie showing with them.
 “I can’t believe they got my interests all wrong.” Reina stated. “And I don’t like Dymphna in that way.”
 “I know; I have a boyfriend.” Dymphna reaffirmed.
 “In my opinion, all of us were crammed into the movie way too early.” Maria commented.
 “But then again, there was the TV series.” Joan said.
 “True, but not everyone has seen it.” John came up to Maria and the rest of them.
 “Hello, Maria.” He said. “I would like to speak with you in private.” Maria sent the other girls away for a little bit. “What do you wish to talk about?”
 “I want to speak to you about your status.” He said.
 “What about it?”
 “All of know that the Virtue Girls are now celebrities.” John stated. “I want to remind you on who the girls are. You are magical girls who have fought and are still fighting for the benefit of humankind. I don’t want to see you girls lose sight of that fact and get caught up in celebrity.”
 “Okay, you want me to tell the other girls that too?”
 “Yes.” He said. “I know you won’t let it get to your head.”
 “How is Cheyenne doing?” She asked in return.
 “She’s unable to aid the Virtue Girls due to her pregnancy.” John said.
 “I already know that.”
 “I heard from her fiancée, Mikey, that they will be expecting the child to come soon.” John said. “For the time being, Liza will be taking Cheyenne’s place as the Virtue Girls aid.”
 “Alright, thanks for keeping me updated.” Maria answered as she left him.
 Maria went to sit on the couch and started to read some comic books. Then, Christina came up to her.
“Hey Maria.” Christina said.
“Oh hey.” Maria replied.
“I looked in the mailbox outside and we were invited to a party. All seven of us had been invited.”
“Cool. Well, since our identities as the Virtue Girls is practically public knowledge, there is no point in trying to hide it.” Maria said. “The upside is that the morale of the work force at my store had skyrocketed when the mess was cleared. Who’s it from?”
“It says it’s from Jude Benedict.” Christina said while reading the invitation. “It says he is a big supporter of the Virtue Girls even before that mess happened. That’s why he invited us to his party. He even personally signed it.”
“Who else is going?”
“Some of the biggest names in media.”
“I see.” Maria stated thoughtfully. “If we go to the party, we got to be on our guard.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We go in our maiden outfits. If Nero attacks the party, we’ll be ready for him.”

 It has approached evening; the girls were arriving at the mansion of Jude Benedict. It was a large house made with onyx and black marble. It was surrounded by several acres of land separated off with a fancy iron fence and gate. The guests were lining up on the red carpet to enter the large wooden doorway.
 The girls came by in the Virtue Van; they stepped out in their maiden outfits. Liza was doing the driving. They went up to the security guy at the door.
 “Your name, please?” he asked.
 “Maria Ciliega.” Maria answered.
 “Are these the Virtue Girls?”
 “Yes.”
 “All of you may pass.” When they entered the doorway, they arrived in a large ballroom lined with colorful banners on the ceiling. There was a long table with a white cloth on it with entrees and a punch bowl on it. The guests were dressed nicely for the occasion.
 “Okay, girls remain focused.” Maria stated. Then, the girls split off and went into different directions.

 Reina walked noticed these two gentlemen extremely dressed up; they were part of the managing side of things.
 “Supply and Demand, blah blah blah.” The first guy said to his friend. “Opportunity cost, blah blah blah.” His friend smiled.
 “Private Investment, blah blah blah.” his friend replied. “Blah blah blah, Stock and Bonds.” The two of them started laughing.
 “Don’t they know how to speak simple English?” Reina said to herself. “Not everyone can speak economi-ese.”

 Christina started getting thirsty and decided to go to the punch bowl. She grabbed a ladle and scooped out some of the punch into a cup.
 “Wow, this is some very good punch.” Christina stated and she got herself a refill of the punch. She went to one of the guests. “What is this made out of?”
 “All it is made out of the finest fruit juices and nuts the world can offer to us.” She drank some more up, not knowing that her cheeks had turned red.
 “This is the best punch ever.” She grabbed a third cup and drank it up. “I just love the taste of it.” She started stumbling around losing her balance. Flora went up to her and caught her.
 “Christina, are you fumbling around like a goofball do you want to get noticed?” Flora said.
 “No, I’m not stumbling around, Reina.” Christina replied.
 “Have you been drinking?” Flora asked.
 “I’m not on any booze.”
 “I can smell alcohol on your breath.”
 “I only drank out of the punch bowl. Nobody would put booze in there.” Christina explained. “It’s just innocent punch.” Flora went over to the punch bowl and took a sip.
 “The punch is spiked.” She went to a guest who was there. “Excuse me, my friend isn’t feeling well.” Flora said while pointing to Christina. “Where’s the restroom?”
“When you leave the ballroom, make a left and head down the hall.” he replied. “The women’s restroom should be on your right.”
 “Thank you.” she replied. Flora followed the directions to get there escorting Christina to the location, so she can get back in touch with what is going on. But when they arrive, they heard some sounds in the women’s restroom. Then, she opened the door. “What in the world?” The floor had light-up panels on it; there was a mirror ball hanging from the ceiling, and there was disco music playing in the background. She looked into the stalls and found the toilets was made entirely out of gold. “I knew the host of the party was rich, but I didn’t think he was that rich.”
 Maria looked around the area and she bumped into a young slightly muscular man in a black tuxedo with a rose on his chest. He had light skin and short straight dark brown hair. He had one blue eye on the left side and one red eye on the right side.
 “Oh me, m’lady.” He said. “I apologize for bumping into you.”
 “No no, that’s fine.” Maria answered. “Who are you anyway?”
 “My name is Jude Benedict. I’m the owner of this manor and the host of this party.” He said. “So, you are Maria Ciliega I presume?”
 “Yes, I am.” She said.
 “It is an honor to meet a fine lady like yourself.” He said, bowing to her and kissing her hand.
 “Thanks.” Maria answered, flattered by the kiss.
 “I have heard a lot about you.” Jude said. “Would you mind if I gave you a tour of the manor while we get to know each other better?”
 “Alright, I guess.” Maria answered, surprised about such an offer.
 “You are the guest of honor.” He said taking her hand and began to show her around.

 Joan wandered by some girls nearby and she started to overheard their dialogue.
 “You bet she is a Virtue Girls fan girl?” One of the girls asked.
 “Probably not, the Virtue Girls would like never wear such a tacky outfit.” Another girl said. “It’s like so 2000s. It’s going to need a makeover.” Then, the first girl came over to Joan.
 “Here I think you might need this.” She said handing her a business card. Joan looked at it and it showed contact information.
 “Who is this person?” she asked.
 “You don’t know him?” the girls replied in shock. “He is the latest fashion designer on the market. She does all the hip and trendy outfits for both guys and girls; it’s worth getting one of her outfits. Scratch that, five outfits. No, ten of them.”
 “Okay…” Joan stated a little uneasy about this.

 Hikari was by herself when a guy stumbled onto her. She pushed him away from herself.
 “Keep away from me.” Hikari stated.
 “What’s the matter, man?” he asked. Then, he hiccupped. “Can’t we just snuggle?”
 “NO!” Hikari said. “I’m not doing that.”
 “Come on, I mean we can.” He said. “I bet your girlfriend wouldn’t mind it. It’s not like you’re a girl. You don’t have a chest.” Hikari just punched him in the face knocking him out.
 “I AM a girl, nimrod.” She replied angrily.

 Dymphna was looking around the area when she was walking by two double doors. She heard some shouting behind the door.
 “What’s going on back there?” She thought. “I’ll have to go in and try to put a stop to it.” Dymphna looked inside of the door. She left the area and slammed the door; he face had turned a blood red. “I didn’t want to see several people do THAT in the middle of the pool while there is a party going on in this room.” She caught her breath and got the strength to be assertive. “That’s it. I’m going to find Maria and ask her if we can leave this god awful party.”

 Maria was brought to what was a library with two double door entrances. There were several bookshelves in the room and across from them was a fireplace. There was a couch facing the lit fire. The girl was fascinated by the great collection.
 “Wow.” Maria said. “Look at all of these books.”
 “I know. I’m quite the bit of a bookworm if I do say so myself.” Jude stated.
 “Are there any comic books in here?” Maria asked.
 “There is a section dedicated to comics and manga to the north shelf.” He said. “Feel free to have a look at them.”
 “Cool, thanks.” Maria stated as she started to look through the shelves. She was more impressed by the collection. “You have every single issue of Agent Jupiter?”
 “I do. It is a favorite of mine.” He said.
 “That’s incredible.” She commented.
 “I’ve been collecting for quite a while.” He said. “Do you want me to get you something to drink?”
 “Sure, I would like a lemonade.” She said pulling one of the books out. “Oh, do you mind me pulling books out to read?”
 “I don’t mind.” He stated. “Would you like regular or pink lemonade?”
 “Pink Lemonade, please.”
 “As you wish.” Jude stated. Leaving Maria to her business, he left the door shut. Then, he saw Dymphna come by.
 “Excuse me,” Dymphna asked him. “Have you seen Maria?”
 “Maria?” He asked.
 “You know, light girl with caramel hair?” She described “Have you seen her?” Jude thought for a minute.
 “Oh, yes.” He said. “I believed I saw her in the garden.”
 “Thanks.” Dymphna stated. Then, she continued on her way.

 Jude went to the kitchen and got Maria a glass of pink lemonade. He even put a lemon in it. He took it back to the library and set it on a marble coaster next to Maria.
 “Thanks, Jude.” Maria said as she set the comic book down and picked up the glass of lemonade. All the while, Jude had secretly pulled out a butterfly knife and opened it up. After drinking the lemonade, she looked at the glass. She saw in the reflection, Jude was about to strike her. “WHAT!?”
 SHINK!!

2: The Maidens Return: Pt 2

Dymphna looked in the garden while looking for Maria. She came across a woman that she described.
 “Oh Maria, there you are.” Dymphna said. “I’ve been looking for you.” The woman turned around and looked at her.
 “You were?” she asked in a lower tone voice.
 “Oh, sorry… I thought you were someone else.” She said, blushing.
 “That’s all right.” The woman replied. Dymphna left her and went out to the plain within the fence. Christina came out to see her.
 “What are you doing, Dymphna?” Christina asked starting to become sober.
 “I’m trying to find Maria.” She told her.
 “I just don’t understand why I’m having such a headache.” Christina explained.
 “It’s the punch.” Dymphna guessed. “I’m thinking the punch is spiked.” The two spotted something in the shadow of the tree nearby.
 “Who’s there?” Christina asked.
 “Your worst nightmare become reality.” He said as a long blade came from the shadow.
 “Christina, run back in and get the others.” Dymphna stated. Christina headed inside.
 “So, you are going to hold me back?” Nero stated walking out of the shadows. “You are one of the more gentle ones of the Virtue Girls.”
 “I can be assertive.” Dymphna rebuked him.
 “As if.” Another voice came from the tree above her. Jezebel leapt down from the tree right beside Nero. She was dressed in red fur microskirt and crop-top bustier. She wore crimson shoulder plates and a matching helmet which as spike in the center. “You can’t even defend yourself.”
 “We can see about that.” Dymphna answered pulling out her claymore.
 “Yo, Dia. Save some for me.” Reina added as the other girls shown up.
 “Hahaha, you have brought all six Virtue Girls to face us?” Nero asked.
 “Where’s the last one?” Jezebel asked. The girls were confused on what Jezebel was asking.
 “I know what happened.” Nero stated. “She bit the dust.”
 “What!?” Hikari asked in surprised.
 “You heard me, she bit the dust. She is no more.” He remarked. “Try beating us without your leader now.”
 “We know you are bluffing. Maria is still around her somewhere. She’ll come out sooner or later.” Hikari stated to him.
 She rushed towards him and he used his blade to block hers and he threw her back. Joan launched out a fireball at him. But Jezebel blocked it with a shield of dark energy and deflected it back to them as a putrid black fire. It exploded sending all the girls back. Reina shot out lighting and Flora charged with her blade.
 The black knight swung his saber round and round, sending Flora backwards into Reina. Dymphna came forward spraying the snow onto the ground; she was able to slow down Nero’s advance but not stop it. Jezebel fired a blast of shadow at her, she barely dodged out of the way.
 “Where is Maria?” Joan asked.
 “She should be here.” Christina added.
 “Quit calling for your leader, she isn’t going to come.” Jezebel rebuked.
 “She is gone.” Nero answered. “She’s not helping you anymore.”
 Christina created a wall of plants and vines to block Jezebel’s powers, but Nero had sliced through it again and again. Jezebel released an explosion attack on the girls. It released a mixture of yellow and green gas. The girls were starting to cough and wheeze from the toxic fumes.>

 “Foolish girls, you have no chance against us.” Jezebel stated as she looked at the girls on the ground. Nero came up to them.
 “Now, you shall join your leader in…” Nero said. Then, he looked up and noticed the breeze had picked up. “Wait a minute, that’s not right.” Then, the wind started to blow the gas away. “It’s supposed to be a…” Then, he saw a feminine figure in the wind heading their direction. “WHAT THE…!?” And Maria flew in doing a flying kick to his face and he flew backwards.
 “Maria, you came.” Joan said smiling.
 “That’s impossible.” Nero stated in surprised with Jezebel helping him back up. “She should be dead.”
 Maria had created a shield of wind around the girls as Jezebel used another gas explosion attack on them. She wasn’t able to get past the vortex. As this was up, Maria used some of the air to clear out the toxins from the other girls.
 “I knew you would come back to help us, Maria-sempai.” Joan said.
 “This again?” Hikari said. “I should have expected that to come from Joan’s mouth.”
 “I thought you killed her with your butterfly knife.” Jezebel stated at Nero scolding him.
 “I did.” He replied. “I was right there at the library.”
 “What!?” Dymphna remarked, remembering the handsome young man she asked about the whereabouts of Maria. She hurled ice balls at the two of them, hitting straight on.
 Becoming angered, Nero sliced down cutting the ice balls in half. Jezebel send some more blasts of energy towards the girls. Flora raised up pillars made of stone to block the shots made at them. Hikari used her water spray to push them forward. Christina used one of the remaining vines to trip the boulders. The two villains jumped backwards to dodge the falling rocks.
 “Shoot, they are working in unison.” Nero stated. “We are going to have to retreat.” And the two retreated.
 “This is your fault for not killing her properly.” Jezebel stated. “You should have let me be the one who would kill her.”
 “They would have figured out the trap if you were the one doing the killing.” Nero rebuked her and they went out of sight.
 “I’m glad you’re okay, Maria.” Hikari said.
 “Same here.” Maria answered.
 “If you were dead, who was I going to try my outfits with?” Joan asked.
 “I don’t know.” She answered.
 “How did you survive?” Flora asked.
 “Actually…” Maria stated.

 Jude went to the kitchen and got Maria a glass of pink lemonade. He even put a lemon in it. He took it back to the library and set it on a marble coaster next to Maria.
 “Thanks, Jude.” Maria said as she set the comic book down and picked up the glass of lemonade. All the while, Jude had secretly pulled out a butterfly knife and opened it up. After drinking the lemonade, she looked at the glass. She saw in the reflection, Jude was about to strike her. “WHAT!?”
 Jude stabbed the back of her neck with the butterfly knife; the girl flew over dead with the knife in her severed spine. And the secret Nero pulled the knife out.
 “Finally, I’ve rid of the leader.” Jude stated as the armor appeared around him. “Now, the Virtue Girls will easily fall at my hands as well as my lady’s.” As he left the room, he shut the door. After a few seconds, Maria disappeared and reappeared at the same location. She was sitting instead of laying over.
 “Ow, my neck.” She said feeling the back of her neck. She felt a scar where the fatal wound was located. “That definitively left a mark.” Then, she perked up. “Wait, Nero is here. I have to warn the other girls.”

 “Then, how did you come back?” Reina asked.
 “That’s what I like to know.” Maria answered.
 “Did we jump the shark?” Joan asked.
 “I hope not.” Maria replied.
 “We should get back to the headquarters.” Dymphna said. “I don’t like this party.”
 “I agree with you. Let’s go.” Christina added. Then, the seven girls headed back to the base. John was waiting for them there.
 “So, how was the party?” He asked.
 “How did you know we were there?” Christina asked.
 “Your arrival to the party ended up on television.” John said. “I hope you didn’t do anything… less than civil… there.”
 “Nope.” Flora said.
 “Good.” He replied. “You need to watch your behavior more than ever. Because now that your celebrities, the paparazzi have their eyes and ears all over you trying to find something to gossip about in their tabloids.”
 “I’m sure it’s not that bad.” Christina stated.
 “That incident with the Ishtar Mix got published in that magazine.” He said.
 “HEY, THAT’S PRIVATE!!” She yelled.
 “They don’t care about privacy or show restraint.” John replied and turned around doing a psychic blast to the nearby bush. It exposed a hidden cameraman and journalist. “GET OUTTA HERE!! SCRAM!!” The two ran off as John turned around. “My point is proven.”
 “Okay, it’s that bad.” Christina remarked.
  “What were you doin’?” Flora asked.
 “I was preparing bunkers for the eventual end of civilization in the local area. There have also been angels appearing in people’s dreams warning them as well and…” John stated. Then, he turned around. “HEY!! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!?” He barked at the cameraman and journalist. The two ran off again.
 “We wanted to ask you something.” Maria stated.
 “Okay, shoot.” John answered. “What do you need to know?”
 “At the party, Maria ended up getting separated from the rest of us and…” Joan started to explain.
 “Oh, she got stabbed in the neck?” He stated. “Yeah, I already know about that and there was something I didn’t tell you girls. It was to be a secret unless brought up.” He looked and saw the two bozos again. He formed a hammer with his powers and smashed all their equipment. “HAVEN’T I TOLD YOU ENOUGH TO LEAVE!? YOU HAVE BETTER STUFF TO DO!!” Then, the two gathered the pieces and fled never to come back.
 “There’s something you didn’t tell us?” Hikari asked in shock.
 “When you are killed off, you will simply respawn a short while later like a videogame character.” John answered.
 “What!?” All the girls stated at once.
 “Are you serious?” Christina asked.
 “I’m dead serious.” He replied.
 “Wait a minute…” Reina stated. “What’s the catch?”
 “Catch?” He asked.
 “This seems a little too good to be true.” She continued. “There has to be something behind this whole thing.”
 “There is only one thing.” Jonathan explained.
 “I knew it.” Reina replied.
 “If you are consistently corrupted and you are killed off, you aren’t going to come back.”
 “Oh… that’s it?”
 “That’s it.”
 “Nothing special needs to be done.”
 “Nothing else.”
 “How will we know if we aren’t consistently corrupted?” Flora asked.
 “You’ve have been Virtue Girls for a long time and you still haven’t figured that out?” John asked in surprise. “I thought it would have been obvious at this point of the story.”
 “Story?” Christina asked. “What story?”
 “Nothing.” He replied.
 “I’m rather curious on what you are saying about a story.”
 “What I know about that is not meant for those who are bound to the physical world.” John explained. “It will be too much for you girls to handle.” There was a brief pause.
 “Well, whatever.” Reina stated.
 “I guess we all have our limits.” Maria replied. “It’s not like we’re characters in a fictional story or anything like that.” John remained silent.
 “Thank goodness the girls weren’t able to get that.” John thought.
 “Anyway, can you answer the question Flora asked?” She asked.
 “There is a standard that was given to the survivors of the deluge.” He said. “The standard was the bedrock for all succeeding civilizations were built on top of. When the standard is followed in your heart and hands, the technique will work.” The girls said nothing. “You didn’t think it was just the power upgrades were the reason I had you go through those trials, did you? The powers you have don’t have anything to do with it.”
 “What…?” Maria replied dumbfounded at the remark.
 “If you can remember all those tasks you did in your trials, you didn’t need to use your powers.” John explained. “All superpowers are is just merely a tool that can be used. The thing that is important is the one who uses such power. The things are bad when the user is bad and the things are good when the user is good. Are you starting to get what I am saying?”
 “I think so.” Maria answered.
 “Good.” He said. “You may leave now.” The girls went their separate ways to their homes. The thoughts remained in Maria’s head as she went to bed that night.

3: Breaking Out

Maria had decided to see her friend, Cheyenne, at her house. It was a rather small run-down house but it was all that Mikey and her income could afford. There had been efforts to repair the place. The living room had old green carpeting and a well-worn couch. The baby boy was sleeping in the crib nearby them.
 “Things are just happening so quickly.” Maria said commenting on what John stated to Cheyenne. “It only felt like yesterday that I just became a magical maiden. Now, we have to deal with an apocalyptic future.”
 “Isn’t there any way you can stop it?” Cheyenne asked in concern.
 “I asked the same thing to John.” Maria answered. “He said that the Virtue Girls will be able to save the world in the end, but it can NOT be saved from the coming chaos.”
 “I don’t know anything about what to do.” Cheyenne answered. “All I can do is just try to survive the best I can.”
 “Did you get word about the bunker?” Maria asked.
 “Yeah, I heard.” Cheyenne replied. “Although, I was never told where it was. But I seemed to know where it is, I don’t know how this is the case.”
 “Me neither.” She said. Then, suddenly there was a knock on the door. “Do you want me to get that?”
 “Go ahead.” Her friend said. Maria got up to the couch and went to the door. She opened it up and saw a machine she hasn’t seen in a long time. It was wearing a simple brown robe. “X-00.”
 “I ask that you don’t call me that.” The robot said. “Please call me by my name of Matthew.”
 “Matthew, what are you doing here?” Maria asked.
 “There is something of great urgency that we must discuss.” He stated. “I will explain what I know.” Maria had let him inside.

 “What!?” Maria stated sitting on the side with Cheyenne. “Father James has been abducted!?”
 “I’m afraid that is the case.” Matthew answered. “I want to rescue him because he was the only one who allowed me to be in his presence. He has treated me like a human being and I had seen him do more good than anyone else. That is why I became one of the clergy.”
 “Do you have any idea where he is at?” Maria asked in concern.
 “I saw him become abducted by these strange people.” Matthew replied. “They had him tied up and thrown into a truck. I was able to place a tracking device onto the vehicle before I lost sight of it. From my systems, it was heading out of town to the north; but it just suddenly veered to the left. It was heading to an empty area before I lost the trackers signal.
 “Was there anything peculiar about them?” Maria asked.
 “Nothing was out of the ordinary except that the abductors had what looked like chips on their forehead.” Matthew replied.
 “And I think I recognize the area that Matthew might be describing.” Cheyenne stated. The two faced her. “When my granddad was alive, he told me about that region. It was the site of an old mental hospital. It was shut down 40 years ago due to patient abuse and unauthorized psychological experiments.”
 “But why would the one who kidnapped a priest, take him to such a place.” Matthew asked.
 “I don’t know but I’m not going to just sit here and not think about it.” Maria stated. “I’m going to have the girls head in there and get him out.”

 The Virtue Girls had arrived as the magical maidens at the out-of-the-way area and like Cheyenne had described, there was the old mental hospital right before them. The ground was barren and the trees were dead. It was surrounded by a large metal fence. The girls sniffed the air and covered their noses.
 “Ugh, what is that horrid smell?” Joan asked.
 “With this place in mind, it could be some of the materials rotting.” Christina replied. “But I’m no architect.”
 “Well,” Reina said as she went over to grab. “Let’s get over this fence and start this rescue mission.” ZAP!! “Oww…” She stumbled around before falling backwards.
 “Are you okay, Reina?” Dymphna asked trying to help her friend back up.
 “I’m okay.” Reina stated, coughing. The girls noticed that on each of the posts was a glowing red light that was on.
 “Why is there an electric fence around an abandoned hospital? That doesn’t make any sense.” Flora stated.
 “The better question is… why is there smoke coming out of the chimney?” Christina asked.
 “That is very odd.” Flora replied.
 “This place has gotten a lot more suspicious.” Maria said. “We definitely need to get inside.” Dymphna noted a power box on the wall on the other side of the fence.
 “I think I can try to shut off the fence.” She said. “But I’m going to need a boost.”
 “I’m on it.” Christina answered. She made a vine and a large leaf that Dymphna rode to the other side.
 Dymphna rushed to the other side of the field and made it to the box. Right by it, there was a computer console. When she looked at the console, it asked for a password. She placed a flashdrive into the side of the computer. A message popped up saying dragon666. She typed in the password and she heard a click.
 “I got it.” She replied. She opened the box and found that the box was an emergency shut-off switch. She flipped it and the girls saw that the lights on the posts shut off.
 “Go.” Maria whispered and all of the girls slipped through the fence. Once they made it to Dymphna, she turned the switch again turning the fence back on to avoid suspicious appearances.
 “Alright, now what?” Joan asked.
 “We find out where they are holding Father James.” Maria replied. They slowly opened the door and saw that there were no guards at the entrance of the mental hospital. “That’s odd.”
 “Something must really be up.” Flora replied. Joan tried to flip the switch on the side to turn the lights on but nothing happened.
 “The lights aren’t working.” Joan answered. “The power for the fence isn’t going to the lights up here.”
 “Or the lines have been cut.” Reina remarked.
 “Well, we need to find out where everythin’ is.” Flora stated. “Or we ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
 “Wait, where did the country twang come from?” Reina asked her. “I haven’t heard you say something like that before from you.”
 “I was visiting my family in Southern Ohio for a reunion.” Flora explained.
 “Well, it better not be full of rednecks.” Reina teased.
 “Watch it, city slicker.” Flora answered a little annoyed of Reina.
 “Girls, chill.” Dymphna replied. “Now, is not the time for this.” Hikari went in to look around and smelled the air.
 “I don’t see any lights up here, but the stench is stronger.” She replied. “We might find the source up here.” She searched around and found a double doors that were locked manually. “It looks like the source of the stench is in here.” Hikari pulled out her sapphire katana, she concentrated for a minute, and she sliced her saber through the iron lock. The lock broke open freeing the door. “Now, let’s find out what’s in here.” She opened it up before the others could catch up. They saw Hikari’s face turn completely green as she ran to the window. She leaned over and the sound of chunks was heard. After the stench had lifted, they checked the interior.
 “OH MY GOD!!” Dymphna stated in horror. They saw hundreds of bloody, recently decaying corpses of prisoners that were men, women, and children. “This is… This is…”
 “I have no words to describe how disturbing this is.” Reina answered.
 “What did they go through some sort of twisted meat grinder?” Flora asked.
 “Is there anyone here?” A voice stated from within the room.
 “That voice.” Maria said as she rushed into the messy area.  She climbed over the bodies and was stunned. There was a man still alive amongst the corpses. “Father James.” She ran over and picked him up. His clothes were a torn-up mess. His head was scalped and his arms covered with cuts. His lower legs were flayed and it looked as though his ribs were slightly crushed.
 “Hello, Maria.” He replied as he groaned from the pain.
 “What happened to you?” Maria asked.
 “Things are completely detested.” James answered. “Things diabolical.” He paused for a minute.
 “I’ve come to get you out of here.” She answered.
 “There are more here.” He stated.
 “How many?”
 “A lot.” The priest explained. “When I arrived, they took me downstairs to the basement. There I saw many men, women, and children being tortured and mangled. They threw me in a cell down there and I talked with the victims. They stated that they were kidnapped just like me, taken off the streets for no rhyme or reason save they were trying to defend what was just.”
 “Oh…” Maria said.
 “But I also noticed a pattern,” he continued. “Every single one of the guards and tormentors had the exact same chip on each of their heads.” He reached into his pocket. “I was able to snatch one of the chips while the guards weren’t looking.” He pulled it out and showed it to Maria.
 “That chip!?” She answered in shock. “That chip was on the Deva Girls’ foreheads as well.”
 “I also heard that once you are taken in here you only had two options: accept the chip on your forehead or die.” He said. “I do not know what it does or how it works; but I have reason to believe that it is one of the most malevolent devices ever created, something even worse than the atomic bomb.” He handed the chip over to her. “I would like the Virtue Girls to analyze it and hopefully find a way to stop its production.”
 “I will.” Maria replied and Father James stood up. “Father, you mustn’t move so much.”
 “I have seen some twisted stuff.” He said. “But I cannot let this malicious actions continue, I will have to put an end to this.” Maria brought the priest out and Christina disinfected the wounds. Meanwhile, Dymphna created a set of armor that can protect and support him out of ice. “Thank you.” He pointed to the hallway towards the stairs. “Down that way leads to the main torture chamber and holding cells. But it is guarded.”
 “Alright.” Maria answered.
 “To the left will be the medical supplies; when the innocents come up, that’s where the healing stuff will be.” He explained. “And to the right will be the power supply. I will need someone to get me over there.”
 “Understood.” Reina answered as she took him to the power supply. She and Flora went to the power supply. Christina was sent to the medical supply room. The rest of them went to the stairs. The girls were in place. There were two guards blocking the doorway.
 “Reina, can you blow the power supply?” Maria asked in the communicator.
 “Alright, just go when the power is out.” She answered. Then, Reina sent a mass surge of lightning through the system and the entire area suffered a blackout. The other four girls dove into the darkness and took down the guards. Then, entered the corridors below.
 Meanwhile, the torturers were under confusion on what was going on. They wandered why the power had gone out. Then, a might wind was blown against them knocking them against the wall. Hikari was cutting the binds that held the victims to the devices.
 “Are you able to move?” Hikari asked.
 “Who are you?” the guy she freed asked.
 “I am a member of the Virtue Girls.” she replied. “We’re here to help you get out of this place. Can you help us free the others?”
 “I can help.” he said. They went on to other parts of the corridor and freed more prisoners, carrying those who were unable to move. Maria kept the guards in the chamber busy. The guards began to surround Maria. She created a wind chain at the end of the handle of her amethyst gladius; she twirled it around her striking those around her.
 “Do you know where the ones who aren’t being tortured are being held?” Joan asked.
 “I know follow me.” the prisoner said.
 “Dymphna, go with him.” Joan stated. “My sempai and I will keep the path of escape open.”

 Reina, Christina, and Flora saw that there were prisoners coming out of the downstairs. From the power room from behind them, there were blasts coming from behind.
 “Look out.” James stated. They saw several guards fired their weapons at them. They were able to dodge out of the way. Reina fired back at them with lightning as Flora raised up a wall made of stone to shield the ones escaping.
 The priest looked over and saw a sledgehammer on the side of the room. He ran over and grabbed the hammer. He went around the side, flanked them, and bashed them over their heads with it. Reina’s eyes went wide.
 “What!? I thought a priest wasn’t allowed to carry weapons.” Reina commented.
 “These are harsh times.” James replied. “And we were being attacked by diabolical forces.” He pointed to where they came from. “They came down from that way; they mentioned something about a reactor core that powers the facility and supplies the evil ones with power.”
 “What are we going to do?” Reina asked.
 “I’ll have to take care of it. I’ll end the use of this blasted place forever.” James answered. “If I don’t return, tell Matthew that he will lead the congregation and he can have my bike.” He headed down that way.

 Dymphna arrived at the cells holding the prisoners. A guard came to confront her and she sent out an ice beam. She had covered him in ice. She was able to get a hold of the keys from the guard and started freeing the ones trapped in their cells.
 “We’re getting you out of here.” Dymphna stated. “But there are still more of you trapped we need to free them as well.” She handed the keys to the prisoners and they in turn freed others in the holding cells. Christina managed to bring medical supplies to the prisoners who needed medical care. More and more of the prisoners were freed as the guards and torturers went down. The girls noticed that the devices and lighting were now acting off.

 Meanwhile, near the reactor core, Father James was smashing every computer and module in sight. The guards were shooting at him with their guns and he was able to dodge them. He finally came across the core. It looked like a statue of Ba’al.
 “I figured that the core would look something like this.” He thought. “But now, for the corruption that has been cast onto this land.” He noticed a gun touching the back of his head.
 “Drop your weapon.” The guard stated. “If you know what is good for your health, step away from the core slowly.”
 “You are a fool.” The priest replied. “That is all I’ll say.” Then, Father James lifted the hammer and slammed it down onto the statue smashing it to pieces. The guard was thrown completely off and he shouted.
 “What have you done!?” He shouted. “Because of your ignorance, this whole facility is going to blow up.” Then, lightning shot around the room. The guard fired two shots; both of which hitting the priest in the back. The bolts struck down onto the guard frying him to a crisp. The alarm was now going off.
 “SYSTEM CORE DESTROYED!!” the computer stated over the facility. “MELTDOWN IMMINENT!! ALL STAFF EVACUATE THE BUILDING!!” The guards forgot about the escaping prisoners and the Virtue Girls and fled.
 The computers were on the side sparking and electricity scattered in random patterns around the building. Debris was falling from the ceiling. Father James knew that his strength was leaving him and the time before detonation was is quickly running out. He yanked on a lever locked the doors preventing the girls and the other prisoners from getting in.
 “Dear Virtue Girls, you need to live on to protect these people in these times of great distress.” The building began to quake violently. “And Maria, I am grateful to have met someone like you within my life. He went onto his knees and looked towards the heavens. “It is done. If you grant it, into your hands I commend my spirit.” He began to pray calmly as the building fell apart around him. When he reached the end of the prayer, there was a blinding light that engulfed him. Then, the whole area exploded in a fiery thundering blaze.

4: Fair Play or Not

                “I see that this chip really is messed up.” Jonathan stated. “It clearly has Nero’s fingerprints all over it.” He brought the chip out of the analysis that Dymphna has started.

                “I haven’t seen anything like this.” She stated. “But I don’t know the exact details behind this.”

                “From what you girls have described, I was able to conclude that the chip somehow hijacks the mental capacities of the brain and shuts off one’s ability to have free will.” John explained. “But however, I also picked up that it can’t be forced onto someone. It has to be placed on a willing subject.”

                “Why would someone want their free will removed and be reduced to a pawn for someone else to use?” Dymphna asked. “It doesn’t make any logical or rational sense.”

                “Considering that it stops communication between the brain and the soul and screws up their psychology so they don’t want the chip removed; I don’t know why anyone would do that either.” John answered. “I’m going to need two of the girls to assist me.”

                “Assist you? With what?” Dymphna asked.

                “Assist me in putting the finishing touches on the bunker and to make sure the systems are properly working.” He explained.

                “Uh sure. I guess.” She stated.

 

                It was a little while later that Jonathan, Dymphna, and Christina had arrived at the bunker. It was a metallic structure layered on with natural features to help conceal the location.

                “First, I’m going to test the door.” He said as he went inside. “I’ll close it from the inside and reopen it. Tell me if it’s working.” He went inside to flip the switch twice. “Did it work?”

                “The doors work.” Christina said.

                “I told you this is going to be easy, Christie.” Dymphna stated.

                “Yeah, I can see that.”

                “I’m going to test the door’s capabilities.” John said coming out of the opened door. “You might want to stay back.” He pulled out a set of powerful radiated explosives and set them up by the top of the open door. He got back and the explosives went off. The girls and John were safe from the explosion. “The structures intact.” He pulled out a meter and read it. “Perfect, no radiation made it into the bunker.”

                “What was that test for?” Dymphna replied.

                “To make sure that the bunker was strong enough to block radiation from nuclear weapons.” John explained. “Which it does work at doing so.”

                “Aren’t you going a little too over-the-top?” Christina asked.

                “I’ve seen what is going to happen in the future.” John stated. “We are going to need bunkers that strong.” At that moment, a man came up to them. He was running towards them when stopped and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

                “Do you know where I can find the Virtue Girls?” he asked.

                “We are two of them.” Christina stated.

                “Thank god, I found you.” He said. “I wasn’t able to find your number thus, I have come all the way from Chillicothe to find you.”

                “Chillicothe? That’s on the other side of the state.” Dymphna asked.

                “I know I came far but we need your help.” He said. “Our children are being taken away from us and the police end up finding absolutely no leads on them. Please, I’m begging you to come help us.”

                “Let’s go.” Christina stated. “No child is going to suffer under my watch.”

                “What about the bunker tests?” Dymphna asked.

                “You girls take care of the stuff in Chillicothe. I can handle the rest of the testing.” John stated. As the girls left, John returned to working on the bunker. “These bunkers have to be completely isolated from the rest of the world when the planet goes bad like a self-contained bubble.” He tested the air systems. “For 24 hours, it will be this way.” He turned and checked the food supplies. “The people who refuse to enter the bunker will forget where it is when that moment comes. But there are only a few things they could bring: themselves, their loved ones and friends, any mementoes, and the clothes on their backs. Nothing else are they allowed to bring.”

 

                The girls headed down to Chillicothe, the city within the woods. They were brought before a group of adults. Dymphna looked around and noticed the city doesn’t have any parks or arcades anywhere, but didn’t think anything about it.

                “Hello? We are of the Virtue Girls.” Christina stated.

                “Oh thank goodness that you have arrived.” One of the adults stated. “Please you need to help us. There is a rampant kidnapper.”

                “We heard about that.” She stated. “What are the details behind this?”

                “We have focused on the security of our precious treasures.” The adult stated. “We have made it impossible for any intruder to steal them by using the most advanced security systems. But it is still failing. Why is this the case?”

                “We will stick around until we get to the bottom of this.” Dymphna said.

                “Is there any place the children can go?” Christina said.

                “There isn’t such a place, sorry.” The adult answered. “You’ll need to patrol the houses.”

                “Alright, we’ll start patrolling the area.” Dymphna said. As the girls began to start looking around, they encountered the guy who brought them there.

                “I’m sure you will find them.” He said. “I’m worried about my son, Mark. He’s the only one I have since my wife died in childbirth.”

                “I’m sorry to hear that.” Dymphna stated in sympathy.

                “He is a brilliant, talented, and kind boy. I don’t want to lose him.”

                “We’ll do the best we can.” Christina said.

                “Thanks.” He said. “I’ll be rooting for you girls.” He, then left. The girls continued to look around and still have found nothing out of the ordinary. The girls decided to continue the patrol when nightfall came. They had noticed that one of the locks has been opened.

                “Dymphna, look.” Christina said. “The kidnapper is among us.”

                “Christie, we gotta move.” Dymphna answered. They began to search quickly to find the evidence of the perpetrator. They followed the evidence until they had found a kid’s room with a closet. They saw two imps coming out of the closet; one was slighty taller and skinny, the other was short and plump. They were both chuckling like a bunch of idiots.

                “Hey, Pelvis.” The short one asked. “What do you wanna do after we get this next kid?”

                “Porkbrain, I just want to eat some junk food.” The taller one replied. “And comment on cheesy butts.”

                “Hehe, you said butt.” The shorter answered; they both chuckled.

                “Imps?” Christina stated. “It’s something magical.”

                “If it’s something that involves magic from what we know, it’s about a 95% chance that Jadvyga has something to do with it.” Dymphna said. “The chances of these two being directly tied to her based on current evidence is about 25.683%.”

                “Stop being so mathematical and transform.” Christina rebuked her. Then, the two transformed into their maiden forms. They noticed that the imps had taken the kid and headed into the closet. “Where’d they go?” They looked and Dymphna spotted them running away into the forest.

                “There they are.” She said. “After them.” The two girls pursued the two imps at a distance thus the two creatures weren’t able to see the girls following them. When they approached the river, they heard the sounds of clinking of chains.

                The girls stumbled on a magical testing grounds. They saw the kids locked up in cages and chained together. The place was guards with corrupted and twisted versions of childhood toys and dreams.

                The two saw the two imps bring the child with them to Jadvyga.

                “Heyheyhey, we brought another kid.” Pelvis said.

                “Well done.” Jadvyga answered. “We will have enough children to be subjects to magical testing and experimentation.”

                “Experimentation?” Christina thought as she was getting more furious.

                “Where do you want this small boy?” Porkbrain asked.

                “Put him with the rest of the children.” The witch stated. She turned to the child that was tied up to the bed. She put her wand up into the air and it glowed with a magical energy. “We know how to turn a man into a bony toad. How about making a bony toad out of a boy?” She started to magically tug on one of the boy’s bones in an attempt it to remove it from his body.

                She heard a huge vine with thorns grow up from behind her and the sound of it falling. The two imps screamed as they were crushed by the vine. She turned around and saw a very angered Christina.

                “How. Dare. You. HURT THESE KIDS!!” Christina shouted in a rage.

                “So, one of the Virtue Girls has come to stop my experimentation?” Jadvyga asked. “Well, I will say this. You have absolutely no chance against me.” Jadvyga fired a blast of energy towards Christina and she was barely able to dodge the attack. “You will fail against me for I have my ultimate weapon.” She pulled out a medallion.

                “And what is that supposed to be?” Christina asked.

                “This is the amulet of Bogeyman.” Jadvyga proclaimed. “This grants me even more power than I could ever have before; however, all of my magic looks extremely kiddy.” She sent a blast from her wand towards Christina and in the place where the Virtue Girl once stood was some flowers. The witch fired some more beams towards her. Christina continued to block or dodge the shots.

 

                Meanwhile, Dymphna was able to get to the kids. They each had an individual cage that they were in.

                “I’ll get you out.” Dymphna said, noticing the harm that was inflicted on them. She noticed that it was an old fashioned lock. “If this was a mechanized lock, this would be a whole lot easier.” The imps tried to sneak up on her, but they were stumbling around. She was able to dodge out of the way of their attacks.

                “Hoho, we are having to fight Miss Bodacious.” Porkbrain stated.

                “I don’t think we should hurt her too much.” Pelvis added.

                “How are we gonna do that?”

                “I don’t know. We can think of something.” Pelvis answered. Dymphna knocked the both of them out with her claymore. She saw that one of them had a ring of keys.

                “Here we are.” Dymphna stated. “But which one is it?” She began to search through the keys to find the right one for the cage. She tried the first one, it failed. She tried the second one, it failed. “This is going to take a while.”

 

                Jadvyga lifted up a shield as Christina tried to attack her with a great big set of vines and leaves. The witch grinned as the Virtue Girl tried to break through the shield.

                “You think you ever stood a chance against me?” She asked as Christina’s vines continued to bash more and more on the shield. Jadvyga put more emphasis on the front of the shield.

                “I believe you should have a time out.” Christina stated as she brought her hands up. Then, razor sharp leaves came from behind the witch. They slashed the witch from the back; she got distracted from the shield and it went down. The vines grabbed the witch and threw her up into the air. The witch hit the ground. Christina turned around thinking that the witch was dead, but the witch tried to do one last trick as she got back up on her feet. She formed a cow and sent him after the girl.

                “CHRISTINA, BEHIND YOU!!” Dymphna shouted. She turned around and saw the heifer coming her way. She used one of the vines to fling the cow into the air right above Jadvyga. The witch screamed as she got crushed by a bovine. “Well, that was unexpected.”

                “I think she couldn’t take de-beef.” Christina replied.

                “Stop trying to make puns.” Dymphna remarked.

                The girls were able to get all of the children to safety back to their families. As they arrived, the man that had brought them there came to them with his son.

                “Thank you, virtue girls for bringing the children back home.” The man said.

                “You’re welcome.” Christina replied.

                “Dad, I’m bored.” His son said.

                “Isn’t there anywhere where you can go?” He asked.

                “There’s nowhere for me to go.” His son answered. “And I’m tired of playing video games.”

                “Okay, we need work on something for these kids.”

                “Want us to help?” Christina asked.

                “If you want to, be my guest.”

5: Chronicles of Van Bisshoppen

                -April 23, 1688: New York-

                Abraham van Bisshoppen stepped off the wooden galleon into New York harbor. He was with his wife, Anna. He was also with his two sons: 18 year old Jonathan, and 16 year old Judas.

                “Well, we have finally made it to New York.” Abraham stated.

                “At least, we won’t have to worry about being completely surrounded by ocean.” Anna stated. Then, John turned to his parent.

                “Mother, Father, is it okay for Judas and I to explore the city?” He asked.

                “We have to business to take care of, you two may go explore.”

                “Thank you.” Judas replied. Then, the two boys headed out of the harbor and into the city proper. They saw the colonial styled buildings that were around them as they rushed through the town and into the town square.

                “Isn’t this great, Judas? We are finally here, in the New World.” Jonathan replied. “What a new life the four of us are going to have.”

                “Don’t be too excited, John.” Judas replied. “We just got here. It’s uncertain how things are going to be yet.”

                “Judas, don’t be such a downer. You know this will be better than living in Amsterdam.” Jonathan replied. “Our grandfather had to feign a conversion to keep the land he had the Netherlands, but half of the family converted anyway. They thought they could get more land and profit by having the other half thrown out by means of the fraud.”

                “Whatever.” Judas answered.

                “This is a life-changing event for all of us. Now, we can start over again.” John stated. “Something will become of the family.” Then a man came running in.

                “THERE’S A FIRE!! THERE’S A FIRE IN THE CITY!!” He screamed. “WE NEED HELP TO CONTAIN IT NOW!!” There were several men heading in to the call.

                “We got to get going to help them.” John said.

                “You’re like this, John.” Judas replied. “Always getting into other people’s business.”

                “Judas, this is an emergency.” He rebuked. “We need to help them. It will also put us in good graces with the residents.”

                “Fine, lead the way.” His brother sighed. The two followed the volunteers to the blazing inferno that was threatening to consume the area. They saw the men carrying buckets of water and throwing the water onto the fire, but the fire refused to go out. John noticed a woman was frightened, and he went up to her.

                “Woman, what is your worries?” John asked her.

                “I can’t find my children.” She said in a panic. “Where are my children?” Her husband came to her.

                “I can’t find them anywhere.” The husband said in a frightened look. “They’re trapped in the burning building.” John looked at the fire and sensed the kids; then he tore off a strip of his own shirt.

                “Not if I have anything to say about it.” He stated. He rushed over to the water and dipped the strip into it. He wrapped it over his mouth and he took an axe used for chopping wood.

                “JOHN, WAIT!!” Judas shouted, but John charged right into the blaze. “YOU MORON, YOU’RE GOING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED!!”

 

                The blaze was giving off immense heat as John traversed the fires inside the building. He looked around desperately to save the children. Then, he heard screams coming from the kids in the upstairs corridors. He headed up the stairs although they broke as he got off of them. He ran into the room where the screams were coming from. He saw a mysterious figure standing over the children.

                “Ah it stated, these children will make an excellent sacrifice.” It said.

                “LEAVE THEM ALONE, FIEND!!” John shouted. The thing turned around. John saw it was a black wolf standing up like a man with burning red eyes and crooked horns on its head.

                “So puny mortal, you interfere.” The monster stated. “No matter, you shall burn from hellfire.” He threw a fireball at John and he dodged out of the way. John rushed towards him with the axe, but the demon blocked it and punched John backwards. He hit the burning wall.

                “Ugh.” He stated.

                “Your pathetic weapon is worthless against me.” The monster stated as he broke the axe. “Now, make this easy for yourself and die.” The monster tried to pounce on him. John rolled out of the way and got back up on his feet. The monster ran towards him and John dodged out of the way again, but not without slash marks. HE went over to shield the children from the monster and the flames. John picked up a piece of burning wood to protect them.

                “IF YOU WANT THE KIDS, YOU WILL HAVE TO GET THROUGH ME FIRST!!” John yelled at the beast.

                “I intend on doing that.” The beast stated as he rushed forward. Then, John prayed as he stood his ground. He gave a push against the charging beast and was able to knock him back.

                “WHAT!?” the both of them stated. John saw that the burning piece of wood had broken apart and a longsword that radiated light appeared in his hand.

                “How in the world…?” John stated.

                “So, you have a fancy new sword.” The beast stated. “No matter, I will take you down.” The beast charged at him again. John swung the sword and dealt a critical blow against the monster.

                “How could this be? Forced to rout by a mortal?” The beast stated. “We shall meet again and next time you shall die, if the fire doesn’t kill you first.” The demon had fled.

                John turned to the kids seeing the fire was close to consuming them. He went over and got close to them. He unintentionally shouted towards the hellfire. His eyes glowed bright white and a shield came up. His shield blasted out from him and the children putting out the fire as it went. The shield stopped at the very edge of the fire. The force that the shield had knocked the volunteers of their feet.

                “What in the world…?” Judas stated. Then, it dissipated.

 

                Meanwhile inside, John and the children were inside a room that was still stable but was charred and covered with soot.

                “Are you okay?” John asked them.

                “I think so.” One of them replied.

                “Thank goodness, you’re alright.” He stated, he turned to the room. “Just what in the world was that?” Then, he looked into his hand and saw the angel sword was still there. “And what is this angel sword?” He noticed that the sword slowly disappeared back into his hand. “I said to Judas coming to the New World was going to be life-changing, but this was the last thing I expected.”

 

                -May 1, 1688: Outskirts of New York-

                For a while, John was able to keep what he had seen and done as a secret. But word of mouth from the children had revealed the information he tried to conceal. He was admired for this rescue of the kids, but also was feared for his otherworldly power. He was seated in an examination room. The priest came out of the examination room to talk to his parents.

                “Well, Father Robert.” Abraham asked. “What is the status?”

                “From what I can tell, there is no diabolical influence involved with your son.” The priest stated.

                “That’s good.” He stated.

                “But what is going on then?” Anna asked.

                “If there is no diabolical influence, the only explanation I could say is that your son had been touched by divine hands.” Robert stated. “It is hard, even for me, to understand why this has happened.”

                “So, what do we do now?” Anna asked.

                “Well, do the same thing that you have been doing for the past 18 years.” He continued looking back at the boy. “Continue to care and love him. I have a reason to believe he has a special role to play, but I don’t know what that role will be. Hopefully, we will one day find out why this has happened to him and to all of us.”

 

                -May 15, 1688: Van Bisshoppen Home-

                The fear of Jonathan van Bisshoppen had eventually faded away, but there were a few residents that were still weary. The residents had built the family a cabin near the forest. Jonathan would continue to be more liked by the residents making his parents proud of him. However, Judas was up late at night while the others were asleep.

                “I could have been the one who had gotten those powers.” Judas stated in envy. “I’m the one who is more mature and sophisticated, why couldn’t I be the one to get them?” But as he looked out he noticed a shadow moving in the trees. “What’s that?” Judas grabbed his coat and headed outside. He headed to the area where the shadow was located.

                “So, you come outside?” a voice from the shadows stated. “Why do you do that?”

                “Who are you?” Judas asked in reply.

                “You seek to know my identity.” The creature stated. “If you want to know who I am, come into the woods alone tomorrow night and I will explain who I am.” Then, the shadow left him. Judas turned around and headed back to the door. But before he can grab the door, it opened and Jonathan was at the door.

                “Judas? What are you doing up so late at night?” He asked.

                “I wasn’t able to sleep and I wanted to take a walk.” Judas replied.

                “In the moonlight? It’s dangerous out here.” Jonathan stated.

                “Oh, and going into a burning building, isn’t?” Judas remarked.

                “Judas, that is a different circumstance and someone’s life was in danger.” He snapped back at him. “I’m concerned about you and your safety.” He paused. “C’mon, let’s get inside. It’s cold out here.” Then, the two went back inside the house.

 

                -May 16, 1688-

                The following night, Judas, made sure that everyone was in bed sleeping. He put on his coat and snuck out of the house. He had entered into the forest at night trying to find the shadow that he had noticed the night before.

                He came across an old tree with twisted branches and roots. The tree was isolated from the others and had no leaves even though all the surrounding trees did. There was no grass around the tree either, only barren dirt. He spotted the shadow at the base of the tree.

                “So, you have come.” The shadow stated. “Come closer.” Judas came closer to him.

                “I have come like you asked. Who are you?” Judas asked.

                “I am one who wanders in search of my desires.” The figure said. “I am a drifter.”

                “Why don’t you give me a name?” Judas asked.

                “I don’t have a name for I am a nobody with great power.” He answered.

                “Great power?” Judas asked in curiosity. “What kind of power?”

                “Power beyond anything a person could imagine.” The figure stated. “I know of the secrets to use this power, stuff that I can teach to anyone to wield.”

                “Can you show me this power?” Judas asked. “Convince me that you have this power.” The figure snapped his fingers and the barren ground had sprouted black roses on the ground. He also had a snake appear from out of nowhere. The figure blasted a fireball at him and the snake’s flesh was completely burned away into nothing but a skeleton.

                “Do you believe I have power now?” the figure asked in return.

                “I can see that.” Judas answered. “Can you teach me this power?”

                “I will, but it will come with a price.”

                “What kind of price?”

                “Just small favors, nothing more, nothing less.”

                “But what should I call you, if anyone asks?”

                “For now, just call me Sutasan.” The figure replied. <Armenian word for ‘liar’>

 

                -June 1, 1688-

                Judas did what Sutasan asked him to do throughout the day, while trying to hide this from his family. And during the night, he would visit the shade and he would share his knowledge with the boy. And Judas became stronger with the power given by shadowy figure. One night, he was going to leave. Jonathan stopped him in his tracks.

                “Where do you think you are going?” John asked him.

                “Why don’t you leave me alone?” Judas stated.

                “Now, I know something is bothering you.” John answered him. “I have seen you acting very odd as of recent; I have become very worried about you as well as your parents. What is going on?”

                “I’ve kept on telling you to keep out of other people’s business.” Judas said. “And you never listened to me at all.”

                “I’m just trying to help.”

                “I don’t need your help. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.” The boy stated to him. Jonathan was appalled by what he just heard

                “Judas… what has happened to you?” John asked him. “This isn’t the Judas I know. He has supported me and I supported him. Why are up shutting me out?” Judas just ignored him as he headed out the door. Jonathan tried to follow him. “Judas… Judas, come back. Please, listen to me.”

                “Why don’t you shut up?” Judas stated. A ball of darkness came from his hand and hit Jonathan straight on sending him back.

                “A ball of shadow?” John asked. “Is this what you were hiding? A quest for supernatural powers? That’s extremely dangerous!!”

                “You have powers, why can’t I?” Judas stated.

                “What you asking for is something that shouldn’t be messed around with.” John answered.

                “What difference does it make? You have the exact something I want too.” Judas replied. “Didn’t you think about that?”

                “Judas, what you are using is not the same as what I have.” He said. “You are going down a path from which there may be no return, but you can still escape.”

                “I don’t need your preaching.” Judas stated. “I’m done talking to you.” A black fog went in between them. John tried to leapt through the fog to find his younger brother but couldn’t find him.

 

                Judas returned to the shadowy figure in the woods. He was very eager to see him once again. He brought the supplies that the shade asked for.

                “Well done, Judas.” The shadow answered.

                “Thank you, Sutasan.” Judas replied. “My brother had gotten in the way, but I was able to keep him at bay.”

                “So, your brother is suspicious. Perhaps he is afraid of your newfound power that can exceed his own.” The figure mentioned.

                “That probably is the case.” Judas stated.

                “Well, he might try to eliminate you to take that power away from you.” The shade said.

                “Really? Is that true?”

                “It may seem that way. Your parents have watched and cared for him more since he got those powers, but even when you have gotten yours. They still ignored you.” Sutasan answered. “You have to rid of your brother and his supporters.”

                “But they will know who I am as Judas.” Judas replied.

                “If you choose to do this task, I shall grant you a new name.” Sutasan explained. “Will you go and bring an end to your brother?”

                “I’ll do so.” Judas answered with hellfire burning in his eyes.

                “From this day forward, Judas is no more.” The figure stated. “And from now on, you shall go by the name of… Nero.” There was a pause. “Now Nero, I have prepared for you with the supplies you given me some things to help you combat Jonathan.” The figure answered, revealing to him a black suit of armor and a sinister long blade.

                “Thank you, Sutasan.” Nero stated.

                “You don’t have to call me Sutasan any more, for you have grown to become my equal.” The figure stated. “For you may now call me, Ch’arut’yuny.”

 

                Meanwhile, Jonathan had headed to the priest’s house on his horse. When he arrived, he rapped on the door in a panicked manner.

                “Father Bob, Father Bob!!” John yelled. “Come Quick!!” Then, the priest came to the door in his blue nightclothes.

                “Oh, Jonathan.” Father Robert said. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at your cabin at this hour of the night?”

                “This is an emergency.” He explained. “I’m worried that my little brother is messing with evil magic and it is corrupting him.”

                “Let me get my jacket and I’ll head back with you.” Bob answered. After a few minutes, they had started heading back. But on the way there, they started seeing smoke in the distance.

                “WE HAVE TO HURRY!!” John stated. They started to ride faster in the forest, but when they got back they saw John’s home was set ablaze. “Oh no…” He leapt off the horse and ran to the house. “MOTHER!! FATHER!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!?” But there was no response. “Mother!! Father!!”

                “Jonathan?” Robert stated. “You might want to look at this, but you might not want to either.” John came over and saw what was done. The two of them found their charred and smoking bodies, crucified on their side.

                “Who… who is so malicious to do such a thing?” John asked in shock.

                “Ironic, isn’t it?” A familiar voice stated. “You were able to save total strangers, yet you weren’t able to save your own parents.” John turn to face the one talking to him and saw the armored form of Nero standing before him. “How does it feel Jonathan to feel completely powerless to save them?”

                “Judas… what have you done?” John stated to him. “You have set out home ablaze and you have murdered our parents.”

                “Those were Judas’ parents, he was the weak offspring of those two parents.” Nero stated. “No one has ever cared for him.”

                “THAT IS A LIE!!” John rebuked him. “Your parents DID care for you and I DID care for you. And yet you repay them with their blood being spilled. Why have you done this?”

                “It is of no concern to me. But you are so depressed of your parents being gone, I will gladly allow you to join your parents in hell.” Nero stated; he raised his blade and ran towards him. John had his appear and blocked the attacker’s blade.

                “No, I know that they will be with God one day.” John said. “But you, Nero, shall be cast into the fire of Gehanna.” Jonathan pushed him away with his blade; Nero backed up with his sword in hand. John headed forward and swung his blade at Nero, the adversary blocked the incoming blow. John sidestepped the counterstrike. Nero stepped back from the attack and blasted a beam of shadow. John parried it with a light shield and his sword. Nero stepped forward to swing. John blocked the attack and kicked him back. He fired a light beam at him; although it hit Nero, he wasn’t down and out. However, the dark knight decided to retreat.

                “So, you run away, Nero.” John stated. “Mark my words!! I will hunt you down and vanquish you!! I will continue to search until judgment day!!”

 

                -Present Day-

                John was seated on a chair by the bunker that he had shown the Virtue Girls. He looked up and looked at the sunset in the horizon.

                “It’s been a little over 350 years since those days have occurred.” He thought. “And even though the centuries have passed, they still haunt me to this day. I know one day, Nero shall fall even if it is not by my hands.” He paused for a little bit. “But I should tell these things to the Virtue Girls now, at least to Maria.”

6: Time of Visions

                Maria, Flora, and Christina were out on the field looking for evidence to find Ch’arut’yuny. But from their searching they have still haven’t found anything.

                “Maria, we’ve been searchin’ all mornin’.” Flora complained. “Can’t we take a break?”

                “We need to find the trail on where Ch’arut’yuny.” Maria said. “We need to find some way to stop him and beat him before he can do anything.”

                “You’re leadin’ us on a wild goose chase.” Flora replied to her.

                “I’m not leading you on a wild goose chase;” Maria answered, nervously. “we’re perfectly intact about our search.”

                “Maria?” Christina asked. “Are you feeling alright? You’ve been acting odd as of late.”

                “What makes you think I’m acting a little odd?” Maria asked in reply.

                “You’ve been more and more anxious.” Flora stated. “It’s all over your face.”

                “Can you tell us what’s wrong?” Christina questioned her. Maria remained silent for a moment. “Why do you want to find Ch’arut’yuny so badly?”

                “Images. Images appearing in my head.” Maria stated softly.

                “Images?” Flora asked. “What kind of images?”

                “Cities in flames, hordes charging through destroying everything in their path.” Maria stated. “Chaos is located everywhere.”

                “What do these mean?” Christina asked.

                “I think if we find Ch’arut’yuny’s army, we could stop that devestation.” She said.

                “I guess that makes sense, but isn’t is so there will be as little destruction as possible?” Flora asked. “Because John stated that no one can stop Ch’arut’yuny at this point.”

 

                “Girls… I have some light on the situation.” A familiar voice stated. The girls turned and found Jonathan nearby.

                “Oh, John, it’s you.” Maria stated. “How much did you hear?”

                “I was passing through to find the white horse.” He answered.

                “White Horse?” Christina asked.

                “The riders are going to go around the world soon.” He said. “For the Apocalypse will soon come.”

                “How soon are we talkin’?” Flora asked.

                “Three days soon.” John answered.

                “We have to stop Ch’arut’yuny’s army in three days.” Maria answered anxiously.

                “You can’t.” John stated.

                “What do you mean we can’t!?” Maria shouted at him.

                “His army has yet to be formed.”

                “How can an apocalypse come if the sides of darkness don’t have an army?” Flora asked.

                “It goes back to the world you now reside in. Remember that the world is run by a corrupted super-state, correct?” He replied.

                “Yes, you told that to me.” Maria said.

                “Right now, the super-state is about to go bankrupt despite having the entire planet.” He explained. “There is a massive worldwide resentment towards the organization; they will prefer to be ruled by savage barbarians than be ruled by them. Those who do will get just that. And from there comes the majority of Ch’arut’yuny’s army. Nero and Jezebel shall be his two cambion commanders.”

                “What’s a cambion?” Flora asked.

                “It’s someone whom has demonic genetics in their body.” John stated. “The ones I’m talking about are the humans who willingly altered their bodies to allow such a situation via some sort of pact.”

                “Oh…” She answered.

                “How can we even stop them all?” Maria asked in anxiety.

                “I think we should take a little trip.” John answered. “Get all the girls together and come with me.” Maria and the other girls just looked at each other in confusion.

 

                The other girls were brought together and they entered the bunker early. They all sat in a circle as John was preparing something.

                “What’s going on here?” Joan asked.

                “I’m just preparing the incense.” John answered. “Just about finished with the Ketoret.” He put the incense in a thurible and lit it. He took it over to the girls and swung it around them, so that way they would get the scent.

 

                They looked around them and they saw a dead and dark forest around them covered in dusty ash. The girls were afraid of what they saw that this forest was a menacing place.

                “What is this place?” Dymphna asked.

                “What’s that over there?” Reina asked. They saw a light coming towards them with great speed. It was a great fire coming towards them; it left behind it a bright green meadow behind it. It passed them without harming them.

                “What’s with this flame?” Flora asked. “Shouldn’t a fire burn things?”

                “I will explain in a moment.” John replied. “In the meantime, explore as you wish.” The girls looked around them and saw that there were many types of greenery around.

                “These plants look beautiful.” Christina commented. “Some of these, I’ve never seen before. And look at these forest critters.”

                “Girls, check this out.” Dymphna stated. Some of the girls came over and saw Dymphna had picked up what appeared to be a gemstone. “I might not be able to state what this is about, but I feel power coming off this thing. If this was real, we could cut energy consumption in half.”

                “So, what’s the point of this trip?” Reina asked.

                “This is to show you what is to come.” John answered.

                “I thought it was going to be a huge cataclysm.”

                “There will be, but this comes afterwards.”

                “I don’t see what this is relevant to the situation at hand.” Reina replied. John sighed facepalming.

                “This is what it will be like once Ch’arut’yuny is defeated again.” He answered.

                “Defeated again!? When was he defeated the first time around!?”

                “Prior to the Deluge.” John stated. “There were seven maidens that defeated him the first time around, just like you girls are now. And the maidens were sisters to each other; not by blood, but by spirit.”

                “Oh, is that so?” Reina asked.

                “Yes.” He answered. “But as of now, what you see is only an illusion.” John commented. “What you see before is a reflection of what is to come, but you don’t have to take my word for it. There are some maidens that can tell you about this.”

                “What other maidens?” Maria stated. Then, they heard feminine voices call their name. In the distance, they saw five veiled girls before them. All five wearing sailor fukus: one with long pigtails, another with dark short hair, another with long black hair, a fourth with long blonde hair, and the last one had wavy brown hair.”

                “You’re… You’re… You’re the…” Joan stated. Then, she put her hand to her forehead and fainted. Reina and Flora just looked at the fallen girl as Christina tried to give her some air.

                “I remember you five.” Hikari stated. “My mother had told me stories about you and how you had defended the world from many threats as you resided in Tokyo.”

                “Yes.” The one with the pigtails stated. “We were around during the 90s and protecting the world even though we were in school.”

                “Even though you had almost flunked every class.” The one with the black hair stated.

                “Will you shut up?”

                “Just one question.” Christina stated. “Why are you girls veiled?”

                “Copyright.” Jonathan stated to himself.

                “What was that?” Maria asked.

                “Nothing, I said nothing.” He replied.

                “How come you aren’t around?” Dymphna asked her.

                “We had to fight an enemy we had never faced before, but he was more powerful than any of us could imagine. Thus we and our friends were cast into a deep sleep, we know that we will reawaken when the Millennia of Peace comes.” The pigtailed one stated.

                “But when will that happen? How will it come?” Maria asked her.

                “It will in fact be you girls who will bring the Millennia of Peace.” The pigtailed one replied. “You will allow it to come forth with the Flames of Judgement.”

                “Flames of Judgement?” She asked.

                “I’ll take that question.” Jonathan replied. “It is a powerful attack of flame. It is the only thing that can destroy the Tempter, Nero, Jezebel, and all of the followers of darkness in one blow. You would have to combine all seven powers to do it.” Maria slammed her fist down on her hand.

                “Why didn’t you mention that earlier?” She stated. “We can take them down easily.”

                “Listen to me, Maria.” He stated. “There are things about it you need to understand.”

                “Why? Isn’t it supposed to be a firestorm?” Flora asked.

                “First off, you’re unable to bring the flames of judgment out of anger. It will not come forth when there is still hate present in your heart.” John explained. “This is why our enemies are unable to do such a technique.”

                “What does it do exactly?” Joan asked.

                “Not only will it destroy Ch’arut’yuny, Nero, and Jezebel; it will destroy every wicked person and being on the entire planet. At the same time, it will leave be and heal the just and good.”

                “How can such a destructive fire ever heal anyone?”

                “It is one simple reason. There are two components to the flames of judgment and only two. They are equally important, thus making it truly a unique ability. The first component is truth, knowledge of what is fact and reality. The other component is agape; it is love unconditional and divine, selfless and altruistic.” The girls tilted their heads.

                “Okay, now we’re totally lost.” Reina stated.

                “How is that destructive?” Dymphna added.

                “Hate doesn’t exist. It is simply where love is absent.” Jonathan explained. “As you would know, the good and just embrace love while the wicked reject it. When the flames of judgment come, it will fill the entire planet with love. The good and just will be unharmed because they already have love in them. While it will destroy the wicked by filling that empty void with love; because they reject love, it will tear them apart. Do you understand now?”

                “But when did this whole thing start?” Maria asked.

                “For the Virtue Girls, it’ll be another part of this trip.” John replied. Then, the girls’ vision temporarily disappeared. When it returned, they noticed they were in a futuristic city with towering spires and flying cars with technology they could only imagine.

                “Whoa.” Flora asked. “Are we farther ahead in the future?”

                “Far from it.” He replied. “We are back in the distant past before the deluge.”

               

 

 

                “Can we explore this city?” Christina asked.

                “We are not here to explore this place. We are only back here to witness something.” John answered. Then, they heard some screaming from the streets. At that moment, a giant monster appeared before them. “This is the first appearance of Ch’arut’yuny: A force created to be a weapon of mass destruction and the blood of the evil one runs through its veins.”

                “WE NEED TO STOP HIM!!” Maria shouted as she ran forward, but Jonathan stopped her.

                “No, you don’t need to.” He stated. “For they are arriving.”

                “Who are they?” Maria asked. Then, they saw seven magical maidens appear and began to fight the beast.

                “They are the first magical maidens.” Jon stated. “Every magical girl or magical maiden is a spiritual descendant from one of these seven women whom were sisters by the soul: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” He paused. “In turn, you seven to each one are a spiritual descendant of the ones whom you see fight the beast.”

                They saw that the beast shot out its left hand as a projectile towards the magical maidens. They managed to dodge the claw and the girls cut down the monster, slaying the beast. They were able to sever the monster in seven parts and seal each part away into gemstones and hurl them into space. But they never found the left hand.

                “As this trip comes to an end, you know what you must do.” Jonathan replied. “The time will soon come, so be prepared for the final challenges that shall come to you.” Then, the visions had faded from view.

                

7: The Big Asspull

                Flora and Christina were looking into the supply cabinet. They were finished investigating the food storage and shut the door behind them.

                “Well, that should be it when it comes to food storage.” Flora said.

                “Flora, why is it that, despite having jobs, Maria and the others don’t go to them anymore?” Christina asked her.

                “Because we were gone for like nine months and them employers would have replaced them by now. There’s no point in going back anyway with the cataclysm comin’.”

                “I see but…” she looked back to the food storage. “Are you sure that is going to be enough food?”

                “I’m sure that’s goin’ to be enough food;” Flora explained putting her hand on Christina’s shoulder. “I’m just worried about havin’ no power and some of it goin’ bad.” They headed back to the main lobby in the bunker and they sit down on the bunker.

                “So, is there anything you like to do on your down time?” Christina asked her.

                “I have my talents.” Flora replied.

                “Like?” Flora pulled out a harmonica.

                “I can do some tunes pretty well.” Flora began to play the instrument and played a small tune.

                “Not bad, Flora.”

                “Thanks.” Then, there was static on the monitor of the computer screen.

                “Now, who could that be?” Then, Dr. Set had appeared on the monitor with a white lab coat on him. The girls were slightly surprised that his head was that of a donkey and not a human.

                “Greetings, Virtue Girls.” the doctor said. “I’ve been looking for you. You’ve ruined my experiments; you’ve ruined the dark girls; you’ve ruined my career; YOU’VE RUINED MY FACE!!” Then, he breed. “But now, I have a new device that will make me stronger.” He began to giggle. “A device that will grant me even more power.” He laughed louder. “I’ll be more powerful than you girls and I will soon destroy you. Isn’t that right, Mr. Poopypaws?” He lifted his right hand which had a sock puppet with googlie eyes and paper cat ears on it.

                “That’s right, Dr. Set” The sock puppet apparently said. “You’re the greatest doctor in the universe.”

                “And you, Mrs. Snugglemittens?” He held up his left hand and it had a sock puppet on it too. This time it had pink button eyes sewed on it with green strings attached to it.

                “You’re correct, sir.” It replied.

                “Prepare yourselves, Virtue Girls.” the doctor stated. “I will begin the hunt. I will hunt you down and finally be rid of you once and for all!!” He cackled at a great volume and breed as it happened. Then, the signal was disconnected. Flora and Christina looked at each other.

                “The doctor’s now crazy right?” Christina asked.

                “Yep.” Flora replied.

                “Let’s inform the other girls.” The two girls headed to find the other girls to let them know about what the now insane scientist is up to.

 

                Meanwhile in the woods outside, Dr. Set was wearing a chrome-coated construction powered exoskeleton and helmet with his white lab coat. He had a bullet proof vest underneath it as well as combat pants. He activated wrist chainsaws and started cutting down the trees.

                “Oh, Virtue Girls.” he said. “Where are you?” He giggled.

                “Hey, I’m bored.” Poopypaws said.

                “I know.” Set added. “Let us break into song while we look for them.”

                “Good idea.” Snugglemittens replied.

 

                “Doooooo…” Dr. Set started singing as he continued to cut trees down. She was skipping as he was doing this. “you think I am crazy? No, I am not crazy. But I’m really handsome and gaaaaaaay. I’ll search for enemies and take them down, for this is my victory daaaaaaay.” The sock puppets started going ‘la la la’ to the same melody he did. The Virtue Girls went to him in their maiden modes.

                “Hey, doc. Over here!!” Flora shouted. The doctor turned to them.

                “Oh good, you saved me the trouble of finding you.” Dr. Set replied.

                “What’s with that stupid outfit?”

                “Oh, this? This is my latest in weapons.”

                “It looks like a construction mechanical suit.” Christina said.

                “Ah. It started out as a construction assistance exoskeleton but I have modified it into a weapons platform. I am armed to the top of my head.”

                “Yeah,” Poopypaws explained. “You might as well surrender now, and let the doctor shoot you.”

                “Not a chance.” Flora added.

                “Then, I will have to unleash my wrath on you.” The doctor added. He lifted up his right arm and a red laser fired out and the girls dodged out of the way. He lifted his left arm and fired a rainbow-colored laser out and it hit Christina. “Ha ha ha, you’ve been hit by my shut off ray. It short circuits your powers so you can’t use them.” Poopypaws laughed as he continued firing the shut down ray at them.

                The girls dodged his blasts and Flora noticed that there were three long tanks on his back with green liquid inside them. They were protected by a big plastic covering. Christina tried to use her plant abilities but they didn’t work.

                “What!?” she said.

                “What’s wrong?” Dymphna asked.

                “My powers aren’t working.”

                “What?” Dymphna said. Then, she got hit by the beam and her powers shut off as well. Flora smashed a pillar of Earth against his back. They knocked him forward and he jumped back up and turned to the other girls.

                “So, you want to play tough?” the doctor said.

                “You are getting on the doctor’s nerves.” Snugglemittens stated as Dr. Set pushed a button. One of the tanks emptied its contents into his bloodstream. His muscles began to inflate and his air started to go crazy throwing the helmet to the ground.

                “What’s goin’ on?” Flora asked. “What’s that I’m feeling around him?”

                “It can’t be.” Maria said. “I feel it. It’s a magical aura.”

                “You didn’t think I would come prepared, did you?” Dr. Set replied as he fired more of those laser beams and dodging the girls’ attacks. The power shut off beams hit Hikari and Joan. “I have the Pharaoh serum injected into me with additional protected doses on my back.” He leapt up in the air and grabbed the branches. He started tossing red laser balls at them with his right hand while he hung with his left. The girls dodged them as the red laser balls blew up on impact with the fallen logs. The logs sent out a bunch of sharp splinters in all directions.

                The splinters landed on the girl’s bodies and the girls tried to pick them off. The doctor switched hands while on the tree. Hikari used her katana and slashed at the branch he was holding. He used the jet boots to move onto another branch. Dymphna used her ice to freeze up the jet boots and he fell to the ground. Reina zapped him with her electric stream from her hands.

                “You think you have won?” Poopypaws stated to the girls. “But that was just the warm-up.” He injected the second tank of serum into himself. He started to bray and yell loudly as he broke out of his exoskeleton. He ended up stretching his clothes. The doctor removed the sock puppets.

                “No, more mister nice guy.” he stated as he ripped open his bullet proof vest and was completely shirtless and his pants tore off. He was in yellow boxer briefs. “Me will crush Virtue Girls.” He grabbed onto a tree and ripped it out of the ground.

                “OH CRAP!!” Reina said. He swung the tree around and the girls were getting out of the way. He held the tree up with one hand and fired out a fury of red lasers. All of the girls had to dodge out of the way from the blasts. He swung the tree around again, this time Maria was hit. She went flying and smacked into a boulder; completely knocked unconscious.

                “MARIA!!” all of the girls shouted. Hikari and Joan ran over toward her. The doctor slammed the tree between them and Maria.

                “You girls will get it next.”

                “That’s it, you are done for.” Hikari shouted as she charged forward. He swung the tree around; Hikari jumped over it and landed on top of the tree. She ran and jumped over him coming down behind him slashing him exposing the tanks and the empty ones spilled out. He screamed and rushed forward as Joan brought out her rapier.

                “C'est pour mon amie.” stated Joan as she swung her rapier. She used it to block his punches. She got a blow in at his chest cutting some of the skin; but in retaliation he picked her up by the collar and threw her at Hikari. She caught her.

                “Girls, let’s round up and take him down.” Flora said. She looked at Dymphna and Reina because they were the other two that had their powers yet. They combined their crystals powers.

                “Trinity Attack – Thundering Avalanche.” the three stated. Then, the ground shook. Pillars of Earth came from the ground hitting Doctor Set into the air as he was airborne lightning would strike him. This happened for a couple of seconds; before he was piled with packed snow that was going around 50 miles per hour.

                “We did it.” Reina stated.

                “That should be the end of him.” Dymphna replied.

                “You think you won?” Doctor Set replied. “Me thinks not.” He stuck his struggling hand out of the ground as he injected the last tank full of pharaoh serum into himself. He plowed out of the snow and became 12 feet tall, excessively ripped, and his eyes had turned yellow with the red blood vessels shown in them. “Me… Feel… Power.” He roared. “You… girls… die.”

                “He can barely speak now.” Flora replied.

                “NOW… PREPARE… TO…” He shouted as he raised his fists into the air. “HEEHAW!!” He covered his mouth. “What… in… HEEHAW!!” He looked back and saw he sprouted a tail. “NO!! This… can’t… HEEHAW… Happen!!” He began to shrink and his body was covering up with fur. “NOOOOOOOO!!” He shrank down to normal size and the girls saw a full donkey run away. The girls looked at him with their mouths agape, then to each other and then back to him. They remained silent for a moment as a breeze blew by.

                “What the hell just happened?” Flora stated.

                “I guess he really was an ass.” Reina added.

                “Well, he did it to himself, Reina.”

 

 

                “OH FOR THE LOVE OF…” Hikari stated. “ARGH!!” She charged at mechanical suit lying on the ground and started to beat at it. “You such a disappointment.”

                “I’m just glad it’s over.” Joan said.

                “I think Hikari’s mad because it ended prematurely.” Dymphna added. Hikari put her crystal with Flora and Reina’s crystal.

                “Trinity Attack – Bolt in the Mud” all three of them stated. A bunch of water came down causing the ground to get super muddy. Then a solid lightning bolt landed in the mud going through the empty suit. Then, it exploded as well as the mud around it and the body. Mud and oil went flying hitting all of the girls.

                “I think that’s enough of that.” Dymphna replied.

                “I’m going to need a bath and nicer clothes after this.” Joan replied.

                “I guess it didn’t have to get this dirty.” Reina replied.

                “Well at least, we weren’t mud wrestlin’.” Flora added.

                “Can you stop joking around?” Christina said to them while carrying Maria. “Somebody’s knocked out and needs our aid.”

                “Oh Maria!!” Hikari stated. “We better get back to the bunker now!!” They hurried back to the bunker as swiftly as they can.

 

                Maria was resting in the medical bed that evening and she woke up. She sat up and was looking around. Cheyenne came into the medical room.

                “Wait, what happened?” Maria said. “Where am I?”

                “I’m so glad, you’re awake.” Cheyenne replied. “The others brought you back here when they beat Doctor Set.”

                “Wait,” Maria shook her head. “Who’s Doctor Set? And who are you?”

8: One Last Day

                Jonathan popped into the medical room. He looked in and saw Cheyenne with Maria, who is now awake.

                “Oh, I’m glad that Maria is awake.” he said. Cheyenne ran to him.

                “John, Maria doesn’t remember me.” Cheyenne replied.

                “Then, I shall talk to here.” he explained as he walked over.

                “Who are you?” Maria asked, although she didn’t know why she didn’t back away from Cheyenne or Jonathan.

                “Do you remember Maria?” He asked her. “We had first met in your workplace. You walked into a vortex and entered into a purple space. That is where we first met.”

 

                "Hello?" She asked. "Is anyone there?" Out of the space, there formed a tall slender humaniod wearing very formal attire fit for an important celebration. He formed from some of the smoke that was floating around.

                "I am here." He said as Maria turned to him. "I've been waiting for you, Maria."

                "Wait," she replied in shock. "Who are you and how do you know my name? And what is going on here?"

                "I see this is a shock to you." He explained. "Your questions will be answered in time.”

 

                “Do you remember?” he asked her.

                “Are you… John?” Maria asked.

                “That’s it.” He replied. Cheyenne smiled. “Do you remember your co-worker?” He stepped back and pointed his hands towards Cheyenne.

                “I think I remember seeing her somewhere before.” Maria put her hands on her head. “But what is her name?”

                “We were friends since we were kids.” Cheyenne added. Maria thought some more.

                “Are you… Cheyenne?” She asked Cheyenee.

                “Oh thank, goodness.” Cheyenne replied. “You remembered.”

                “Cheyenne,” John added. “You and I are the easiest ones to remember and retrieve the memories for, but it will be more difficult for her to remember the other girls. The other Virtue Girls must work together to bring back as much of her memory as you can and you must do it as soon as possible.”

                “What do you mean?”

                “Tomorrow is the cataclysm.” He explained. “I need all of you girls back in the bunker by 6 PM for that is when it starts. I will not be here tomorrow morning for the 32 hours.”

                “The 32 hours?”

                “Starting at 10 AM tomorrow, the 32 hours will begin. I will traverse the globe as a herald of apocalypse and announcing that when this conflict is over, justice and love will prevail. I will return at 6 PM when the cataclysm begins. This will be completed in eight hours”

                “What happens afterward?”

                “Do you really wish to know?”

                “Yes. Please tell me.” Cheyenne stated and Jonathan sighed.

                “Very well but listen up for I will only say this once.” He stated. “After my eight hours are done, Jezebel will strip away peace from the Earth. Blood will be spilled and will feed the ground as violence will be wherever she goes. Her rampage will last for eight hours. Next, Nero will make the world into a garden of selfishness: producing the fruits of hunger, misery, and corruption. The crops will last for eight hours. Then finally, Ch’arut’yuny will go through the land destroying everything in his path. Death will spread to all corners of the world and the harvest will last for eight hours.” Cheyenne was terrified.

                “And this is going to happen starting tomorrow?”

                “Yes, tomorrow morning is the last morning before it all ends.” He said. “Tell the other girls and everyone in here this as well.” She did tell them; she wasn’t able to sleep very well that night.

 

                Then, the morning came. Jonathan was with Cheyenne and Lisa outside of the bunker. It was approaching 10 AM.

                “Now, I am to take my leave soon.” John said to the two of them. “The Virtue Girls are going to be gone for a while. Until the both of us get back, I will trust you with watching the bunker.”

                “Don’t worry about this.” Lisa said.

                “We’ll be able to handle it.” Cheyenne answered.

                “I’m glad you are able to do so. Make sure there’s no trouble going on.”

                “We’ll try our best.” John nodded his head. He raised his hand into the air.

                “Vita Caelestis,” he stated. “Come forward.” Then, he began to change his appearance. He was than dressed in chain mail. There was a white robe that was on top of the chain mail and he wore a golden crown on his head with silver wings on it. Then a white horse appeared, with a white mane, and gold eyes. It had a golden saddle on its back. “I will be back in eight hours.” He mounted the horse and it reared up and he headed away.

                “Doesn’t he look like a horseman?” Lisa asked.

                “It’s probably your imagination.” Cheyenne replied. She headed back into the bunker.

 

                During the time that Jonathan rode the majestic white stallion across the planet, he cried out with a loud voice.

                “The time has come.” John stated. “Those who seek shelter from the storm that is to come, those who seek peace, those who don’t seek to be tried, those who are noble and just. Head to your nearest bunker at this time for this world will soon perish.”

                There were many people across the globe who had seen the white horse and its rider. Everyone knew where the bunker that was the closest to them was. There were many who ignored the sight and just went back to business; however, there were also many who heeded the words of John. They stopped whatever they were doing and headed to the bunker like John asked them to do.

                Meanwhile, the Virtue Girls were out and about helping Maria. Hikari took her out to the park where they first hung out. Joan took her back to the maid café she once worked at and the other Virtue Girls showed her some of the places and events that they experiences and she was getting her memory back piece by piece.

 

                Cheyenne and Lisa was walking around in the bunker. Then, they noticed some people at the lair’s entrance and some of the residents over by the entrance.

                “Lisa? What’s going over there?” she asked.

                “Well, let’s find out.” Lisa replied. The two headed over there. The people in question were blocking the entrance trying to keep someone out. He was an older gentleman in a black suit. He was somewhat tall in height and had a slender build. He had brown hair and green eyes. “What’s going on here?”

                “This man was approaching the door.” one of them said to her. “So, we were able to block the way into this place.”

                “There is a difference between approaching a place and going to a place.” Cheyenne said to him and walked forward facing him excuse me. “What is your name?”

                “My name is Don Remigio Scorpio.” the man said. “I was hoping if I could enter.” Then, the crowd got closer together.

                “Get out of her, scumbag.” one of the crowd members stated.

                “You don’t belong here.” another one added.

                “Go back to where you come from.” a third one replied. Lisa got out to hold back the crowd.

                “Why have you come here?” Cheyenne asked out of curiosity.

                “I heard the warning about that cataclysm.” He explained. “I started to wonder about either or not it is true. And if it was true, I wanted to make sure that my family was safe. I ended up seeing this bunker and…”

                “You deserve to be here.” one of them interrupted. “You’re a flipping mob boss.”

                “You should go to hell.” the second added. The crowd was ready to charge at them, but Lisa made a steel fence in between the crowd and herself.

                “Our apologizes for the interruptions.” Lisa said to Don Scorpio. The crowd kept yelling at him then Lisa put an iron cast over their mouths. Their faces turned red from anger. “Now, can you continue?”

                “I was wondering if you could shelter me and my family for the time being until the cataclysm is over?” he asked Cheyenne.

                “You know, you have a criminal empire that is three counties in size and it includes a lot of wealth and power.” Cheyenne said. “So, you are willing to give that up for the safety of your family?”

                “Please, I’m begging you. He’s willing to give up the position of mob boss if it means they would be safe.” Cheyenne looked at the crowd, thinking about what to do. Sweat poured down her face because she was feeling the immense pressure.

                “Remigio…” She said. “Please leave…” the crowd cheered. “to get your family and come back while you still have time. We’ll save you a place in here.”

                “You don’t know how appreciative this is.” Remigio said; he was almost about to shed a tear. He started to head off as Lisa removed the casts. The crowd booed and hissed at the two.

                “How can you let him in?” one of them said.

                “You’re one of his confidents, aren’t you.” the second replied.

                “We are not confidents of Don Scorpio.” Lisa stated.

                “Only someone who associates with criminals would allow him in.” a third said.

                “Neither of us associates with criminals.”

                “Then, you shouldn’t have let him in.”

                “Maybe you shouldn’t be so stingy about safety from the cataclysm.”

                “STINGY!?” a fourth one said. “We are in no way stingy; we are the good people. He is a bad person; he should stay outside.”

                “He is being repentant. You should show him mercy.”

                “He’s a heartless leader of criminals, he doesn’t deserve mercy.” Lisa and Cheyenne were genuinely shocked that they heard that.

                “And you do?” Lisa added. The crowd started to cry even louder and curse at them.

                “We are the good guys, we deserve mercy.” a fifth replied. “He will contaminate us and everyone in here.” Lisa remained calm while Cheyenne was getting very nervous. “And we will block him from getting in.”

                “The former Don Scorpio is coming in here whether you like it or not.” The crowded banged against the steel fence and it was starting to bend from their combined strength; they had their eyes set on beating the two up. “If you are that upset about it, you can always leave. I’ll even open the fence for you.”

                “FINE!! We’ll find our own shelter from the cataclysm.” the first said. “Come on, let’s get outta here.” The crowd began to leave; some of them spat on either one of them. Others gave them the bird. Cheyenne was going to strike at them but Lisa grabbed her shoulder.

                “Cheyenne, don’t it’s not worth it.” Lisa said.

                “But…” Cheyenne said.

                “No buts.” Cheyenne sighed.

                “Are they going to come back?”

                “It’s their choice to leave, Cheyenne. If they want to come back, they will. If not, then they won’t. However, they don’t have a lot of time to make up their mind.”

                “Did I make the correct choice in allowing Remigio in?”

                “Without a doubt, you have shown him mercy.” She looked up and saw Remigio with his family. He, also, brought Fauna with him. “Oh, welcome.” Lisa stated to them. “There’s room for you inside.” The two started helping the family get packed in as Cheyenne looked at her watch. She got spooked. “What is it, Cheyenne?”

                “There’s only one hour left before the cataclysm.” Cheyenne replied.

                “Inform the Virtue Girls right away.” Lisa stated. “They’re almost out of time.” Cheyenne got her cell phone out and dialed Maria on her number.

 

                Maria was with the Virtue Girls over in the city limits, when they got the call to come back. The others agreed to head back since Maria’s memory was restored. Everyone except Maria was heading back immediately. Hikari turned around.

                “Maria, aren’t you coming?” Hikari said.

                “Yeah, there’s just one thing. I have to do first.” Maria replied.

                “Be quick about it.” Hikari stated before she headed back. Maria knew that the cemetery was nearby and she walked into the place. She walked up and came upon a series of graves. She finally encountered the tombstone that marked her brother’s resting place.

                “Hey Natale.” she said as she sat down. “I’m sorry, you’ve haven’t heard much from me recently. I had fixed things up with the rest of the Virtue Girls and wanted to visit you one last time before the cataclysm.” She began to cry. “Why did we have to go through these circumstances? It now seems like what I’m going through is hopeless. Don’t you agree?” She stopped sobbing. “You were always the protective figure. Now, I must stand up on my own and lead the Virtue Girls now. I wanted to take some time to reflect on the childhood memories we had together. I want to thank you for those times. I apologize for never saying a formal good-bye.” She stood up and started to leave. “Don’t worry about me, Natale. I’ll be okay, take watch over the others, okay?” She began to walk away and then looked back. “Good-bye, brother. I’ll never forget you.”

                She hurried back to the bunker as swift as she could. She arrived at the entrance and as she entered Jonathan appeared before her on his white horse.

                “Welcome back, Maria.” he said. “You made it back in time. Hurry up.” She rushed inside the bunker. Then, Jonathan looked out to the surrounding woods.

                “LAST CALL FOR ANYONE WANTING TO ESCAPE IMPENDING DOOM!!” he stated and no one responded. “Very well, then. I see that all the people of good will are in bunkers and caves that will protect them from the incoming disasters. This bunker will be air-tight sealed or twenty-four hours but we’ll have more than enough oxygen to survive for a week.” He went in as well, pushing a button on the side and the door began to close and it began to sink into the ground. “It all ends in ten… nine…” The door was completely closed and the internal lights lit up. “eight… seven…” The entrance to the bunker was completely underground. “six…”

 

                Meanwhile in Jerusalem, it was approaching midnight. The sky was deceptively peaceful with not a cloud in the starry night sky and a full moon shined down on the Garden of Gethsemane.

                “Five… Four…” John continued to count down, and the full moon started to turn red like that of a blood stained skull. “Three… Two… One…”