A Rose Made of Shadows

Prologue

The intense light faded away. The electricity also started to died down but still crackled a little bit in and around the glass chamber. Inside the chamber was a thick purple fog with more electricity buzzing around it, and it wasn't possible to look at what was inside...

Everyone stared at the chamber in terror at what had just happened. While Xeous got off of the control panel platform, everyone else was paralyzed in fear, not knowing what would come out of that chamber.

"If everything worked as planned...", Xeous said. "If all went according to the lab tests..."

"Wha... what did you do?!", Fireblaze shouted at the boss. "What did you do to our friend?!"

Xeous looked over at her and the rest of the group and chuckled. "Oh, you'll see soon enough. You all shall bear witness to my greatest creation yet. The one that will turn this pathetic little world into a new one, one more benefitting the likes of myself. In short, the slate will be wiped clean."

"You monster!", Raizel exclaimed, sword in hand. "You had no right to do any of this to her! You're going to deeply regret ever even thinking of this in the first place!!"

"Oh, quiet," Xeous responded. "Do what you wish to me now. It won't matter anymore. My plan has already run its course and there's nothing you can do to turn it around. Face it, you've lost."

Suddenly, the chamber door slid open, purple fog spilling out from it.

"Finally! At long last, this world will belong to me," Xeous said, turning to look at the chamber. "This world will finally be corrected of its errors, and a state of utmost perfection will be achieved under my name."

And as the fog cleared, a silhouette, glowing a faint purple, appeared from it. It stood in the chamber for a moment, with faint electric sparks still going around it. Then, it stepped out of the chamber. Everyone looked on in fear as the silhouette made its way down the steps.

When it reached the bottom step, the figure opened its eyes, glowing an icy-cold blue. A blue lightning bolt scar was now present under its right eye, something that wasn't there prior to being put inside the chamber.

And as everyone gazed at this shadowy figure with terrorized faces, the figure they knew the original identity of, Scraggy asked in a low voice...

"... Rosa?"

(Whoa, let's stop right there. Sounds like things are getting a bit tense. But to understand exactly what the heck is going on here, we need to go back a little, back to a few days ago...)