Screams echoed throughout all of Neo Olde Tokyo as many citizens ran for their lives, trying to escape the onslaught as legions of demons jumped through the swirling, insidious portals that sprang open left and right.

It was a nightmare as the demons ran about, tearing through every human they could see like cutting paper. Men, women, even children were given no quarter as the horrific abominations continued on their warpath. And flying on top of this disaster, looking down and cackling in sadistic amusement, was the Emerald Empress, the ruler of these monsters and the future destroyer of humanity!

The Empress smiled, amused at how these pathetic humans were trying to escape from their inevitable fate. With a wave of her hand, the land shook as more monsters erupted from the earth. The people trying to escape could only react in fear as these monsters converged on them. One girl, in particular, cried out, wailing as she walked limply.

"MAMA! P-PAPAAA...!" the girl shouted, her voice hoarse and her body exhausted as she limped around. The Empress saw this and smiled sadistically, relishing the poor girl's suffering.

Time to put her out of her misery, shall we? With a wave of her hand, she motioned a snake-like monster to her side, then pointed in the direction of the girl. Licking its lips, the monster lunged in the direction of the girl, it's jaw opened and widened as he was close to claiming his meal.

The girl could barely react as she saw the monster coming for her, her eyes widening at the sight.

SMACK!

In a quick flash, the snake monster was swatted away and the girl marveled at the sight of her savior. It was a young woman, likely in her late teens, who wore a black gothic dress with long sleeves and pink trimmings. Her hair was a long flowing pink and she wore a silver opera mask that shone like the bright moon. In her hand was a silver rapier adorned with black and pink gems that sparkled beautifully.

Despite the chaos surrounding her and the fact she nearly got killed, the little girl gawked at the sight of her savior, who turned to her and smiled warmly at her.

"It'll be alright," she said gently, "just stay behind me."

The girl did not hesitate, tugging at the woman's skirt as she hid behind her. The Emerald Empress scowled at the woman.

"Crystal Crusader Rose! I thought I'd left you to your fate in the ruins of my domain!" she shouted before letting out a cruel chuckle. "It doesn't matter now. Your forces are scattered, your beloved city is ruined, and soon this entire planet will fall to my WILL!"

"Don't think you've won yet, Emerald Empress," Rose said, raising her sword and entering a battle stance. "Because in the name of my planet and the name of my friends...I will punish you!"

. . .

July 1, 8:30 PM

Iris' Apartment

"Woohoo! Go get her, Rose!" Ini cheered, nearly dropping her bowl of popcorn in her excitement.

"Come on, Rose, show that meanie Empress who's boss!" Pearl shouted, her heart pumping as she stared intently at the screen.

Iris was assigned to work on an important trial and opted to not take Pearl with her, despite the girl's insistence. Iris told Pearl that this particular case might be too dangerous for her to partake in, hence why Ini was called to babysit her.

This babysitting had started quiet and awkward, with Pearl being glum over not being allowed to join her sister's case. Ini tried to cheer the girl up in any way she can. First by starting a conversation, which did not work as Pearl only responded to her words with yeses and nods; second by games, which Pearl refused to play; and finally by acting like a clown, which only resulted in her looking like an idiot towards the little girl.

Defeated, she decided to watch the latest episode of her favorite TV show Crystal Crusader Rose on her phone, and it was then she caught Pearl's interest. She remembered how the conversation between her and Pearl went.

. . .

"What's that?" Pearl asked, tilting her head as she stared at the fight scene going on.

"Crystal Crusader Rose;" Ini answered, surprised that Pearl asked her that question. "You never heard of the show?"

Pearl shook her head. "Mother never lets me watch television. She says it will poison my head."

Ini shrugged. "She's, like, not right about that. This show's a masterpiece! A young girl with, like, a mysterious past teaming up with her long lost love to fight the forces of darkness! It's so totally awesome!"

"Long lost love?" Pearl asked, perking up at that. Looking at Ini's phone screen, she noticed an attractive man in a white suit and gold opera mask appearing from thin air and saving Rose. Rose and the man looked at each other affectionately, emanating an aura of love that Pearl can clearly see. "There's a romance!?"

Noticing Pearl's interest in Rose and Shining Mask (the white-suited masked man), Ini grinned.

"Pearly, you've got a lot to episodes to catch up on..." Ini said as she tapped at her phone screen, making it play the first episode of the series. Soon enough, Pearl and Ini found themselves watching the entire series the whole day...

. . .

And now they were in the latest episode.

"C'mon, Rose!" Ini shouted, stuffing her mouth with popcorn.

"Go, Rose! Go, Shining Mask!" Pearl shouted as well in her excitement as the fight scene began.

. . .

Weapons clashed against one another as Rose ferociously delivered ferocious strikes with her sword at the Empress, who parried each of them with her staff.

When Rose raised her sword high for another strike, the Empress grinned at the open opportunity, winding her fist back to prepare a fatal blast.

"Rose!" Shining Mask shouted, noticing the oncoming attack, and taking action. Without thinking, he rushed to Rose's side and tackled her out of the way as the Empress fired her blast.

The Empress snarled. "You two always have each other's back, don't you? It won't matter. Once I'm done with both of you, you will both kneel before my feet! You will tremble in despair as I devour your souls! For I am-!"

. . .

"-back! I'm back!" Iris called out from the front door, getting Pearl and Ini's attention. "Sorry, I couldn't get here sooner, the trial extended for a bit and I had to sort out some issues with-what are you two doing?"

"Big Sis!" Pearl grinned, pausing the show to hug Iris tightly. "I missed you so much! How was your case?"

"It seemed hopeless, but I managed to extend the trial to another day. It was a pretty close call too..." Iris sighed.

"What was it about?" Pearl asked. Iris flinched, unsure if she should tell her or not. There was a reason Iris had Pearl not join in on this case. The things discussed and shown in the trial would scar anyone for life!

"It's...complicated, to say the least," Iris said. "It involved a man who's being framed by this family...a family full of bad people that have been terrorizing this city for so long."

"Oh, you mean the Cadaverinis!" Ini said loudly and obliviously, earning her a quick glare from Iris.

"Cadaverinis?" Pearl repeated that name innocently, tilting her head. "Who are they?"

Iris opened her mouth, but Ini spoke first.

"They're, like, a really bad crime gang that's been pulling all sort of crimes all over America," she said. "Not only did they, like, kill a bunch of people, they also sell drugs-"

"Ini."

"-sell-off women's bodies-"

"Ini...!"

"-they even kidnap kids your age and sell them off to-"

"INI!" Iris roared out, her voice dropping into a low demonic growl as she glared at Ini with a pair of soulless white eyes.

Ini trembled and whimpered, zipping her lips shut.

"To what?" Pearl asked, morbidly curious. "Sell them to what?"

"N-nothing that bad!" Iris tried to assure her little sister, Pearl just showed an unsure worried. Iris had to think of something to distract her from this and fast!

"S-so...what have you to been doing while I was gone?"

Pearl's eyes gleamed in excitement, motioning Iris to look at Ini's phone screen. "We're watching this show Auntie Ini told me about! Crystal Crusader Rose!" she cheered, turning the show back on to continue watching.

"Crystal Crusader Rose?" Iris said, raising a brow. "Isn't that the silly kids show you told me about, Ini?"

"Silly kids show!?" Ini huffed, crossing her arms. "Crystal Crusader Rose is, like, the most popular TV show for young people!"

"Really? How young?"

"Umm..." Ini paused, twiddling her thumbs. "Like, about 8 to 10 years old?"

"Then what are you being so defensive about?" Iris said deadpanned.

"Hey!" Ini said. "I'm only, like, 23 years old! You can't tell me what I, like, can or can't watch, Grandma!"

"Ini, we're almost the same age!"

"Hmph!" Ini pouted, turning away from Iris indignantly. "At least Pearl gets it."

"Pearl is part of this show's target demographic," Iris pointed out. "Also, she's probably watching this only for the romantic subplot."

"Yes!" Pearl shouted starry-eyed as she witnessed Rose and Shining Mask unleashing a powerful wave of energy that decimated the Emerald Empress and her army, leaving them nothing but dust. "Two lovers using their strong love for one another to defeat the ultimate evil! It's just like a fairytale!"

Iris turned to Ini with a smug grin.

"Well, she likes it..." Ini mumbled with a pout. Iris just patted her on the shoulder as they watched the show alongside Pearl.

. . .

The battle was over. The war against the forces of evil had won. The battlefield was filled to the brim with ruined buildings, the bodies of victims who couldn't escape the Empress' machinations, and many more gruesome sights.

Rose and Shining Mask also looked worse for wear, their clothes dirtied and torn for the battle, as well as the many scars and bruises on their bodies. They breathed heavily, physically exhausted from the whole ordeal, and felt they could collapse any moment.

However, despite this, they managed to gather enough energy to limp toward each other. Once they were close, they embraced each other in a warm, tight, affectionate hug.

Rose teared up, feeling a great deal of relief now that her troubles were over. Looking at Shining Mask, she blushed as her hand slowly reached up to his face and took off her mask, revealing the face of the young handsome man she had grown to love throughout her life.

Slowly, they began to press their lips against one another passionately...only for Shining Mask to be snatched away from Rose.

Rose gasped as she saw shadow-like figures hoisted Shining Mask up in the air with many more of them swirling and swarming around him. In a mere few seconds, the figures merged and morphed into a titan-sized Emerald Empress, whose new form resembled that of a demon. With Shining Mask in her grasp, the Emerald Empress cackled sinisterly as she opened a portal and made her escape.

Drawing her sword, Rose tried to rescue her beloved but was too exhausted. The moment she took a step was all it took to make her collapse to the ground. She could only look on, wailing in rage as she watched the Empress take her dear Shining Mask away from her.

. . .

As the end credits began to play, Pearl was left with her jaw dropped to the floor, her eyes widened at what had transpired.

"W-what was that!?" Pearl shrieked in outrage. "T-that wasn't how it was supposed to end! Rose and Shining Mask should've been together now!" her head quickly turned to Ini. "Can we watch the next episode?!"

"Sorry, Pearly, that episode isn't, like, out yet," Ini said. "But it will be showing on July 5 at the K-TV Channel at 7:00 PM."

"Then I need to wake up at that exact time!" Pearl said, a determined look on her face. "I need to know if Rose and Shining Mask will be together!"

Ini laughed. "Spoken like a true fan, Pearly!"

Iris sighed, pressing her palm against her face. "I guess if it makes you happy," she said before chuckling nervously. As much as I don't get why anyone would like this...

After that day, Iris saw that her dear little sister Pearl became an avid fan of the Crystal Crusader Rose series. For most of the week, Pearl had been drawing crayon art of Rose, asking Iris to buy her any Rose merchandise she saw and had been excitedly waiting for Friday to finally watch the new episode.

Iris' heartfelt warmth in seeing just how enthusiastic her little sister was being, especially considering what happened at Fey Manor. After all the hardship and stress that Park went through due to Morgan Fey and Dahlia Hawthorne's, it was nice to see her find happiness and escapism in the form of this TV show. It gave Iris a sense of determination and hope that she can keep up this happy state for Pearl, and by god, did she really need determination and happiness, especially when it involved her current case.

. . .

July 5, 6:45 PM

Armando and Co. Law Offices

Iris banged the door loudly as moaned in exhaustion, her legs like noodles as she struggled to make it to her desk. Once she did, she collapsed onto her office chair, which twirled around as she let out a tired sigh of relief. "It's over. Thank god that brutal case is over...!"

Unlike her older sister, however, Pearl was energetic and excited. Today was the day. The final episode of Crystal Crusader Rose was going to air, and she had come prepared. Walking to the office couch, she sat down and placed all of the essentials on the table. Popcorn, grape juice, and the Crystal Crusader Rose doll Iris had bought her yesterday. Pearl couldn't suppress the big grin on her face, her body tingling with anticipation. All she need now was-she looked around the couch? Where was it?

"Big Sis?" Pearl called out. "Do you know where the remote is?"

Without looking at Pearl (or at anything but the ceiling for that matter), Iris grabbed the remote from her desk and tossed it to Pearl, who caught it with ease. Pearl then turned to the clock and her grin grew wider. Ten minutes, only ten minutes left!

The only thing that would've made this day even better was if her dear sister Iris would watch the show with her, but Pearl understood that she was tired. With everything that happened in that case, she deserved more than a day of rest. It also meant more popcorn for Pearl, so who was she to complain?

Meanwhile, for Iris, she yawned, and as her eyes struggled to stay open. Playing around with her phone, she carelessly scanned through its content until she noticed an interesting article.

A Man Framed!

On June 30, a young salaryman named Arnold Weyers had been arrested due to reports that he was not only involved in major criminal activities but was also guilty of other heinous acts such as rape and manslaughter. With crimes this heinous, it came as a shock that Weyers was actually innocent.

Iris put her phone down and massaged the temples of her forehead. She didn't need to hear what she had partaken in. Weyers was a young man who had a future that was nearly taken from him when he was accused of those crimes. In truth, the real culprit was a mobster who was part of the Cadaverini Crime Family, who aimed to pin his crimes on Weyers so that he could get away; and he nearly succeeded in his goal too, if it wasn't for Iris.

When she met Weyers and investigated his case, she saw that many of his many people, even his own wife, and children, were convinced that he was some monster without even trying to go into his side of the story. Part of Iris also felt convinced that Arnold was guilty, but she was glad that her more sensible side won out and she ended up helping him.

Every detail of Arnold's case was beyond brutal, to the point she had to leave Pearl out of it for her innocence's sake. The only reason why she brought her along on the final day was due to Ini and Maya not being available, and it was lucky that Pearl was spared from hearing the twisted details of this trial.

Part of her still worried for Weyers as not many people were convinced of his innocence, and there was still the mental fallout that would come with it, but Iris decided to brush that all aside for now. She won the trial, she proved a man's innocence. All of it warranted her a good night's rest.

Her eyes began to flutter as her vision began to dim. Slowly, her eyelids lowered and her world became black as she fell into a deep and comforting slumber...

...

...

"WHAT!?" Iris' eyes opened as she heard her little sister's shriek. Standing up from her chair, Iris quickly went to Pearl to ask her what's wrong, but soon got her answer when she glanced at the TV and got a good look at what was being shown onscreen.

It was a news report with the image of the Crystal Crusader Rose on the side with the words HERO OR MURDERER? shown below as the tagline.

"For the morning news, the actress Violet Shade was arrested yesterday," the news reporter said. "Shade plays the lead role in the popular kid's show Crystal Crusader Rose. She was arrested under the suspicion of murder. The victim was Will Powers, a former actor who played the Steel Samurai and the director of Crystal Crusader Ross. Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen him fall to his death from the fifth floor of the abandoned Winter Cloud Building, where the final episode of the show was filmed. The Crystal Sword was also found sticking from his chest. The police believe that it may be the murder weapon, but it is still under investigation."

"This...this has got to be a joke," Iris mumbled, still staring at the television screen.

"This is terrible!" Pearl said. "C-Crystal Crusader Rose is going to be canceled! And I'm never going to see what happens to Rose and Shining Mask!"

Pearl started tearing up, to which Iris responded by immediately trying to comfort her. Suddenly, Iris heard the ringtone of her phone from her desk. After retrieving it, she saw that there was an unknown number calling her.

"Good evening?" Iris said, answering the phone.

"Hello...hee...hee...hee..." a voice laughed creepily, sending a chill down Iris' spine. "Are you Iris Hawthorne?"

"Y-yes," Iris said warily.

"Don Powers told me about you and your mentor, Don Armando," the voice said. "He said that if I ever got in trouble, I'd call this number...hee...hee...hee..."

"If I may ask, who are you?"

"My name is Violet Shade. And I need you to defend me in court...hee...hee...hee..."