Disclaimer: Most of the characters herein belong to their respective owners, though I'm not going to go over every one. The OC's, Jenny, Hallie, Jade, etc., belong to me. However, Ruth, Robyn, and Rachel belong to a former writing partner of mine whom I haven't heard from in years.

Mars

The Rebels are still on their way to Earth, but along the way, they have to pass Mars. There's a lot of activity going on there, so I'm sure the Rebels will be sidetracked to investigate. After all, who wouldn't investigate the possibility of life on the red planet?

These are the words of Canis Lupus.

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Fulgore sat on the bridge monitoring the ship's course for Earth. The ship was currently running on autopilot, but Fulgore still liked to keep an eye on things. It was more like his duty.

Fulgore looked up at the video monitor, which showed what was just ahead. Displayed on the screen was a red planet.

"Whoa..." Fulgore told himself. "A red planet...that has to be Mars!"

A moment of silence passed as the cyborg continued to stare at the red planet.

"Zuna Lord..." Fulgore went on. "The others will be excited about this. Hey, Jenny!"

He opened his communication channel as he contacted the Rebel leader.

"What is it, Fulgore?" Jenny responded.

"You've gotta come to the bridge. I have something exciting to show you."

"I'm on my way." Jenny closed the channel.

As Fulgore waited for her to arrive, the door behind him slid open, and Yamcha stepped onto the bridge.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

Fulgore looked back at him. "Not quite the person I was looking for, but...take a look at this."

Yamcha sat on the plush leather chair next to the cyborg and looked at the screen. "What is it?"

"See that red planet? That's Mars."

"Cool. So what's so exciting about it?"

"It means that Earth isn't too far off. Earth is the third planet in our solar system, while Mars is the fourth."

"Ah, I see. So you're excited about being closer to Earth."

"Yeah, that, too."

At that moment, the door slid open again, and Jenny entered the bridge.

"Now there's the person I'm looking for," Fulgore remarked.

Jenny smiled at the remark as she joined him. "So what's up?"

"Check this out." Fulgore pointed at the planet on the video screen.

Jenny's eyes widened. "Is that Mars?"

"It sure is. That means that we should be reaching Earth soon."

"Great. Let me know when we get there." Jenny turned and began to leave the room.

Fulgore pressed some buttons, applying a heat vision to the screen, causing the onscreen planet to turn blue. He then zoomed in on the planet until he saw tiny green dots moving across the surface like bugs.

"Wait a minute!" he called out. "There are life signs down there!"

Jenny stopped. "What? That's impossible!"

"Are you serious!?" Yamcha asked.

"Yeah. The Earth is the only planet in our solar system that supports life," Jenny told him.

"Should we take a look?

"Probably...if there's a general down there, we can't pass him up, can we?"

"But how do we know that it's safe for us?"

"Let me take a look," Fulgore said.

He examined the planet on the video screen again, this time using his own cybernetic vision. A blue grid seemed to form around the planet.

"Ah, I see. It's protected by a dome."

"A dome?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, like the ones that protected the space colonies Terra Venture and Arturus."

"Oh, I see," Jenny nodded. "That makes sense."

"Well, should we call the others?" Yamcha asked.

"Not yet. I'm just going to take a look right now."

"Well, I'm going with you."

"Okay. How about you, Fulgore?"

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on things," Fulgore said.

"Okay, let's go." Pressing on the rings, Jenny and Yamcha left the bridge in a teleport beam.

They reappeared on the surface of the red planet. They stared in awe at the red rocky field meeting the bright blue sky. Surprisingly, the sun felt warm, even from this distance, and they could feel the soothing breeze blowing through them. Up ahead, Jenny could see what looked like brown skyscrapers in the distance.

"I guess our touchdown point was a bit off," Jenny remarked.

"Look, there's a signpost ahead," Yamcha said.

The pair ran up to the wooden signpost that was set up ahead.

PLANET: Mars
GENERAL: Dracon, Descendent of Dracula.

"Descendent of Dracula?" Yamcha asked. "Does this mean we're going up against vampires now?"

"It sure does," a voice said from behind.

Jenny and Yamcha spun around, startled, as a wolf wizard appeared behind them.

"Don't ever do that!" Jenny cried.

Canis suppressed a laugh. "Sorry. Anyway, yes, Mars is now home to Dracon and his undead army."

"So...is there anything in particular we need to know about them?"

"Not much. You know enough about vampires; weakness to garlic, water, etc. kill them by driving a wooden stake through their hearts. Well, that was in the past."

"How are we going to find wood on this planet?" Yamcha asked.

"You won't. That's one reason why this planet was the ideal home for them."

"I see..." Jenny and Yamcha nodded.

"But you may have some silver lying around," Canis continued. "Silver is just as fatal to these vampires. So just drive a silver stake through their hearts. Or chop their heads off; that'll work, too."

Jenny looked at him sideways. "Uh...no thanks."

Canis shrugged. "Well, it's your call."

"Hey Canis..." Yamcha said. "This Dracon guy...he really is a descendent of Dracula?"

"That's right."

"So that means that Dracula...really existed?"

"That's right. I see you've heard of him."

"Heard of him? Who hasn't heard of Dracula? He's a legend!" Yamcha exclaimed. "At least, I thought he was. No...I don't believe it. I can't believe it. There's no way. No way in hell."

"This isn't hell," Jenny remarked. "This is where you're sent to when you've been bad in hell."

Yamcha looked at her. "You had to go and say that, didn't you?"

Jenny only returned the look.

Canis smiled. "And I never knew that you guys were sooo bad."

Jenny and Yamcha now gave him a similar look.

"Well, I'll let you guys choose the next course of action," Canis said. "I'll check on you later. Ciao."

As the wolf wizard vanished in a puff of smoke, Jenny and Yamcha exchanged glances with a shrug.

"I don't see how he can be so casual about this whole thing," Yamcha said.

"Who knows," Jenny replied. "Let's head back for now. We'd better check this guy out before we challenge him."

"Right."

The pair pressed on their rings, teleporting away.