"Boy, this thing's not very sharp."
Buttercup pulled the sword away from herself and ran her hand along the blade. "Yep. Duller than Big Billy."
Blossom saw Jack lying face down where he had passed out from fright and grabbed it away from her. "Buttercup, are you stupid?"
"Yeah, that was mean!" Bubbles yelled at her sister. "Scaring him like that!"
She and Blossom both flew down to help revive him, but he was already on his knees, staring at them with a look of amazement. He had not passed out, he was overcome by what he had seen and was actually bowing before them.
"It is true. The prophecy is true. You cannot be harmed!"
"Duh!" Buttercup snorted. "We've got superpowers. No dumb sword can hurt us, not even a magic one!"
Her sisters got him to his feet but the look on his face didn't go away. Blossom gave him his sword back but he didn't take his eyes off of Buttercup as he replaced it.
"The legend of the sword is that it cannot harm the truly good and just. Even a samurai has flaws and is susceptible to falling under Aku's evil. Many samurai believe they live honorably by following our ways to the letter, but they serve evil shogunate who care only about getting and keeping wealth and power. Even I can be killed by my own sword, but what you have just done is not possible…unless the prophecy is true."
To illustrate his point, he walked over to a piece of steel re-bar sticking out of a shattered concrete support pillar. His face contorted as he swung, and the blade sliced cleanly through the steel, leaving a fresh, gleaming surface.
"Whoa!" Buttercup said under her breath.
"There is nothing wrong with the blade. I sharpen it often. Yet, you are not made of metal."
"No, we're made out of sugar, spice and-"
"Quiet, Bubbles!" Blossom shushed her sister. "What's this prophecy you keep talking about?"
"Maybe it was not wise to mention it. Letting them know they are goddesses at such a young age may be harmful to them in the long run."
"Perhaps I will tell you later. We must see about fulfilling the task of returning to the past. And that brings me to what I was going to ask you before. Those unfortunate creatures I met mistook me for someone they knew as 'professor'.
"Yeah, you do look a lot like him." Blossom confirmed.
"He created you, true?"
"Yep!" they all answered proudly.
"Ah! Your reaction tells me that he was a good man."
"Was? He still is!" Buttercup said.
"'Cept for when he won't let me watch wrestling."
"So he is still living in your time? That is good."
"Sadly, my father is not."
"He's still living now!" Bubbles shouted happily. "Oops! Maybe I shouldn't have told…"
"No, Bubbles, you shouldn't have." Blossom agreed with a deep scowl.
Jack quickly tried to calm her concerns. "I assure you, we have a common goal. I have learned that at one time, he was in possession of a time-traveling device. Do you know if he still has it?"
"Huddle!"
The girls pulled away and grouped together again as he eyed them curiously.
"Thanks a lot, Bubbles!" Buttercup groused.
"I'm sorry!" she whined.
"Well, nothing we can do about it now." Blossom sighed. "The question is, do we trust him?"
Bubbles looked back over her shoulder. She saw that the grackles had decided that this place was as good as any to set up camp, and they had busily set about constructing nests with bits of cloth, grass, mud and sticks. She saw several taking off and others returning with things in their beaks.
"I do, girls. Look at those birds. They can tell when evil's around and they're staying."
"Good point, Bubbles." Blossom said. "I say we take a chance."
Buttercup agreed. "Yeah, me too. Tricking us with a samurai ain't HIM's style. But if it is a trick, that sword isn't gonna help him."
"Yeah. Let's roll."
They broke formation. "Yes, sir, he still has it." Blossom said. "But it's broken. We came here to look for parts to fix it with."
They saw a real smile for the first time. "I think I may be able to help with that. Come with me!"
They stood underground, Blossom pawing through the large box of components after floating up to get it off the shelf. Her sisters had lifted Jack and gently lowered him down the shaft. He had met some fantastic beings during his journey and was more comfortable with their amazing abilities than someone else might have been.
"Whoa!" Blossom crowed. "This is great!"
"I hope there's a facial reducer in there." Bubbles said, trying to see for herself.
"Hmm." the samurai thought. "Something that would reduce the size of their heads. That might be useful. Though they do have a certain charm about them the way they are."
"It's 'spatial transducer', Bubbles." Blossom shook her head. "There's a whole bunch of 'em, plus a lot of other stuff, too. This is more than we could've hoped for!"
She looked up at Jack. "How did you find this?"
He told them how he had ducked for cover when they had first flown over, and how he had gotten his scrapes.
"Do you think this will help?"
"Yeah! You're as good as home right now!" Buttercup replied excitedly. "Looks like good old Mojoke saved the day again!"
Bubbles giggled. "He'll be real mad when we tell him!"
"You will be surprised to find out differently. But that can wait."
Blossom stood up. "Let's go." She looked up at the samurai again. "The professor's gonna be real surprised to see you!"
They heard a sudden squeaking noise.
"Look!" Bubbles cried out, pointing under the bottom shelf. "A cute little mousie! Here, mousie, mousie!" she cooed at it, getting on her knees and reaching out.
"Bubbles, leave it alone." Blossom told her.
"Aw. It looks scared."
"You and your stupid animals, Bubbles." Buttercup scolded. "Sheesh!"
But Jack looked at her and said, "Caring for the weak gives one great strength. There is as much power in one kind gesture as there is in ten born of anger."
Buttercup hung her head and said, "Yes, sir."
Without warning, a loud flutter of wings startled them as one of the grackles flew from the elevator shaft, straight at the mouse. It squealed and ran across the floor, panicked, when it should have just ducked further beneath the shelf. Bubbles waved her hands frantically at the bird. Blossom almost dropped the box of sensitive parts and Buttercup stood frozen. Jack helped Bubbles to try to shoo the bird away. They did, and it shot back up the shaft without its prey.
Bubbles was shaken up by the ordeal, practically in tears. "That mean ol' bird!" Then she spotted the mouse, laying on its side. "Oh no!"
Jack bent down. "It appears to be unharmed. It is just very frightened."
Bubbles ran over to pick it up and it let her. She could feel its tiny heart pumping madly as she cradled it in her hands.
"Put it down, Bubbles." Blossom told her.
"I can't! The birds'll come back after we leave!"
"She is right." Jack agreed.
"Oh, okay! But we have to let it go when we get back home."
Buttercup hoisted Jack onto her back and floated up the shaft. Blossom carried her treasure gingerly and Bubbles followed her up, clutching the terrified little animal. Within minutes, they were halfway to their ruined house, Buttercup pointing out points of interest to Jack as she carried him.
From Bubbles' hands, a tiny set of eyes peered out.
"Hahahahahahaha!! The fools lead me directly to the scene of their own demise! For when I have witnessed the destruction of the time machine with my own eyes, their fates will finally be sealed! There will be no escaping the wrath of Aku!"
