The sphere hurtled toward the ground, picking up velocity as it went. Prunella let out a sigh of elation--the mission Frink had compelled her to perform was complete. It slowly came to her attention that she was standing on the top floor of a skyscraper, higher than she had ever been before, and the floor started to feel wobbly and unstable under her shoes.
"Well done, Prunella," she heard Frink's voice utter. "Now you can have your freedom back."
Two events occurred at the same moment hundreds of miles apart--the sphere crashing into an overhang and exploding into a thousand fragments, and Frink switching off the power to his transmitter. The kids surrounding the scientist cheered wildly, relieved that the danger to their friend and the people of New York had passed.
It didn't seem that way to Prunella, however. Must reach elevator quickly, she thought, her movements careful and deliberate as if to avoid tipping over the building. When she finally made it to the elevator doors, she found that they were opening, and that a mask of pure anger was glaring at her from behind them.
"You little fool," snarled Guida von Horstein.
Oh, geez, thought Prunella. One of the unicorns survived. I am so dead...
"Omigosh, it's Greta's mom," said Arthur, watching the rat girl's field of vision on a TV screen. "She'll kill Prunella for sure."
"Get her out of there, Dr. Frink!" exclaimed Francine.
"I can't," said the scientist with finality. "She's on her own."
Prunella, terrified, backed up against a full-length mirror as the furious unicorn woman approached. "You killed my husband," said Guida sharply. "You destroyed the hopes and dreams of the entire unicorn race. Your death wouldn't begin to make up for the damage you've done."
Seeing no escape for herself, Prunella answered with boldness. "You killed a lot of people too," she retorted.
"No more than was necessary," said Guida, hands on hips.
"Why's the sphere so important to you, anyway?" Prunella asked the woman. "Since you're about to kill me, you may as well tell me."
"Very well, I'll tell you," said Guida. "Our source of magic, the Unicorn Sun, is dying, and once it's dead, life underground will no longer be an option. The Unicorn Council, aware of the imminent arrival of alien ambassadors, decided to seek a new home among the stars. To this end we crafted the Sphere, channeling into it most of the Sun's remaining energy, and set out on our current course."
"Why don't you just live on the surface?" inquired Prunella.
"Impossible," was the woman's response. "The humans would slaughter us, enticed by the wish-granting power of our horns."
"But a unicorn horn grows back," said Prunella, "or so I've heard."
"Not always," Guida explained. "A unicorn can grow a new horn only twice. Remove the horn a third time, and the unicorn dies."
"Oh," said Prunella sheepishly. "Well, in that case, you really are screwed."
"Thanks to you," snapped Guida. Her hand darted forward, seized Prunella's throat, and lifted the girl inches from the floor.
Helpless, Prunella struggled for breath as her terrified friends averted their eyes from the screen. "I can't watch this!" wailed Muffy.
The rat girl's vision grew hazy as Guida's grasp on her carotid arteries tightened. Her limbs dangled, paralyzed by pain and fear. "Die now," said the unicorn woman fiercely.
"Put her down!" a tinny voice suddenly ordered.
Although Prunella's bleary eyes prevented her and her friends in Elwood City from obtaining a clear view, the image was unmistakable to Guida. A Thrag soldier, having emerged from the other elevator, was aiming the business end of its blaster directly at her head.
She moved rapidly, waving her free hand at the helmeted officer, forcing the laser pistol to wriggle and break free of its grip. Prunella, the blood flow to her brain slightly increased, decided to take advantage of Guida's distraction. Summoning all her might, she rammed her fist into the woman's oversized nostril, wrapping her fingers around the first tuft of nose hair she could locate. With a mighty yank, she prompted Guida to cry out in agony and lose her hold on the girl's neck.
Weakened but free, Prunella half-walked, half-crawled into the still-open elevator. Her mind whirled in confusion as she reached up and punched one button after another, wishing for the doors to close and cut her off from Guida and the Thrag who was scuffling with her. Before long they did, and the downward movement of the elevator was the last thing she sensed before losing consciousness.
to be continued