Last time Stella and several of our heroes headed back to Eraklyon to seize Diaspro, and hopefully, find out what happened to Bloom and Sky. The two abducted ones were taken to a mysterious compound, with an energy field that negated Bloom's powers, where Diaspro separated Bloom from Sky. Sky was then given twelve hours to locate Bloom. Should he fail, Bloom would die. Apparently this is all so Diaspro could enjoy Sky's suffering. Back on Eraklyon, Stella and her strike team captured Diaspro, not realizing that what they captured wasn't the real Diaspro. On with the show!

Chapter 7: Interrogations

Back at Alfea Musa received a text message from Stella, saying that she and her group had captured Diaspro, and were on their way back from Eraklyon. It didn't take long for Musa to spread the good news.

"Excellent," said Jill, "I want to look this Diaspro in the eye and ask her 'what gives you the right to interfere with true love?'"

"I always figured she wasn't right in the head," said Riven, "But this is beyond anything I thought Diaspro could do."

"You'd be surprised how low some people can sink," said Andrew, "Especially those with twisted souls. From what I heard, this Diaspro isn't exactly what can be called a 'nice person.'"

"Well 'nice person' or not," said Fay as she polished the blade of one of her knives, "When she gets here, she'd better tell us what she did with Bloom and Sky, or else."

"Or else what?" asked Musa.

"Or else Diaspro is going to find out how nasty we Ramblers can be," answered Fay.

"You mean torture her?!" asked a shocked Flora, "You can't do that! I mean, I know we're all upset at what happened, but that's no reason to inflict pain, just to get some answers. That's just, well, evil."

"Flora," said Laura, "Sometimes, when one has a job to do, one must do things one would later regret, in order to get the job done. If it comes to torture, if the end result is the safe return of Bloom and Sky, then so be it."

"You might not want to resort to torture so quickly," said Elise as she typed on her laptop, "There are alternatives to inflicting pain."

"This coming from a witch," said Julie in a disapproving tine.

"Not all witches revel in the proliferation of pain and misery," said Elise in a cold, serious tone, "I for one prefer to use my powers, along with my knowledge of science to help those in need. I admit that there are days when I'm in such a bad mood that I just want to destroy everything around me, that I want to shout 'F#ck everyone in the universe till they die!!' But I've had fewer and fewer of such days since I've made the acquaintanceship of Bloom, which is why I'm more than willing to help find her and Sky."

"Well then," said Fay, "In that case, we'll keep torture as a last resort. But what do you propose we do to get Diaspro to talk? I'm open to suggestions."

"That's what I hope to accomplish," said Elise, as she continued typing, "I am currently researching into the life of Diaspro, her past and present activities. Hopefully I'll discover something about her that can be used as leverage should she prove uncooperative."

On the other side of the room Virgil and Carmen were in a more lighthearted conversation. "So you're also from Sparkx?" asked Virgil, "I was under the impression that Bloom was the last one."

"We all believed that Bloom was the last of her people," said Carmen, "That is, until a few months ago when we learned that there were a handful of survivors, myself included. 100 children and at least a dozen adults managed to escape the planet before Sparkx was locked into a cursed ice age. I was barely a year old at the time, so I have no memories of my birth planet, or of my family. But it doesn't bother me that much, I've always been a bit of a loner, until I met Morgan and Elise that is, but that's a whole other story."

"If there were over a hundred survivors," said Violet, who was listening on the conversation, "Why haven't they been found yet?"

"Well, for starters," said Carmen, "it's a big galaxy. The survivors were scattered throughout the stars for their safety. But before the scattering, a spell was placed on us so that we could eventually find each other. Right now only two of the 100 children have been found; myself and Jake Avatar, also known as The Phantom Renegade."

"Sounds like a cheep super hero," said Virgil.

"You wouldn't say that if Jake was here," said Carmen, "He was six when he saw Sparkx cursed. He swore to avenge his people and home world. Eventually he assumed the identity of a vigilantly, gaining fantastic physical powers in the process. Jake helped us defeat The Shadow Riders, then took off to search for other survivors of Sparkx. We hear from him every few days, but so far he's found no other survivors yet."

Just then Elise's computer beep as it' finished it's search. "Well, that's interesting," said Elise, "Very interesting indeed."

"What?" asked Tecna eagerly, "What did you find on Diaspro?"

"As I said," said Elise, "Interesting. I'll display it." A large 3-D holographic image of her findings appeared above her computer so that everyone could see the data gathered.

"Diaspro can trace her family lineage back to the original human settlers to live on Eraklyon," said Elise as she pointed out a large family tree image, "Over the centuries since the founding of the kingdom, Diaspro's family has become one of the most powerful royals on the planet, second only to Sky's family.

"Originally she had four older siblings; two boys and two girls of different ages. When Diaspro was six, she witnessed the murders of her siblings. Someone planted a bomb in the family's private space yacht. Diaspro and her parents survived with minor wounds, but the girl's siblings were killed."

Elise then pointed out a news photo of a six year old Diaspro, starring at the wreckage of a bombed spaceship.

"Damn," said Riven, "That must have really messed her up."

"Indeed," said Elise, "After the funerals, Diaspro spent the next four years in intense psycho-therapy. Her medical records said that before the deaths of her brothers and sisters, she already showed signs of being a sociopath, border lining on psychosis. The deaths of her siblings sent Diaspro over the edge. She would have alternating bouts of rage and depression."

"How did you get this information?" asked Tyler.

"There is no information that cannot be discovered," said Elise, "Once you know where to look."

"Once a hacker, always a hacker," said Timmy.

"Speak for yourself," said Elise, "I remember hearing that you broke the encryption of several classified mainframes, but that's not important right now. Moving on, Diaspro went through several seasons of shock therapy and other, painful treatments before finally, at age, 11, she was placed on anti-psychotic medication, and has been living a normal, if more than somewhat selfish life ever since."

"What are the odds that she's no longer popping her pills?" asked Musa.

"I'm more worried about how long she's been off her medication," said Tenchi.

"Probably since Sky dumped her," said Morgan.

"This is all fascinating," said Fay, "But it really doesn't tell us anything useful. It just confirms that she's f#ck$ng crazy."

"What about Diaspro's personal life?" asked Tecna, "Surely she has more than one skeleton in her closet."

"That might be a problem," said Elise, "There's very little on her personal life. Apart from being a selfish brat, Diaspro has kept mostly to herself outside of Royal social events. There's nothing on her hobbies, what fashion trends she follows, who she dated before her short-lived engagement to Sky, nothing."

'There's always something," said Andrew, "if she's royalty, then she's spent money, it's a fact of life."

"True," said Flora, thinking on how much money Stella as spent on clothing and accessories, not to mention what she spent on her hair.

"Try looking into her financial records," said Carmen, "And look at her travel records as well. Maybe she's gone somewhere she doesn't want the universe at large to know about."

"It'll take a while to hack into Diaspro's financial reports," said Elise, "Those accounts have tighter security than the grip of a Arcadium Swamp Squid. As for where she's gone, nothing embarrassing. But there was one place she's gone that, while not incriminating, it is weird. Since she started her medication and calmed down enough to be in public and not get in trouble, Diaspro has made several trips to Bandelon, the primary planet of the Tleiaxu."

"That is weird," said Timmy, "The Tleiaxu rarely allow outsiders onto their primary world. What makes her so special to them?"

"Most likely a common interest," said Elise, "Diaspro's library records show that she's read a lot of books and researched a lot on the subjects of DNA and genetic manipulation. The Tleiaxu are said to be the best when it comes to genetic engineering."

"Now why would she be interested in that?" asked Flora.

"Who knows," said Carmen, "But one thing's for certain; we're gonna find out where Diaspro took Bloom and Sky, one way or another."

Just then Musa received another text message from Stella, "They're back."

Displaying his piloting prowess, Beauregard landed The Night Rider outside the Alfea campus. "Thanks again, Beauregard," said Stella as her group exited the ship, with Steve carrying the unconscious Diaspro like a potato sack over his shoulder, "You too, Lucinda."

"Any time, cousin," said Lucinda.

"What about us?" asked Amanda, with Ryoga nodding in agreement.

"You too also," answered Stella.

"You need us to take you crazy kids anywhere else today?" asked Beauregard.

"Not right now," answered Brandon, "But keep the motor running, just in case."

"What do you think?" asked Michael as they headed across the campus, "You really think Diaspro knows where Bloom and Sky are?"

"If bleached-haired bimbo does know," said Shampoo, "Then she in world of sh$t."

"I just realized something," said Kodatchi, "Isn't is weird that not only did we get away with kidnapping Sky, when we thought he was guilty of cheating on Bloom, we also got away with kidnapping Diaspro. Forgive me if I sound hardheaded, but this looks all too easy,"

"You're right," said Brandon, "usually by now the hammer would have come down on us."

"I hate to say it," said Stella, "But the hammer just dropped."

Indeed it did, for Griselda was heading towards them, an angry look on the assistant Headmistress's face. "Stella!" demanded Griselda, "What is the meaning of this!? Who are these people you brought from a parallel Earth!? And why, pray tell, have you kidnapped two people today!?!"

"Um," said a nervous Stella, "Well, it's kind of a funny story. You see…"

"Let me handle this," said Steve in a confident tone. He walked over to Griselda and introduced himself, "Steven W. Austin, Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, at your services. What happened here is that Stella asked my team and I to clear up a matter between Bloom and Sky…" He then explained the situation to Griselda; how they had discovered that Diaspro implanted false memories in Bloom and Sky and that they were kidnapped. He spoke smoothly and calmly, not giving Griselda a chance to respond.

"All the evidence points at Diaspro," he said, "So we're gonna handle this nice and quiet, so as not to attract any unwanted attention, you get my drift? I knew you'd understand. Let's go, people; we've a spoiled brat to question."

"That was incredible," said Brandon as they left a stunned looking Griselda standing in the courtyard.

"I've never seen anyone talk that way to old Grizzly and get away with it," said Stella.

"When you've got it," said Steve smugly, "You've got it."

In anticipation of Diaspro's arrival, Tecna had set up one of the empty dorm rooms for interrogation, per Max and Jill's instructions. The unconscious Diaspro was placed and handcuffed to a metal chair. Several more chairs sat opposite Diaspro across a table.

"So," said Andrew, "Who wants to go first with this?"

"I'll do it," said Jill, "Aaron, be so kind as to revive our guest. Virgil," she spoke into an earpiece, "are you receiving me?"

"Loud and crystal clear," responded Virgil. He and Violet had installed a video camera in the interrogation room, with the receiving TV set and VCR in the girl's dorm. Everyone was watching as Aaron waved a bottle of smelling salts under Diaspro's nose, bringing her around within seconds.

She groaned as she woke up. "Good morning," said Jill with a disarming smile.

Diaspro looked at Jill, her eyes unfocused, "Who the hell are you?" she asked in a groggy tone.

Jill smiled as she answered, "I'm Captain Jillian Sparrow Carpenter, but you can call me Jill. You, Diaspro, are in a lot of trouble."

It was then that Diaspro realized the full extent of her situation, or at least that she was handcuffed to a chair. Now normally this would cause someone to panic, but Diaspro remained calm. "No, Captain Carpenter," she said in a cold, calculating tone, "It is you whom are in a lot of trouble. When my lawyers hear of this transgression, they'll…"

"I'd thought it would be best if we kept the law out of this," said Andrew, "No reason to drag a personal matter to court. So make it easy for all of us, Diaspro, and tell us where you took Bloom and Sky. And don't bother denying it, because we all know you're responsible for their abduction."

"I guess there's no point arguing then," said Diaspro, still calm, still coldly, "I am guilty. I did arrange for the abduction of Sky and his pathetic Earth fairy, but I won't say where they are."

"Well you should tell us," said Jill, "It would make things so much easier. Once they're safely back on Magicx, we can all go back to our lives and pretend this whole mess never happened."

"I don't think so," said Diaspro, "You see, this is my revenge on Sky for what he did to me. He rejected me, for a no-talent, scraggly Earth girl who just happened to have some magical powers, and he rejected me for her. I want him to suffer like he's never suffered before."

"Your assessment of Bloom is rather poor," said Max, "She happens to be one of the most powerful magical beings I've ever encountered. She possesses courage beyond measure. I could go on listing her qualities, but time is of the essence. I value her as a friend, but most of all, I respect her, and so should you."

"Respect?" asked Diaspro, "She should have respected my rights, my claim to Sky as his fiancée. She should have kept her nose out of my business."

"Your lack of respect for your peers is disgraceful," said Jill, "Sky is one of the bravest individuals I know. He would gladly sacrifice himself to save the ones he cares for. But enough of that; you are going to tell us where you took Bloom and Sky."

"No, I won't," said Diaspro.

"You're being most unwise, young lady," said Andrew, "There are ways to make fools like yourself talk."

"Like what?" asked Diaspro, "Are you going to poke me with cattle-prods? Stick bamboo shards underneath my fingernails? Jab me with red-hot iron? Go ahead, do your worst!"

"If we were to do our worst," said Max, "you wouldn't live to talk. No, I think we'll do our third worst, or is it our forth? It doesn't matter, you're going to spill the beans soon enough."

Michael then came in with a complex looking helmet. He forced it onto Diaspro's head, making sure her ears and eyes were completely covered. Max then flicked a toggle on the helmet. Diaspro then tensed as her ears were flooded with incomprehensible noise.

"What's that doing?" asked Flora.

"Sensory deprivation," said Violet, "Humans beings rely mostly on sight and sound. Without visual input, and with the ears flooded with constant white noise the mind can become unbalanced."

"So we're trying to drive Diaspro even more crazy?" asked Stella.

"Not really," said Shawn, "You see, without sight and sound, the first thing to go is your sense of time. A few minutes can seem like hours. Trust me, in twenty minutes, Diaspro will be begging to talk."

Unfortunately, Shawn couldn't be far from wrong. Back in the interrogation room, Diaspro was snoring. "She's asleep!" exclaimed Jill, "We deprive her of sight and drown her in white noise, and she falls asleep. What is she, a parrot!?"

"I'm afraid this is going to be a long interrogation," said Max, while Jill slapped Diaspro awake, "I knew I should have stayed in bed today."

"Amen, my friend," agreed Andrew.

Meanwhile…

Bloom sat in horror as she was forced to watch Sky crawl his way through several rooms full of various poisonous critters; snakes, spiders, scorpions, jellyfish, bees, and many more venomous animals she never saw before.

"Interesting," said the disembodied voice of Diaspro, "Most people would be running away as fast as they can before even thinking about crossing a room full of bees, let alone other toxic animals. Sky must truly care about you, Bloom, to be so full of courage. It's pathetic."

"I'd do the same thing for him," said Bloom, "And so would Stella and Brandon, and all of my friends. It's you who is pathetic, Diaspro."

Just then something happened to make Bloom's eyes widen in shock even further; Sky was bitten by a particularly deadly viper. Yet her fears were soon put aside. One of the first things Sky learned at Red Fountain was how to treat poisoned wounds. From an emergency First-Aid kit in his belt pouch, he produced a vial of all-purpose anti-venom. Injecting himself with the serum, he soon had the poison neutralized, the bite cleaned and bandaged.

"Poor Diaspro," said Bloom in a mocking tone as Sky continued on, "You underestimated Sky again." She watched as Sky entered a large set of corridors that turned out to be a maze

Diaspro growled in rage, "You think so, wouldn't you, Bloom!? Well, let's test Sky's resolve even further. Let's see how he likes navigating in the dark!!"

As Sky approached the first turn in the maze, the lights went out, plunging him into darkness.

"No!!" shouted Bloom, "Diaspro, you bitch!!!"

"Temper, temper," taunted Diaspro, "Such language is unbecoming of you, Bloom."

"If you're so intent on Sky failing," said Bloom, "Why not just kill me now? Why not kill us both?"

"All in good time, Bloom, all in good time. You and Sky will soon expire, but I want him to suffer even more. And when he can bare it no more, I'll destroy you, that which is most precious to him, right before his eyes." Diaspro then laughed her insane giggle again.

The end of chapter 7. Next chapter, well, you'll just have to read it to believe it. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!