Author's Note: Yes, I know I'm three months late with this chapter, but life's been heck. I actually have Sonic Riders Zero Gravity now, so I have more source footage that I can adapt into this story...

"Are you sure it's around here, Lily-chan?" Nick asked, maneuvering Ojamajo Star throughout the twisted pathways of the Sky High Zone, a towering complex of floating pillars that resided around the airspace of the Floating Continent.

"It should be," Lily responded, deftly avoiding a flying rock by switching gravity zones. "This is the last place I picked up the signal."

"I just hope it is here," Ellie noted, spinning around with Amethyst Moon to deflect another flying rock.

"ARGH! Why are there so many flying rocks here?!" Lily exclaimed after avoiding yet another boulder.

"It must be whatever's messing with the Shooting Star," Nick replied. "You told me that when the Shooting Star was broken into fragments, each piece went to a specific area of the planet and started messing with the magnetic fields there. That must be what's causing this weirdness."

Lily was surprised. "You're pretty smart, Nick-kun."

"I guess I have Momoko to thank for that," Nick replied, scratching the back of his head.

Suddenly, Ellie screamed quite loudly. Nick spun around and saw a gaggle of boulders heading straight for them.

"I've got it!" Nick exclaimed, holding the wrist that held his Gravity Bracelet into the air. A blue light began to surround the bracelet.

"Gravity Warp!!" Nick exclaimed, thrusting his hands towards the rocks. Almost instantly, a black hole of sorts opened in front of the three riders, sucking up the rocks that came charging forward. Once the coast was clear, Nick gave a thumbs-up to his companions.

"You're learning so fast, Nick-kun," Ellie stated, blushing madly.

"I guess I had a great teacher," Nick replied. This only intensified Ellie's blush.

Race Three: Evil Shows His Ugly Mug! The Competition at Meteor Park!

Meanwhile, the Queen's Palace...

"You have been given a new life, my dear," the Queen stated. "I hope you will use it well."

Before the Queen stood a girl of about 15, with long, flowing lilac green hair and wearing a white robe.

"Don't worry, Jou-sama. I won't let you down," the girl replied.

"You must find the Harukaze girl. She is in terrible danger," the Queen stated.

"You mean Doremi-chan?" the girl responded. "She's the one who made me believe in this world... Is there anything I can do, Jou-sama?"

"You must head to the Floating Continent that has appeared recently," the Queen instructed. "You will know what to do once you are there."

"Got it," the girl replied, spinning an airboard around in her hands. It was similar to the Ojamajo Star, only it was lime-green and blue, and it appeared to be far more advanced.

"Doremi-chan. Just hold on... I'll be there..."

Back at the Jewelry World MAHO-dou...

"I hope Kellysi-chan's doing all right out there," Doremi wondered. "That Floating Continent sounds dangerous..."

"Don't worry, Doremi-chan," Momoko answered. "When has Nick ever given us reason NOT to trust him?"

"Momo-chan's got a point," Onpu answered.

Just then, there was a massive explosion just outside the MAHO-dou.

"What the heck was that?!" Aiko exclaimed.

"Well, well. I never thought I'd find you here, pink witch."

"Why don't you show yourself, you little freak?!" Aiko shot back.

"I have no intention of fighting you today, blue witch. I am only here for the Harukaze girl."

"Try all you like!!" Hana exclaimed. "You're not taking Doremi-mama!!"

"I'm afraid I wasn't asking."

With that, a bright flash of dark light filled the MAHO-dou for a few seconds. When it cleared, Doremi was nowhere to be found.

"DOREMI-CHAN!!" Hazuki exclaimed.

Suddenly, another voice nearly caused everyone to jump.

"Am I too late?"

Hazuki was the first to pick up this voice; it belonged to the girl we'd seen in the Majokai, only her robe had been replaced with a green sports jersey and blue racing shorts. She was also wearing a pair of racing sunglasses.

"Non-chan?" Onpu wondered in bewilderment. "I thought you were..."

"I'll explain later," Nozomi replied. "We've got to find Doremi-chan before it's too late!"

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Back to the Floating Continent...

"It seems like we've been going on forever," Nick stated, spinning Ojamajo Star in his hands as he, Lily, and Ellie continued to explore the Floating Continent.

All of a sudden, a massive energy burst came crashing down around the gang.

"What the heck?" Lily exclaimed.

"LIL-CHAN!! LOOK OUT!!" Ellie exclaimed.

Lily quickly spun around and deflected a mysterious attack that seemed to come from out of nowhere.

"Who did that?!" Lily exclaimed.

"Oh, that really hurt, Rogues."

This surprised Ellie. "Wait a minute, how do you know about us?"

"Oh, I have known about you for a long time, Rogues," the voice responded.

"Wait... are you...?" Lily exclaimed.

"I am your worst nightmare. When you see me in person, you're going to wish you hadn't," the voice stated with an evil laugh.

"Go ahead and try," Nick challenged. "I'd like to see you get past us!"

"I assume it would be easier if I had a hostage with me..."

Nick gasped in shock when he noticed the voice's hostage...

"DOREMI-CHAN!!" Nick exclaimed.

"Very perceptive, little boy."

Nick shifted into battle stance. Just then, the mystery figure noticed the bracelet on Nick's wrist.

"So. You are on the search for the Shooting Star as well."

"Oh, yeah? What's it to you?!" Lily exclaimed.

"So impatient, my dear girl. Well, I guess that since you won't be around long enough, I suppose I could tell you my plans. I need a Pure Heart in order to bend the Shooting Stars to my whim. Once all seven Pure Hearts are under my control and the Lightless Black has been unleashed, this world will be mine."

The voice laughed maniacally, but was quickly cut off by another voice.

"I don't care WHO you are! You let go of Doremi-chan right now!!"

At that, someone shot in on their own airboard and slammed into the figure, setting Doremi free.

The new arrival swiftly turned around on her airboard, shouted "Gravity Control!!" and shot forward like a bullet, shooting straight through the shadowed figure, causing it to disappear.

"That takes care of that," the new girl stated. Doremi, speaking of which, was bewildered.

"Non-chan?" the pink witch apprentice asked.

("Tsuki no Akari" by Megumi Ida plays)

Nozomi looked right at Doremi, only to draw the pink witch apprentice into a tight hug.

"It's good to see you again, Doremi-chan," Nozomi stated. Doremi, however, was still confused.

"I... I thought you were..."

Nozomi giggled. "It's... kind of a long story, Doremi-chan."

"Wait a minute," Nick noticed. "That mystery freak said something about a 'Lightless Black'. Do you two have any idea what he might have meant by that?"

Lily looked up into the sky as she said her piece. "I wish I didn't have to say this, but since you guys seem to have gotten yourselves wrapped up in this situation, I may as well tell you. The Lightless Black is an evil force that has existed since over ten thousand years ago, passed down between each generation of the ancient Babylonians. The Lightless Black is actually connected to the power that the Shooting Stars radiate. That's why the Shooting Star was broken into fragments; so that the Lightless Black wouldn't become unstable and break out of the control of the ancient Babylonians. You see, about ten thousand years ago, which is where Ellie-chan and I are from, the ancient Babylonians were experimenting with a new power source to energize their floating starship, the Babylon Garden. As they tinkered with the powers of the Shooting Stars, no one but me and Ellie-chan seemed to notice that an evil force was brewing within the depths of the Babylon Garden. That evil was the Lightless Black itself. It had been attracted to the Babylon Garden due to the leaking of the Shooting Stars' power. Eventually, the ancient Babylonians realized that they were toying with forces they couldn't understand, but by then, it was too late for any of them. The Lightless Black had absorbed way too much energy from the Shooting Stars and went on an out-of-control rampage, eventually becoming a massive black hole that consumed the entire Babylon Garden. Only three of us made it off the Babylon Garden without being consumed by the Lightless Black. Those three people were me, Ellie-chan, and another friend of ours. We then used the power of the Shooting Stars as well as our Pure Heart Crystals to seal the Lightless Black into another dimension, thus preventing it from growing too unstable and thus consuming the entire universe. The problem is, that guy we encountered seems to know the only way to break the seal we put on the Lightless Black. It took the full powers of three Pure Heart Crystals just to seal away the Lightless Black. If that guy found more crystals than we used to seal it, he may be able to revive the Lightless Black and harness its destructive power. So, we have to find the other four Pure Heart Crystals before that freak can find them, otherwise your world is doomed."

Nozomi was in awe at the story that Lily had just told. "Wow..." was pretty much all she could say. Suddenly, a mysterious light caught everyone's attention. All eyes were focused on Doremi, whose chest area was emitting a bright pink glow. Ellie's eyes widened in amazement.

"I don't believe it..." Ellie whispered. "That's got to be one of the Pure Heart Crystals! I'd recognize that glow anywhere!"

"So was that why that shadow freak was after me?" Doremi wondered. "Because I had one of those crystals inside of me the whole time?"

"Yes," Ellie confirmed. "The Pure Heart Crystals hold tremendous power, and can only be found in people with pure souls. You could say that the Pure Heart Crystals and the Shooting Stars are sort of like yin and yang. Together, the two artifacts keep a sort of balance. If that balance were ever disrupted, well... the ancient Babylonians found that out first hand."

"If that freak is trying to release the Lightless Black, we've got to stop him, and fast!" Nick exclaimed, hopping onto the Ojamajo Star. Lily, Ellie, Doremi, and Nozomi also hopped onto their airboards.

"Lily-chan, do you have any idea where that freak may have gone?" Nick wondered.

"Wait a minute! I'm picking up another Shooting Star signal from somewhere near the Gigan Rocks!" Lily exclaimed.

"The what?" Doremi, Nick, and Nozomi stated in unison.

"The Gigan Rocks is a famous spot for renowned treasure hunters," Ellie explained. "They say that a priceless artifact resides deep in the canyons, but it's been very dangerous. Not a single treasure hunter has returned from the Gigan Rocks alive. At least, not yet..."

"If there's a fragment of the Shooting Star there, we don't really have a choice, do we?" Nick exclaimed. "Let's get over there!"

Nothing more needed to be said, as all five racers rose into the air and shot off like streaks.

Unbeknownst to them, someone had been listening in on their whole conversation.

"So. The Gigan Rocks. I must report this to the master..."

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Next time on Ojamajo Doremi Zero Gravity:

Mai: This is Mai Shimakaze again. Things are beginning to get interesting, aren't they?

"The entrance to the Gigan Rocks should be around here somewhere..." Ellie mused.

"Wait. It looks like there's some kind of keypad here," Doremi noticed, pointing to a pedestal near the massive doorway.

"Wonder what it does?" Lily wondered, pressing one of the keys. Nick was the only one who seemed to notice that a massive collection of rocks above the group was starting to fall...

Mai: As the group continues to explore the Gigan Rocks, they find that someone has laid all kinds of traps for them. Hopefully I can find them before it's too late!

"WATCH OUT!!!" Ellie practically screamed, hoping to get the signal to her partner before it was too late.

However, before Lily could even respond, something shot forward and shattered the boulder into tiny pieces.

'Such power...' Ellie thought. 'Being able to shatter one of the Gigan Rocks with just one strike. That could only mean...'

Nick: Next time on Ojamajo Doremi Zero Gravity: "The Lightless Black Revealed! The Gigan Rocks Hold the Secret!" Shift gears, and let's get ready to race!