Last time Icy, Darcy and Stormy cashed the engagement party and proceeded to ruin it. After a heated battle the three witches left. Shortly after that, the assassin Normad aimed and fired a poison dart at Bloom. Flora intercepted the dart, but now her life hangs in the balance. On with the show!

Chapter 11: We Do Need An Antidote

After fifteen of the longest minutes in her life, Bloom waited anxiously with the others for news of Flora. Washu had managed to get Flora breathing again, but the poison was working its way through her body. "Flora can't die," said Helia, "I don't know what I'll do without her." "Flora will be alright," said Tecna, "If there's anyone who can help her, its Little Washu."

"That dart was meant for me," said Bloom, "That and the witches attacking, it just can't be a coincidence. There's more to this, I just don't know what yet." "We'll figure it out," said Sky, "One way or another."

At that time Ayeka came into the waiting room. "I cannot begin to imagine how you are feeling," she said to Bloom, "But your friend is in good hands." "Thank you, Your Majesty," said Bloom. "There's no need for formalities," said Ayeka, "Any friend of my sister is a friend of mine."

"Any word on who that assassin was?" asked Riven. "Yes," said Ayeka as she removed a small object from her pocket, "There is news. Not good news in fact. If I'm correct and I hope I'm wrong, then it's very bad news. Apparently the assassin was working for The Shadow Riders."

"Impossible!" exclaimed Elise, "The Shadow Riders were wiped out fifty years ago!" "Who were The Shadow Riders?" asked Bloom. "They were a group of Warlocks and dark martial artists who tried to take over the universe," said Brandon, "They were supposedly hunted down and destroyed by the Galaxy Police."

"Well the evidence says that they have returned," said Ayeka as she handed the object to Bloom, a small black ring that had a crest on it; the shadow of a man riding a horse covering a planet. "That's the crest of The Shadow Riders alright," said Timmy as he examined the ring.

"Well if The Shadow Riders have indeed returned," said Layla, "Then we have to warn the Galaxy Police." "I'm afraid it'll take more than a ring to convince the Galaxy Police that The Shadow Riders are back," said Tecna.

"She's right," said Mihoshi, "I wasn't there, but The Shadow Riders killed over a thousand Galaxy Police officers. The last thing they want is the threat of another massacre. My grandfather is head of the Galaxy Police, but it'll take more than my word to convince the whole organization."

"We have proof right here," said Sky as he held the ring. "As far as the heads of the Galaxy Police are concerned," said Riven, "The assassin could have picked up that ring in a junk shop. We'll need harder evidence than that."

Just then Washu entered the room. "How's Flora?' Helia asked anxiously. "She's alive," said Washu, "For the moment. I've got her stabilized, but the poison used is a highly aggressive type. I had to put Flora in suspended animation to slow down the toxin."

"You mean you didn't cure her?" asked Layla. "I still don't know exactly what kind of poison was used," said Washu, "Not yet anyway. I'm having it researched as we speak, as well as an antidote."

"How long can Flora stay like that?" asked Bloom, "I mean in suspended animation." "There's a problem with that," said Washu, "Normally I'd be able to keep her like that indefinitely. But because of the aggressive nature of the poison, I'd say Flora has just under 96 hours to live."

"Less than four days," said Musa. "If it were anyone else," said Helia who was trying not to succumb to depression, "Flora would have figured out the antidote in a heartbeat."

Just then something beeped on Washu. She checked her watch, which turned out to be a compact computer. "Ah-ha!" exclaimed Washu, "I've isolated the exact type of poison used. Oh my, yes, this is serious."

"What?" asked Stella, "What's serious?" "The poison used," said Washu, "Was made from the distilled blood of an Denobulan Slime Troll. The blood of said creature is highly toxic, especially to fairies." "That would make it an effective assassination method," said Riven, "Considering that the target was Bloom."

"Is there an antidote?" asked Helia, hoping against hope that Washu wouldn't say 'no.' "As a matter of fact," said Washu, "There is one; distilled juices from a rare flower. Unfortunately said flower is almost extinct in the galaxy."

"What is it?" asked Amanda, "Because The Night Rider can go anywhere in the galaxy and still be back in time." "The flower," said Washu, "Is the rare and beautiful Purple-Star Lotus; once it flourished across the cosmos, now it's all but gone."

"That name sounds familiar," said Bloom, "I feel that I've heard it before. There must be at least one planet that flower still grows on." "Maybe," said Washu as she typed on the virtual keyboard on her wrist mounted computer, "Let me see… Ah yes! The Purple-Star Lotus still grows on one confirmed planet. Would you look at that, it grows on Planet Earth."

"No kidding?" said Brandon. "It's true," said Washu, "It still grows on Earth, but it can only be found on the island nation of Japan." "Now I remember!" exclaimed Bloom, "I know someone on Earth who might just have some Purple-Star Lotus blossoms ready for us!"

"Who?" asked Helia anxiously. "Her name is Kodatchi Kuno," said Bloom, "About a year before I meet Stella, my mom and I took a trip to Tokyo, Japan. We were on a tour group, studying rare flowers of Asia. Anyway, while in Tokyo, I met a girl who was just as interested in rare flowers as my mom is, even more interested. Kodatchi has three passions in life: gymnastic martial arts, botany and finding the perfect man."

"Would she be able to help us?" asked Sky. "That could be a problem," said Bloom, "Kodatchi is what you might call eccentric. No, more than that, she's quite mad in fact." "I'm sure you can reason with her," said Brandon, "For Flora's sake."

"I just checked with Lucinda and Beauregard," said Amanda, "The Night Rider can be ready to go in ten minutes. And at 3,000 times light speed we can reach Earth this time tomorrow." "Perfect!" exclaimed Washu, "We'll bring Flora along in a stasis capsule and I'll make sure she's stable the whole trip."

"I'll go too," said Sasami, "Because if The Shadow Riders are back, then we're gonna need all the help we can get. I also know someone on Earth who can help." "I hope you're thinking about who I'm thinking about," said Ryoko, "I'm sure Tenchi misses me so much he can't stand it."

At that Ayeka let out a loud and long laugh. "I'm sure Lord Tenchi wouldn't be concerned about you, Miss Ryoko." "And why's that?" asked Ryoko. "Because," said Ayeka in a smug tone, "I know in my heart that Tenchi is thinking about me." "I think we should be going now," said Sasami as she rushed Ryoko out of the room, as if to prevent further conflict between Ryoko and Ayeka.

"What was that about?" asked Stella as our heroes hurried to the spaceport, "And who is this Lord Tenchi?" "It's a long story," said Sasami, "I'll tell you on the way to Earth."

Meanwhile…

"We are so screwed!" moaned Stormy as she, Icy and Darcy walked through the mansion of The Shadow Riders. "We're not screwed," said Darcy, "Not if we explain this properly to Malaketh and the others." "You saw what Malaketh did to that Trujon guy," said Stormy, "Face it, we're gonna get our heads blasted into dust!"

"We're sure to get our heads blasted into dust if you keep up that attitude," said Icy as they reached the door to the main chamber, "Just let me do all the talking, and we'll come out of this with our heads still in one piece."

They entered the chamber where Malaketh and Salamei were waiting. "From the lack of a head on a silver platter," said Salamei, "and the fact that Normad isn't with you, I take it that your mission didn't go so well."

"Yes," said Icy, "I regret to report that our mission was a failure." "I wouldn't say it was a complete failure," said Darcy, "We did trash that engagement party." "Well putting the trashing of an engagement party aside," said Malaketh, "What happened?"

"We were at a tactical disadvantage," said Icy, "We underestimated the level of firepower the palace guards had." "They had f#ck$ng plasma rifles!" said Stormy. "And what happened to Normad?" asked Salamei.

"Just before we had to withdraw," said Icy, "I glanced up to see Normad aiming a dart gun at Bloom. Darcy, Stormy and myself assumed that as soon as we left, Normad would take his shot." "And did he make the shot?" asked Malaketh. "No he did not," answered Icy. "One of Bloom's pathetic friends pushed her out of the way," said Stormy, "So that one is probably dead."

Malaketh glared at the witches for a minute or two before saying, "It appears that the situation was out of your control, so I'll let you three off with a warning; don't fail me again!" "We won't," said Darcy.

"So what's next?" asked Icy. "Now we acquire the next Stone of Power," said Salamei, "Our sources have determined which planet the black stone is currently residing."

"We can't pinpoint the exact location of the stone," said Malaketh, "So we're going to have to look for it when we get there." "When you said 'we'," said Darcy, "Do you mean us?" "I mean you three and myself," said Malaketh, "I'm in the mood to stretch my legs on another planet."

"Wonderful!" said Darcy, "I can't wait to see you in action." "Just what planet are we going to anyway?" asked Icy. "Planet Earth," said Salamei, "We estimate that the stone is somewhere on the island nation of Japan." "Wonderful," said Stormy sarcastically

The end of chapter 11. Next chapter Bloom and co. arrives on Earth. Tokyo, Japan to be exact. Reviews will be gratefully rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!