Last time our heroes set off from Earth to Jurai to begin searching for The Shadow Riders. Washu informed Bloom and co. that the stone that Kodatchi had was a Stone of Power. Bloom then remembered something from Sparkx; apparently one of the stones is on her birth planet. A slight course correction later, and they were on their way to Sparks. On with the show!
Chapter 21: Return to Sparkx
The Night Rider emerged from hyperspace and entered orbit around Planet Sparkx. Once a bright light of civilization, Sparkx was now locked in a cursed ice age. "I am detecting some changes to the planet's environment," said Tecna as she scanned the surface below them, "The last time we visited Sparkx, the temperature at the equator was over 100 degrees below freezing. Now it is only twenty below." "Well that's an improvement," said Sky.
"This planet be where Bloom was born?" asked Shampoo. "Yes," said Bloom, "The ancestors of Icy, Darcy and Stormy came here seeking The Dragonfire. I was less than a year old when they attacked. They killed countless thousands in their search for that awesome power that was given to me for safekeeping. My birth parents, Oritell and Miriam, they sacrificed themselves so that I could live."
"What happened to the witches that attacked your home?" asked Akane. "From what I was told," said Bloom, "They were chased after by a vigilante named The Phantom Renegade. He hunted the witches down and slaughtered them. He then vanished and hasn't been seen since."
"There's a rumor that The Phantom Renegade was partly responsible for the destruction of The Shadow Riders fifty years ago," said Riven, "Guess he and The Galaxy Police didn't go a good enough job if they're still around." "They say he wears a black suit," said Musa, "A matching cape and top hat, with a mask that covers his entire face. Wherever he strikes, he leaves a blue rose as a calling card."
"Reminds me of 'Tuxedo Mask' from 'Sailor Moon,'" said Ukyo. "More like 'V' from 'V for Vendetta,'" said Tenchi.
"Some say that he's been around for at least 200 years," said Brandon, "Killing anyone he deems evil." "Well whoever or whatever he is," said Ranma, "If he fights The Shadow Riders, then 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"
"Some say The Phantom Renegade is immortal," said Helia, "Others say he's a vengeful ghost or a demon. Some go as far as to say he's the devil incarnate, here to drag sinners to the underworld." "Still," said Ranma, "If he fights that creep Malaketh, then The Phantom Renegade is my friend, or at least my ally."
Ten minutes later the ship landed outside the ruins that once were The Royal Palace of Sparkx. Bloom and Sky, along with the others, including Ranma and co. exited the ship wearing protective cold-weather gear. "Man this is cold!" exclaimed Ryoga, "It feels worse than Siberia!"
"Someday," said Bloom as she gazed at what was once her home, "Someday I'll restore this world to its former glory." "I'll be there to help you pick up the pieces," said Stella. "We all will," said Sky, "Count on it."
It was then that the wind blew a few snowflakes onto Mousse's face. The snowflakes melted into water, and Mouse suddenly transformed into a very irritated duck. "Damn!" said Riven, "That's some curse he's got." "Shampoo take Mousse duck back to ship," said Shampoo, "Get hot water." She picked up Mousse and they both went back to The Night Rider.
"If a few snowflakes can activate our curses," said Ryoga, "Then we'd better get out of the wind." "What's the matter, Ryoga?" asked Ranma, "Afraid everyone will see your cursed form?" "No," protested Ryoga, "Well you've got nothing to worry about, your cursed form is human; mine isn't."
"What are you talking about, Ryoga?" asked Akane. "Nothing!" exclaimed Ryoga, "I mean, nothing that you should worry about, Akane." "Yeah, nothing," said Ranma, "Right, P-Chan?" "Who are you calling P-Chan!" exclaimed Ryoga.
"What's a P-Chan?" asked Stella. "P-Chan is my pet piglet back home," said Akane, "I hope he's alright." "Oh I'm sure he's fine," said Ranma, who just happened to be looking right at Ryoga.
"Moving on," said Bloom, who sensed that the conversation might get ugly, "We've got to find that stone." They began towards the ruined palace. Musa noticed that Ryoga was moving out to the left of where everyone else was heading. "Uh, Ryoga," said Musa, "I think it's that way," she pointed towards the palace. "Thanks, Musa," said Ryoga as he began to walk in the opposite direction. "He really has no sense of direction," said Flora, "It's shocking."
Eventually they got Ryoga to the palace. Bloom led the way down the ruined corridors, her instincts her only guide. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" asked Sky. "I feel we're going the right way," said Bloom. She rounded a corner to discover that the passage had caved in. A two-foot thick wall of ice and debris blocked the corridor.
"Still sure you're going the right way?" asked Ranma before being slapped by Akane. "This is the way to go," said Bloom, "I feel it right down to my soul." "This isn't that big a deal," said Carmen, "I'll just blast our way through. "Allow me," said Ryoga as he stood in front of the ice barrier. He raised his right index finger at the makeshift wall, took several deep breaths, shouted, "Baksuai Tenketsu!" and jabbed his finger into the wall. Three seconds later the barrier shattered, clearing the passage.
"How did you do that?" asked an amazed Brandon. "Everything has its breaking point," said Ryoga, "All you need to do is apply pressure to that specific point. 'The Breaking Point Technique' was designed to shatter barriers. It can even break up illusions. The only drawback is that it doesn't work on people.
"Good thing it doesn't," said Ranma, "He would have killed me several times over with just his finger." "Time waits for nobody," said Bloom as she continued walking, with the others following her. Another ten minutes of walking, and they entered a large underground chamber. It was empty except for a large metal door at the far end of the room.
"I'll bet the stone is behind that door," said Tenchi. "So how do we get to it?" asked Brandon, "I don't see any handles or locks on it." Indeed the only thing on the door was a slightly raised area of the door surface. "Leave this to me," said Ryoko, "I'll just phase through that door and come out with the stone in no time!" She levitated towards the door, prepared to move through it.
Tecna, Timmy and Elise were just about to all say 'I wouldn't do that,' when Ryoko was thrown back from the door as if she encountered a force field of some sort. She slammed against the far wall, a stunned look on her face. "I tried to ward you," said Elise, "But nobody ever listens to me."
"Are you alright?" asked Sasami. "No more Sake for me," said Ryoko in a dazed tone, "I'm the designated driver." "She'll be fine," said Tenchi.
"I think I know what we're dealing with here," said Tecna as she examined the door, "I believe this door will only allow entry to certain people. It is my conclusion that this door will only allow Bloom to enter."
"I think she's right," said Timmy, "I've heard of security systems like this. Several royal families have rooms that only allow members of said families to enter." "I think someone in my family had such a room," said Stella, "Either my third cousin twice removed, or my fourth cousin three times removed." "I think someone's brain has been removed," whispered Ranma to Akane. "Don't be rude!" snapped Akane.
"Well, Bloom," said Sky, "It's your family door, it's up to you." Bloom stared at the door, took a cleansing breath, and walked towards the door. She passed through it as if it was a hologram. She emerged a minute later with a bright orange stone in her hands that was identical in size and shape to the black stone and the indigo stone the witches took from Alfea.
With the stone secured, our heroes made their way out of the ruined palace, (Ryoga got lost twice on the way out). As they headed back towards the ship, Bloom paused as if sensing something. "We're not alone," she said. Before anyone could say anything further, they found themselves surrounded by crab-like monsters made entirely out of ice.
"I hate these things," said Stella, "If one of them touches you, they'll freeze you right down to your heart." "Then allow me the honor of destroying these foul, frigid creatures!" exclaimed Tatewaki as he unsheathed his sword. Quick as lightning, Tatewaki began decapitating the ice-crabs.
"Hey!" protested Tenchi as he activated his energy sword, "Save some for me!" He to joined in on the monster killing. Between he two swordsmen, Tenchi and Tatewaki soon had the ice-crabs totally destroyed. "That Tenchi is something," said an amazed Brandon. "He should be something," said Sasami, "He is of Juraian blood."
"Tenchi is impressive," said Layla, "But that Tatewaki Kuno is a horse of a different color, a horse I would ride any day." "Whoa," said Stella, "Way too much information here."
"Not to sound like a coward or anything," said Riven, "But let's get out of here before any more ice monsters show up." "That's probably a good idea," said Ukyo, "Since I'm starting to lose feeling in my limbs."
Bloom and Sky were the last to board the ship as it prepared to take off. She took one last look around of her birth-planet. "I'll come back," she said out loud to her homeworld, "I promise. I'll come back and undo the curse that has afflicted you." With that, she and Sky boarded the ship, which took off and leapt into hyperspace.
"They don't look much like a threat to the universe," said Akane as she stared at the two stones. The Night Rider was currently en route to Jurai to drop off Sasami and Roderick. "They only look harmless," said Washu, "They're dangerous only when all thirteen are together. I still haven figured out what the stones do, but if all thirteen fall into the wrong hands, terrible things can happen."
"Then we better figure out how to find the other stones," said Sky. "We have the black stone and the orange stone," said Flora, "The Shadow Riders have the indigo one and maybe more. Who knows how many are left that are unaccounted for."
"Relax," said Washu, "You're in the presence of the greatest scientific mind in the universe! I'll think of something, I always do." "Correction," said Elise, "We'll think of something." "Darn right," said Timmy, while Tecna nodded in agreement.
And think of something they did. By the time The Night Rider exited hyperspace at Jurai, the four brains had devised a means of detecting the remaining stones. "We've scanned the stones we have," said Tecna, "And have discovered a low frequency energy wave emanating from them."
"This is a unique energy frequency," said Elise, "If we can modify the ship's sensors to detect this frequency, we can home in on the stones." "I've already taken he liberty of reformatting the sensors," said Washu, "We'll have the location of the next stone in no time!"
"So," said Stella to Sasami as she, Roderick and Ryoko prepared to beam down to Jurai, "This is goodbye for now." "We'll see each other again," said Sasami, "I expect to see you at my wedding shower." "I'll be waiting for your official invitation," said Stella.
"Well," said Ryoko to Tenchi, "You coming or not? I'm sure Ayeka is anxious to see you." Tenchi hesitated for a minute before saying, "I'm anxious to see her too, but I might be needed in the recovery of the stones and rescuing Kodatchi. Tell Ayeka that I miss her, but I'll be back to see her as soon as I can."
"We'll if you're not going down to Jurai," said Ryoko, "Then I'm not either," She turned to face Sasami, "With your highness's permission, of course." "You have it," said Sasami, "Go get those stones." With that, Sasami and Roderick beamed down to the planet below.
"So where are we going now?" asked Ranma. "We should have the location of the next stone within seconds," said Tecna as she examined the ship's sensor logs, "Here we go, the next stone is on the fifth planet in the Hykyrian system."
"Oh man," said Riven, "Hykyrians, they creep me out." "They're not that bad," said Flora, "Hykyrians are literally all sunshine and rainbows on the inside." "Disgusting," muttered Morgan. "In more ways than one," agreed Carmen.
"What do you have against Hykyrians?" asked Stella, "They're good people who always smile, what's not to like about them?" "The fact that always smile," said Carmen, "It's sickening to a witch."
"There's also that one really, really, really disturbing that they do every 23 standard years," said Elise, "But what are the odds of that happening anytime now?"
"It's your call, Bloom," said Tenchi. "If Tatewaki is okay with it," said Bloom, "Then we'll go for it." "If these Stones of Power are the means of finding my sister and bringing her home," said Tatewaki, "Then so be it." "That's that then," said Stella, "Beauregard," she said over the intercom, "Set course for Hykyrian 5!"
Meanwhile…
"Hykyrian 5?" asked Icy as she, her sisters and Toro were given their next assignment from Salamei. "That's where the next stone is," said Salamei, "So get to it." "No way," protested Stormy, "Those Hykyrians make me want to throw up." "They make me want to throw up as well," said Trabon, "But I'm going as well, so don't complain."
"I'm serious," said Stormy, "Hykyrians really do make me throw up." "She's right," said Darcy, "Stormy is allergic to overly-sweet species. One look at those disgusting Hykyrians is enough to make Stormy lose her lunch."
"Is that so," said Salamei, "Well, in that case, you're excused for this mission, this time. In the meanwhile, you can work on getting your mind-slave under control. I'm amazed she lasted this long." "Don't worry," said Stormy, a wicked grin on her face, "That Earth girl won't be trouble for much longer." She then left the room.
"Since Stormy isn't coming with us," said Trabon, "We'll need a replacement. Let me see," he paused in thought, "Who's available? I know, Fat-D!" With a flash, a very thin warlock appeared at Trabon's command. He was over six feet tall and built like a scarecrow. He had short, dark blue hair and very pale eyes. He wore a pair of black gloves on his hands. "You called, Master Trabon?" asked the warlock.
"I've got a job for you, Fat-D," said Trabon, "We're going to Hykyrian 5." "Why do they call you 'Fat-D'?" asked Toro. "It's a joke of sorts," said Fat-D, "I only look fat when I use my special ability." "What's that?" asked Icy. "I absorb life energy," said Fat-D, "Killing the victim and making me stronger."
"And what does the 'D' stand for?" asked Darcy. "The 'D'," said Fat-D, "Stands for Desmond Robert-Yeager-Warren-Jones-Smith Turner." "Good Gods," said Darcy. "Now you know why we call him Fat-D," said Trabon. "If there's no further discussions," said Salamei, "Go get that stone."
Meanwhile…
Stormy unlocked the door to Kodatchi's quarters. She found Kodatchi sitting on her bed, glaring daggers at Kodatchi. "I'm impressed you've resisted the stamp so far," said Stormy as she closed and locked the door, "But that won't mean much for long. Soon, you'll serve me."
"Never!" said Kodatchi, "My friends and family will find me and kill you for this outrage!" "Perhaps," said Stormy, "But by the time they find us, you will be calling me mistress." "It'll be a cold day in Hell before I ever obey you!" snapped Kodatchi. "We'll just see about that," said Stormy as she used her magic to make a whip out of dark lightning, "Let the lessons in obedience begin."
The end of chapter 21. Next chapter, our heroes arrive on Hykyrian 5 to witness a rather disturbing event. Reviews will be rewarded with Peanut M&Ms. See you next time!
