Last time our heroes arrived on Eraklyon. Amanda, Lucinda and Beauregard stayed with The Night Rider to oversee the much-needed repairs. Meanwhile, Bloom and co. had a run-in with Diaspro, who attempted to get Sky back for herself, a poor attempt at best. Ranma severely insulted Diaspro, who in turn attacked Tenchi. Tenchi retaliated by 'tanning' Diaspro's hide with Ukyo's giant spatula. On with the show!

Chapter 29: No Need For Booby Traps

Two hours later our heroes arrived on Eraklyon's second moon at a large ruined city. Their moon-shuttle landed near an archeological site. "What's this all about?" asked Bloom as they exited the shuttle and breathed in the atmosphere of the moon. (Just to ease your minds, the moon they're on does have a breathable atmosphere).

"The ruined city here," said Sky, "Is just one of many that were found throughout the star system. Apparently the ancient race that used the stones, they were here several thousand years ago before humans colonized Eraklyon. From what I've learned, the first humans to this area of space first settled in the abandoned city on this moon before moving to the main planet. Something drove them from this city just over a thousand years ago. Exactly what made them leave I don't know."

"I remember reading something about these ruins in a science journal," said Timmy, "Whatever scared the people from this city was so great, it forced them to leave in a single night."

"The humans who settled in the city," said Tecna, "They left behind murals showing them worshiping a strange object radiating an awesome power." "I'll bet that's the stone we're looking for," said Riven.

"So where is it?" asked Tenchi. "Don't rush me," said Elise as she scanned the area with her PDA, "I'm working on it." Thirty seconds later her PDA began to chirp loudly, "It's this way!" Bloom and the others followed Elise as she ran towards a small flat area in the ruins.

"There's a door in this rock," said Elise as she cleared some of the dirt from the ground, revealing a large stone door. She chanted a spell and the door opened, revealing steps going down. "The signal is coming from down there," said Tecna.

"No problem," said Ryoga as he started down the steps. "Hold on," said Bloom, "There might be booby traps down there." "It's okay," said Ryoga, "I can smell a trap a mile a way." "Assuming you can get there," said Ranma.

"Shut up, Ranma!" shouted Ryoga as he continued down the steps. Bloom and co. shortly followed. After fifty feet of steps they emerged into a wide, dark tunnel. Ranma and the other martial artists had their own flashlights, while Stella provided light for everyone else.

"Straight ahead," said Timmy as he read the data from his PDA. He started forward and stepped on a pressure-plate, triggering a trap. Large spikes emerged from the walls and nearly impaled Timmy. "Are you alright!" exclaimed Tecna. "Nothing broken or bleeding," said Timmy.

"You really should watch where you're going," said Carmen as she took the lead, "You might just lose your head." She then stepped on a nearly invisible tripwire and was almost crushed by a falling boulder. "You suck at archeology!" exclaimed Morgan.

"It's obvious that someone doesn't want anyone to get that stone," said Sky. "Then why are we trying to get this one if it's such a danger to get it?" asked Mousse, "The stone is clearly well protected, so why risk our lives this time?"

"Here's an example of how quickly men forget the big picture," said Elise, "So permit me to re-inform you: If we don't get that stone, then The Shadow Riders will. Is that clear enough for you? Or do I need to dumb it down further?"

"No need," said Mousse, "I do have a brain after all." Then for apparently no reason he walked into the cavern wall. "I'm alright," said Mousse, "I just needed to clean my glasses."

The tunnel continued on for another 500 feet with several tripwire and pressure-plate traps at random spots. Fortunately our heroes managed to avoid them without anyone getting hurt.

The tunnel opened up into a large cavern. At the far end was something that was glowing bright white. "If that isn't the stone," said Ryoko, "I'll eat a bucket full of scorpions." "I'll hold you to that," said Morgan.

"I'm detecting several tripwires and pressure-plates on the floor," said Tecna, "Along with several infra-red and motion sensors along the walls. If we try to fly over to the stone, we'll trigger the traps just by moving."

"So how do we get it?" asked Ukyo. "I've got an idea," said Carmen, "There might be an Old Tongue spell that could disable the heat and motion sensors. I was saving this to use on Icy, but now's as good as any time to try it out, so stand back." She placed her hands on the floor, mere inches from the nearest tripwire and said, "Freezudo!"

With a bright blue flash, the floor and walls were soon covered by at least two inches of ice. "Wow!" exclaimed Akane, "That's some spell." "You bet it," said Carmen as she rubbed her hands to get some warmth back into them, "Icy is so gonna freak out when she sees me use her element on her."

The only thing Bloom, Sky and Tenchi needed to worry about was trying not to slip on the ice as they made their way across the cavern to the stone. The white Stone of Power was resting on a small table with a raised center. Bloom was about to take the stone when she paused as if remembering something.

"What's wrong?" asked Sky. "I've seen this movie before," said Bloom, "The stone is probably booby-trapped." "She's right," said Tenchi, "This is exactly the kind of trap I'd set. The stone is probably sitting on a pressure-plate. If we simply take the stone, the whole underground structure will cave-in or explode, and then where will we be?"

"Dead as a doornail," said Elise as she made her way across the ice, a small, ordinary rock in her hand, "I've calibrated this rock to weigh the same as the stones we already have. Assuming all the other stones weigh the same, it would be a simple matter of replacing this rock with the stone before us."

"No problem," said Bloom as she took the rock in her hand. She then made a spell that caused the white stone to switch places with the ordinary rock instantly. "And that makes three," said Bloom as she held the glowing stone in her hands.

Just then the cavern began to shake as if an earthquake was happening. "Now what?" asked Stella. "Damn it!" exclaimed Elise as she, Sky, Bloom and Tenchi hurried back across the ice, "I should have realized that the pressure-plate also had a sensor on it for detecting spells."

"Well let's just get out of here before the whole place caves-in or blows up," said Riven. "It's not going to cave-in or explode," said Tecna, "The complex is going to implode."

"What implode mean?" asked Shampoo. "You don't want to know," said Bloom as the walls and ceiling of the cavern began to fall in on itself, "Everyone run!" They ran back through the tunnel towards the stairs, all the time the shaking increasing.

As they started up the stairs, Bloom saw that the rock was closing in; the tunnel to the surface was shrinking. Just when she thought they were going to run out of room and be crushed, Bloom and co. burst out of the stairway and out onto the surface. Once everyone was back up topside, Bloom turned around to see that a huge part of the ground had collapsed in on itself. "That, Shampoo," said Bloom, "Is what implode means."

Bloom then realized that she wasn't holding onto the stone anymore. She looked around at the ground to see where she dropped it. She saw the stone to her left and bend to retrieve it. Yet a gloved hand beat her to the stone. Bloom looked up to see a masked man in a black suit and cape.

"I thank you for retrieving the stone for me, Princess of Sparkx" said The Phantom Renegade in his digitally altered voice, "It would have been no trouble for me to find it myself, yet I do appreciate the gesture."

"That doesn't belong to you!" exclaimed Akane. "Well it's mine now," said The Phantom Renegade, "Consider it payment for contending with those you would have had to fight if I hadn't arrived." Bloom looked to see several destroyed biots and the charred remains of what she assumed was one of The Shadow Riders.

"And now," said The Phantom Renegade, "I bid you farewell." "Hold it!" shouted Ranma, "We risked our lives for that stone. You can't honestly think you can just walk away with it, can you?"

"I am reluctant to admit it," said The Phantom Renegade, "But you do have a point; you did risk your lives today, so I'll make you a proposition. If you can take the stone away from me, you can have it."

"No problem," said Ryoga, "I'll get that stone from you and beat the crap out of you at the same time." "Thou shall not," said Tatewaki, "The honor of defeating this masked cretin belongs to me!"

"Not gonna happen, Kuno," said Ranma, "I got this." He rushed forward to attack, his movements much faster than what Bloom had seen before. "His training has paid off," said Akane, "I think he can win."

"You're wrong," said Tenchi, "He's not winning." "Tenchi's right," said Brandon, "It doesn't take a martial arts genius to see that The Phantom Renegade is winning. More than that, he's playing with Ranma."

Indeed, the masked man was blocking all of Ranma's strikes. He did this with just one hand, the other was holding onto the stone. "You've been studying pranda-bindu," said The Phantom Renegade, "You've mastered the basics in such a short time, I'm impressed."

"Thanks," said Ranma, "So how about showing your appreciation by handing over the stone?" "Nice try," said The Phantom Renegade, "But no such luck. Besides, even though you've got the basics covered, I'm still the superior fighter!" He slammed his free hand into Ranma's torso. His palm barely touched Ranma, yet the force of the strike sent Ranma skidding several feet away

"Bastard!" shouted Akane as she charged forward, her war-hammer raised for the kill, "You're so dead!" "Akane, don't!" exclaimed Ranma, but it was too late, The eyes of The Phantom Renegade's mask flashed, and Akane froze in her tracks.

"What happened?" asked Flora. "I, I can't move," said Akane. "Consider yourself lucky that's all I did," said the masked man, "You will be able to move again within the hour. Now I shall take my leave."

"Wait!" shouted Bloom, "Who are you? And why do I feel that I know you, that I should know you?" The Phantom Renegade was silent for a second before answering, "My name isn't important. Soon enough, none of this shall matter. All will be made right once I have all the Stones of Power. Until then…" He vanished in a bright flash; in his place was a blue rose.

Later…

"I think I can speak for all of us when I say this sucks," said Musa as our heroes returned to the Eraklyon spaceport, "We only have two stones, that Phantom creep took another from us that we worked hard to get, and who knows how many are still out there to get?"

"Well one thing is for certain," said Sky, "despite his exploits in the struggle against evil, The Phantom Renegade can't be trusted." "There's the understatement of the year," said Ranma.

"Bloom," said Stella, "What did you mean when you said that you felt that you knew The Phantom Renegade?" "I don't know," said Bloom, "I've just got the feeling that he's familiar to me. I don't know why, I just do."

They reached The Night Rider where Lucinda was waiting for them. "From the unhappy looks on your faces," said Lucinda, "I take it things didn't go so well on the moon." "You ain't just whistling Dixie," said Akane glumly.

"Well I've got some good news for you," said Lucinda, "Amanda has just finished installing the new parts. We should be ready to go within the hour." "That is good news," said Flora.

"It gets better," said Washu, "I've located the next stone. It's somewhere on Solaria, specifically somewhere in the royal palace." "How can you be so specific?" asked Tenchi. "I've fine-tuned the sensors while you were playing on the moon," said Washu smugly, "It wasn't that difficult for a genius like me." "Modest, she isn't," said Carmen to Morgan.

Meanwhile, Stella had already called ahead to her home planet. "Yes," she said into her phone, "We'll be taking off in less than an hour, and…" she looked at Tecna, "How long will it take us to get there?" she asked. "At 6,000 times light speed," said Tecna as she made a quick calculation in her head, "We can be there in five hours."

"We'll be there in about six hours," said Stella, "So please have the guest rooms ready. That would be great, see you soon." She hung up her phone, "We'll be spending the night at my place," she said, "My mom and dad are away for marriage counseling, so we'll have the palace to ourselves."

"You didn't happen to tell the palace staff why we were coming," said Tenchi, "Did you?" "No," said Stella, "I'm not that dumb as to inform someone who could be a spy. I'm not saying that anyone on Solaria is a Shadow Rider or works for them, but it can't hurt to be careful."

"I've just realized something," said Sky, "When we went to Jurai, Sasami's parents were on vacation. On Tides, Layla's parents were on their second honeymoon. My parents were also on vacation, and Stella's parents are at marriage counseling. It's just weird that our parents are away when we come to our homes." "Coincidences happen all the time," said Elise, "It's all part of the 'laws' of chaos."

The end of chapter 29. Next chapter, we switch views back to the witches and The Shadow Riders. What will happen next may shock you, but trust me; you won't want to miss it. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!