Last time Bloom and co. watched as the warlock Trabon betrayed Malaketh and The Shadow Riders. The new partnership between our heroes and The Phantom Renegade was a little rocky, but it paid off. We learned that Malaketh plans to use the stones to power a Time Bender, a time machine that will allow him to alter history at any point he chooses. The Phantom Renegade said that he has his own Time Bender, and plans to use it to undo the wrong that has afflicted Sparkx. Meanwhile, Malaketh ordered Darcy to secure all the financial aspects of The Shadow Riders. Darcy had plans of her own for all that money, while Icy planned to destroy Malaketh and use the stones for her own time travel experience. On with the show!

Chapter 39: Clash at Salusa Secundus pt 1

Bloom starred out one of the portholes as The Night Rider streaked through hyperspace at 13,750 times light speed, destination: Salusa Secundus. Even at that speed, our heroes wouldn't reach the location of the final stone for another hour, so the time was spent getting ready for what was sure to be the final battle against The Shadow Riders.

"Can't this rust bucket go any faster?" asked Ranma, "Malaketh could be there already." "We're already past normal cruising speed," said Lucinda, "I don't know how much more the engines can take."

"Well I know what the engines can take," said Amanda, "I can push The Night Rider up to 14,250, and that's about it without overloading the hyperdrive, unless you want to suffer death by massive explosion." "No," said Sky, "We're making good time."

"I'd rather be making great time," said Beauregard, "So how about you smart people figure out how to push the envelope for the hyperdrive, that is, if you think you can." "I know I can," said Elise, "So hold on to something, it's gonna get wild to the nth degree."

Less than five minutes later Elise had modified the hyperdrive to increase fuel efficiency and power output. The Night Rider was now traveling at 16,500 times light speed. "Now this is what I'm talking about!" said Lucinda as she watched mesmerized at the stars zooming past the portholes. "Who needs drugs?" said Beauregard, "I'm tripping just looking out the window!"

The ship exited hyperspace seven minutes later, ending the 'trip' sooner than Beauregard and Lucinda wanted it to end, but not soon enough for Stella. She had spent nearly the entire journey throwing up from the turbulence. "You gonna be okay if there's a fight?" asked Brandon. "I don't know," said Stella, "But I'll try."

Salusa Secundus was a gloomy looking planet nearly covered by gray clouds. "I'm reading a unusually high level of background radiation," said Timmy as he scanned the planet for the stone, "But it shouldn't be a problem as long as we don't stay too long."

"How long is too long?" asked Musa. "If you find that your hair is falling out," said Washu, "And you're glowing in the dark, you've stayed too long."

The Night Rider descended through the clouds towards the surface of the planet. "Radiation levels are getting higher," said Tecna, "But we're still safe. Something terrible must have happened here for this world to have such high levels of background radiation."

As the ship cleared the clouds, Bloom and the others looked out the windows to see a blasted landscape with hardly any greenery. In fact, scanners were hardly picking up anything alive, not even cockroaches; only algae in the oceans. They landed on the outskirts of a ruined city on the northern continent. The buildings were falling apart at the seams.

"Good Gods," said Bloom, "What happened here?" "I can answer that," said a digitally altered voice. There stood The Phantom Renegade atop a nearby boulder, "But first, do you have the stones you collected?"

"Yes," said Bloom as she pulled out an item from her pocket about the size of a small matchbox, "I put them in this box and shrunk it." "Excellent," said The Phantom Renegade, he pulled out from his pocket a small bag. From that bag he produced the three stones he had. "I give you these Stones of Power," said the masked man, "Protect them well."

"How long have you been here?" asked Tenchi as Bloom restored the box to it's original size, placed the three stones with the four already in her possession and re-shrank the box.

"I had just arrived," said The Phantom Renegade, "When I saw your ship landing. As to your question, Princess of Sparkx: This planet was once a world of diverse cultures and races, not all that different from Earth, in fact, too like Earth. Two thousand years ago the population of Salusa Secundus was divided into two rival nations that hated and feared each other.

"What happened here, what destroyed this world as a beacon of culture, science and civilization, was what nearly happened to Earth in the latter-half of the twentieth century; Global Thermonuclear War. Both nations were capable of launching nuclear missiles at each other, and that's what they did. Nearly every major city was annihilated by nuclear fire. Those who survived the initial destruction were soon dead from the global fallout. For two thousand years Salusa Secundus has been a dead planet."

"There's no such thing as a dead planet," said Flora, "Only sleeping ones." "No, Flora," said Elise, "I'm afraid I have to agree with our masked friend. Even after two thousand years the radiation levels in the water and soil are dangerously high. Not even your Winx can make something grow here. Believe me when I say that Salusa Secundus is a dead planet."

"Which makes this world the perfect gravesite for you interlopers!" Bloom looked to her left to see Malaketh and the remaining Shadow Riders. In his hand was a clear stone, almost like a crystal.

"We got here an hour ago," said Xallos, "And as you can see, the final stone is ours!" "It's more like a focusing crystal than a stone," said Salamei, "The first twelve are the real power source."

"The choice is yours, Bloom," said Malaketh, "Either hand over the stones you have, or you and your friends shall most surely die." "I have a better idea," said Icy, "Let's just kill them all first, then take the stones."

"I have an even better idea, Icy," said Carmen, "How about the two of us have one last battle, this time to the finish. If I kill you, your side hands over their stones. If you kill me, my side hands over our stones. Sounds fair?"

"As a matter of fact," said Icy, "It does. One last fight, to the death, with all the stones going to the winning side." "Well I don't approve," said Salamei, "You might lose."

"I won't lose to this Wicca wanabee," said Icy, "It's time Carmen was put in her place." "Then you'd better win," said Malaketh, "Because I've waited far too long to possess all thirteen stones." "You'll have them within fifteen minutes," said Icy.

"You sure you want to do this?" Flora asked Carmen as the witch got ready for the fight. "Abso-f#ck$ng-lutely," said Carmen, "I've been itching to kill Icy for a long time now."

"What if you lose?" asked Bloom, "What if Icy kills you?" "Then I trust you to finish the job for me," said Carmen, "On another point, I don't trust Malaketh to just hand over the stones he has." "Me neither," said Tenchi, "So I say that as soon as Carmen wins, assuming she does win, we rush the enemy before the can defend themselves."

"The second I kill that bitch Carmen," said Icy, "Strike and kill Bloom and her pathetic friends." "Consider it done," said Malaketh, "Just make sure you win."

"Remember about that insurance policy that will bring back Stormy?" said Darcy, "Well it applies to you as well. Gods forbid that you die, you won't be dead for long." "Good," said Icy, "Because if you can't bring me back, I'll reincarnate myself as an monster of sort and rip you to pieces."

The two rival witches were soon ready for their fight to the finish. "Any last words before I destroy you?" asked Icy. "Just one," said Carmen, "Freezudo!" Before Icy could blink her legs were covered in ice.

"You bitch!" raged Icy as she tried to free her legs, "How dare you use my element against me!" "I dare," said Carmen, "Because I'm better than you. From the first time we glared at each other back at school I swore to the gods that I would bring you down off your high horse, that I wouldn't stop until you were on your knees in submission. When I'm done with you, you'll be begging me to finish you off."

"Dream on!" exclaimed Icy as she shot an ice beam at Carmen. It only grazed her, yet part of the beam hit her eyes, covering them in ice. Icy then freed her legs while Carmen struggled to clear her eyes.

"You're the one who'll be begging for death," said Icy. She then shot several ice shards at Carmen. She had barely managed to restore her sight when the first of the shards slashed her left arm. Carmen managed to dodge the rest of the shards, but the first one left a deep cut that was bleeding freely. "First blood to you, Icy," said Carmen, "And now, some blood for me!" She sent a high-powered energy sphere at Icy. She failed to dodge the attack, which impacted the left side of her face, knocking out two of her teeth.

"You'll pay for that," said Icy as she spat blood from her mouth. "Please," said Carmen, "Put it on my tab." This small joke seemed to have a negative effect on Icy. She howled in rage and flew towards Carmen. Carmen also flew up into the air. The two witches met in a clash of ice and dark energy.

"Look at them go," said Toro to Darcy, "They really want to kill each other."

"Such reckless hate," said Flora to Bloom, "How can Carmen stand having such negative emotions in her heart?" "I don't know," said Bloom, "What I do know is that Carmen and Icy are too evenly matched. This fight is going to last a long time."

True enough both Icy and Carmen seemed to be at equal levels in power. They alternated from magic based attacks to street-fighting blows. Eventually the two witches landed for a breather.

"We're getting nowhere fast, Icy," gasped Carmen, "We could fight like this all week and neither of us would win." "I hate to agree with you," said Icy, "But you're right. But it's not that we're evenly matched. We're both holding back."

"True," said Carmen, "well, at least I'm holding back. I'm afraid you've reached your limit." "I have no limits!" exclaimed Icy, "You're the one who's at the end of her chain. But I'll give you a chance to prove me wrong. You keep saying that you're better than me; well prove it! Show me what you've got that I don't got!"

"You really want to see what I got?" said Carmen, "You want to see why I'm better than you? So be it! I'll show you what I've got! But in order to truly appreciate what I've got, you got to hold still for about three minutes. So if you truly want to see what I've got, if you want to witness something truly out of this world or any world, stay right where you are!"

Icy glared at Carmen for a minute before answering, "Show me what you got! I won't move!" "Good!" said Carmen, "Now keep your eyes open and prepared to be amazed!" She held her hands together with her arms outstretched and began to chant:

"Darkness from twilight;

Crimson from blood that flows;

Buried in the flow of time…

A bright yellow energy sphere with a black outline began to form in Carmen's hands.

"In Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness!

Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess!!"

The energy ball continued to expand as Carmen channeled more and more energy into it. Red static bolts began to crackle from the sphere. "How much longer is she gonna charge this thing before she shoots?" asked Stella, "I remember the last time she used this spell, it didn't take nearly this long to get it ready."

At that time the ground began to tremble. "I know what she's doing," said Morgan, "Carmen is so eager to kill Icy, she has to be sure that that she gets the job done in one shot. It's all or nothing time here."

"Well that's one explanation," said Musa. "I've got another," said Ryoga, "Carmen's flipped her wig and she's gonna get us all killed!"

Still Carmen kept building up her attack. By now the sphere was over ten feet in diameter. "Are you just gonna build up your energy all day?" sapped Icy, "Or are you gonna blow my mind already?" "You'll know when I'm done!" snapped Carmen back, "Oh you'll know."

By this time the sphere was almost twenty feet in diameter, the red static bolts crackling like there was no tomorrow.

"She's charging way too much energy!" said Tecna as she scanned with her PDA, "It's enough to blow up the planet at least twice! If she misses…" "We'll be space dust," finished Elise. Still Carmen kept building up her spell; still the sphere kept growing. "I think it would be a good idea if we were to get out of the way!" shouted Ranma over the crackle of the energy charge.

"We'd better move out of the way as well," said Salamei. Both sides then backed away from Carmen and Icy. "Your sister is suicidal," said Toro to Darcy, "Why doesn't she get out of the way" "Because Icy hates Carmen so much," said Darcy, "because she's so convinced that she's the better witch, she has to see what Carmen has. She won't move, therefore, she's good as dead."

"You're going to destroy the whole planet, Carmen!" shouted Flora, "You've got to stop it!" "Flora!" shouted Helia, "Let's go!"

"DRAGON SLAVE!" roared Carmen. The sphere shot from her hands faster than the speed of sound, producing a sonic boom. Icy barely had time to raise her hands in front of her to block the spell when the sphere impacted. The resulting explosion vaporized everything in a forty-foot radius; the flash could have been seen from space.

Bloom and the others had covered their eyes from the flash. When they could see again without risking blindness, they saw no trace of Icy. Bloom rushed over to Carmen who looked worse for wear. She was shaking from the exertion of her spell, as if one good puff of air could knock her down.

"Is she dead?" asked Carmen in a shaky voice, "Is Icy gone?" "I can't sense her," said Bloom. "I'm not picking up Icy's energy signature either," said Elise, "You got her."

"Then it's over," said Carmen in a voice barely above a whisper, "I finally beat the bitch." With that she fell to her knees, "And with that, I am spent." She fell over and passed out.

To be continued… Next chapter the fight for the stones reaches its conclusion. Who will win? Who will die? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!