Last time the forces of good and evil clashed in one last all or nothing battle on Salusa Secundus for the stones. In short: Bloom fought Malaketh, with Malaketh faring better than Bloom. Xallos took Sky hostage, forcing Bloom to surrender her stones. With all thirteen Stones of Power in one place, Bloom gambled it all and destroyed the stones. Tenchi saved Sky by killing Xallos, while Tatewaki killed Malaketh. With Salamei as the last leader of The Shadow Riders, Toro and Darcy betrayed and murdered her, thereby freeing them form Shadow Rider control. Our heroes then turned their attention to The Phantom Renegade, whom finally revealed his identity. On with the show!
Chapter 41: Other Survivors
"I destroyed the stones because I had to," said Bloom to the masked man, "Otherwise they'd be in the hands of The Shadow Riders." "I don't blame you, Princess of Sparkx," said The Phantom Renegade, "You did what you thought was right. My only regret is that now I can never repay the debt I owe King Oritel and Queen Miriam."
"That does it!" exclaimed Stella, "We've got questions and you've got answers, so start talking. How do you know Bloom's birth parents?"
"Very well," said The Phantom Renegade, "I shall answer your questions." He removed his mask to reveal his face, "My real name is Jake Avatar. My father, Laurence Avatar, was the personal body of King Oritel. My family has served the royal family of Sparkx for several generations, until the last coven desecrated the planet."
"If your family worked for mine," said a stunned sounding Bloom, "Then that means…" "Yes, Princess Bloom," said Jake Avatar, "I too am from Sparks."
"Impossible!" said Tecna, "Bloom is the only survivor of Sparkx." "She's the only known survivor," said Brandon, "Who's to say that they're aren't others?"
"True," said Jake Avatar, "There were some survivors. Several individuals escaped the destruction of our home, including 100 children of ages 3 to 11. I was six years old when the last coven attacked. Everyone and everything I had known was gone in an instant: My home, my friends and family, my life; all was taken away from me. I remember watching from a space-transport window as Sparkx was locked in a cursed ice age. I then swore that those responsible would die by my hands.
"Those that managed to escape the disaster were scattered across the galaxy. The few adults that made it knew that the coven would come searching for us. You see, all those born on Sparkx are born with an ember of The Dragonfire infused in our hearts. The coven knew that if they can't have the majority of The Dragonfire that was given to Bloom, then they would take several pieces of it from the survivors."
"But they didn't get a chance," said Ranma, "The Phantom Renegade killed them." "That doesn't make any sense," said Akane, "If you're The Phantom Renegade, and you were six at the time, how did you do it?"
"I'm getting there," said Jake Avatar, "I wasn't always The Phantom Renegade. When I heard that the masked man had destroyed the last coven, I made it my mission to learn all that I could about him. It took ten years of research and searching before I discovered the truth: The Phantom Renegade isn't a vengeful ghost, not the devil incarnate, as many would believe. Rather, he is many people who swore to fight the forces of evil thought out the years. When one Phantom Renegade dies or retires, another soon rises to take his place.
"Six years ago I found the current Phantom Renegade. His struggle to destroy the last coven had weakened him physically, almost to the point of death. His days of roaming the universe were over. His one regret was that he failed to find a successor to carry on the tradition of The Phantom Renegade. I volunteered to be his student.
"I spent the next five years learning everything my predecessor knew: all his abilities, techniques and his unique style. At the moment of my predecessor's death, he transferred to me all his memories and experiences and with them, all the knowledge of all the previous masked men.
"It wasn't long before I discovered that The Shadow Riders still existed. My predecessor did what he could to destroy them fifty years ago, yet Malaketh, Salamei and Xallos had survived. I then vowed to finish what my predecessor started, and this time, I would keep my vow.
"Among the many powers of The Phantom Renegade is the ability to move about without being seen. Not true invisibility, but rather that people wouldn't take notice of my presence. I used this power to locate and track Shadow Rider members to their mansion. Having infiltrated their base of operations, I soon discovered Malaketh's plan to use the stones to power a Time Bender. That's when I got the idea to make my own Time Bender, that I would undo history and restore Sparkx to it's true glory. Now that dream is has been shattered, the past shall remain set and Sparkx shall forever be icebound."
"That's not true," said Bloom, "Sparkx is beginning to warm up again. I know, I was there recently and things are slowly getting better. My friends and I are going to rebuild Sparkx and make it like it was, even better. While we can't change the past, we can strive for a better future. I would be truly happy if you were there to help us rebuild our home."
At this Jake's eyes began to shed tears of absolute joy. "You would have my assistance," he said, "Even after I threatened to destroy your friend?" "That's all water under the bridge now," said Bloom, "If you're asking for my forgiveness, you have it."
"My Princess!" said Jake as he fell to his knees, "My Queen! I am your ever-obedient servant. I swear to never abandon you or your friends. Ask anything of me and it shall be done."
Normally Bloom would be rather flabbergasted that anyone would swear loyalty to her. Yet the experience of the past few weeks seemed to give her more confidence as a person of royal blood. "There's no need to bow before me, Jake Avatar," said Bloom, "Your family has served mine for many years, but I accept you more than a servant, I accept you as my friend and ally."
It was then that Carmen recovered from her exertion. "What did I miss?" she asked. "Well," said Ranma, "After you killed Icy the rest of The Shadow Riders attacked. Most of them are dead, including Malaketh and Xallos. Darcy and Toro killed Salamei and they got away. The rest are tied up."
"Meanwhile," said Ryoko, "It appears that The Phantom Renegade is in fact a survivor of Sparkx. His real name is Jake Avatar and he just swore loyalty to Bloom." "Really," said Carmen, a strange look on her face.
"So what now?" asked Shampoo. "First," said Tenchi, "We call The Galaxy Police and tell them that The Shadow Riders are finally defeated, that there's several of them tied up and waiting to be booked."
"Second," said Brandon, "We head back to Earth and drop off Ranma and his crew." "Sounds like a plan to me," said Ranma.
"Third," said Tecna, "We return to Magix; the amount of schoolwork piled up for us must be enormous by now." "I'm sure our teachers would be lenient," said Flora, "Considering what we just did to save the universe."
"Don't count on any sympathy from Griselda," said Stella, "We'll be lucky not to have detention for a year. Speaking of time, Sasami and Roderick are getting married soon, so we'll all have to attend that."
"There's one overall point," said Bloom, "Jake, you said that at least 100 survived?" "Yes," said Jake, "100 children, including myself, along with a dozen adults. Before scattering the children throughout the galaxy they cast a spell that would allow us to recognize each other in time."
"So there's ninety-nine kids and twelve adults that survived Sparkx," said Sky, "And Jake can recognize them when he sees them. So all we have to do is look for them. We've got a long road ahead of us."
"The road isn't as long as you thing," said Jake, "another of the survivors is among us, and I'm looking right at her." Everyone followed Jake's gaze to Carmen.
"No way!" said Morgan, "No way Carmen is from Sparkx. She told me she's from Hefung 6." "She said that she grew up on Hefung 6," said Elise, "That she doesn't remember her birth parents or where she came from." "Still," said Morgan, "It does seem pretty farfetched that Carmen is actually a survivor from Sparkx."
"I believe him," said Carmen, "It all makes sense now. All my life I've felt out of place, even among other witches I've felt that I belonged somewhere else. I hid those feelings because I thought they were a sign of weakness. Now I know that they were guiding me to where I am needed, where I belong."
She faced Bloom and bowed, "My place is at your side, Princess Bloom. I pledge my undying loyalty to you; all my powers and abilities are yours to command."
"You have nee need to bow before me, Carmen," said Bloom, "Friendship already exists between us, and now I accept you as my ally."
"Hold on a second, Carmen" said Morgan, "Just because you've discovered who you are and where your place in life is, doesn't mean you're gonna abandon me. When we started out we promised to stick together. 'Where you go, I go,' remember that? Well if you're gonna help Bloom find the survivors of Sparkx, then so am I."
"Same here," said Elise, "Somebody's got to make sure you two don't get into too much trouble."
"I know this has been asked," said Riven, "But what now?" "I really don't know," said Sky, "But I can say this; what we've been through before was only the beginning."
The end of chapter 41. Next chapter it all comes together. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!
