Last time Zahidia ordered Vicky and The Trix to attack and destroy Alfea, and kill Bloom, all in order to obtain the next Construct piece. The traitor Lucy lead the enslaved zombie witches in a direct attack, which Bloom and the others disrupted before anyone got hurt, leaving Mirta the chance to deal with her former best friend.
But this was just a diversion that allowed Vicky to abduct Faragonda. The two magic users fought in the middle of the forest, resulting in Vicky delivering a curse onto the headmistress of Alfea. Faragonda repulsed the worst of the curse, but still had to face an unpleasant effect of it. But it wasn't a total, lost; Vicky left the battle with her own blood spilt on the field.
All the while this was happening, Icy, Darcy and Stormy snuck into Alfea to find the next Construct piece. To make a long summary short, Musa ended up saving the life of her friend from home, allowing her to earn her Enchantix. But the baddies escaped to fight another day. Way more than 'nuff said, on with the show already!
Chapter 15: The Depths of Despair & The Heights of Hope
It was two hours after Vicky, The Trix, the traitor Lucy and all the zombie witches abandoned their attack on Alfea, and two hours since Bloom and the others had been searching for their missing headmistress.
Tecna, Timmy and Elise had determined that Vicky had taken Faragonda somewhere in the forest, but that's as close as they could estimate without a proper search. So there Bloom and her friends were, combing the forest for any sign of Faragonda.
Bloom had nearly forgotten just how big the woods near Alfea was; it felt like she and her friends could search for days and find no trace of their headmistress.
But then fortune fell on Bloom and the others, for it was Elise who discovered what happened to Faragonda.
Bloom and the Winx were hovering above the treetops, along with Carmen, who was feeling much better, when Elise came up to them.
"I think I found her," said Elise in a grave tone, "but…"
"But what?" Bloom asked.
"I don't think you'll like what you'll see," said Elise. She showed Bloom and the others to a large clearing in the woods where signs of a recent battle between two magic users took place. At the far end of the clearing was a statue of some sort. But when Bloom and the others got closer, they soon realized that it was more than a statue of an elderly woman in a defensive position and a determined expression on her face.
"No," said a shocked Musa, "no, it can't be."
"It's Faragonda," said Flora.
"She's been petrified," said Tecna.
"But how?" Stella asked.
"Who do you think did it," Layla said in an accusing tone, not really asking the question.
"Vicky," said Bloom in a defiant tone, "she'll pay for this, I swear it!"
"You and me both," said Carmen in an equally defiant tone, "that witch has so got to die!"
"I wouldn't be so eager to pledge to a death oath if I were you," said Faragonda's disembodied voice.
"Ms. Faragonda!" exclaimed Flora, "is that you?"
"Yes," said Faragonda, "if not in the flesh, then definitely in the spirit. Victoria placed a petrifaction curse on my body, but I disrupted the curse enough to allow me to preserve my mind and soul. Unfortunately this has left be in a rather hard position."
"I'll say," remarked Musa, "next thing you know, you'll be attracting pigeons."
"Then there's very little time to waste," said Faragonda, "in any case. While I was able to save the essence of myself from permanent harm, my body is still in danger. Unless the cruse is removed within the next seven days, I will remain trapped in stone forever."
"What can we do?" Bloom asked, "Tell us what you need to remove the curse."
"There's very little I can do in this position," said Faragonda, "I'm afraid that you, Bloom, you and your friends are my only hope, and it won't be easy."
"It's never easy," said Stella, "but that hasn't stopped us before."
"That's the spirit," said Faragonda, "now, to business. I'm afraid that the only sure way to remove the curse, without harming my body, is to reverse time in the general area."
"What do you mean reverse time?" Musa asked.
"It's exactly what she meant," said Tecna as she scanned Faragonda's petrified body, "The curse that has afflicted her has made her into a living fossil. Undoing history within a meter or two of Faragonda will almost surely remove the curse. The only problems I can conceive of at this time, no pun intended, is how to control the reversal of time, as well as gathering the necessary components for a time-reversal spell, for a controlled change of time is one of the most difficult and dangerous aspects of magic."
"Controlling the reversal spell will be of no concern," said Faragonda, "I will guide you in the actual spell work. But I must agree with you on the later problem, Tecna. This spell requires three items of incredible magical prowess. Two of which are located on worlds located at opposite ends of the Magical Dimension.
"But the real challenge lies with the third item, the most important one. Flora, I believe you are familiar with it in reputation, for this item can be found right in your back yard."
"The Tears of The Black Willow," said Flora, "of course!"
"Of course!" Tecna and Elise agreed at the same time.
"What are you talking about?" Stella asked.
"The Black Willow is a unique tree found only on Flora's homeworld of Lynphea," said Tecna, "it's sap, or tears, have the potential to change time, either speeding it up or slowing it down.
"The Tears of The Black Willow have been sought after to be used to help people with terminal diseases. They would be exposed to them and time would slow down for them until a cure could be found."
"With the right components and words," said Elise, "the Tears can be used to reverse time. This can definitely work."
"But there's more," said Bloom, "Isn't there?"
"Unfortunately yes," said Faragonda, "I fear that the other two items, two rare stones to be used in the spell, they are on worlds so far from Magix, I fear that you will not obtain them in time."
"Not on my watch, Ms. F.!" Stella said defiantly as she pulled out her cell phone, "I've got my cousins on speed dial now. The Night Rider can take us anywhere in the Magical Dimension and be back in time for lunch."
"I wish it were that simple, Stella," said Faragonda.
"Well how far away can they be?" Elise asked as she pulled out her PDA, "you did say that we have a week. So what worlds are we talking about? I can compute their distance easily enough."
"These worlds are special in many ways," said Faragonda, "you need to understand if you are to go to them. These worlds, and several others like them, are located within the boundaries of the Magical Dimension, yet are not truly part of it. Rather, they exist in our universe, and in others at the same time."
"Parallel realities," said Bloom, "I think I read something about that once; worlds living in multiple universes."
"Exactly," said Faragonda.
"That's fascinating, I'm sure," said Elise, "but I need names if I'm to figure out where we are to go."
"The first stone," said Faragonda, "azonite, is located on Guardia. The second stone, travecite, is located on The Endless Illusion."
"Guardia and The Endless Illusion," said Elise as she made her computations.
"I've never heard of these worlds," said Layla.
"Me neither," said Musa. She and everyone else looked at Tecna.
"I've heard very little about those worlds," said Tecna as she began typing at her wrist computer, calling up a search engine on said worlds, "just bits and pieces, and not all of them are from reliable sources. But what I do know for true is that The Endless Illusion was once a prison colony several hundred years ago, while Guardia has unique gravitation anomalies."
"Typical," remarked Layla, "one world where we'll sure to have trouble flying, the other full of descendants of convicts."
"Just another adventure in The Magical Dimension," said Bloom.
"It may be for naught," said Elise as she called up a hologram of the galaxy. One star was marked yellow with a blue outline, "That's Earth around it's sun," she then highlighted a large area of stars with a pink outline, "That's the Magical Dimension. As you can see, it's pretty big."
She then marked a star near the middle in bright green, "That's Magix," she marked another star with dark green, "That's Lynphea," she then marked out two stars at opposite ends of the Magical Dimension, one star was bright orange, "That's Guardia," the other was dark blue, "and that's The Endless Illusion.
"We might just make it in time, if we were to push the engines of The Night Rider to their absolute limits, we would make it, barely. But then you would need to factor in the amount of time needed to locate the required amount of each stone, and who knows how long that will take. Then we need to reach The Black Willow on Lynphea, and that won't be a wall in the park either. Then we also need to factor in any time needed to deal with any trouble that comes along, and with our luck, it will. With all that imputed into the equation…well, we just won't have the time."
"Then we'll need two ships," said Bloom, "one will go to Guardia, the other to The Endless Illusion, and we'll all meet on Lynphea."
"But what other ship in the Magical Dimension is as fast as The Night Rider?" Flora asked.
"Doesn't Jake have his own ship?" Layla asked.
"He does," said Bloom, "but it's not really that fast, and it only has room for four or five passengers. If these worlds are really on the edge of the Magical Dimension, and exist in multiple universes at the same time, then we'll need as much help as we can bring along."
"A Red Fountain ship has plenty of room," suggested Stella.
"Out of the question," said Elise firmly, "those things may have advanced weaponry and defense systems, but their engines are worth absolutely dick in an extended spaceflight such as this. We'd break down in the middle of nowhere."
"Definitely not doing that," said Stella who, as well as most of the others, experienced firsthand the ordeal of being stranded in the depths of space.
"Riven has his own starship," said Musa, "I just remembered, he got it for graduation."
"What make and model?" Elise asked, clearly intrigued.
"I think he said it was a Equinox Special 8550," said Musa, "but I could be wrong. I haven't seen it yet, Riven said I'd be the first one to see it after the paint was done. He was going to bring it over this afternoon, but after what happened today…"
"Well tell him to get it here pronto," said Elise, "the Equinox Special 8550 has room for 20 easily, and it's engine, a Maximum Overdrive 2500, with a few adjustments it'll be as fast as The Night Rider, if not faster."
As it would happen, Stella was on the phone with The Night Rider, with Beauregard and Lucinda on speakerphone on the other end. And as luck would have it, Amanda came onto the bridge of the ship and heard Elise's statement.
"No f#ck$ng hotrod hunk of sh$t is as fast as my baby!!" exclaimed Amanda.
"We'll see you soon," said Stella hastily, "love you all, say hi to Ryoga for me." and she hung up, "They'll be here within the hour."
"This might just work," said Elise, "With two of the fastest ships in the Magical Dimension, each of them fully loaded with the best fuel that money can buy, and money is of no concern," she held up her own Deluxe Platinum credit card, "it's on me this time, we might just make it."
"I just talked with Riven," said Musa as she hung up her phone, "he'll bring the ship over right now. But…"
"But what?" Flora asked.
"He asked me to name the ship," said Musa, "I'm not really good at giving things names. I can think up lyrics for a new song at the drop of a hat, but to give something like a starship a name, a really good name, that's a tune of a different note."
"I'm sure you'll think of something," said Bloom, "but right now we've all got to make some phone calls." She then turned back to face the immobilized Faragonda, "We'll be back, Ms. Faragonda, I promise."
"We shouldn't be leaving her out in the open like this," said Flora, "Can't we take her back to Alfea?"
"I wouldn't move my body in this condition," said Faragonda, "any attempt to relocate me would only make things worse."
"In that case we'll make sure nothing happens to you," said Layla. She called forth a large glob of morphix and formed it into a large translucent sphere around Faragonda's petrified body. Flora, Musa and Bloom then set up several protective wards to discourage anyone from getting close.
"We'll be back with the cure," said Bloom, "I promise."
"You already promised, Bloom," said Faragonda, "and I appreciate it even more. But you should get going. Don't worry about me, I'm not planning on going anywhere."
********
Over at Cloud Tower, in Griffin's office, The Trix watched as Vicky attempted several healing spells on the cut that Faragonda inflicted. They had already heard of their sister's battle with the headmistress of Alfea, and were especially pleased with the results. But the sight of Vicky cut when she seemed nearly invincible before was a bit unnerving to the three younger witches.
Vicky then sighed with frustration as the cut on her forehead refused to go away. All that she had been able to do was stop the bleeding and heal the skin over, but a scar remained, one that wouldn't fade no matter what she tried.
"I don't get it," said Stormy, "that's not a serious cut, but it's not going away. Why isn't itgoing away?"
"It was bound to happen sooner or later," said Vicky. "something like this," she pointed at the scar on her forehead.
She then spoke to her sisters, "It's time you learned some of what I've been up to during my absence. I've already told you that I've had several enhancing enchantments placed on me, you've seen the outcome of some of them; superior physical strength and speed, invulnerability to projectiles and intense heat, just to name a few."
"I'll say," remarked Icy, "what else have you done to yourself?"
"I'd rather not talk about the rest of them right now," said Vicky, "it'll take too long. The point, my dear sisters, is that the law of equivalent exchange holds sway even over a witch of my caliber; 'to obtain, something of equal value must be lost.' I've gained so much, but I've had to pay a terrible price.
"In return for all my new abilities, I've also received certain limits that must be obeyed if I am to survive. If I were to ignore those limits, I would risk seriously injuring myself, possibly crippling myself for life.
"In the excitement of the past few weeks; recovering the Construct pieces, reuniting with you, and everything else, I've been going nearly nonstop, catching barely a few hours rest here and there. This cut is a sign that I need to take a break; to relax and recharge my reserves."
"Try saying that when you're drunk," said Stormy. At this the four sisters laughed.
"Okay," said Darcy once everyone had stopped laughing, "you need some down time. How long a rest are we talking about?"
"No more than four days," said Vicky, "three if I get the chance to really chill out."
"Then that's that then," said Icy, "as your eldest younger sister, I'm ordering you to take a rest; no more mischief for the next three days."
"What if Zahidia calls?" Darcy asked, "won't she want to know why you're taking a vacation?"
"Zahidia already knows of my limitations," said Vicky, "as well as my occasional need for a sabbatical. I'll let her know that this is one of those needs."
Just then Toro came into the office, "I thought I sensed you ladies returning."
"And I wanted to surprise you," said Darcy as she embraced her dark martial artist, the two of them kissing lustfully.
"Oh get a room," muttered Stormy.
"That does it!" snapped Darcy, "Stormy, I'm finding you your own plaything. As soon as we take over Red Fountain, you are going to pick out a Specialist to enslave to your will."
"You want me to hook up with a schoolboy who's never even been with another girl?" Stormy asked, her voice full of disgust, "hell no! I like men with experience, someone who can keep up with me."
"So you do like boys!" said Icy, who then pointed an accusing finger at Darcy, "and you kept insisting that she swung the other way."
"You're the one who said that Stormy swung the other way," said Darcy, "not me!"
"You both said I swing the other way," said Stormy, "well read my lips: I'm straight as an arrow. And no, Icy, I don't like boys, I like men; older, real men."
"I'm sure there's someone out there for you to dominate," said Vicky.
"Not likely," said Stormy in a stubborn tone. But the truth was that there was someone out there in the cosmos that Stormy was attracted to, an older man she wanted to be with, but that ship has already left port and sunk.
"Well don't give up, little sister," said Vicky, "who knows what tomorrow will bring. I know what it'll bring for me tonight; a hot bath and lots of chocolate. But first I need to inform Zahidia of what happened at Alfea."
"Just what did happen at Alfea?" Toro asked.
While Vicky was on the phone with Zahidia giving her report, Darcy informed Toro of what happened; Lucy having the zombie witches attack Alfea directly, while The Trix snuck into the library underground, then Vicky fighting and defeating Faragonda, with Carmen forcing Icy out the window and subduing all three Trix by herself, then Vicky coming in to get them out of it.
"And the worst part," said Stormy, "that Musa, that damn Musa, she now has her full powers!"
"This keeps up," said Icy, "all the Winx will have their Enchantix, and then even Bloom will have her full powers! It's disgusting!"
"Well at least you got to destroy the library," said Toro, "that's something. Wish I had some success today."
"That's right," said Darcy, "did you find Morgan yet?"
"You'd think that you'd be the first I'd tell if I found Morgan," said Toro, "no, the little bitch remains a fugitive. I've searched the whole castle from top to bottom, and I was thorough. Yet I couldn't find her, it was like she did escape with Griffin and those other two."
"Trust a boy to mess up like this," said Stormy in a scornful tone.
"It's not my fault!" snapped Toro, "if she is still somewhere in Cloud Tower, then she's invisible, she can do that you know. I may be capable of many things, but I can't track someone who can't be seen."
"I don't blame you," said Darcy, while Stormy and Icy did blame him for his failure, even though they were very careful to keep their accusations to themselves.
It was then that Vicky put Zahidia on speakerphone so that Icy, Darcy and Stormy could relate their part in the days' events. Rather, Vicky linked her phone to Griffin's crystal ball so that everyone in the room could talk to Zahidia, but an anti-eavesdropping spell on the connection prevented Vicky and her sisters from seeing Zahidia in the crystal ball. But her voice was enough.
"We really didn't have much a chance to find the Construct piece," said Icy, "we kept getting interrupted."
"We'll find it next time!" said Stormy boldly.
"Yeah, but next time will be harder," said Darcy, "they'll surely be ready for us then."
"In that case," said Zahidia, "I suggest that you refrain from attacking Alfea for the present time, wait until their guard is lowered. Until then I have a more interesting plan for the Cloud Tower students. Vicky, be so kind as to fetch young Lucy, this assignment will keep her properly occupied."
Lucy came into the office a minute or so later, she already knew that terrible things happened to those who kept Zahidia waiting.
"I await your command, Lady Zahidia," said Lucy as she bowed out of habit, even though she knew that Zahidia couldn't see her.
"I have a task for you, Lucy," said Zahidia, "I wish to use the enslaved students of Cloud Tower as a new source of energy for the empire. You, Lucy, I command you to suck the life from the salves."
"You want to turn our fellow witches into living batteries?" Icy asked. She didn't know if she felt disgusted at the thought of such treatment inflicted on her kind, or to feel inspired by Zahidia's wickedness.
"Well they really aren't good for much else," said Lucy, "Consider it done, Lady Zahidia, I'll send them to Xaldo at once."
"I have a more challenging idea for you," said Zahidia, "the components for an energy draining device shall be sent to you, Lucy, and you shall assemble the device at Cloud Tower and hook your fellow witches into it. When every drop of magical and life energy has been drained, that energy will be sent to Xaldo."
"With all due respect, Lady Zahidia," Lucy asked, "wouldn't it be easier to do all this on Xaldo in the first place?"
"True, it would," remarked Zahidia, "but I want it to be difficult for you. I know what happened at Alfea today, and I must say that I am very disappointed at you for your lack of coordination. You had dozens of high-powered slaves at your command, but you allowed them to be subdued. Then you allowed yourself to be suckered in by your former friend, resulting in you being trapped in an illusion."
"It wasn't my fault!" exclaimed Lucy, "Mirta, she…"
"I know what that half-breed did to you," said Zahidia, her anger in her voice beginning to rise to the occasion, "and I know that you won't allow it to happen again, or else you will wish you had stayed in your own private vacation. Is that understood?"
"It is understood," Lucy said with fearful reluctance.
"Excellent," said Zahidia in a more cheerful tone, "now, I expect you to put forth your best effort in collecting the energy requirements for the empire. The components for the device will arrive at Cloud Tower momentarily, so I should be hearing of results within the next day or so, understand?"
"I understand, Lady Zahidia," said Lucy, "It shall be as you command. I live only to serve you."
"See that you do," said Zahidia in a tone that dismissed Lucy, whom left the office to get to work.
"What about us?" Darcy asked, "What do you want us to do, Lady Zahidia?"
"All in good time," said Zahidia, "but first things first. Vicky, I understand that you require a few days leave of absence from imperial duties. But before you begin your convalescence, tell me, is Faragonda dead?"
"As I said before," said Vicky, "she's been turned to stone, so yes, she's dead."
"Are you sure the old woman is no more?" Zahidia insisted, "I want to know what spell you used."
So Vicky told Zahidia the exact petrifaction curse involved, then admitted it wasn't complete when she cast it, "the old fool disrupted my chanting and aim, so…"
"So there is still a possibility that Faragonda survived," said Zahidia, "and if she does live, then her students will attempt to save her. Icy, Darcy, Stormy, you three are to prevent that. Is that understood?"
"Absolutely," said Icy, while Darcy and Stormy nod in agreement, even though they knew that Zahidia couldn't see them.
"And as soon as I've rested," said Vicky, "I'll finish off my old teacher, Griffin. And who knows, if there's enough time left in the day, I'll go to Red Fountain and destroy Saladin while I'm at it."
"I expect nothing less than that from you, Vicky," said Zahidia.
An hour later found Vicky making herself comfortable in what was her old room in the castle. Her former dorm looked both bigger and smaller than she remembered; smaller because she had experiences so much since then, and bigger because she had to suffer with two additional roommates at the time. But now that she had the room to herself, she was free to truly let lose.
But not before tying up a few lose ends first. Vicky had asked Icy and her sisters to keep an eye on Bloom and her companions through Griffin's crystal ball, and now that Vicky had her old room just the way she wanted it, Icy came in with news.
"They're leaving Magix," said Icy as she used a summoning spell to call the crystal ball into the room. It showed Bloom and several of her friends gathered at the Magix space port. They looked like they were packed and ready for a long journey into space.
"So they're really trying to find a cure for Faragonda," said Vicky, "just where are they going?"
"We managed to hear exactly where they're going," said Icy, "half of them are going to Guardia, the others to The Endless Illusion."
At this Vicky burst out laughing.
"What?" a slightly confused Icy asked, "did I say something funny?"
"Only that you've just told me," said Vicky as she calmed down from her giggles, "that Bloom and her pathetic friends have already doomed Faragonda. Those two worlds they're going to, they are places I've already visited."
"Shut up!" Icy said eagerly, "and you've already left presents there as well?"
"Oh I've left more than presents," said Vicky, "I'm confident that Bloom and her friends will be properly occupied long enough to ensure that any hope to save their headmistress is properly crushed."
"But what if they aren't occupied enough?" Icy asked, "I'm just wondering what Darcy, Stormy and myself should do if that's the case."
"Then it'll be up to the three of you to truly insure that the travelers do indeed fail," said Vicky, "there's very little that I can do for the next three days or so, so keep an eye on Bloom and her friends. If they do manage to return to Magix in time to save Faragonda, then…well, I'm sure you'll know what to do then."
"You can count on us, big sister," said Icy, "If they do get back in time, they'll have to deal with us." With that she left the room, and Vicky to her well needed rest.
Icy found Stormy, Darcy and Toro in the dinning room, were Toro was doing pushups, with Darcy sitting on his back and Stormy keeping track of the number of reps. Right now Toro was up to 289 and wasn't breathing hard at all, let alone sweating.
"Vicky's resting now," said Icy, "so we're to make sure that Bloom and her loser friends fail in their little rescue plan."
"So we're just going to sit here and wait for them to come back?" Stormy asked, "that sucks!"
"Why don't you try reading a book?" Toro suggested, "you might just like it."
"I read plenty, for your information," said Stormy, "I'll read more if I want to."
"Of course you will," said Darcy in a sarcastic tone.
"Screw you both!" snapped Stormy, "just don't do it in front of me."
"Might as well," said Toro as he stopped his exercising so Darcy could get off his back, "There's not much else to do around here until our enemies return from their little fieldtrip."
"Took the words right out of my mouth," said Darcy. But before the two dark lovers could get involved in anything graphic, Lucy came storming into the room.
"You!" the traitor witch said as she pointed at Icy, then at Stormy and Darcy, "and you two, you're going to assist me put the energy draining device together."
"Are you asking or telling us to help you?" Darcy asked in an accusing tone.
"I'm telling you to help me," said Lucy, "and you will."
"Really," said Icy as she crossed her arms, "and just why should we help you in what's clearly your job?"
"Because Lady Zahidia did give me this task to perform," said Lucy, "and I can't do it myself, not quick enough to satisfy Lady Zahidia. And when she finds out that I failed to complete the task in time, Lady Zahidia will punish me. But then I will tell her that you three refused to assist me in my task, and then she will punish you three for being selfish."
"That a load to pig vomit!" said Stormy, "Zahidia wouldn't punish us for that, would she?"
"After what we've seen," said Icy, "better not to take any chances. Okay, Lucy, we'll help you, this time."
"That's right you will," said Lucy as she walked out of the room.
"I'm starting to dislike her again," said Stormy.
"Me to," said Darcy. She then looked at Toro in an apologizing tone, "sorry, babe, but we'll have to play later."
"It'll seem like forever without you," said Toro.
"I know it will," said Darcy.
"Well I've got something that'll keep Toro occupied until we're done," said Icy. She called forth the crystal ball again, "You can keep an eye on Bloom and her friends. Let us know when they're coming back to Magix."
"You got to be kidding me," said Toro, "You expect me to watch them for who knows how long?"
"That's right," said Icy, "I want you to watch them, that's all."
Lucy then stuck her head back into the room, "Any time, ladies. The sooner we get started, the sooner we avoid being skinned alive." She then left again.
"It's official," said Darcy, "we're going to have to get rid of her someday."
"I've already got a few ideas to make it look like an accident," said Stormy.
"Same here," said Icy, "but let's take care of this little chore first. Then we'll figure out how to deal with Lucy. You are so right, Darcy; Lucy has to go."
********
Our heroes used the time packing and getting to the Magix spaceport to decide who would go to which planet:
Bloom, Flora and Layla, along with Helia, Tatewaki, Kurt, Mace and Elise would board The Night Rider and go to Guardia, while Stella, Tecna, Musa, Riven, Timmy, Carmen, Payton and Kegan would use Riven's new ship to get to The Endless Illusion. Bloom had already convinced Jake and the other survivors to stay behind and help defend Alfea and Red Fountain should Vicky and The Trix decide to attack again. It wasn't easy talking them into staying, but Bloom had done it.
According to Elise's calculations, once she modified the engine on Riven's ship, (which would take les than ten minutes) the two ships would be able to reach their destinations in about 18 hours, with less than a day of further hyperspace flight required to reach Lynphea. Both groups agreed to search their respective target worlds for three days to find their stones, then meet up on Lynphea, where they would have another two days to gather the required amount of Black Willow Tears. Lynphea was less than four hours from Magix, so they would have plenty of time to spare.
When they reached the spaceport, Stella's cousins and Ryoga were already there with The Night Rider. Yet the real event of the hour was the sight of Riven standing next to his ship.
Where The Night Rider was originally built for endurance and durability, Riven's ship was designed purely for speed and power. It was streamline and elegant, with four sets of wings each supporting a thruster mount. It supported eight retractable weapons arrays than blended in with the hull. Yet the most impressive part was the paint job; blue the same shade as Musa's eyes, with yellow and orange lines on the wings and a red flame pattern on the fuselage.
"Now this is what I call a ship," said Stella as she admired Riven's new vessel, "I know Brandon would approve." Indeed, it was Brandon who once called The Night Rider 'a piece of junk.'
"Just whose side are you on, cousin?!" Amanda asked in an accusing tone, "remember, this whole thing was your idea."
"You don't have to remind me," grumbled Stella, "and yes, I owe you, big time."
"You owe us more than big time, little cousin," said Lucinda, "but who's counting?"
"I am," muttered Beauregard.
"Well I'm glad you like her, Stella," said Riven as he ran his hand along the hull of his ship, "this baby has it all; passenger room for twenty, each bunk equip with a bed and computer terminal, a fully stocked kitchen, three bathrooms, each with it's own shower."
"That's a relief," said Kurt.
"Says you," said Amanda, "You're coming with us."
"I am?" Kurt asked in a slightly frightened tone as he compared the two ships.
"I'm afraid so, Kurt," said Bloom.
"Look on the bright side," said Payton in a reassuring tone, "at least you have me to play cards with."
"It also has the best weapons," said Riven as he continued to show off his graduation present, "forward and reverse laser turrets, missile and torpedo tubes, scanner jamming arrays, tractor beams, and once Elise and Tecna are done with it, the fastest engine in the cosmos."
"I beg to differ," said Beauregard, "The Night Rider has the fastest engine, ain't that right, Amanda?"
"F#ck yeah!" said Amanda as she brandished a wrench, "I'll bet my baby can beat your hunk of scrap any day of the week."
"Is that a real bet?" Riven asked, "then we'll see who can make the fast flight time from each world to Lynphea, and then back to Magix. Fastest time wins…um…"
"How about the loser pays for the winner's fuel and maintenance costs for one full year," said Lucinda, "how do you like them apples?"
"I'm more of an orange person," said Riven, "but you've got yourself a bet." With that he shook hands with Beauregard, Lucinda and Amanda.
"Good," said Beauregard, "now, as soon as everyone has their gear stowed away and is on board, we can start this little race."
"We can't leave yet," said Lucinda as she looked around, "Ryoga's gotten himself lost again."
"Oh for f#cks sake!" exclaimed Amanda, "can't leave that mother-f#ckr alone for five minutes. I told that bastard to go pick up a package from the spaceport mail office, and he gets lost again. That nimrod couldn't find his own ass with both hands and a roadmap."
"My ears are burning," said Ryoga in an annoyed tone as he appeared behind Amanda, carrying a large package that Bloom guessed was a spare part for The Night Rider.
"Oh, Ryoga," said Amanda in a sheepish tone, "I guess you heard what I said."
"No apologies are necessary," said Ryoga, "I know you really didn't mean it. But next time you could try thinking about what you're about to say before you actually say it." With that he shoved the package at Amanda.
"Good to have you with us, Ryoga," said Bloom.
"Indeed," said Tatewaki, "Methinks that this venture shall require thy special talents."
"Good to be here," said Ryoga, "I've been itching for a real adventure. Getting lost all over Earth was alright, in a manner of speaking, but with you guys, it's something else."
"Yes," said Stella, "We are special."
"So," said Carmen in an impatient tone, "can we go already? Faragonda isn't going to cure herself any time soon."
"She's right," said Elise, "We have less than seven days to obtain the two stones and acquire the Tears of the Black Willow. Every second counts."
"We can't leave just yet," said Riven, "my ship still doesn't have a name."
"Isn't that your job?" Layla asked, "Why are you giving Musa this responsibility?"
"It's alright, Layla," said Musa, "I've really thought about this," she then looked at Riven, then to the ship for a few seconds, then back to Riven, "How does 'Sapphire Blaze' sound?" she asked.
"Any name you choose is great," said Riven, "but that name is perfect."
"Then let it be official," said Carmen as she conjured forth a bottle of champagne, "I christen thee, The Sapphire Blaze!" she then broke the bottle on the hull of the ship. "Can we go now?"
"I still could care less how advanced and flashy your boat is," said Amanda, "no ship in the 'verse is better than The Night Rider," she patted her beloved starship, "ain't that right, precious?"
A loud groaning sound emanated from the inside of The Night Rider, like one part was settling next to another. But to Bloom and the others, it sounded like the ship was talking with Amanda.
"Should I be worried about that?" Kurt asked.
"I hope not," said Bloom.
As everyone brought their luggage onto their respective ships, Helia, who was helping Ryoga make a last-minute repair on the hull of The Night Rider, saw Flora standing near the landing stairs of the ship.
"Don't worry, Flora," said Helia, "everything's going to be alright. We'll get the stones and get the Tears in time to save Faragonda."
"I know we will," said Flora as she held onto Helia's hand, "But that's not what I'm worried about. We're going to my home planet."
"I know," said Helia, "so what's the problem?"
"I already called my mother and father to let them know that we were coming," said Flora, "and they were especially interested to know that you're coming as well. Helia, they're going to meet us when we reach Lynphea. My mother and father, along with all of my sisters, they especially want to meet you."
"What?" a surprised Helia asked. Unfortunately he didn't get the chance to say anything else, for it was time for everyone to get onboard their respective ships.
With everything checked out with both ships, Kurt and Mace insisted that the cousins and Ryoga triple checked everything to be safe, The Night Rider and Sapphire Blaze lifted off and flew into space.
"Okay then," said Bloom over the intercom of The Night Rider and the radio to the Sapphire Blaze, "Good luck, everyone."
"We'll see you in a few days, Bloom," said Stella over on the Sapphire Blaze.
With that both ships entered hyperspace in opposite directions.
The end of chapter 15.
The dragon princess and her companions reach a world full of wonders. As they search for the precious stone they need, they encounter many unique individuals, as well as a race of people with extraordinary abilities. Yet these people had to surrender their abilities in the name of peace. A difficult choice will have to be made in order for the dragon princess to help her new friends survive the coming darkness.
Next Chapter: Concerning Elde Raids
'for those with wings, fly to your dreams.'