* * * * * * * * *

CHAPTER 4:

"Justice"

The corridors leading to the central hub of Paradise Fringe weren’t as crowded as the rest of the station. It consisted mostly of people going to and from their living quarters, or various associates to the Gyahembu family, patrolling for trouble. The girls made their way down these corridors as casually as possible, trying not to attract too much attention as they made their way in the direction of the station’s jail cells.

Bubbles was hoping that no one would stop them and ask where they were going. Blossom was a much better fast-talker than she was, but unfortunately, she was the only one that could speak to anyone here. It made her nervous that she might say the wrong thing.

Blossom wasn’t feeling too good about this whole thing, either. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt some doubt about this mission. What if they were lied to, and this was a dangerous criminal they were releasing? It would be wrong to set him free. But what if he was innocent? It would be wrong for him to be locked up like that. She wished she could have gotten more information before making a decision.

Buttercup pointed up ahead down the corridor and said, "Look over there…I think that’s where it is." She was pointing at a heavy door, flanked by two brutish guards, who looked to be the same species as the one Buttercup bumped into earlier. They were likewise wearing red outfits emblazoned with the bladed star symbol of the Gyahembu. The guards saw their approach and eyed them warily, but did not stray from their posts.

"Ok, I have a plan," Blossom whispered to the others. "Pretend like we’re lost." Buttercup and Bubbles both nodded, and as they headed the rest of the way down the corridor, they glanced worriedly around, like they were trying to get their bearings. One of the guards narrowed its eyes, and gave a low snarl.

Blossom flew up to them and said, "Um, excuse me…we’re lost…can you help us?"

The guard she spoke to growled, "Budkaiwo jras oo evquiazsevowegateikn oohytxss!"

Bubbles waved her arms apologetically and said in their language, "[She said we’re lost. Can you help us?]"

The guard frowned, "[You are not allowed to be here, children.]"

"[This isn’t where the ships are?]" Bubbles asked.

"[No, it is the detention center,]" the other guard explained. "[Go back the way you came and follow it all the way to the docking module.]"

Bubbles smiled, "[Thank you!]" She turned to Blossom and said, in English again, "He said this is the detention center." Blossom smiled and nodded. She gave a few quick glances in each direction to make sure no one else was coming, and took a deep breath. The guards each rose a scaly eyebrow curiously at this.

In the next instant, Blossom blew a blast of her ice breath at them. Before they could react, they were frozen solid in a block of ice. Buttercup flew past them and pried the door open, sliding both halves of the door in opposite directions. "C’mon, let’s hurry!" she exclaimed, and all three of the girls quickly darted through the open doorway.

Inside, there were long rows of cell doors on the side, each with a small window to see the occupant within. At the far end of the room was a security panel where another of the aliens was seated. It was surprised to see the girls flying in, and started reaching for the alarm.

"Oh no you don’t!" Bubbles shouted, flying across the room with a kick, knocking it away from the panel before it could set the alarms off. She immediately followed with three punches, knocking it back into the far wall, where it slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"All right…now, let’s find this guy and get out of here, before we get in real trouble," Blossom ordered. They each started going around the room, peering into each cell to see if the person they were looking for was inside. The cells themselves were rather dark and dank, and didn’t even have a bed or anything else. Some of them were occupied, and the creatures inside were either huddled on the ground or lying up against the wall.

Buttercup gritted her teeth, "What kind of prison is this? It’s more like a dungeon!"

"Hey, I found him!" Bubbles called out. They flew over to the door she was at, and looked through the window. Sure enough, the creature inside bore a strong resemblance to Alyxk, except he was scrawnier, like he had eaten very little for days. He looked up weakly and saw the girls at this cell, and a small smile seemed to cross his face.

"Thank goodness," came a telepathic buzz from him. "My brother sent someone to rescue me."

"Stand back from the door," Blossom called out. The alien nodded, and backed away. Blossom fired her eyebeams, slicing through the thick metal of the door, and it fell inwards. The alien limped forward out of the new opening, bracing himself against the wall as he emerged…Bubbles and Buttercup flew over and each took one of his arms around them for support.

"What happened to you?" Blossom asked. "Why did they lock you up like this?"

"I was here at the station," he answered, "selling rare zirus gems, a stone unmatched in its beauty. The head of the Gyahembu himself purchased one from me, the largest and most expensive one I had. However, the fool tried to polish it to make it shine better…the substance he used on it ended up dulling its shine permanently instead, marring the gem’s quality greatly. He blamed me for this, for not warning him of this danger."

"And he threw you into prison for that?" Bubbles exclaimed.

The alien nodded, "Yes…he claimed I cheated him, stole from him."

"That’s terrible," Blossom said. "Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Let’s just get out of here before more guards show up."

It was too late for that, though. As they turned towards the door, several more guards came into the room, all of them brandishing weapons…rifles of some sort. The one in the lead shouted, "Aiylkdevaucfimizas!" and raised its weapon.

Blossom quickly asked Alyxk’s brother, "Is there a level below us?"

"Yes, why?" he said.

Instead of answering, Blossom flew down at the ground and punched it, busting open a hole to the level below. All three of them flew down through the hole, taking the weakened alien with them, while a hail of laser fire shot by over their heads. They could hear one of the guards shout, "Fissoaug!" at them.

* * *

The girls emerged into a darkened cargo area. There were large stacks of crates and racks of other smaller cases filling the room. The only light in the room came from a small set of dim white lamps in the corners. It was large enough that there were plenty of places to hide. Bubbles set the alien down and said, "What’s your name?"

"Ykrysk," he answered. "Once again, let me thank you for rescuing me…I only regret that this will now put you on the bad side of the Gyahembu."

"That’s okay, I don’t think we’ll be coming back to Paradise Fringe once we leave," Blossom said.

Buttercup shushed everyone, "Shh…I hear someone…" As they listened, they heard the door to the cargo bay at the far end open up, and four guards entered. They fanned out, each of them taking a different direction.

The girls and Ykrysk stayed behind a stack of boxes, watching them from a safe distance. They stayed quiet as one of them came close to their position. Gripping its rifle, it gazed around the area slowly, stopping in front of the stack of crates they were using for cover. It sniffed the air for a moment, then bared its teeth, turning towards their hiding place.

Thinking quickly, Buttercup kicked the stack of crates, and they toppled forward. The guard raised its arms in alarm, but the crates slammed into it…collapsing to the ground, it was knocked cold, the rifle dropping from its hand and sliding across the ground.

The other guards all heard the crash and turned around. Blossom shouted, "Plan Beta-Omicron-12…go!" The girls flew out , each heading for a different guard, flying low to the ground and weaving between the crates and racks. Ykrysk stayed behind cover, waiting until it was safe to come out.

The guards tried to train their weapons on the girls, but they were moving far too quickly. All they could see were three brightly-colored blurs of light darting around. In the next instant, the girls each grabbed one of the guards by the foot, yanking them off their and lifting them into the air. As they dangled helplessly, the girls flew them to the center of the cargo bay, smashing them into each other. Unconscious, they dropped into a pile on the ground.

"That wasn’t so bad," Bubbles remarked.

"It’s probably just the start of them," Blossom said. "It’s time to get out of here, before reinforcements show up. Where’s Ykrysk?"

Going through one of the fallen cargo crates nearby, Ykrysk withdrew a long roll of cloth, and said, "I’m right here." He wrapped some of the cloth around him like a robe, concealing his identity. Following his lead, the girls took smaller pieces of the same cloth and wrapped it around themselves the same way.

"Hopefully now, we can move about undetected," Ykrysk said.

"Yeah," Buttercup agreed. Then her eyes widened as something occurred to her. "Bloss…we’d better get back to Xianea. They might go after her…"

Blossom frowned, "You’re right. Especially that guy you bumped into…he could probably identify Xianea as someone travelling with us! We’d better get back there, fast! We’ll have to walk, though, or else they’ll see us flying and know it’s us. C’mon!" She landed on the ground and ran for the cargo bay’s exit. Buttercup and Bubbles followed her, helping Ykrysk along with them…

* * *

Xianea stood beside one of the shops on the walkway, waiting patiently for the girls to return. She didn’t like the idea of a fight, and would probably have protested trying to free the person in the first place, had it not been for two things…she needed the fuel cells, and she didn’t exactly approve of the Gyahembu’s methods anyway.

Speaking of them, she noticed three of their guards heading in her direction. Well, I should have guessed this would happen, she thought. I’m sure after I explain everything, they’ll… Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized they had their weapons out, probably planning to shoot first and ask questions later. She took a deep breath, and braced herself, thinking, A Centraxian shall never purposefully raise a hand against another for any reason other than self-defense. She knew these ideals well, and took them to heart above all else.

One of the Gyahembu guards raised its rifle, and the crowd parted aside, scrambling for cover. Xianea glanced up momentarily, noting that the wide, open area of the walkway was just large enough. As the guard opened fire, she leapt into the air to dodge the blast, spreading her wings. Gliding towards the nearest wall, she grabbed hold of a support beam and clung to the wall.

Surprised by this sudden move, the guard raised its rifle up to fire again, but Xianea had already pushed off from the wall, soaring down towards it. Her hands were outstretched, and a set of small metal claws sprouted from the ends of her fingers. With a loud *shingg* of metal against metal, she slashed its rifle in two, landing on the ground in front of it. The guard dropped what remained of his rifle in shock and turned around, running off in the opposite direction.

She straightened up again, folding her wings back into place behind her, and retracted her claws. He’ll be back, she thought, and with reinforcements. I hope the Powerpuff Girls return soon, we won’t be safe here for much longer…

No sooner had she thought this, but she saw four cloaked hurrying down the main walkway. Three of them were extremely short, like children. She smiled, and quickly moved over to meet them.

"Xianea!" Bubbles called out. "We got him!" Sure enough, the fourth cloaked figure did indeed look like the same species as Alyxk was.

"This is Ykrsk," Blossom introduced. "We, uh...we had a run in with the Gyahembu, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. I don't think they're happy about it, though."

"We should probably leave this station as soon as possible, then," Xianea suggested, starting towards the restaurant/bar. The others followed her, and she continued, "This was a big risk to take for our fuel cells. With the Gyahembu against us, we're going to find it hard to visit this sector of the galaxy ever again."

Buttercup smirked, "Big loss. This place is all right, but do you really wanna come back here again?"

"True," Xianea replied. They sat down at the table they had been to before. "Still, I would have preferred that it remain an option."

"Hey," Bubbles exclaimed, "while we're here, can we get another one of those ilyae roots? They were good!"

Xianea smiled, "Don't worry about it. While you were off on your 'mission', I purchased a few provisions for the trip to Centraxia. I included some ilyae roots, yes, but also a few other foods as well. I'm sure we can find something else you'll like."

At that moment, someone suddenly approached the table. They looked up in alarm, but sighed in relief as they saw it was Alyxk. He was carrying a small case with him, and fixed his gaze on his brother, "Ykrysk…I’m so glad they got to you in time."

"Yes, Alyxk...me too," Ykrsk said. "I don’t know how much longer I would have lasted…"

Sliding the box across the table over to Xianea and the girls, Alyxk said, "Here are the fuel cells I promised you. But we owe you a debt of gratitude that we may never be able to repay. If we can ever assist you in the future, contact us anytime. We won’t be difficult to find; we do business all over these sector."

"Thanks," Blossom said, reaching out to shake his hand. Any friends we can make out here would be great, she thought…This is our new life now, and we should make the best of it.

Xianea examined the fuel cells, and nodded, satisfied. "Excellent! Girls...are you ready to resume our journey? We'd better hurry, before the Gyahembu find us."

Blossom nodded, and said, "Let's roll!" The three of them left the table, and started back for their ship. Ykrsk waved to them as they left, happy to taste freedom once again...

* * *

From his position on the central module, Belfiust frowned as he watched the tiny ship depart from the station through the observation window. Without turning to look at his aide standing behind him, he said, "And those are the four that broke Ykrsk out of my prison?"

"That's right, Boss," the aide answered him. "I'm afraid that they'll have gone into a singularity jump by the time we could scramble our fighters out there."

Narrowing his eyes, Belfiust asked, "Who are they?"

"One of them is a Centraxian named Xianea," the aide explained. "The other three are from a species we've not encountered before. Their names are Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup."

Belfiust grunted slightly, and said, "New species? Hmm...what was your impression of them?"

"They were quite powerful," the aide said. "Our men told of them being able to defy gravity, and attack with great strength...and yet, these were only children, it seems."

"How could a planet with beings like that escape our notice?" Belfiust turned away from the window and faced him. "Ask around. Check all our contacts. We must find where these 'children' come from. Their race could make a powerful ally. But in the meantime, we must deal with them, and the Centraxian. No one defies the Gyahembu and lives!"

The aide walked over to the door, saying, "I knew you would want to track them down, so I asked some of our 'experts' to join us." He pressed a button next to it, and the door slid open. Three figures entered the room. One of them, even in the shadows of the room, could be seen carrying all kinds of different weapons. Another wore armor, with spikes that gleamed a bright silver color. Towering behind them was a hulking metallic form.

A smile crossed Belfiust's face. "You read my mind. Let's see how these powerful little 'children' fare against the three deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy!" He turned back to the observation window, just in time to see their ship make the singularity jump. "Run if you will..." he taunted, "but you won't escape for long..."