Ranger Moon #9 - "Into the Thick of Things"

	"Are you ready?" asked the Whitelight Knight as he and
Kimberly stood at the edge of the swirling portal.
	"Wait," Kimberly told him.  She reached out and took his
hand in hers.  He looked at her.  She glanced down at the floor and
said, "To make sure we don't get separated."
	He squeezed her hand.  "Okay, now are you ready?"
	She nodded.  Before she knew it, they had leapt into the
portal.  Reality bent around them as they drifted between worlds. 
A moment later, they arrived in a dark cavern that looked similar
to the one they'd just left.
	"Are we in the Netherverse?" Kim asked.
	"I don't know," replied the Whitelight Knight.  "Let's find
out."  They began to walk down a tunnel which led away from the
cavern.

	On Earth, Kat rested on a tall boulder.  She peered over the
edge at the three-headed demon hound which lay in wait below. 
The three heads, Kat had observed, slept in shifts so that one head
was always watching her, waiting for her to make a break for
freedom or roll off in her sleep, at which time they would surely
devour her.  Better to stay up here and starve, Kat decided, than be
ripped to pieces.

	"So, how realistic was Barite's disguise?" Kimberly asked
the Whitelight Knight, subtlely trying to find out who he was. 
When he didn't reply, she figured her question was too vague. 
"Are you really Tommy?" she asked, getting to the point.
	"I don't know," he replied.  "I know nothing about my
secret identity, and he knows nothing about me."
	"Oh."
	He nodded his head forward.  "Up ahead," he pointed out. 
She looked to see that they had reached a fork in the tunnel.  He
said, "We've got to split up."
	"We can't," she told him.
	He stopped and let go of her hand.  They faced each other. 
"Your friends are in great danger," he stated.  "If we split up, we'll
be able to cover twice the distance."
	"But if we meet back up, I won't be able to tell if it's really
you," she said.
	"If we run into each other..." he told her.  He then looked
around and whispered the rest into her ear.  "...I'll give you two
thumbs up."  He pulled back and said, "That way you'll know it's
me."
	She nodded wistfully and watched as he vanished into the
right passageway.  She sighed before beginning to travel down the
left passageway.

	"You treacherous swine!!" Barite shouted as he stormed
into Pyrite's quarters.  "You knew quite well of my plan to capture
Ranger Moon! You intentionally tried to ruin it!  Fortunately, it
was so foolproof that not even an imbecile such as yourself could
do so!"
	Pyrite slowly turned around in his chair, revealing the
sword he was polishing.  "Are you here to give me a lecture?"
	"No," said Barite, "a warning... for you to behave."
	Pyrite stood and brandished his sword.  "Or else what?"
	"Or else when I succeed in obtaining the Imperium Zeo
Crystal for the queen and get promoted, you will become one very
unhappy underling."
	Pyrite took a step forward.  "You won't get the chance if I
gut you right here," he growled.
	"If you were to do so, not only would the queen revive me,
but she would probably also banish you to an eternity in the
Chamber of Corruption," Barite said.  "You remember the
Chamber of Corruption, don't you, Pyrite?"
	Pyrite roared in anger.
	"Have a nice day," said Barite before vanishing from the
chamber.

	Kimberly trudged down the dimly lit tunnel, wondering
how much further she would have to go.  All of a sudden, a
doorway of light opened in the wall beside her.  She stared at the
opening, considering that it might be a trap.  And yet the light was
so warm, so heavenly.  She stepped forward and melted into the
light.

	The Whitelight Knight ran toward an opening down the
tunnel, his cape flapping behind him.  As he neared the opening,
he could see a large circle engraved in a stone surface which lay
several yards beyond the opening - within the circle were three
clawmarks.  Suddenly, the Whitelight Knight became disoriented
as gravity turned sideways, and he found himself falling toward the
circle.  He collided with the stone surface and then quickly stood
up on what was now the ground.  He was in some sort of chamber;
the stone which made up the chamber bore no detail other than the
circle with the clawmarks etched in the floor.  Lining the outer
edge of the room, where the walls met the floor, were hundreds of
green candles, casting an eerie golden light upon the room.
	"I do hope you like my quarters," said Barite, who now
stood a few feet from the Whitelight Knight.
	The Whitelight Knight assumed a defensive stance. 
"Charmed," he replied.
	The formalities aside, Barite leapt through the air toward
the Whitelight Knight, who took a step backward and threw a
defensive kick.  This heralded the beginning of a fierce round of
hand-to-hand combat.  Both Barite and the Whitelight Knight
performed a dazzling array of offensive and defensive moves at
blinding speed, each matching the other move for move.
	Just when it seemed that Barite and the Whitelight Knight
would reach a stalemate, Barite stepped back and drew his dagger. 
The Whitelight Knight stood ready for Barite to attack, but the
attack never came.  Instead, Barite held the dagger to his hidden
mouth and played it like a flute.
	"Cerberus," he then said, "come to me!"

	On Earth, Kat sat up when she realized she could no longer
hear the hellhound's heavy breathing down below.  She peered
over the edge of the boulder to find that Cerberus was gone.
	"It's about time!" she grumbled.

	The Whitelight Knight anxiously backed away from the
canine as all three of its menacing heads growled at him.
	While his enemy was distracted, Barite charged the
Whitelight Knight, bombarding his body with a flurry of blows. 
The caped figure collapsed to the stone floor.

	Kimberly found herself in a large sanctum made entirely of
marble.  Enormous columns supported the ceiling, and there was a
grand throne atop an intricately carved pedestal at the opposite end
of the room.
	"Welcome, Diana," echoed a gentle female voice from
everywhere at once.
	Kimberly looked around, slightly startled.  "Wh..who's
there?"
	"I am the spirit of Dulcea," the voice said, "your mother."
	"No way," Kimberly remarked.  "You live here?"
	"In a way, I _am_ 'here'," answered Dulcea, "I will remain
here in the Moon Palace until Rita and the Netherverse are gone. 
Only then will I find peace."

	The Whitelight Knight groaned as he came to.  He realized
his arms were bound behind him with chains.
	"Get up," Barite commanded.  The Whitelight Knight
weakly stood.  "Shadows!" Barite called out.  An instant later, two
beings composed of nothing but solid darkness rose from the stone
floor.  Barite instructed them, "Take him to the Chamber of
Corruption."
	After the Shadows had dragged the Whitelight Knight
away, Barite told Cerberus, "Go.  Find Ranger Moon, and bring her
to me!"  The hellhound, obeying Barite's command, departed in
search of its prey.

	"I'm in the Moon Palace?" Kim asked.  "I thought I was in
the Netherverse!"
	"The palace is the realm between realms," said Dulcea. 
"Rita has made it the junction between the Earth Realm and the
Netherverse.  You must be wary here, for although I possess some
control over the palace, it belongs to the forces of evil."
	"Can you tell if the other Ranger Scouts are okay?" Kim
asked.
	"They are alive," Dulcea replied, "in Rita's main chamber."
	"How can I save them and destroy the Netherverse?" asked
Kimberly.
	"You must summon the elemental force of Life," said
Dulcea, "and call forth the 'Crescent Moon Purification'."
	"I will," Kimberly replied.
	"Now, you must hurry," Dulcea told her.  "Your friend
needs your help."  There was a soft rumbling sound, and Kimberly
saw a secret tunnel open up in one of the walls.  "A shortcut," said
Dulcea.
	"Thank you," Kim whispered, her lip trembling.  She
looked up and stared at nothing in particular, taking special care to
savor the moment.  She then vanished into the tunnel.

	Billy's wrists and ankles were growing sore from struggling
against the chains which held his arms and legs to stakes in the
floor.  He looked around at the monsters lining the edge of the
enormous chamber.  He had thought at first that they were just
hidden in shadow, but the more he looked at them, the more he
began to think that they _were_ shadow.
	He and the other three captured Scouts were restrained so
that they were all facing outward, their backs to each other.  About
ten yards away sat Rita in her throne, paying the Scouts no
attention.  For this the Scouts were thankful.
	In a blur of darkness, Barite appeared infront of Billy. 
"Well, Ranger Scouts," said Barite, "have you come to a decision?"
	"We'll never give up our Zeo Shards!" Jason shouted.
	"Yeah," said Aisha, "you're wasting your time."
	"Really," Barite replied.   He approached Billy and pressed
his dagger to Billy's throat.  "What if I were to kill Ranger
Mercury?"
	"You're bluffing!" said Trini.  "If you killed any of us, then
you'd never get our Zeo Shard!"
	"Come now, Ranger Jupiter," Barite said, "surely you must
know that her majesty Queen Rita can reanimate the dead.  In the
Netherverse, death is nothing but..." He pressed his dagger harder
against Billy's throat and slowly growled, "an ... excrutiatingly ...
agonizing ... experience."  He lowered his dagger and pointed it at
Billy's solar plexus.  "So what do you say, Ranger Venus?" he
asked wickedly.  "Should I disembowel your friend here?  The
decision is yours."
	Aisha squinted through stinging eyes.  "No, don't do it!" she
cried out in a trembling voice.

	As the Whitelight Knight approached a junction of tunnels,
he was calculating the perfect moment to take down the Shadows
who were behind him, leading him along.  Before he could make
the decision to strike, Pyrite stepped out from one of the adjoining
tunnels, forcing him to stop.
	"Where are you taking this prisoner?" Pyrite asked the
Shadows.
	One of the Shadows responded in a haunting whisper,
"Barite has instructed us to take him to the Chamber of
Corruption."
	"You will do no such thing," said Pyrite.  He then thought
aloud,  "Barite's probably planning on using him against me."  He
looked at the Shadows and said, "You may go.  I'll take over from
here."
	"With all due respect, Pyrite," said the first Shadow,
"General Barite outranks you."
	Before Pyrite could reply, Cerberus shoved his way past the
Shadows and the Whitelight Knight.  The hound was about to go
around Pyrite when the armored warrior raised his sword and
thrust downward.  The Whitelight Knight closed his eyes and
heard a gruesome crunch, followed a moment later by the sound of
glass against stone.  He opened his eyes to see a pile of dust and a
black glass heart where Cerberus had been.
	Pyrite stomped on the black heart, shattering it into tiny
fragments.  "Stupid mongrel trying to attack me," he growled.  "I'll
bet Barite sent him after me!"
	"You whacko!" said the Whitelight Knight.  "He was just
trying to get around you!"
	Pyrite held his sword to the Whitelight Knight's neck. 
"Listen here, whelp..."
	"Get away from him!"
	Pyrite spun around to see Ranger Moon standing behind
him, aiming her bow at his chest.
	"We must inform Barite," said one Shadow to the other.
	"What are you going to do," Pyrite asked Kimberly, "tickle
me with one of your toy arrows?"
	Kimberly released the string, sending two arrows flying. 
The projectiles sailed on either side of Pyrite and the Whitelight
Knight and struck the two Shadows directly in the chest.  Their
dark forms dissolved into smoke and vanished.
	"It's not time for the Netherverse to find out," Kimberly
said.
	"About what?" asked Pyrite, approaching Kimberly as he
brandished his sword.  "Your imminent death?"
	"No, this," said Kimberly.  She held out her bow and called
out, "Crescent ... Moon ... Purification!"  Tiny flecks of pink
energy ran along Kimberly's bow, forming a number of new
strings, converting the weapon into a harp.
	She tenderly ran her fingers along the strings.  A sweet trill
of notes echoed forth from the instrument.  Suddenly, a streak of
white light arced from the harp and plunged into Pyrite's body.
	"Hey, what's going on?" asked the armored warrior as more
streaks flowed from the harp.  Soon the streaks gushed forth in
such quantity that it appeared as if an entire river of light were
streaming out from the harp and enveloping Pyrite.  Then it
stopped, and Pyrite was gone.
	Kimberly lowered her harp and gazed at the spot where
Pyrite had been.  The Whitelight Knight eventually broke the
silence.  "You did him a favor," he said, "considering what Rita's
punishment might have been for his treachery."  He walked over to
her.
	She took a step back from him and aimed her harp at him. 
The extra strings vanished, and the instrument again became a
bow.  "Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked.
	"Huh?  What are you talking about?" asked the Whitelight
Knight.
	"Whitelight Knight, tell me you're forgetting something!"
she demanded.
	"What?" he asked.  Then it hit him.  "Oh!!" he exclaimed. 
He twirled around and gave her the thumbs-up with his chained
hands.
	She sighed in relief and hugged him.