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The Universal Tournament:

Part Two

The ship bumped, shaking T-bone out of his daydream. After a week of tracking Bad-Rap across space, T-bone looked forward to returning home. With Bad-Rap confined in a holding cell on the ship, everyone decided to rest for a bit. Everyone except T-bone. He could not sleep. The artificial gravity on the vessel made that impossible. He preferred being on Earth with the Earth's natural pull, keeping his feet on the ground. Nonetheless, he felt exhausted.

T-bone saw Pluto pass and let out a sigh. "It won't be long now," he said and checked the instruments before heading to the back for some coffee. They ran out of sugar a week ago, but T-bone shrugged it off. He preferred it like this, robust and fully caffeinated. He looked up from the coffee and shared out the window at passing stars and took note of his slight reflection in the mirror. An anthropomorphic yellow tyrannosaurus-rex stared back at him. At that moment, T-bone saw the dark shadows around his eyes and haggard appearance.

"I need a vacation," he said to himself more than anyone.

Then, in an instant, something hit the ship, throwing T-bone into the bulkhead to his right. Pain lanced up his arm as he staggered back to the bridge. "Computer, what is going on?" T-bone shouted.

_ "There is a singularity forming off the starboard bow." _The feminine voice said as T-bone sat down and took the controls.

"You mean a black hole?" T-bone said more out of uncertainty than fear.

_ "Affirmative. Evasive maneuvers recommended,"_

"No, kidding!"

"T-bone, what is going on?" Chedra asked as another gravimetric wave rocked the ship. Staggs caught her before she fell as Bullzeye and Spike came in, taking their seats.

"We're caught in the gravity of a black hole. Strap in. This is going to be rough," T-bone yelled.

"Where did the blackhole originate?" Chedra asked while she and Steggs took their seats.

"I don't know. The computer said it form out of nowhere," T-bone said as he fired up the thrusters, but no use. They were still being pulled into the black hole. "The thrusters are at maximum."

"We are still heading towards the singularity," Steggs said, clicking away that the computer. "If we don't do something, we will be crushed in under a minute."

"Chedra, can we use the hyperdrive to break free?" Bullzeye asked as Chedra thought for a moment.

"Yes. Yes! If we can use a controlled burst, we might be able to break free. T-bone, Steggs, come with me. Spike, take over the ship controls and wait for my signal." Chedra said they rushed back to the engine room.

"Okay, what now?" T-bone asked.

"I need you to flip the relays in that panel into overload. Steggs, you and I need to go on opposite sides of the engine and hit the red buttons simultaneously. It will need to reach critical before we can hit the buttons." Chedra said as T-bone flipped the relays. Suddenly, an alarm sounded as the hyperdrive started to power up.

"Guys, we only have ten seconds left. It's now or never." Spike shouted through the intercom.

"All right, Steggs. NOW!"

Both Chedra and Steggs hit the buttons. For an instant, everything went still as the hyperdrive jumped to life, releasing all the built-up energy. Then they were thrown back into the bulkhead as a flash of bright light expanded out, engulfing all three in the engine room. The ship launched forward and resumed its course for Earth.

"You guys did it! We're free!" Spike said as he and Bullzeye celebrated. The silence was the only response given in return.

"T-bone, Chedra, Steggs? Are you guys, okay?" Bullzeye asked as he looked at Spike, trepidation spreading across their faces. Both jumped out of their seats and ran toward the engine room to discover their friends' scorched outlining.

"No! This can't be happening, our friends," Bullzeye said, falling to his knees. Spike went to check on Bad-Rap only to discover that same scorched outlining.

"Bap-Rap is gone, too!" Spiked yelled as he came back and joined Bullzeye.

"I don't think they are dead; call it a hunch," Spike said as Bullzeye looked up hopeful.

"You think... They are alive, somewhere?" Bullzeye asked as Spike nodded.

"We will find them."