Rita’s journey across the Thundarr Desert was not just one of distance, but of identity. With the Stone of Tomorrow pulsing against her side and Tundra, her loyal woolly mammoth, guiding her through deadly sandstorms and collapsing rock bridges, Rita pushed toward the only sanctuary she still had—the Pigmen village nestled in the western valley outside the abandoned caves of Falcon and Shecon.
Her children, Sulari and Pifo, and the ailing Faro were there, living in a borrowed hut beside the swamp marshes, far from the sacred grounds they once called home.
Since they had been stripped of their powers and exiled by the guardians, the cave had sealed shut—its magical entrance rendered invisible and impassable to them.
Faro lay on a straw mat, his skin yellowed and his breath labored. Rita had only three days before his condition became irreversible. The Stone of Tomorrow—a relic of ancient creation—was her only hope. But even it came at a cost.
Rita knew the stone was sentient, whispering possibilities and illusions into her dreams, tempting her to surrender her humanity for “power without pain.” Each night, it showed her visions of her children ruling as kings and queens, of herself reborn as a desert goddess. But the price was always unclear.
Tiwa’s voice still echoed in her mind:
“It’s not a gift. It’s a choice.”
As she approached the village edge, Sulari ran out first, barefoot on the dusty path.
“Mama! Did you bring the thing?”
Rita dropped to her knees and held her daughter tightly.
“I brought it, little light. And I’m going to save him. No matter the cost.”
Faro opened his eyes just long enough to meet hers—and for a moment, through his pain, he smiled.
Rita and the Stone of Tomorrow: The Journey Home
The desert winds howled like ancient spirits as Rita Faros, dressed in the warrior-dame armor gifted by the desert priestesses, rode atop her loyal woolly mammoth. Clutched in her hands: the Stone of Tomorrow, pulsing with an eerie green glow. It shimmered like it had a mind of its own, and ever since she pried it from the mountain crypt of the Witch of Westwick, Rita had felt… different.
At first, it whispered memories that weren’t hers—lives of ancient queens, warriors, and even monsters. Then, it twisted her dreams. Each night, visions of a world ruled by shadow and fire crept into her sleep, showing her and Faro as distant strangers.
But she pushed forward. Her heart was still hers. And her family was waiting.
Meanwhile… in the Pigmen Village
Faro, pale and weak, lay wrapped in blankets under a thatched roof hut. Pifo and Sulari sat by his side, unaware of how much their mother was enduring for them. The Dwarf, now a wandering healer, visited quietly, placing wards around the hut to keep out bad omens. “If she does not return soon,” he warned, “you must prepare for the hardest choices.”
The Desert Distorts
As Rita crossed the final sand basin near the Canyon of Bones, the Stone began glowing brighter—and reality around her blurred. Time jumped. The sun froze in the sky. Her mammoth roared in confusion as phantoms of the past marched across the dunes: a ghostly parade of forgotten Falcon warriors, the first Shecon, and shadows that looked suspiciously like Mr. Clown and Flint, distorted and laughing.
The Stone was testing her.
But Rita had come too far.
Arrival at the Edge of the Forest
The jungle mist rose to greet her. She could see the Pigmen watchfires in the distance.
As she stepped onto familiar soil, the Stone pulsed once—and released a single word in her mind:
“Choose.”
The Return to the Forest
The jungle mist clung to Rita’s armor like a veil of memories as she led her mammoth through the outer trees of Thundarr Forest. The Stone of Tomorrow, bound tightly in a satchel across her chest, pulsed with a warm glow—but felt heavier than ever. Its weight was no longer physical; it bore the burden of choice, temptation, and change.
The trees grew denser, the soil richer, and the familiar scent of Falcon’s forest—damp earth, moss, and something ancient—wrapped around her. She was home. But not the same woman who had left.
Reunion at the Edge of Dusk
At the edge of the village, under the thick canopy where a campfire flickered weakly, Pifo was the first to notice the rhythmic footsteps of the mammoth. He cried out, “Mama! She’s here!”
Sulari ran after him, barefoot and wide-eyed.
Then, through the clearing, they saw her—Rita, dressed in glimmering desert armor, face sunburnt, eyes tired but alive. She dropped to her knees and opened her arms just in time to catch her children as they leapt into her.
Tears flowed freely.
And then she saw Faro.
Faro’s Condition
He lay under a patchwork canopy, weak and pale, his body ravaged by illness. The artificial treatments had slowed the decay but hadn’t stopped the pain. When he saw her, his dry lips formed a cracked smile.
“You came back… Shecon,” he whispered hoarsely.
She knelt beside him, took his hand, and pressed it against her cheek.
“I’m not Shecon anymore,” she said softly, “but I am still yours. I never stopped being yours.”
The Stone’s Offer
That night, as the children slept and the forest hummed with moonlight, Rita sat beside Faro and revealed the Stone of Tomorrow. The glow flickered like a heartbeat.
She explained what the Stone was… and what it offered.
“It can heal you, Faro. But it will bind itself to this world permanently. Its presence will attract darkness—like Clown, Flint, or worse. If I use it, I can’t destroy it. If I don’t… you won’t survive long.”
Faro looked into her eyes for a long time, then at their children curled by the fire.
“Then use it,” he said. “We’ll face whatever comes next. Together.”
The Stone Awakens
The clearing was still under the pale light of the twin moons. The Stone of Tomorrow, no bigger than a clenched fist, now pulsed with an eerie, golden-blue aura as Rita stood over Faro’s weak, slumbering body.
Her palms trembled as she held it up.
“I don’t know what you are,” she whispered to it, “but I know what I need you to be.”
A single tear dropped onto the stone.
The wind died.
The fire dimmed.
The forest itself seemed to hold its breath.
The Ritual
She whispered a quiet prayer to Sol, not out of faith—but desperation. And then she placed the Stone against Faro’s bare chest.
The moment it touched him, a pulse exploded outward—a wave of light that surged like thunder, shaking leaves from trees and startling the nearby wildlife into silence.
Faro’s body arched. His eyes flew open, glowing bright gold, and he gasped as if breathing for the first time. His veins lit up with coursing lines of light.
Rita staggered back, shielding her eyes as the Stone’s glow intensified.
And then—just as suddenly as it began—it ended.
Faro collapsed back to the earth… and the glow vanished.
Rebirth
When Rita rushed back to him, his skin was no longer ashen. His breath was steady. His eyes—clear.
“You… look younger,” she said, her voice cracking.
He took her hand and brought it to his chest. “I feel stronger. Like… I was reborn.”
The Stone, now dull and lifeless, rolled from his side and cracked in half—its power spent.
But Rita sensed it hadn’t simply died. It had moved on… into Faro.
The Forest Responds
Far away, in the shadows of Thundarr Forest, something stirred.
A long-dormant ancient spirit beneath the soil blinked awake.
The use of the Stone had awakened more than just Faro. Its light was seen by those who watched the skies… including Murder Dog, Flint Faros, and Mr. Clown.
Back in Thundarr City, the sky briefly lit up like dawn at midnight. Cal Faros, now comfortably seated in his new tower office, stood silently at the window.
“So… they’ve returned,” he murmured, eyes dark.
A New Path Forward
As dawn rose over the forest canopy, Faro stood tall once more, holding both his children in his arms. Rita stood beside him, her armor dirtied but gleaming.
“No more running,” Faro said. “No more hiding.”
Rita nodded. “If we can’t be Falcon and Shecon… we’ll become something else. Something the world doesn’t expect.”
