Last time found Sora and the gang with The Bureau as they guarded the unveiling of The Necronomicon. While waiting for the debut of the book, our heroes met Cleo, Deuce, Draculaura, Clawd and Ghoulia. Things began to deviate from the plan when Jill Sparrow showed up, along with her three adopted children; Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire. Shortly after the book was unveiled, Sora and the others sensed something was amiss, coming from three gatecrashers. But then Katina Jones showed up and things got even more chaotic.
Meanwhile, Kairi and her group arrived at the opening of The Crystal Palace. While waiting in line, Frankie introduced Kairi to more of her friends; Clair, Chad and Jackson, the later being half Monster. Kairi also met Lilith von Hellscream, whom used to hold a lot of prejudices against Monsters that was changed thanks to the friendship of Frankie and the others. But then an old flame, the violent and insane Lucas Vega, showed up and accosted Lilith for her friendship with the Monsters. Lilith rejected Lucas and he too his leave, threatening Kairi and the others with an ominous warning. But all thoughts of Lucas were driven from their minds as Kairi, Frankie and the others enjoyed the new night club. But their enjoyment was abruptly cut short. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 4: Dual Conflict
"What the bloody hell are you doing, Katina?" Jill demanded, "you're supposed to be back home in D.C."
But Katina ignored her, pushing past Jill as she glared hatefully at the human guests. "There they are!" she shouted.
"What are you talking about?" Julia asked
"Can't you see them?" Katina demanded.
"See who?" Jill asked.
Katina then pointed an accusing finger at the human guests, "Evil! Pure and simple from The Magical Dimension!"
Sora then realized that she was pointing at the three women that Steven was still talking to. By now everyone had heard Katina's shout, especially the three women. The platinum blond then shoved Steven aside and the three of them rushed for the central display case and the Necronomicon.
"No you don't!" shouted Katina as she raised her right arm and made a pushing gesture with her hand. Sora, Riku, Tess and Malcolm all felt a wave of psychic pressure pass through the room and the three women were knocked down. There was a triple flash of light and the three women shattered, while in their place was none other than Icy, Darcy and Stormy Trix, identical to the three dark witches that our heroes had fought twice already.
"Unbelievable!" exclaimed Sora, a shocked look on his face, while Riku, Tess and Malcolm looked equally shocked.
"Friends of yours?" Cleo asked.
"Not on your life!" said Riku.
Sora and the others then noticed that there were slight differences between the three witches before them and The Trix that they fought and defeated before. The Icy before them had slightly shorter hair than then one from last time and wore a green and black necklace. This Darcy had her hair tied in a single, long braid and wore a green and black bracelet on her left wrist, while this Stormy's hair was slightly longer and wore a green and black bracelet on her right wrist.
"Well, isn't this an ironic twist," said Icy as she, Darcy and Story picked themselves up off the floor, "we tried to handle things incognito, but instead, we've get to make things messy."
"And I worked so hard on our disguises," said Darcy.
"Look on the dark side," said Stormy, "this way will be more satisfying."
"I'm with you on that," said Darcy.
"I'm afraid you won't get any satisfaction this night," said Max as he cracked his knuckles, while Leona and the other Ramblers got into position, while also beginning to get the human guests out of the gallery.
"If you're here for The Necronomicon," said Patricia, "you're in for a world of hurt."
"They are here for The Necronomicon!" said Katina, "we can't let them touch the book!"
"I guarantee that it'll be in our hands in mere moments," said Icy as she and her sisters grinned viciously. But then the frosty witch looked at Katina with puzzled eyes, "but how did you know who we were?"
"That's my dirty little secret," said Katina, "but I'll admit this; I was warned that you were coming. Now go back to your universe or pay the consequences!"
"Don't try to reason with these evil bitches!" snapped Malcolm as he, Sora, Riku and Tess stood with Max and the others, "they're utterly ruthless and beyond redemption!"
"That's us in a nutshell," said Stormy.
"But how do you little twerps know about us?" Darcy asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Tess asked, "last time we saw you three, you were being dragged off to Omega."
"We were told that no one escapes from Omega," said Riku, "how'd you three do it?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Icy as she looked at Sora, Riku, Tess and Malcolm with an annoyed but curious eyes, "my sisters and I have never seen you before. And we've certainly never been to Omega."
"Nor do we want to," said Darcy, "that place gives me the willies."
"Well, how about a year ago?" Sora asked, "we fought at Alfea along side The Winx and The Specialists."
"You brats weren't at Alfea," said Stormy, "and you certainly weren't with that rotten Bloom, or Sky or any of the other losers!"
"Then how come you lost at Alfea?" Riku asked, "and I'll bet you lost in Relix and with Darkar."
"How the hell do you know about all of that?!" Darcy exclaimed. "Who the hell are you people?"
"I think I know what's going on," said Malcolm, "but just to be safe, do you know who I am?"
"Are we supposed to?" Stormy asked.
"You do look kinda familiar," said Icy, "wait…yeah…I see it now. Are you related to Mirta?"
"She's my sister and you turned her into a pumpkin last year, you frigid, overdressed devil whore!" spat Malcolm.
"What…I…no, I'm not overdressed!" snapped Icy.
"As I thought," said Malcolm, "Sora, I think these Trix are from a parallel version of The Magical Dimension."
"Really?" Sora asked.
"Oh, I get it now," said Tess, "in the other version, Sora, Riku and Kairi never showed up, so things turned out differently for Bloom, Sky, Carmen and the others."
"Carmen? Who's Carmen?" Stormy asked.
"So, there's no Carmen in the other Magix," said Sora, "wait, I'm starting to get confused."
"You're not the only one," said Jill. She then looked at Katina, "just what is going on here with you? I thought you were still recovering."
"I had a breakthrough," said Katina, "I promise I'll explain things later, but right now, we've got to stop them from taking The Necronomicon."
"There's nothing you can do to stop us," said Icy.
"Oh really?" Cleo asked as she, Duce, Clawd, Draculaura and Ghoulia, stood with Sora, Max and the others. The four with Shimmers deactivated the holographic devices, revealing themselves in all their Monster glory.
"Wow!" said an impressed Sora as he saw Duce, Clawd, Draculaura and Ghoulia in their true forms, "you guys are awesome!"
"Yes, we are impressive," said Cleo smugly.
"So, you are Monsters," said Icy irately, "it doesn't matter, you don't stand a chance against us!"
"I beg to differ," said Cleo, "And Malcolm is right, you are overdressed."
"I am not!" snapped Icy, "and you're one to talk. That getup you're in looks like it should be in a museum!"
"This museum at that," laughed Stormy.
"This gown is a revived retro style!" snapped Cleo, "it was chosen by the best designers in the world for me, just for this one night!"
"How much did that cost you?" Clawd asked.
"And just how much money do you have?" Draculaura asked curiously, "I just want to know."
"More than you can imagine," said Cleo smugly.
At that Ghoulia moaned something, while also using her I-Coffin to pull up an eight-digit sum.
"That much!?" exclaimed Draculaura, "you're richer than me! And I've been around long enough so that my trash can become antiques."
"I'm almost as rich," said Violet, "but thanks to the new terms of my family's estate, I can only access my trust fund when I need it, or with my step-mother's permission."
"I'm not buying you a car until you're 18!" snapped Jill, "I don't care how good a driver you are in practice or how quickly you can get a license. I'm not letting you out on the road until you mature a bit!"
"I was mature enough to keep my brother, sister and myself alive against Olaf!" snapped Violet.
"Violet, please don't fight," said Klaus as he held Sunny, "not now."
"Well, when else are we going to settle this?" Violet asked, "after Jill sticks me in a laboratory for the rest of my life?"
"Is this what you're so wound up about?" Jill asked, "where you'll be in The Bureau? Good God, Violet! I can't let them assign you to field duty, you wouldn't last a day!"
"How do you know that?" Violet asked.
"Well, first of all, you've never been properly trained," said Jill, "all field agents, both mortal and Meta Human, have to pass a barrage of physical, mental and emotional tests to see how they can handle the rigors of fieldwork."
"I'm in good shape," said Violet, "I can run, jump and if you teach me, I can fight."
"There's more to battling the darkness than just running around and throwing a punch!" said Jill, "you have to be ready to make snap decisions that could mean life or death for you, your friends, everyone you love and event the entire world. You have to be ready to make sacrifices for the greater good."
"I've made more sacrifices for my brother, sister and myself than I'd care to count," said Violet, "Klaus and Sunny can back me up on that."
"I'd rather not," said Klaus, while Sunny burbled something that could be translated as 'leave me outta this!'
"No one is doubting your courage or determination, Violet," said Max, "but I'm afraid I'm with your step-mother on this. You're just not ready for field work."
"She's not even ready to join The Bureau at this rate," said an annoyed Jill.
"We'll never know if I don't try," said Violet.
"You'll never be ready if you keep acting like a spoiled brat!" snapped Jill.
"Have you ever used a pistol?" Julia asked, "or a riffle? A shotgun? Any firearm?"
"I…no," said Violet in a subdued tone. "Mother and Father didn't like to keep guns in our old house." She then glared at Jill, "and I'm not a spoiled brat!"
"How about a knife?" Felicia asked as she flicked her wrist, producing a short throwing blade, "ever used one of these in anger? Ever stick a blade into a man's guts?" she then mimed stabbing someone.
"No," said Violet in an unsure, slightly nervous tone, "I could probably use a screwdriver like that if I had to."
"That's actually not a bad thing," said Felicia, "jab a screwdriver in a soft spot, like in the back of the head at the base of the skull. That's an instant kill spot. Gouging the eyes isn't a bad thing either when you get right down to it."
"Never mind that," said Jill, "Violet, haven't you even ever gotten into a fight? Do you know any means of self defense?"
"No…but I'm a fast learner," said Violet, "just teach me and I'll prove I can be a field agent."
"She must really want to work for you guys," said Clawd.
"Or maybe she's got an alterative motive," said Tess.
"Dude, you gotta admire her tenacity," said Duce.
"Don't call me 'dude' and I won't call you 'sugarplum,'" said Tess.
"Why on Earth would you call him sugarplum?" Cleo asked.
"I don't know," said Tess, "it was the first thing I could thing of."
"Excuse me," said an irate Icy, while Stormy and Darcy also looked thoroughly annoyed, "but my sisters and I have an appointment to keep."
"So, would you be so kind as to hand over The Necronomicon?" Darcy asked.
"Not that we wouldn't mind crushing you like the bugs you are," said Stormy, "but time is money."
"You're stealing the book for money?" Draculaura asked.
"Whatever you're being paid to take the book, I'll double it!" said Cleo in an overly dramatic manner, "I'll triple it, anything to keep The Necronomicon out of the wrong hands."
"It was a figure of speech, you ancient bimbo!" snapped Stormy.
"Don't call my girl a bimbo, you ugly witch!" snapped Duce.
"Don't call my sister ugly, you scaly freak!" snapped Darcy.
"Watch out!" said Sora, "she's got some serious mind magic. She can hypnotize you!"
"That one can summon up some pretty nasty weather," said Malcolm as he pointed at Stormy, then at Icy, "while she's just a frosty bitch!"
"How do you know so much about our powers!?" Icy demanded.
"We fought and defeated you in an alternate universe," said Riku.
"That's right!" said Sora, "we kicked your butts twice already! We can do it again!"
"Well, whatever you think about our other selves in that other universe," said Icy, "this version of myself and my sisters are on a whole other level."
"Care to back that up?" Clawd asked as he cracked his knuckles.
"Oh, go chase this," said Darcy as she summoned a tennis ball and tossed it over her shoulder.
"BALL!" Clawd shouted excitedly. He then ran after the tennis ball as if her were an overeager puppy.
"Oh my ghoul," said a mortified Draculaura.
At that Ghoulia moaned something.
"You're right," said Duce, "thank goodness that Clawdeen isn't here."
"Take a hint from wolf boy," said Darcy as she glared at Cleo, Ghoulia, Duce and Draculaura, "stay out of our way," she then cast a spell that made the ball explode, leaving Clawd singed and heavily disoriented, "or pay the price!"
"Clawd!" exclaimed Draculaura as she rushed over to her beau.
"I'm okay," said Clawd in a dazed tone, "hey, D? How come there's three of you? Not that I don't mind, just more of you to love."
"How pathetic," said Icy, while Stormy giggled viciously.
"Hey! You can't do that!" snapped Duce as he lowered his glasses and shot his green petrifying beams from his eyes.
"Oh, please," said Darcy as she cast a deflecting spell that sent the petrifying beams back at Duce. He and Cleo ducked the beams, which shot over them and hit a painting of The Great Pyramids, turning it to stone.
"That was an original Yeatley!" snapped Laura, "there's only seven in the world, one for each of The Ancient Wonders, and you ruined it!" Red runes appeared on her skin as she powered up a psychic blast and set it at Darcy, but the witch sidestepped it as if it were nothing.
"My turn!" Stormy as she sent a hurricane-force blast of wind that knocked Laura off her feet, only to dodge a knife from Felicia.
"You want to play with sharp objects?" Icy asked, "try this!" she then sent a fury of razor-sharp icicles at Felicia. She dodged most of them, but two if the icicles cut her right shoulder, knocking her off balance and onto the ground.
"Enough of this nonsense!" snapped Cleo as she pulled out a small gold and obsidian statue of Osiris.
"Wait, not that!" said Clawd as Draculaura helped him up, "your magic items don't always work!"
"Oh, playing with unreliable magic, are we?" Icy asked daringly, "I'm so afraid, my knees are knocking!" with that she and her vile sisters laughed cruelly.
"We'll see how funny you think it is when you're spending the next thousand years vomiting locusts!" said Cleo irately, "prepare to be cursed!" she then pressed the head of the idol and a beam of dark green magic shot out from its eyes, hitting Icy in the stomach.
She flinched from the attack and heaved, but instead of a river of locusts from her mouth, there only came two flies that she burped out.
"What…no!" exclaimed Cleo in a shocked and confused tone, "that's not all! That can't be all! I was assured that the curse entailed vomiting locusts for a thousand years!"
"Sorry," said Icy, she then burped up another fly, "but your pathetic Earth magic isn't going to work on me or my sisters!" she then burped up another fly.
"Maybe you really are cursed," said Darcy, while Stormy giggled, "but it's a little one. And still kinda gross."
"It'll be worth it if we get the book!" said Icy. "Let's get this over with, sisters! We can counter the powers of these freaks and mutants! And they dare not use their more…explosive weapons in this place."
"Yeah," said Stormy, "they don't want to risk ruining their precious antiques and historical artifacts."
"You mean this crap?" Julia asked. From up her sleeves appeared a pair of .45 pistols. She then aimed one at a Ming Dynasty vase and pulled the trigger, the bullet shattering the vase into countless fragments.
"Are you insane?!" exclaimed Riku.
"I'm starting to wonder that myself," said Klaus, while Sunny burbled in agreement.
"What?" Julia asked, then blew out the whiff of smoke from her pistol, "it was a fake."
"Everything in this room is a fake," said Patricia, "what, did you think we'd put priceless antiquities at risk? No, every artifact in the room, excluding The Necronomicon, is a reproduction. The real stuff is in storage."
"I knew it!" said Draculaura, she then looked triumphantly at Cleo, "I told you that hieroglyphic wall was a reproduction!"
"Yes, but how did you know?" Cleo asked.
"When you've been around as long as I have," said Draculaura, "you tend to notice things."
"Too bad you won't notice much more!" shouted Icy as she shot more razor-sharp icicles at Draculaura and Clawd, the two of them barely avoiding being eviscerated.
"So what if the stuff in her is all fakes?" Darcy asked, "so what if the mutants can use their weapons? Big deal! Our powers can block anything they can use against us!"
Just then came an earsplitting gunshot and Darcy was knocked head over heals.
"You sure about that?" John asked as he stood at the gallery entrance, an enormous breach-loading double barrel riffle in his hands.
"That's my Nitro Express riffle!" exclaimed an outraged Julia. "You dirty thief!"
"No, you said I could borrow it," said John as he pulled out the spent .700 cartridge and loaded a fresh one, "you just don't remember." He then closed the breach, pulled the hammer back and aimed it at Icy, "now, unless you want a nice big hole blasted into your torso, like your sister, I suggest that you and your other sister surrender!"
Just then Darcy got back up, her hands clutching her midsection and a very angry and pained expression on her face, but otherwise she was perfectly fine.
"You bastard!" spat Darcy as she nearly lost her balance, "that really hurt!"
"No way!" said an astonished Julia, "that gun uses bullets powerful enough to take down a dragon!"
"Get this straight, little mutant!" said Icy, "my sisters and I, we eat dragons for breakfast!"
"That must give you bitches horrible heartburn!" said Malcolm as he, Sora, Riku and Tess, summoned their Keyblades and stood in front of The Necronomicon, "assuming you overdressed harlots have hearts!"
"We do have hearts," said Stormy, "black as midnight, and what's with those freaky swords?"
"And we're not overdressed!" snapped Icy.
"Isn't it obvious?" Darcy asked, "these four twerps are Keyblade Wielders."
"Oh, Keyblades, yeah, now I remember," said Stormy, "history class."
"And here I thought you never paid attention in history class," said Darcy.
"If you know about Keyblade Wielders," said Riku, "then you know that we're not so easy to kill."
"As if we'd be concerned by a bunch of fancy toothpicks," said Icy.
"How about this?" Jill asked as she grabbed a katana from a Japanese display, "this may not be a true Hattori Hanzo blade, but it's still sharp enough to cut right through you!"
"Just as ours can render you into mulch!" shouted Riku.
"How pathetic," said Icy. She then summoned three golems made out of ice, each ten feet tall. "Crush the fools!"
"It's times like this that I really miss Heath!" said Draculaura as one of the ice golems advanced on her and the other Monsters, the second golem attacked the Meta Humans and the last one lumbered towards Sora, Riku, Tess, Malcolm and Jill.
Clawd got in front of the first ice golem and slashed at it with his claws, scoring lines deep into the frozen body but it quickly regenerated the lost ice. It then swung one of its fists at Clawd, intending to crush him into pulp. Clawd barely rolled out of the way in time, slashing at the creature's ankles, but the damage was regenerated again.
"Now I'm missing Heath!" said Clawd as he dodged another fist swing.
"You think you've got problems?" Steven asked as he dodged a fist swing, "I knew we should have brought flame throwers!"
Ken then ran at the second ice golem and jumped up, his left hand glowing with a bright orange light. He then delivered a chop to the middle of the creature's head. It cracked right down the middle and split in half.
"Dynamic Chop!" shouted Ken.
But then the two halves of the ice golem regenerated, becoming two, whom were soon on their feet and rampaging in the gallery.
"Oh, thanks a lot, Kenny!" snapped Felicia as she got out of the way of the two golems, "as if we didn't have problems enough!"
"Don't call me that!" snapped Ken.
"Whatever, Kenny!" said Felicia. She then pulled out dozens of knives and threw them at one of the ice golems, while Julia was shooting at the other.
Sora and Malcolm were blasting the fourth ice golem with Fire spells, while Riku was shooting his Dark Aura, but the creature shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"They've been enchanted to repel heat!" said Malcolm.
"Is it that obvious?" Tess asked. She then went invisible, reappearing behind the ice golem and climbed onto its back. She then swung her Keyblade and cut its head off. But it regenerated the head and then shook Tess off its back. She landed on her feet, then rolled out of the way of a fist swipe.
But then the severed ice golem head began to regenerate. Within seconds there were five frozen creatures terrorizing our heroes and allies.
The Trix found this highly humorous as they laughed viciously at the plight of our heroes and allies.
"I knew we should have done something like this against Bloom and those pathetic Winx of hers!" said Stormy.
"We'll get our revenge on them all," said Icy, "once we have the book."
"Why rush things?" Darcy asked, "this is starting to get good."
Just then there came another earsplitting gunshot and one of the ice golems completely shattered. John then aimed his big game riffle at another ice golem and fired, shattering that one too.
"You have to destroy them in one go!" shouted John as he unloaded the spent cartridges and loaded fresh ones.
Max then grabbed one of the three remaining ice golems and lifted it over his head, then began twisting it, causing the creature to crack and eventually shatter into countless pieces.
Ghoulia then pulled out her phone and used it to scan one of the remaining ice golems. She did a quick calculation in her head, then pulled out a laser pointer from her pocket and used it to indicate a spot on the creature's midsection. She then moaned loud enough to get Clawd's attention.
"Got it!" shouted Clawd. He then ran up to the ice golem, jumped up and delivered a double claw strike, followed by a summersault kick, right in the spot indicated by the laser pointer. The creature cracked and shattered into pieces.
But the right hand of the ice golem remained intact and began regenerating.
"No way, dude!" shouted Duce as he took his sunglasses off and shot his petrifying beam at the regenerating ice hand, turning it to stone and halting the regeneration process. Draculaura then walked up and stomped it into gravel.
"I may not have all of my vampire powers," said Draculaura, "but I'm pretty strong when I want to be."
The last ice golem had been taken care of by Sora, Riku, Tess, Malcolm and Jill, with the later jamming her katana into the chest of the creature and forming several cracks. Tess and Riku followed up by throwing their Keyblades at the thing, further cracking it. Sora and Malcolm finished it off by shooting Thunder spells at it, hitting the katana and blowing the creature up into powder.
"Oh, that's just great," said Icy irately, "you just can't create competent elemental minions anymore."
"Or maybe it's just your shoddy spell work!" snapped Malcolm.
"We really don't have time for this," said Darcy.
"What's the rush?" Laura asked, "we've got all night."
"Mother Goose to Big Brother!" said Patricia, "Lockdown!"
Sora and the others knew that within seconds the gallery and the museum would be sealed off from the outside, leaving them trapped inside with The Trix. But our heroes and allies were glad that the human guests had been evacuated in time.
But nothing happened. The doorway of the gallery remained open, while none of the concealed security devices appeared. Not even the panic room sealed.
"Mother Goose to Big Brother!" said a concerned Patricia as she tapped her earpiece, "Lockdown! Lockdown!"
"Patricia, we've been sabotaged!" shouted Tyler, "the lockdown protocols have been infected with a computer virus! The museum is wide open!"
"You did this!" snapped Patricia at The Trix.
"That's right!" said Icy triumphantly, "we've been one step ahead of you the whole time."
"We knew you mutants and some freaks would be here," said Darcy, "and that you had that fancy security system set up."
"And we enhanced our own magical defenses," said Stormy, "none of your powers or abilities can touch us!"
At that Icy and Darcy glared irately at Stormy, "thanks for giving away our big secret!" snapped Darcy.
"So, you're using enhancement magic," said Cleo. She then began rummaging through her purse, "I think I've just the amulet to counter that."
"Forget their enhancements," said Max, "they knew all about us and our plans!"
"Either they're clairvoyance is beyond comparison," said Laura, "or there's a traitor in The Bureau!"
"You'll never guess how we got our info on you losers!" snapped Icy, "but we've wasted enough time already. Darcy!"
"I was hoping I'd get to use this spell," said Darcy as she pulled out a dark purple crystal and hovered it above her hand, "let's see you survive this!"
The crystal began emitting waves of dark purple magic that sapped the strength of our heroes and allies. Within seconds they were all on the floor, weak as kittens. Not even Max Kildare was immune to the vile dark magic.
But a handful were still standing, Katina being one of them.
"You're gonna pay for hurting my friends!" snapped Katina. She then sent a massive mind blast at Darcy, knocking the vicious witch off her feet and forcing her to drop the crystal, shattering it on the floor.
Sora and the others gasped in relief as the dark magic sapping their strength ended. But they were still very weak and it would be a while before they could fight again.
Darcy then got back up and clutched at her midsection, "I'm still sore from getting shot!" she snapped. She then sent a mind blast of her own at Katina. She endured it and the two of them were then locked in a psychic battle, both of them straining to overcome the other's mental defenses.
"While Darcy keeps the mutant occupied," said Icy, "let's go get the book."
"With pleasure," said Stormy. But before they took two steps toward The Necronomicon, Aaron jumped in and administer a jet injection into Icy's left arm. Almost instantly, Icy's left side went numb.
"I may have taken an oath to preserve life," said Aaron as he loaded a fresh dose of anesthetic into the jet injector, "but I can still slow you down!"
Stormy retaliated by blasting Aaron with a small tornado, hurtling him across the room. He crashed to the floor, landing on a display of Ancient Rome.
"I never liked doctors," said Stormy. She then looked at her sister, "you okay?"
"Do I look okay?!" an irate Icy asked in a slurred tone, her left arm hanging limply from her side as she shuffled on her right foot towards The Necronomicon.
But then John ran up and stood in front of Icy, holding his double-barreled riffle in front of her face, "your protective spells are impressive," he said as he pulled both hammers back, "but I doubt you'll survive at this range!"
"Screw you!" snapped Icy as she grabbed the riffle barrels with her right hand, freezing the gun to John's hands. She then summoned a dagger made of ice and stabbed him in the heart. John gave a startled grunt, looking down at his impaled heart and he fell over, bleeding to death within seconds.
"No!" shouted Rebecca. She then picked up another replica Ming Dynasty vase and brought it down on Stormy's head.
Stormy shouted in pain as she felt her head. She then brought her hand up and saw some blood. She then glared at Rebecca, "you filthy mutant bitch!"
Rebecca responded by grabbing Stormy by the throat and began strangling the witch. But Stormy blasted Rebecca right in the midsection with a bolt of dark lightning. Rebecca was thrown across the room, hitting the far wall and sliding to the floor, her front severely burned.
"I'm seriously getting pissed," said Stormy as she felt her head again, seeing that she was still bleeding a bit, while her free hand felt her throat.
"You're not the only one," said Darcy in a dazed tone. Katina had been rendered unconscious, her nose bleeding, while Darcy also had a bloody nose and bloodshot eyes, a vein on her forehead pulsed with obvious pain. "I have the mother of all headaches."
"Our benefactor should have given us stronger defensive spells," said Stormy.
"They were strong enough to get us this far," said Icy. She then limped up to the glass case and froze the lock. It shattered and she threw the case off.
"At last, The Necronomicon!" said Stormy triumphantly.
But then Violet ran in and grabbed the book before Icy could touch it.
"I may only be new to the realms of the supernatural," said Violet as she protectively clutched The Necronomicon to her chest, "but I'll never let you have this!"
"You shouldn't have done that, little girl," said a highly irate Darcy as she placed her right hand on her forehead and wiped the blood away from her nose with the back of her left hand.
Icy shook her left hand, flexing her fingers as the anesthetic wore off, "don't test me," she said, glairing venomously at Violet, "give me that book, or else!" With that the three witches advanced on Violet, forcing her to back into one of the gallery corners.
Violet looked around and saw that anyone who could have come to her rescue was either incapacitated or dead, while her brother and sister were the other side of the room. Klaus put Sunny down in a safe place and made ready to run over, but Violet shot her brother a look that told him to stay put. He got the message and picked Sunny back up again.
"I may not have any special powers like Jill and the others," said Violet, "but I'm not one to give in to fear! I've seen the worst evils this world has to offer. You witches don't scare me! You want the book! Come and get it!"
"Oh, such a stirring speech," said Darcy in a mock sympathetic tone, "so brave, so bold," she then frowned, "I hate that." She then cast a persuasion spell, "now, hand over The Necronomicon!"
"No!" shouted Violet deficiently as she clutched the book tighter.
At that Darcy blinked in confusion. She shook her head, as if clearing it, then cast the persuasion spell again, "I said give me the book!"
"And I said no!" Violet shouted again, "you want it, you'll have to take it from me!"
"Give me the damn book, you brat!" shouted Darcy as she rushed at Violet and grabbed her arm. But then Darcy cried out in pain as she released Violet and clutched her hand, her palm severely burned and blistered.
"What the…!?" exclaimed Stormy. She walked over and tried to wrestle the book out of Violet's arms, but Stormy cried out in pain and flinched away, both her palms severely burned and blistered.
"What did you do, you mutant!?" exclaimed Icy.
"I…I don't know," said Violet in an astonished tone, "I didn't know I could do this."
"You…might not be doing it," said Darcy in a contemplative tone, "sisters, I believe we have a puzzling situation. We cannot touch either the girl or the book."
"Then how the hell are we going to get it?" Stormy asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Icy asked as she smiled viciously, "we take them both with us?"
"What?" Stormy asked.
"Oh, of course!" said Darcy as she too smiled viciously, "and I know just the spell," she then shot a beam of dark purple magic at Violet. In a flash, Violet was trapped in a spherical cage of dark purple energy that hovered in midair.
"So long as none or our powers actually touch her or the book," said Darcy, "we can do whatever we want with her."
"But we still need to get the book away from her," said Stormy.
"We'll worry about that later," said Icy, "but for now, having the girl and the book would be a double benefit."
"You'll never get away with this," said Violet as Darcy made the energy cage hover over to the three witches, "whatever you're going to do, it won't work. Jill and the others, they'll stop you!"
"If they couldn't stop us tonight," said Icy, "what makes you think they'll ever beat us?"
"Because you made us mad," said Max as he and the others started to get back up, "and when you make The Ramblers mad, you sign your own death warrant."
"We're the best at fighting evil," said Laura as she helped Katina back up.
"You may have the edge now," said Felicia as she and Julia got back up, followed by Ken and Steven, "but we'll figure out your weakness."
"We didn't even get to fight!" said Leon as he and Jessie got up. Leon had a few minor scratches, while Jessie had two diagonal cuts down her face that were bleeding, cuts that were identical to the scars the other Jessie had. Jessie and Leon were followed by Patricia and Aaron, "so we'll be extra motivated to kick your skanky asses!"
"And we're motivated too!" said Sora as he, Riku, Tess and Malcolm got back up.
"So are we!" said Cleo as she, Duce, Clawd, Draculaura and Ghoulia got up, "as Ra as my witness, I won't rest until I see you cursed for ten thousand years!"
At that Ghoulia moaned something.
"You're right," said Draculaura. She then glared at The Trix, "and you are overdressed."
"Stop saying that!" snapped Icy.
"Then get a new wardrobe, bitch!" snapped Tess.
"Don't bother," said Jill as she glared hatefully at Icy, "you won't live long enough to try out any new clothes." She looked at Violet, "just hold on, sweetheart, you won't be in their vile hands for long, I swear it."
"I believe you, Jill!" said Violet, her eyes brimming with tears, "I…I love you…mom!"
"I love you too, darling," said Jill, her eyes full of tears as well.
"Can you losers get any more pathetic?" Darcy asked, "we won, you lost! Get with the program!"
"Twenty-four hours," said Jill in a hateful tone.
"What's that you're saying?" Icy asked.
"Twenty-four hours," Jill said again, "that's how long you've got left to live," she sighed, "it's times like this that I truly and dearly miss Andrew."
"It's 8:42 P.M.," said Patricia as she looked at her watch.
"Thank you," said Jill. She then glared at The Trix, "8:42 P.M. tomorrow night. Before that, I will see the three of you dead! I swear it!"
"You'd better believe it," said Felicia to The Trix, "for when Jill Sparrow makes a promise, she keeps it."
"By this time tomorrow, we'll be queens of the universe!" said Icy, "bye, now!" with that she activated a teleportation spell.
"Klaus! Sunny!" Violet shouted, just as she teleported out with the three witches.
"Violet!" shouted Klaus, while Sunny also shouted incoherently.
"Well, this sucks," said Deuce.
"That's it in a nutshell," said Steven.
Just then Tyler ran into the room, "oh my God!" he exclaimed. He ran over to Aaron, "big brother!"
"I'm fine, Ty," said Aaron, "a little pissed, but fine. The same could be said for most of us," he then looked at Jessie, whom was holding a cloth napkin to her bleeding face, "how'd that happen?"
"I got careless," said Jessie as she took the napkin away from her face. The bleeding from her cuts were slowing down, "how do I look?"
"Frightful," said Cleo, "but in a good way."
"Thanks, I guess," said Jessie as she placed a clean napkin to her face.
"Aaron!" Ken shouted as he knelt over Rebecca, "she's still alive!"
Aaron retrieved his medical bag and ran over to Rebecca, with Sora, Cleo, Patricia and the others shortly behind them.
"Is she…?" Julia asked.
"She has massive internal injuries and burns," said Aaron as he used a scanning device on Rebecca, "it's a miracle she still has a pulse, let alone still breathing."
Just then Rebecca opened her eyes and gasped for breath.
"I think she's trying to say something," said Aaron. He then bent down to hear better, "Rebecca, what is it? What are you trying to tell us?"
Rebecca then gasped, "Kat…Katina…scan…scan…"
"She wants Katina to scan her mind," said Patricia.
"Get out of the way!" Katina shouted. Sora and the others backed away several paces, giving Katina plenty of breathing room.
Katina then placed both hands on either side of Rebecca's head. The ebony Scanner then used her powers to read the thoughts of the dieing woman. After a few seconds, Katina sat back and smiled down at Rebecca, "it's okay," she said, "I got it."
Rebecca smiled up in thanks, then looked at John's fallen form, "Otheon," she whispered, "Otheon…my love…wait…wait for me in the Summerlands…" she then let out a final breath and died.
"It's over," said Aaron. He then grabbed a tablecloth and covered Rebecca, then did the same for John.
"No, it's just beginning," said Katina, "when Rebecca grabbed Stormy, she was able see into the past, concerning the three witches. This conspiracy is greater than I thought."
With that Jill walked right up to Katina and slapped her across the face.
"Jill!" exclaimed Max.
"What the hell!?" exclaimed Leon.
"How dare you!" Jill shouted at Katina, "how dare you show up and get Violet involved in this!"
"Not that I agree with Jill slapping you, Katina," said Patricia, "but I sympathize with her feelings. You do have some explaining to do."
"Just what the hell is going on, Katina?" Max asked.
"It's a long story," said Katina.
"Well, you'd better get started," said Julia, "because Jill's got less than twenty-four hours to keep her promise."
"You can run, you cowards," said Jill, speaking to The Trix, "you can run to the ends of the universe, but you'll never run far enough."
…The Crystal Palace…New Salem…
"Oh man," said Clair as she glared irately at Holt, "this stinks worse than a raw egg in an old shoe in a chicken coop."
"At least he's not making a mess of things," said Frankie as she, Clawdeen, Kairi and Lilith began moving to the new beat.
"He's ruined my date," said Clair, "you know, I'll bet that Holt sabotaged those earpieces so he could come out. He and Jackson aren't on the best terms, you know."
"Well, at least he's making things more enjoyable for everyone else," said Kairi.
"Yeah, everyone's having a great time," said Frankie.
Just then there came a scream from the building entrance. The dancers stopped and saw first one, then another Monster being tossed to the floor like potato sacks, both of them looking heavily beaten and bloodied.
Then at least twenty human teenagers, fifteen boys and five girls, all of them between sixteen and nineteen, all of them wearing black leather jackets and spiked gloves, walked in with looks of vicious glee on their faces. And right in front of the black-jacketed humans was Lucas, a look of vile vindication on his face.
"Lucas!" exclaimed an outraged Lilith, "what the hell are you doing?!"
"I warned you, Lilith," said Lucas, "I warned you that the revolution was coming. But I didn't tell you that it was starting tonight, right here, right now."
"I stand corrected," said Clair, "this sucks worse than a raw egg in an old shoe in a chicken coop, and a brown egg at that."
"That's a bold statement," said Clawdeen.
"You!" Abbey shouted as she stomped towards Lucas, "angry, Monster Hating bully boy! How dare you ruin this evening of dance and making the merriment!"
"I dare because I can," said Lucas, "you frigid freak."
"Don't you call my girl a freak!" shouted Heath as he summoned a fireball and threw it at Lucas, whom swatted it aside like it was nothing.
"What was that, a firecracker?" Lucas asked in a mocking tone. At that the nineteen other boys and girls with him laughed cruelly.
"Just what the hell are you doing here, Lucas?" Lilith demanded.
"I told you that we're starting the revolution," said Lucas, "honestly, Lilith, associating with these freaks is either making you deaf or hindering your intelligence."
"My mind and ears are perfectly clear," said Lilith irately, "and you lied to me! You are using! There's no other way you could have blocked that fireball without being hurt! You're using Soma-15"
"Oh, but I didn't lie," said Lucas, "I'm not using Soma-15, not the original that is."
At that one of the back-jacketed teens laughed, a girl with long, straight black hair, brown eyes and a maniacal look on her face.
"Eliza Herringdale," said Lilith, "you got dragged into this too."
"Nice to see you too, Elly, dear," said the girl, Eliza Herringdale, "and I wasn't dragged in. I volunteered."
"As did I," said a boy with short brown hair, green eyes and carried a lighter.
"And me," said a girl with shoulder length brown hair, blue eyes and used a stiletto knife to clean underneath her red-painted nails.
"And me," said a tall boy with a shaved head, black eyes and hands that could crush rocks easily.
Lilith looked at the two boys and girl in turn, "Orlando Trent, Paulette Stonebrook and Dalton Northwood," she then crossed her arms, "not exactly how I pictured a reunion."
"You know these jerks?" Gill asked as he, Lagoona and Chad hurried over.
"They used to be my friends," said Lilith, "before they decided to follow the path of insanity."
"Genius and insanity are often confused," said Orlando Trent.
"We were once part of your uncle's elite class, Lilith," said Paulette Stonebrook, "we can be together again."
"Join us, Lilith von Hellscream," said Dalton Northwood, "join us in the revolution."
"I'm willing to ignore our earlier disagreement," said Lucas. He then held out his hand, "come with us and embrace the future."
"Screw you, you drug addled maniac!" snapped Lilith. She then spat into Lucas' hand.
"Oh, you're in for it now!" giggled Eliza, "I knew you couldn't be trusted, Elly."
"Don't call me that!" snapped Lilith.
"You used to love that nickname," said Lucas as he wiped his hand on a handkerchief. He then pulled out a syringe full of dark green liquid and held it out to Lilith, "the old drug was too unstable. But this new formula, Soma-99, is not only more powerful, it will open your mind to the truth!"
"Your twisted truth, you mean," said Lilith, "and when did…"
"Our science friend perfected it," said Lucas, "just take it, Lilith, take Soma-99 and be transformed!"
"We've all taken it, Elly," said Eliza, "and look at me," she spun in a circle, "not only am I stronger than ever, but also beautiful!"
"You didn't care about looks before," said Lilith, "now you're a narcissistic lunatic!" she looked at all the black-jacketed teens, "you're all nuts!"
"No, we are the future," said Lucas as he pocketed the syringe, "we're the children of the revolution, and we're starting by tearing down this abomination of a nightclub! From this night forward, any human associating with Monsters, and vice versa, shall be punished! Any human who wishes to avoid a horrific torture and possible death, leave now and embrace the future!"
There was a sudden confusion as nearly all the humans in the nightclub ran for the door. Within minutes, only Chad, Clair, Lilith and Kairi were the only humans left.
"There goes a bunch of kids who would never make it into Gryffindor," said Kairi.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, love," said Lagoona, "but one thing's for sure, we're not going to let these hate-mongering wankers push us around!" At that Gill, Clawdeen, Frankie, Abbey, Heath and all the other Monsters shouted in agreement.
"I was hoping you'd say that," said Lucas.
"I was hoping you'd say that too," said Lilith as she cracked her knuckles. "Chad, Clair, Kairi, you should take cover."
"I'm not leaving without Jackson," said Clair as she looked up at the D.J. station, where Holt was still remixing the music, apparently oblivious to the sudden twist of events.
"Good luck separating him from his music," said Heath.
"Allow me," said Paulette. She then threw her knife at the music turntables, hitting in just the right spot to short the sound system out.
"Hey! What gives!?" Holt exclaimed, "my music, where'd it go?" he then looked around, "wait, what's going on?" he then twitched, "oh, no! It's too quiet! I'm fading out!" with a flash of flames, he reverted to Jackson.
"What…what's going on?" He asked in a confused tone, "oh, man, I really need to work out the bugs in my earpieces," he then saw Lucas and his cabal, "now what?"
Clair then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the turntables, "no time to explain!" she said, "we gotta take cover!"
"Normally I'm against fighting," said Chad, "but I'll be rooting for you, Frankie!" he then joined Clair and Jackson as they ran over to a snake table and flipped it over, forming a makeshift barrier and took cover behind it, "kick their cans!"
"Will do," said Frankie as she gave Chad the thumbs up. She then glared at Lucas, "I also don't like violence. But if you really want trouble, you're gonna get it!" With that her neck bolts sparked with her outrage.
"Ditto!" shouted Kairi as she summoned her Keyblade.
"What the hell is that!?" exclaimed one of the black-jackets.
"I have no idea," said Lucas, "but she has sided with the freaks, and therefore must be punished."
"Punish this!" shouted Abbey as she shot a double hand beam of freezing energy at the Monster haters. Two of them dodged the left beam, which cause a patch of floor to turn into ice, while a third Monster Hater got caught on the right arm, freezing it solid. But he flexed his arm and broke it free of the ice.
"Is not possible!" said a shocked Abbey, "no Normie can break out of Yeti ice beam."
"Face it, freaky bitch!" laughed Eliza, "your days are numbered!"
"We'll see about that!" shouted a huge minotaur, wearing a red shirt with a maze-like pattern. He then bellowed wrathfully and charged straight at the black-jackets.
"Manny, no!" shouted Frankie, but she was too late to stop him.
Dalton then got in front of Manny and grabbed the minotaur by the horns and lifted him clear overhead, then threw him across the room. Manny bellowed in surprise as he crashed to the floor and didn't get up again.
"Unbelievable!" exclaimed a horrified Lagoona.
"Typical minotaur bull crap," said Dalton as he nonchalantly brushed some lint off of his jacket, "always rushing in without thinking things through."
"Think this!" shouted Frankie as she shot a bolt of lightning that arched from her neck bolts, up her arm and out her hand towards Dalton. Orlando got in front and blocked the bolt with his hand, which was only slightly singed from the massive surge of electricity.
"No way!" said a startled Frankie.
"Face it, you stitched bitch!" snapped Lucas, "you and your freaks are outclassed!" He then jumped out of the way as Lilith rushed, narrowly avoiding a fist to his face.
"You want to talk about class?" Lilith asked as she assumed a fighting stance, "try me for size!"
"I thought you'd never ask," said a viciously grinning Lucas as he too assumed a fighting stance, "we do have a score to settle!"
"Are you still pissed that I beat you in our last sparring match?" Lilith asked, "well, too bad! I won fair and square, and I'll win now!" with that she launched an attack, while Lucas rushed in as well, the two of them exchanging punches, kicks and other attacks that were meant to be killing blows, with each of them either blocking or dodging them.
"While they're occupied," said Eliza, "why not the rest of us have fun," she then addressed the other Monster Haters, "tear the freaks apart!"
With that the Monster Haters rushed forward towards the Monsters, whom fought back with all their powers and abilities. Yet the black-clad humans were either too fast, too strong or too durable, easily countering the powers of the Monsters and inflicting a lot of pain on the various werewolves, vampires and other creatures.
Only a handful were able to hold their own; Frankie, who was able to generate more power in her lightning attacks and fend off the drug-addicted teens; Clawdeen, who was just a hair faster than the enemy and was able to deliver some solid strikes with her claws; Gill and Lagoona, whose natural grace and agility allowed them to avoid most of the enemy attacks and deliver powerful kicks that knocked the Monster Haters back; Heath and Abbey, who alternated between fire and ice attacks that forced the enemy away.
Kairi of course was doing the best, her Keyblade strikes managed to break the arms of at least two Monster Haters, while giving a third a concussion.
But to the shock of Kairi and the Monsters, all the wounds inflicted on the Monster haters regenerated, healing within seconds after inflicted, while the drug-addled maniacs seemed to possess a limitless supply of stamina.
"I think we're losing!" shouted Gill as he dodged a kick from one of the Monster Haters, only to be tackled by another.
"Get off him!" shouted Lagoona as she grabbed the head of the Monster Hater, digging her fingers into his eyes. The black-jacketed teen cried out in pain and released Gill, only to deliver an elbow strike to Lagonna's face. She fell down as the Monster Hater's eyes regenerated, only for Kairi to bash him in the head.
"Either these guys are fortified with magic," said Kairi as she helped Lagoona up, then kicked the Monster Hater in the chest, "or they're Splicers!"
"What's that?" Frankie asked as she electrocuted a girl monster-hater.
"It's a human who tampered with his or her DNA," said Kairi as she bashed another Monster Hater in the head, "in order to gain special abilities."
"Normies with super powers," said Clawdeen as she gouged the face of one of the drug-addicted maniacs, "I'd never thought I'd see it." She then realized that Toralei was right behind her, also fighting a Monster Hater. The two of them then got back to back in their respective fights, "and here's another thing I thought I'd never see! The two of us, working together!"
"Don't get me wrong, Clawdeen!" said Toralei as she slashed the face of her opponent, then followed up with a kick to the groin, "I'm only fighting for my own survival. These Normie bastards mean business, and so do I!"
"There's still the old adage," said Kairi as she bashed another enemy head in, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'"
Toralei threw her opponent across the room and glared at Kairi, "let's just get this straight, outworlder! I don't like you and I'll never like you! I don't particularly like Normies for that matter, and I definitely don't like Frankie, Clawdeen and the rest of their crew. I'm only fighting with you all because I'm in as much danger as everyone else here."
"I can accept mutual benefit," said Kairi.
"And I thought we were warming up that cold heart of yours, Toralei," Clawdeen teased after punching a Monster Hater in the face.
"My heart is warm enough, thank you very much," said Toralei, "and between you and me, Clawdeen, I wouldn't lift a whisker to save your flea-bitten hide, even if Frankie was paying me to be civil."
"Say what!?" exclaimed Clawdeen. But then she was tackled by two Monster Haters. One of them held her down while the other grabbed her head in an attempt to break her neck.
"See? Not my problem," said Toralei as she nonchalantly looked at her nails, only to be tackled by another Monster Hater.
"Clawdeen!" shouted Frankie as she tried to reach her friend, but another Monster Hater was in her way, while Kairi and the others were similarly occupied.
Just when Clawdeen was about to have her neck broken, Howleen jumped onto the back of the one holding Clawdeen down and bit his neck, forcing him off of Clawdeen, whom then slashed her attacker on the face, forcing that one back.
Just then came a loud whistle from somewhere in the club.
Lucas, whom was still fighting Lilith, jumped back and shouted, "ENOUGH! LET'S GO!"
At that all the Monster Haters stopped fighting and ran out of the club.
"Lucas, you bastard!" shouted Lilith, her dress torn in several places and she suffered a few minor cuts and bruises, but otherwise looked ready to keep fighting, while Lucas hardly looked out of breath. "You sick bastard! Get back here and finish this!"
"In due time, dear Lilith!" said Lucas, "my followers and I have what we came for. Until later!"
"Bye, Elly!" said Eliza, whom then blew Lilith a kiss. With that she and Lucas ran out of the club, being the last of the Monster Haters to depart.
Kairi stopped to catch her breath as she surveyed the aftermath of the battle. The whole club had been completely trashed, all the decorations were ruined while broken furniture, smashed light and sound equipment, littered the floor, while a few exposed wires sparked.
Kairi then saw that nearly all the Monsters in the club had been injured in one way or another, while a few others were bleeding profusely or had multiple broken bones.
Frankie, Clawdeen, Howleen, Lagoona, Gill, Heath and Abbey were among the least wounded, only suffering from a few cuts, scrapes and bruises.
"That…that was awful," said Frankie as she found an intact chair to sit down in, "Kairi, do you do this kind of thing all the time?"
"Not all the time," said Kairi as she stood next to Frankie, "most of the time, my friends and I won. This," she indicated the carnage around her, "this isn't what I call a victory."
"We're all still alive," said Lagoona as she tore up a tablecloth for a bandage and used it on a cut on Gill's arm, "that's got to mean something."
"And no one's gonna die," said Kairi determinedly, "not while I'm here!" she then went among the wounded Monsters and began healing them with her power.
"Voltagious!" said an astonished Frankie as she and the others saw Kairi at work.
"She really is gifted," said an impressed Lagoona.
"Yeah, well, I'm gonna call 911 just to be safe," said Heath as he pulled out his cell phone.
"Why did Monster hating bullies leave like that?" Abbey asked, "they had edge, so why they run away like frightened baby yaks?"
"I don't know," said Lilith as she helped Kairi with the wounded, holding some of the Monsters still while Kairi healed them, "Lucas, he's mad, utterly and irrevocably mad, and the others are just as crazy, especially Eliza, she was always nuts. So, who knows what they're planning?"
"We've got bigger problems than that," said Clawdeen, "Howleen!"
"I'm fine, sis," said Howleen as she helped Romulus up, whom had a broken ankle "and your welcome for saving your neck."
"Forget my neck!" said an irate Clawdeen, "you bit one of those Normies!"
"You did what!?" Romulus exclaimed, while the other conscious werewolves looked shocked.
"Well, yeah, I did," said Howleen as she felt her lip, seeing that there was some blood there.
"Oh, my ghoul, you drew blood!" said a horrified Clawdeen.
"Well, that's what happens when you bite someone," said Howleen, "look, those bastards were gonna kill you, Clawdeen! I had to do something!"
"You could have done anything but bite him," said Romulus, "Howleen, werewolves don't bite humans for a reason."
"I thought you did," said Kairi, "that the full moon made you crazy and go on a killing spree."
"Only if the wolf is already insane or is sick," said Lagoona, "Kairi, we Monsters try our best not to harm Normies for a reason."
"They're afraid of us not just because we're different and scary," said Clawdeen, "it's because when a Monster tastes Normie blood, it drives us crazy."
"We become these horrible, murdering psychopaths," said Lagoona, "really monstrous creatures that are all but unstoppable."
"And that's when the authorities come in," said Toralei as she brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, "and by that, I mean The Bureau."
"No, that can't be right," said Frankie, "I mean, sure, there's a lot of Monsters out there who aren't nice and who use their powers for evil; Valentine for one, and of course there's Nefera, but…"
"Frankie…not all Monsters turn out right," said Lagoona, "some are born or created evil, while others go bad for one reason or another."
"So, what's going to happen to me?" Howleen asked nervously.
"It all depends on how soon you start to cross over," said Romulus, "just how much of that Normie's blood did you swallow?"
"None," said Howleen, "at least I don't think I swallowed any of it. Anyway, I let go of him as soon as he was away from Clawdeen, and I couldn't have been rid of him sooner, he tasted something awful."
"Yeah, they did have a bad smell about them," said Romulus, "not an odor, but just a scent of…wrongness."
Kairi then realized that she did sense a feeling of wrongness from Lucas and his cabal, but hadn't noticed it in all the confusion of the battle.
"It's the drug, it has to be," said Lilith, "not only did they improve it, making them more powerful and insane, it's warping their very beings, their…"
"Their hearts?" Kairi suggested.
"Exactly," said Lilith, "Soma-99, it's turning them…dark."
"What do we do now?" Gill asked.
"We stop them, of course," said Lilith in a determined voice, "we get out of these ruined clothes, into more appropriate attire and go after Lucas and his gang."
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Frankie, "I mean, nearly everyone here got seriously hurt, while the rest of us were barely able to hold our own. I'm not saying we should just go home and pretend it never happened, but shouldn't we think this through?"
"Doing nothing won't help us," said Kairi, "but neither will rushing after those jerks blindly. We need to think of a plan."
"We need to call the authorities," said Heath.
"Yeah, The Bureau, they're the best to handle this kind of situation," said Gill.
"And have them cart off my sister to be either brainwashed or killed? I don't think so!" snapped Clawdeen.
"They're gonna kill me?" a horrified Howleen asked, "but I didn't swallow any blood!"
"They'll either kill you or scramble your brain so you won't hurt anyone," said Toralei as she helped Pursephoney and Meowlody get back up, the twin werecats both suffering from identical minor head wounds.
"No one is scrambling my sister's brain!" snapped Clawdeen. She then gave Howleen a comforting hug, "I won't let them hurt you, I promise." At that Howleen hugged her sister back.
"But we really should call in some help," said Lagoona, "those haters were right about one thing; we're outclassed."
"We're only outclassed if we let ourselves think that way," said Kairi, "I've faced more evils in the past few years than you can imagine. This is just another evil to be defeated, so that good can live in peace."
"Darn right!" said Frankie, "we can beat these Monster-Haters! But…it would be an idea to call Cleo and the others, to let them know what happened."
"Good idea, love," said Lagoona as she got out her cell phone.
"And maybe bringing in The Bureau might not be a bad idea either," said Heath, "we'll just not tell them about Howleen."
"If they don't know Howleen bite evil Normie, they won't scramble brain," said Abbey.
"Alright, we'll call the authorities," said Clawdeen. She then looked at Howleen, "and I'll make sure they don't lay a finger on you."
"I love you, big sis," said Howleen.
"Love you too, little sis," said Clawdeen. With that they hugged each other again.
Just then Lilith looked like she had just remembered something important, "my God! Chad, Clair, Jackson!"
She, Frankie, Clawdeen and Lagoona rushed over to where their friends had taken cover, only to find that Chad and Jackson had been knocked unconscious, while Clair was nowhere to be found.
"We were so distracted by the fight," said Lagoona, while Kairi healed Chad and Jackson, "we completely forgot about them."
Just then Jackson began to wake up, "ow! My head! What…what happened?" he then straightened his glasses, only to realize that one of the lenses were broken, "oh man! My mom's gonna kill me!"
"Never mind that, Jackson!" said Lilith, "what happened to Clair!"
Chad then woke up, "did anyone catch the license plate of that jerk?" he asked in a groggy tone.
"Pull yourself together, man!" snapped Lilith, "where's Clair!?"
"Clair?" Jackson asked. He then blinked in shock as he remembered, "oh no! They took her!"
"Those psychos!" said Chad, "two of them ambushed us. They knocked us down and grabbed Clair."
"They took her," said Jackson in an angry and depressed tone, "and there wasn't anything I could do to stop them!"
"We'll get her back," said Frankie in a determined tone, "I don't know how, we'll save her." At that Clawdeen, Lagoona, Kairi and the others nodded in agreement.
…Hogwarts…
"Well, that was…." said Aiden after he, Roxas, Naminé, Max, Harry, Jill, Andrew, Tara and the others watched the battle in the museum gallery via the dimensional viewer. "That was…that sucked!" he exclaimed, "that sucked to high heaven! What the hell are The Trix doing on that world?!"
"Stealing the Necronomicon, obviously," said Malfoy.
"Just why are you still here, Malfoy?" Ron asked.
"Someone has to make sure nothing else happens at Hogwarts," said Malfoy, "where as you, Weasley, trouble always follows you, Granger and Potter."
"It's not like we wanted trouble, Malfoy," said Hermione, "it just happens to us."
"Can we focus on the true issue here?" Andrew asked, "Sora, Riku, Tess and Malcolm, along with out other selves, just got their asses handed to them by three insane witches!"
"You call them witches?" Tara asked irately, "I didn't see a wand between them! I doubt they even know what to do with a wand."
"And did you see how they dressed?" Kylie asked, "how fashionably incompetent can they get?"
"They don't care about that, those three are totally crazy," said Roxas.
"And they have Violet," said Jill in a distant tone, "while the other John and Rebecca are dead."
"And my other self is scarred," said Jessie.
"It's happening again," said Max, "just like before."
"What are you talking about?" Naminé asked.
"On our world, when The Necronomicon was taken," said Jessie, "two Bureau agents were killed at the gallery event, while a third was abducted along with the book." She then touched her scars, "while I got these as a going home present. Just you wait. The other Patricia is going to order my other self back to H.Q."
"It's almost like the worst case of déjà vu ever," said Leon.
"But if you know what's going to happen," said Ron, "we can do something about it."
"There's just one problem," said Harry, "we can't get to this other world yet."
"We're working on it," said Ashley, "we just need more equipment."
"And just what equipment will this be?" McGonagall asked.
"And how long will it take to get set up?" Aiden asked.
"Not too long, hopefully," said Ashley, "just have to go through more bureaucratic bull crap and we'll have what we need pretty soon."
"And just what is it that you need?" Aiden asked.
"A portal projector," said Ashley, "the dimensional scanner and viewer already found our missing friends, so all we need to get there is the right portal frequency, which is what the projector is for."
"And exactly how long will it take to get it here?" Harry asked.
"Roughly the same amount of time to ship it from Washington to London," said Ashley, "then up to Edinburg, then to Hogsmeade, then to fortify it against magic, bring it to Hogwarts, hook it up to the computer and we're ready to go, in roughly…another day or so."
"By that time, the other Jill will have killed The Trix without us!" said Aiden.
"And we still need to find Kairi," said Naminé.
"No problem," said Ashley, "now that the scanner has found Sora and the others, it's been looking for Kairi and…" just then the computer beeped, "oh, it's found her!"
Ashley pushed a few buttons and the image changed. Now it showed Kairi with Frankie and the other Monsters in the wreckage of The Crystal Palace.
"She's safe," said a relieved Naminé, "thank goodness."
"Yeah, but what are those things she's with?" Roxas asked.
"Monsters," said Harry.
"Of course they are," said Draco dryly, "you can tell that they're freaks from a mile away."
"Monsters are people too, Mr. Malfoy," said an annoyed Tara.
"Until they try and devour you," said Draco.
"It's clear that Kairi's made friends with these creatures," said Max, "while our counterparts, Sora and the others have joined forces with more Monsters. We clearly have a conflict on two fronts here."
"The Trix, whom have the other Violet and The Necronomicon," said Aaron, "while whomever Kairi and her new friends had been fighting."
"Think the two are related?" Ginny asked.
"I'm more concerned as to why those vicious witches couldn't touch either Violet or the book," said Hermione.
"I have my suspicions," said Jill, "everyone, I think it might be a good idea to keep our Violet, John and Rebecca out of this, for now at least."
"I don't think they'd like the idea of knowing that they died on a parallel world," said Ron.
"Who does?" Roxas asked.
"All we can do for now is wait for the machine," said Ashley.
"The hell we can," said a determined Aiden, "just tell me about the individual parts of the portal projector, give me enough raw materials and I can transmute one right here at Hogwarts."
"You can do that?" Ashley asked in an astonished tone, "I know you're a brilliant Alchemist, but this is a highly sophisticated piece of equipment we're talking about. One misplaced part, one frayed wire, one cracked chip and the damn thing won't work, or blow up, or worse."
"What's worse than the machine exploding?" Ron asked.
"Instead of a portal," said Ashley, "it could create a black hole and devour the entire planet."
"That would be bad," said Hermione to Ron in an annoyed tone.
"I'd still like to try," said Aiden, "it'd be a lot quicker to make one, and probably a lot cheaper."
"It would save a lot of time," said Jill to Ashley, "and you'd save money on shipping it across The Pond."
"I guess that's reasonable," said Ashley in a contemplative manner, "alright, we'll try it Aiden's way."
"Yes!" said Aiden triumphantly.
"But I'm supervising this project," said Ashley in a stern tone, "I have all the technical specs on the device in my head, which may I add, I remember perfectly, so I'll be able to describe the individual parts precisely."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," said Aiden.
"In the meantime," said Max, "we'd better get ready on our part."
"Tell us everything you know about The Trix," said Jill to Roxas and Naminé. "If we're going to help Sora and our other selves, then we need all the information on the enemy as we can get."
"And learn about this enemy that Kairi's facing," said Tara.
"Precisely," said Jill.
"We'll tell you what we know," said Naminé, "but…I'm sure there's more too it."
"The Trix used to work on their own," said Roxas, "but then they teamed up with Darkar. This time…they've got to be working with someone else. They're tough and vicious, but there's no way they could have trashed our friends and those other Ramblers so easily."
"Hey, give us some credit," said Leon, "we tried, I mean, the other us tried."
"And failed," said Max, "I'm with Roxas on this. Someone spilled the beans about the security plans for The Necronomicon, someone who's allied themselves with The Trix."
"Whoever that is," said Jill, "they've taken the other Violet. And if I know myself as well as I think I do, then the other me will tear hell itself apart in order to get Violet back, and God help those three lunatics if they face the other Jill again."
The end of chapter 4.
Next chapter finds our heroes regrouping and planning to strike back at their respective enemies. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie! See you then!