Last time found our heroes and allies returning from their vacation. They stopped over at Pixy Village, where they learned that not only does Darkar have the last piece of The Codex, but Icy's dark magic has afflicted the Tree of Life that sustains Pixy Village. After a massive confidence boost from her friends, Flora used her powers to heal The Tree, then after another confidence boost, confessed her love for Helia, which he happily reciprocated.

Back at Alfea, Sora and the gang sat in on a few classes as Bloom and her fellow Winx strengthened their new Charmix powers. But then it was discovered that the Professor Avalon whom had been teaching at Alfea had been an impostor sent by Darkar as a sleeper agent. The real Avalon showed up just as the Doppleganger made his move and kidnapped Bloom, but Kairi jumped after the creature, hitching a ride with him and Bloom to Shadowhaunt. 'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 7: Battle Preperations

…Shadowhaunt…

"So that guy who attacked us earlier," said Stormy as she, Icy, Darcy, Xehanort and Sephiroth, gathered in the throne room, "that Paladin, Darkar caught him and locked him in the dungeons."

"And he sent a Doppelganger to Alfea to fool everyone there," said Darcy, "he even fooled us, and we're on the same side."

"And now he's coming back with Bloom," said Icy as she irately crossed her arms, "I don't know if I should like this guy, or hate him for doing our job for us."

"Your feelings are irrelevant, Icy," said Darkar, "for soon, the Doppelganger shall return with the red-headed prize."

Just then the fake Avalon teleported in, with the unconscious Bloom in his arms, as well as Kairi who had grabbed his shoulder.

The baddies in the room were left speechless by this sudden turn of events.

Stormy finally broke the silence, "Two redheads for the price of one, not bad."

Shouting in rage, Kairi punched the pommel of her Keyblade into the face of the fake Darkar. The Doppelganger cried out in pan as he released Bloom to clutch at his wounded face and stumble back.

Kairi caught Bloom and held her up in one arm while brandishing her Keyblade with her other hand, "it's going to be okay, Bloom," she said, "we're going to get out of here."

"Oh really?" Icy asked in a daring tone as she, Darcy and Stormy took offensive positions around Kairi and Bloom, "and just how are you going to do that?"

"You're miles underground in a place where good magic is weak," said Darcy, "while ours are stronger than ever!"

"Face it," said Stormy, "you ain't getting away from this."

"You'll find that I'm full of surprises!" said Kairi, "so, which of you wants to try me first?"

"Why bother," said Xehanort as he calmly walked forward, "even if you defeat one of The Trix, or even all of them, you will have exhausted yourself by then. Can you not feel it, Kairi? The very air you're breathing is weakening your powers. Shadowhaunt is a place of pure malevolence. Just how long do you, a young woman with a pure heart, can survive here?"

Already, Kairi was feeling her strength slowly draining away. Right now she felt just a little bit tired, but the loss of strength was starting to gain speed. She figured it wouldn't be much longer before she could barely get her Keyblade up.

"I'll still have enough to take you down, you horrible old man!" said Kairi, "so, who's first?"

"Permit me the honor," said Darkar as he stepped forward. He then shot a curst at Kairi. She tried to block it, but already her reflexes had slowed from the loss of energy. The curse hit her, inflicting massive amounts of pain through her whole body. She tried to endure it but it soon became too much. She gasped in pain and fell to the ground, dropping Bloom and her Keyblade.

"I admit," said Darkar, "you lasted longer against that curse that I expected. Your strength of will is commendable, if foolhardy."

"Shall I dispose of her, master," the Doppelganger of Avalon asked as he picked Bloom up and carried her over to a nearby stone table. He placed Bloom on the table and arranged her arms and legs so that dark magic bindings held her in place.

"Oh, let us take care of her, Lord Darkar," said Icy.

"We have a score to settle with this Keyblade Brat," said Stormy.

"It's actually all of the Brats that we've got a grudge against," said Darcy, "but we'll start with this one."

"And we'll start with this," said Icy as she walked up to Kairi's Keyblade, "killed by her own weapon, how's that for poetic justice?" She bent down to pick the Keyblade up, but the second her hand touched the hilt, she screamed in agony and flinched back. She grasped her hand, which was burned red. The Keyblade then vanished.

"You can't touch it," said Kairi as she tried to summon her Keyblade back into her hand, but found she lacked the strength, "good to know."

"Unfortunately for you, my dear Princess Kairi," said Darkar as he summoned a stone pillar, "it will be the last bit of good news you shall ever receive," from the pillar emerged a set of chains that clamped onto Kairi's wrists, then pulled her towards the pillar, trapping her next to it.

"Welcome to Shadowhaunt, my unexpected guest," said Darkar, "make yourself at home, for you shall not be leaving here alive!" at that he laughed maliciously, while The Trix and the Doppelganger also laughed wickedly, and were soon joined by Xehanort and Sephiroth.

:Sora!: Kairi shouted with her mind, :Can you here me, Sora? Sora? Sora!:


…Alfea…

:Can you hear me, Kairi?: Sora asked via telepathy. He had been trying to contact Kairi ever since she vanished along with Bloom and the fake Avalon, but to no avail. With no reply from Kairi, Sora resolved to listen to the current discussion.

Within minutes of Bloom's abduction, our heroes, along with The Winx and their bonded pixies, The Specialists and the good witches, all found themselves meeting in one of the school classrooms. Stella and her fellow fairies had just finished telling Sky, Brandon, Riven, Timmy, Helia, Carmen, Morgan and Elise what happened.

"So the guy we thought we knew as Professor Avalon was a Doppelganger all along," said Elise, "for some reason, I'm not surprised."

"Neither am I," said Riven, "that guy was too good to be true."

"Aren't you going to say 'I told you he was no good?'" Morgan asked Sky.

"How can I think about that when he took Bloom?" Sky asked, "and what are we doing standing around here? We need to save her."

"My thoughts exactly," said Carmen, "by now she's in Shadowhaunt, and who knows what terrible things are being done to her? I can imagine quite a lot of really bad things, and believe me, I'm scared."

"So am I," said Sora, "but Kairi grabbed the fake Avalon and teleported out. She's with Bloom, that's got to count for something, right?"

"If there's one thing about Kairi," said Tess, "is that she can hold her own."

"But this is Shadowhaunt we're talking about," said Tecna, "it's very atmosphere weakens positive magic."

"Kairi has a pure heart," said Elise, "her very being is full of positive energy. She might last a while down there before being rendered powerless, but even I cannot say how long."

"We might last a while," said Morgan, "being dark magic users, but because we're not pure evil like Darkar and The Trix, so who knows how long we'll last?"

"The potion that The Winx brewed up earlier," said Riku, "the one that was supposed to protect us against the energy-draining atmosphere of Shadowhaunt, you think it could help you good witches?"

"It's possible," said Elise, "we won't know for sure until we try. It might work or it might not."

"It's a start," said Aiden.

"Well, I know one thing for sure," said Aisha as she looked at the bonded pixies, "some of us aren't going to rescue Bloom and Kairi."

"Are you talking about us?" Digit asked.

"It's rude to speak about someone else in that manner," said Tune.

"But Aisha's right," said Brandon, "it's too dangerous for you."

"Too dangerous?" Chatta asked in an outraged tone, "what are you talking about? We can handle Shadowhaunt and anything that Darkar throws at us!"

"But last time we were all nearly destroyed by Darkar," said Amore, "we only escaped because he let us escape. Perhaps it's best that we stay behind."

"And miss out on the adventure of a lifetime?" Chatta asked, " to miss out on saving our friends and taking Darkar down once and for all? I think not!"

"The odds of our coming back alive aren't in our favor," said Digit as she made a calculation on her computer.

"I don't care what any of you say or think!" said a frantic Lockette, "I'm going to help rescue Bloom and nothing you say or do can stop me!"

"Didn't you tell us that you never wanted to go back to Shadowhaunt?" Flora asked, "that it terrified you?"

"And all those Shadow Monsters," said Aisha in a manner that said she was trying to scare Lockette, but in a teasing manner, "all those things lurking around, ready to gobble you up!"

At that Lockette let out a small scream of terror and hid behind Flora's hair, but then her courage returned, "I don't care if Darkar has every monster in the book at his command! Bloom is my bonded fairy! She need me!"

"But she also needs you alive and well," said Aisha.

"Shadowhaunt is pure evil," said Musa.

"The negative energy of that place would be fatal to a pixy," said Tecna as she made a calculation on her computer, "your magical life force would be reduced by over 70%"

"That much?" Digit asked in a surprised tone, "I figured it would only be 58.359%" she looked at her computer, "oh, I see, I added 5 where I should have added 6. My bad."

At that Lockette irately flew over to Aisha and glared at her right in the eye, "I don't care if I have to fly down there all by myself! I'm going and you can't stop me!"

"Your love for Bloom is so beautiful!" said Amore as she flew over to Lockette and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "it's so inspiring. I'm going with you."

"Amore!" said an outraged Stella, "you can't! You wouldn't stand a chance down there!"

"Sorry, Stella," said Amore, "but we all love Bloom." Tt that Piff babbled something unintelligible, but her meaning was that of agreement with Amore.

"Whatever she said, it goes double for me," said a determined Chatta, "wait, what did she say this time?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," said Tune.

"This is getting ridiculous," said Carmen, "it's sheer suicide for them."

"Digit, reason with them," said Tecna, "if you and the pixies come with us, you won't come back."

"Maybe so," said Digit, "but after some additional calculations, the odds of any of us coming back aren't that good. So what's the difference between who goes and who stays? What's the deal?"

"We're all in it together," said Chatta, "all for one and one for all!" at that the other bonded pixies all did a group high five.

"You know," said Aiden, "the chances of success would be higher with additional help, and even the most minute of help can add up to a really big help."

"What he said," remarked Lockette, while the other bonded pixies nodded in agreement.

At that the other humans in the room all sighed with reluctant surrender, "I guess there's no helping it then," said Sky.

Just then everyone heard the sound of a Gummy Ship engine roaring past, "What was that?" Riven asked.

"That was a ship from The Realms of Light," said Riku.

"It's our ship!" said a grinning Tess as she looked out the window, "The Intrepid Heart!" Everyone then clustered around the window and saw that it was indeed The Intrepid Heart, a large Highwind model Gummy Ship with orange and blue hull and wings, while the tail and engines were green and gold.

The ship landed in the courtyard, right next to where The Specialists had parked their cruiser. Our heroes and allies ran outside to the courtyard.

"I can imagine old Griselda complaining to Faragonda about how crowded the courtyard is," said Stella.

They reached The Intrepid Heart just as the hatch opened up. From it jumped down King Mickey.

"Your Majesty!" said Sora, Riku, Aiden and Tess. They skidded to a halt and bowed respectfully.

"Hiya, guys," said The King, "I heard that there was trouble, so me and the gang decided to come and help."

"And we brought the ship," said Goofy as he, Donald, followed by Queen Minnie, exited the ship.

"Is it that obvious?" Donald muttered.

"We're just glad you made it," said Sora. He, Riku, Aiden and Tess then introduced The King and Queen to the fairies, heroes, bonded pixies and good witches, while Donald and Goofy were greeted as old friends and comrades.

"You know," said Stella as she talked to Queen Minnie, "I think I remember my mother talking about you a few times. You used to come and visit Solaria."

"That was many years ago," said Queen Minnie, "I'm sorry to say that I have been otherwise occupied in recent times. How is your mother, Queen Luna?"

"She's alright last time I talked to her," said Stella, "things have been more than a little upsetting for everyone, what with the divorce and everything, but yeah, she's alright. I'll tell her you said hello."

"We heard that you guys took on a lot of nasty stuff since last year," said Brandon to Donald and Goofy.

"Oh, they were all pushovers," Donald boasted.

"But some of them were sure scary," said Goofy, "them Dalek things were the worst."

"Ah, they're not so tough," Donald, "just hit 'em in the eye and they're done for."

"Yeah, but while they're blind they're blindly firing their death ray all over," said Riven, "that's right, we know all about The Daleks too."

"We still beat them!" Donald said confidently.

"Yeah, but I'd like to see you last again The Cybermen," said Riven.

"The Intrepid Heart looks great," said Sora as he walked up to the ship, "Cid's a genius!"

Just then a holographic image of a girl in her late teens with shoulder-length tawny hair and hazel eyes, wearing a green and white shirt and skirt with orange shoes, appeared, "I'll be sure to pass along your praise," she said with a happy smile.

"Sidney!" exclaimed Sora, Riku, Aiden and Tess happily.

"Tron fixed you!" said Sora.

"Well of course he did," said Sidney, "I wouldn't be talking to you all if he hadn't restored my programming, and that's not all that he did," she held up her arms, "notice anything different about me?"

"No mobile emitter," said an astonished Riku.

"Oh, I am wearing one," said Sidney. She then pointed to a pair of small gold, heart-shaped earrings, "improved design. All of my programming inside this little trinket," she tapped the one on her left ear, "the other one is just for show."

"And you're a fully articulate, fully expressive artificial intelligence program," said Tecna in an eager tone, "fascinating!"

"Your programming must easily be four hundred terabytes," said an astonished Timmy.

"Oh, you flatter me," said a blushing Sidney, "three hundred and seventy five."

"The level of A.I. sophistication in The Realms of Light are years ahead of ours," said Elise, "you try fitting that much data into that small a hard drive and still have a hologram projector in it, the whole thing will explode."

"Not that I don't mind being praised by such intelligent people," said Sidney, "but I have my own mission here," she looked at Sora, Riku, Aiden and Tess, "wait, where's Kairi? Did she get kidnapped again?"

"No, but she's still in trouble," said Tess.

"Of course she is," said Sidney in an annoyed tone, but then she smiled again, "still, I know you guys will save her. Right now I've a tour to guide." With that she bade our heroes to board The Intrepid Heart.

"Cid did more than repair what is essentially my body," said Sidney, "first of all, the ship now has the feature that allows additional rooms to be added on with just a simple spell. You have a large party of guests to accommodate, just say the magic words and you've got all the rooms you need, with each room, both regular and guest, with its own bathroom. The galley has also been expanded and fully stocked for an extended voyage. And before you ask, no, I have not been upgraded to cook and clean for you freeloaders. You make a mess, you still have to clean it up."

"Like we'd ever ask you to do that," said Sora, "so, what else is new with the ship?"

They then reached the bridge, which looked just like it did before, only now things were sparkly clean and the scent of lemon pine was in the air. Also, the upholstery on the chairs had been changed to a red, yellow and blue pattern, and the chairs were also more comfortable to sit in than before.

"Aside from a newly upgraded entertainment room with access to the newest games, movies and music as they're released," said Sidney, "the ship also have improved weapons and defenses. More powerful lasers and missiles that deliver elemental damage, as well as better shields and stronger armor. This ship can take on an armada of Dalek saucer ships and emerge without a scratch."

"Sweet!" said an amazed Aiden.

"There's more," said Sidney, "We've got a new super weapon; the old one, where all of the ship's power is channeled direct from the engine to the weapons, that's been scrapped when Cid installed an improved engine, which I'll explain in a bit. The new big weapon is this."

On the main screen of the bridge appeared a schematic display of The Intrepid Heart. The lasers and missiles were highlighted, but then the image zoomed in on the bottom of the hull where a large energy emerged from a concealed panel.

"This is the GKX-1500," said Sidney, "it's a magically enhanced electromagnetic rail gun, capable of accelerating a marble-sized metal slug up to 2.5 kilometers per second, and that's pretty fast if you ask me. Anything moving that fast will obliterate just about anything in its way. which will make it a really cool weapon."

"Cool's the understatement of the year," said Riku.

"Why didn't we have such a sweet piece of firepower before?" Aiden asked.

"It wasn't built yet," said Sidney, "at least not for this ship. The old power plant couldn't handle it, which brings me to the new engine. Not only is it more powerful and more efficient, it's also more stable than before."

"So we don't have to constantly keep an eye on the engine balance any more?" Sora asked.

"Nope," said a smiling Sidney, "no more worrying about the engine exploding either."

"Have we told you how much we love you, Sidney?" Tess asked.

"Not recently," said Sidney.

"Well, we're saying it now," said Sora.

"That's great," said Sidney, "because there's one more thing." Just then a computer screen beeped and four beams of light, each a different color, shot out and hit the watches of our heroes; the red light Sora's watch, the black one hit Riku's, the green one hit Tess' and the yellow beam hit Aiden's. All four of their watches were then hit by a blue light.

"Tron wrote a new upgrade package for your armor," said Sidney, "the last one failed to install during the final battle against Maleficent and Gideon, but now it's finished."

"Sweet!" said Aiden.

"What's new about the armor?" Tess asked.

"Nothing much," said Sidney, "just a stronger alloy that can take three times as much damage as before and still keep going, and they all now have gold design lines, making them look more fashionable."

"Double sweet!" said Aiden.

Sidney then frowned slightly, "but…there's a catch."

"Of course there is," said Aiden.

"Because the last upgrade failed to install," said Sidney, "and with all the abuse you've been giving your armor recently, the new one is currently rewriting the program for your armor, completely reinstalling it, and it'll take a while, a few days or so."

"So we'll be without our armor for the mission," said Sora, "it's okay, we'll save Kairi and Bloom and stop Darkar all the same."

"And we do appreciate it, Sidney," said Riku, while Tess and Aiden nodded in appreciation."

"Just make sure that you give the upgrade to Kairi when you see her," said Sidney, "it could be any of you, just hold your watch up to Kairi's and the download will begin immediately."

"Will do," said Sora.

"Glad you like what Cid and Tron have done for you," said The King as he walked onto the bridge, "so, when do we leave?"

"What do you mean, your majesty?" Riku asked.

"I heard everything from Faragonda," said King Mickey, "I called ahead just before we got here and she told me that Darkar had Bloom kidnapped. I'm here to help get her back, and don't try to tell me that I can't come because I'm royalty. I'm staying to help Bloom and that's that."

"Is that an order?" Tess asked.

"If it has to be," said The King, "I'm staying, so is Donald and Goofy and so is Queen Minnie. We're all going to help save Bloom."

"Then let's get started," said Sora.


…Shadowhaunt…

"What are you going to do to her?" Kairi asked as she struggled against the chains holding her.

"Me?" the Doppelganger asked as he stroked Bloom's hair, "nothing. It is for Lord Darkar to decide Bloom's ultimate fate." He then stroked her unconscious face, "a shame, it is, for anything wicked to happen to such a lovely young woman."

At that Bloom opened her eyes, glared irately at the fake Avalon and bit his hand right at the soft web of flesh between the thumb and forefinger.

The Doppelganger cried out in pain as he wrenched his hand away from Bloom's teeth, tearing off flesh and spilling blood. Outraged, he struck Bloom across her face, then summoned a gag over her mouth.

"She got you good," said Stormy.

"I may hate you, Bloom," said Icy, "but I'm not ashamed to say that I've always admired your guts, and such hateful guts they are."

Bloom then mumbled against the gag what Kairi assumed was a stream of obscenities at Icy, then she focused her gagged rage at the Doppelganger.

"I can sense your rage," said the fake Avalon as he clutched at his wounded hand, "I understand. You hate me for my betrayal. But I also sense fear. Are you afraid of me?" He then grinned, showing rows of needlelike teeth, "you weren't afraid of me before," his face then changed back to when he was masquerading as Avalon, "not when I was this handsome devil."

Bloom again mumbled a stream of obscenities, which the Doppelganger cruelly laughed off like it was all a big joke, and the joke was on Bloom.

"You really had the wool pulled over your eyes, did you, Bloom?" Stormy asked as she smiled wickedly, "you and all your pathetic friends!"

"And such losers they are," said Darcy, "I'll bet they're all back at Alfea, crying over losing you, too afraid to try and save you. Pathetic!"

Kairi remembered how upset Bloom was from last year when The Trix insulted her friends. If looks could kill, Bloom's rage-fueled eyes would have struck The Trix dead in an instant. But instead they all laughed at her helplessness.

"You leave her alone!" shouted Kairi.

"I agree," said Darkar. He then glared at The Trix, "you, my dear witches, shall refrain from insulting our honored guest, and you, slave!" he pointed at the fake Avalon, "stop pestering the young lady. She is much more important to me than you could ever imagine!"

At that Bloom looked at Darkar with an expression of frightened curiosity.

"Why?" Kairi asked, "what do you want with Bloom?"

"Her powers are the polar opposite of mine," said Darkar, "she, the custodian of The Dragonfire, is the perfect match to mine, The Shadowfire. Together, we shall use The Codex to unlock the door to The Realm of Realix, and together, we shall seek out and claim The Ultimate Power!"

"You must be crazy to think that Bloom would willingly help you!" said Kairi.

"True," said Darkar as he stood up from his throne, "she would never willingly help me, not as she is. But soon I shall change that. Very soon, Bloom shall become Dark Bloom, the perfect consort to The Shadow Phoenix, which is yours truly if you haven't figured it out by now. Together, we shall obtain the Ultimate Power, which I alone shall wield!"

At that Bloom again tried to say something, but the gag prevented her from articulating it.

"Oh, forgive me for denying you your speech, Bloom," said Darkar. He then vanished the gag.

"I'd say thanks," said Bloom, "but then I'd be lying! You're dreaming if you think I'll ever help you! There's no way I'll ever go bad! Never!"

"Forgive me, my dear Bloom," said Darkar, "but this is not my dream, it's your nightmare!" at that he laughed wickedly yet again.


…Alfea…

"Okay," said Sky after finishing a system check on the cruiser, "we're as ready as we'll ever be."

"We're ready on The Intrepid Heart too," said Sora.

"I don't think it'll be enough," said Aisha, "I mean, we may not be enough to take on Darkar and get Bloom and Kairi out of Shadowhaunt."

"Darkar still has that army of Shadow Monsters," said Stella, "and The Trix."

"And he has Xehanort and Sephiroth working with him," said Riku, "Aisha's right, we may not be enough."

It was then that Mirta and Malcolm walked up to our heroes and allies, with him trailing a few paces behind her.

"Mirta!" said Flora.

"Hey," said Mirta as she walked up to The Winx, "sorry I've been gone, family thing, you know."

"Well, I can honestly say that you've missed one fiasco after another," said Morgan.

"I heard when we arrived on Magix," said Mirta, "the enemy has Bloom. Well, I'm going to do everything I can to help save her, and my brother kid will help too."

"You have a brother?" both Carmen and Stella asked.

"Yeah, he's right here," said Mirta. She then looked to her left, "Malcolm?" she looked to her right, "Malcolm! Where did you go?" She then saw her brother standing off by himself at the far end of the courtyard, "there he is. Malcolm! Come on over here now! These are the guys you wanted to talk to."

Malcolm then slowly walked over. "He's a little shy around new people," said Mirta, "just nerves, you know. Other than that he's alright."

"Not that we're not happy to meet him," said Musa, "but why did you bring your brother here now?"

"He wanted to talk to Sora and the other Keyblade Wielders," said Mirta, "it'd be better if he explained it himself."

"Why does he want to talk to us?" Sora asked.

"He want's to explain it himself," said Mirta. By then Malcolm had reached them.

"Hello," said Malcolm shyly, "I…I'm Malcolm. I've wanted to meet you, Sora, ever since I heard that you helped my sister last year."

"Oh, it's nothing," said Sora in a modest tone, "Donald was the one who really helped Flora and Morgan."

"But you were there," said Malcolm in a much more determined tone, "you're a Keyblade Wielder, The Keyblade Wielder, the first new one in years. You saved so many worlds and lives and destroyed countless Heartless and Nobodies. And your friends are just as awesome!"

"I think we've got a fan here," said Aiden as he smiled smugly.

"Nice to know we've got people who look up to us," said Tess.

"Not that we're not glad to meet you, Malcolm," said Riku, "but is there something else you want to talk to us about?"

At that Malcolm looked down shyly and clasped his hands behind his back.

"He's just being shy," said Mirta. She then looked at her brother, "go on, show them. It's what you've been waiting for."

At that Malcolm looked up at Sora, Riku, Tess and Aiden, "try not to freak out, but…" he held out his right hand and in a flash of magic, a Keyblade appeared in his grasp. It was like a saber and a bit longer than Way to the Dawn, colored dark green, blue and purple.

"Holy snickerdoodles!" exclaimed Aiden.

"No way!" said both Riku and Tess.

"That's so cool!" said Sora, "you're a Keyblade Wielder, like us!"

"Yeah, I guess so," said Malcolm.

"How'd you get one?" Kairi asked.

"Well," said Malcolm in a reluctant tone, "it's like this. You know about Mirta, with her being half witch, half fairy. Well, I'm also half and half, part warrior, part wizard. I've always been pretty good with a sword and in the black arts. Mom wanted me to go to a wizard school, but dad insisted that I go to Red Fountain, said it'd make a man out of me."

"Dad's always been a bit bullheaded when it comes to Malcolm," said Mirta, "he thingks Mal's not manly enough."

"I'm man enough!" said Malcolm, "just because I've never had a girlfriend doesn't mean I'm a fruitcake, not that I have anything against people like that. But I'm plenty manly, I've just got issues with talking to people."

"You're doing a fair job right now talking to us," said Tess.

"I'm used to you by now," said Malcolm, "it's meeting new people that I've got problems with. Anyway, I've been having these really weird dreams about Heartless and other kinds of monsters that I've never seen before. I've also had dreams about people and places I've never seen before, and I always forget about them when I wake up, but I feel that if I ever see these people or places, I'll remember them."

"This sounds very familiar," said Aiden in a suspicious tone, "did you also dream about a strange voice giving you strange advice?"

"You've heard the voice too?" Malcolm asked in a surprised tone.

"That guy really messed me up," said Aiden, "and helped me on the path to friendship and adventure. But enough about me, what about you?"

"Well," said Malcolm, "a few days ago, I had a really bad dream. This was, literally, my worst nightmare. I was running around, going from one platform after another, with each platform being a stain glass window with an image that I can't remember."

"Now I know this is familiar," said Aiden.

"After I got to the top platform," said Malcolm, "I saw this really big, black, wriggly Heartless."

"Darkside," said Sora.

"Yeah, that's what it was," said Malcolm, "it tried to eat me and I had nowhere to run. But then the voice told me not to be afraid, that I had the power to open the door to light. Then my Keyblade appeared and I destroyed the giant Heartless. Since then I've had other dreams about important people and places that I'm sure to remember when I see them, but I remember you, Sora, and the other Keyblade Wielders, Riku, Kairi, Aiden and Tess."

"But what is it you want?" Riku asked.

"To join you, of course," said Malcolm, "fate gave me a Keyblade and I intend to use it to stand against The Darkness. Now, don't bother about telling me how dangerous being a Keyblade Wielder is, I already know that to be one is to risk death and worse, that to be a Keyblade Wielder is to risk meddling in the natural course of events on the worlds.

"I know all the risks and dangers and am prepared to face them with courage, honor, justice and light in my heart. I am prepared to do everything that I can, to fight the good fight until I can't fight any more, or until someone tells me to stop."

"That's a great speech," said Riku.

"You think so?" Malcolm asked modestly, "I spent nearly a day working on it."

"Well, you've convinced me that you're alright," said Sora.

"But there's more, isn't there," said Tess.

"There is," said Malcolm, "I've always believed that magic should be used with responsibility; that one should always take into consideration the consequences of using magic in any situation. This applies to users of both good and dark magic, and it's irresponsible people like The Trix, whom brazenly use magic with no thought for the wellbeing of others, or themselves for that matter, that really get my goat."

"Yeah, Icy and her bitch sisters have that affect on you," said Carmen.

"Still, those are some good principals you've got," said Riku.

"Nice to finally meet a user of dark magic whith some integrity and decency in his heart," said Tecna.

"Hey, what are we?" Morgan asked, "Chopped liver?"

"You could be," teased Stella.

"There's still more to you," said Tess to Malcolm, "isn't there."

At that Malcolm looked a bit nervous, but the nodded with serious determination, "there is; I've got a medical condition. When I was little, I would have blackouts where I would sometimes forget things, and I don't mean just specific thoughts and memories, but entire time periods. Sometimes it'd be just a minute or so, others were up to an hour or two. The worst was when I was eleven and I forgot nearly two whole days."

Malcolm then took out a medium sized pill bottle from one of his belt pouches, "no one has ever been able to pin down the exact cause of my blackouts, but they are treatable. I was placed on this medication when I was thirteen and as long as I take the medication, one pill a day, I don't have the blackouts."

"What happens if you forget to take your medicine?" Sora asked.

"Hopefully, nothing," said Malcolm, "I have occasionally forgotten to take my daily dose, mostly because I've had way too much on my mind or some other reason, but other than that I'm pretty reliable about taking the stuff. But on a handful of occasions when I do forget I do blackout, but it rarely happens.

"But regardless, it's because of this condition, even though the medication has the blackouts managed, that I was denied entrance to Red Fountain, that and the fact that I flunked the written exam, I've got really bad handwriting.

"There now, I've told you my weakness, the one thing that could make you decide not to let me join you as a fellow Keyblade Wielder. Whatever you decide will be alright with me. If you'll have me as your friend and partner, that'd be wonderful, but if you won't accept me, I'll still be alright. I'll take my leave and forge my own path elsewhere."

"Are you nuts?" Sora asked, "of course we'll accept you."

"We'd be sorry friends if we didn't accept you," said Riku, "regardless if your condition."

"And you've got it managed," said Aiden, "is the medication prescribed by a doctor?"

"The prescription originally came from a doctor," said Malcolm, "but since the medicine is so expensive, I found that it was cheaper to make it myself, and I can make it from scratch under most circumstances."

"Well," said Aiden, "if you tell me the recipe, I can help make it as well."

"There's one thing though," said Riku, "just how good with a Keyblade are you?"

"You said that you just got yours," said Tess, "which means that I'm no longer the new kid on the block. If you're just starting out as a Keyblade Wielder, then…"

"If you're worried about training me," said Malcolm, "I've been training myself, and I'm confident I can keep up with you in a Heartless battle."

"We're not doubting your skills, " said Sora, "it's just that, we're on our own training journey and won't have time to help you catch up with us."

"Were getting ready for The Mark of Mastery," said Riku.

"You are?" Malcolm asked in an amazed tone, "you're all going for the rank of Keyblade Master? That's awesome! Now I know I want to go with you. I won't be a burden on your training, promise."

"There's also the fact that we've got friends in need of rescuing," said Tess.

"All the more reason for me to go with you," said Malcolm, "I can help. Think of this as a trial quest, just to see how good I can be as a Keyblade Wielder."

"That makes sense, I guess," said Aiden, "if we save Bloom and Kairi, defeat The Trix and Darkar and save The Magical Dimension, we'll see how Malcolm did and decide if he can really come with us. And if we fail…well, then that's that and we don't have to worry about it, or anything else for that matter."

"You can fly with us on The Intrepid Heart," said Riku, "along with Donald, Goofy and King Mickey," he then looked at the trio from Disney Castle, "unless they have any objections."

"None whatsoever," said The King, while Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement. He then held out his hand to Malcolm, "welcome aboard!"

"Glad to be here," said Malcolm.

"If you're going then so am I," said Mirta, "Bloom's my friend too, and even though I don't know Kairi that well, she's also my friend. Besides," she looked at Malcolm, "someone has to make sure that you don't do something reckless and get yourself killed."

"I'm not reckless!" said Malcolm.

Timmy then stuck his head out of the window of the Red Fountain cruiser, "okay, we're all set to go."

"We'd better get going then," said Sora, "Kairi, Bloom, just hold on, we're coming."

Tecna then looked up from her computer, "hold on a nanoclick," she said, "I've been going over the data we have on Shadowhaunt, especially the topological maps of the cavern where Darkar's fortress is, and I've discovered that we've made a critical error."

"Error?" Elise asked, "What error? What are you talking about?"

"This error," said Tecna as she showed Elise the data on her computer. Everyone clustered around the small screen and saw a 3D model of the underground cavern, "none of the tunnels leading to the fortress are big enough for the ships. We can't get there in them."

"My gods, you're right," said a shocked Carmen.

"Well, this is a dilly of a pickle," said Malcolm.

"That's putting it lightly," said Brandon, "without our vehicles for support…"

"Our chances of winning drop from slim to none," Riven finished.

"What do we do?" Flora asked.

At that Sky rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner, as if he just had an idea, "it's not so much as what we can do," he then placed his hand on Brandon's shoulder, "it's what Brandon can do."

"Me?" Brandon asked, "You want me to dig a bigger tunnel into Shadowhaunt?"

"I could try transmuting a big enough tunnel," said Aiden.

"You'd exhaust yourself before you got half a mile," said Elise.

"Are you kidding?" Aiden asked in an insulted tone, "please, I'd get at least five miles."

"It wouldn't even get us close to Shadowhaunt," said Sky, "no, this is something only Brandon can do."

"Don't keep us in suspense, man," said Riku, "what is it?"

"It'll involve paying a visit to Brandon's old girlfriend," said Sky as he gave our heroes a mischievous smile. He then looked at Brandon, "you know, the one with the giant, rock eating worm? That big monster could dig a tunnel for us in to time flat."

"What?!" exclaimed Brandon, "no way! No freaking way! I know exactly whom you're talking about, Sky, and the answer is no!"

"You'd rather let the entire universe fall under Darkar's thumb?" Sky asked, "you'd do that than ask your old flame, Princess Armentia, for a favor?"

At that Sora saw that Stella was grinding her teeth in silent rage. Whoever this Armentia was, she had pissed Stella off something major.

"Well," said Brandon in a reluctant tone, "actually…"

But then Faragonda walked up, "Actually," said the Alfea headmistress, "that sounds like an excellent idea. The two of you should go see Armentia at once."

"The two of us?" Sky asked in a taken aback tone.

"Of course," said Faragonda, "after all, it was your idea."

"I don't believe this," said Sky in an annoyed tone, "me and my big mouth."

At that Brandon laughed heartily.

"Who's Armentia?" Sora asked.

"Remember when you heard about us rescuing the pixies from Darkar?" Aisha asked, "well, Stella and Brandon ended up making a detour to Downland."

"It's the underground kingdom of The Trogs," said Helia.

"And it's ruled by that prissy perfectionist, Armentia," said an irate Stella, "and she dared to have the hots for my Brandon!"

"She thought I was perfect," said Brandon, "and what can I say? When you've got it, you've got it."

"She forced Brandon into a shotgun wedding," said Sky, "her trog soldiers took us hostage to force Brandon to go through it."

"And I would have done it," said Brandon, "if it weren't for our dear little friends here."

"It's true," said Chatta, "Amore found Armentia's real soul mate, Sponsus, and broght them together."

"Sometimes true love needs a little push in the right dirrection," said Amore, "and they are soul mates."

"She dumped me the second Amore's magic went to work," said Brandon, "the first time in my life I was glad to be rejected."

"And you think she'll help us?" Sora asked.

"If I ask her nice enough," said Brandon.

"I don't like it!" said Stella as she stubbornly crossed her arms, "why should she help us?"

"Because her kingdom is in as much risk as the rest of The Magical Dimension," said Sky, "worse because Downland is pretty much right next door Shadowhaunt, so The Trogs will be the first to feel Darkar's wrath."

"Sounds like a good enough reason to me," said Riku, "but if it's not, then maybe you'd need some more voices to persuade her."

"I'm way ahead of you," said Tess. She then looked at Sky and Brandon, "we'll go with you."

"Count me in too," said Aisha, while Piff babbled in agreement.

"Don't argue with us," said Riku, "there's no time."

"I wasn't going to," said Sky.

Just then Griselda walked up with a large jug of the potion the Winx were brewing earlier, "I had hoped to catch all of you before you left. The concoction is ready," she then summoned several small cups and handed one each to Sora, Riku, Aiden, Tess, "this will allow you to use your powers to their fullest while in Shadowhaunt," she then looked at King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Donald and Goofy and handed cups to them as well, "all of you."

Griselda then poured each of them a serving of the potion, which was now bright green, "it will take effect almost instantly. You won't feel it, but when you get to Shadowhaunt, you'll know it is working."

"Down the hatch then," said The King. With that he, The Queen, Donald, Goofy, Sora, Riku, Aiden and Tess, all drank the potion.

"Hey, this is kinda good," said Goofy after everyone drank the potion.

"I added the mint flavor at the last moment," said Girselda, "glad you all approve." She then poured some of the potion into a bottle, corked it and handed it to Sora, "and here is some for your friend, Kairi, for when you save her."

"Thanks," said Sora as he pocketed the bottle.

A minute later Sky and Brandon had brought over four hover bikes. Timmy handed the keys to his to Aisha, while Riven reluctantly handed his over to Riku.

"Take good care of my bike," said Riven, "if you so much as put one scratch on her, I'll make you regret it."

"I know how to treat other people's vehicles," said Riku. He and Tess then got on the bike, while Aisha got on her borrowed ride as well.

"Alright," said Sky as he, Brandon, Aisha, Riku and Tess all put their helmets on, "we'll meet at the rendezvous point, once lover boy here convinces his princess to help out." At that Brandon rolled his eyes in annoyance, while Stella did the same.

"We'll be ready," said Sora.

"Ready to come charging in," said Timmy.

"Hopefully in time to save everyone," said Flora.

"Headmistress," said Brandon, "Isn't there anyone else we can ask for help?"

"Isn't there?" Sora asked Faragonda.

At that the Alfea headmistress looked thoughtful, but then she sighed and placed her hands behind her back, "there are individuals within The Magical Dimension whom possess near god-like powers. They can help, but these individuals are highly reclusive and do not appreciate being disturbed, even in dire emergencies."

"Then there really isn't anyone else we can ask to help us?" Brandon asked.

"There are, but it would be a bad idea to get them involved," said Faragonda.

"Forget I said it," said Brandon.

"It's no big deal," said Sky, "so what if the best people in The Magical Dimension who can help us would refuse our plea outright, and could probably end up killing us as well as Darkar if they did say yes. It's still no big deal. We'd get to crush Darkar all by ourselves."

At that Brandon revved up his bike, "come on then! Let's do this!"

"Don't steal my line!" snapped Aiden, "that's my catchphrase!"

"Sorry, dude!" said Brandon, "didn't know!" with that he and Sky took off.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Tess asked Riku.

"At this point, I'm willing to try anything to save Bloom and Kairi," said Riku. With that he gunned the engine on the bike and raced after Brandon and Sky.

"Don't worry," said Aisha to her fellow Winx, while Piff sat secure in the hood of her jacket, "I'll keep them all safe," with that she raced after Brandon, Sky, Riku and Tess.

"I wish I had her confidence," said Stella in a mildly depressed tone.

"All we can do hope for the best," said Faragonda, "I wish I could go with you all, but there's a few things I need to take care of here at Alfea first."

"What is it, Ms. F?" Musa asked.

"A little surprise for Darkar," said Faragonda, "something that might just turn the tide against that horrible creature."

"Well, don't be surprised if we destroy the bugger first," said Carmen.

With a few more rounds of well wishes, our heroes and allies boarded the two ships and took off, ready for what was sure to be their greatest challenge yet.


…Shadowhaunt…

"So, that's their pathetic plan!" said Darkar after watching the events at Alfea. He then laughed viciously. He then addressed his army of dark creatures, "Shadow Monsters! I have a very special job for you, one that The Trix would be very interested in as well."

"Say no more, Lord Darkar," said Icy as she, Darcy and Stormy smiled wickedly, "we'll give those losers a welcome they'll never forget!"

"The same could be said for you!" said Kairi, "you can throw a million of those creatures at Sora and the others! They'll still tear through them like crap through a goose! Then they'll tear you all apart and tear this upside-down castle to pieces!"

"We shall see," said Darkar, "we shall see."

"She's telling the truth," said Bloom, "by taking Kairi and me, you've only strengthened our friends' resolve to save us. Nothing's going to stop them, nothing!"

"Perhaps," said Dakrar, "perhaps they will make it inside my sanctum," he then leaned closer to Bloom, "but I guarantee this, little fairy, whomever of them makes it here, they shall regret it most dearly!" at that he laughed viciously again.

"Everyone," said Bloom to herself in prayer, "please, be careful."


The four hover bikes raced through a deep canyon, with Brandon and Sky in the lead, followed by Aisha and with Riku and Tess brining up the rear.

They then jumped from one canyon into another, stopping at the canyon wall in front of a tunnel opening, "that's it," said Aisha, "that's definitely the way to Downland."

"Princess Armentia," said Brandon reluctantly, "here we come, ready or not."

"But who's ready?" Riku asked, "us? Or her?"

Tess then tensed, "we're not alone here!" she said.

Aisha then heard a rock falling from the cliff above, "look out!" she cried, just as four canine Shadow Monsters leapt down at them. Two of them tackled Brandon and Sky off of their bikes, but the two Specialists recovered and got back up. The other two monsters had aimed at Aisha, Riku and Tess, but they ducked in time to avoid being tackled.

The four canine monsters then circled around and growled at our heroes, their razor-sharp fangs and claws ready for the kill. One of them leaped at and tackled Sky to the ground and tried to bite his head off. He kicked the monster off of him, got up and activated a hover disk and jumped on, "sorry, pooch! I'm out of here!" he then zoomed away from the creature.

Brandon had activated a green, twin-bladed energy sword, just as the second canine Shadow Monster attacked him, this one also trying to bite his head off. He held the thing's open jaws at bay with his sword, "man, you things ought to use better mouth wash!"

"Who said that they brush their teeth in the first place?" Riku asked as he and Tess held the other two canine monsters at bay with their Keyblades.

Sky then circled around and raced towards Brandon, whom grabbed Sky's outstretched arm and jumped onto the hover disk.

"Everyone!" shouted Aisha as she stood a in front of the tunnel opening, "over here! Quick!" but then another canine monster jumped into the area.

Sky then maneuvered the hover disk so that he was facing the new canine monster while another was chasing him and Brandon. A quick turn and the two creatures slammed into each other. At the same time, both Riku and Tess had stabbed the monsters they were fighting. Together they all ran into the cave.

"We're okay for now," said Sky as he deactivated his hover disk.

"You hope," said Tess as she and Riku vanished their Keyblades.

"The way to Downland is that way," said Aisha as she pointed to a sudden slope in the tunnel, "you all ready?"

"Are we ever?" Tess asked. With that they all slid down the slope and landed hard on the tunnel floor at the bottom.

"Piece of cake," said Brandon.

"I think my slice is too big for my plate," said Aisha.

"Look," said Sky as he pointed to bluish green glowing crystals that dotted the tunnel walls here and there, "the Trogs use those to see underground."

"I told you I knew the way," said Aisha as she confidently smiled.

"Their kingdom can't be far from here," said Brandon.

Just then a gigantic trog warrior stomped into the area and yanked Brandon and Sky to their feet, while another forced Riku and Tess to stand up as well.

"Meddling uplanders!" said one of the Trog warriors in a deep, gravely voice, "when you gonna learn proper respect?! Downland be queendom, not kingdom!"

"Wait a second," said Brandon as he looked at the Trog who spoke, "I remember you! Your name's Abrupto, or something like that, don't you recognize me?"

"Abrupto my brother!" said the trog, "I Ronto!"

"I be Abrupto!" said the other trog.

"Oh, sorry," said Brandon, "you all kinda look alike."

"Pardon me," said Aisha, "but we have some serious unfinished uplander business to take care of first."

At that moment several more canine Shadow Minions jumped into the area and rushed at our heroes.

"These things are as tenacious as Heartless!" said Riku as he and Tess summoned their Keyblades, while Sky and Brandon activated their energy swords.

"And twice as ugly!" said Tess. The four of them were about to face the oncoming Shadow Monsters, when one of the trogs smashed the creatures with his spiked club. The creatures crumpled into dust and vanished.

"Wow," said an impressed Brandon, "nice shot."

"We deal quick with trespassers in Downland," said one of the trogs, "now state your business, or we deal with you!"

"Speak up, human!" said the other trog as he prodded Brandon with his club.

"Hey, take it easy!" said Brandon, "we come in peace."

"We seek an audience with Princess Armentia," said Sky.

"You dare return to Downland after what you do to princess?" one of the Trogs, Abrupto, asked, "first you leave Princess Armentia standing at altar, now you slink back, asking for audience! Who do you think you are!?"

"Dead meat if they don't leave!" the other trog, Ronto, said as he brandished his club.

"This isn't going good," said Tess, "any more bright ideas?"

"Just give me a chance," said Brandon. He then spoke to the two trogs, "actually, Armentia was the one who left me at the altar, not the other way around."

"Lucky too," said Ronto, "or else we be stuck with puny human as next as royal consort instead of noble Sponsus."

"If that's true," said Sky, "then the entire Queendom owes my friend a debt of gratitude, for not being Armentia's husband."

"True," said Abrupto reluctantly, "okay, you can see princess." he then handed the boys a long scroll, "this be royal court dress code, mandatory."

"Are you kidding me?" Riku asked as he looked at the scroll over the shoulders of Sky and Brandon, "I can wear any of that stuff! I'd look just plain stupid!"

"This is just for the boys, right?" Aisha asked, "if not, then I'll sit this one out."

"We don't have time for this," said Tess. She then walked up to Abrupto and Ronto, "look, we really need to see your princess. Two of our friends are in a life or death situation, while the rest of the universe on the verge of doomsday, and we need Armentia's help. Now, we can stand here until all things go to hell in a hand basket, arguing over some irrelevant court protocol, or you can take us to your leader and we can get down to business."

At that the two trog warriors looked like they wanted to argue, but level heads prevailed, "okay," said Ronto, "we take you straight to princess Armentia."

"But you still need feathers," said Abrupto, "Princess Armentia won't see you without them."

"So we just need to get some feathers from some underground lizard monster?" Brandon asked, "piece of cake."

In truth, Brandon and Sky were nearly eaten by the underground lizard monster, which could also breathe fire by the way. They returned to Aisha, Riku and Tess, after being chased by the lizard monster into an underground river and nearly drowning in the process, but they both made it back, each with several long, dark red feathers.

"I hope it was worth it," said Riku, "we don't have time for this crap."

"I told you it was a piece of cake," said Brandon, "but man it was hard getting these feathers. The things some guys would do to impress a girl."

"If I were you," said Sky, "I'd start thinking about what you're going to say to the princess. If we're going to save Bloom and Kairi, we're definitely going to need Armentia's help," he then gave Brandon a serious glare, "got it, lover boy?"

"You'd better pull this off," said Tess as she pulled out her razor, "my father was a very successful barber and I learned a lot from him. If you mess this up, I'll shave off every hair on your body, without shaving cream, or even water."

"Uh…right," said a very nervous Brandon as he touched his hair, as if making sure it was still there, "I'll do my best."


The two ships landed at the arranged coordinates at the wide canyon, with no sign of Sky, Brandon, Aisha, Riku or Tess.

"And no sign of the Downlanders," said an irate Carmen.

"Looks like the giant rock worm is late to lunch," said Timmy.

"Wait, what's that on the scanner?" Sora asked.

Both ships' view screens showed the somewhat wrecked hover bikes. "Whatever happened here," said Helia, "it wasn't a pretty sight."

"But there's no sign of blood," said Aiden, "they weren't hurt."

"They were probably dragged away and killed somewhere else," said Elise, "but that's just my theory."

"I know Brandon and the others are alright," said Stella in a confident tone, "I just know it. So I don't want to hear from anyone that they didn't make it."

"No one is doubting them, Stella," said Timmy, "Sky and Brandon, they'll pull through."

"And they weren't killed," said Malcolm, "they were chased by Shadow Monsters into the cave, I can read their tracks easily enough."

"Why didn't you tell us that you had tracking skills?" Sora asked.

"You didn't ask," said Malcolm.

"I'm more worried that my bike was trashed," said Riven, "I'm going to so wail on that Riku!"

"Oh for crying out loud!" exclaimed Stella, "where are your priorities? It's only a machine, it has no real value, like, I don't know, a new party dress."

"Oh good grief," muttered Tecna.

"I just hope Sky and the others are okay," said Flora.

"All we can do is wait," said Riven, "and there's nothing I hate more than waiting."

"Who does like waiting?" Mirta asked.

Unknown to our heroes as they took the two ships up to hover over the area, they were being watched by The Trix.

"Well look at that," said Icy as she smiled with vicious glee, "something to play with."

"Oh goody," said Stormy, "time to get ready for some bad weather."

"Ready or not," said Darcy, "here it comes!" with that all three dark witches channeled their insidious powers together for one unwholesome spell.


"I'll say this about the trogs," said Riku as they were lead through the Aztec-like city of Downland, "they've got great architecture."

"I've seen some pretty strange things since becoming a Keyblade Wielder," said Tess as she looked at the people of Downland, "but this is the most bizarre civilization I've seen yet." She was speaking of the many different types of trogs. Some were as large and muscular as the two warriors, while others were small and more humanoid, with gaunt bone structures and very large eyes. And then there were those that had slightly smaller eyes and four arms.

They were soon at the pyramid-like palace and met with Sponsus, the consort of Armentia. Sponsus was one of the more humanoid variety of trog, being of normal human height and far less muscle than the trog warriors. But what Sponsus lacked in physical prowess, he made up for in loyalty to his princess.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," said Sponsus as he saw Sky, Brandon, Aisha, Riku and Tess, focusing on the firs three, "and here I thought that you uplanders had had enough of our subterranean paradise."

"Nice to see you too, Sponsus," said Brandon, "but we're in a hurry."

"Ah, yes, you want to see my darling Armentia," said Sponsus, "I've heard of the troubles you've been having. I'll do what I can to convince her highness to help you, but you know how fickle her moods and whims can be."

"All too well," said Brandon.

"Lead on, Sponsus," said Sky. "We've got to try to convince the princess to help us."

"One way or another," said Tess, "if we have to."

"I'll do what I can," said Sponsus. He then lead them through the palace and into the throne room, where Armentia sat on a raised throne, being fanned by a servant. Also next to the throne were a pair of four-armed guards wielding four-bladed spears.

"We'll do all the talking," said Sky to Riku and Tess, "we've dealt with Armentia before."

"Just don't drag things out too long," said Riku.

"I know, the clock is ticking," said Brandon.

"My dear, sweet Armentia," said Sponsus in an overly cheerful tone as they all approached the steps of the throne, "look who I found outside, it's our old friends, and they brought some new friends."

"Hmmm," said Armentia as she peered down to look at Brandon, "isn't that the human who was so hopelessly in love with me?"

"Why that lying, no good, insane…." Brandon irately muttered through this teeth.

"Keep it inside, Brandon," whispered Sky, "I know she's crazy, but we need her help."

"I know," whispered Brandon, "and it sucks." he then forced a smile at Armentia, "it's good to see how elegant you and your kingdom has become, your majesty."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," said Armentia, "I'm married now, and I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life," she looked at Sponsus with adoring eyes, "aren't we, darling?"

"Happy as cave clams, dearest," said Sponsus, "but look what they've brought you?" He then indicated the feathers from the fire-breathing lizard.

"Are those what I think they are?" Armentia asked as she saw the feathers.

"After what we went through to get them," said Brandon, "yes, they'd better be."

"And they're all yours, Princess Armentia," said Sky as he and Brandon presented the feathers to the perfectionist princess.

But then Armentia looked like she was horribly offended, "I should have you flogged and banished from my domain for daring to bring those filthy, flea-infested rags before me! They look terrible!"

"What!?" exclaimed both Sky and Brandon, while Sponsus laughed, as if Armentia had just told a very funny joke.

"They do look terrible," said Aisha as she stepped forward, "especially on men."

"And they'd probably only look good on a hat," said Tess, "and a big one at that."

"Exactly," said Armentia, "one must keep in sync with modern fashion, or in my case, be one to set the trends," she then ran her hand through her necklace, one that had large purple beads and black objects that looked like they came from a deadly animal, "take this for example, these came from the stingers of giant scorpions, so much more suave, don't you think?"

"She's kidding," said an irate Riku, "is she seriously suggesting that we go out and wrestle some giant scorpions, just for their stingers? She's kidding, right?"

"She's not," said an annoyed Brandon.

"Don't blow it," whispered Sky.

"They are trendy, your majesty," said Aisha, "I don't know what they boys were thinking of, bringing those horrible feathers here," she walked up to the steps of the throne and bowed, "but that's not why we're here, Princess Armentia. As you may already know, everyone in The Magical Dimension is under the threat of a vile darkness. Lord Darkar has been trying to access The Realm of Realix and obtain The Ultimate Power. My friends and I are attempting to stop him, but we cannot do it alone. We need your help."

"Lord Darkar, you say?" Armentia asked, "we'll, I must admit, that ice witch of his really ticked me off."

"Yeah, Icy has that effect on people," said Sky.

"Then will you help us?" Brandon asked, "will you lend us a rock worm? So he can dig us a tunnel into Shadowhaunt?"

"Hold on a minute!" said Armentia as she stood up from her throne, "Darkar is an enemy of my realm. The second his witch minions invaded my kingdom and dared to assault my people and myself, he instigated a state of war between Downland and Shadowhaunt. But what concern is it of you uplanders?"

"It's our concern because he's a freaking maniac!" said Tess.

"We have a plan to invade Shadowhaunt and shut Darkar down for good," said Brandon, "but we need a bigger tunnel in order to successfully launch an attack on the underground fortress. With your help we can succeed and defeat Darkar once and for all!"

"Is that so?" Armentia asked in a serious tone, "well then," she held out her hand and one of the guards gave her his spear, "if you are seriously asking for my help, then you must prove it! Prove that you are a warrior worthy of having The Great Armentia's assistance on the battlefield!"

She then jumped down from the throne and brandished the spear in a fighting stance, "defeat me, Brandon!" she said in a menacing tone, "defeat me in a duel and all of Downland shall be at your disposal!"

"Are you serious?!" Riku demanded, "our friends' lives are in danger and you want to fight? The entire universe is at risk and you want to fight? Are you as crazy as you look?"

"I'm going to ignore that insult," said Armentia, "right now all I care about is seeing what of my ex has what it takes!"

"This is bull crap," said an irate Tess, "this has been a complete waste of time. For all we know, Bloom and Kairi may already be dead, and now this lunatic lady wants to waste more time?" she then glared irately at Armentia, "screw you, princess! Screw you and your freaking rock worm," she looked at Sky, Brandon, Aisha and Riku, "we don't need her help, we'll find another way into Shadowhaunt."

"No, I've got this," Brandon insisted.

"It's our best chance to save Bloom and Kairi," said Sky, "you have a better idea?"

"Well, no," said Tess reluctantly, "but I still say it's pointless. We shouldn't give this lunatic the satisfaction."

"I'll still do it," said Brandon, "I never refuse a challenge, ever."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Riku asked, eyeing the serious look Armentia was giving Brandon, "she's crazy but she looks like she means business."

"So do I," said Brandon, "I mean, how hard can it be to beat her?"

"Go for it, man," said Sky.

"But be quick about it," said Tess reluctantly.

"I know," said Brandon as he pulled out and activated his energy sword, "the clock is ticking. Hey, Sponsus, don't worry, I'll go easy on Armentia."

"It's not my wife that I'm worried about," said Sponsus smugly, "good luck, kid, you're going to need it."

"I hate to burst everyone's bubble," said Aisha, "But Livi told us that Princess Armentia was a martial arts master."

"Oh, how thoughtless of me," said Armentia, "I completely forgot about your little blond friend, how is she?"

"She's fine," said Aisha, "a little shook up about losing the Codex piece to The Trix, but she's hanging in there."

"Make a note, Sponsus," said Armentia, "send Livi a fruit basket and a condolence card," she then looked at Sky, "and as for this blond friend, forgive me for not considering his feelings, and those of the others! Abrupto! Ronto! Make sure they're not left out of the fight!"

"Yes, majesty!" said both trog warriors as they hefted their clubs and stomped over to our heroes.

"Now I know you're mad!" said Tess in an exasperated tone, "I just had to be sure!"

"Genius and insanity are often confused," said Armentai, "now, let's not dwell on ceremony!" she pointed her spear at Brandon, "let the duel begin!"


…aboveground…

"We've searched for miles in all direction," said Riven, "and still no sign of Sky and the others."

"The weather isn't helping," said Aiden, "where did this storm come from?" Indeed a major thunderstorm was brewing outside as the two ships hovered near the ground.

"It wasn't on any forecasts," said The King, "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"You and me both," said Malcolm, "this sudden storm has a feel of dark magic about it."

"We'd better get ready," said Helia, "all our moving about has only made us more open targets for the enemy."

"What enemy?" Morgan asked, "we've searched for miles and found only sand, dirt, shrubs and rock. We're alone out here."

"Better play it safe, all the same," said Timmy, "let's take the ships to a higher altitude, above the weather."

"Good idea," said Sora. With that the two ships began gaining altitude.

"They think they can run away," said Darcy as she, Icy and Stormy, "how pathetic."

"Can I drop the hammer now?" Stormy asked, "I've been building this storm up so much, it's starting to give me a headache."

"And we wouldn't want you to suffer," said Icy, "alright, Stormy, let it rip!"

"About time!" said Stormy, her whole body alight with the insidious dark purple glow of her magic.

Just then both ships were struck by bolts of purple lighting from the clouds above.

Inside the cabins of both ships, their occupants were shook about as the ships began to shudder.

"What's going on?" Tecna asked. She and everyone saw that the control panels on both ships were surging with dark lighting.

"We've been hit by multiple lighting strikes!" said Timmy.

"I was just saying that!" said Sidney, her holographic image flickering, "all ship systems are overloading! And I was just fixed, too."

Both ships then lost guidance control and began descending towards the ground.

"I've got a rotten idea where all this lighting came from," said an irate Stella as she looked out the window and saw The Trix, laughing viciously as they watched from the cliff above.

"Oh, that's just the limit!" said Carmen.

"Mirta, are they…?" Malcolm asked.

"That's the Trix alright," said Mirta, "they're the ones who turned me into a pumpkin last year!"

At that Malcolm's expression hardened, his eyes blazing with fury, "then they're going to pay! No one turns my sister into a vegetable and gets away with it!"

"You can plan your revenge later," said Timmy as he began working on the ship's circuits, "the primary onboard computer's friend, I have to reroute some systems into the backup computer."

"How are you holding up, Sidney?" Aiden asked.

"Aside from feeling like I'm being slowly electrocuted," said Sidney in an uncomfortable tone, "I'm doing pretty well. Fortunately for me, Cid installed a whole series of surge protectors and backup systems, I'll have us completely back online in seconds." She then looked concerned, "but the others aren't so lucky, they'll crash before they bypass the damage to their systems."

But then Tecna transformed and had used her magic to 'hardwire' herself into the ship, literary becoming a backup computer.

"And interesting plan," said Sidney, "I'll have to tell Tron about it."


…Shadowhaunt…

"Is that the best The Trix can throw against my friends?" Kairi asked as she watched an image of the events aboveground, "they're getting rusty!"

"It'll take a lot more than some bad weather to stop my friends!" said Bloom defiantly.

"That is not my concern," said Darkar as he walked over and ran one talon-like finger across Bloom, causing her to flinch with disgust, "as long as your friends are occupied until I turn you into Dark Bloom, I've already won."

"Pardon my curiosity," said Sephiroth, "but if turning Bloom to the dark side is so important, why have you not done it yet?"

"That's right," said Kairi, "what's taking so long?"

"Whatever you're going to do to me," said Bloom, "just get it over with and stop wasting my time!"

"Are you truly so eager to become evil again?" Darkar asked, "still, it is a viable question. The answer, simply put, is that I am just not ready to do it. I do not have what I need yet. But fear not, what I need is soon coming."

"Well, either way," said Bloom, "it won't work!"

"Oh, but it shall," said Darkar, "it shall. For the seeds of my success have already been planted."

"What are you talking about?" Bloom asked. Her expression then turned into that of shocked fear, "wait…you don't mean?"

"I did it," said the Doppelganger, "not only did I cause the demon to possess you, I also ensured that the demon could get back inside you after it had been exorcised. A simple dark spell to leave a back door open in your heart, a small one, but big enough for the demon to squeeze through."

"And he shall return," said Darkar, "the demon shall take possession of you once again, Bloom, I shall see to it myself."


"This is turning out to be a delicious piece of just deserts for our enemies," said Stormy as she sent more dark lighting at the two ships, forcing them to land.

"And now to put some icing on the cake!" said Icy as a side effect of her malicious dark magic caused snow to fall in the area. Icy then created a gigantic sledgehammer of ice that towered above the two ships. The frozen pillar and hammerhead then began to crack, threatening to cause it to crash onto the two ships.

"Oh this is bad," said a frantic Chatta, "we're about to get squished! Just like those little trees out there!"

Indeed, the dark magic-powered storm had damaged the shrubs in the area, and it irked Flora something fierce.

"Not if I can help it!" she said confidently, "Timmy, open the hatch!"

"Don't argue with her," said Helia, "just do it."

"Okay," said Timmy. He pressed the button that lowered the rear hatch.

Flora then transformed into her fairy outfit, with her looped pin and Charmix accessory, which looked like a rose-shaped shoulder bag. She flew outside and around the cracking ice sledgehammer, which was only seconds away from falling on the two ships.

"Not this year!" said Flora as she cast a spell on the ground below. Several large green vines sprouted from the soil and rose towards the ice sledgehammer.

"Oh please," said Icy as she smiled wickedly, "a few vines? Is that all she can do?"

But then the vines got bigger and wrapped themselves around the sledgehammer and acted like support struts. Smiling confidently at her work, Flora returned inside the ship, much to the cheers of her friends.

"Well, there goes that plan," said Darcy.

"How dare that little flower child ruin my plan!" exclaimed Icy as she powered up another frozen spell, "I'll burry them all in a blizzard!" She then unleashed her spell that created a lot of snow that began to cover both ships, "how do you like those apples!"


…Downland…

"Bring it on, your majesty!" said Brandon as he, Sky, Riku and Tess, prepared to face the mad princess and her trog warriors, "ready when you are!"

"So be it!" said Armentia as she twirled her spear around, "taste my steel!" she then rushed at Brandon, viciously jabbing the spear at his head. He was taken by surprise by her ferocious assault, barely avoiding being impaled by the spear's four blades.

"Hey, take it easy!" said Brandon, "stop being so serious or I'll have to fight back!" he then brought his energy sword up to parry the jabbing spear.

"That's what I want!" said Armentia as she swung the butt of her spear at Brandon's legs, knocking him off balance and sending him to the floor, his energy sword falling out of his hand.

"Is that the best you can do?" an outraged Armentia asked. Letting out a cry of fury, she jumped up, intending to stab Brandon in the heart with her spear. Brandon barely rolled out of the way in time, the spear catching his cloak and tearing a bit of it off.

Sky, meanwhile, was having a bit of a staring contest with one of the trog warriors, each waiting for the other to blink before attacking. Sky blinked first and the trog swung his club at Sky, which he barely jumped out of the way in time to avoid being splattered. He then brought his energy sword down, cutting off the top half of the club.

The other trog was having a much harder time as he faced both Riku and Tess, whom were circling the not too bright warrior and preventing him from attacking any one of them.

"I feel bad about just watching," said Aisha to Sponsus, "I ought to be helping my friends in this fight, don't you think?"

"Come now," said Sponsus, "a brave and beautiful fairy such as yourself doesn't need to prove anything by fighting. Would you care for some tea?"

"Oh, I'd love some," said Aisha. Sponsus then signaled for a maid to bring over a tea service.

"Fight, damn you!" Armentia spat at Brandon, "or I'll have you stuffed and mounted as a trophy faster than you can say…" she then said something that Brandon couldn't understand.

"Now why would I ever say that?" Brandon asked.

"You are seriously grinding my gears!" said Armentia as she tossed her spear aside, then began moving her arms so fast that Brandon couldn't keep up. She then delivered a hard punch to his midsection that sent him skidding back several paces.

"Oh, that had to hurt," said Aisha between sips of tea.

"Brandon was wrong to underestimate the princess," said Sponsus, "she's far stronger than she looks."

"Could have fooled me," said Aisha.

Just then the trog facing Sky roared in fury and threw what was left of his club at Sky. It hit Sky in the chest and knocked him down.

"Blond boy make Ronto hopping mad!" shouted the trog warrior as he stomped over and prepared to smash Sky, who rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being squished by the trog's oversized foot. Sky then recovered his energy sword.

"Alright, tough guy," siad Sky, "you asked for it!" he then rushed at the trog.

"They're slow as snails," said Tess as she bashed her Keyblade against the other trog's leg, "but they're built like brick walls!"

"Keep at it!" said Riku as he dodged a club swipe, "hit anything hard enough and it'll break!"

Meanwhile, both Brandon and Armentia had recovered their weapons, "I was trying to teach you how to say 'I surrender' in the language of Downland," said Armentia as she and Brandon circled each other.

"Hey, you said it," remarked Brandon, "not me!"

"I'll teach you to make jokes, funny boy!" snapped Armentia. With that they rushed at each other again.

"We really don't have time for this!" said Riku as he dodged another club swipe.

"I agree!" said Sky, "let's end this!"

"If you can't break something," said Tess, "then push it!" she then went invisible, startling the trog into overbalancing. Riku then got behind the trog and pushed it, while Sky got behind his opponent and pushed him as well. As luck would have it, both trogs fell on Armentia.

"My darling!" exclaimed Sponsus as he and Aisha rushed over, "are you alright?"

"Get off of me, you numbskulls!" spat Armentia as she extricated herself from the two fallen trog warriors. Her expression softened as she and Sponsus embraced, "I'm fine, dearest, nothing harmed save my pride," she then looked at our heroes as Sky, Brandon, Riku and Tess got their breath back.

"But it was worth it," said Armentia, "Brandon, despite your shortcomings, you displayed a formidable strategy. Feigning incompetence to lull me into a false sense of security, then whammo! You flattened me before I saw it coming," she then smiled eagerly, "care to make it two out of three?"

"What? No!" said Brandon in an exasperated tone, while the others also looked exasperated, "no way! I won fair and square. A deal is a deal."

"Of course," said Armentia, "another time perhaps. But it will have to wait. I've just had an idea. Come, we shall address the masses of Downland and formerly declare war on Shadowhaunt, as well as state our intention to helping you uplanders."

"Whatever makes you happy, darling," said Sponsus.

"You know," said Sky, "I think we may be able to save Bloom and Kairi after all, assuming we're still in time."

"We can only hope," said Riku.


"There's no way they'll get out of this," said Darcy as the dark magic fueled blizzard continued to burry the two ships.

"It's about time," said Icy. With that the three dark witches took flight.

"It's really starting to get cold," said a shivering Sora, "what's wrong with the heating, Sidney?"

"The central heating system is still offline," said Sidney, "forgive me for ignoring your comfort this one time, but I was focusing on keeping the ship from crashing."

"We'll figure out something else," said The King.

"Soon I hope," said Aiden.

"Remind me why we didn't pack cold weather gear for this?" Riven asked.

"Because we can be idiots sometimes," said Morgan.

"Timmy, Tecna, how you guys coming along?" Stella asked, who was shivering harder than the others, "we could really use some heat right about now!"

"The systems are still offline from Stormy's dark lighting," said Tecna as she and Timmy worked on getting the electricity back on, "we're still trying to restore power."

"Then we'll worry about heat," said Timmy.

"Any idea how long it'll take?" Musa asked, "I don't think the pixies can take much more of this cold!"

Indeed, the bonded pixies were feeling the worst of the cold.

"It doesn't look good," said Elise, "I wish I could tell you otherwise, but my estimate is that we'll freeze to death before we can restore power."

"We can only hope that Sky and the others get here with reinforcements in time," said Timmy.

At that Stella looked utterly outraged, "what? No way are we relying on that boyfriend stealing bitch, Armentia! It's time we put an end to all of this freezing!"

"Bad idea," said Timmy as he pointed to a hologram of the outside that was produced by a secondary scanner, showing the vines holding up the ice sledgehammer.

"Listen, Timmy," said Stella, "maybe you and the other smart people like the idea of freezing to death, but as for me and the pixies, we've had it! Now open the doors, I'm going to bring about a red hot spring thaw!" she then pressed a button that opened the hatch and walked outside and transformed.

She then unleashed a massive spell that produced enough solar rays to melt the ice on the ships and set the vines on fire. Almost instantly, all power on both ships were restored.

"Uh-oh!" said Helia as he saw the scanner data, "those vines could break any second now!"

"And that big ice thing is still above us," said Aiden, "someone step on the gas peddle!"

"Sidney!" said Sora.

"Tecna!" said Timmy.

"Full power to thrusters!" said Sidney.

"Engines online and at max thrust!" said Tecna.

Both ships got away from the big ball of ice just as the vines broke, narrowly avoiding being crushed by a fraction of a second.

They landed at the far end of the canyon, just as a large yellow and gray worm that had hundreds of red legs, eruptedout of the rock. It was followed by Sky, Brandon, Aisha, Riku and Tess.

Stella happily ran out of the cruiser and embraced Brandon, "and here I thought you were going to be the new king of downland."

"No way," said Brandon, "that place is crazy enough for me."

"My hero," said Stella.

As everyone exited the ships to welcome back Sky and the others, Sora saw Tecna and Timmy talking.

"I know I'll never be a hero with a sword, Tecna," said Timmy as he took his glasses off, "But, I still want to be your hero."

"You always have been mine," said Tecna. With that the two off them embraced and kissed, for apparently the first time.

"Now put your glasses on," said Tecna, "before you bump into something."

"So you really pulled it off, Sky," said Riven, "you got the rock worm, good work."

"It looks more of a caterpillar than a worm," said Aiden as he, Malcolm and Mirta walked around the giant creature, "are you sure this thing can do the job?"

"This big bad bug can chew through miles of rock within minutes," said Malcolm, "I did a report of them in grammar school."

"Mom put it on the fridge for all of us to see," said Mirta.

"I'm just glad we got the thing," said Sky, "and I hope we got it in time to save everyone; Bloom, Kairi and everything else."

"You can say that again," remarked Sora.


…Shadowhaunt...

Just then a large glass sphere full of black smoke appeared in Darkar's hand, "ah, here is the necessary," he said triumphantly. He then held the smoke-filled sphere towards Bloom, "recognize this creature? You should, you were very intimate with it not too long ago."

At that Bloom looked absolutely terrified, "as if I'll ever forget that thing," she said in a trembling tone, "Ozezil."

"No way!" said Kairi, "I was there when Carmen and Elise did the exorcism ritual! They sent Ozezil back to hell and he can't get out for a hundred years."

"Normally that is the case," said Darkar, "but with my dark powers, I was able to raise Ozezil out of Perdition, all so I can reunite him with Bloom," he glared at Bloom, "the time has come for you to embrace the darkness!"

"No!" Bloom shouted defiantly, "I won't let that thing take control of me again! My friends will find a way to stop you!"

"They're too late!" said Darkar as he held the sphere above his head in both hands, "and soon, you'll be more than willing to destroy your friends yourself!" he then broke the sphere, shattering the glass and releasing the black smoke within. Instantly it shot towards Bloom and engulfed her.

"No!" shouted Kairi, "Fight it, Bloom! Fight that thing! Don't let it take away who you are!"

From within the black smoke, Kairi could hear Bloom screaming in agony.

"At last, the ultimate creature of darkness has arrived!" said Darkar, "Dark Bloom! Arise!"

The black smoke then condensed onto Bloom, absorbing itself into her body. Once it was all inside of her, she lay on the altar, apparently unconscious.

"Bloom!" shouted Kairi, "Bloom, are you alright?"

Just then in a flash of dark magic, the bindings holding Bloom to the altar vanished. She sat up and with another flash of dark magic, she was in her dark blue, insidious fairy outfit, her hair frizzled in a malicious way.

She opened her eyes, now yellow and snakelike, and glared at Kairi.

"Sorry, Kairi," said Bloom in a vicious tone, "but Bloom isn't here right now, her body is under new management!" at that she and Dakar both laughed, their voices dripping with pure evil.

The end of chapter 7.

Next chapter finds our heroes attacking Shadowhaunt, but will their efforts be in vain as Bloom, posessed by the demon, joins forces with Darkar and bring about unparallel darkness in the Magical Dimension? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!