Last time found our heroes and allies trying to make sense of the betrayal of the Avalon doppleganger and the abduction of Bloom, with Kairi chasing after them into Shadowhaunt. Once in the lair of Darkar, Kairi was taken prisoner and Bloom restrained, while Darkar, The Trix, Sephiroth and Xehanort gloated on.

Back at Alfea, while getting ready to attack Shadowhaunt and rescue Bloom and Kairi, along with the arrival of King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Sidney and the improved Intrepid Heart, Sora and the gang were introduced to Malcolm, younger brother of Mirta and a Keyblade Wielder in his own right, whom asked to join Sora and the others.

Tecna then told everyone that they needed a bigger tunnel in order to successfully attack Shadowhaunt. Sky suggested that they visit Brandon's 'old flame,' the perfection-obsessed Princess Armentia of Downland, whom after careful convincing, including defeating her in a very serious duel, agreed to help our heroes fight the enemy.

But in Shadowhaunt, things maybe already too late, for Darkar had summoned the demon whom had earlier possessed Bloom back from hell to take control of her again.

'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 8: Attacking the Darkness

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.

"No," said Kairi in a tone that was both fearful and defiant, "this isn't happening! This is not happening!"

"Face it, you little red head bitch," said Bloom, "it's happening. Ozezil's back, and man, it feels great to be in this body again," she stretched her arms up in the air, "not only is Bloom the best looker of all the humans I've taken over, she's also the most powerful. All that raw magic running through her, it's luxurious, and now it's mine, forever!"

"I don't believe that!" said Kairi, "Bloom! I know you're in there! Fight back! Fight to take back your life!"

"Oh, how precious," said Bloom, or rather, Dark Bloom, in teasing tone, "the little bitch is trying to reach her friend," she walked up to Kairi and slapped her across the face, "get the picture, Kairi! Bloom has left the building, thank you and goodnight, ladies and gentlemen!"

"What really has become of Bloom?" Xehanort asked, "with all due respect, Ozezil, but what of her soul?"

"Oh, it's still in here," said Dark Bloom, tapping her heart, "I've locked it away where it can't cause any trouble. I'd rip it out and send it to hell, but unfortunately I can't do anything to that soul until its body dies, and no way am I letting this body die," she smiled wickedly and hugged herself, "it just feels so comfy inside her."

"Go back to hell, you damn dirty demon!" spat Kairi.

"Now why would I want to do that?" Dark Bloom asked, "let me tell you a secret; hell sucks, a lot."

"Gee, I'd think a filthy abomination like you would enjoy it," said Kairi.

"Then why is it that my kind is always trying to get out and possess people?" Dark Bloom asked. "Hell isn't all fire and brimstone. It's only hot for specific damned souls who merit specific eternal punishments, and not even the worst punishments at that.

"No, the worst parts of hell are cold, dark and oddly quiet. The outer reaches of hell are deafeningly loud with the screams and wails of the damned, crying out at their eternal torments, but the farther down you go, the quieter it gets, until you're in the deep parts, the cold and dark parts, as far from the light as you can get. Then it's deafening again, but a silent deafening. Believe me, hell is a hellhole.

"But enough about hell," she then walked towards Darkar, "you, I owe big time for getting me out of that place. I mean it, you ask for it, I'll do it for you. You want me to go and kill all of Bloom's friends and family? Their graves are already dug." she then cast a spell that dripped with dark magic, "there, I've dug their graves outside."

Darkar produced an image with his cloak of the cavern floor hundreds of feet below the inverted castle, revealing dozens of freshly dug graves, "impressive. Your control over Bloom's magic is most impressive indeed, my dear Ozezil," he then vanished the image, "but I have something more grand in mind as payment for my raising you from perdition."

"Oh, I know what you want," said Dark Bloom, "you want me to use Bloom's magic to help you open the door to Realix. You want the ultimate power. Consider it done."

"Then let us begin," said Dakrar, "there is much to do and little time to accomplish it."

"You bastard!" snapped Kairi, "just wait until Sora and the others get here! They'll rip you apart!" she then glared at Dark Bloom, "and they'll send you back to hell where you belong!"

"Let them come!" said Darkar, "by the time they reach my fortress, I will have already claimed The Ultimate Power!"

"But it will matter little to you, my dear Kairi," said Xehanort, "for I have something else in mind for you, something you will surely not like."


…Outside Shadowhaunt…

Hundreds off feet below the inverted castle, at the base of the cavern wall, a crack appeared, then another and another, until a large section of the rock wall collapsed. Emerging from a freshly carved tunnel was the giant rock worm. Riding atop it was Armentia, the eccentric princess grinning smugly as the rock worm trundled into the enemy cavern. Behind the rock worm was a large host of trog warriors.

"Alright, we're through!" Armentia said triumphantly. She then noticed that the sudden emergence of the rock worm had attracted scores of Darkar's shadow monsters.

"Onward, my brave warriors!" Armentia shouted as she branished her spear, "let's show Darkar what we Downlanders what we're made of! Charge!" with that the trog host rushed at the shadow monsters. Armentia jumped down from the giant worm and took the lead of her army. They crashed into the throngs of monsters and began hacking them to pieces.

"Send a signal to the surface!" shouted Armentia as she sliced a humanoid shadow monster in half, "we're through!"


…Aboveground…

"We're getting Armentia's signal!" said Brandon, "they're through!"

"Punch it!" shouted both Sora and Stella.

The two ships then flew into the tunnel dug by the rock worm. Although it was wide enough for the ships to pass through, it narrowed at random spots due to slight instabilities in the tunnel walls.

"The scanners are picking up a massive dark magic signature," said Timmy, "if that's not Shadowhaunt, I don't know what is."

"Keep your eyes on the tunnel walls," said Riku, "and keep your distance, we could crash into each other by accident!"

"Don't remind me," said Riven.

"At this rate we'll be in the cavern in five minutes," said Elise.

"We'd better get ready then," said Aisha, while Stella, Tecna, Flora, and Musa, all nodded in agreement.

"You nervous?" Sora asked Malcolm, "it's okay to be scared."

"I'm more than scared," said Malcolm, his hands trembling slightly in nervous anticipation, "not of the actual fighting, that I can handle. I'm more afraid that I'll screw up somehow and let you all down."

"Don't talk like that," said Tess, "you'll do fine. I was scared during my first battle as a Keyblade Wielder, and I spent years as a cold blooded killer."

"I had just seen my whole village wiped out by Heartless," said Aiden, "talk about scared."

"We all were scared in our first major Heartless battle," said Riku, "but the thing about fear is that you can either use it to help you fight, or let it take over and run away."

"Kairi's probably the most scared of us all," said Sora, "but she wouldn't run away, not without Bloom that is."

"I was scared when The Trix turned me into a pumpkin last year," said Mirta, "I was afraid I'd be a plant for the rest of my life."

"I know where this is going," said Malcolm, "you're going to tell me that friendship, courage and love can overcome anything. I know all that." he then looked serious, "what I don't know is what I'm going to do to The Trix when I catch them. Should I skin them alive? Or should I throw them into a vat of acid? Or maybe skin them and then throw them into acid. Decisions, decisions."

"Who said you were going to catch them?" Brandon asked.

"If anyone's going to deal with The Trix, it's us," said Stella.

"We've suffered far more from them than you ever did," said Musa, "we'll deal with them."

"No rehab for them this time," said Carmen, "it's straight to the nearest tree for a triple hanging."

"Or a tree stump and an axe," said Tess.

"That'll work too," said Morgan "And I know where you can get a good deal on an axe."

"Sorry, guys," said King Mickey, "but I'm afraid what'll happen to The Trix isn't up to any of you."

"Why not?" Riven asked, "why can't we destroy them?"

"It's not like we can hand them over to the authorities," said Elise, "sure, they'd go to jail, but they'd bring in a sleazebag lawyer and they'd be out on bail. Then when the trial comes, they'd get acquitted, or at least get a suspended sentence. Then we'd start this whole mess all over again."

"That's assuming they don't run away before the trial," said Carmen.

"All the more reason to kill them," said Morgan, "kill them now before they escape justice again."

"They won't," said The King as he held up his mobile, "Not this time. I hope you're all listening for this. I just heard from Faragonda, who heard this from the Magix Superior Court. The Trix have been tried in absentia."

"What does that mean?" Sora asked.

"It means that they were put on trial without them actually being in the courtroom during the trial," said Sky.

"They can do that?" Aisha asked, "on Andros, all trials must have the accused in the courtroom."

"Same on our world," said Mirta, while Malcolm nodded in agreement."

"Well, apparently trial in absentia is allowed on Magix," said Tecna as she checked her computer, "and they did have a trial for The Trix."

"They were charged with multiple crimes," said King Mickey, "several counts of aggravated assault, attempted murder, kidnapping, grand larceny and a lot of other crimes, including various acts of terrorism and collaborating with Lord Darkar, which in itself is a crime. Less than an hour ago the jury reached a verdict; guilty."

"Are you sure?" Carmen asked in a suspicious tone, "are you really sure?"

"That's what Faragonda told me," said King Mickey, "the actual verdict was 'Incredibly Guilty' of all charges."

"Well, that's good news," said Aisha, "now they'll have to pay for their crimes."

"Are you kidding?" Morgan asked, "this is The Trix we're talking about. They've gotten away with a suspended sentence, I just know it."

"Nope," said King Mickey.

"Then they've received the death penalty?" Carmen asked hopefully.

"Did they get the axe or not?" Tess asked.

"Wrong again," said King Mickey in a grave tone, "but they'll wish they got the death penalty. They will, after they hear where they're going."

"What are you…?" Sky asked, "wait, they're not going to Omega, are they?"

"Yep," said The King, "they were sentence to spend the rest of eternity in Omega."

"Oh, wow," said Carmen in a deflated tone, "They will wish for death after hearing that."

"What's Omega?" Sora asked.

"It's a rogue planet out in the middle of nowhere," said Elise, "far from the warmth of a star, Omega is completely icebound and colder than Domino. It's so cold there, your heart will freeze in a matter of minutes unless you're protected with magic."

"It was turned into a maximum security prison long ago," said Tecna, "only the worst of the worst criminals in The Magical Dimension are sent to Omega. They're placed in cryogenetic suspension and dropped onto Omega, where the worlds' dominant species, Frost Basilisks, keep watch over the frozen prisoners forever. No one has ever escaped from Omega, so it's reasonable that the authorities would send The Trix there."

"I don't envy them one bit," said Carmen, "this is the most fitting punishment they deserve. I'd rather see them dead, but having them frozen away forever suits me all the same."

"We still have to catch them first," said Helia.

"We'll get our chance soon enough," said Timmy, "we'll be there in thirty seconds!"

"Good luck everyone!" said The King.

Half a minute later the two ships shot out of the tunnel into the cavern. They passed over Armentia and her Trog army as they battled the swarms of shadow monsters.

"Well, look at that," said Stella as she saw the battle below, "looks like our friend, the crazy princess, is up to her old tricks again, huh, Brandon?"

"She knows what she's doing," said Brandon, "I hope."

"Either way," said Sky, "Armentia's got her end of the battle, and we've got ours."

The two ships then flew towards the inverted castle.

"That's Darkar's fortress?" Sora asked.

"That's it," said Timmy as the two ships circled around the inverted castle.

"It's so enormous," said a slightly nervous Flora.

"Yeah, well," said Musa, also in a nervous tone, "but remember, the bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"I always thought it was 'the bigger that they are, the more likely we are to get blown to kingdom come,'" said Stella in a pessimistic tone, "all while trying to rescue our friends and save the universe."

"Stella," said Tecna in an annoyed tone, "given the present situation, your jokes aren't appropriate, you ought to know that, right?"

"Do I sound like I'm joking?" Stella asked.

"We haven't even started fighting yet," said Tess, "and already you're giving up? I thought you were made of stronger stuff, Stella."

"Well, if you've got an idea that'll help us win, I'm all ears," said Stella.

"As a matter of fact, I do," said Tess. She looked at Sora, Riku and Aiden, "you remember when we infiltrated New Hollow Bastion, and Nikolai planted all of those demolition spells to destroy the castle?"

"We nearly got crushed escaping," said Aiden, "why, you want to blow up the fortress?"

"Exactly," said Tess, "when we get inside, we're going to plant demolition spells and turn that fortress into rubble, after we save Bloom and Kairi of course."

"Of course," said Flora, "but, we don't know any demolition spells." at that Musa, Aisha, Tecna and Stella all shook their heads.

"Neither do we," said Carmen, while Morgan and Elise shook their heads.

"I don't know any," said Mirta as she pulled something out of her pocket, something that turned out to be a small pack of sticky notes, "but I did prepare some explosive runes this morning, just in case."

"Of course!" said an eager Morgan as she also pulled out a pad of sticky notes from her pocket, "explosive runes! I always keep some handy, just in case."

"Why would you have explosive runes in your pocket?" Aiden asked, "wouldn't you worry about them going off?"

"They'll only go off when you activate them with a spell," said Morgan, "and you can set them to go off by remote command."

"But why did you have them in your pockets?" Aiden asked.

"Why not have them handy?" Mirta asked.

"Okay, we've got a plan to destroy the fortress," said Riven.

"But we still have to get inside and save our friends first," said Stella.

"I think we've got a bigger problem to take care of first," said Musa.

"What's that then?" Sora asked.

"How about the swarm of shadow bats coming right for us!" said Aisha as she pointed straight ahead, for there was a giant flock of flying shadow monsters heading right for the two ships, "watch out!"

"Shields up!" said Sidney, "forward lasers armed and ready!"

"Shoot!" shouted both Sora and Brandon. The weapons on both ships then fired upon the swarm of shadow bats, blasting a hole through the flock that the ships passed through.

"Score one for us!" said Brandon.

"Nicely done, Brandon!" said Stella as she hugged him.

"There's more of them out there!" said Flora as another swarm of shadow bats flew towards them. The two ships dodged the swarm, only to have the swarm circle around and come at them from behind.


…Inside the Fortress…

"What are you going to do to me?" Kairi asked, her voice mixed with fear and defiance.

"It's quite simple," said Xehanort, "I'm going to kill you. I can't promise that I will be quick and painless, but your fate has been sealed."

"Why do you want to kill me?" Kairi asked, "other than that I hate your guts and want to see you punished for what you did."

"I have my reasons," said Xehanort, "and as soon I explore Realix and delve into its secrets, I shall take your life."

"There is one small problem with your plan, Xehanort," said Darkar, "you are not going to Realix!"

Before either Xehanort or Sephiroth could react, they were surrounded by red energy fields. Xehanort tried to touch it with his hand but it zapped him with a spark of red lightning. Sephiroth tried to draw Masamune, but the confining space of the energy field prevented him from drawing the sword an inch from its scabbard.

"What is this!" Xehanort demanded, "what is the meaning of this treachery!"

"I am merely betraying you before you betray me," said Darkar.

"I saw this coming miles away," Dark Bloom said smugly.

"Why would I betray you, Lord Darkar?" Xehanort asked, "I thought we had an understanding. What have I ever done to give you the preposterous idea that I would ever betray you?"

"Do you honestly take me for a fool?!" exclaimed Darkar, "from the moment your dog, Sephiroth, arrived in my presence and declared that he was your emissary, I knew that you intended to stab me in the back and seize The Ultimate Power for yourself.

"You believed that you could get the best of me. You dare to match wits with Darkar? I who have existed since the beginning of time! I who have witnessed the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires. I who have created and lead entire armies of servants of the dark. I who instigated the downfall of Domino. I who have turned the most powerful fairy of them all to the darkness."

"You're the one who called yourself a fool," said Kairi.

"He ain't the one all chained up and about to die," said Dark Bloom.

But then Xehanort smiled viciously at Darkar, "so, you've gotten the better of me. Well played. But what now?"

"Now," said Darkar, "I shall send you on your way."

"You're letting us go?" Sephiroth asked irately, "if this is a jest, then just wait until I free myself. I'll show you what happens to those who try to make a fool of me!"

"This is no jest," said Darkar, "you are free to go. You mean nothing to me now. I could destroy you as easy as stepping on an insect, but I chose not to, you are hardly worth the effort."

"Not worth the effort!?" exclaimed Sephiroth as he placed his hand on Masamune, "I'll show you who's worth it!"

"Stay your hand, my friend," said Xehanort, "it's clear that we've worn out our welcome, so let us take our leave while we have the opportunity to do so with grace and dignity."

"Grace and dignity," said Sephiroth in a tone that he hated those virtues, at least in this situation, "so be it, let's go."

"But before we leave," said Xehanort, "I ask a simple favor of you, Lord Darkar. Let me see that Kairi's doom is sealed."

"Very well," said Darkar as he released Xehanort and Sephiroth from the energy fields, "do what you will with the girl, she is of no value to me."

"But she is valuable to me," Xehanort, "as a message to Sora."

"What does Sora have to do with any of this?" Kairi asked.

"It has everything to do with him," said Xehanort, "he still has Ventus's heart."

At that Kairi was slightly taken aback. Sora didn't have Ven's heart, not anymore that is. It was passed into Roxas' heart when Sora used the dark Keyblade to free Kairi's heart from his body. But Xehanort didn't know this, and somehow, that made Kairi feel very confident.

"So, Sora has Ven's heart," said Kairi, "What, you gonna try to get it out of him and try to make the X-Blade again? It didn't work last time, so what makes you think it'll work this time?"

"Because I'm a tenacious man," said Xehanort, "and I'm willing to try again, and this time it will work! I shall take Ven's heart from Sora, and once I've revived Vanitus, I'll merge him and Ven together, and the X-Blade shall be mine!

"Which brings us to you, Kairi. You see, the reason why I haven't gone after Sora myself is that I simply don't have the proper means to take Ven's heart from him yet, not without damaging the heart in the process, and I need it intact for my plan to work.

"I will be ready in due time, but until then, I want Sora to suffer. I want him to experience agonies the likes of which he could never imagine, and I'll start by eliminating his friends and loved ones, one by one. I would have saved you for last, Kairi, but why wait, when such a golden opportunity such as now presents itself?

"Just imagine the heartbreak Sora will experience when he learns that the love of his life is dead. Then imagine that pain multiplied over and over when his friends and allies die around him, one by one. I will drive Sora into the depths of darkness, and when his suffering has reached its peak, then I shall step in and rip Ven's heart from him."

After hearing this, Kairi was afraid, not only for herself, but for Sora. The last thing she would ever want was for Sora to be in pain.

Still, Kairi refused to allow Xehanort the satisfaction of seeing her frightened. "You should know by now that Sora's made of stronger stuff," said Kairi, "we all are; Riku, Tess, Aiden, everyone who knows and love Sora, we're tougher than we look. So go ahead and kill me. Torture me to death, rape me, drive me to suicide, it doesn't matter, because no matter what you do to me, Sora will never give in to the darkness! And he'll never let you get Ven's heart!"

"We'll see about that," said Xehanort, "and now for your death."

"And just what are you going to do to me?" Kairi asked boldly, "throw me off a really tall building? Run me over with lawnmowers and turn me into mulch? Crush me with stampeding elephants? Throw me into a room full of rabid dogs? Or a room full of killer bees? Or a room with rabid dogs that have killer bees in their mouths so that when they bark they spit bees at me? Go ahead! Do your worst!"

At that Xehanort paused in thought, "you've proposed some interesting ideas, my dear. I'll have to think about it."

"If you don't mind," said Dark Bloom as she stepped forward, a wicked smile on her face, "I've got an idea of my own." She then whispered something into Xehanort's ear.

"What is it?" Sephiroth asked, "what is that she-demon saying to you?"

Xehanort smiled viciously as he heard the suggestion, "what a delightfully demonic idea you have," he said, "by all means, do it."

"With pleasure," said Dark Bloom. She then walked up to Kairi, "you'll never guess what I'm going to do to you."

"I don't need to guess," said Kairi, daring to play her one wild card, her once chance to save herself and Bloom or risk getting killed outright, "I'm ending this madness right here and now!"

At that Dark Bloom laughed cruelly, "and just what are you going to do?"

"It's simple, actually," said Kairi as she glared at Dark Bloom square in the eye, "I already said that I was there when Carmen and Elise sent you back to hell. What I didn't say was that I remember the exorcism ritual word for word!"

Kairi then closed her eyes in concentration and began chanting…

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus

omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio…"

"Not this time!" said Dark Bloom. With a wave of her hand she shot a beam of dark magic at Kairi's throat.

She gasped in shock and went silent as the beam of dark magic retracted from her, taking with it a white orb of light, which Dark Bloom enchased in a small glass bottle.

"In case you're wondering," said Dark Bloom, "I stole your voice. Sora shouldn't have told Bloom about Ariel and Ursula," she then laughed viciously, "that's right, I know everything that Bloom knows, her mind and memories are at my disposal, all of them, including the time she and a few friends snuck into a specific R rated movie, one that inspired me on how to kill you."

With another wave of her hand, there was a flash of dark magic and a metal device enchased itself around Kairi's head and inserted itself into her mouth.

"The reverse bear trap from Saw," said Dark Bloom, "and there's no key to free yourself. In one hour the trap will spring and rip your jaw free from your head."

Terrified, Kairi now heard the soft ticking of a stopwatch that was attached to the back of the device.

"I've also added a little extra to the game," said Dark Bloom, "in the unlikely event that Sora and the other pathetic peons show up to try and save you, I've spelled the trap so that I'll go off the second they try to free you from it." She then laughed viciously again, "I am just loving this girl's magic, it's so awesome!" she then looked at Xehanort, "well, what do you think?"

"And impressive method of death," said Xehanort, "Kairi, utterly helpless, forced to listen as the clock countdowns to her demise, all the while fully aware that should her friends try to save her, she will still die, yes, very impressive." He then looked at Dark Bloom, "it's a shame that we have to part company this way, we could have done great things together, Ozezil."

"Yeah, that would be swell," said Dark Bloom, "but I've got bigger fish to fry, old man, so get the frak out of here, before I sick a pack of hell hounds on your ass!"

"We've worn out our welcome," said Sephiroth in an insisting manner, "let's go already."

"Indeed," said Xehanort. He then summoned a Dark Corridor that crackled with black lightning, "farewell, Lord Darkar, I hope you find what you have been searching for." With that he and Sephiroth stepped into the Dark Corridor, which vanished after them.


…Castle Oblivion…

"Why did we leave without a fight?" Sephiroth asked irately as they proceeded through the castle corridors, "I could have easily defeated that bag of bones, Darkar. He only surprised me just now."

"Don't make a bigger fool of yourself than you already are!" snapped Xehanort, "Darkar had the upper hand the whole time we were there, I only now realize this. He could have destroyed us any time he wanted. He only allowed us to retreat because he thought us no threat."

"Then it was all for nothing," said Sephiroth.

"Not exactly," said Xehanort, "Though we have lost our chance to seize the Ultimate Power, I learned a great deal of the secrets within Shadowhaunt, a feeble consolation prize, but it will suffice. Now, let us return to my office and finish watching this drama on the Interocitor."

"So we're right back where we started," said an annoyed Sephiroth, "watching. You should have let me try to cut Darkar's head off."

"I doubt he would have let you get even close," said Xehanort. This remark was a grave insult to Sephiroth's pride as a swordsman, but the one-winged angel kept it to himself, adding it to his growing resentment for the dark master, but willing to wait until the right time to destroy the old man.


…Shadowhaunt…

"Are you sure that was a good idea, allowing them to leave, master?" the Doppelganger of Avalon asked.

"They were of little consequence," said Darkar, "they will be dealt with in due time, after I have The Ultimate Power, and speaking of which," he looked at the possessed fairy, "my dear Dark Bloom," he said as he took her hand in his claws, "the time has come to activate The Codex and open the passageway to The Realm of Realix and The Ultimate Power!"

"I can hardly wait," said Dark Bloom in an eager tone.

Just then Icy, Darcy and Stormy walked into the throne room.

"Excuse me!" said Icy, "I hate to rain on your parade, Lord Darkar, but we have a small matter to attend to first."

"All our enemies have managed to get inside the cavern," said Stormy, "The Winx, Specialists, those traitor witches and meddling Keyblade brats."

"And they've brought along some shiny toys that could potentially demolish this fortress," said Darcy. All three dark witches walked towards Darkar, all of them looking highly annoyed.

"A petty annoyance," said Darkar in a nonchalant tone, "you deal with it if you're so concerned."

"What!" exclaimed Icy in an irate tone, "that's just it? You expect us to go outside and take them all on?"

"By ourselves?" Stormy asked, "that's suicide! I mean, we're bad, but not suicidal."

"After all we've done for you, Lord Darkar," said Darcy, "you're just going to throw us to the wolves?"

At that Darkar grinned viciously, as if contemplating doing just that. "Fear not, my dear witches, you shall not be fighting alone. Assemble my army of shadow monsters; channel your magic into them and they shall do all the fighting for you."

"Oh, that's different," said Stormy, "okay, we'll do that."

"I don't believe this," said an annoyed Dark Bloom, "I gave Bloom a total evil makeover and you haven't said anything about it? What's the matter with you?"

At that The Trix looked at the possessed fairy, "oh yeah, she is evil now," said Stormy.

"She's possessed by a demon," said Darcy.

"It is that obvious?" Icy asked. She then walked up to Dark Bloom, "well, I'll admit it's an improvement, but you're still Bloom, no matter what's in control of her, and I still hate her."

"Oh, that's a shame," said Dark Bloom in a tone that dripped with mock concern, she then smiled viciously, "because she absolutely loathes you, and if she wasn't held back by human inhibitions and morals, she would have destroyed you the first real chance she had, seriously, you three witches wouldn't be alive right now."

"What are you talking about?" Darcy asked.

"We totally creamed Bloom and her friends more than once!" said Stormy.

"True, you were stronger than her on more than one occasion," said Dark Bloom. She then vanished, only to appear behind Stormy, startling her, "but then, one has to take into consideration that a fairy's power is held back by her inner goodness," she then vanished and appeared behind Darcy, startling her, "if a fairy were to have a heart as black as one of yours, or in this case, controlled by a demon," she vanished and appeared behind Icy, startling her, "she would be an all but unstoppable force for darkness."

She then vanished and appeared next to Darkar, "Bloom happens to be the most powerful fairy of her generation, potentially the most powerful alive. If she had her inner darkness hold sway over her powers when she was fighting you, she would have incinerated you all," she then summoned three fireballs, "and now that I'm in the driver's seat, I don't see why I shouldn't destroy you all now and give Bloom the satisfaction her inner rage deserves."

For some reason, the words and actions of the possessed fairy seemed to terrify The Trix into inaction. If Dark Bloom wished to, she could destroy them then and there. All this Kairi observed and it chilled her to the bone.

But then the possessed fairy vanished the fireballs, "but then things would be boring after that," she said, "killing you would only be a one time satisfaction, when I've got bigger fish to fry."

"Indeed," said Darkar, "come then, let us prepare for the ritual."

With that he and Dark Bloom walked out of the room, with the possessed fairy looking back at the three witches and laughing quietly at them.

Almost immediately, The Trix broke out of their fear fugue, "what the hell was that all about?" Darcy exclaimed, "that demon bitch thinks she's so tough! We could crush her like a bug!"

"She's acting tough only because Darkar likes her now," said Stormy, "after all our hard work, he's pushing us aside!"

"Only because he needs her to get his tin mitts on The Ultimate Power," said Icy, "but he'd better not forget who's been doing all the dirty work around here!" with a disgruntled sigh, she and her sisters left the room, completely ignoring Kairi.

:Well, that was rude of them,: said Naminé's voice inside Kairi's head.

Surprised to hear her Nobody speaking to her after so long, Kairi tried to respond, but found to her horror that she couldn't use her telepathy. Somehow, when Dark Bloom took her voice, Kairi had also lost her mental power as well.

Naminé seemed to sense Kairi's anxiety, :It's going to be okay, Kairi,: said Naminé, :Sora and the others are on their way. I've been trying to reach Roxas inside Sora, but there's something about Shadowhaunt that's been blocking our mindspeak. I can sense them, though, they're flying around the fortress. I'm hoping that as they get closer, I'll be able to contact them and warn them about that death trap on your head.:

At that Kairi's panic rose again, she had almost forgotten about the reverse bear trap. She had no idea how much time remained before her head was ripped apart.

:There's still time for our friends to get here,: said Naminé, :just relax, Kairi, you are not going to die. There's no way that horrible old man, Xehanort, is going to get away with this.:

Kairi wished she had her Nobody's level of confidence, for things seemed pretty hopeless from her point of view.


…Outside the fortress...

"There's to many of those things!" shouted Brandon as more and more shadow bats chased after the two ships. "I can't shake them!"

"Neither can I!" shouted Riku, "we'll never be able to land at the fortress with these things on our tails."

"And there's another swarm coming right for us!" shouted Morgan.

"Riku," said Timmy, "are you familiar with 'Attack Pattern Delta?'"

"Vaguely," said Riku, "wait, you mean 'rock the boat?'"

"That's exactly what I mean," said Timmy, "rock the boat!"

Both ships pulled a hard right, then a hard left, dodging the oncoming swarm of shadow bats, which collided with the swarm coming from behind. Many of the fell creatures were killed on impact, but more and more kept coming.

"That's enough of that," said Sora in a determined tone, "time to go on the offensive!"

"I agree!" said Sky, "battle stations, everyone! Now remember, Specialists, no fancy stuff. Our job is to get The Winx and everyone else inside the fortress and be there to help them get out."

"Aye, skipper," said an eager Riven.

A short while later Sky had taken off in one of the collapsible fighters, while Riven and Helia had entered a secondary bridge on the cruiser, while the main bridge of the cruiser detached from the rest of the ship in the form of one of the smaller Red fountain ships, carrying everyone else on it.

"That is so cool it's freezing," said Sidney as she and the others aboard The Intrepid Heart watched, "reminder for later; ask Cid for additional upgrades in future models."

"I just wish we could do more than just fly around and be chased by these gods damned bats," said Aiden.

"We can hit them," said Tess as she fired the ship's lasers into an oncoming swarm, destroying dozens, "but we're just not taking out enough of them, there's just too many."

"If I could just get outside the ship," said Sora, "then I'd be able to blast them with spells."

"You can," said Sidney, "the ship has an outer dorsal hatch."

"You mean there's a hatch on the top of the ship?" Riku asked, "why didn't you tell us this?"

"You never asked," said Sidney, "now, the hatch has a platform that rises up. You can secure yourself to the platform with the available safety straps and harness."

"Let me," said Malcolm as he stood up, "this calls for some hard hitting spells, and I've got plenty of them."

"You're crazy to get out there alone," said Mirta, "I'm coming with you."

"I don't think illusions will help," said Tess.

"I'll go with him," said Sora, "I'll take good care of your brother."

"You'd better," said Mirta in a serious tone, "if anything happens to Malcolm, not only will you answer to me, but also to mom and dad, and they're the last persons you want to piss off."

"It's true," said Malcolm.

"I'll be extra careful," said Sora. With that he and Malcolm left the bridge, with The King assuming command.

"Steady as she goes, Riku," said King Mickey as he sat in the command chair, "let's not shape them up too much."

"You got it, your majesty,' said Riku.

Sora and Malcolm found the dorsal hatch and platform, with two sets of security straps and harnesses. They strapped themselves to the platform, leaving them free to stand up but save enough so they wouldn't fall off. Sora pressed button and the top hatch opened and the platform rose up, exposing them to the open air of the cavern, just as another swarm of shadow bats approached the ship.

"These things are really starting to bug me!" said Sora as he summoned his Keyblade.

"Then let's show them what we're made of!" said Malcolm as he summoned his Keyblade. He then shot a Slow spell at the creatures, reducing the speed of several of the shadow bats. They were destroyed when the bats behind them collided with the afflicted bats. Malcolm then cast a Blackout spell that blinded another group of creatures, causing them to collide with other bats and themselves. He then cast a Confuse spell that disoriented another group of bats and caused more mid-air collisions.

"You're pretty good," said Sora as he shot Fire and Thunder spells at the bats, burning and electrocuting dozens of the fell creatures.

"I told you I was well adapt in the dark arts," said Malcolm as he blinded another group of bats. "So, what do you think? Will you and your friends accept a dark magic user as one of your own?"

"It's till too soon to make any real decisions," said Sora as he froze several bats with a Blizzard spell, "but I think you're okay. It doesn't matter if you use good or dark magic, so long as your heart remains full of light, you can fight with me any day of the week."

At that Malcolm smiled, but then he frowned, "Look out!" he shouted. He then grabbed Sora and they both ducked as the smaller Red Fountain ship, piloted by Brandon and Timmy, shot no more than a yard over their heads.

"Watch where you're going, guys!" shouted Sky as he flew the fighter alongside the smaller ship, "you almost took their heads off!"

"Sorry," said Brandon, "there's so many of these damn bats, I wasn't paying attention."

"Well, pay attention from now on!" said Riven as he drove the cruiser around to destroy another swarm of bats, "I don't think Kairi will be happy if she finds out that Sora's missing his head."

"And Mirta won't be happy if you decapitate her brother," said Elise, "but that's just my opinion."


"Those meddling brats!" said Icy as she, Darcy and Stormy stood atop, or rather, at the bottom of one of the inverted towers, giving them a clear view of the aerial battle, "those fairies, heroes, traitor witches and other brats! They actually think they can win!"

"Let's prove them wrong!" said Darcy.

"Yeah!" said Stormy. With that the three dark witches cast a combined spell, projecting an indigo energy field around them. It then expanded and pused out through the entire cavern, hitting all of the ships.


Onboard all the ships it was pure pandemonium as all control was lost.

"What's happening?" Helia asked as he and Riven struggled to stop their ship from getting too close to the rock wall.

"It's dark magic!" shouted Sidney as her image began to distort, becoming fuzzy and pixilated, "it's wrecking havoc on all our systems! Attempting to compensate!" Her image was then restored, "there, we're fine."

The other ships regained control as well without taking damage, while Sky's fighter nearly crashed into a stalactite.

"Everyone alright?" Timmy asked.

"We're all okay here," said Riku, while everyone else on the bridge of The Intrepid Heart nodded.

"Nothing lost except for ten years of my life," said Sky.

"I lost fifteen," said Riven.

Just then several indigo orbs of dark magic shot towards the ships and hit them, shaking the crews up pretty badly.

"Now what?" Stella asked after everyone on the Red Fountain cruiser was knocked to the floor.

"Those attack spells are coming from the castle!" Tecna said as she and the others got up.

"It's the shadow monsters!" said Elise.

True enough, the walls of the inverted castle were lined with canine shadow monsters, all of them firing the indigo attack spells from their mouths.

"They've never been able to do that before," said Aisha, "something's powered them up.


"Oh man," sighed Stormy as she, Darcy and Icy nearly passed out from exhaustion, each of them looking like they had just finished a marathon. "that spell really took it out of us."

"It had better be worth it," said Icy as she and her sisters wearily walked back inside the castle proper, "the monsters have our power now."

"I'm so tired I could sleep a week," said Darcy.

"And how," said Stormy.


"Okay, no more mister nice guy!" said Riku as he turned The Intrepid Heart around to pull a strafing run at the castle, the ship's lasers blasting over a score of the canine monsters into oblivion, while the smaller Red Fountain ship destroyed another dozen.

But for every shadow monster they took off of the castle walls, another took its place and continued to barrage the attacking ships with dark spells that kept shaking the ships up, while wearing on the nerves of their crews.

"I can't take much more of this!" said Flora as she huddled on the ground with her arms around her legs for support, "I'm so afraid!"

"Fear's a logical reaction to a battle," said Tecna in a reassuring tone.

"Especially one this horrific," said Musa.

"And how many battles like this have you been in?" Morgan asked.

"Not many," said Musa, "but I agree with Flora, we can't take much more of this."

"Which is why I'm about to do something about it," said Morgan, "but I'm going to need a little help," she then looked at Elise, "if you don't mind."

"Not at all," said Elise, "I'd relish another chance to sync with your mildly disturbed mind."

"Don't we all," said Morgan. She and Elise then closed their eyes, "Contact," said Morgan.

"Check," said Elise as their minds began to harmonize.

"Morgan's going to put shield spells around all of us," said Carmen, "if we were all in one big ship, it'd be a really powerful shield, but since there's so many ships, the shields will only take the edge off."

"Anything that'll help," said Brandon.

"So long as we don't lose our heads in the meantime," said Aisha as she bent down to pick up Piff, who had been sleeping through the entire battle.

"Oh, that'd be absolutely terrible," said Stella, who's exceptionally long hair had fallen over her eyes, "no head, no more hats, let alone no hair," she then brushed her hair from her eyes and smiled, "okay, that time I was joking."

This caused her fellow Winx and Carmen to laugh, enjoying the sudden humor in such a dire situation. But then they cried out in terror as the ship shook again. But this time it was different.

"That wasn't an attack spell," said Carmen, "something solid hit us!"

They looked out the windows to see hundreds of humanoid shadow monsters alongside the canine monsters, with the humanoids tossing large rocks at the ships.

"Oh now that's just going too far!" said Sky as he strafed the castle, destroying a dozen humanoid monsters, but more took their place, only to be destroyed by The Intrepid Heart as it strafed the castle, but again the destroyed monsters were soon replaced.

"If only we could cut them off at the source!" said Riku as he pulled the ship around for another strafing run.

"You find them, I'll destroy it," said Tess.

Just then Sora and Malcolm ran onto the bridge, "hey, they're throwing rocks at us!" said Malcolm, "I nearly had my head crushed!"

"Well, it was your idea to go outside," said Mirta.

"This is just great," said Helia irately, "we get to close to the castle, and we get blasted with dark magic and have rocks thrown at us."

"And if we get too far away," said Brandon, "we get attacked by more of those freaking bats! How can it get any worse?"

"It's worse," said Aisha as she and The Winx looked at their bonded pixies, whom were all looking terrified, "I think our friends here are having some pretty scary flashbacks of this place."

"No, we're fine," said Chatta as she put up a brave front, "we're alright, don't worry about us."

"I'm not scared," said Lockette to herself, but she looked like she was on the verge of a full panic attack, "I'm not scared! I'm not scared!"

"Okay, you can worry about Lockette," said Chatta.

They all then heard Sky shouting happily as he blasted another group of shadow monsters into dust.

"At least one of us is having fun," said Riven as the smaller ship did a strafing run of its own, only to have Sky zoom past them and did a barrel roll.

"Right, no fancy stuff, huh?" Riven asked.

"Oh, right," said Sky in a sheepish tone.


…Inside Shadowhaunt…

"We gave the monsters too much power," said Darcy as she and her fellow witches wearily walked through the corridors towards the throne room.

"I feel as weak as a kitten," said Stormy, "and it sucks!"

"Let's just go find Darkar," said an irate Icy, "and get him to recharge our magic. He owes us that much!"

"He'd better," said Darcy, while Stormy nodded in agreement.


…Outside…

"There's just too many monsters outside the castle for us to get close enough to land," said Timmy, "they keep popping back up as soon as we destroy them."

"We need a new plan," said Musa, "and fast. Darkar could open the dimensional portal to Realix at any moment."

"And we still have to find Bloom and Kairi!" said Aisha.

Just then Morgan and Elise opened their eyes, "Now!" they both shouted and they chanted a spell that produced four blue spheres of magic. They all shot out of the ship. One of them then fell back on the smaller Red Fountain ship and surrounded it in a protective layer of magic, while the other three did the same with the other ships.

"There," sighed Morgan as she and Elise sat down, both of them looking exhausted, "we probably won't be any good to anyone for the next few minutes, but at least now the enemy can't shake us up too much."

"You guys did great," said Sora.

Just then Roxas popped out of Sora, startling Aiden, Mirta and Malcolm.

"Do you always have to do that in front of me?!" exclaimed Aiden.

"Sorry, but there's no time to be subtle," said Roxas.

"Who are you?" Mirta asked.

"Long story," said Roxas, "let's just say that I'm kind of like the twin brother Sora never had."

"What kept you asleep for so long?" Sora asked, "I haven't heard from you in a while."

"I was tired," said Roxas, "and so was Naminé. But she's awake now, but can't leave Kairi for some reason. I haven't been able to contact either of them."

"There's something about this place that messed with our telepathy," said Riku.

"I figured as much," said Roxas, "all I've been able to sense from Naminé is that she and Kairi are right in the middle of the fortress, in the central tower, and that Kairi is in mortal danger. I can't tell exactly what's happening to her, but I've the impression that time is running out."

"Then let's not waste any more time," said Tecna. She then now spoke to Lockette, who looked like she was just two seconds away from completely freaking out, "Lockette, can you use your special power to find us a safe way inside the fortress?"

Lockette seemed to calm down a bit at this. She then looked at her fellow Pixies, whom all gave her nods of encouragement.

"I can try," said the pixy of portals. She took off her butterfly hair clip, which grew into her key staff. She held it in place in the air and it began spinning like a compass needle. Everyone watched as the key spun around and around, eventually settling to point towards one of the towers, the northwest one to be exact, "that way," said Locket as she pointed to the indicated tower, "there aren't as many monsters there. I'm sorry, but it's the best I could do."

"You did wonderfully," said Aisha.

"Yeah, you were awesome!" said Chatta.

"You showed great courage in this time of crisis," said Tune, "truly commendable, in deed."

"Okay then," said Brandon, "Sky, Riven, Sora, we'll all do a coordinated attack on that tower, destroying as many monsters as we can. We'll land on that tower and get inside."

"Wait," said Malcolm, "if you attack that tower, the enemy is going to anticipate that that's where we're going to try to get inside. They'll pour everything they've got into that tower and we'll never reach the center in time."

"He's right," said Sky, "it's too obvious."

"But it's our best chance to save our friends and stop Darkar," said Flora.

"Not our best chance," said Tess, "I've got an idea. Sidney, prepare to activate the GKX-1500!"


…Inside Shadowhaunt…

"All four pieces of the Codex," said Dark Bloom as she and Darkar walked into a smaller chamber where the four crystals sat in a cushion case. She picked the case up and presented it to Darkar.

"We are almost ready, my friend," said Darkar, "soon, very soon."

Just then The Trix walked in, "well, isn't this a happy sight," Stormy said sarcastically.

"Leaving so soon, Darkar?" Darcy asked as she crossed her arms.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Icy asked as she placed her hands on her hips, "like say, us?"

At that Darkar chuckled wickedly. "No, I haven't forgotten you. I know you want a share of The Ultimate Power that will soon be mine."

"Fair is fair, Darkar!" said Stormy irately.

"You would never have gotten The Codex without us!" said Darcy, "we did all the dirty work while you sat here in Shadowhaunt on your bony butt! We got the Codex, not you!"

"And now that you've got it, and Dark Bloom," said Icy, "it's like we don't matter any more, that you're tossing us aside like yesterday's garbage."

"Maybe it's because you are yesterdays garbage!" said Dark Bloom.

"What!?" exclaimed Icy in an outraged tone, while Darcy and stormy also looked outraged, "how dare you say that to us! You may be a demon, but we're the most powerful witches alive!" She then glared at Darkar, "we're more than just cogs in your machine! I think we deserve a little more respect than that."

"Is that what you think?" Darkar asked.

"It is," said Icy, while Stormy and Darcy nodded in agreement.

At that Darkar's eyes flashed menacingly, "you thought wrong!" he shouted as he sent a pulse of dark magic at Icy, knocking her to the ground. "You are less than cogs in the machine! You are less than garbage! You mean nothing to me now!"

"You know," said a very nervous Stormy to Darcy as Icy struggled to stand up, "I'm starting to think that we were better off back at Lightrock."

"When I have to agree with something like that," said Darcy, "then I know we're in trouble."

"Don't waste your energies on these bags of filth," said Dark Bloom, "I can easily rip their souls out and cast them into hell, give them a taste of eternal torment and pain."

"A fitting end for them," said Darkar, "but they need to know just how little their value is," he then cast another spell, "into the void with you witches, where you shall spend eternity is absolute oblivion!"

A red vortex opened up behind The Trix that sucked them in, the three witches screaming in terror as they vanished from the material realms.

"Oh, I wanted to rip their souls out," pouted Dark Bloom, "and feed their bodies to the hell hounds, they really don't get that much exercise, cooped up in hell."

"Once the Ultimate Power is achieved," said Darkar, "you can torment any soul you wish. Now, there is just one more thing to do."

"Ready when you are," said Dark Bloom as she smiled wickedly.


…Outside…

"We just heard from Armentia," said Brandon, "she and the trogs are holding on, but they won't last for much longer."

"We've got to get down there and help them," said Aisha.

"No," said Sky, "they're doing their part so we can do our part."

"Which brings us to my plan," said Tess, "we aim the GKX-1500 at a different part of the castle, one that's choking with monsters. Then we fire the cannon, hopefully destroying a lot of monsters, then we fly towards where we blasted the castle. The enemy will think that we're going to land there, so they'll pour their forces into that part of the castle, but just when we're about to land, we head towards the tower Lockette pointed at. We land and run in before enemy reinforcements arrive."

"Sounds like a winning plan to me!" said Sky as he pulled the fighter into another strafing run at the castle. But then he cried out in sharp pain and surprise.

"What happened?" Brandon asked. Everyone then saw on their view screens that one of the humanoid shadow monsters had jumped onto the fighter and was trying to punch its way into the cockpit

"I picked up an unwelcome guest!" said Sky as he tried to shake the monster off of him, but it kept punching the cockpit, now hard enough to destabilize the flight systems and making the fighter shake erratically, "I'm losing control!"

"He's going to crash at this rate!" said Timmy.


…Inside Shadowhaunt…

"Just one final task remains before opening the portal," said Darkar, "come to me, Kerbog!"

His pet bat-thing flew over and latched itself onto his outstretched arm, "ah, faithful Kerbog, you've served me oh so well, but now I have a different task for you," he looked at Dark Bloom, "consider it an insurance policy in case our enemies do make it inside the citadel."

Darkar then cast a dark magic spell on the bat creature, causing it to mutate into a more horrific monster.

"Yes, that's it!" said Darkar, "grow, my little one, grow!"


…Outside…

"I'm done for if I don't get rid of this hitchhiker!" shouted Sky as he tried to throw the monster off of the fighter. But then he flew too close to a stalactite and bumped into it, damaging the engine enough to cause smoke to pour out of it and forcing the creature off at last.

"Okay, one problem solved," said Sky.

"But you've got another problem, Sky!" said Timmy, "according to the scanner data, you're on fire and will explode soon."

"You're kidding," said Sky.

"No, I'm not," said Timmy.

"There's got to be something we can do to help him!" said Aisha.

"We're too far away to get to him in time," said Timmy, "and so is The Intrepid Heart. It's up to Riven and Helia now."

By now the fighter had lost all control and was heading straight towards another stalactite, "well, Bloom," said Sky in a defeated tone, "looks like I won't be able to rescue you and Kairi after all. I'm sorry."

"Don't give up just yet, Sky!" said Riven as the cruiser flew above the crashing fighter.

"Boy, am I glad to hear from you guys," said Sky.

"We're opening the hangar bay," said Helia, "think you can handle an emergency landing?"

"Piece of cake," said Sky as he confidently smiled.

Everyone on the smaller Red Fountain Ship and The Intrepid Heart watched tensely as the hanger doors on the cruiser opened up. Sky did his best to keep the fighter steady but he barely had any horizontal control and couldn't maintain a level approach.

"This isn't working!" said Riven, "that showoff Sky isn't going to make it."

"Don't worry," said Helia, "I'll reel him in!"


…Inside Shadowhaunt…

"Are we ready now?" Dark Bloom asked as she and Darkar arrived in a small, chapel-like room in the fortress, "Or is there something else you need to do? It's not like I've got better things to do, other than get The Ultimate Power and plunge The Magical Dimension into darkness."

"All is finally ready," said Darkar, "this is where we shall open the portal to Realix, "place the box on the altar and stand back!"

"About time," muttered Dark Bloom as she placed the box containing the four Codex pieces on the stone altar and stood with Darkar a pace back. The four crystals glowed bright blue and hovered in the air.


…Outside…

"What's he doing?" Aiden asked as everyone on The Intrepid Heart and the smaller Red Fountain ship saw Helia standing at the open hanger door. Helia then thrust his right arm out and from his gloves shot a yellow wire made of magic. The wire wrapped itself around the damaged fighter.

"I get it," said an amazed Riku, "he's holding Sky steady and is going to help pull the fighter into the hanger."

"It'll never work," said Elsie, "that fighter's too heavy."

"Just give him a chance," said Aisha, "he can do it."

"I hope so!" said Flora.

Everyone watched as Helia took a few steps back, keeping the fighter steady as it inched its way into the hanger. But then a swarm of shadow bats flew by, knocking the fighter down and back a bit, while pulling Helia off his feet. He slammed into the hanger floor and was almost pulled out of the ship.

"Oh my stars!" exclaimed a horrified Flora.

"I can't watch!" said Chatta as she and the other bonded pixies covered their eyes.

"No, he's doing it!" said Carmen. They all saw Helia get back up and began using all of his strength to pull the fighter in.


…Inside Shadowhaunt…

"Okay, now what?" Dark Bloom asked.

The four crystals then flew together and interlocked into a four-sided polygon that pulsed with bluish-white energy. "At last, the Codex is complete!" said Darkar.

The crystalline polygon began rotating in the air and creating a massive force of wind as its glow got brighter. "The dimensional passage is opening!" said Darkar.


…Outside…

To everyone's amazement, Helia jumped back and pulled the fighter all the way inside the hangar. Sky did an emergency shutdown on the fighter as the hangar doors closed and he got out, causing everyone to cheer happily.

Just then Brandon received a message from Armetntai, "she and the Trogs are pulling out. She says that she and her army have given us all the cover and support we need and are going home."

Everyone saw on the scanner displays that the Trog warriors were running away from the battle, while Armentia was retreating more gracefully, but the mad monarch looked like she was rather annoyed with her army.

"Okay then," said Sora, "we'll shoot the GKX-1500 at the castle where it's swarming with monsters."

"That would be the bottom of the main tower," said Timmy, "but even if we do that, the northwest tower is still pretty heavy territory."

"He's right," said Brandon, "there's still a lot of monsters there. We need a plan to take them out or we'll never be able to land safely."

"Maybe we can help," said Musa.

"That's right," said Stella in a confident tone as she stood up, "we've been sitting on the sidelines way too long!"

"Sounds good," said Timmy, "we'll provide covering fire while you're working your magic."

"What about the rest of you?" Tecna asked.

"That's where Riven and Brandon will come in," said Timmy, "they'll blast the main doors on that tower wide open."

At that Tecna smiled with admiration at Timmy's sense of control in this dire situation.

"Then let's not waste any more time!" said Sora, "Sidney!"

"Activating the GKX-1500!" said Sidney.

A display screen showed a digital representation of the rail gun, while the real cannon emerged from a panel on the hull of the ship.

"Identifying target!" said Sidney. The tactical display showed the bottom of the main tower right in the middle of a crosshairs.

"Charging," said Sidney as the rail gun powered up, "70%…80%…90%…GKX-1500 at 100% power!"

"Wait," said Aiden, "are we really going to call it that? I mean, it's not a very cool name."

At that Sora, Riku, Tess, Mirta, Malcolm, Sidney, The King, Donald and Goofy looked at Aiden as if he was nuts or something.

"Why are we having this conversation now?" Tess asked.

"I'm just saying that if we're going to have a super weapon," said Aiden, "it should sound cool."

"I don't believe this," said Malcolm, "the fate of the universe is at stake and you want to name a weapon? Are you insane?"

"Probably," said Aiden.

"You know what?" Riku asked in an exasperated tone, "you want to name the weapon, fine, let's name it. How about 'Hyper Cannon,' or 'Magnum Hammer' or 'Exceed Charge.'"

"Hang on, that's it," said Sora, "Magnum Hammer, I like it."

"It does sound right," said Tess, "right and awesome."

"Then let's make it official," said Aiden, "fire The Magnum Hammer!"

"Firing!" said Sidney.

The rail gun, The Magnum Hammer, shot a ball bearing charged with energy at the tower at 2.4 kilometers per second. The metal ball slammed into the tower and exploded, destroying 50 feet of the tower and shaking up the rest of the fortress.

"Direct hit!" said Sidney.


…Inside Shadowhaunt…

"What was that?" Dark Bloom asked as she and Darkar felt the entire fortress shake violently.

Just then the false Avalon ran into the room, "My lord Darkar!" said the Doppelganger as he franticly knelt, "the enemy has destroyed the top of the main tower! They're heading for it right now!"

"Then do something about it, you fool!" snapped Dakrar, "send everything we have into the main tower! Slaughter them before they gain a foothold in my citadel!"

"Yes, master!" said the fake Avalon as he ran out of the room.


…Outside…

"It's working!" said Elise, "the monsters are crawling all over the main tower!"

"They really thing that's where we're going to storm the castle," said Tess.

"Then let's prove them wrong!" said Sky as he took off in the other fighter.

Riven and Helia then brought the cruiser around to strafe the northwest tower, destroying the main doors to the inside and taking out several shadow monsters. "The door's open!" said Riven.

"Then let's roll out the carpet for us," said Stella, "ready, girls!" At that her fellow Winx and the good witches shouted in acknowledgement.

"Let's show The Trix that nothing they've got can stop us!" said Musa.

With that the five fairies transformed. They then flew out the rear hatch of the ship, with them all activating their Charmix.

Aisha then created and threw four spheres of her Morphix, which merged into an enormous sphere of light that Stella summoned, making the light sphere bigger and brighter. The five fairies then joined hands in a circle and performed a Convergence spell that disabled the power-boosting spell on the shadow monsters, returning them to their normal strength, while most of them were left with barely enough strength to stand up.

Sky then zapped several monsters off of the balcony outside the blasted doors, giving the Winx enough free space to land on there.

"They're down and safe!" said Sky as he blasted more monsters off of the tower.

"Now it's our turn!" said Carmen. With that she, Morgan and Else took flight, flew out of the ship and landed on the balcony alongside The Winx.

"We're up next," said Sora. With that he, Riku, Aiden, Tess, Roxas, Mirta and Malcolm hurried to the transporter room and were soon beamed onto the balcony.


…the rebuilt Red Fountain…

"By now our friends have infiltrated the enemy fortress," said Queen Minnie as she and Faragonda stood in the headmaster's office.

"And everything is ready on our part," said Faragonda.

"If you don't mind, Faragonda," said Saladin, "but Cordatorta would be a great addition to this expedition, and he wouldn't appreciate being left behind."

"I understand," said Faragonda, "we're going to need all the help we can get if this is going to work. I just hope we can catch up with the others before it's too late."


…Shadowhaunt…exterior...

The smaller ship had docked with the cruiser, which had parked next to the balcony, while the fighter landed beside it. The specialists, sans Timmy, were talking with The Winx, good witches and Keyblade Wielders, along with The King, Donald and Goofy.

"So far so good," said Brandon, "now once you're all inside, we'll make sure none of the remaining shadow creatures come after you."

"But you've been fighting all day," said Stella, "even with all those restoring items Sora and the others brought…"

"We can still keep going," said Brandon, while Riven and Helia both took a swig from Hi Potions, "Don't worry about us."

"They're doing their part so we can do our part," said Riku.

"Saving our friends and shutting Darkar down for good," said Carmen.

At that Stella walked up to Brandon and they clasped hands together, "oh, Brandon, just promise me that you'll be careful."

"I will," said Brandon, "you know how much I love you, my golden girl, I'd fight through a million shadow monsters for you."

"I love you, my brave, bold hero," said Stella.

"I'll always be there for you," said Brandon.

At the same time, Helia walked up to Flora, "so, this is it," said Helia.

"Yeah, it is," said Flora, "I'm sorry I didn't have the courage to tell you how I felt earlier." But then Helia pulled Flora into a deep kiss, causing her eyes to widen in surprise, then in pleasure as she blushed heavily.

Tecna was gazing up at the bridge of the cruiser, where Timmy was gazing fondly back at her.

"I guess you're above all that mushy, lovey dovey stuff, huh, Riven?" Musa asked stubbornly, "you don't need anybody, right?"

Riven, who had stubbornly crossed his arms, was keeping quiet. Musa seemed to have had enough of this and turned away, but then Riven grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug, "do me a favor," he said, "I just want to hear say that you'll come back; you'll come back to me."

Musa, who looked like she was about to start crying, nodded.

"Good luck, little brother," said Mirta.

"Good luck, big sister," said Malcolm as they shook hands, then hugged.

"We've been through a lot together," said Sora to Aiden, Riku and Tess, "and we're going to go through a lot more. Whatever happens, I just want to say, thanks, guys, for everything."

"Likewise," said Riku, while Tess and Aiden nodded in agreement.

It was a tender moment as loved ones, friends and family enjoyed one last moment of togetherness before the final battle. The only one not enjoying this spark of happiness was Sky, who was angrily clenching his fists.

Aisha walked up to him, "Don't worry about Bloom, Sky," she said, "we will bring her back, I promise."

"Can we get a move on?" Carmen asked, "in case you all have forgotten, we do have a deadline, you know, the whole saving the universe from eternal darkness and all."

"I agree," said Aiden as he pressed his wrists, "alright, let's do this!"

"Why do you do that?" Morgan asked.

"It gives me confidence," said Aiden. With that The Winx, bonded Pixies, good witches and Keyblade Wielders rushed into the tower, with The Specialists, Donald, Goofy and King Mickey keeping guard outside, facing down any shadow monster that tried to get inside.


...Inside Shadowhaunt...

By now the crystalline polygon was generating a massive red vortex of magic.

"Excellent," said Darkar, "the passage is open! Once we're through, it will be utterly impossible for anyone to follow us!" he looked at Dark Bloom, "even if all of those meddling brats get this far inside my domain, they'll never defeat my guardian."

He was referring to Kerbog, which had mutated into a 12ft tall humanoid berserker covered in armor and carrying a large axe.

"Shall we?" Darkar asked.

"Let's get this show on the road," said Dark Bloom. With that they walked through the vortex, which vanished after them.


"Are you sure this is the right way, Lockette?" Stella asked as the fairies, pixies, good witches and Keyblade Wielders found themselves disoriented by the dark atmosphere of the castle corridors.

Lockette, who was having flashbacks of her earlier imprisonment, was squealing in terror.

"Get a grip, Lockette!" said Chatta, "pull yourself together! We need you, or Bloom's done for!"

This caused Lockette to regain her courage somewhat, "yes," she said in a shaky voice, "we go straight ahead," she pointed down the corridor.

They cautiously proceeded down the passageway, ever alert for the slightest hint of enemy movement.

"It's quiet," said Riku in a hushed tone, "too quiet for my taste."

"Enjoy the silence while you can," said Morgan, "I'm just glad that we don't have to fight anything right now."

"I'm just glad that our Charmix are working," said Aisha, "without them we wouldn't have any magic right now."

"Save your energies for The Trix and Darkar," said Carmen, "they're the real enemy."

"Hey, wait," said Stella as she paused, "did any of you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Sora asked.

They all then heard a low, menacing growl that seemed to come from the walls themselves.

"That," said Stella nervously.

From out of nowhere came a large axe that slammed into the wall and nearly too Stella's head off.

The wall on the other side of the corridor cracked and collapsed, revealing Kerbog in all of his horrific glory. Now gray-skinned and covered in spiked armor, it wore a dark brown hood over its head and had glowing red eyes.

The Pixies all screamed in terror and hid behind their bonded fairies, with Lockette joining Amore behind Stella.

"That is one ugly mother fraker!" said Malcolm as he, Sora, Riku, Tess, Aiden and Roxas all summoned their Keyblades.

"Careful!" shouted Tecna as she scanned Kerbog, while the mutated creature pulled its axe out of the wall, "I can't get a good reading on its power!"

Kerbog growled in fury and raised its axe.

"Let's take this thing down!" said Stella as she and Aisha rushed at the berserker. Stella shot a sphere of light at the creature, who deflected it back at them and knocking them both off balance and blinding them Aisha, forcing her to the floor.

Flora then cast a spell that summoned vines out of the floor to ensnare Kerbog, but the mutated berserker sliced the vines up with his axe. Musa then sent a sonic pulse through the floor, creating a mini earthquake, but the creature endured it as if it were nothing.

Kerbog then slammed his axe into the floor and created a shockwave that blasted the five fairies against the wall.

"You guys alright?" Sora asked.

"Just peachy," said Stella.

"I hope you don't mind if we cut in, do you?" Elise asked. She then sent a massive bolt of yellow lightning at Kerbog, who deflected it with its axe back at her. Elise avoided being fried by her own spell by an inch.

"That kind of attack won't work!" said Carmen. She then tried to crush Kerbog with a gravity spell, but the creature endured the massive force bearing down on it.

"It looks like we're going to have to go toe-to-toe with this thing!" said Sora.

"Up close and personal," said Tess, "just the way I like it!" she then went invisible, while Sora, Riku and Aiden attacked it headlong. Kerbog forced them back with one swing of the axe, then swing the axe behind. Tess, who had been trying to sneak behind Kerbog, was nearly cut in half and was forced to jump away.

"How about this?" Mirta asked. She then created the illusion of another Kerbog right in front of the first one. Instead of confusing the berserker, Kerbog swung its axe through the illusion, vanishing it, then stomped towards Mirta.

Malcolm got in front of it and tried to attack, casting a Blackout spell, but the creature shrugged the blinding spell off and swung the axe at Malcolm, forcing both him and Mirta back. Kerbog then stomped towards The Winx.

The bonded pixies were hovering with their fairies, not willing to leave their sides. But then Chatta landed on the floor and boldly stood up to the approaching berserker.

"Chatta! No!" shouted Flora.

"Keep back, you big, ugly bully!" shouted Chatta, "Not one more step, or else!" Kerbog brought his axe down, narrowly missing Chatta as she zoomed over to Flora. This was the distraction The Winx needed to get back up and run away, while the good witches and Keyblade Wielders ran with them.

"We'll find another way to beat that thing,' said Musa as Kerbog chased after them, "somehow!"

"But our magic isn't working against it!" said Stella, "none of our attacks are working!"

"It has the same power as that monster that attacked Red Fountain a while back," said Tecna as she finished scanning the creature.

"But this one is way stronger," said Aisha, who's eyes were much better now,

The berserker had by now forced the Winx into a corner and was about to swing its axe at them, when there was a sudden teleportation flash and there was Faragonda, Griffin and Corditorta, as well as the four Guardian Pixies, with Griffin casting a capture spell on Kerbog that knocked it to the ground and encasing it in a force field.

"Headmistress!" shouted Carmen, Morgan, Elise and Mirta.

"Faragonda!" said the Winx.

"Thank goodness for the teachers," said Musa.

"I'd never thought I'd hear you say that," remarked Stella.

"Well, we made it in time to help you all," said Faragonda, "but you must get to Bloom before she and Darkar can get to Realix. The Guardian Pixies shall accompany you.

Just then Kerbog got up and was slamming its fists against the force field.

"Oh, that big ugly brute?" Corditorta asked, "don't worry about it, we'll handle it."

But then Kerbog burst out of the force field, knocking the teachers to the ground. It picked up its axe and stomped towards them, ready for the kill.


…Somewhere Else…

"Well, this sucks," said Stormy as she, Icy and Darcy floated in an orange limbo, "this sucks more than anything else that has ever sucked before."

"How could Darkar do that to us?" Darcy asked, "after all that we did for him, he just tosses us into this hell hole like garbage! Well, we'll show him! As soon as we get our strength back, we'll bust out of this void and kill Darkar! Him and that she-demon in Bloom, and we'll kill Bloom for good measure, and take The Dragonfire if we can."

"There's still the fact that we're stuck here with no way out!" said Stormy, "this is it, we're going to spend the rest of our lives surrounded by nothing!"

"No, we're not," said Icy with grim determination, "this isn't the end for us, sisters. We will escape from this void and return to the living realms. We will make Darkar pay for this, and we will, once we have become one."

At that Darcy and Stormy looked as if someone had walked over their graves, "you don't mean that spell, do you?" Darcy asked cautiously.

"Yes, that spell," said Icy.

"We can't use that spell!" exclaimed Stormy, "the last time we tried it, it nearly killed us!"

"We were only freshmen at the time," said Icy, "not as experienced in the dark arts, and with far less stamina. Trust me on this, sisters, once we've gotten our strength back, we'll be able to use the spell successfully, and we'll use it to get our revenge on all those who crossed us!"

The end of chapter 8.

Next chapter finds our heroes battling their way through the dark fortress. Will they be able to stop Darkar and Dark Bloom in time? Or will all their efforts be in vain? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!