Last time found Riku and the others stuck in The Time Room, helplessly watching Katrina's assault on Radiant Garden begin. Our heroes despair came to a head as Tess's wish to help the forces of good take an ironic twist for the worse. Alegra, Sabrina and Salem showed up in The Time Room, admitting that Alegra's illness had reached a critical stage. Sabrina had fully stepped into Alegra's shoes as a meddling time-traveler, though Alegra wasn't completely out of the fight just yet. 'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 8: Clash for the Keyhole

...The Time Room...

"You Keyblade Wielders are staying and that's final."

"Even if that ends up sacrificing gods knows how many lives?" accused Aiden.

"We took into account every possible outcome," said Alegra.

"I know it sucks, guys," said Sabrina, "but this is the best way."

Just then the screen focusing on the clash of Keyblades showed something horrifying as Darklight struck King Mickey a mortal blow, while on the main screen, the Titan Heartless reached the castle.

Tess picked up the remote, paused the screens and glared at Sabrina, "Did you take this into account?!" she said in an accusing tone.

"Uh…" said a mortified Sabrina, struggling to come up with an excuse, "technically it's still my first day?" thus earning groans of annoyance from everyone.

"Enough of this bullshit!" said Aiden, "we're going to Radiant Garden right now!"

"You can't go yet," said Alegra.

"Are you blind as well as senile?!" exclaimed Malcolm, "they just killed The King, the bastards!"

"Ehh…the mouse ain't dead yet," said Salem as he summoned another fish on a plate, while using his magic to resume the video, "just keep watching, trust me."

"You're right, he's not dead!" said Riku as he saw King Mickey struggle to a leaning position while Aqua stood between him and Darklight.

"Yeah, but that girl's facing Darklight all alone!" said Malcolm.

"That's not just any girl," said Aiden, "That's Aqua, a Keyblade Master from the past, sort of, long story."

"If she can't beat Darklight, no one can," said Riku.

The screen showed Aqua casting a spell, then vanishing. Darklight was struck several time by something so fast she could barely see it, nearly knocking her down.

"Hold on, slow motion replay," said The Cosmic Owl as he picked up the remote and pressed the desired buttons. A smaller screen showed Aqua running at and attacking Darklight, with the corrupted Keyblade Wielder moving too slow to react.

"Ah, the old 'bullet time' move," said Marceline, "nice."

In normal time, Darklight recovered and accelerated to keep up with Aqua.

"Oh great, now they're both in bullet time," said Malcolm.

"Don't be so negative, kido," said Salem, "that water girl, she's got this."

"Yeah, we've got other things to worry about," said Tess as she took the remote and focused on another screen, pulling it up on the main screen. Several Titan Heartless had trod their way through the town and were nearly at the castle. The defending Meta Humans, AT units, faeries and Survey Corps were so preoccupied by the seemingly endless hordes of heartless and demons, they could barely slow the hulking abominations down.


…Radiant Garden…

But then Eren bit his hand. With a flash of lightning and a blast of steam, The Rogue Titan let lose a defiant roar and charged at the unholy hybrids. It socked one of the creatures in the jaw, knocking the creature down. The Rogue Titan then began stomping on the creature's head and tearing it away at the neck, then grabbed one of the dissolving pieces of the destroyed Titan Heartless, throwing it at another creature.

"Get 'em, Eren!" shouted Armin from the castle tower, leaning over the railing as he and Kairi watched The Rogue Titan attack another Titan Heartless, while the other defenders rallied against the other hulking abominations. So excited by the turn of events that he leaned too far over the railing and fell over.

Fortunately for Armin, Kairi was there to catch and pull him back over.

"I don't think your friends would appreciate it if you did that," said Kairi.

"You…you're right," said a panting Armin, "thanks."

Just then Leafa landed next to Kairi, "I think we've got this won, Kairi," said the blonde Sylph.

"Don't bet it on it," said Kairi grimly, "this isn't the best the enemy can come up with."

"Why are you jinxing it?" asked Leafa, "we're turning this around! Besides, oniisan has a secret weapon just in case. But I don't think we'll need it," she pointed at The Rogue Titan, "not with that guy ripping into those Titan things. You wouldn't happen to know if he's single?"

"Eren? Single?" asked Armin, "well…he's not dating anyone, but…"

Just then they heard another Titan roar, but not from The Rogue Titan. Charging like a freight train, The Female Titan ran up to and delivered a crystalized punch to The Rogue Titan's face, knocking it down.

"Oh shit!" exclaimed a horrified Armin.

"The Female Titan," said a terrified Leafa, "she's here."

"How do you know about Annie?" asked Armin.

"Never mind that!" said Kairi as The Rogue Titan tried to get up, only to have The Female Titan tackle him back to the ground. The two began a furious grapple, all the while another group of Titan Heartless arrived, "where'd she come from?!"


…The Time Room…

"Where did she come from?!" asked Tess, "where'd that traitorous bitch come from?!"

"Hang on, I'll rewind," said The Cosmic Owl as he took the remote back and pulled up a scene a few minutes ago.

Perched on a building on the edge of the town were Annie, Bertold and Reiner, watching the battle and well out of the path of the Titan Heartless.

"Gotta admit, that psycho scientist knew what he's doing," said Bertold.

"And unlike what those Raztonian and Parzon bastards did, this time it barely hurt," said Annie as she felt where Insano drew her blood. "We may not even be needed."

"Guess again," said Reiner as lightning struck and The Rogue Titan went forth into battle.

"Damn you, Eren Yeager," said Bertold, "you're always getting in the way!"

"Then let's finish it," said Annie, "now, before he causes us any more trouble." With that Annie and Reiner used their own 3DMG to get close to the castle. They both bit their hands and transformed into The Female Titan and Armored Titan.

"Oh, that's where she came from," said Tess as the screen went back to real time and saw The Female and Rogue Titan grappling.

"But where's Reiner?" asked Aiden, "and Bertold for that matter."

"There's The Armored Titan!" said Malcolm as the screen showed said creature fighting the Meta Humans, AT units, faeries and Survey Corps, whom were all still fighting against the seemingly endless throngs of demons and Heartless. What defenders that could face The Armored Titan couldn't seriously harm it; their weapons barely scratching its plate-like skin, nor could they keep up with its speed once it started running.


…Radiant Garden…

"Reiner, you jerk!" shouted Armin as he climbed onto the railing, "and you Annie! I wish we were never friends!" he then lost balance and nearly fell over, only for Kairi and Leafa to catch him.

"Stop doing that!" shouted Kairi, "your friends are really gonna hate me if I let you die stupidly like that!"

"Sorry," said Armin, "I kinda lost my head."

"The only thing that's gonna lose its head is that big jerk!" shouted Leafa as she drew her sword.

"I don't think your sword will work against that thing," said Kairi, "and magic isn't working either!"

True enough, the spells cast by the faeries just bounced off the plate-like hide of The Armored Titan.

"Then it's time for oniisan's secret weapon," said Leafa as she took flight and zoomed towards the battlefield.

"Our secret weapon too," said Armin as he pulled out a flare gun and fired off three blue flares.

"Now!" shouted Mikasa as she and several rallied Survey Corps members attacked devices to their wrists that resembled spear guns.

"Thunder Spears," said Armin, "we knew we'd end up facing The Armored Titan again. Our Bamboo Steel blades can't pierce it, but these can!"

Mikasa and the others maneuvered up to The Armored Titan. Getting as close as possible, Mikasa took aim and fired a spear into The Armored Titan's left leg, penetrating its plate-like skin.

The Armored Titan let out a pained bellow, just as two more spears pierced its hide, one in the other leg, the other in the midsection.

"For Wall Maria, you bastard!" shouted Jean as he got behind and fired both spears at The Armored Titan's neck. The creature ducked just enough to miss the vital spot, but the spears pierced its skull and went out through its face. It let out an even louder roar of agony.

This got the attention of The Female Titan, whom had the upper hand over The Rogue Titan and had dealt several serious wounds across its body. Reacting to her comrade's bellow of pain, The Female Titan got up, only to be kicked in the solar plexus by The Rogue Titan and knocked down.

Its wounds regenerating, The Rogue Titan got back up, just as The Female Titan got back up. She charged at The Rogue Titan again, her fists crystalized to deliver more damage. But The Rogue Titan caught her fists in his own fists, hardened like stone. The Rogue Titan then crushed one of The Female Titan's fists, then let go of the other to deliver a devastating punch to the face that nearly crushed The Female Titan's head and knocked her down.

"DO IT, EREN!" shouted Armin as The Rogue Titan began pummeling The Female Titan, "DO IT! KILL HER!"

"At this rate he'll crush her head!" said Kairi.

"DO IT! KILL HER!" Armin shouted again.

But then came another lightning strike, followed by a massive blast of steam in the middle of the defender's line. The air was filled by the screams of those burned by the boiling-hot vapor, followed by cries of horror as the steam cleared, revealing the 60-meter goliath of The Colossal Titan.

"Oh, it's Bertold," said a heavily subdued Armin as The Colossal Titan swatted away those attacking The Armored Titan, then grabbed The Rogue Titan and tossed him away like throwing a toy doll.

"Uh…he's coming this way," said Kairi as The Colossal Titan strode towards the castle, stopping just outside the castle walls and raising one foot.

"RUN!" shouted Armin as The Colossal Titan brought its foot down.

"NO! JUMP!" shouted Kairi as she grabbed Armin and leapt over the railing, barely avoiding the crushing stomp, yet the air displacement of the blow blasted her and Armin out of control into the air.

But then Kairi was momentarily blinded by an intense flash of light. After a few seconds, as Kairi's vision returned, she realized she was on the ground several hundred yards from the castle, one side of which had completely collapsed, revealing the room with The Keyhole.

"Kairi!" shouted Asuna as she and Kirito landed next to and helped her up, an elaborately crafted golden sword in one hand and his Elucidor sword on the other, "are you…"

"I'm fine," said Kairi as she stood up, despite the numerous minor cuts, scrapes, bruises and steam burns covering her body, "I gotta go!" she then ran back to the castle.

"Where are you going?" asked Kirito.

"The Keyhole!" shouted Kairi.

"I'm fine, too," said a dazed Armin.


…The Time Room…

"How'd she survive that fall?" asked Riku as he and the others watched Kairi navigate the wreckage of the castle.

"Her crown, it glowed and she teleported," said Malcolm, "it has magical properties."

"As long as it doesn't drive her bananas, I'm cool with it," said Marceline.

"Who cares about some stupid crown?!" snapped Tess. She glared at Sabrina and Alegra, "now can we go help?!"

"Not yet," said Sabrina, "one of my aces is about to be played."

"You and your aces," said Tess coldly, "Alegra's had too much an influence on you."

"She's right," said Alegra, "you really should be doing your own thing."

'Well, I'll call them aces for now," said Sabrina, "until I figure out which game references to use."

"Oh gods!" exclaimed Aiden as he pointed at the screen, which showed Darklight breaking off her fight with Aqua and dashing towards the castle. Aqua tried to follow, only to find herself facing Young Xehanort, wielding a corrupted Keyblade of his own. Aqua had no choice but to fight her possessed former friend.

"Now?!" demanded Tess as one of the screens tracked Darklight's rapid progress to the castle.

"Not yet," said Sabrina, "it's alright, Kairi will be alright."

"She'd better," said Tess, "or the first chance I get, I'll take the top of your skull and make a breakfast bowl out of it!"

"Believe me, you don't want to be alive while they're ripping out your bones," said Alegra.

"I'll try to be dead when that happens," said a disturbed Sabrina.


…Radiant Garden…

Kairi climbed the rubble to the Keyhole room, drawing on reserves of strength she never knew she had and was barely winded when she reached the room. Yet the exhaustion of everything that happened before slammed into her as she saw Darklight standing before The Keyhole.

"Now that's a big Keyhole," said an impressed Darklight, "It'll take me a while to crack it open."

Drawing on her reserves again, Kairi summoned her Keyblade, "not if I stop you first!"

"Oh, it's you," said Darklight as she turned around and summoned her black Keyblade, "I figured I'd have to fight you before finishing off this world."

"Bethany, please!" said Kairi, "stop this! You don't have to be evil! You don't have to…"

"Oh please!" snapped Darklight, "don't appeal to my better nature, I don't have any! I'm dark through and through! Now, are we gonna do this or not?"

"Yes," said Kairi as she held her Keyblade in one hand as she pressed her wrist, then did the same with the other wrist, "let's do this!"


…The Time Room…

"You go, Kairi!" shouted Aiden as he and the others watched Kairi and Darklight duel in front of The Keyhole, "kill her! Wipe the floor with that floozy!"

"Uh…I hate to spoil the mood," said Marceline as she saw Darklight holding the advantage over Kairi, "but your friend isn't doing so well."

"Kairi's fine!" insisted Malcolm, "her crown obviously has powers she can use, so it's only a matter of time before she uses it!"

"There she goes!" said Riku as he and the others saw the diadem glow brightly, restoring Kairi's strength and weakening Darklight's resolve, forcing the corrupted Princess of Heart away from The Keyhole.

"She's doing it!" said Riku, "She's gonna beat Darklight!"

"Oh, you just had to jinx it, kido," said Salem.


…Radiant Garden…

Just as Kairi was about to force Darklight over the edge of the ruined room, Katrina zapped in, an irate look on the dark witch's face. "Do I have to do everything myself!?" she shouted as she aimed her finger and shot a spell at Kairi. The spell connected, causing Kairi to cry out in agony as dark magic racked across her body.

"I was doing fine without you, damn it!" snapped Darklight as she rushed at and delivered several damaging attacks on Kairi, knocking her down and her Keyblade out of her hands. Kairi tried to get back up only for Darklight to back hand her across the room. Kairi landed hard in front of The Keyhole, barely conscious. She struggled to pull herself together, only for her eyes to widen in shock and anger as Darklight picked her Keyblade up. Kairi tried to summon her Keyblade back to her hand, only for Darklight to maintain her grip on it.

"You…you're not supposed to do that," said Kairi as she struggled to her feet yet could barely sit up.

"I can do a lot of impossible things," said Darklight coldly, "now, let's finish this."

"Yes, let's finish it," said Katrina. She then zapped Kairi with an immobilizing spell. Kairi found herself utterly helpless as Katrina levitated her upright and turned her to face the Keyhole.

"Congratulations, Kairi," said Katrina with a wicked smile, "you get a front row seat to the destruction of your world. Don't bother shouting for help, nobody's coming!"


…The Time Room…

"We're coming, you evil sack of pig vomit!" shouted Riku. He glared at Sabrina and Alegra, "let us go! NOW!"

"Not yet," said Sabrina, "just wait, everything's going to be alright."

"Does that look alright, you idiot?!" snapped Tess as she pointed at the screen as Darklight approached Kairi.


…Radiant Garden…

"Do it, Lady Darklight!" said Katrina, "Smash The Keyhole!"

"No, not yet," said Darklight, "I have one thing to do first." She readied both her Keyblade and Kairi's, "she's been a thorn in my side long enough."

"What? No, no!" said an outraged Katrina, "don't kill her just like that! I want Kairi to watch you smash open The Keyhole!"

"And have some crazy miracle appear at the last second? I don't think so!" said Darklight, "yell at me all you want, there's nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me!" she raised up both Keyblades to strike Kairi.


…The Time Room…

"NOOOOOOO!" shouted Riku, Aiden, Tess, Malcolm, Finn, Jake and Marceline.

"Now," said Sabrina with a confident smile.


…Radiant Garden…

"Get away from my friend, you bitch!" shouted Elyon as she appeared and blasted Darklight with a double attack spell from both hands, launching the corrupted Princess of Heart out of the ruined room.

"What…what the hell!?" demanded Katrina as she recognized Elyon, "YOU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"The same thing I'm doing," said Elsa as she appeared behind Katrina, "stopping you!" she then grabbed Katrina by the wrist and began freezing it. Letting out a pained screech of fury, Katrina blasted Elsa with her free hand. Elsa blocked the spell with a summoned shield of ice but had to release Katrina.

"So, two magical queens are here to help a third?" asked Katrina as she healed her frozen hand.

"That's right," said Elyon as she helped Kairi up, "we're here to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and I forgot the bubblegum," she smiled at Kairi, "congrats on your coronation by the way, remind me and we'll have a party later."

"Only if I pick the music list," said Kairi.

"We'll compare iPods and figure it out," said Elyon.

"What's an iPod?" asked Elsa.

"I'll tell you later," said Kairi, "right now we've one very evil witch to deal with."

"Oh please!" snapped Katrina, "do you honestly think you've a chance against me? I've centuries of dark magic experience to call on, whereas you three are barely into your first lifetime! You don't stand a ghost of a chance! And your friends won't last much longer either! NECROMANCER!"

Just then The Lich teleported into the room, "yes?" asked the vile spirit possessing Sora.

"Oh, jeez, Sora," said a shocked and disgusted Elyon, "you look terrible."

"That's not Sora!" said Kairi, "it's…"

"We know, he's possessed," said Elsa, "and we can't stop him," she then smiled eagerly, "but there's someone who can!"

It was then that a girl in her late teens with long blond hair and blue eyes teleported into the area and blasted The Lich with pure white-blue magic. The vile necromancer summoned a shield of dark magic that blocked the blast but was forced back, "what…what is this sorcery!?" exclaimed the creature possessing Sora.

"The revived magic of a world, you meanie!" shouted the girl as she fired another beam of white-blue magic, "get out of Sora now!"

"Never!" shouted The Lich as it summoned its corrupted Keyblade to block the white-blue beams but was forced back to the edge of the ruined room and fell over, teleporting away before it hit the ground.

"I'm going after that thing," said the girl, "wish me luck."

"Good luck, Lillian," said Elyon as the girl teleported out.

"Lillian?" asked Kairi, "wait…is that…no, it can't be, can it?"

"Yep, that was Lillian Hale, Cornelia's little sister," said Elyon, "long story."

"And we'll tell it in full," said Elsa, "but first we've got to beat Columbina, or should I say Katrina?"

"Doesn't matter what you call me," said Katrina, "I'll still win! Darklight will be back here any second," she glanced out onto the battlefield, "while the rest of your defenders are on the verge of defeat! ZOTARIUS! Summon your strongest demons! INSANO! More Titan Heartless!"

But then Katrina's cell phone rang, "What is it?!" she shouted after answering the call.

"Uh…I really don't want to say this," said Insano reluctantly on the other end of the call, "but…I'm kinda out of Titan Heartless."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE OUT OF TITAN HEARTLESS!?" shouted Katrina.

"That's it, I'm out," Insano responded, "they're all used up until I can make more!"

"YOU'RE USELESS!" snapped Katrina as she threw away her phone, "it doesn't matter, I still have three Titan's at my command and plenty of demons!"

"Think again, bitch," said Elyon, "my friends are doing what they do best; kicking evil ass!"

Katrina looked out onto the battlefield and saw, to her shock and disgust, The Guardians flying around and attacking The Female and Armored Titan, distracting them enough to allow The Rogue Titan to attack and deliver more damage to both. At the same time, Mikasa and the remaining Survey Corps members shot both enemy Titans with more Thunder Spears. Up in the air, Asuna, Kirito and the other faeries fought with blade, arrow and magic, with Kirito using his golden sword, the strongest sword in ALO, Excalibur, destroying twice as many Titan Heartless as anyone else.

On the ground, the defending Meta Humans, AT units and faeries had rallied with the arrival of Matt, Eric, Nigel and Caleb, the later three wearing their Shardplate and the former in his winged form. The onslaught of demons and regular Heartless had been turned against the fell creatures.

"Annie, fall," said Mikasa as she swooped behind and sliced the tendons of The Female Titan's legs, dropping the creature forward to the ground with a tremendous crash, just as the other Survey Corps members disabled The Armored Titan's legs, sending him down with a louder crash.

"Doesn't look so good for you, Katrina," said Kairi as she watched the Survey Corps members use reinforced ropes and wires to restrain the fallen Titans.

"Right back atcha!" said Katrina as The Colossal Titan stomped towards his fallen comrades, forcing the human fighters to scatter. The Rigue Titan tried to charge at The Colossal Titan, but the skinless gargantuan backhanded The Rogue Titan hard enough to send him flying.

"EREN!" shouted Mikasa as she tried to run to her friend, only to trip and fall on the ground. She tried to get up, only to freeze in horror as The Colossal Titan raised his foot to crush her.

But then the bald man, now wearing a yellow spandex suit with a belt, red boots and gloves and a white cape, appeared in front Mikasa. He raised one gloved hand and shoved at The Colossal Titan's foot, forcing the creature off balance and knocking it down with a near earsplitting crash.

"You okay?" asked the bald man as he helped Mikasa up.

"Yes…I'm…fine," said a dumbfounded Mikasa, "how…how'd you do that?"

"Do what?" asked the bald man, "oh, you mean push that big guy back like that? I'm just strong, really, really strong." As if sensing something, the bald man looked towards the castle, "'scuse me for a second," with that he dashed towards the castle and ran up to the ruined Keyhole room in the blink of an eye.

"Sorry it took me so long to actually help, your majesty," said the bald man to Kairi, "I was kinda busy."

"I think I saw you on the battlefield," said Kairi, "you kept dashing in and out, carrying the wounded to safety. You're so fast, and you're strong enough to push over a 60-meter abomination. How? And who are you?"

"I told you, I'm a hero for fun," said the bald man, "But you can call me Saitama."

At that the Lord of Illusions, whom was standing next to The Keyhole in order to enact something foul, screamed in utter terror.

"How long was he there?" asked Kairi.

"Long enough to try something bad," said Elyon, "but not on my watch!" with that she ran over to The Keyhole, shoving The Lord of Illusions aside and cast her magic to undo whatever evil the vile trickster was trying.

"What the hell, Leslie?!" demanded Katrina.

"We…we're all going to die," said the horrified Lord of Illusions.

"Get a hold of yourself!" snapped Katrina, "now, what are you talking about?"

"There's a world," said The Lord of Illusions, "a world where heroes, villains and monsters are a part of everyday life. Most of the heroes and villains are just people in costumes, some trained to fight or enact evil, while a few have genuine powers and abilities.

"But there's one among them, a man whose strength is unmatched, a man who has stood in the face of unparalleled odds and overcame them as easily as swatting a fly! A man whose power is so beyond others even he doesn't know his limits! He is Saitama; The One Punch Man! We're all going to die!"

"At least you didn't call me 'Captain Baldy,'" said Saitama, "and I really that famous? Oh well, I never really wanted to be famous. At the end of the day, just saving the world is reward enough, that and finding really great shopping bargains."

"ZA WARUDO!"

Reality shifted colors like a photo negative.

"Time has been stopped," said Dio Brando as he walked among the immobilized in the ruined room, "and not a moment too soon I might say," he paused in front of Saitama, "though this might be a waste of my time."

At that Saitama turned at looked at Dio Brando, "oh, you talking to me? I'm sorry, I was lost in thought."

This caused Dio Brando to back away in shock, "no, impossible! How can you move when I stopped time?"

"Is that supposed to be a riddle?" asked Saitama, "oh, you're being serious. I guess I'm just that fast, I guess."

"No one's that fast! Not without a Stand!" shouted Dio Brando, "and my Stand is the most powerful of them all!" with that his Stand, The World, appeared and delivered a bone-crushing punch to Saitama's face.

Yet Saitama shrugged the blow off as if it were nothing. The World then unleashed a furious barrage of punches and kicks that only made Saitama blink.

"You're not that strong!" shouted a furious Dio Brando, "no one's that strong! No One!" with that he rushed at and tackled Saitama out of the room, resuming time as the two fell to the ground.

"What…what happened?" asked Elsa.

"Dio Brando! He hit us with his time whammy!" shouted Kairi, "but where is he? And…where's Saitama?"

"There!" shouted Elyon as she pointed down at the castle rubble, where Saitama and Dio Brando were engaged in a violent grapple. Rather, Dio Brando was doing all the attacking as he delivered so many punches and kicks at such speed, the normal eye only saw blurred limbs. Yet Saitama calmly blacked or dodged the blows.

"It's useless to fight me!" shouted Dio Brando, "Useless! USELESS!" he then unleashed his most devastating barrage of punches yet.

"Consecutive Normal Punches," said Saitama calmly as he blocked each of Dio Brando's punches with one of his own, with the final punch right between the foul man's eyes, completely obliterating the head before Dio Brando knew what happened. The stolen chimera body fell to the ground, dead as a doornail.

"Damn It!" exclaimed Saitama, "that was way too easy!"


…The Time Room…

"That guy just blew Dio Brando away like dandelion fluff!" said a shocked Aiden, "who is he?"

"You heard what he said," said Sabrina, "a hero for fun."

"But how'd he get that strong?" asked Marceline, "I've seen heroes and villains in all shapes and sizes and nobody's even half that strong."

"Don't let Ramna know about Saitama," said Riku, "we'll never hear the end of his envy."

"We may not have to," said Malcolm in a subdued tone as the screen showed The Colossal Titan, recovered from his earlier fall, grabbed a distracted Saitama.


…Radiant Garden…

"Oh, boy," said Saitama as The Colossal Titan lifted him up, "I've never been eaten alive before, wonder if it'll hurt?"

But then a blond cyborg with a near fully metal body appeared on The Colossal Titan's arm. "Incinerate!" shouted the cyborg as he shot a double blast of white-hot fire from his hands at the creature's wrist, burning through it completely and sending Saitama and The Colossal Titan's dissolving hand falling to the ground.

"Oh, Genos," said Saitama as he broke free of the dissolving hand, ignoring the bellow of agony from The Colossal Titan, "you made it."

"Master Saitama!" said Genos as he jumped off the enraged Colossal Titan. Together he and Saitama landed safely on the ground, "you vanished without a word. I had to pull a lot of strings with The Hero Association to use an experimental portal generator to get here."

"Well, you're here now and we've got a lot of work to do," said Saitama. He then noticed an enormous shadow blocking the sun. He looked up and saw The Colossal Titan bearing down on the both of them.

"Excuse me, Master Saitama," said Genos, "this won't take a moment." With a snap of his metal fingers, Genos's cybernetic arms and chest expanded and morphed into one massive flame cannon.

"New upgrade, huh?" asked Saitama as a targeting scope formed on Genos, locking onto the torso of The Colossal Titan.

"BURNING BIG BANG!" shouted Genos as he fired a massive white-hot blast at The Colossal Titan. The creature responded with a blast of boiling-hot steam but the sun-like heat of Genos's attack evaporated the steam. The Colossal Titan was helpless as the blast covered his exposed flesh and inflicted devastating burns. With a tremendous crash, The Colossal Titan fell on his back.

The remaining Max Kildare alternates still able to fight ran to the fallen Colossal Titan and flipped him on his back, while two of the remaining Jill Sparrow alternates cut open the creature's neck. The gargantuan abomination dissolved as Bertold was pulled out kicking and screaming against his captors, only to be knocked unconscious with a psychic blast from an alternate Katina Jones.

"That's one Titan down," said Jean as he and Sasha tied the unconscious Bertold up.

"And here's the other two!" said Connie as he and a few Meta Humans lead the bound and gagged Annie and Reiner over.

"Eren!" shouted Mikasa as she saw Eren walk over.

"It's over, Mikasa," said Eren, "we got them all.


…The Time Room…

"They got them," said a relieved Aiden, "they finally got them."

"Yeah, but it's not over yet," said Riku, "Aqua's still fighting Xehanort."

"I don't know who's winning," said Tess as she and the others watched the fight between the two Keybalde Masters, one light, one dark.

"Uh, aren't we forgetting someone?" asked Malcolm, "a certain corrupted Princess of Heart?"


…Radiant Garden…

With a shriek of fury, Darklight flew into the ruined room and glared at Kairi, Elyon and Elsa, "you three! You're all dead!" she aimed her black Keyblade and Kairi's Keyblade at Elyon, "starting with you, blondie!"

"I don't think so," said Elyon with a confident smile.

"Oh, and why not?" asked Darklight.

"Because there's someone who wants to talk to you," said Elyon. She then spoke into a blue crystal, "Now, Blunk."

A Fold appeared and from which emerged Blunk the Passling, leading a girl of about eleven years with shoulder-length blonde hair and brown eyes.

The sight of the girl caused Darklight to gasp in shock.

"You know this waif?!" demanded Katrina.

"She should know," said Elsa, "and so should you," she then glared at The Lord of Illusions, "especially you; one of your clones murdered her."

"I did kill her!" exclaimed The Lord of Illusions, "I mean, one of my doppelgangers did! She should be as dead as Jacob Marley!"

"Kate?" whispered Darklight, "is…is that you?"

"It's me, Bethany," said the girl, Kate Greenhill, "you look terrible."

"Don't listen to this imp!" shouted Katrina, "it's a trick! A tasteless ploy designed to confuse you!"

"It's no trick," said the blonde teenager as she appeared in the room, "it's Kate Greenhill alright, I should know, I brought her back to life," she looked at Kairi, "oh, that thing wearing Sora, it got away, sorry."

"Uh…okay, I guess," said Kairi, "who are you again?"

"You really don't recognize me, Kairi," said the girl, "I was kinda short last time we saw each other. It's me, Lillian Hale."


…The Time Room…

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" shouted Aiden as he grabbed the remote and paused the video, "hang on one fucking second!" He looked at Alegra and Sabrina, "you…you brought that girl back to life, didn't you! DIDN'T YOU!"

"Me? Bring a dead girl back to life?" asked Alegra, "I'm senile, not psychotic…wait…did I bring Kate Greenhill back to life?"

"It wasn't you," said Sabrina, "and it wasn't me."

"Well I certainly didn't," said Salem, "I wouldn't break such a taboo. No, I'd rather take over the world, but never resurrect the dead."

"Then who?" asked Aiden, "who would dare violate one of the most sacred unwritten laws in existence?"

"You're looking at her," said Prismo as he zoomed the image on the teenaged Lillian Hale.

"She did it?" asked Tess, "and how'd she grow up so fast? Last time we saw her she was like eight years old, now she's…what…eighteen?"

"Now that's the thing," said Alegra, "you see, after you all left Metamore for Rapture, a Doppelganger of The Lord of Illusions murdered Kate Greenhill, causing Bethany's heart to crack open and allowed darkness to pour in."

"Alegra used her to create Darklight, we know," said Tess, "but what happened on Metamore?"

"Lillian," said Alegra, "you already know she has, or should I say had, tremendous magical potential, so much potential that her powers were put in trust with Matt Olsen and the other two Heralds, but not all of it.

"When Lillian saw her new friend dead and Beathany's cracked heart, something incredible awoke in Lillian; something even I do not fully understand."

"Long story short," said Salem, "the kid drew on magic from the future, her future."

"She's supposed to be the one to bring magic back to her world," said Sabrina, "and she started it a little early by borrowing it from herself. I know it's confusing."

"Lillian then used her borrowed magic to bring Kate back to life no worse for wear," said Alegra, "but such a tremendous feat of magic required a tremendous price. Lillian had to give up ten years of her own lifespan, aging her body in the process."

"So, technically, she's now Cornelia's big sister," said Tess, "wow, I hate to be in Cornelia's shoes when she tried to explain that to her family."

"You think she's got problems?" asked Sabrina, "I'm the one who's been away from home a lot longer than expected. What am I supposed to tell my aunts? 'Sorry Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, I kinda got caught up in saving the multi-verse?'"

"Don't forget about Harvey," said Salem, "boy, is he gonna be upset."

"Don't get me started about Harvey," said Sabrina in a morose tone.

"Then, is Kate really alright?" asked Aiden.

"Yep, she's fine" said Death, startling everyone except for Prismo and The Cosmic Owl, "she's more than alright. She remembers dying and will remember until she dies again, but other than that she's completely fine."

"You're late, Death," said The Cosmic Owl, "what kept you?"

"Oh, you know me," said Death as he pulled up a chair and sat down, "wherever there's fighting and killing, I'm there to guide the dearly departed to the other side."

"You're friends with Death?" Riku asked Finn.

"Oh yeah, he's cool," said Finn.

"And he knows his way around six strings," said Marceline, "we should jam again sometime, Death."

"I'll see when I'm available," said Death.

"As if this adventure wasn't weird enough," said Malcolm as Aiden resumed the video.


…Radiant Garden…

"Bethany, please remember," said Kate, "remember who you are."

"She is Lady Darklight, you insipid imp!" shouted Katrina.

"She is Bethany Greenhill, my sister," said Kate, "she just needs to remember her humanity. She needs to remember that she is loved."

"She doesn't love! She cannot love!" shouted Katrina, "I cracked her heart and filled it with darkness! She is a Princess of Dark, now and forever more!"

"Oh shut up!" shouted Elsa as she froze Katrina's lips shut, "wow, that really felt good."

"Please. Bethany," said Kate as she walked towards Darklight, "remember. Remember all the times we pranked our neighbors on Halloween? We must have used twelve dozen eggs in a single night, and on just one house."

"A gross of eggs on one house?" asked an impressed Kairi.

"It…was…a…big house," said Darklight hesitantly.

"She's remembering," said Lillian, "keep going, Kate!"

"And remember when mom and dad got me my first bike and you all taught me how to ride?" asked Kate, "and the time we were by ourselves while mom and dad were on their second honeymoon?" she held up her hand and showed a small scar between her thumb and forefinger, "remember how I got this?"

"I…I broke a crystal bowl while tossing a baseball in the house," said Darklight, "the babysitter was at the supermarket and I asked you to help me clean it up before she got back. You cut your hand pretty bad."

"It wasn't that bad a cut," said Kate, "but it hurt and the blood really freaked me out. The babysitter came home then and took us to the emergency room, and called mom and dad."

"We had to wait in the ER for hours," said Darklight, "long enough for mom and dad to break the speed limit and get home. They got to the hospital just as they were stitching your hand."

"The stitches hurt more than getting cut," said Kate, "the nurse gave me some kind of painkiller but it didn't work, even after four or five injections. The doctor said to stitch me up anyway; five stitches and each one hurt more than the last."

"Mom and dad got in around the third stitch," said Darklight, "they were so mad at me but we all laughed when you said…you said…"

"I said 'the next time you break something, you clean it up!'" said Kate, "I didn't laugh but you, mom and dad did."

"I was grounded for a month," said Darklight, "and you got all the ice cream you could eat while your hand healed."

"That's right! She got everything while you got punished!" shouted Katrina after thawing out her mouth, "she's always been the perfect little sister while you got passed over and treated like crap!"

"Shut up, you evil woman!" shouted Kate, "mom and dad loved us both! And I got in just as much trouble as Bethany did!" She looked at Darklight, "you and I weren't the best behaved kids, but mom and dad loved us and we loved each other, and you loved baseball."

"Here's something I borrowed from the past," said Lillian as she summoned a baseball bat, "don't know how I'll pay for it, but I'll worry about it later."

"Remember this?" asked Kate as she took the baseball bat and handed it to Darklight.

"This...this is mine," said an astonished Darklight as she looked at the baseball bat, "my first bat! But…I thought it was gone, along with everything of our world!"

"I told you, I used magic to get it from the past," said Lillian, "boy, am I gonna be paying for that one later."


…The Time Room…

"I think she's really getting to her," said Tess, "but how'd Lillian think of bring back one of Bethany's prized possessions?"

"That was my idea," said Sabrina. "When we went back to Metamore to get The Guardians and company ready, I asked Kate if she could think of something Bethany knew, something that could help her remember."

"Now that was a good idea," says Malcolm.

"And it's working," said Riku, "look!"

Darklight had fallen to her knees in tears as Kate ran up to and embraced her, the fallen Princess of Heart dropping both Keyblades.


…Radiant Garden…

"NO!" shouted Katrina, "get away from my Princess of Dark, you little bitch!" she raised her hands to zap Kate.

"No you don't!" shouted Elyon as she, Lillian and Elsa stood in front of Katrina, combining their magic to block Katrina's. All the while, a glowing white light shone from Kate's heart and connected with Darklight's cracked heart, infusing new love and light and expelling the darkness.

The appearance of Darklight and the black Keyblade shattered, leaving Bethany Greenhill crying on Kate's shoulder as her heart healed.

"I think this belongs to you," said Lillian as she picked up Kairi's Keyblade.

"It sure does," said Kairi as she summoned her Keyblade back to her hands. She then faced an outraged Katrina, "it's over Katrina! Your best weapon is gone!"

"And we'll make sure you never create another Princess of Dark!" said Elsa, "your reign of terror is over!"

"No, it's not over," said Katrina wrathfully, "It's over when I say it's over, and it won't be over until I have The Sampo!"

"Face it, Katrina!" said Elyon, "you've lost! You can't shatter any more Keyholes!"

"You would think that, wouldn't you!" snapped Katrina, "well, I haven't lasted this long without having a few aces of my own in the hole! Do it now, Leslie!"

"With pleasure," said The Lord of Illusions as he pulled out his phone and sent out a prearranged text.

"What did you do?!" demanded Kairi.

"Sent a signal to three of my doppelgangers," said The Lord of Illusions, "each waiting in orbit around a different world in The Realms of Light, and each with a Dark Spear Katrina assembled in advance, just in case."


…The Time Room…

"Dark Spear?" asked Riku, "now what?"

"She doesn't need Darklight to crack open a Keyhole," said a shocked Tess, "she can condense Heartless into a weapon. She tried to do it to Enchancia, but…"

"But that took thousands and thousands of Heartless to make," said Malcolm, "she couldn't have made another so soon, let alone three, could she?"

"She did," said Prismo as he showed three videos of worlds seen from high orbit; Dwarf Woodlands, Castle of Dreams and Atlantica, all of all of which had a gray Gummy Ship piloted by a trickster doppelganger, as well as a Dark Spear. The three constructs of condensed darkness then fell towards their targets, each hitting and cracking open their respective Keyholes and flooding the worlds with darkness.

"I didn't see this coming," said a horrified Alegra, while Sabrina, Salem, Riku, Tess, Malcolm, Aiden, Finn, Jake and Marceline looked on in shocked silence.

The End of Chapter 8.

Next chapter brings the Keyblade Wielders back together at last as they scramble to stop Katrina before she completes her diabolic machinations for immortality. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!