Last time found Sora finally entering the mind of Kairi in hopes of destroying the cursed nightmare, while Rapunzel and Chihiro stood ready in the real world to heal the damage inflicted on Kairi. Meanwhile Riku, Yusuke and the others battled the Grand Mutants of Gorgom and the other villains outside the bathhouse and were nearly defeated, when Alegra's second ace, Minami Kotaro, showed up to help turn the tide.

(Note to all you Bronies out there. I wrote this chapter before seeing Equestria Girls, so the fact that humans are known in Equestria before Twilight crossed over into the human world and became a human wasn't factored in to this fic. I apologize whole heartedly if this offends any fans of the show so please don't overwelm my reviews page with negative comments, I'm just trying to tell a good story.)

(Another note: To all whom have been asking me to include Inuyasha. The answer is no. I didn't like Inuyasha nor will I use it in any of my stories, end of discussion, so please, in the name of sanity, stop asking me.)

(Third and last note, I've reuploaded this chapter to fix two crucial mistakes that I missed in editing.)

With that saying, on with the show!

Chapter 9: Battles Within and Without

After wandering around familiar and unfamiliar settings, Sora was no closer to finding either the real Kairi or the cursed nightmare.

But then, as Sora was running through the streets of Radiant Garden that were colored like a photo negative, he heard a familiar scream on the wind.

"Hang on, Kairi!" Sora shouted, "I'm coming!" he then ran towards the castle and to his shock, he saw Kairi, clothed entirely in white, being cornered against the walls of the castle by the tentacle creature that looked like him, while zombie-versions of Riku and the others were closing in. The version of Kairi in white radiated with an inner light, but a black aura surrounded her, an aura that dripped with unadulterated fear.

"Hey!" Sora shouted to the tentacle creature with his face, "leave her alone!" with that he summoned his Keyblade and rushed at his demonic doppelganger. The dark creature was just inches from Kairi.

"I said leave her alone!" Sora shouted as he threw his Keyblade at his demonic doppelganger. The Keyblade struck the creature across the head and knocked it down, while the zombies all turned around and saw Sora.

"That's right!" said Sora as he caught his Keyblade, "I'm your opponent now! So come and get me!"

The zombie version of Riku moaned loudly and the other zombies lumbered towards Sora.

"If you think that just because you look like my friends, I won't fight," said Sora, "think again!" he then rushed at the zombies and one by one, bashed their heads in. Their undead brains suffering catastrophic damage, the zombies collapsed to the ground like the lifeless lumps of flesh they were.

"And now for you, worm face!" Sora shouted at the tentacle creature, whom had gotten back up and was glaring hatefully at him. The creature then spoke in a language Sora couldn't understand, but Sora got the gist of it.

"Yeah, you'll rip me apart and eat my soul," said Sora, "I'll still finish you off! Just stay back, Kairi, I'll be through with this thing in no time. Kairi? Kairi?"

But Kairi didn't hear him. She had curled into the fetal position on the ground and was trembling with fear.

Sora then narrowly missed a claw swipe from the tentacle creature, then dodged a blast of dark energy from its eyes.

"Take this!" Sora shouted as he shot a Thunder spell at the creature, but it dodged the bolt of lightning, then countered with another blast of dark energy that Sora barely dodged.

"This is gonna take a little longer than I thought," said Sora. He then saw that more zombie copies of his friends were approaching the area, some of them shuffling towards him, the rest moving towards the helpless Kairi.

"Oh man! That's not fair!" said Sora as he dodged another blast of dark energy, then dodged the grasping hands of zombie Riku, zombie Tess and zombie Aiden, while more and more zombie copies appeared.

"Okay, I'm now officially in trouble!" Sora said as he bashed in more zombie heads and dodged more dark energy blasts.

A short distance away there was a flash of shimmering energy and seven individuals appeared, the foremost of them being Luna and Twilight Sparkle.

With Luna and Twilight were five more Ponies. The first was an Earth Pony with an orange coat, green eyes and a blond tail and mane tied up in braids and wore a cowboy hat. Her cutie mark was represented by three red apples and around her neck was a gold necklace with a green and orange crystal apple set into it. She had a kind, helpful and reliable personality, one whom holds the value of hard work dear to her heart, a bit of a stubborn and prideful streak, but was always loyal to her friends and loved ones. Her name is Applejack.

The second was a Pegasus Pony with a light yellow coat and wings with blue green eyes and a pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark was represented by two pink butterflies and around her neck was a gold necklace set with a pink butterfly crystal. She possessed a sweet, calm and considerate personality, very shy and somewhat withdrawn, but possessed great reserves of courage that she could call upon when needed. Her name is Fluttershy

The third was a another Earth Pony with a pink coat with a mane and tail in curly, slightly darker pink and had blue eyes. Her cutie mark was represented by balloons and confetti and around her neck was a gold necklace set with a blue balloon crystal. She had a hyperactive, random and somewhat silly personality, one whom values friendship and always tried to make those around her smile, as well as possessing a love for practical jokes, baked goods and just about anything with sugar in it. Her name is Pinkie Pie.

The fourth was another Pegasus Pony with a sky-blue coat and wings, magenta eyes and a rainbow-colored mane and tail. Her cutie mark was represented by a cloud with a rainbow-colored lightning bolt. She wore a gold necklace with a red thunderbolt-shaped gem similar to her cutie mark. She was extremely brave and bold, rash, often acts without fully thinking the situation through and possessed a love of danger, yet she was always there for her friends. Her name is Rainbow Dash.

The fifth was a Unicorn Pony with silvery-white coat, blue eyes with pronounced eyelashes and a royal blue mane and tail. Her cutie mark was represented by three diamonds and around her neck was a gold necklace set with a purple, diamond-shaped crystal. She was one whom valued proper manners, sophistication, had a flair for drama, was somewhat vain and a bit of a glory hog, but was always willing to sacrifice her personal needs for those of her friends. He name is Rarity.

"Sweet mama!" said Applejack, speaking in a Midwestern accent, "what a trip."

"Oh! Let's do it again!" said Pinkie Pie in an overeager tone, "but this time we'll all raise our hooves and shout 'YAY!' like we're all on a carnival ride!"

"Hey, we just got here," said Rainbow Dash.

"Transporting our minds across time and space, not my idea of a leisurely activity," said Rarity.

"We're not here for fun, every-pony," said Twilight Sparkle, "Alegra said we're supposed to help Sora save Kairi from a demonic nightmare."

"Yeah, remind we again why we're doing this?" Rainbow Dash asked as she flapped her wings and hovered in midair, "I mean, just what are we doing here?"

"We're here to help save the mind and heart of an innocent girl," said Luna, "her one true love is battling the cursed nightmare as we speak."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't help," said Rainbow Dash, "but just why are we doing what this Alegra asked? It's not like humans come to Equestria every day, you know."

"I have to agree," said Rarity, "humans aren't exactly the most trustworthy of creatures."

"Oh, you've been reading too many old horror books, Rarity," said Pinkie Pie, "now, the humans I read about, they know how to party!"

"Uh, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked in a quiet tone.

"I just want to know why we should trust Alegra?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I trust Alegra Wells with my life," said Luna, "I knew her long before your ancestors were born."

"And I trust her too," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Uh…Twilight?" Fluttershy asked again, but she was still ignored.

"Well, I for one fail to see what we can do inside the dream of another," said Rarity, "let alone the dreams of a human."

"I've never even seen a human," said Rainbow Dash, "oh sure, you hear stuff about them now and then, and then there's those weirdoes over in Dream Valley across the ocean. I wasn't there when those psychics visited Canterlot but from what I heard, they were weird."

"Hey, don't you be harping on Dream Valley!" said Applejack irately, "I've got a cousin there I never even knew was alive!"

"And so does Spike," said Twilight Sparkle, "can you believe it? Two dragons whom look almost exactly alike, with the same name no less. What are the chances of that?"

"Uh…Twilight?" Fluttershy asked for a third time.

"Okay, putting humans and trust aside," said Rainbow Dash, "just where is that… girl and boy we're supposed to help?"

"The mind of any creature can be infinite," said Luna, "Sora and Kairi could be anywhere."

"You mean we're lost?!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, "are we gonna be wandering around here forever!?"

"We're not lost!" said an annoyed Twilight Sparkle, "and we can get back home," she then looked at Luna, "right?"

"Of course," said Luna, "the spell I used to transport our minds is completely reversible, which I will reverse once our mission is accomplished."

"Twilight!?" Fluttershy asked in a slightly more forceful tone as she tapped Twilight Sparkle's shoulder with her front hoof.

"What is it, Fluttershy?" Twilight Sparkle asked.

"Um…well, I could be wrong," said Fluttershy in an uncertain tone, "but I think the people we're supposed to help are over there," she then pointed with her hoof to where Sora was battling the zombies and the tentacle creature, as well as the unmoving Kairi.

"Good grief! Look at those things!" said a startled Applejack as she pointed at the zombies and the tentacle creature, "and I thought Timberwolves were nasty!"

"They're the walking dead!" said Luna, "decaying abominations with only the flesh of the living on their minds!"

"You mean they're gonna eat us!?" Rainbow Dash asked in a slightly nervous tone, while Fluttershy gave a frightened squeak and hid behind her.

"They're not gonna eat us, silly," said Pinkie Pie as she smiled confidently, "and they're not that scary."

"I don't think laughing at them will make them go away, Pinkie," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Then what will?" Rarity asked in an uncomfortable tone, "I'd rather not touch those things."

"What about ol' tentacle face there?" Applejack asked as she indicated the creature shooting dark energy blasts at Sora.

"I'd rather not touch that slimy thing either," said Rarity in a disgusted tone, "can you imagine how many baths I'd have to take just to get the stench of that creature out of my mane?"

"Never mind the stench!" said Luna, "we're here to save two innocent hearts from the darkness."

"You'd better believe it, we're gonna save them!" said Rainbow Dash boldly, "so, what's the plan?"

"We start by getting those undead abominations away from Sora!" said Luna, "Twilight! Together!"

"You got it!" said Twilight Sparkle. With that her horn and Luna's horn glowed with their respective magic, sending a double blast at the zombies, destroying several of them and allowing Sora enough room to destroy more and get out of blasting range of the tentacle creature. But then more zombies showed up.

"Hey! That's not fair!" said Rainbow Dash irately. She then took flight again and shot towards the zombies, moving so fast she was barely more than a rainbow-colored streak. She passed over a group of zombies so fast that the air displacement knocked them onto their heads. Their skulls cracked and damaged their undead brains, rendering them inert.

"Save some for the rest of us!" shouted Applejack. She then ran at the zombies, turned around and kicked one with her hind legs with enough force to shatter it into rotting bits.

By then Sora had realized that he wasn't alone in fighting the dark creatures, but he then dodged another claw strike from his demonic doppelganger. Sora then tripped on a rock and fell on his back, allowing the tentacle creature to close in for the kill.

"No you don't!" shouted Twilight Sparkle as she and Luna shot another blast of magic, hitting the tentacle creature and launching it over the horizon.

"That's what you get for hurting innocent people," said Twilight Sparkle as she, Luna, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy ran up to Sora, while Rainbow Dash and Applejack took out the remaining zombies.

"Are you alright, Sora?" Luna asked.

"I…uh, yeah, I'm fine," said Sora hesitantly as he looked at the seven Ponies, "thanks. Um…this is kind of a stupid question, but are you from Dream Valley?"

"We're from the same world as Dream Valley," said Twilight Sparkle, "but a different country." She and the other Ponies then introduced themselves to Sora.

"You probably met my distant cousin," said Applejack.

"I think I did," said Sora. He then blinked in worried surprise, "oh no, Kairi!" he and the Ponies rushed over to Kairi, whom was still curled up and trembling. Sora pulled her to a seating position, "Kairi! It's me! It's Sora! Kairi!"

But Kairi just sat there, a blank look on her face, her eyes empty and her skin cold to the touch.

"She's retreated deep within herself," said Luna, "unchecked fear can do terrible things to the mind and heart."

"It's that cursed nightmare," said Sora, "it messed her up real bad." He then saw to his horror that Kairi's hands were slightly transparent, "what…what's happening to her?"

"Her light is being snuffed out," said Dark Kairi as she walked up to the group. The dark girl was looking more alive than when Sora first saw her; slightly taller, more filled out under her skin and a vile gleam in her eyes.

"That girl there is the representation of Kairi's light," said Dark Kairi, "the curse has inflicted so much fear, so much despair, that the light in Kairi's heart is fading away. Soon, that girl will be nothing but a memory, and I shall take control."

"Over my dead body!" said Sora as he pointed his Keyblade at Dark Kairi, "the curse is gone. As soon as Rapunzel is ready, she and Chihiro will heal Kairi's mind and heart!"

"Uh, Sora?" said Twilight Sparkle hesitantly, "we didn't get rid of the curse, we only sent it away."

"The creature will return," said Luna, "and it will use all of its power to destroy us."

"Assuming I don't destroy you first!" said Dark Kairi as she summoned a black version of Kairi's Keyblade.

"I don't think that was in the plan," said Twilight Sparkle as she and the others looked nervously at the dark Keyblade wielded by Dark Kairi.

…Outside the bathhouse…

"Enough of this nonsense!" shouted Grand Mutant Darom, "we want those King Stones and we will have them!"

"Not today, Gorgom!" shouted Kotaro, "not tomorrow, not ever!" He then twisted his upper torso to the right and crossed his wrists, his hands gripping into tight fists. Kotaro then shot his left arm up at an angle, then brought it down to his side in a fist, while his right hand was held up at an angle. Kotaro then brought his right hand over in an arc, "Hen…Shin!" then switch both hands to the other side.

A futuristic transformation belt with a spinning red crystal materialized around his waist that emitted flashing white and red energy. Then with a flash of green energy, Kotaro was encased in black armor with red and yellow stripes, a white curving mark on the left side of the chest plate and an insect-like head with a steel-gray mouth guard, red faceted eyes and two antenna.

"Kamen Rider…Black!"

"Wow!" said an amazed Riku, while the others looked equally awed.

"Damn you, Minami Kotaro!" shouted Grand Mutant Baraom, "today you die!"

"Get them!" Grand Mutant Darom shouted. With that the Grand Mutants, Chimera Mutant, Dio Brando, Lady Tremaine and Gaston, ran at our heroes, whom charged at the villains.

The two opposing groups clashed with a fury of punches, kicks and Keyblade strikes, with Kamen Rider Black fighting Chimera Mutant, Riku, Tess and Aiden fighting Grand Mutant Darom, Malcolm, Roxas and Naminé facing Grand Mutant Baraom, Jana, Hezekiah, Frankie and Andy fighting Grad Mutant Bishium, Tara dueling Maleficent, Felicia, Steven, Mark and Julia fighting Dio Brando, Yusuke fighting Shadowcast, Kuwabara fighting Gaston, Toralei and Howleen fighting Lady Tremaine, while Brother Courtney, The Lord of Illusions and Regina waiting on the sidelines for an opening. Hiei and Kurama were busy slaying the fresh waves of Heartless and demons that had been summoned.

"You cannot win, miserable humans!" Grand Mutant Darom shouted as he endured a Keyblade strike from Riku, then dodged an alchemic blast from Aiden, then threw a punch at Tess. The trilobite-like creature then shot several rope-like beams of energy from his clawed hands at Tess. She barely rolled out of the way, then countered by throwing her Keyblade at the creature, but Grand Mutant Darom took it as if it were nothing more than a love tap.

"We can certainly try!" Malcolm shouted as he cast a curse at Grand Mutant Baraom, but the Simoldon-like creature dodged it and then struck at Malcolm so fast, he could barely defend himself. Grand Mutant Baraom then pulled out a tusk-like spear and stabbed at Namine, but Roxas blocked the spear, but then was nearly impaled himself.

"You will fail!" shouted Grand Mutant Bishium. She then shot a laser blast from her eyes at Hezekiah, whom barely dodged the bolts of deadly energy. The pterosaur-like creature then took flight and nearly grabbed Frankie, whom rolled out of the way and sent a bolt of electricity at the creature, but missed. Andy tried to grab Grand Mutant Bishium, but the creature was too fast and he would up being kicked in the head.

"I don't know about you kids," said Dio Brando as he easily dodged and blocked everything Mark, Felicia, Steven and Julia sent at him, even catching Julia's bullets and enduring Felicia's knives while receiving only scratches, "but I'm having a ball." He then grabbed Mark and threw him at Steven, the two male Meta Humans colliding and collapsing onto the ground.

"Your idea of fun and mine are completely different!" said Felicia as she threw a double handful of knives at Dio Brando, whom caught them all and then pulled out even more from his coat pockets and threw them all at Felicia. She dodged most of them, but wound up being cut several times on her arms, legs and one long gash across her lower jaw.

"Is it me or are these guys stronger than before!?" Yusuke asked as he dodged a fog tendril from Shadowcast.

"I hate it when they do that!" Kuwabara shouted as dodged a destruction beam from Gaston, then had to dodge a torment beam from Lady Tremaine, then dodged Toralei and Howleen, whom were just trying to get out of the way.

"It is useless to resist!" Maleficent shouted as she traded curses with Tara, "surrender Yubaba and Rapunzel!"

"Over my dead body!" Tara shouted as she tied the Jelly-Legs jinx, but Maleficent blocked it with a wave of her hand. Tara then blocked a green fireball with a shield charm, then tried a full body bind, which Maleficent blocked.

"You think your pathetic spells can stand against the mistress of all evil?!" Maleficent asked as she shot a bolt of purple lightning at Tara, whom barely got her wand up in time to block it. "Not even your precious Harry Potter could defeat me!"

"I never said I was Harry Potter!" Tara shouted as she blocked another green fireball, "I'm just a humble witch whom was born with a lot of courage, perseverance, wisdom and cunning!"

"As if those virtues will help you!" Maleficent shouted as she sent a double blast of dark lightning at Tara that forced her to dodge, only to trip on a rock and fall on her side.

Maleficent then summoned a large boulder and made it hover above Tara. "I expected more from a student of Hogwarts," said Maleficent in a contemptuous tone, "you are correct in one fact; you are not Harry Potter." With that she released the hover spell on the boulder, sending it hurtling towards Tara.

But then Kamen Rider Black got in front of Tara, jumped up and delivered a massive chop to the boulder before it hit the ground, "Rider Chop!" splitting the oversized rock in half. The two pieces landed on either side of Tara, leaving her completely unharmed.

"Thanks," said Tara as she got back up, "you are strong."

"Impossibly strong," said a slightly unnerved Maleficent, "that boulder was made of pure marble!"

"His chops can cut through 100 meters of solid steel!" shouted Brother Courtney as he, Regina and The Lord of Illusions waited on the sidelines, "it'll take more than a big rock to destroy that hero."

"It will take a lot to stop me," said Kamen Rider Black, "more than you have! As long as there are those whom take pleasure in inflicting pain on innocent souls, as long as there are those whom profit from the misfortune of others, so long as the dark threatens the light, I will fight!"

But then he was tackled by Chimera Mutant and the two of them resumed punching and kicking at each other.

"Typical heroic rhetoric," said Maleficent in a contemptuous tone, "you know nothing of the truth, of reality. No matter how much you resist, all your efforts are in vain, for darkness will always extinguish light, it is inevitable."

"Extinguish this!" Tara shouted as she shot a beam of red magic at Maleficent, whom countered with a beam of green magic. The two beams met in the middle and tried to overpower each other, with Maleficent's beam forcing Tara's back.

…Yubaba's bedchamber…

"I think you're just about ready," said Zeneba to Rapunzel.

"I hope so," said Rapunzel as she looked at the unconscious Sora and Kairi, "I really don't want to mess this up."

"Hey, you're not going to mess this up," said Eugene, "I'll bet you'll be a better healer than ever before."

"You know, when you say that, it really makes be believe it," said Rapunel as she smiled at her husband.

"Then there's nothing more to do but wait until Sora is ready for us," said Alegra, "I just hope Luna and the others get to him in time."

"You never did tell us how you got to know Luna and Celestia," said Zeneba.

"It's a long story," said Alegra. She then looked around the room, "wait, where's Chihiro?"

"Chihiro?" Zeneba asked as she, Yubaba, Rapunzel and Eugene looked around, "she…she's not here."

"She probably stepped out to use the bathroom," said Yubaba, "and I don't blame here. All of this has worn me out, I could use some freshing up."

"Wait, what's that outside?" Eugene asked as he looked out the window to the battle below.

"I don't think are friends our doing so well," said Rapunzel as she and the others looked out the window.

"Give them credit," said Alegra, "Riku and the others will triumph and…wait, that…it is! That's Chihiro down there!" she then pointed down to where Chihiro was running across the bridge and heading towards Maleficent and Tara.

"She didn't!" exclaimed an outranged Yubaba, "that idiotic little human! She's going to fight!"

"What!?" Zeneba exclaimed, "she can't! How can she even think about putting herself at risk like that?"

"She's doing what she thinks is right," said Alegra, albeit in a reluctant tone, "she's helping her friends, which is what any Princess of Heart would do."

"I'd do the same," said Rapunzel in a determined tone, "now, where did I put that frying pan? Eugene? Where's the frying pan?"

"You're not going anywhere," said Yubaba sternly, "it's bad enough that Sen is risking her life."

"At least I have a spell that can teleport her back up here if she's in too much trouble," said Zeneba as she summoned a spell scroll.

"But what is she going to do?" Rapunzel asked as she looked around the room, "what did I do with that frying pan?"

"I think Lin took it to get it washed," said Zeneba, "it was getting a little dirty."

"Oh, well, alright," said Rapunzel.

"Look!" said Eugene as he pointed down at the battlefield, where Chihiro just ran up and tackled Maleficent, breaking the opposing beams of magic before Tara's could be forced back into her wand.

"I can't believe she took Maleficent by surprise like that," said an impressed Yubaba.

"I can't believe she's giving Maleficent such a sound thrashing," said an impressed Zeneba.

Sure enough, Chihiro was delivering punch after punch to Maleficent, severely cutting and bruising her, giving Tara a chance to catch her breath. Yet the dark magic user endured the blows as if they were nothing, as if she felt no pain at all.

"Get off of me, you insolent girl!" exclaimed Maleficent after taking a particularly nasty punch to her left eye, after which a brilliantly purple shiner appeared.

"Not until you surrender, you evil, evil woman!" Chihiro shouted. She then delivered a punch to Maleficent's jaw, knocking out two permanent teeth.

"The mistress of all evil never surrenders!" Maleficent shouted as blood ran between her lips, "especially to a disgusting human girl like you!"

"I'll show you who's disgusting!" Chihiro shouted as she reached back her right fist for another punch. But then she screamed in pain as her left hand was engulfed in green flames. She recoiled away from Maleficent and tried to beat the flames out, but her hand continued to burn.

"Miserable wretch!" said Maleficent as she stood up and straightened her necklace, the green crystal shard glowing with an insidious light.

"What did you do to me!?" Chihiro shouted as she beat her hand against the ground to smother the green fire, but her hand still burned.

"I did nothing," said Maleficent smugly, "you happened to put your hand where it wasn't wanted."

"Hold still!" Tara shouted as she ran over and pointed her wand at Chihiro's hand, "Aguamenti!" a fountain of clear water jetted from her wand and extinguished the green fire. When the water had stopped flowing, Chihiro and Tara were surprised to see that the hand was only moderately burned, mostly 1st degree burns with one spot on her palm suffering a 2nd degree.

"I must have grabbed that crystal without thinking about it," said Chihiro.

"I'm no healer, but it doesn't look too bad," said Tara.

"It hurts a lot more than it looks," said Chihiro.

"I'm afraid you'll suffer far worse before you die!" said Maleficent. She then summoned a massive green fireball and threw it at Tara and Chihiro.

"Protega Maximum!" shouted Tara, casting her shield charm just in time to intercept the oversized fireball. The green flames exploded upon impact with enough force to knock Chihiro and Tara to the ground.

"I will admit, my assessment of you has improved, little witch," said Maleficent, "and you, child," she pointed at Chihiro, "you actually damaged my host body. I commend you," she then charged up another oversized fireball, "now die!" she then threw the fireball at Tara and Chihiro, whom were too disoriented to move.

But then an enormous white, Chinese dragon with white scales and a wolf-like head with long horns, bird-like claws, a green mane and tail and long whiskers, got in front of Chihiro and Tara and breath a white fireball at the green fireball, with the two fireballs canceling each other out.

"What is this!?" exclaimed Maleficent.

"Yeah, what gives?" Tara asked as she and Chihiro got up.

"I'll tell you what gives," said a surprised yet joyful Chihiro, "that's Haku!"

The white dragon then morphed into a teenaged boy, about seventeen or so, with shoulder-length green hair, blue eyes and wearing a white shirt and blue trousers. He looked at Chihiro and smiled, "hello, Chihiro."

"Hi, Haku," said a smiling Chihiro. With that she and Haku embraced.

…Yubaba's bedchambers…

"I don't believe it," said Yubaba as she glared down at Chihiro and Haku, "that upstart, ungrateful, disrespectful boy came back!"

"Isn't that the kid whom helped Chihiro get her parents back?" Eugene asked, "isn't he supposed to be some kind of river spirit or something?"

"He's a river dragon whom had his river destroyed," said Zeneba, "Haku came to my sister to learn magic and she took advantage of his displaced situation."

"I saw a valuable assistant in him," said Yubaba as she stubbornly crossed her arms, "it's not my fault he was too ambitious to read the fine print on his contract. I'm just surprised that he had the gall to return." She then glared at Alegra, "you brought him back, didn't you!? He's one of your aces, right?"

"No, he's not," said Alegra, "although I admit I should have thought of seeking him out. Sometimes it helps to have a fifth ace up your sleeve."

"That's cheating," said Rapunzel.

"Sometimes the only way to win is to cheat," said Alegra, "but I didn't this time. No, Haku came back on his own free will. He came back for love."

"How sickening," said Maleficent.

"Empty words from an empty heart," said Haku as he and Chihiro glared defiantly at Maleficent, "a creature so twisted by the darkness such as you could never understand true happiness."

"In other words," said Chihiro, "you're sick."

"And a thief!" said Tara in a contemptuous tone, "that green stone around her neck, it's a Horcrux!"

"A what?" Chihiro asked.

"A Horcrux," said Tara as she glared hatefully at Maleficent, "an item tainted by dark magic to hold a fragment of a soul for safe keeping. It's what Voldemort did."

"A crude analogy," said Maleficent as she touched the green stone, "yet not entirely accurate. The stone holds no mere fragment of my soul but all of it."

"Which is possessing that innocent girl and forcing her to commit acts of pure villainy!" said Haku, "I can't let this go on any further!"

"As if you can stop me!" said Maleficent as she charged up another green fireball and threw it at Haku.

Just then Tess, whom had broke away from the fight with Grand Mutant Darom, ran up and swatted the fireball away with her Keyblade. "I finally got you right where I want!" she said, "I'm gonna free Penny Dubois from your clutches!"

"Insolent girl!" Maleficent spat, "your friend no longer exists! I control this body in every respect!"

"I don't believe it!" said Tess defiantly, "there's got to be a way to free Penny and I will find it!"

"Destroy that green stone!" shouted Tess, "that's the real Maleficent! Destroy it and you finish her for good!"

"So that's how you survived!" said Tess. She then smiled, "destroy the stone, easy enough."

"As you are already aware," said Maleficent, "I am quite difficult to destroy! Even if you do evict me from my host, which will leave it an empty shell, I still have two more resurrections. I will return stronger than ever!"

"We'll see about that!" Tess shouted as she rushed at Maleficent, then feinted to the left and went invisible.

"Hiding in plain sight, are we?!" Maleficent shouted, "then hide from this!" she then shot out multiple bolts of black lightning all around, but then Tess appeared behind her, her Keyblade raised to deliver a knockout strike that wouldn't hurt Penny's body too much.

But then when Tess brought her Keyblade down, it passed right through Maleficent. "What!?" a confused an outraged Tess asked as she swung her Keyblade again at Maleficent, only for Maleficent to vanish.

"What are you doing, Tess!?" Chihiro shouted, "Maleficent's over there!"

"What?" Tess asked as she looked around and saw that Maleficent was three yards to her left, "That's impossible! How did I miss?" She then saw a knife thrown towards her. She dodged the blade, then ducked a sword strike from The Lord of Illusions, "YOU!"

"Yes, me," said the vile trickster as he struck at Tess again, "me, myself and I. It's time we finished things between us."

"I never liked unfinished business," said Tess as she struck back with her Keyblade, but the vile trickster blocked it.

"Well," said Regina as she and Brother Courtney, walked up to Maleficent, "isn't this something," she then looked at Maleficent, "you look as if you're in need of a long holiday."

"Or a doctor," said Brother Courtney, "but that's just my opinion."

"You are trying my patience, monk," said Maleficent, "while I cannot feel the pain of my host's injuries, it is still damaged. Where were you, and you, Regina, when I was being assaulted!"

"Waiting for an opening, of course," said Regina, "still haven't found it, though. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Gothel's inside the bathhouse."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Chihiro.

"Oh, yeah," said Regina, "she too was waiting for the right moment to sneak in. It came while you all were so adamantly attempting to destroy each other. Now Gothel has the opening she seeks. She will find Rapunzel and cut out her heart!"

"No!" shouted Chihiro, "I won't let you do that!" she then started to run back to the bathhouse, but then Brother Courtney got in front of her.

"I'm sorry, my dear, but I cannot allow that," said the insidious monk. He then raised his hand and sent a psychic blast at Chihiro, whom barely got out of the way, only to dodge another psychic blast.

"Chihiro!" shouted Haku as he rushed to help her, but had to dodge a red fireball that Regina threw at him.

"Sorry, loverboy," said Regina, "but you've got me to deal with now."

"And do not think we haven't finished our duel, little witch!" Maleficent shouted at Tara.

"It will be finished!" said Tara defiantly, "now that I've a chance to catch my breath, I'm prepared to see our duel until the end!" she then held her wand out in a saluting gesture and bowed, while Maleficent bowed in return.

…Yubaba's bathhouse…

"That scurvy bastard!" shouted Zeneba as she glared down at The Lord of Illusions, "Tess almost had Maleficent on the ropes and that color-changing maniac ruined everything!"

"It wouldn't have made a difference if Tess wasn't interrupted," said Alegra, "it's simply not her destiny to destroy Maleficent."

"Oh really?" Yubaba asked, "and pray tell, just who is destined to destroy that out of control lunatic?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you," said Alegra, "because I simply don't know. Even with all my powers and skills at time travel, dimension hopping and meddling, the eventual fate of Maleficent still eludes me."

"Yes, well, you will at least drop us a hint if you ever catch a glimpse of the future?" Yubaba asked

Just then Gothel burst into the room, "you won't have a future!" the mad sorceress exclaimed, "none save the one I shall determine for you as your new Goddess!"

"You sick monster!" shouted Rapunzel, "what do you want with us!?"

"I only want one thing, dearest Rapunzel," said Gothel, a deranged look on her face as she pulled out a knife, "I want your heart and I'm going to get it! Now come to mother, like a good girl!"

"You keep away from her!" Eugene shouted as he got in front of Rapunzel, "I won't let you touch her!"

"Out of the way, you stupid boy toy!" Gothel shouted, "you were lucky to survive before, but I will kill you this time!"

"Not if I kill you first!" shouted Yubaba. She then shot an attack spell at Gothel, whom took the blast but shrugged it off like it was a feather brushing against her skin.

"Your powers have atrophied in your old age, Yubaba," said Gothel, "or is it that my defenses are simply stronger? It won't matter for long," she then looked at Rapunzel, "now strop resisting me and surrender your heart!"

"Never!" shouted both Rapunzel and Eugene.

"If I could make a suggestion," said Alegra.

"You may not!" shouted Gothel as she threw the knife at Alegra, hitting her in the heart with a sickening, wet thud. With a startled grunt, Alegra fell backwards, gave one last breath and died.

"Let that be a lesson to you all," said Gothel as she pulled out another knife, "don't stand in the way of you new Goddess."

"You freaking psychopath!" exclaimed a horrified and outraged Rapunzel, "you murdering maniac!"

"That's right, hate me all you want," said Gothel as she advanced on Rapunzel, "it won't make a difference. I will take your heart, no matter what!"

Just then there came a loud 'Clang!' and Gothel cried out in pain as she fell to the floor unconscious. Behind her was a breathless Lin, the frying pan gripped in her raised hands. "Am I too late!?" she gasped, "did that maniac hurt anyone else? She already stabbed two frogs downstairs!"

"She killed Alegra!" said Rapunzel in a remorseful tone, "and it's all my fault!"

"No, it's not your fault," said Yubaba, "and Alegra's not dead." she then walked over to Alegra's body and nudged it with her foot, "get up. Get up!" she then kicked the body lightly, "I know you're not dead, so stop faking it already!"

"She is dead, sister of mine," said Zeneba, "but not for long," she then bent down and pulled the knife out, "just give her a moment."

"In the meantime," said Yubaba, "let's make sure this lunatic doesn't hurt anyone else," she then turned around to look at Gothel, but the mad witch was gone. "What? Where is she!?"

"Right here!" said Gothel as she appeared behind Zeneba, holding the knife to her throat, "now, my former schoolmate," she said to Yubaba, "either you hand over Rapunzel, or I kill your sister!"

"Don't hurt her!" Rapunzel shouted, "I…I…"

"You can't hand yourself over to that psychopath!" Eugene shouted.

"It's either that or let Zeneba die," said Rapunzel.

"You're still not handing yourself over," said Yubaba. She then glared at Gothel, "go ahead, slit my sister's throat. Stick her like a pig, I don't care."

"What!?" exclaimed Gothel, "you actually want me to kill your sister!?"

"I'm not surprised," said Zeneba in a calm tone, despite the razor-sharp blade at her throat, "Yubaba and I aren't exactly on the best of terms. If I die, she'll morn me later, but for now, she would sacrifice me in order to beat you. I don't know if I'd do the same, but I'd do whatever I could to keep Rapunzel safe."

"Well, that's not right," said Gothel as she released Zeneba, "if I can't have you as a proper hostage," she then rushed over to Kairi and Sora, whom were still unconscious on the bed, "I'll just use these sleeping beauties."

"NO!" shouted Lin as she rushed forward and tacked Gothel with enough force to send them crashing through the window. They landed on the tiled roof, rolled to the edge and fell down to the next level of the bathhouse, then the next and the next, finally landing on the ground in front of the bridge.

"Good grief!" shouted Zeneba.

"I'll say," remarked Yubaba, "my insurance company is going to crucify me."

"The hell with your insurance!" shouted Zeneba as she glared irately at her sister, "your foreman could be dead for all we know!"

Just then Alegra came gasping back to life, lurching upright, "damn! I hate it when that happens!" she said. She then looked around at the startled Rapunzel and Eugene, then saw the broken window, "I take it I missed a lot while I was out."

"You sure aren't kidding," said Eugene.

"Look! I think Lin's alright!" said Zeneba as she looked down and saw Lin barely moving, but alive.

"I'll get help down to her right away," said Yubaba.

"But where's Gothel?" Rapunzel asked.

They then all saw Gothel walk up to Lin and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her towards the battlefield.

"That evil bitch!" shouted Yubaba, "I'm going to kill her!" with that she hovered and flew out the window.

"I don't want to be in Gothel's shoes when my sister catches up with her," said Zeneba, "not that she doesn't deserve it. In fact, I might go down and help her."

"You're staying right here to teleport Chihiro back up!" said Alegra in an insisting tone, "you got a problem with it?" she then glared at Rapunzel and Eugene, "and you're staying here too, got it!?"

"Yes ma'am!" said Zeneba, Rapunzel and Eugene.

"OW! Stop it, you crazy human!" Lin shouted as Gothel dragged her to the battlefield, "you're gonna rip all my hair out!"

"Pray that is the worst I shall do to you!" Gothel shouted.

"Lady, I'm having one of the worst days of my life!" said an irately Lin, "I've had to broker a deal with a bunch of unhappy kappas, break several rules about uninvited guests, human guests at that, and now you and your fellow lunatics are threatening to murder an innocent girl, destroy the bathhouse, kill my boss and end the world! On top of that, I crashed through a window and fell several stories. Yubaba's probably gonna make me fix her window, and now you're ripping my hair out. I'd call that a pretty bad day if you ask me!"

"It's about to get worse!" said Gothel. She had reached the edge of the battlefield and shouted so loud that everyone heard her, "ENOUGH!"

This caused everyone fighting to stop and look at Gothel and Lin. The mad sorceress then pulled Lin to her knees and held her knife to Lin's throat, "alright, this is how we're going to do this," she then glared at Riku, "you! Keyblade brat! You and your fellow pathetic heroes are going to put your toys away and surrender! You!" she then glared at Regina, "my old comrade. You're going to march up to the bathhouse and get Rapunzel and Yubaba for me! You!" she then glared at Brother Courtney, "After I make Yubaba cough up the King Stones, I'll cut out Rapunzel's heart and we'll do the ascension ritual, right here!"

"No," said Brother Courtney, "I will not perform the ritual."

"You've failed, woman!" shouted Grand Mutant Darom.

"We gave you the chance to present us with the new King Stones," said Grad Mutant Bishium, "and here you bring us with a lowly weasel spirit. You are pathetic!"

"And unworthy of even becoming a demigod!" shouted Grand Mutant Baraom.

"I will become Goddess!" exclaimed Gothel. She then glared at Frankie, "you! Freak! You and your fellow freaks, mutants and brats, you will make Regina and the monk do as I say or I'll kill the weasel! You will obey me! You will obey your new Goddess! You Will Obey! OBEY!"

Just then, Kuwabara got behind Gothel, grabbed her arm that was gripping the knife and twisted it, causing Gothel to cry out in pain and drop the knife, allowing Lin to get to her feet and limp out of the way.

"You!" shouted Gothel at Kuwabara, "you dare lay a hand on your new Goddess! Blasphemy! Sheer blasphemy!"

"You ain't no goddess!" shouted Kuwabara. He then punched Gothel in the face, knocking the mad woman out cold.

"You okay?" Kuwabara asked Lin.

"Other than regretting getting out of bed this morning, I'm okay," said Lin, "how about you?"

"Eh, I've had better days," said Kuwabara.

"Kuwabara!" exclaimed an appalled Yusuke, "you…you hit Gothel."

"What?" Kuwabara asked, "that crazy woman was gonna kill Lin."

"You hit a girl!" Chihiro exclaimed.

"Hey, that ain't no lady," said Kuwabara irately as he pointed at the unconscious Gothel.

"Well, I'm surprised that you struck a female," said Hiei smugly, "the great Kuwabara, a man who stands by his values and morals, only to succumb to the hypocrisy of human nature."

"Oh shut up, shorty!" said Kuwabara as he stubbornly crossed his arms, "I can bend my own rules when I really have to, and don't you even think about telling anyone about this back home, Urameshi!"

"Hey, my lips are sealed," said Yusuke.

"Well, I'll admit, boy," said Regina to Kuwabara, "you've earned my respect. You finally made the crazy bitch shut up."

"Yes, now that that's out of the way," said Brother Courtney, "I suggest that we crush these fools and get what we came here for."

"You're not crushing anyone!" said Riku, "we're still ready to fight!"

"Gorgom!" shouted Kamen Rider Black, "this ends now!"

"This is your end, Minami Kotaro!" shouted Grand Mutant Bishium, "Chimera Mutant! Destroy him!"

"I think your pet is otherwise preoccupied," said Toralei as she indicated Chimera Mutant, whom was fighting both Hiei and Kurama.

"Looks like Shadowcast has decided to take a powder," said Yusuke, "I know I should go after the foggy prick," he then glared hatefully at Grand Mutant Baraom, "but I think I'll take my frustration out on you, zoo reject!"

"Mind if I get in on the carnage?" Riku asked as he glared at Grand Mutant Bishium.

"In your condition, not likely," said Malcolm. He then tossed Riku one of the special potions he helped perfect, "down this Quantum Potion and you'll be right as rain."

"Be sure to thank Prodessor Slughorn later," said Aiden as he and the others downed some of the Quantum Potion, recovering their strength and healing their wounds.

"I'll thank him for all of us," said Riku after drinking the potion.

"I'll say it again, Gorgom!" said Kamen Rider Black as he glared at Grand Mutant Darom, "this ends today!"

"For you, Black Sun!" said Grand Mutant Darom, "it ends for you!" with that the three Grand Mutants rushed at Riku, Yusuke and Kamen Rider Black, whom rushed at the dark creatures as well.

…Kairi's Dreamscape…

"So, you want to fight me?" Sora asked Dark Kairi as he summoned his Keyblade and squared off against the dark girl with the dark Keyblade.

"If that's what it takes to make sure that Kairi's light fades out and my darkness thrives, then yes!" said Dark Kairi, "I will fight you, Sora! And I'll kill you!"

"Bad guys have been trying to kill me for a long time now," said Sora, "what makes you think you can?"

"Because I will it so!" said Dark Kairi. With that she rushed at Sora and tried to cut his head off. Sora blocked the dark Keyblade, then blocked a thrust to his heart, then blocked another head attack.

"Why are you just blocking me!?" shouted Dark Kairi as she attacked again and again, but Sora kept blocking, "fight back!"

"No," said Sora as he kept blocking the dark girl's attacks.

"Why isn't he attacking her?" Rainbow Dash asked, "that crazy human is trying to kill him!"

"She's not exactly human, mind you," said Rarity.

"Yeah, I know," said Rainbow Dash, "she's part of the mind of the human we're inside of."

"But why is Sora just blocking?" Applejack asked.

"Because he can," said Luna, "Sora knows all of Kairi's moves, and Dark Kairi knows everything Kairi knows, so he can anticipate every move Dark Kairi will make. This way he can wait for the right opportunity to disarm her without hurting her."

"Why not hurt her?" Applejack asked "that girl's crazier than a pair of fireflies during mating season."

"What's so crazy about fireflies in mating season?" Pinkie Pie asked, "that's how they make baby fireflies."

"Have you seen fireflies during mating season?" Applejack asked.

"They can be kind of…out of control," said Fluttershy, "but it's not really their fault, well, it sort of is, but they're so busy with their…business…they don't really pay attention when flying."

"I once flew through a huge swarm of them during mating season," said Rainbow Dash, "not a pretty sight. I wound up with so many of them in my feathers, it took me a week to get them all out."

"Yes, well," said Luna, "as to your question, Applejack, Sora won't hurt Dark Kairi because he simply can't. He can't, won't or will ever harm her, for she is in truth a part of Kairi, even though it is a part that seeks to destroy all that is good and true in Kairi."

"Well, gosh, that sucks," said Applejack.

"It really sucks," said Rainbow Dash angrily, "I ought to give that crazy human a piece of my mind!"

"Save some room for me," said Applejack, "I'll give her an apple bucking she'll never forget!"

"We don't have time to mess around like this," said Twilight Sparkle, "that tentacle thing could be back at any moment."

"And Kairi isn't looking to good right about now," said Fluttershy as she stood next to the catatonic Kairi, whom was still fading away. By now she was transparent from her hands up to her elbows.

"You're right, she looks absolutely ghastly," said Rarity, "nothing a little touchup and the right outfit wouldn't cure."

"Be serious, will you!?" Twilight Sparkle shouted, "we've got to get Sora to help Kairi!"

"He's doing that by fighting Dark Kairi," said Rainbow Dash in an impatient tone. "I so want to get in there and kick her butt!"

"That's my part, kicking her kiester," said Applejack.

"You'll get your chance to apple buck that tentacle creature when it comes back," said Twilight Sparkle, "but what Kairi, good Kairi, needs is for Sora to snap her out of her fugue."

"If he doesn't prevent her light from fading away," said Luna, "then the darkness growing in Kairi's heart will indeed take over."

"Then let's stomp Dark Kairi out of existence!" said Applejack.

"There's a better way," said Twilight Sparkle, "Pinkie Pie, you're up."

"I am?" Pinkie Pie asked, "I thought I was on the same level as everyone else."

"I mean we need you to distract Dark Kairi so I can talk to Sora," said Twilight Sparkle in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, okay," said Pinkie Pie. She then looked at Twilight Sparkle in a confused manner, "how am I going to distract her?"

"We already talked about this," said Twilight Sparkle in an even more annoyed tone. "Just use your imagination."

"Remember what I told you before we came to this dreamscape," said Luna, "the power of The Elements of Harmony has granted you, in this world, the ability to make whatever you imagine come true, to an extent."

"What extent are we talking about?" Rarity asked, "for I have a vivid imagination of my own."

"I'm sure," said Luna, "but there's a limit to what you can bring into existence here. It will only last for thirty seconds before fading out. You can think of it again, but…"

"So, if I were to imagine a design for the perfect dress," said Rarity in a contemplative manner, "then…" she then closed her eyes in concentration and before her appeared a design sketch. Rarity then looked at it, her eyes widening with delight and she smiled brightly, "why, this is indeed perfect!"

But then after a few seconds, the sketch vanished, "what? No! Come back!" exclaimed Rarity. She then closed her eyes again and concentrated. The design sketch came back but when Rarity looked at it, she frowned, "no, this isn't what I imagined. It's still gorgeous, but not the same."

"You imagined what you thought was perfect," said Luna, "but for you, the idea of perfection is constantly changing with new memories, new experiences. It's complicated and doesn't really make sense, but that's how it is."

"Well, I know what's perfect and won't change!" said Pinkie Pie. She then closed her eyes in concentration and above her appeared a small rain cloud, from which came a downpour of liquid chocolate that Pinkie Pie gulped down joyfully.

"I should have known," said an annoyed Rainbow Dash, while Applejack sighed with equal annoyance and Twilight Sparkle rested her face on her hoof, sighing with agrivation.

A few seconds later, the rain of chocolate vanished. "Okay, you've had your chocolate rain, Pinkie Pie," said Twilgiht Sparkle, "can we now," but then she faulted as she saw Pinkie Pie imagine up another cloud of chocolate rain, then another and another.

"Pinkie!" said Twilight Sparkle irately, "Pinkie!"

"She's in her zone now," said Rainbow Dash as she and the other Ponies watched Pinkie Pie gorge herself on her chocolate rain.

Having had enough, Twilight Sparkle shouted as loud as she could "PINKIE!"

This broke Pinkie Pie's concentration and her cloud of chocolate rain vanished. "Huh? Twilight?" she asked in a confused manner.

"You're supposed to imagine up a distraction!" said Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, right, sorry," said Pinkie Pie as she grinned sheepishly. She then glared at Dark Kairi, "alright, you big old meanie! Have some of this!" she closed her eyes in concentration and a small cannon with a blue barrel and pink and purple wheels with flower-print rims. She then pressed the fuse as if it were a button and an explosion of multi-colored confetti, streamers and balloons shot out towards Dark Kairi.

"What the!?" exclaimed Dark Kairi as the confetti, streamers and balloons shot past her, "what is this nonsense?!"

"It's not nonsense!" said Pinkie Pie, "it's my faithful Party Cannon!"

"Oh, we'll have a party alright," said Dark Kairi irately, "I'll shove you into that thing and blast you into orbit!"

"Fluttershy!" shouted Twilight Sparkle, "you're up!"

"Me?" Fluttershy asked in a nervous and timid tone, "I…well…I don't think I'll be able to…"

"That evil girl's going to kick out all the goodness in a pure heart and make Kairi do all sorts of evil things," said Twilight Sparkle, "including torturing helpless baby animals!"

At that Fluttershy's look of nervous uncertainty turned into one of righteous indignation, "over my dead body!" she shouted. She then took flight and flew up to Dark Kairi, a look of out of character anger on her face, "you! How dare you even think of hurting baby animals!"

"I never did such a thing," said Dark Kairi, "although," she then smiled wickedly, "I think the first thing I'll do after I take over Kairi is find some defenseless bunnies and roast them alive!"

"No You Wont!" shouted Fluttershy. She then glared at Dark Kairi, her eyes locked intensely with the eyes of the dark girl.

"Uh, are you sure it's a good idea to let her fight?" Sora asked Twilight Sparkle, "she doesn't seem like she's okay with violence."

"She won't lay a hoof on Dark Kairi," said Twilight Sparkle, "not if I know Fluttershy."

"Oh, I get it now," said Rainbow Dash, "she's using 'The Stare.'"

"What Stare?" Sora asked.

"Fluttershy has a way with animals," said Rarity, "a most beautiful empathic gift that allows her to connect with the hearts of natures inhabitants."

"And she can make really vicious critters back down and roll over," said Applejack.

"This one time, she calmed down this really big, really mean dragon," said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, you did kick it first," said Applejack.

"Hey! I'm not the only one who made it mad," said Rainbow Dash.

"I think it's working!" said Pinkie Pie, "that crazy human, she's losing her nerve!"

Sure enough, Dark Kairi was calming down somewhat, her eyes remained locked with Fluttershy's, "you…why can't I look away?" Dark Kairi asked in a slightly shaky tone.

"Listen to me!" said Fluttershy forcefully, "I really don't know a lot about humans, but one thing I do know is that you just can't let evil destroy good! That you can't let darkness destroy light! Whatever your issues are with Kairi, they don't justify you snuffing out her light and taking over her body, especially when you plan on doing all sorts of horrible things afterwards!"

"Well, of course I'm going to do horrible things," said Dark Kairi, "I'm evil, and evil cannot exist in the pure heart of a Princess of Heart. I have to snuff out Kairi's light or I'll be the one to fade away."

"I understand that," said Fluttershy, "but I can't let you destroy all that is good and true in Kairi!" she then increased the intensity of her stare, causing Dark Kairi to lose focus and vanish her dark Keyblade. The dark girl then sat down, her eyes still locked with Fluttershy's.

"We all have to stop you from destroying the good in Kairi," said Twilight Sparkle as she, the other Ponies and Sora, walked closer. "Thanks, Fluttershy, I think she's going to behave now."

"Oh, okay," said Fluttershy. She then looked away from Dark Kairi, whom blinked and sighed with relief, yet remained sitting.

"That was awesome," said Sora to Fluttershy, "you really put her in her place."

"Oh, well, it wasn't really that big a deal," said Fluttershy as she smiled modestly.

"Hey, you tamed a Chimera, a Cockatrice and even Discord," said Rainbow Dash, "no big deal my eye."

"You really ought to take more pride in yourself, hon," said Applejack to Fluttershy. She then looked at Dark Kairi, "now, what about her?"

"Yes, what about me!?" Dark Kairi asked, "do you have the right to destroy me before I even had a chance to exist!? Don't I get a chance to live?!"

"Not at the cost of Kairi's light," said Sora, "I'm sorry, if there was another way, I'd…"

"There is another way," said Twilight Sparkle.

"There is?" Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack and Sora all asked at the same time.

"Indeed there is," said Luna, "I anticipated a situation such as this and there is a way for Dark Kairi to live, in a manner of speaking."

"Of course," said Dark Kairi in an annoyed tone, "there's always a catch, isn't there?"

"This will be a catch that is beneficial to all involved," said Luna, "you, Dark Kairi, cannot exist inside the pure heart of Kairi. Yet you are an intelligent, sentient life form and you do have the right to exist, just not in or as Kairi."

"I don't get it," said Rainbow Dash, "how can she be a part of Kairi if she can't be a part of Kairi?"

"Maybe she's like a Chimi Cherry or a Cherry Chonga," said Pinkie Pie.

"No you don't!" exclaimed Rarity angrily, "I heard enough of that dialog when we were trying to get back from Appleloosa," she then glared at Rainbow Dash, "and I still owe you for abandoning us in the middle of the desert."

"Hey, we were trying to catch up with Applejack," said Rainbow Dash, "blame her for running away."

"Can we not bring that up again?" Applejack asked, "it's bad enough I had to learn the hard way about facing up to your problems and not running away when you're afraid of letting your friends down."

"We've all learned lessons about friendship," said Twilight Sparkle. She then looked at Dark Kairi, "if we had time I'd teach them to you."

"They'd be lost on me," said Dark Kairi in a depressed tone, "I'm evil, I am darkness and there are no friends in the darkness."

"You don't have to be that way," said Luna, "I can give you light, light that you can call your own, and eventually, a body of your own."

At that Dark Kairi looked at Luna with hopeful eyes, "you can do that for me?"

"It won't be an easy or short process," said Luna, "and in truth, you'd have to give up some of your freedom, some of your individuality. Simply put, you will merge with a body without a heart and become the heart for that body."

"What?" Sora asked, "how are you going to turn her into a heart? And who's body are you going to put…wait, you don't mean…?"

"Yes, Sora," said Luna, "I'm going to change her into a heart for someone you know, someone very close to you and the one you love."

"But how are you going to turn me into a hear?" Dark Kairi asked.

"With magic, of course," said Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, well, of course," said Dark Kairi sarcastically, "magic is a solution to everything."

"Not everything," said Luna, "but it can help in a lot of situations. The exact magical mechanics involved would take far too long to explain, and time is a luxury we are in short supply of. But once you've become a heart, you will be put right next to Kairi's pure heart. A spell will keep your darkness from interfering with Kairi's light, while her light will diffuse your darkness.

"Once enough time has passed and enough of your darkness has turned to light, once a balance between the two has been established, you shall be merged with your new body. Your memories and experiences shall merge with the mind of your new body and your two personalities shall combine, creating a new person, stronger combined than when you were as individuals."

"And this new me," said Dark Kairi, "she won't be a goodie two shoes like Kairi? Will I still be capable of evil?"

"You'll be like every other normal heart," said Luna, "capable of choosing between good and evil, though I hope you will choose good most of the time."

"So long as I get a choice, I'm cool with it," said Dark Kairi, "And as long as I'm still partly me." She then looked at Sora, "and that we have this understanding between us. As soon as I'm in my new body, we go our separate ways. I don't want to see you, Kairi or any of your friends again."

"I think you'll feel different after you get a taste of the memories of whom you'll become the heart of," said Sora.

"Uh, people?" Applejack asked as she looked off to the left, her eyes widened with nervousness, "I think Tall, Dark and Slimy is back!"

"And he's brought company!" said Rainbow Dash as she hovered a few yards in the air to get a better view.

Sure enough, the tentacle creature was fast approaching and with it was a horde of zombies.

"Oh my stars!" said a horrified Rarity.

"I don't think we can take on that many!" said Applejack.

"Not to sound like I'm scared or nothing," said Rainbow Dash, "but I think we should get out of here!"

"How about going back to Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked, "I think I left the oven on back home!"

"No! We can't run away!" said Twilight Sparkle, "we can hold off those undead creeps!"

"Twilight's right!" said Applejack, "we can't let these rotting critters scare us!"

"We certainly can't run now," said Rarity, "not after coming this far."

"Heh, I'll bet I can take out a hundred of those things before the rest of you guys can even take out ten!" said Rainbow Dash as she grinned eagerly for the coming fight.

"Come on, every-pony! We can do it!" said Pinkie Pie as she imagined up a large 'WE CAN DO IT!' banner.

"I suppose we could do it," said Fluttershy, "I'd rather if we could all just sit down for a cup of tea, but I guess there's just no reasoning with a zombie."

"Depends on the zombie you talk to," said Sora, "I happen to know a really smart zombie, and she's the smartest ghoul at her school."

"You'll have to tell us about it sometime," said Twilight Sparkle, "but for now," she then looked at Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, "come on, every-pony! Let's show these jerks how we do things in Equestria!"

"Yeah!" shouted the five Ponies. With that the six of them ran and flew at the oncoming zombie horde.

"They'll hold the undead abominations at bay," said Luna, "and I will do what I can to restrain the demon. But you, Sora, you must be the one to help Kairi. You must snap her out of her fugue before she fades away completely or all of this will be for naught."

"What do I have to do?" Sora asked.

"Just talk to her," said Luna, "she may not be listening, but she will hear your voice and the right words will bring her back to herself."

By now Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had stopped at a small hill a hundred yards or so from Sora and the others. They then closed their eyes in concentration as the gems in their necklaces and Twilight's crown glowed.

"What's happening?" Dark Kairi asked.

"They're invoking The Elements of Harmony," said Luna, "six aspects of friendship that come together to unleash a power that even the darkest of darkness cannot withstand.

"Applejack; one of the most courageous, hard working and truthful hearts to walk Equestria, her Element is Honesty.

"Fluttershy; possessing a heart full of compassion, serenity and love, hers is the Element of Kindness.

"Rainbow Dash; also courageous, she is always ready to stand up for what is right and just, always willing to be there for her friends, she bares the Element of Loyalty.

"Rarity; beneath her vain surface is a heart willing to give all that she can to those in need, to help those in need and make things better, hers is the Element of Generosity.

"Pinkie Pie; possessing a free spirit, an imaginative mind and a heart full of joy, she is always on the lookout for sad faces that are in need of cheering up, always ready to spread smiles wherever she goes, she bares the Element of Laughter.

"And Twilight Sparkle; one of the most gifted students either my sister or I have ever seen. Twilight Sparkle, whom has seen and learned so much in such a short time both about her powers, about friendship and about herself, hers is the Element of Magic."

By now all six gems were glowing brightly. Twlight Sparkle blinked and her eyes glowed white as beams of power shot from the gems, converging above Twilight Sparkle and forming a streaming Rainbow that encircled the area around Sora, Kairi, Dark Kairi and the Ponies.

The first wave of the zombies hit the rainbow wall and vanished. More and more zombies ran at the wall with reckless abandon for their own wellbeing, completely focused on reaching our heroes and allies that they ran headlong into their own destruction.

Within a minute, all of the zombies were gone. The rainbow wall vanished, while the gems worn by Twilight Sparkle and her friends stopped glowing.

Twilight and the others sighed with relief as they all slumped on the ground.

"Wow, that was something else," said Twilight Sparkle.

"And I thought fighting off those Changelings was hard work," said Rainbow Dash.

"I feel like I've just bucked all of Sweet Apple Acres in one go," said Applejack.

"I'm just tired," said Pinkie Pie.

"Wake me when it's time to go home," said Rarity.

"Wait, where's the demon?" Fluttershy asked.

They then saw that the demon had gotten past them and was rushing towards the still catatonic Kairi. But then Luna got in front of the tentacle creature.

"Thou shall not pass me, demon!" Luna shouted in her deafening, reverberating voice, "take thy curse and be gone with thee!" Her horn then glowed with her magic and an enormous blast of dark blue energy shot at the tentacle creature, hitting it in the torso and knocking it down.

But then the creature got back up. It bellowed with dark fury and rushed at Luna again. She shot another blast of magic at it but the creature dodged it, then leapt at Luna intending on ensnaring her with its tentacles. Luna took flight and shot another magic blast from above but the creature dodged it again. It then jumped up and tried to grab Luna but she flew out of the way, shooting more and more blasts of magic at it.

But then the creature spat a glob of slime at Luna. She dodged it, but then the tentacle creature spat more and more globs of slime at her. One glob of slime then hit her left wing, covering her feathers and inflicting a burning pain. Luna cried out in agony and she fell to the ground. She managed to come out of her dive and managed to avoid a crash landing, but she still landed hard.

The creature then landed and rushed at Luna, its tentacles writing in anticipation of constricting the life out of her.

But then Dark Kairi got in front of Luna with her dark Keyblade out, "hey! Asshole! I'm your opponent now!"

The creature stopped several paces from Dark Kairi, glaring at her in an apprising manner.

"That's right, you slimy, festering sack of pig crap!" shouted Dark Kairi, "look at me with those filthy eyes of yours! Look upon the face of your executioner!"

"What are you doing!?" Sora asked, "that thing's gonna kill you!"

"Maybe," said Dark Kairi, "maybe not. And don't get me wrong, Sora, I'm not fighting it to save Ms. Feathers there," she then glanced at Luna, "I'm still bad, despite the opportunity you gave me. I'm doing this because that slime ball there irks me."

"I'm not going to argue with you on that," said Luna as she stood up, while Twilight Sparkle and the other Ponies walked over.

"You do what you have to do, Sora!" said Dark Kairi, "I'll deal with testicle breath here!" she then glared at the tentacle creature, "that's right! Your breath smells like balls! Now fight me!"

The creature bellowed and the two of them began circling each other, waiting for an opening.

"Go, Sora!" said Luna, "go to Kairi and pull her back from the brink!"

"Right!" said Sora. He then ran over to the still catatonic Kairi. But when he reached her, he realized that he had no idea what to say that would bring her back to awareness.

"Uh…uh…" Still unsure, Sora sat down and took Kairi's hand in his, "I…Kairi…I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't keep Maleficent from cursing you. I'm sorry we didn't find you sooner back in New York and at the bathhouse. I'm sorry I appeared so frightening to you. I'm sorry I couldn't stop your light from fading. I'm sorry I couldn't stop darkness from entering your heart."

By now Sora was crying, tears of anguished frustration and sorrow falling from his eyes, "I'm sorry, Kairi! I'm so, so sorry! If only I had been stronger, faster, better, I could have stopped it before it ever happened. I love you so much and I don't want you to fade away! But I don't know how to stop it!"

By now, the fading of Kairi had accelerated. Her arms, legs and lower torso were completely transparent.

"Kairi! If you can hear me, please, don't go away! Don't give up, don't leave me! I love you!"

Several of Sora's tears fell onto Kairi's hand. The fading slowed down just before it reached her heart, then stopped, then began reversing. Within a minute, Kairi was completely opaque again. She then gripped Sora's hand and opened her eyes, "Sora…you…you're alive?"

"I never died," said Sora, "you've been under a terrible curse."

Just then they both heard the tentacle creature bellow again. Sora and Kairi then saw the creature lift Dark Kairi over its head and threw her at Luna, the two of them colliding and collapsing to the ground.

"What's going on?" Kairi asked as Sora helped her stand up.

"That horrible thing is what's been tormenting you!" said Sora as he summoned his Keyblade, "the Ponies are from the same world as Dream Valley but on a different continent or something, they're here to help."

"And the girl who looks like me on a really bad day?" Kairi asked.

"Long story," said Sora. "just stay back, Kairi, I'll take care of my ugly copycat!" with that he rushed at the tentacle creature, but the creature backhanded him away with enough force to knock him to the ground.

"Sora!" shouted Kairi.

"It's okay, Kairi!" said Sora as he got back up, "I can take this jerk!" he then rushed at the tentacle creature, only to be knocked down again, only now he was bruised and cut in several places, "seriously, I'm alright!" he then got back up, albeit sluggishly, only to be knocked down again.

"Hey! Stop that!" Twilight Sparkle shouted. Her horn glowed with magic and she shot a beam at the tentacle creature, only for her attack to bounce off of the creature's slimy skin.

"I'll fix you, creep!" shouted Rainbow Dash. She took flight and zoomed at the creature, only for it to grab her out of the air and slam her to the ground, then grabbed Applejack as she was about to kick it from behind. The creature then threw Applejack at Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy, the four Ponies collapsing to the ground in a heap.

"No! Stop it!" shouted Kairi.

"It won't stop!" said Dark Kairi as she got back up, "not as long as you're afraid!" she then rushed at the tentacle creature, only for it to spit slime at her, hitting her in the torso and knocking her down.

"Your fear is strengthen its power!" said Luna to Kairi, "you must cast out your terror and embrace your courage! Free your mind and heart from fear!"

"Easer said than done!" said Kairi, "that thing's creaming you guys!"

"At least we're trying!" Applejack shouted as she, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy got back up, only for them to get hit by slime.

"Just stay back, Kairi!" Sora shouted as he stood up to face the creature again, "I'll…!" but that's as far as he got as the creature grabbed Sora with its tentacles and began crushing him.

"That abomination will destroy all of us if you remain afraid of it!" Luna shouted at Kairi, "face your fear and destroy it!"

"Now would be a good time to grow a backbone!" shouted Twilight Sparkle as she shot more blasts of magic at the creature, but it shrugged the blasts off as it continued to crush Sora.

"Kairi!" Sora gasped, "I…I'll always love you!"

"SORA!" Kairi shouted. Rushing at the creature, Kairi summoned her Keyblade and jumped up. She then stabbed the creature in the head as she came down, but the creature dissolved into black smoke that drifted away on the wind. Both Sora and Kairi fell to the ground.

At the same time the slime covering Dark Kairi, Luna and the other Ponies vanished as well, allowing them all to stand up.

"Is it over?" Fluttershy asked, "is that horrible, horrible thing gone?"

"It is," said Luna.

"But how?" Rarity asked, "that disgusting creature was walking all over us like a red carpet."

"It's power came from Kairi's fear," said Dark Kairi, "so long as she was afraid, then the curse and the creature, which were one and the same, would remain in effect. But by seeking Sora at the brink of destruction, it reaffirmed Kairi's courage and allowed her to break the curse and dispel the abomination," she then looked at Luna, "I did my part, now what are you going to do about me?"

"I'm sorry," said Kairi, "but who are you?"

At that Dark Kairi smirked, "let's just say that I'm what you would have been had things turned out really, really different for you."

"And you shall be different," said Luna, "in more ways than one. Twilight Sparkle? Whenever you are ready."

"Okay," said Twilight Sparkle as she smiled confidently, "here we go!" with that her horn and Luna's glowed brightly and shot beams of magic at Dark Kairi. The two beams hit her in the heart and caused the dark girl to gasp loudly. There was a flash of bright light and she was gone, replaced by a dark purple, almost black crystal heart.

"What just happened?" Kairi asked, "would someone please explain to me what's going on?"

"Long story short," said Twilight Sparkle, "Alegra sent us all into your mind to free you of the curse."

"We're in my mind?" Kairi asked.

"I had to run through a lot of your thoughts and memories," said Sora, "and meet different parts of your personality. But the Kairi I'm seeing right now, you're the best of the bunch."

"Glad you care," said Kairi, "but what about that girl who looked like me?"

"She was the darkness that was growing in your heart, brought about by your fear, anger and hate," said Luna, "it would have taken over had our efforts to restore your courage and light had failed. But now it has been turned into a heart, and with the pure light of your heart, Kairi, your darkness shall one day be given a balanced life of her own."

"Which means someone we know won't be a Nobody for much longer," said Sora.

At that Kairi blinked in surprise, but then smiled, "that sounds like a good plan to me. So, what now?"

"Your heart is still fractured from your ordeal," said Luna, "Very soon, Chihiro and Rapunzel will use their powers to heal your heart, which brings us to the point where we must depart."

"We're leaving already?" Twilight Sparkle asked, "but I wanted to talk to Sora and Kairi," she looked at the two Keyblade Wielders, "I have so many questions about humans and other worlds. And I want to know about your struggles against Maleficent, Xehanort and all the other villains!"

"I think we've done quite enough for one day, Twilight," said Luna.

"I think she's right," said Applejack, "besides, I think Applebloom and her friends are trying out cliff diving."

"Either they're going to find their Cuite Marks or kill themselves!" said Pinkie Pie.

"I'd rather not try to explain to my parents why I let Sweetie Belle suffer an untimely demise," said Rarity.

"Then we'd better get back to our bodies back in Equestria," said Twilight Sparkle. She then looked at Sora and Kairi, "you will come visit us someday, right?"

"Absolutely," said Sora, while Kairi nodded in agreement.

"Then this is farewell for now," said Luna.

"It was wonderful meeting you," said Fluttershy.

"Awesome battle," said Rainbow Dash, "can't wait to fight more bad guys with you."

"Remind me to treat ya'll to a home cooked meal back at the farm," said Applejack.

"I get to bake desert!" said Pinkie Pie.

"And I must design a new wardrobe for you, Kairi," said Rarity, "your hair is simply divine."

"I bet I really look like a mess," said Kairi.

"You'll always be beautiful to me," said Sora.

"Thanks," said a slightly embarrassed Kairi.

"See you later!" said Twilight Sparkle. With that the seven Ponies vanished.

"Okay, now what?" Kairi asked.

"I think we wait for Yubaba and Zebena to wake us up," said Sora, "oh, and Alegra's there to back with our bodies, so I think she'll know what to do next."

"But how long are we going to be stuck inside my head?" Kairi asked.

"I really don't know," said Sora. There was a moment of silence between then before they both started laughing.

…Yubaba's bedchambers…

"Sora has done it!" said Zeneba joyfully, "the curse is broken!"

"Then let's get Sen back up here right now!" said Yubaba.

"I think she's busy right now!" said Eugene as he looked out the window. He was watching the battle raging below, where Riku, Yusuke and Kamen Rider Black were still fighting the three Grand Mutants, while both groups of heroes and villains were watching, with Chihiro among the villains.

"That's what teleportation spells are for," said Alegra. She then looked at Zeneba, "whenever you're ready."

Zeneba then cast her spell and with a flash of light, both Chihiro and Haku were teleported into the room.

"What?!" a slightly disoriented Chihiro asked as she looked around, then realization hit her, "oh! Kairi! Sora! I completely forgot! Are they ready for us?"

"Yes, and so am I," said Rapunzel, "let's heal Kairi's heart."

"It will take but a moment for the two of you to get ready," said Zeneba, "you'll need to focus your powers and channel them onto Kairi's heart."

"In the meantime," said Yubaba as she glared at Haku, "I believe I have some unfinished business to attend to," she then walked over to Haku, whom was glaring back at her, "so, boy, you returned."

"I didn't come back for you, Yuababa!" said Haku, "I'm here for Chihiro, plain and simple."

"And what will you do with Chihiro?" Yubaba asked, "return with her to the human world? Ask her to join you in the spirit realm? What kind of future do you think either of you will have?"

"I don't know yet," said Haku, "but one thing is certain, my place is with Chihiro and my purpose is to ensure her happiness. Wherever she goes, I will go and I will do whatever I can to bring her that happiness."

"Technically that's two things," said Alegra, "but I understand."

"Okay, we're ready," said Zeneba, "Chihiro, Rapunzel, you may now heal Kairi's heart."

"Here goes everything," said Rapunzel.

"Yeah," said Chihiro. They stood over Kairi, placed their hands over her heart and channeled their newly awakened powers. Healing light shone from their hands and was absorbed into Kairi's heart.

…Kairi's dreamscape…

All of a sudden, the ground Sora and Kairi were standing upon began to tremble.

"Earthquake?" Sora asked as she and Kairi held onto each other and tried to keep their balance.

"In my own head?" Kairi asked. They then were blinded by a brilliant white light.

"Now what?" Sora asked as he and Kairi held their hands over their eyes, "is…is this the healing?"

"I don't know," said Kairi as she smiled brightly, "but I sincerely hope so! I feel better than I've been in a long time!" The ground began shaking harder and the light grew in intensity to the point where it overwhelmed their senses.

…Yubaba's bedchambers…

Both Chihiro and Rapunzel gasped in exhaustion as they both fell back from Kairi. Haku caught Chihiro while Eugene caught Rapunzel.

"Wow, am I spent," said Rapunzel.

"I feel like I've been running for days," said Chihiro.

"You both look bushed," said Eugene.

"And rewarded," said Alegra, "I believe that your efforts were successful."

"It's true," said Zeneba, "Kairi's heart is healing. It should be back to normal very soon."

"Great," said Chihiro as she and Rapunzel regained their balance and stood up, "but when are Sora and Kairi going to wake up?"

As if in answer, both Sora and Kairi opened their eyes, looked at each other and smiled, "hey," said Sora.

"Hey," said Kairi, "you okay?" she asked as she and Sora sat up.

"I'm fine," said Sora, "you?"

"Never better," said Kairi. She then looked around, seeing Yubaba, Zeneba, Alegra, Rapunzel, Eugene, Chihiro and Haku, "thank you, all of you."

"We're not done yet," said Alegra. "I'm about to win my bet with Columbina. Now, both of you stand up and hold hands."

"Uh, okay," said Sora as he and Kairi got up and held their hands together.

Alegra then pulled out a long, bright red ribbon embroidered with blue symbols. She began tying it around their hands, "this ribbon is used on a world full of love and joy. They don't have marriage as we understand, but form bonds more intimate than that formed by exchanging wedding vows."

"You're marrying them?" Rapunzel asked.

"You're marrying us!?" Sora exclaimed in a horrified tone.

"You can't marry us!" said Kairi in an equally horrified tone, "we…we can't get married yet. We're too young!"

"Since when does love have an age limit?" Alegra asked, "and I told you that this isn't a wedding, not one you're familiar with anyway."

"Oh, I guess that's okay," said Sora.

"It's not okay," said Kairi in an insisting tone, "even if this isn't a wedding, there's still stuff that needs to be done. We have to invite our friends, hire an event planner, then there's the cake, Sora hasn't even bought an engagement ring. And I haven't even had a chance to get cleaned up and dressed properly."

"You don't need any of that for this," said Alegra, "just trust me. I know I haven't always been fully honest with you, but this is something that will bring your hearts closer than ever before. Now," she then held up the ribbon, "may I continue?"

"I…well…" said Kairi. She then looked at Sora, "what do you think?"

"I'm cool with it if you are," said Sora.

"I had a feeling you'd say that," remarked Kairi. She then looked at Alegra, "go ahead."

"As I was saying," said Alegra as she continued to tie the ribbon around their hands, "this was used to forge bonds between hearts, bonds that cannot be broken by villains, by jealousy, fear, anger, hate, sorrow, envious outsiders, by any dark heart, not even death can break that bond. Only loss of love can, and I don't see that happening any time soon." She then finished tying the ribbon.

"What now?" Sora asked.

"You repeat after me," said Alegra, "now and forever…"

"Now and forever," said both Sora and Kairi.

"Our hearts are one," said Alegra.

"Our hearts are one," said Sora and Kairi. The ribbon then glowed with a warm rose-pink light, while both Sora and Kairi gasped as the rose light passed through their bodies.

"What's happening?" Chihiro asked.

"Something wonderful," said Haku.

The light then faded out. "It's done," said a happily smiling Alegra as she began untying the ribbon.

"Are you two alright?" Rapunzel asked.

"I…I think so," said Sora.

"Me too," said Kairi. She then looked at Sora, whom looked at her and they both embraced and kissed.

"I…I think I can sense the bond," said Chihiro.

"I feel it too!" said Rapunzel as she smiled brightly, "it's beautiful!"

Just then Columbina appeared, "NO!" the masked woman shouted wrathfully, "no! I forbid this!"

"You're too late!" said Alegra triumphantly, "Kairi's heart is healed and stronger than ever, so is her bond with Sora! They are beyond your power to harm them now!"

"This cannot be!" shouted Columbina, "I deny it!"

"Deny all you want," said Alegra, "you've lost your wager. Which means I'll never give you 'it,' whatever 'it' is."

At that Columbina glared hatefully at Alegra, "you never had 'it,' did you!?"

"I don't even know what 'it' is," said Alegra, "and I'm glad, because so long as I don't know, I can't give 'it' to you and you can't force me to give 'it' to you. On the other hand, without knowing what 'it' is, I can't prevent you from acquiring 'it' on your own, but I'll deal with that later."

"In short, you've lost," said Sora.

"Lost what?" Kairi asked.

"I kind of made a bt with her over your existence," said Alegra.

"Tess was right," said an offended Kairi to Alegra, "you are a bitch."

"And proud of it," said Alegra smugly.

"Your pride will be your undoing, Alegra Wells!" said Columbina, her voice dripping with unadulterated loathing "you may have won our little wager, you may have given me false hope of acquiring 'it,' but I'm willing to let that go in exchange for a different form of satisfaction. I'm going to destroy you all right here and now!"

"You will fail!" said Alegra, "my sources tell me that very soon, the battle with Gorgom will end with their renewed downfall! Oh, a few others will be destroyed, but I'm not going to spoil things."

"Gorgom may fall," said Columbina, "but Dai-Shocker is forever!" she smiled with vicious glee, "The Three High Priests may be doomed, but there is another, far stronger whom will succeed where they failed! Beware the dark side of the moon, Alegra Wells! Beware the dark side of the moon!" with that she vanished.

"What was that all about?" Eugene asked.

"What did she mean about the dark side of the moon?" Haku asked, "there's nothing there that isn't on the bright side; rocks, dust, a few patches of ice and harmless moon spirits."

"She's not talking about the actual moon," said Alegra in a nervous tone, "she's bringing in one of the most powerful enforcers of Dai-Shocker. We've got to get down there right now!"

…Outside the bathhouse…

"Crap!" shouted Yusuke as he was knocked down, landing next to Riku and Kamen Rider Black, all of whom had been severely beaten by The Three Grand Mutants.

"How pathetic," said Grand Mutant Bishium as she, Grand Mutant Baraom and Grand Mutant Darom advanced on the three downed heroes, while Shadowcast, Chimera Mutant, Regina, Lady Tremaine, Dio Brando and Gaston kept Tess, Kuwabara and the others at bay.

"Alas, a gallant effort wasted," said Maleficent as she watched, along with Brother Courtney and The Lord of Illusions.

"Do you hear that, Minami Kotaro?" Brother Courtney asked, "it is your doom approaching!"

"And the others are doomed too!" said The Lord of Illusions.

"Chimera Mutant!" shouted Grand Mutant Darom, "finish off Minami Kotaro! Then kill the others!"

Chimera Mutant, whom was throttling Aiden, Mark and Toralei, threw them to the ground, nodded and growled in acknowledgement and advanced on Kamen Rider Black.

"Any ideas?" Riku asked as he, Yusuke and Kamen Rider Black struggled to get up.

"I've got one, maybe two more Spirit Gun blasts left," said Yusuke, "after that, I'm spent for the day. You guys have anything?"

"Just one," said Kamen Rider Black, "but it's just one chance."

"Then do it, man!" said Yusuke, "before that spliced up critter eats us!"

By then Chimera Mutant had reached Kamen Rider Black and reached down to strangle him.

"King Stone Flash!" shouted Kamen Rider Black. The red crystal in his belt flashed a bright white light that forced Chimera Mutant back, the creature shielding its eyes from the intense radiance.

At the same time The Three Grand Mutants were also blinded by the light, as well as Shadowcast, Regina, Dio Brando, Lady Tremaine, Gaston, The Lord of Illusions, Brother Courtney and Maleficent.

"What…what trickery is this!?" Maleficent demanded.

"It's the power of his King Stone!" Brother Courtney shouted as he and the other villains continued to shield their eyes.

"Hey, that's some rock you've got," said an impressed Yusuke as he, Riku and everyone else recovered and got back up.

"And now I'm going to end it!" said Kamen Rider Black. "Multi-Eye!" the red, faceted eyes on his helmet flashed as he began scanning the area, specifically the villains.

"He's searching for our weaknesses!" shouted Brother Courtney, "destroy him before he destroys us!"

"I'd like to oblige," said Regina, "but I still can't see!" indeed, she and the other villains were still blinded by the flash from the red King Stone.

"I have no eyes!" said Shadowcast, "I will destroy him!" he then extended his fog tendrils towards Kamen Rider Black.

"Not today, asshole!" shouted Malcolm. He then aimed his Keyblade at Shadowcast and shot a spell. The beam of magic hit the fog-like demon, causing him to cry out in pain as his body began condensing. Within seconds, he had solidified into a humanoid piece of ice.

"What'cha do?" Kuwabara asked.

"I took a page out of one of my enemies book," said Malcolm, "and froze the bastard."

"Works for me!" said Yusuke as he charged up his finger and took aim at the solidified Shadowcast, "Spirit Gun!"

The blue blast of spirit energy shot from Yusuke's finger and hit the frozen demon right where its heart should be. The creature shattered into countless pieces that began evaporating, reducing Shadowcast to nothing within seconds.

"Huh, it worked," said an astonished Yusuke, "for a second, I thought he'd just pull himself together."

"You truly are a dimwit, detective," said Hiei.

"By condensing Shadowcast into a solid form," said Kurama, "you left the core of his dark essence, his demon heart, exposed to attack."

"And I actually blew it to kingdom come," said Yusuke, "well, case closed."

"We're not finished, Urameshi Yusuke!" shouted a sill blinded Brother Courtney, "just you wait until I can see again! You'll feel the full wrath of Dai-Shocker!"

"Gee, I thought you guys were already mad to the max," said Yusuke.

"Insolent human!" shouted Grand Mutant Baraom, "I'll rip out your heart and make you eat it!"

"That's a little redundant," said Toralei. She then looked at Kamen Rider Black, "so, where's his weak spot?"

"The base of the neck!" said Kamen Rider Black, "slash it!"

"I'll slash you, freak!" shouted Grand Mutant Baraom as he rushed at Toralei.

"Dream on, big boy!" shouted Toralei. She then rushed at the oncoming feline creature, both of them with their claws ready for the kill.

But then Toralei jumped up at the last moment, somersaulted over Grand Mutant Baraom's head, landed behind the startled creature and delivered a double claw strike to the base of his neck.

"NO!" shouted Grand Mutant Baraom as he thrashed about in agony, "it cannot be!" he then burst into flames and was reduced to ashes in seconds.

"Blasphemy!" shouted Grand Mutant Darom.

"Oh, shut up!" shouted Julia as she pulled out her sniper riffle, aimed and pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting the trolobite-like creature in the left eye, causing him to cry out in agony.

"Nice shot," said an impressed Howleen.

"I was aiming for between the eyes," said Julia as she chambered another round, "I'm more tired than I thought."

"Allow me to finish it!" said Steven. He then looked at Kamen Rider Black, "how do I do that now?"

"Stab him in the stomach!" shouted Kamen Rider Black.

"I got it!" said Mark as he readied his sword.

"Me too!" shouted Kuwabara.

"Me three!" said Roxas. With that they rushed at Grand Mutant Darom and before the gray creature could react, stabbed him right in the midsection, then jumped back.

"Damn you, Minami Kotaro!" shouted Grand Mutant as he collapsed to the ground, bursting into flames that reduced him to ashes within seconds.

"I can guess your weakness!" shouted Tess as she faced down Grand Mutant Bishium.

"Another time, perhaps!" said Grand Mutant Bishium. She then took flight vanished.

"Cowardly trollop!" shouted Brother Courtney, whom apparently could see now. He then looked at Chimera Mutant, "don't just stand there, you idiot! Finish them!"

"Not this time!" shouted Kamen Rider Black. He then raised his right arm and formed a fist, then held his left arm out to his right, his left hand also forming a fist, both fists then gripping tightly. He then jumped up and in jump, pushed outward so he was falling towards Chimera Mutant like a homing missile.

"Rider Punch!" he then socked Chimera Mutant in the face, forcing the creature back.

Kamen Rider Black then jumped up again and then delivered a flying kick with his right foot charged with red energy, "Rider Kick!"

The glowing foot connected with Chimera Mutant's head, forcing the creature back even further, whom then burst into flames that reduced him to ashes within seconds.

"Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events," said Regina in a slightly nervous tone. She then looked at Maleficent, "I think now would be a good time to retire in good order."

"We agree on that," said Maleficent.

"You're not going anywhere!" said Sora as he, Kairi, Alegra, Yubaba, Zeneba, Chihiro, Haku, Rapunzel and Eugene, all ran into the area.

"Sora!" shouted Riku.

"Kairi! You're okay!" shouted Frankie.

"And better than ever!" said Kairi.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Maleficent, "how can this be! Your mind was cursed! You should be a broken shell by now!"

"The only thing that was broken was your curse," said Alegra, "while the bond between Sora and Kairi has been made nearly indestructible."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naminé asked.

"We're kina…" said Sora.

"…married now," Kairi finished. At that they both giggled for a second.

"What!?" Tess, Riku, Aiden, Malcolm, Roxas and Naminé all shouted.

"Oh my ghoul!" said Frankie, "you got married?"

"And you didn't even buy a ring?" Tara asked.

"It's not really that big a deal," said Kairi, "well, it is to me and Sora, but seriously…"

"…it's not worth everyone else making such a big fuss," Sora finished.

"Big fuss by eye," said Howleen, "when my sister hears about this, she'll work herself half to death to arrange a real wedding for you guys."

"Not if they are dead!" shouted Maleficent. She then looked at Regina, Lady Tremaine, Gaston and Dio Brando, "kill them!"

"I still can't see, you idiot!" shouted Regina, "you want to kill them, do it yourself!"

"Very well," said Maleficent. She then glared at Sora and Kairi, "your tribulations will be in vain! I will destroy you with my own hands!"

"No need," said Brother Courtney as he smiled wickedly, "help is on the way."

"What are you talking about?" The Lord of Illusions asked.

Just then a shimmering gray wall appeared and from it emerged a man in gray and black armor, with boots that had double-bladed spurs and an insect-like helmet with green, multi-faceted eyes. He wore a belt with a green crystal set in the middle, similar to the belt worn by Kamen Rider Black.

"Who is that?" Mark asked as the newcomer looked around, as if appraising the situation.

"I don't know," said Felicia in an edgy tone as she gripped her knives, "but he gives me the willies."

"Me too," said Toralei in a visibly nervous but forceful tone, the hairs on the back of her neck raised, "he's evil, through and through."

"But who is he?" Tess asked.

"Nobuhiko," said Kamen Rider Black in a startled tone.

"You are a fool, Minami Kotaro!" shouted Brother Courtney, "your friend no longer exist!"

"Lord Shadow Moon!" shouted Grand Mutant Bishium as she swooped down, landing next to the man in the gray and black armor, kneeling in front of him, "you have returned!"

"Shadow Moon?" Sora asked.

"The strongest, most powerful, most diabolical of Gorgom," said Alegra, "I was hoping to avoid fighting him, for he is also among the most powerful enforcers of Dai-Shocker."

"I knew you'd return, Lord Shadow Moon," said Grand Mutant Bishium, "the others, they conspired to raise up a new pair of Century Kings and usurp your rightful place as Creation King! But I never went along with their cowardly actions! I knew, I always knew that you would return and lead Gorgom into a new age of dark glory!"

"You lying creepazoid!" shouted Rapunzel, "I was there when you and your fellow creeps boasted on how you'd make new Century Kings and make them fight each other to the death!"

"Truth be told," said Regina, "they planned on turning those two into Century Kings," she then pointed at Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Excuse me?" Yusuke asked.

"You can't be serious!" said Kuwabara, "me, a king? I'd be satisfied with being top fighter in my district back home!"

"I just wanna do my own thing without anyone bothering me," said Yusuke, "I mean, I'll solve a case now and then, but I'd give up school and a lot of other crap if I could."

"Whatever combs your hair," said Regina, "the point is that Gorgom had every intention of starting over with a new Creation King."

"That's a lie!" shouted Grand Mutant Bishium, "Lord Shadow Moon! I among the Three High Priests am your most loyal acolyte! Let me serve you in the revival of Gorgom!"

Shadow Moon then looked down at Grand Mutant Bishium.

"Yes, Lord Shadow Moon!" said Grand Mutant Bishium, "let me serve you!"

Shadow Moon then summoned a sword with a blood-red blade and before anyone else could react, used it to slice off the head of Grand Mutant Bishium. The creature's body and head fell to the ground and burst into flames that reduced all of her to ashes in seconds.

"No way!" said a shocked Sora, while Riku, Kairi and everyone else looked equally shocked.

"Your own subordinate," said Malcolm, "what kind of sicko are you!?"

"Nobuhiko!" shouted Kamen Rider Black, "stop this now!"

"Black Sun," said Shadow Moon in an insidious tone, "we meet again. I can assure you that this time, we will end our rivalry. This time, I will destroy you!"

The end of chapter 9.

Next chapter finds our heroes fighting for their lives against the insidious Shadow Moon. Who will survive? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!