Last time Sora, Donald and Goofy arrived in The Realm of Magix to stop the insidious Trix from taking control of The Magical Dimension. Unfortunately they were several miles from where they needed to be, forcing the trio to hike through a Heartless-infested forest. At the same time, Kairi arrived at Alfea and made contact with Bloom, while Riku arrived at Red Fountain and made contact with Sky. Both Keyblade wielders protected their respective charges, while assisting the students of the two schools against The Heartless. Unfortunately for Riku and Kairi, their arrival in Magix was observed by the insidious Trix. 'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 3: Pathos for Domino

The Trix had just delivered their ultimatum to Faragonda and Saladin via a holographic message, saying that they have 12 hours to surrender, or else both Red Fountain and Alfea will be destroyed.

"You have nothing that can stand in the way of our power," Icy boasted, "We control The Heartless, and we shall control all of The Magical Dimension. Resistance is futile." she ended the message with a wave of her hand.

"You really think they'll just roll over and give up?" Stormy asked.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Icy asked, a malicious grin, "No, they'll keep fighting, and we'll keep sending more and more Heartless, until they're all destroyed. Speaking of which, we'll need to refocus our control over The Heartless. I'd rather not have a repeat of what happened when those brats with the Keyblades showed up."

"Oh yeah," said Stormy, "I almost forgot about them. So, what are we going to do about them?"

"I'm not sure," said Icy, "I've got so many ideas of what to do to them, I just can't decide. I'll pick something when we've got them at our mercy, Darcy will help me decide. Where is Darcy anyway?"

"She's outside," said a disgusted sounding Stormy as she looked out the window, "codling all the Heartless."

"You're joking," said Icy as she joined her sister at the window and looked, "You're not."

Outside, Darcy was treating a bunch of Shadows as if they were puppies. It was rather disturbing to Icy and Stormy to see their sister crooning, "Who's a nasty little Heartless? You're a nasty little Heartless! Yes you are! Yes you are!"

"Cut that crap out, Darcy!" spat Icy as she and Stormy walked outside, "It's embarrassing."

"And disgusting to boot," said Stormy.

"Oh you're just jealous that they like me better than you," said Darcy. It was true that The Heartless tended to act with less indifference to Darcy than with her sisters.

"Well stop it with the cuteness," said Icy, "We've work to do."

********

With the battle still on hold, Kairi used the time to tell, at least partly, her story to Bloom and her friends Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna; the five of them had formed a group called The Winx. Kairi began her story with what happened back on Destiny Island with her, Sora and Riku.

"No way," said Musa, "You're telling me that your heart was taken from you and placed inside someone else?"

"That's impossible on more than one level," said Tecna, "The human body cannot live without a heart."

"I don't think Kairi's talking about the organ that pumps blood," said Bloom.

"She's referring to the soul, or spirit," said Flora, "Something like that."

"Exactly," said Kairi, "When I mean 'the heart,' I'm talking about that part of ourselves that makes us who we are. Without that, that inner spirit, we'd be nothing more than catatonic vegetables, which is what I was for a while."

"How'd you get out of that mess?" Stella asked.

"My friend found me," said Kairi, "After our home was swallowed by the darkness, Sora went on a journey to find me and our other friend, I'll talk about that one later. Anyway, Sora and a few others journeyed from one world to another, fighting The Heartless and sealing the worlds so The Heartless couldn't swallow them in darkness.

"Eventually Sora caught up with me. I was still a breathing doll at the time, so I didn't see it, but Sora realized that he was carrying my heart inside him the whole time. Sora then used a black Keyblade to unlock his heart and mine from his body. I was me again, but Sora became a Heartless.

"But that didn't last long. I really don't know how to explain it, but my feelings for Sora helped him regain his heart and become normal again. For a while it seemed that everything was going to be alright, but we didn't know it at the time, but by having our hearts separated from us, it had caused something that would drastically effect us later on."

It was then that one of the Alfea faculty, one Griselda, assistant headmistress, told Kairi and The Winx, that they were needed in Faragonda's office.

"Professor Saladin and I have just spoken with The Trix," said Faragonda, "The witches are planning to attack both Alfea and Red Fountain again. They're doing what their ancestors did."

"Total universal domination," said Kairi.

"True," said Faragonda, "Back then, the Ancestress had seriously jeopardized the balance of power in The Magical Dimension. And now another generation of dark witches have taken up the fight, only this time they possessed a weapon their ancestors did not," she pointed at Bloom, "Your power, along with the Heartless, and that makes them utterly invincible.

"Bloom, listen carefully. At this point in time, the only thing you can do is go back to where it truly began for you; Domino."

"To Domino?" Bloom asked, "But why?"

"Because it was there that the Ancestress witches destroyed your birthplace, Bloom," said Faragonda, "They eradicated your kingdom. And now, their psychotic descendents, Icy, Darcy and Stormy, they're following in their malicious footsteps."

Faragonda then conjured up a green sphere that focused into the image of a purple castle, "I'm thinking that, perhaps, somewhere in the remnants of the royal palace of Domino, you might be able to find a clue, a shred of evidence somewhere, something, anything, to help you regain what you've lost; The Dragonfire."

The image of the castle then expanded to show it against a frozen backdrop, then showed it being covered by snow, until there was hardly a trace of it.

Bloom stared at this with a mixture of wonder and shock.

"Bloom," said Faragonda, "You are our only chance."

"In that case," said Musa as she put her hand on Bloom's shoulder in a reassuring manner, "we'll go with you."

"Absolutely," said Flora, "You can count on us."

"As if we'd let you go by yourself," said Stella.

"The odds of success are more probable if we go together," said Tecna.

"And there's no way I'm staying behind," said Kairi, "This goes way beyond a mission. We're friends now, Bloom, and I'm always there to help my friends."

Bloom could only say, "Oh, you girls," as she shed tears of gratitude.

A short time later found Kairi, Bloom and The Winx in a large spherical room with a long platform extending to the middle. The girls were standing at the end. Tecna explained that this room acted as an environmental simulator, where a fairy could practice her magic in near real-life situations.

"So it's like virtual reality," said Kairi, "Only much more realistic."

Faragonda and the school staff were in the simulator's control room. One of the teachers, an elf named Palladium, was manning the controls.

"Now listen girls," said Palladium, "The system has been completely overhauled. In a few seconds, the simulator will create a multi-dimensional corridor, which will take you to domino."

It was then that Kairi noticed a small glowing ball was above her head, while similar orbs were hovering over Bloom and the girls. The orbs then projected onto them each a set of highly-fashionable cold-weather gear, complete with winter parkas, boots and goggles. From what Kairi could tell, what she and the others were wearing were reenforced with magic.

"Now remember, girls," said Palladium, "This time it's for real, it's not a simulation, so concentrate, relax, and stay focused."

"You've done this before?" Kairi asked.

"We all did," said Flora, "For our midterms."

"Bloom's test took her to Domino," said Musa, "Which she got an A on."

"While Stella got an F on hers," said Tecna, "we warned her not to enter that beauty pageant, that she needed to study."

"I studied," said Stella, "We were up the whole night cramming. Kairi, you won't believe how long it took me to get the puffiness out of my eyes."

"You've been to Domino before?" Kairi asked Bloom.

"It was only a simulation," said Bloom, "And that took me to one of the few warms spots there, like on the equator. But if we need these," she indicated the cold weather gear.

"I'm sure we'll be fine," Kairi said. It was then that she noticed that the air around them was beginning to shimmer with a blue glow.

"I wish you all well," said Palladium as the light brightened to near blinding intensity.

The next thing Kairi knew, she and the others were on another world; a world covered in snow and ice, with only bare rock protruding in some places. A light snow was falling from a partly cloudy sky where three moons hung, one orange, one purple and a smaller blue one.

"Domino is freezing cold," Bloom remarked as she looked around.

"It sure is," said Stella, "I new I should have brought chapstick. All this cold, dry air, it'll be murder on my skin."

"And such lovely skin," said Musa in a teasing manner, "We wouldn't want anything to happen to it."

"I knew you'd understand, Musa," said Stella, unaware that Musa was teasing her.

"Air temperature at -50 Celsius," said Tecna as she scanned the area, "Without protective clothing, we'd be frozen solid in less than a minute."

"We'll fell warmer when we're moving," said Flora.

"Speaking of which," said Stella, "Bloom, any idea where to go? 'cause we'll be frozen stiff if we don't find the royal palace."

Bloom looked in one direction, then another, and another before deciding, "That way," she pointed north-west, as confirmed by Tecna's onboard compass.

"Any reason why that way?" Musa asked.

"I've just got a good feeling about that way," said Bloom, "Just a hunch."

"A hunch is better than nothing," said Kairi.

)D(Domino)D(

"So, Kairi," said Flora as they started walking, "What happened to you and Sora?"

"Well," said Kairi as she continued her story, "After Sora and I had our hearts restored, he then went off to find our other friend, Riku, for it was Riku that Sora was also looking for."

Kairi talked about her and Sora leaving Hollow Bastion, how while resting up at Traverse Town, they'd promised to all be together again back home, with her giving him the original Thalasa shell charm, then with Sora heading for The End of the World, where Sora confronted Ansem, or someone whom they thought was Ansem, but was actually a Nobody.

"Ansem thought that by opening the door to Kingdom Hearts, he'd unleash darkness upon all the worlds. But Sora proved him wrong, for, as Sora said, 'Kingdom Hearts is Light.' Ansem vanished, but the door was left open. Riku and King Mickey showed up, and with Sora's help, they closed the door, thereby restoring many worlds that were covered by the darkness, including our Earth. Unfortunately, Sora couldn't go with me back home, for he'd promised to find Riku. So we parted ways again, and I didn't see him again until over a year later, when another door to Kingdom Hearts was opened."

All this time the girls had crossed several miles of snow and ice, sometimes crossing an ice bridge over a deep canyon.

"I'm not sure how much longer I can stand this cold," said Stella.

"If only I had my powers," said Bloom, "I could warm us all."

"If you had your powers," said Musa, "We wouldn't be in this mess."

"Don't worry about it, Bloom," said Tecna, "It doesn't look like there's much further to travel."

Her wrist mounted computer then displayed a hologram of the immediate area, "I've analyzed the topography of the region, you see the flat area on the map? I'm convinced that's were the royal place is located."

"You're the best, Tecna," said Bloom as she gave Tecna a hug.

********

Back at Cloud Tower, The Trix were preparing to renew the fight.

"That should do it," said Icy, "Now, the next time we send The heartless into battle, only a specific percentage will go after those brats with the Keyblades. All the others will focus on destroying everything else around them."

"Now you're talking my language," said Stormy, "Let's see what that boy and girl with the Keyblades think about us when they're swarmed by Heartless."

"You can do whatever you want to the girl," said Darcy, "Me, I'd rather deal with that boy at Red Fountain personally."

"What is it with you and boys?" Stormy asked, "I don't see the attraction."

"That's because you swing the other way," Darcy teased.

"I do not!" snapped Stormy, "I swing just fine, thank you very much!"

"Then why haven't you played with any boy-toys lately?" Darcy asked, "There's been plenty to choose from."

"I'll play when I feel like it," said Stormy, "I just haven't felt like it lately. And I'll thank you to keep your nose out of my business."

"It is my business," said Darcy, "For when a witch doesn't play around with unsuspecting boys, it just isn't normal. Isn't that right, Icy?"

"Huh?" Icy asked as she was concentrating on the eye-viewer thing, which was showing various angles of Alfea, "What was the question?"

"Never mind," said Darcy, "What are you looking for?"

"Bloom and her friends," said Icy, "They're not at Alfea."

"Really?" Stormy asked, "Where did they go?"

"That's what I'm gonna find out," said Icy as she commanded the eye-viewer thing to do a more widespread search. The viewer displayed random images of various worlds, until it settled on the image of Bloom, The Winx and Kairi traversing through a frozen landscape.

"Isn't that Domino?" Darcy asked, "What are they doing there?"

"I don't know," said Icy, "But whatever they're doing, I think we should make it more uncomfortable for them."

"Wait," said Stormy, "I feel like we're forgetting something, but I don't know what."

"Where's that idiot ogre Knut?" Darcy asked, "I haven't seen him since we got back from Earth."

"Probably cowering in a corner somewhere," said Icy, "We'll deal with that waste of space soon enough. Come on, sisters, let's turn on the cold."

********

Kairi and Flora were the first to notice that the weather was beginning to change for the worse; the temperature suddenly fell, the wind picked up and the snow was falling harder.

"Hang on a second," said Flora, "The climate of this world is even more off-kilter than before. It's like Mother Nature is having a tantrum."

"I know," said Musa, "The wind doesn't sound right, it's full of anger."

"We have to keep moving," said Kairi. The girls started forward again, shielding their faces from the biting wind, unaware that foul creatures were nearby.

"Come on, girls," Stella said encouragingly, "Cheer up, we can't be that much further."

"I can't see where I'm going," said Bloom.

"Well what do your instincts say?" Kairi asked.

"That we're going the right way," said Bloom, "But I could be wrong."

"Well I think you're right," said Kairi, knowing that she should be doing everything she could to maintain a positive attitude among them.

"And if I'm not?" Boom asked, "What then?"

"You're not," Kairi said encouragingly, "And don't ask me how I know, because I'm going on my instincts as well, and they're telling me that your instincts are right. Trust me, Bloom, you're doing great."

This had a positive effect on Bloom, "Alright, Kairi, I trust you." With that she took the lead again.

********

Back at Red Fountain, Riku had just finished telling Sky, Brandon and Timmy how he and Sora defeated Xemnas and escaped from Kingdom Hearts, when there was a slight commotion among the other students. Riku saw a large, yellow-skinned ogre wearing brown overalls being escorted to Saladin's office.

"That's Knut," said Sky, "he works for The Trix, but not very well."

"What's he doing here?" Brandon asked.

"Probably instigating some foul plot by the enemy," Timmy said.

They couldn't be more wrong, for Knut, who really isn't such a bad person, had escaped from the lair of the enemy to warn Saladin of an impending Heartless attack.

A short time later the students were assembled in the courtyard, where the staff addressed them. "The situation has reached a new level," said Saladin, "The time has come to once again do battle against the forces of darkness."

Standing with Saladin was the assistant headmaster, Cordatorta, a tall man of strengthen and character, whom many Red Fountain respected as a great teacher. "Are you ready?" he asked the students.

"Yes, sir!" exclaimed the boys as they raised their fists.

"We're ready," Timmy said confidently.

Brandon and Sky noticed that Riku was just standing there, "Nothing to say?" Sky asked.

"What else is there to say?" Riku asked.

Just then it got really dark as the insidious clouds returned. To the shock of the boys, a large part of the clouds condensed into the illusion of Stormy's head, which gloated down at them.

Suddenly a whole lot of Shadows, Soldiers, Gargoyles and Large Bodies began appearing. Their arrival had an unnerving effect on some of the younger Red Fountain students.

"This is it," said Cordatorta, "Battle stations!!"

The students charged up their energy weapons, while Riku summoned his Keyblade, and attacked The Heartless.

Unlike the last battle, only about one fourth the enemy tried to get at Riku. The rest were evenly distributed throughout the school as the students fought back as hard as they could.

"They die easily enough!" shouted Brandon as he took down tow Soldiers, "But more and more keep coming!"

"They'll stop eventually!" Riku said as he slashed through several Shadows, then threw a Strike Raid at a Large Body whose back was turned.

"And when would that be?" Sky asked as he destroyed two Gargoyles that got too close to the ground.

It was then that Riku saw Knut among the students, bashing, throwing and crushing several Heartless.

"I guess there is such a thing as a good ogre," said Timmy.

"When this is over," said Riku, "remind me to tell you about a movie called Shrek."

"Look out!" Knut shouted to Brandon, "behind you!"

Brandon turned around too late to prevent being tackled by several Soldiers. A Large Body was making it's way to him. Another Large Body was charging through the area, smashing aside anyone that stood in its way.

But then Cordatora stabbed it in the behind, destroying it, while Knut grabbed the other Large Body and tossed it overhead, where Riku slashed it on its way down.

Brandon then pushed his way free of the Soldiers, and destroyed them. "Thanks," he said to Riku, "I owe you one."

"Don't thank me," said Riku, "Thank him."

They saw Knut crushing a group of Shadows, who then grinned at they boys in slight embarrassment, "Aw, it was nothing."

"Well thanks anyway," said Brandon before striking at another bunch of Shadows.

********

Over at Cloud Tower, the Trix were observing the battle, "Look at them," remarked Icy, "Why do they even bother? They're nothing more than puny, worthless flies. We are invincible! And it's time we proved it!"

********

Riku ducked out of the way of a diving Gargoyle, then sliced it in half. He then saw Saladin casting a spell that was causing every nearby Heartless to dissolve into black smoke.

"Be gone, creatures of evil!" shouted Saladin, "Depart from Red Fountain!"

The spell seemed to work as no more Heartless were spawned. But then more and more arrived in greater numbers than before.

"This is insane!" shouted Sky as he stabbed a leaping Soldier.

"I beg to differ," Timmy said after blasting a clustered group of Shadows. He then pointed above, "That's insane."

Hovering above the school was a large green illusion of Icy's head, which then shot a blast of dark blue energy at the school, setting a large part of the building on fire.

Saladin managed to cast a spell that extinguished the fire, but not before the school's stables were damaged, releasing a large number of irate wyverns.

"Why do you have those things here?" Riku asked as the wyverns circled above.

"Training purposes," said Brandon.

But then things got worse. Hovering above the school grounds were Icy, Darcy and Stormy, laughing.

"You're wasting your time, Saladin," Icy taunted, "just give up already."

"Never!" Saladin shouted defiantly, "Red Fountain will never submit to the likes of you three!"

"So pathetic," Darcy remarked, "only a fool keeps fighting when there's no hope."

"In that case," said Riku, "I guess that makes you an even bigger fool, for even when there's no hope, it's better to die fighting than to live in slavery."

"That's one of the Keyblade brats," said Stormy, "I'll fry him!"

"Let me handle this, Stormy," said Darcy slyly, "I'm in the mood for some fun." The dark witch landed, causing the students to back away as she walked towards Riku.

"Such a strong will," Darcy said, "So full of anger. I can feel the darkness in your heart, but it feels tamed. I'm curious, how is that possible?"

"I faced my inner darkness," said Riku, "And with the help of my friends, I became a better person."

"Are you sure?" Darcy asked as she stepped closer, "you say you're a better person, but why is your heart still heavy with darkness?"

"I've accepted that you can't have light without darkness," said Riku, "That good can't exist without evil. I've achieved a balance in my heart. It may be heavy with darkness, but I've got something that balances that darkness out; friends who care about me, just as I care for them."

"I can be your friend," Darcy said seductively, "I can show you what true power is all about. I can show you just what darkness can really do."

"You can turn off the mojo," said Riku defiantly, "I'm immune."

Darcy had indeed been trying to ensnare Riku's mind with her magic, but to her surprise, her seduction spells didn't even phase him. But this only encouraged the dark witch.

"Oh, you like to play hard to get," she grinned maliciously, "That'll only make it more satisfying when I claim you as my own."

"Claim this!" shouted Riku as he shot a Dark Aura beam at Darcy. The beam passed through her chest, causing her to vanish.

Riku then followed up by throwing his Keyblade at Stormy. The blade sliced through Stormy's face, causing her to vanish.

"Illusions," said Saladin, "They're not really here."

********

Darcy clutched at her chest and fell to the floor, while Stormy's hands shot to her face. Both were crying out in pain, but their exclamations of agony were cut short as they got back up.

"I felt that," said Darcy in a disturbed tone, "His beam, it felt so real."

"If we'd really been there," said Stormy, "we'd both be dead."

"Then let's settle this now," said Icy viciously, "my way."

********

While only an illusion, the image of Icy had all the powers of the real one. "You're going to pay for hurting my sisters!" she spat at Riku, then focused her attention on Saladin, "As for you, old man, your school is finished!"

Icy then shot a beam of cold magic which formed into the shape of a dragon. The beam of ice magic darted straight at the school.

"No you don't!!" exclaimed Riku as he got in front of the beam's patch and called forth his Dark Shield. The beam impacted on the shield, forcing Riku back several paces.

"I can't hold it much longer!!" he shouted with extreme effort as he now used both hands to maintain the shield, but Icy's attack was just too strong.

Just as the beam overwhelmed the shield and was about to turn him into a meat popsicle, Sky grabbed Riku and pulled him out of the way. The beam impacted the school, encasing the outside of the building in ice which soon began to crack, taking large chunks of the building off.

Fortunately, all of the staff and students had made it back inside before the building was covered in ice.

With the while school coming apart, Saladin had no choice but to give the evacuation order.

Red Fountain was equipped with several transport ships that looked like red wedges. Sky and Brandon helped Riku into one of the last to be loaded, which took off as soon as Saladin was sure there wasn't anyone else to be evacuated.

From the air, Riku and the others watched as Red Fountain collapsed into frozen rubble.

"Now it's personal," said Riku as the ships speed towards Alfea, "I'm gonna get that frosty bitch, her and her sisters, if it's the last thing I do."

********

The Trix laughed cruelly as they watched the destruction of Red Fountain.

"Weren't we just great?" Darcy asked as she and Stormy high-fived, both fully recovered from their phantom injuries, "We totally sent them flying."

"We so rule," Stormy gloated.

"Ah, but we're not done yet, sisters," said Icy maliciously, "The best is yet to come."

********

Back on Domino, Kairi and the girls crossed yet another ice bridge. To avert boredom, Bloom and her friends talked to Kairi about their exploits. Kairi was especially humored when she heard that Stella was suspended and had to redo her first year at Alfea when she accidentally destroyed the potions lab, which Stella innocently responded with, "I was only trying to make a new shade of pink."

It was when Bloom was telling Kairi about how she met this really cute guy back on the same day she met Stella and first realized her powers, when a rather cold Stella interrupted, "Girls, I think we should make a run for it, look!" she pointed ahead at a snow covered hill that seemed to be getting taller.

Said hill was in fact a creature; a monster that could be best described as a saber-toothed yeti. The creature roared with anger at the presence of several strangers. Kairi was the only one to keep her cool as Bloom and the others screamed with fright, but she to was scared, who wouldn't be scared of a 30ft tall abominable snowman with razor-sharp tusks.

The creature then pushed a large amount of snow downhill, which briefly covered the girls. It didn't take Kairi and the others long to dig themselves out.

"I think we should get out of here!" said Bloom.

"That's probably a good idea," said Kairi as they ran back the way they came. The yeti walked over to another hill and started another minor snow avalanche which caught and buried Flora, Musa and Tecna.

Stella, Bloom and Kairi were still running as the creature chassed after them. It reached down and tried to grab Bloom, but she sprinted ahead just before the creature's grip closed in.

Kairi then saw that she, Bloom and Stella were running into a cul-de-sac made of several large hills. They stopped and turned around.

"This creep isn't going to leave us alone," said Kairi as she called forth her Keyblade.

"Then we'll make it leave us alone," said Stella, "Stay back, Bloom, we'll deal with it," she raised her arms, "Magic Winx!!" with a flash of bright light, Stella had transformed into fairy mode.

"Alright!" she said, "Let's see if you can take the heat!" Stella then shot a beam of pure sunlight at the yeti, which only seemed to make the creature mad.

Then for no reason the wind picked up and, as if on purpose, formed a large stalagmite out of ice. The yeti grabbed and broke a large piece, so now it had a club.

"You get the feeling that somebody doesn't like us?" Bloom asked as she, Stella and Kairi backed away from the creature.

"I've been getting that a lot," said Kairi.

"You said it," Stella remarked, "I really don't like where this is going."

"Me neither," said Flora as she, Musa and Tecna hurried over the hill.

"You're alright!" Bloom shouted.

"You think an avalanche will stop us," said Musa, "You're mistaken."

The creature then reared up and threw the chunk of ice at them like it was a spear, the deadly projectile missing the girls by yards, but its impact caused the ice they were standing on to crack. Stella and the others were on one side of the fissure, while Bloom, Kairi and the yeti were on the other side.

"Bloom look out!!" shouted Flora as the creature reached for her.

Kairi saw the yeti coming for Bloom and pushed Bloom out of the way. "Get lost, you creep!!" shouted Kairi as she threw her Keyblade at the yeti. It hit the creature in the shoulder, but barely made a dent in its thick hide. But the yeti seemed to have gotten the point. It turned around and walked away.

"You okay, Bloom?" Kairi asked as she helped Bloom up.

"I'm alright," said Bloom, "But don't expect that you can push me around all the time."

Kairi smiled, "The thought never crossed my mind."

"Speaking of crossings," said Bloom as she and Kairi looked over the edge of the recently formed chasm, "How are we going to get back to the others?" The fissure in the ice was easily fifteen feet across, extending farther down than they could see.

"Don't worry," said Stella from the other side, "I'll be right there. I'll carry you both across."

"Wait, Stella," said Bloom, "I think we need to go down there."

"Down there?" Kairi asked as she pointed into the chasm, "you sure you're alright?"

"I feel alright," said Bloom, "And I also feel that whatever we're looking for, it's somewhere down there."

Tecna had several lengths of climbing rope in a pocket that could hold just about anything. She tossed two coils of rope over to Bloom and Kairi, who secured them to the top of the ice and lowered them down. They had both begun their descent into the chasm, while Tecna and Flora were setting up more rope on their side, when…

"Don't look now, girls!" exclaimed Stella, "But tall, dark and ugly is back!"

The yeti had taken the roundabout route to come up on the girls form the other side of the cul-de-sac. It leapt over the hill, the impact of its landing caused a large tremor in the ice, which caused the ice on the other side of the fissure to crack and break. Bloom and Kairi screamed as their ropes lost hold and they both fell into the chasm.

"Bloom!" shouted Stella and Flora.

"Kairi!!" shouted Musa and Tecna.

********

"Aw, what a shame," Icy said spitefully as she watched Bloom and Kairi fall into the chasm, "Goodbye, Bloom, and goodbye little-miss Keyblade to."

********

Several miles from Cloud Tower, Sora, Donald and Goofy were doing their best to make some headway through the forest. But the worst part of navigating through a forest at night was the risk of getting lost. They had to stop every ten minutes or so to make sure they weren't heading off in the wrong direction. The fact that Shadows and Soldiers kept popping up and attacking them randomly wasn't helping.

It was just after they had finished destroying the latest batch of attacking Heartless, when Sora tensed, as if sensing something terrible.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Goofy asked.

"Kairi's in trouble," said Sora, "I just know it," he then looked the other way, "And Riku isn't doing so well either, and there's nothing I can do about it!"

"Sora," said Donald, unsure of what to say next.

"I'm alright," said Sora, "let's keep moving. The sooner we get to Cloud Tower, the sooner we can all be together again."

"That's the spirit!" said Donald. With that they hurried onward.

********

Riku also sensed that Kairi was in trouble, and like Sora, was frustrated that there wasn't anything he could do to help. His bad mood persisted all along the flight, but he began to feel better once the evacuation ships made their landing at Alfea. The sight of the school for Fairies had a positive effect on Riku.

"What are you going to say to Bloom when you see her?" Riku heard Brandon ask Sky.

"I don't know," Sky replied, "What are you gonna say to Stella?"

Riku wondered what the story behind this was as the ships landed and the exit stairs lowered. He saw several girls, whom he correctly guessed were Alfea students. Many of the girls helped the boys get settled in, while he saw Saladin and Cordatorta speaking with Faragonda about what happened at Red Fountain.

"Another Keyblade wielder," Faragonda said as Saladin introduced Riku, "I assume King Mickey sent you as well."

"We go back a while," said Riku, "The King and I."

"Well your help is appreciated," said Faragonda, "As much as your friend Kairi. She went with Bloom and her friends to Domino."

"Then that's were I'll go," Sky said confidently, "Timmy, how long will it take to prep one of the ships for spaceflight?"

"Hold on a minute!" said Cordatorta, "You boys just got here, there's no way I'm letting you head out on your own."

"They're not going alone," said Riku, "I'm going with them."

"You sure about that?" Sky asked.

"My friend is with your friend," said Riku, "And I've got this terrible felling that they need our help. I just hope we're not too late."

The end of chapter 3. Next chapter our heroes come face to face with a secret from the past. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!