Last time, Kairi went with Bloom and her friends to Domino, in search of something that could restore Bloom's powers. Meanwhile, Riku fought alongside with Prince Sky in defense of Red Fountain. However, despite the defenders best efforts, Red Fountain was destroyed by The Trix. Back with Kairi, the girls were attacked by a saber-toothed yeti, resulting in Bloom and Kairi having an unfortunate fall. 'Nuff said, on with the show!

Chapter 4: The Great Revelation of Bloom

Kairi and Bloom fell for what seemed an eternity, but only a few seconds passed from when the ropes broke to where they hit the bottom of the chasm. Luckily they both landed on soft patches of snow, then began sliding rapidly down a the rock siding, until they slid to a stop at the real bottom of the chasm.

"Well that sucked," Kairi said out loud as she carefully stood up. Fortunately she wasn't hurt. She then checked her pocket to find that, surprisingly, the Thalasa shell charm that Sora gave her was unharmed. She then saw Bloom trying to get up as well.

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

"I feel like I'm still in one piece," said Bloom, "And nothing hurts, so I guess we were lucky."

"Real lucky," said Kairi as she looked up to the top of the fissure above. The avalanche the saber-tooth yeti caused had covered the opening of the chasm, so they couldn't climb back up the way they came. "I'd say that was a 50ft fall, followed by a sliding maybe another 100ft or so, and we're both alright, so yes, lucky."

They looked around to see that they had arrived at a natural cave of both ice and rock, "So what now?" Kairi asked.

"Well the one thing we shouldn't do is panic," said Bloom, "We need to stay calm and find a way out."

"That's a good idea," said Kairi, "Okay then, your instincts said that whatever we're looking for is somewhere down here. So what do they say to you now?"

They saw that the cavern branched off into three tunnels. Bloom looked at each one in turn before deciding on the one on the left, "That one."

"I hope you're right," said Kairi as they started down the tunnel, "No offense."

"None taken," said Bloom, "I'm also hoping I'm right. But I'm also worried about Stella and the others. They've no idea what happened to us."

********

Fortunately, Stella and the others were alright. They had taken cover behind a snowdrift and waited for the saber-toothed yeti to walk away.

"Now what?" Flora asked.

"I say we attack the creature," Tecna suggested, "Before it decides to come back. It won't expect it, we'll have the advantage of surprise."

"Bad idea," said Musa, "the monster thinks we're gone."

"Let it believe that," said Flora, "We need to focus on finding Bloom and Kairi."

"But where do we start?" Stella asked as she looked around the frozen landscape, "The avalanche has buried all sign of them."

It was then that Flora noticed the oddness of a nearby outcropping of ice-encrusted rock. "Doesn't that look like castle towers to you?" she asked.

The girls walked closer for a closer look, realizing that what was under the ice was a man made structure.

"They are castle towers!" Musa said.

"This is only a theory," said Tecna, "But we may have just found the royal palace of Domino."

"Only one way to find out," said Stella as she removed her ring from her hand, which unfolded into her staff. Stella then shot a beam of sunlight at the frozen structure, causing the ice on one of the outcroppings to start melting.

"The rest of the castle has got to be beneath us," said Stella as she cast a spell that began thawing out the area around them, "You're right, Tecna, we've found Domino's royal castle."

********

Bloom and Kairi continued through the tunnel, the later following the former, who was still following her instincts.

"I feel like we're getting close," said Bloom, "To wherever it is we're going."

"I trust you," said Kairi, but her tone of voice was shaky, like she wasn't feeling so good.

"Are you alright, Kairi?" Bloom asked.

"I guess I'm a little claustrophobic," said Kairi, "I never really liked being underground. Funny, back home there was this cave where my friends and I would spend a lot of time when we were kids, making drawings onto the walls. But that was above ground, and there was an opening at the top to let the wind in. This place," she indicated the tunnel, "is a horse of a different color."

"What can I do?" Bloom asked.

"Talk to me, I guess," said Kairi, "So I won't have to think about being buried alive by rock and ice, or that there isn't enough air… no, I shouldn't be talking about that. Bloom, you were saying earlier about this really great guy you met the day you met Stella and first realized your powers."

"Yeah," Bloom said in a slightly distant tone, "it seemed like a long time ago. Anyway, he said his name was Brandon, we soon became close friends, and for a while it seemed that we were falling in love. But then something terrible happened."

This must be what The King and Queen were talking about, Kairi thought, what caused Bloom to lose heart. "If you don't want to talk about it…"

"No, it's alright," said Bloom, "A few days ago there was this exhibition at Red Fountain. The girls and I weren't invited, but Stella talked us into going anyway."

"I then bumped into this girl, Diaspro, who had this picture of Brandon in her pocket. I honestly thought she was one of The Trix in disguise, there to play some cruel prank. As it turned out, Diaspro is a high-ranking noble from planet Eraklyon, and is engaged with Sky, the crown prince. You already know that's the guy Stella was dating."

"Uh-huh," said Kairi, who had a pretty good idea what was going on.

"This I had no idea of at the time," said Bloom, "and I guess I lost my temper when Diaspro kept calling one boy the other. I really don't remember who started it, but we ended up fighting, which I nearly won, when Brandon stepped in. Turns out, he's really Prince Sky of Eraklyon, and the boy we thought was Sky was his squire, Brandon."

"You must have been really embarrassed," said Kairi, "You and Stella."

"Stella was more angry than embarrassed," said Bloom, "I was mortified. You would be to if you found out the boy you liked was someone else completely."

"I guess so," said Kairi, but she knew that Sora wouldn't hide anything from him, would he? No, best not to think about that. Riku, maybe, but not Sora.

"What happened next?" Kairi asked.

"Well, Stella got over it pretty quickly," said Bloom, "But me, I felt like I had let a lot of people down, especially myself."

"Why's that?" Kairi asked.

"I allowed my temper to get the best of me," said Bloom, "and then made a complete fool of myself in front of a lot of VIP's, and to make matters worse, I found out that the guy who I thought liked me already has a fiancée. It's like, I don't know, was anything Brandon, I mean, Prince Sky, was I anything to him? Or was it all just a game?"

Kairi knew this was where she could make a difference and help Bloom get her feelings in order. "Well if you think it was all a game, why are you so hung up about it? If Stella could move on at the drop of a hat, why can't you? What's keeping you fixated on the guy who broke your heart?"

"My heart isn't broken," said Bloom, "I don't think it's broken. I don't know, maybe I'm still upset from what The Trix did to me back home."

"And what did they do to you?" Kairi asked.

"After what happened at Red Fountain," said Bloom, "I decided that I didn't deserve to be at Alfea. I ran away and went back home to Gardenia. I tried to adjust to a life without magic. I thought I could, I had lived without my powers for almost all my life, but I just couldn't walk away from being a fairy. That's when The Trix showed up at my house.

"They used my parents as leverage to make me stop fighting them. I could have taken them, but at the cost of my parents. So I allowed them to take my powers. But that's not the worst part. They're the ones who told me that I'm the lost princess of Domino. Ms. Faragonda knew who I was already, but she didn't tell me because she wanted me to find it out on my own. But it doesn't matter, we're stuck in a frozen tunnel on a world locked in a cursed ice age, and I maybe leading us into something awful, while our friends are probably looking for us in the wrong direction, and you know what's happening back on Magix."

"Don't say anything further," said Kairi sternly, "First of all, I agree with what Faragonda was thinking; things like who we really are, they're best figured out on our own. What The Trix did to you was monstrous and unforgivable, but I'll get back to them in a bit.

"Second, even though I've known your friends for less than a day, I'm sure that Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna are doing everything they can to find us.

"Third, I know what's happening back on Magix, I have friends there who are also fighting The Heartless, friends who have been fighting the darkness a lot longer than I have."

"The boy who held your heart," said Bloom.

"He's there as well," said Kairi, "If there's anyone who can stop The Trix, it's him. And finally, as for the whole Sky/Brandon thing, well, I'm sure we'll figure that out also."

"How?" Bloom asked.

All Kairi could say to this was, "You might as well ask me who John Galt is."

"Oh I know who John Galt is," said Bloom, "I should know, I had to read Atlas Shrugged back in Junior High."

"Abridged or unabridged?" Kairi asked.

"Unabridged," said Bloom, "All 1,168 pages. It took me nearly 3 months to finish."

"Ouch," said Kairi, "I was lucky to hear it on audio, all 45 CD's of it."

"You were lucky to have it on audio," said Bloom. She sighed, clearly feeling a bit better about herself. "I think we should get moving again. This tunnel has to lead somewhere, I hope."

"I hope so to," said Kairi.

They then turned a corner, realizing a few seconds later that the walls were no longer rock and ice, but uniformly constructed in a architectural manner.

"We're in a corridor of a castle," Bloom said.

"I told you that you were going the right way," Kairi said encouragingly.

The two of them kept going, seeing all sorts of man made objects; tapestries on the walls, chairs and tables, coats of arms, but all of it looked ruined, like a terrible conflict had happened here a long time ago.

"Looks like it was ravaged before the ice-age curse set in," said Bloom in a strained voice as she touched a nearby table, "I've got this strange feeling that I've been here before. If I truly am the princess of Domino, it means that this was my home.

"I remember, this room we're in, it was the main dinning room," she walked out to another room with the frozen remains of what looked to be a fountain, Kairi following, "And out here, it was the courtyard. It was so beautiful hear."

Just then the ground began to shake. "An earthquake!" Bloom shouted, just before Kairi pulled her out of the way of a falling statue, then dodged shards of falling ice.

Then another sharp tremor caused the ground to crack open, "Not again!" they both shouted as they fell into the opening. Fortunately they managed to grab hold of the edge of the crack in time and pulled themselves back up

"That was close," said Kairi, "two near-death falls down a crevice is more than enough for me."

"You said it," Bloom remarked.

********

Back outside, Stella and the others were feeling the tremors, but they weren't in danger, but the sight of part of the ice collapsing into another chasm was unnerving.

"Is it an earthquake?" Stella asked.

"Doubtful," said Tecna.

Stella took flight and hovered above the newly opened gap in the ice, "it's the castle's courtyard," she said as she landed, while Flora and the others looked down.

"Look!" exclaimed Flora, "It's them!"

Sure enough, Kairi and Bloom were down the crevice, "Bloom! Kairi!" shouted Stella.

"Hey!" shouted Bloom as she and Kairi looked up, "Get yourselves down here, you've got to see this!"

To make things better, Stella used her magic to increase the rate of thawing, while Tecna used a spell of her own to amplify Stella's spell.

"The photonic particles and waves you are emitting are being quadrupled, Stella!" said Tecna.

"Mind repeating that in a language I can understand?" Stella asked.

"I think what you're doing speaks for itself," said Kairi.

"Exactly," said Tecna, "Or, in laymen's terms, I'm making your job easier."

Within minutes the castle was completely free of ice, with only a few patches of dripping snow here and there.

"Just look at this place," said Bloom as they took in the ruined state of the castle, "The three ancient witches, they totally wrecked it."

"Don't worry, Bloom," said Musa, "The Trix, they'll never do this to the Realm of Magix, or anywhere else. We won't let them"

"I hope you're right," said Bloom.

"Over here," said Tecna and she and Flora stood at the edge of another hole, "The underground hallways, they appear to be intact."

"Maybe the Ancestress witches didn't know about them," said Flora.

"Well in that case," said Bloom, "I think we should all go down there."

"I'll go first," said Kairi as she summoned her Keyblade, "there could be anything down there."

"Be careful," said Musa.

"I always try to be," said Kairi. It was less than 15ft to the hallway below. Kairi jumped own without incident, looked around, "All clear!" she said.

"Doesn't look like anyone's been down here in a long time," said Bloom after they were all in the hallway.

Tecna them produced a hologram of the castle, "I'm picking up no recent footsteps, and the dust and cobwebs are undisturbed. We're alone down here."

"There," said Stella as she used her staff to light up there way, "Now we can see where we're going.

As the girls walked down the corridor, Bloom gasped, as if she heard something shocking.

"What is it, Bloom?" Stella asked, "What's wrong?"

"Didn't you hear that?" Bloom asked, "The voice?"

"What voice?" Tecna asked.

"I didn't hear anything," Flora said.

"Me neither," said Musa.

"I'm not detecting any other life forms," said Tecna as she scanned the area.

"Just because you're not detecting anything," said Kairi, "Doesn't mean we're not alone." While she didn't hear what Bloom heard, Kairi was sensing a nearby presence, one that radiated with warmth and goodness.

Just then they all heard the same voice Bloom heard, "Welcome," a bright light appeared in front of the girls, and a humanoid shape appeared. It looked to be transparent form of a woman wearing gold, and wearing a mask, "I am Daphne."

"My sister?" Bloom asked.

"She's beautiful," remarked Stella.

"At least we meet," said the astral form of Daphne, "follow me."

"Am I the only one who thinks this is weird?" Stella asked as the astral form of Daphne hovered down the corridor.

"You ain't alone," said Musa. With that the girls followed Daphne.

"I don't mean to sound intrusive," said Tecna, "But who are you?"

"I was once the nymph of Lake Racalouche," said Daphne, "But it was in this castle, that I and my sister, was born. What you are looking for, Bloom, you will not find here, I'm afraid. But it is here that you will discover your true origins."

Kairi saw that they had stopped outside an elaborately carved set of doors.

"Here," Daphne continued, "You will learn of your past, and a great secret," she waved at the doors, which glowed bright yellow and opened, "This is Domino's treasure room, do come in."

With Bloom in the lead, the girls passed through the doorway and saw a large chamber filled with gold, silver, diamonds, countless precious gems and a whole galaxy of priceless items.

"Wow!" said Flora.

"Holy shitake mushrooms!" said Kairi.

"And I thought my family was loaded," said an impressed Stella.

"Looks like Bloom's family is richer than yours, Stella," Musa teased.

"I'll know what to ask when I'm strapped for cash," laughed Stella.

Kairi then saw Bloom approaching a large crystal dome set atop a platform, where Daphne beckoned her forward. Inside the dome was a silver tiara adorned with indigo colored gems. "I know this," said Bloom, "Earlier, when Ms. Faragonda and I had that astral vision of Lake Racaluche, you were there, Daphne, and you showed me this."

"It is yours, Bloom," said Daphne, "Take it, and listen." Bloom carefully removed the crystal dome and gently took hold of the tiara, which began glowing bright blue in her hands. She stood there for a minute or so, her eyes wide for some reason.

Finally she seemed to relax. "What happened?" Kairi asked

"I think I had a vision," said Bloom, "The spirit of The Great Dragon, he was talking to me. He said that I was destined to receive his power and use it to protect The Magical Dimension," she then looked at Daphne, "I saw what happened to Domino when The Ancestress Witches came here to steal The Dragonfire. That power was given to me as a baby, then you sacrificed your life to make sure I was safely on Earth."

Bloom suddenly began crying, "My mother and father, my real parents, Oritel and Miriam, they're still alive somewhere, but they think we're both dead." She collapsed to her knees, sobbing.

"You've been shown a shocking truth, Bloom," said Daphne as she bent down and held Bloom, "But you must be strong in the face of the future."

"I know," said Bloom.

"Bloom," Flora said.

"You said your real parents are still alive?" Tecna asked.

"Yes," said Bloom as she stood up again, definitely felling better and more confident, "But I don't know where. Daphne, I swear that as soon as I've dealt with the evil Trix, I'll do everything I can to find our parents."

"That's how a princess should talk," said Daphne reassuringly, "I'm so proud of you, little sister. I can go now, my work is done. But even though you won't be able to see me, I'll always be there with you." With that she vanished.

"Umm, okay," Stella said hesitantly, "that was weird."

"You think that was weird," said Kairi, "How about finding out that you have a twin, that's not really a person in the first place."

"That's as illogical as saying 2 + 2 = 5," Tecna remarked.

"It may not make sense," said Kairi, "But it happened, to me and to Sora."

"Well now I know what needs to be done," Bloom said confidently they exited the castle, "We've got to go back to Magix right now. Somehow, I'll stop The Trix and get The Dragonfire back."

"It's been a while since I've seen you this spunky," Stella remarked.

"I was wondering what had happened to the old Bloom we know and love," said Musa.

"Well I'm glad to be back," said Bloom as she winked at her friends, "Now that I know the truth of my past, I feel stronger than ever."

"I believe you are," said Kairi. Indeed, she could sense that Bloom's heart was stronger.

Just then a familiar roar echoed across the frozen landscape.

"Looks like tall, dark and creepy is back," Stella.

"And he's brought friends this time," said Bloom.

The saber-toothed yeti was back, and with it were dozens of what could best be described as ice crabs. The creatures were heading straight for the castle.

"Doesn't he think he's big enough to handle us?" Musa asked

"The bigger they are," said Kairi as she summoned her Keyblade.

"The harder they fall," Stella finished.

Flora, Musa and Tecna all shouted, "Magic Winx!" resulting in all three of them transforming. They took flight and assumed defensive positions around Bloom.

The yeti bellowed what could be translated as 'Attack!' Several of the ice crabs charged at the girls.

"Here they come!" said Flora.

"It's like there's an army of them!" said Musa as she and the others lost could of the number of attacking creatures. "Come on, girls, let's get rid of these things!" she send a sonic spell at the creatures, knocking several of them into the air, where Flora followed up with a summoning spell that had several vines grow out of the ground. The vines grabbed the crabs and began crushing and shattering them.

Stella then cast a spell that made a sphere of light expand outward, evaporating several of the creatures. But this only made a dent in the number of encroaching enemies.

"Goodness!" Stella said, "They just keep coming."

"I'll try to thin them out," said Tecna. She cast a spell that looked like greed computer chips she threw the chips at some of the ice crabs, which attached and began blinking. The chips then exploded, destroying their targets and taking out several more.

"Now that's what I call a clean sweep," said Tecna. She then saw that more and more crabs were arriving, "Oh for booting up cold! Just where are these ugly critters coming from?"

"We're too exposed out here," said Kairi as she destroyed one ice crab that got too close with a Strike Raid, "Everyone! Back inside!"

Kairi and Bloom ran back to the castle, while Stella and the others flew.

"There's so many of them!" said Flora as they reached the front door.

"Just don't think about it," said Stella as she, Musa and Tecna tried to get the doors to close. One did, but the other was stuck.

Kairi saw that the creatures were almost at the steps leading to the doors. "Oh no you don't!" she yelled as she charged at the nearest group of crabs. She rushed past them, slashing and destroyed three…

Keyblade technique- Sonic Blade

…then spun around , slashing and destroying three more…

Keyblade technique- Vortex

… which allowed her to get behind the remaining three in the group. Kairi then delivered a devastating cross-cut that destroyed the last ones.

Keyblade technique- Blitz

Kairi then saw that more and more were coming, the nearest bunch had at least 20.

"Kairi!" Bloom shouted as she and the others finally got the door unstuck.

Kairi ran back to the castle and got inside just as the door closed. Bloom and Flora secured the latch and bolts.

Stella and Musa then flew up and emerged outside above the castle. Several of the crabs were climbing up the walls.

Musa produced a gold-colored flute and began playing, projecting a purple force field that forced the creatures off the building as soon as they came in contact with the barrier. Stella then lit up her staff and blasted more of the crabs with beams of pure sunlight.

"Isn't there a saying that the best defense," said Stella as she blasted another crab, "is a good offense?" She blasted more of the creatures, but a handful got past her and made it over the walls. They leapt down towards Bloom.

Kairi took out one of them with a Strike Raid, but two more were just about to attack Bloom, when Tecna blasted them with bolts of green lighting.

"Thanks for the save, Tecna," said Bloom.

"Don't waste your energy standing around, Bloom," said Tecna, "you are a princess, after all."

Outside, more and more ice crabs were climbing the wall.

"We can't give up!" said Flora as she placed her hands on the wall and channeled her magic into it, causing several vines to grow, which lashed out at the crabs, throwing them to the ground. "That should keep them busy for a while."

"You may have spoken too soon," said Musa. Below it looked to be a sea of the ice creatures as they pressed at the door.

"If they get inside," said Stella, "we're done for."

"I can put up a Sonic Curtin spell around the castle," said Musa, "That'll slow them down."

"No, Musa," said Stella, "It's way too dangerous." Yet she had no idea that the saber-toothed yeti was right behind her. It then blasted Stella and Musa with its breath, which not only reeked, but was also bitterly cold. This double foulness knocked them both out of the air. They landed hard in the courtyard atop of Bloom and Kairi, knocking all four to the ground.

The yeti then shot another frozen breath at them. Tecna and Flora tried combining their magic to project a force-shield, but the creature's attack was too strong, overpowering and knocking both of them to the ground.

"You girls alright?" Bloom asked.

"I'm undamaged," said Tecna, "Nothing broken."

"I wish I could say the same thing for me," said Flora as she held one limp arm in the other, "I think my arm's broken."

"Let me see," said Stella as she helped Flora up, who gasped in pain, "Oh yes, definitely broken."

"Just hold on, Flora," said Kairi, "I think I know what to do. It's been a while since I've had a First Aid certification, but I believe I can help." She gently felt along Flora's arm to see where it was broken; both bones in her forearm were fractured.

Just then something strange happened. Kairi's hands began glowing with a bright white light. Said light then passed into Flora's arm, then dissipated after a few seconds.

"What happened?" Bloom asked.

"I don't know," said Flora, "But my arm feels a lot better," she mover her arm about, "It not broken any more."

"This is incredible!" said Tecna, "Kairi, you can use healing magic!"

"I didn't know I could do that," an amazed Kairi said honestly.

The yeti then bellowed outside, gathering more and more ice crabs to it's sides.

"That thing is just too powerful!" said Tecna.

"That door isn't going to hold much longer," said Musa.

"We need to fall back," said Bloom as the door suddenly froze over and started to crack.

They ran to the next room just as the door shattered, spilling dozens of ice crabs inside.

"They're coming!" said Musa.

Several of the creatures seemed to be deliberately looking for something, or someone. Musa spotted four that were just standing there, so she blasted them with twin sonic pulses. "That'll show them!"

"We still have Mr. Overbite to deal with!" said Stella, referring to the yeti, which was trying to get over the wall and into the courtyard. But then something caught Stella's eye, "Isn't that a Red Fountain Ship?!"

********

It took a lot of convincing, but eventually Saladin and Faragonda agreed to allow Sky, Riku and the boys to go to Domino to help Bloom, Kairi and the others.

They had made good time getting from Magix to the frozen planet. Timmy explained to Riku the basic of Hyperdrive.

"So it's kind of like a gummy ship," said Riku.

Along the way, Riku listened to Sky as he spoke about his feelings for Bloom, and how the exposure of one embarrassing secret caused them to break up.

"So by no fault of your own," said Riku, "You wound up making the girl you like look like a fool."

"It is my fault," said Sky, "I should have told Bloom the truth from the beginning. We may not have become friends, but at least I would have been honest with her."

"That's no excuse for feeling sorry for yourself," said Riku, "I'm sure you had your reasons for keeping such a secret, and sooner or later Bloom would have found out the truth, whether you wanted to tell her the truth or not."

"But what am I supposed to do about it?" Sky asked, "She probably hates me."

"I'm not a therapist," said Riku, "And I don't calm to be one. The only advice I can give you is that you should follow your heart."

A short time later they reached Domino and entered the atmosphere over the castle, just in time to see the yeti trying to get over the wall.

"What is that thing?!" exclaimed Brandon, who was at the ship controls.

"Whatever it is," said Riku, "It's not good."

"All I know is that Bloom is in danger," said Sky, "And we've got to help. Timmy! Blast it!!"

"No problem!" said Timmy, who was sitting at the ship's weapons controls. He locked on and fired a twin laser blast at the creature. The attack forced the yeti away from the castle.

Brandon circled the ship and landed it in front of the castle doors. Almost immediately the ship was surrounded by ice crabs.

"It's never easy, is it," said Brandon as they exited the ship. Their uniforms offered protection against the cold, while Riku already had cold weather gear on. Brandon and Sky charged up their swords, while Timmy drew his blaster.

"Ice monsters, Heartless, Nobodies, they're all the same," said Riku as he summoned his Keyblade, "They all wind up being destroyed."

"What's a Nobody?" Timmy asked.

"I'll tell you later," said Riku, "Right now we've got work to do."

"When you're right, you're right," said Sky with that they boys counterattacked the oncoming monsters.

Sky slashed three of the crabs, while Brandon hacked five into peaces. Timmy blasted several more that leapt towards them. As for Riku, he took out seven with a Dark Aura blast, blocked a charging crab with his Dark Shield, then vivisected another six without breaking a sweat.

"You get the feeling that you're trying too much?" Sky asked Riku.

"Not really," said Riku as he destroyed another two crabs. Yet it didn't seemed to make a difference in the enemy hoards.

"Where are these things coming from?" Brandon asked as they boys were forced to group together, "There's no end to them!"

"Now what?" Timmy asked.

"Plan B," said Brandon.

"That that is…?" Riku asked.

"When I say 'go,' we go," said Sky, "Go!!" The four boys charged forward and counterattacked again.

********

Kairi and Bloom watched as Stella blasted crab after crab, yet more and more replaced the destroyed ones.

Bloom then grabbed a nearby torch holder and used it as a club to smash three attacking crabs, "I'm sick of being the helpless!"

"You go, girlfriend!" said Kairi as she sliced another crab in half.

"We're not safe here!" said Stella. The three of them fell back down another corridor to a wide room with a large, blue glassed dome. Flora flew in from the doorway on the other side of the room. She called forth several vines to form a net across the doorway to block the crabs, but the creatures began biting into the vines.

Musa and Tecna joined Bloom and the others in the room, "They're right behind us!" said Musa.

"And in front of us," said Tecna as the crabs broke through Flora's vine barrier. Within seconds the girls were surrounded.

"Just when you think it couldn't get any worse," remarked Stella.

"Don't you touch my friends!" exclaimed Flora as she shot several green orbs at the creatures, "You ugly beasts!!" The orbs produced large pod-like flowers that literally ate several crabs.

Tecna then trapped several crabs in a electric-green sphere cage, then shot the cage towards Musa, who destroyed the crabs with a sonic pulse.

Kairi was currently fending off three crabs, and was too late in seeing another of the creatures about to attack Bloom, when said crab was sliced in half by Sky.

Brandon, Timmy and Riku then broke through the glass dome and took up defensive positions.

"Cool entrance!" said Stella.

"Sorry we couldn't get here sooner," said Riku.

"Your timing was perfect," said Kairi.

"Take them down!!" shouted Sky as the boys attacked.

Just then the yeti appeared above them. It shattered the remains of the glass ceiling and slammed it's oversized palm into the floor. Everyone jumped back, or flew, away from the creature. Brandon countered by slashing at the oversized hand, causing it to withdraw. Sky followed up by slicing at the retreating palm.

The yeti was obviously not happy as it roared in rage.

"This guy's too big for us!" said Timmy, "We're only making it mad!"

"Then it's time we all pulled together!" said Stella. She, Flora, Musa and Tecna flew higher and began striking at the yeti with their individual magic, always flying out of its reach.

"Tecna!" shouted Bloom, "You have to attack it as one!"

"Of course!" said Tecna, "A stratosphere spell!" She started out by casting her magic as green squares, encasing the yeti in a green cage. Flora followed up by summoning large vines that further restrained the creature.

She also summoned more pod-flowers, which Stella energized with her light magic. Musa then caused the flowers to resonate loudly. The creature roared one more time before it's body began to disintegrate. Within seconds it was gone, leaving only a pile of dust.

"Well that was rude of him," said Stella, "falling to pieces like that."

********

Five minutes later the girls and boys were outside at the ship. Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna had powered down to their human attire.

"You guys saves us!!" exclaimed Stella as she threw her arms around Brandon. It was clear that she had forgiven him of any past transgression.

"We had to," Brandon said modestly, "This is a rescue mission after all."

"But how did you find about our mission?" Tecna asked.

"Red Fountain was destroyed by The Heartless," said Sky, "So all the Specialists had to take refuge at Alfea. Professor Palladium and Ms. Faragonda told us you were here.

"There was a bit of a problem getting to Domino," said Brandon, "Something's jamming all off-world communications between Magix and the rest of The Magical Dimension."

"And at the same time," said Timmy, "is disrupting hyperspace travel in the star system."

"I'll bet The Trix and The Heartless are behind that," said Kairi.

"That's what Faragonda and Saladin thought," said Sky, "So all the teachers created a portal that opened up outside the Magix star system. We then jumped into hyperspace, and arrived in orbit around Domino, but after we got here, we still didn't know where you were."

"But Sky here," said Brandon as he thumped Sky on the back, "He never gives up on anything. So here he is, along with his loyal page and best friend."

"Well I'm glad you are here," said Bloom. She then introduced Kairi to the boys, while Sky introduced Riku to the girls.

"So, Kairi," Stella said enthusiastically, "Is Riku the boy who held your heart? Hmm?"

"What?" a confused Kairi asked, "Oh! No, Riku is just a friend."

"Just a friend," Stella said. She then gave a look that seemed say, 'we'll just see about that.'

"Why is she looking at us like that?" Riku asked Kairi, clearly unsettled.

"She probably thinks herself a matchmaker," said Kairi.

"She's gonna look so stupid when you and Sora prove her wrong," Riku said.

"You know what would be a great idea," said Flora, "That we all go back to Alfea."

"That's the smartest thing I've heard all day," said Tecna.

"Couldn't agree more," said Stella, "winter weather is so bad for my skin."

"Oh brother," muttered Bloom and Kairi.

"Well it is!" said Stella.

********

They boarded the ship, which soon left the atmosphere and entered hyperspace. Timmy reassured everyone that the route the boys took will work in reverse in getting everyone back to Magix. Flora, Stella and Tecna sat in their seats exhausted, while Musa played a gentle tune on her flute.

Riku and Kairi were wide awake to hear the conversation between Sky and Bloom.

Sky started to talk, "Bloom, I…I'm…"

"Did you say something?" Bloom interrupted.

"Well, no…I…what I mean…" stammered Sky, "Yes I did. Bloom, I'm sorry about what happened. I broke it off with Diaspro. To be honest, I never really cared that much."

"Really?" Bloom asked eagerly, "I'm sorry about that. Wait, no, I'm not sorry. I mean, you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know," said Sky, "But you always said to me that we were friends and nothing more, and so I just…it doesn't matter now, because I know what I want."

"I also made a mistake," said Bloom, "but some things are just hard to admit."

"In any case," said Sky, "I'm sorry about the name switch. My parents, they're a bit overprotective. Brandon and I switched identities for security reasons. I wanted to tell you the truth so many times, but I could never figure out how to tell you."

"Well I forgive you," said Bloom, she smiled, "But on one condition."

"Okay," said Sky, "Anything you want, name it and I'll do it."

"I get to call you Sky," said Bloom, "End of discussion. I don't really like the whole 'Prince' thing, you know?"

Sky laughed at this, "It's a deal!"

"Sounds like one part of our mission is complete," Kairi whispered to Riku, "They're friends again."

"Now all we need to do," Riku whispered, "Is make sure they come out of this whole mess alive and in one piece. And that's easier said than done."

"True," said Kairi. She suddenly smiled, "I just had this feeling that Sora's thinking about me."

"I've got that feeling to," said Riku.

********

"They're alright," Sora said, "Riku and Kairi, they're on their way back to Magix."

"How can you tell?" Donald asked.

"I don't know," said Sora, "I just do."

"Maybe you're psyche," said Goofy, "Or somthin' like that."

"It's 'psychic'," Donald corrected.

"Maybe I am psychic," said Sora, "I don't know, I'll ask The King when we get back."

Just then another batch of Heartless came charging at them.

"Assuming we ever get back," said Sora. With that he, Donald and Goody went back to slaying Heartless, slowly but surely making their way to Cloud Tower.

The end of chapter 4. Next chapter Riku and Kairi help Bloom and Sky on another mission, one that will take them into the belly of The Heartless. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!