Last time Kairi and Riku went with Bloom and Sky, along with Brandon, Stella and the ogre Knut, to infiltrate Cloud Tower in an attempt to recover The Dragonfire from The Trix. One thing lead to another, resulting in Sky and Brandon reconciling with their estranged teammate, Riven. Elsewhere, Sora, Donald and Goofy finally reached Cloud Tower. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 6: The Difference between Bad and Awesomely Bad
"How much longer?" Stella complained, "We've been walking for hours!"
"We're all tired, Stella," said Brandon, "I'm sure it's not much further."
"That's what you said an hour ago," said Kairi.
"They're not to blame," said Riku.
"So how much further, Knut?" Bloom asked said ogre.
"We're here," said Knut. They had arrived at the end of the tunnel. Knut pressed a seemingly random spot on the dead-end of the tunnel, which opened like a door into the torch-lit basement of Cloud Tower.
"About time," said Riven.
"Quiet!" hissed Riku. He pointed up one end of the corridor to where four Soldiers waited. The Heartless were just standing there; even though Kairi, Riku and the others were in plain sight, the creatures hadn't moved.
"This is weird," said Kairi, "Heartless usually attack people instinctively. Why are they just standing there?"
"I'm guessing The Trix are behind it," said Sky, "Maybe their control over The Heartless is so strong, they can command them to ignore anyone they don't consider a threat."
"And we're not threatening?" Brandon asked.
"We need to get past them," said Knut, "There's another passage that'll take us further up into the castle."
"I'll bet that if we're careful," said Riku, "We can get past them without stirring them up."
"Easier said than done," said Riven. The four Soldier Heartless were then joined by two more Soldiers and a Large Body.
"No way we can get past all of them unnoticed," said Sky, "We need a diversion."
"I've got just the thing," said Bloom. In her hand was a baseball sized piece of rock she picked up in the tunnel. She threw it down the opposite side of the basement then ducked out of sight. The others took cover as the stone clattered on the floor, drawing the attention of the Heartless. They scurried in the direction of the noise, allowing Bloom and the others the chance to get where they needed to go.
Knut pressed another hidden switch, which opened a concealed door in the wall. They all got into the passage and closed the door before the Heartless got back.
"Now that's what I call a close call," said Sky.
"I can tell you about a million others just like it," said Riku, "Later of course."
The passage opened into what appeared to be a gothic themed dorm room.
"Isn't this their room?" Stella asked. Nobody had to guess just whose room Stella was referring to.
"Knut," Bloom said, "Why did you bring us to The Trix room?"
"He wanted us to see a perfect example of bad decorating," Stella remarked.
"From here we have direct access to the castle," said Knut, pointing to the door, which Bloom opened and looked out.
"The corridor is full of Heartless," whispered Bloom, "How are we gonna get past them."
"That's the best part of working with The Trix," said Knut, "You get to learn all sorts of way of moving through the castle unnoticed." The ogre pointed at a tall mirror in one corner of the room, "That'll lead us down a few levels, from there we can take a few more shortcuts."
"Looks like a regular mirror to me," said Sky.
"Maybe," said Brandon, "but on the other hand, things aren't always what they seem, especially when magic is involved."
"It's not a mirror," said Knut, "Trust me, I'm not working for the witches anymore. Come on, there's no time to waste."
"Okay then," said Riven, "Brandon, ladies first."
"And children next, huh, Riven?" retorted Brandon.
"I'll go," said Bloom as she stepped towards the mirror.
"Wait," said Sky, "It could be dangerous, I'll go first."
"We're right behind you," said Brandon.
Knut pushed at the mirror, which swung aside to reveal another hidden passage.
"Another door," said Kairi, "And here I thought we would be stepping through the mirror."
One by one they walked into the passage, with Knut at the end, closing the mirror behind them. The passage turned several corners, some with stairs leading down, until they found themselves in a large chamber with stairs leading every which way.
"This must be the center of the school," said Bloom.
"Right," said Knut, "From here we can go to any level of the castle."
Just then Riku and Kairi tensed, as if sensing something bad.
"There it is again," said Riku, "I thought I felt something when we first got here in Magix, and then again when we arrived at the castle."
"I feel it to," said Kairi, "We're being watched, and have been watched for a while, I'm sure of it."
"You mean we've lost the element of surprise?" Brandon asked.
"I'm saying that we haven't had it for a couple of hours," said Riku.
"So the witches know we're here?" Stella asked.
"Good," said Bloom sternly, "at least they know that I'm coming for them, and that I mean business."
********
Though the eye-viewer thing, Icy saw and heard Kairi and Riku reveal that they were being watched.
"Those meddling brats!" spat Icy, "Well I shouldn't be surprised; I knew they'd try something sooner or later. Sisters, we have uninvited guests."
"How did they get here so quickly?" Stormy asked.
"That traitor Knut is with them," said Icy.
"That stupid ogre!" exclaimed Darcy, "I'll skin him alive!"
"Relax, Darcy," said Icy, "This might actually be the first competent thing he's ever done for us. The power of The Dragonfire and The Heartless is at our command. Bloom and her friends are nothing but pesky flies compared to us. So we'll swat them like the bugs they are!"
Just then the whole castle shook with a minor tremor, as if the school was hit by a large wrecking ball. Nothing was damaged, but it was startling to The Trix to feel the floor they were standing on shudder for a second.
"What was that?" Stormy asked.
"Our former headmistress," said Darcy, "I believe she's trying to escape."
"Let her try," said Icy, "Griffin and those losers she's locked up with will never break through the confinement spell we set up."
********
"What was that?" Stella asked. They were closer to the source of the tremor, and were more startled when the floor shook.
"I don't know," said Bloom.
"Your guess is as good as mine," said Riku, "But I've got a feeling that we'll find out soon enough."
********
Sora, Donald and Goofy also felt the minor quake, only they were on the same level of the castle where the tremor originated, so they were much more shaken up. Goofy fell to the floor first, with Sora landing on him, followed by Donald.
"Gawrsh, what was that?" Goofy asked as the three of them picked themselves up.
"Earthquake?" Donald asked.
"No," said Sora, "It felt more like something blew up." he then caught a faint sent of smoke, "You smell that?"
"It's coming from thata way!" said Goofy as he pointed further up the corridor. They hurried, turning a corner and finding themselves in what Sora assumed was the castle dungeons. Several doors lined both sides of the corridor, each but one was shut tight and locked with a spell that, according to Donald, could only be opened from the outside.
The smoke, which was dissipating, was coming from the door that was opposite the one open door. Through the metal grate at the top of the door, Sora could hear four female voices.
"Now that is one strong door," said the first voice; a voice belonging to a girl who sounded like she enjoyed having a good time.
"This is inconceivable!" exclaimed the second girl, who sounded like she was very smart, "How can a mere door survive such a spell?"
"I don't think the door is the problem," said the third voice, a girl who's tone represented a solid foundation and courage.
"It's not your fault, girls," said the voice, one that sounded much older and darker, but full of wisdom, "Those lunatics have enchanted the locks so that nothing we do can open the door."
Sora looked through the metal grate to see three teenagers and one older woman. The first teenager had long black hair with blue highlights and yellowish-green eyes. She wore black jeans and black high-healed boots, a black and red shirt, and her nails were painted black and gold alternately. Sora guessed that this girl was the one with the solid personality.
The second girl had shoulder length brown hair with blue highlights, one eye green and the other blue. She wore blue skirt and orange shoes, a green and black t-shirt, while her right hand had a fingerless glove on. Her nails were painted red and orange alternately. Sora guessed that this girl had the fun-loving attitude.
The third girl had shoulder-length spiky black hair with blue highlights and dark brown, almost black eyes that sometimes had an intense glare in them. She wore blue-jeans and gray sneakers, a white shirt that had the sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Her fingernails were painted blue and green alternately. Sora guessed that this was the superiorly intelligent girl.
The older woman with the dark and wise personality was tall with piercing yellow eyes and a pale face. Her graying hair was done up in a bun. She wore a long purple dress and light purple gloves adorned her arms.
For some reason, Sora said, "Good evening, or morning, or afternoon, you really can't tell what time it is with all those clouds over the school here."
"That's what watches and clocks are for," said the girl with the yellowish-green eyes. She then blinked, as if realizing that someone was at the door, "Wait, who are you?"
"Stand back," said Sora as he summoned his Keyblade, "I'm gonna get the door open."
"You'll get no argument from me," said the girl with the mixed eyes. The four witches, for Sora correctly assumed they were, stood at the far end of the cell, while Sora aimed his Keyblade at the locking mechanism on the door.
A beam of white energy shot from the tip of the Keyblade and hit the lock. The whole door glowed with a wicked indigo light, before fading, the lock on the door clicking, the door opening.
"A Keyblade," said the black-eyed girl as the four witches exited the cell, "Of course, I should have thought of that."
"I don't know who you three are," said the older witch as she set her yellow eyes on Sora, Donald and Goofy, "Or where you came from. But you have my gratitude."
"Uh, thanks," said Sora, "I'm Sora, this is Donald, and that's Goofy."
"Fascinating," said the black-eyed girl as she scrutinized Donald and Goofy, "I've never encountered life forms like this."
"Every day is a new adventure in The Magical Dimension," said the mixed-eyed girl.
"We're not from The Magical Dimension," said Goofy.
"King Mickey sent us," said Donald.
"King Mickey?!" exclaimed the elder witch.
"You must be Christine Griffin," said Sora, "headmistress of Cloud Tower."
"I am," said the elder witch.
Sora then felt in his pocket, but turned out nothing, "Oh no, where is it?" he felt in his other pockets, before finally finding the letter, "King Mickey asked me to give this to you," he handed the latter to Griffin, who immediately read it.
"What going on, headmistress?" the yellowish-green eyed witch asked.
"An old friend is aware of our plight," said Griffin as she finished reading the letter, "And has sent help."
"That's right," said Sora, "Our job is to help rescue the staff and students of Cloud Tower, help defeat The Heartless and stop The Trix before they can take over The Magical Dimension."
"Heartless," said the black-eyed girl, "So that's what The Trix have summoned."
"Well you three are gonna have to get in line," said the yellowish-green eyed girl to Sora, "I've got a bone to pick with Icy and her sisters."
"So do I," said Sora, "anyone who used darkness to hurt people is an enemy of mine."
"Then it makes sense that we work together," said the black-eyed girl.
"Besides," said the mixed-eyed girl, "You three don't know the way. It doesn't take much for someone to get lost in Cloud Tower."
"An excellent suggestion," said Griffin, "You three should go with Sora and his companions. I will join you all once I've freed the other prisoners."
"We won't let you down, headmistress," said the witch with the yellowish-green eyes, then turned her gaze at Sora, "Well come on, big boy, you and your pals gonna stand there all day?"
"Of course not!" said Donald. With that Sora, Donald and Goofy followed the three witches into the upper levels of the castle.
"By the way," said Sora to the witch with the yellowish-green eyes, "I never caught your name."
"I never dropped it," said the witch as she frowned, but then smiled, "seriously, I'm Carmen," she gestured at the girl with the mixed eyes, "That's Morgan," and then to the girl with the dark eyes, "And that's Elise."
"Glad to meet you," said Goofy as the six of them shook hands.
********
"We've been walking these secret corridors for hours," said Bloom as she, Kairi, Riku and the others continued to follow Knut, "And we've been getting nowhere. Every corner and passage looks exactly like the last one."
"Don't worry," said Knut, "We're almost there."
"That's what you said before," said Stella, "what makes this time different?"
"Because I knew exactly where we are," said Knut as he pointed at a door at the far end of the corridor, "You see that? That's where Icy, Darcy and Stormy keep all their secrets, and that's where they've got The Dragonfire."
"Yeah right," said Riven.
"Am I the only one who feels that something's not right?" Sky asked.
"You're not alone," said Riku, "The Trix surely know where we are, but they haven't done anything. I haven't seen any Heartless for a while. They're not that smart and can be fooled, but this is just plain weird."
"Maybe this time we're finally getting lucky," said Kairi, "but still, there's no way those psycho witches will let us walk in and take back The Dragonfire. There's got to be a trap."
"Only one way to find out," said Brandon. Cautiously they made their way to the door without triggering any traps."
"Now I know something's up," said Kairi, "It just can't be this easy."
"On the other hand," said Riku, "you may be right; that we're finally getting some good luck."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sky asked, "Bloom, your powers are on the other side of that door. In a minute, you'll be the most powerful fairy in The Magical Dimension again."
"I hope so," said Bloom tentatively.
They opened the doors and entered the room. It was a large chamber with only one object in it; situated atop a raised dais in the middle of the room was a large brazier that was lit with a bright fire that seemed otherworldly.
"Is that it?" Bloom asked as she stepped forward to the brazier, "Yes, my powers, they're here! I can fee it!" She approached the brazier and extended her hand towards the flames.
Just then both Riku and Kairi felt that something really bad was about to happen. "It's a trap!!" shouted Kairi, but she was too late.
The flames in the brazier froze solid just as Bloom was about to touch them. She pulled back in time to avoid being frozen as well.
Suddenly, a very cold wind blew through the chamber, forcing Kairi, Riku, Sky, Stella and the others to the other side of the room, slamming them against the wall. Nobody was hurt however.
Bloom then turned around to see the doors slam shut and lock, "what's going on?!"
********
Two floors down, Sora and his group were making their way up the castle, following the directions from Carmen and her friends, occasionally stopping so Sora, Donald and Goofy could dispatch a random group of Heartless. Sora had just finished destroying a Large Body, when he tensed, as if sensing something bad was happening, "Kairi and Riku! They're in trouble!"
"Then let's get a move on!" said Goofy.
"Do you even know where your friends are?" Carmen asked as they hurried along.
"No," said Sora, "But I can feel which way to go." True, Sora had taken the lead and was moving through the school without any directions from Carmen, Morgan or Elise.
"Fascinating," said Elise, "I do believe you, Sora, have an empathic connection with your friends, and that link is guiding you to them."
"Well whatever's going on," said Morgan, "I just hope he's not leading us on a wild goose chase."
"I'm not," Sora said confidently, "I know we're getting closer."
********
"Surprise, Bloom," said Icy as she, Darcy and Stormy appeared, "that's not your powers there. The Dragonfire is inside of us, forever beyond your reach! You'll never have it again!"
"Liar!!" shouted Kairi as she, Riku and the others got back up, "I know for a fact that all that you three frigging psychopaths did was drain Bloom of her magic!"
"She's right," said Riku, "all you did was bolster your powers. It's only a matter of time before you burn through that boost and are back to normal."
"Who's the liar now?" mocked Darcy, "the power of The Dragonfire is ours! That, and the power of The Heartless! It is all ours to control!!"
"Is it?" Riku asked, "Well let me tell you this; maintaining your hold over so many Heartless will soon become very taxing. Oh sure, you feel fine now, but it's only a matter of time before you'll need more and more energy to keep control over The Heartless. Before you know it, you'll have exhausted all your magic, and then all the Heartless you've summoned will be beyond your control, and then they'll turn on you and make you one of them."
"Is that a fact?" Stormy asked, "Or are you just guessing?"
"It's just a prediction," said Riku, "One that's sure to come to pass."
"Empty words," said Darcy, "From an empty person."
"Well anyway," said Riku, "No matter what, you three have to be stopped."
"Oh really?" Stormy asked in a taunting tone, "And you losers actually think you can stop us?"
"Darn right we can!" said Kairi, "we have to; you three are the most heinous, vile, rotten creatures I have ever had the unfortunate luck to meet! I can never forgive you for what you've done!"
"Forgiveness is for the weak," said Darcy, "Just like you all are."
"Face it, Bloom," said Icy, "You and your pathetic friends have lost."
Kairi saw, or rather heard, Bloom growling angrily through gritted teeth, "Don't you dare insult my friends!"
"Or what?" Darcy asked, "You're gonna spit on us? We're way stronger than you, and you'll never tell anyone about it!"
"Want to know why?" Stormy a ked, "Because we're gonna burry you right here at Cloud Tower, you and your stupid friends!"
"Stop that!" exclaimed Bloom.
"Yell all you want, loser," mocked Icy as she got right in Bloom's face, "You and your weakling friends will never escape, you're so pathetic!"
SMACK!!
Icy fell back from the force of the pride-obliterating bitch-slap delivered by Bloom, landing on her rear end in a most embarrassing manner.
"You can say whatever you want about me, Icy," Bloom said angrily as she glared daggers at the insane witch, "But if you ever insult my friends again, I'll rip your tongue out and shove it where the sun doesn't shine!"
The look Bloom gave Icy made the insane witch falter, as if convinced that Bloom was capable of carrying out her threat. Then Icy regained her composure as she got back up, while still tenderly felling where Bloom slapped her, "Oh yeah? You and what army?"
BANG!!
The doors shuddered as something on the other side tried to force its way in. This naturally startled everyone in the room.
BANG!!
"Now what!?" Stella asked.
********
"Come on already!!" Sora said as he, Donald and Goofy slammed their shoulders into the doors again and again, "Open!"
It was clear that the trio, after their ordeal of trekking through a Heartless infested forest, then fighting their way through the passages of Cloud Tower, that they weren't thinking clearly, for if they were, Sora would have used his Keyblade to unlock the doors.
As it were, neither Donald or Goofy suggested to Sora that he use his Keyblade. Instead, the three of them felt that brute force was needed. Clearly, as the door refused to yield, it wasn't working, but they didn't care. Unfortunately for them, another trio did care.
"The chances of you breaking those doors down within the foreseeable future isn't in your favor," said Elise, "Are you positive you don't need our assistance?"
"We're fine!" Donald said as they bashed against the doors again.
"We'll get through in no time!" said Goofy.
"In what century?" Morgan asked.
"I don't have time for this crap!" spat Carmen. She pointed at the doors, "Alohomora!" the doorknobs glowed bright orange, just as Sora, Donald and Goofy bashed against the doors again. The doors fell open, leading the trio to fall into the room. Donald hit the floor first, followed by Sora atop of him, and with Goofy landing atop of both.
"Sora!" exclaimed both Riku and Kairi.
"Hey, Kairi!" said Sora as he, Donald and Goofy got back up, "Riku, sorry if we're late."
"Who the hell are you!?" snapped Icy.
"We're heroes!" Donald said boldly.
"Junior heroes," Goofy corrected.
Donald was about to retort, when Carmen angrily pushed past them, "Out of my way! Get out of my way!" she pointed at Icy, "You! You're one dead witch, you know that?!"
"Funny," said Icy as she glared at Carmen, "You'd think that if I'm dead, I'd stop moving."
"Why, Icy," said Morgan as she and Elise entered the room, "I had no idea you had such a well rounded sense of humor."
"That's not the only thing that's well rounded," said Elise, "With such big heads full of hot air, it's a wonder The Trix haven't taken off with a gust of wind."
"That's not funny!" spat Stormy, "And just how the hell did you three get out of your cages!?"
"I let them out," said Sora.
"You just made a very big mistake, kido," said Darcy as she and her sisters glared at Sora darkly.
"I'm not afraid of you witches!" Sora said defiantly.
Donald and Goofy agreed with a "Yeah!" and a "Yep!"
"Oh but you should be," said Icy venomously, "You should be very afraid."
"We'll just see about that!" said Sora as he summoned his Keyblade.
"Another one!" exclaimed Stormy, "Three Keyblades!"
"No doubt about it!" said Darcy, "They're the three meddling brats Maleficent warned us about!"
"Maleficent?!" Riku said, "What does she have to do with this!?"
"Absolutely nothing!" said Icy, "Which is what you all are about to become!"
"Don't make me laugh, Icy!" said Carmen, "Only Morgan has that right."
"Glad to know I'm appreciated," said Morgan.
"And I do appreciate you," said Carmen, "But that's beside the point."
"And what is the point?" Darcy asked.
"Numbers, Darcy," said Elise, "We'll start with that. There's three awesomely bad witches in this room; myself, Morgan and Carmen. Then we have Sora, Donald and Goofy, making six. Then we have three Specialists; Sky, Riven and Brandon, making nine. With Stella, Kairi and Riku, twelve. And I'm sure Bloom will want to get a piece of the action, so that's thirteen. There's only three of you, Icy; you and your sisters. We've got you outnumbered over 4 to 1."
"And we've got you outflanked," said Brandon as he, Sky and Riven charged their weapons, while Kairi and Riku summoned their Keyblades.
"Seven on one side of the room," said Riven, "Six on the other, and the three of you in the middle."
"Even with The Dragonfire," said Sky, "Do you three honestly think you can beat all of us?"
"Absolutely yes!" Icy said with hubris overconfidence, while Stormy and Darcy nodded in agreement. But then they looked around, "But it is kind of cramped in here."
"It is," said Stormy.
"I'd prefer to have room to move around with," said Darcy, "when destroying pathetic losers."
"For once we agree on something," said Carmen, while Elise and Morgan nodded in agreement, "I suggest we take this outside, where there plenty of room for all of us to groove."
"I have a better suggestion!"
"Headmistress!" Carmen said as Griffin entered the room. The headmistress of Cloud Tower, whose body was emitting a venomously green glow aimed her hands at the shocked Trix and blasted them with triple beams of green colored dark magic, one for each.
Kairi, Riku and the others got out of the way as The Trix were slammed into the wall.
"Take that as a warning," said Griffin as she glared at The Trix, walking past Bloom, "You three deserve the worst kind of punishment for what you've done!"
"One tends to forget how frightening the Headmistress can be," Elise said in a slightly nervous tone.
"Yes," said Carmen, "But awesomely scary."
"I think it would be a good idea if we were to get out of here," said Kairi. They hurried to the other side of the room.
"Come on, Bloom," said Sky, "Let's go."
"You guys go," said Morgan eagerly as she, Elise and Carmen watched The Trix cower before Griffin, "I want to see this."
"You go on ahead," Sora said to Riku and Kairi, "We'll catch up."
"You'd better," said Kairi, "Oh, before I forget. Bloom, Sky, this is Sora."
"So he's the one who held your heart for so long," said Stella.
"Uh…yeah," said Sora, "I guess I did."
By now The Trix had regained their composure, "So you escaped your cage, Ms. Griffin," said Icy.
"I just wanted to let you three know," said Griffin, "That I am still the headmistress of Cloud Tower, and you three little missies are still students. I'm afraid the final showdown will occur somewhere else, so I'll be seeing you later." She walked back to the center of the room and began casting a spell, the green glow returning.
"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Icy asked.
"I'm putting you three troublemakers in detention!" said Griffin as she finished her spell. A line of purple energy shot across the room, isolating The Trix. The line solidified into a wall of purple crystal, followed by another translucent wall, and another, "If you talk, pass notes or chew gum, the shield will only grow stronger. Enjoy!"
"Now that's what I call awesomely bad!" grinned Morgan.
"Indeed," said Griffin as she, Sora, Carmen and everyone else left the chamber, "But I fear that the spell won't hold them for long." she then cast another spell, sealing the doorway and the first ten yards of the corridor with razor-sharp stalagmites. "Come, the other students are waiting for us at the highest terrace of the castle. It's our best chance to escape."
"You mean we're abandoning Cloud Tower to those lunatics?" Elise asked, "Forgive me, headmistress, but that's about as fudged up as it can get!"
"I know," said Griffin gravely, "But I'm afraid there's nothing more we can do to stop Icy, Darcy and Stormy, not here anyway."
"But if you leave them here," said Stella, "They can destroy the castle."
"I'm well aware of that, Stella," said Griffin, "Faragonda warned me against The Trix, but I wasn't about to allow myself to be awed by three silly young students. I admit that I had made a foolish mistake.
"The fact that Faragonda, Saladin and myself managed to overpower The Ancestress witches nearly 16 years ago, doesn't make us invincible. The truth is that we must all be vigilant, for the worlds of magic can never be taken for granted."
"Wait," said Bloom, "you said you fought The Ancestress witches. You were on Domino?"
"Indeed I was," said Griffin, "Myself, Saladin and Faragonda. We stood with Oritel and Miriam against the darkness," she then saw the hopeful look on Bloom's face, "But I'm afraid none of us are aware of what happened to your birth parents."
"Oh," said a disappointed sounding Bloom.
"You said it yourself that they were still alive," Kairi said, "And if they're alive, they can be found."
It was then that Sora noticed Carmen looking at Bloom, as if the witch wanted to say something, but something else was holding her back.
"Go on," whispered Morgan, "say it already."
"You're only making things worse for yourself if you hold back," whispered Elise.
Carmen took a steadying breath before finally speaking to Bloom, "I know we just met like less than five minutes ago, Bloom, but for some reason, I feel like I want to help you."
"No way!" exclaimed Stella, "A witch wanting to help a fairy?! No way!"
"Mirta wanted to help me," said Bloom.
"Well Mirta was a one in a million exception," said Stella.
"Mirta?" Carmen asked, "She's alright?"
"More or less," said Bloom hesitantly, "It's a long story. Let's say for now that she's safe at Alfea."
"Well that's a relief," said Carmen.
"Now this really is strange," said Brandon, "Witches showing compassion."
"Let's get one thing straight, pretty boy," said Morgan, "Not all witches are as mean and uncaring as Icy and her bitch-sisters."
"Those three are prime examples," said Elise, "That one doesn't need to be a Heartless to be without a heart."
"We're nothing like The Trix," said Carmen, "believe it."
"Well you could have fooled us," said Stella. She would have said more, when…
"Look out!!" shouted Brandon as he pulled her out of the way of a leaping Heartless. This one was different; it looked to be a taller version of a Shadow, only with shaper claws, slightly elongated limbs and its antenna were straightened back.
Sora took out the Neo Shadow with one strike, but more and more began crawling from the darkened areas of the passageway.
"Friends of yours?" Sky asked.
"You wish!" said Riku as he stabbed one Neo Shadow, then sliced another in half.
"Stand aside, pretty boy," said Morgan, "Let me show you how we witches do things around here!" Morgan charged up a spell, channeling her magic into her hands, creating a large, gold colored boomerang, which she threw at the Neo Shadows, slicing half a dozen on the first pass, then more died as the boomerang came back into her hands.
"Nice," said Riku.
"You think that's impressive," said Elise, "then get a load of this!!" she aimed her hands at more Neo Shadows and shot several bolts of yellow lighting at them, destroying ten.
Just then a Fat Bandit lumbered into their path.
"Careful!" shouted Sora, "That thing can spit fire!"
"Could have fooled me!" shouted Morgan as she narrowly avoided a fireball.
The Fat Bandit then leaned back as it prepared to use its flamethrower attack. Elise held her ground, then chanted a spell. Just as the creature shot it's deadly flames at her, a large barrier made of white stone materialized in front of Elise, a gold lighting bolt was engraved on the front. The flamethrower attack hit the barrier, which absorbed it. The whole thing then began to crackle with yellow lighting, then shot the fire back at the Fat Bandit, only now the flames were charged with yellow lighting. The combined attack hit the creature and destroyed it.
"Impressive," said Riku.
"Of course you are," remarked Elise, "It's only natural."
"Makes you wonder what's coming next," said Stella as they entered another large chamber on their way to the top floor.
Just then three armored Heartless appeared in front of them, each creature was nearly 8ft tall and carried a large spiked shield.
"You just had to ask," said Morgan.
"They're like Large Bodies!" said Sora as they dodged the Defender's swinging shields, "You need to get behind them!"
"Easier said than done!" said Brandon as he dodged an energy blast that shot from one shield. These Heartless were a lot faster and more agile than their size suggested.
"Well," said Sora, "You can always try this!" he cast a Gravity spell on the closest Defender, crushing it flat. When it tried to recover, Sora got behind it and destroyed it with two slashes of his Keyblade.
"Not to shabby," said Carmen, "But check this out!" she then cast two spells that were very similar to the Gravity spell. The two remaining Defenders were crushed flat. Before they could recover, Carmen threw two spheres of dark energy at the creatures, destroying them.
"Cool," said an impressed Sora.
"You can praise me later," said Carmen, "We're still a ways from the top terrace."
********
"Damn it!! raged Icy, "Damn it! Damn it!! Damn it!!!" she was emitting so much frozen energy that the whole tripple barrier imprisoning her and her sisters soon shattered. "I hate them! I hate them all! Especially that old fool, Griffin!"
"She took us by surprise" said Stormy as they looked at the spiky rock barrier.
"We underestimated her," said Darcy, "She has us trapped, it'll be a while before we can break through."
"Excuse me!!" exclaimed Icy, "You think a bunch of rocks will stop us?! There's no way I'm letting them escape!! Stand aside, sisters!!"
Focusing her rage into her hands, Icy shot a frozen blast at the stalagmites, but only shattered three of the spikes.
"You barely dented it," said Stormy, "At this rate we'll be here forever."
"What the hell are you waiting for!?" exclaimed Icy, "Help me out!! We'll let The Heartless deal with Bloom and her friends."
The three witches focused their dark powers and began systematically destroying the stone barrier.
********
Sora, Kairi, Riku and the others made it to the top terrace outside, where the staff and students of Cloud Tower waited.
"Everyone accounted for," said Griffin, "Excellent."
"What are you going to do?" Sora asked.
"I'll conjure up a dimensional portal to Alfea," said Griffin, "Everyone gather around, and try to stay as close to each other as possible!" she focused her magic, creating a column of green light that shot down from the clouds above. The assembled witches then began entering the shaft of light, disappearing as they went.
"There's not much time!" shouted Griffin, the strain of holding the portal beginning to show, "The Heartless will be here soon!"
Riku and Kairi looked back towards the stairway they used to get to the terrace, seeing dozens of Shadows, Neo Shadows and Soldiers scampering their way.
"We'll hold them off!" shouted Sora as he, Donald and Goofy took up defensive positions at the top of the stairs. They were soon joined by Carmen, Morgan and Elise.
"What are you doing!?" Sora asked as he hacked a Neo Shadow in half, while Carmen blasted two Soldiers, "Get going!
"Not until everyone else is safe!" shouted Carmen, "This is my school; I'll protect it and its students until the last second!"
"Us to!" said Morgan as she and Elise blasted a squad of Shadows, "where Carmen goes, we go."
"And when she leaves," said Elise, "So do we."
"In that case," said Sora, "I'm staying as long as you're staying."
"And if Sora's stayin'," said Goofy as he bashed a Neo Shadow with his shield, sending the creature over the edge of the stairs, "Then we're stayin'!"
"Yeah!!" shouted Donald as he zapped two Soldiers with a Thunder spell.
"Get into the portal!!" Griffin shouted to Kairi, Riku, Bloom, Sky and the others.
"Ms. Griffin!" said Sky, "We could throw them off the scent with some kind of distraction!"
"It's me they want!" shouted Bloom, "The Trix! They won't stop until they get me!"
"I understand!" said Griffin. With one hand she conjured up out of thin air what looked to be a motorcycle, one that ran on anti-gravity, "Take this, it'll help you escape!"
"Nice!" said an impressed Sky, "Isn't that a 'Space Rider 4000'?"
"Exactly," said Griffin, "complete with self replicating suits and helmets."
"Wow!" said Bloom. She and Sky got on the bike, which then attached metallic suits and helmets to them.
"Wait!" said Kairi, "It's too dangerous!"
"I'll do anything to help my friends," said Sky.
"Same here," said Bloom.
"In that case," said Riku, "We're going with you," he looked at Griffin, "I don't suppose you have another one of those things."
"No," said Griffin, "But I have the next best thing, for each of you!" for Kairi, griffin conjured up a pair of rollerblades that also ran on anti-gravity. And for Riku, an anti-gravity skateboard.
"Sweet!" said Kairi. She then saw Sora, Donald, Goofy, Carmen, Morgan and Elise being pushed back to the portal by the sheer numbers of Heartless.
"Sora!!" shouted Kairi as she held up the Thalasa shell charm he gave her.
"I remember!" shouted Sora as he held up the charm she gave him.
"If we're gonna go, it's got to be now!" shouted Riku as he got onto the hover board, while Kairi put her skates on. They followed Bloom and Sky.
Sora heard Riven grunted contemptuously, but then smiled, "Good luck," then headed towards the portal.
"Bloom! Kairi!" shouted Stella as she flew to the portal, "I'll be thinking of you!"
Next to enter the portal was Brandon and Knut as the last of the witches disappeared.
"Come on!!" Sora shouted to Carmen, "There's nothing more we can do here!"
"There's always more I can do!!" exclaimed Carmen as she blasted more Shadows. But more and more Heartless were appearing on the terrace. It wouldn't be long before those left there would be surrounded.
"I can't maintain the portal much longer!!" shouted Griffin. Just then two Neo Shadows appeared behind her, but one was smashed by Goofy, while Donald destroyed the other with a fireball spell.
"Let's go already!!" shouted Donald.
It was then that Sora saw Morgan grab Carmen by the shoulder and looked at her with deadly seriousness, "Carmen! If you stay here, you and all your dreams for the future will die! Is that what you really want?!"
"I hate it when you get all serious," said Carmen, "But you're right."
"Well come back," said Elise, "Some day, somehow."
"That we will," said Carmen, "Sora! Let's go!!"
"About time!" said Donald as they entered the portal, followed by Griffin. The shaft of green light vanished with them, leaving only Bloom, Sky, Riku and Kairi to face the growing masses of Heartless on the terrace.
"It's getting a little crowded up here!" said Riku as he blasted several Soldiers with his Dark Aura.
"Then let's make some room!" said Sky he maneuvered the bike so it smashed several Shadows and Soldiers, clearing a large space on the terrace, but more and more Heartless kept coming.
"I've got an idea!" shouted Sky, "It's a bit reckless, but it may just get us all out of here!"
"I trust you!" said Bloom.
"What are you gonna do!?" Kairi asked.
"This!" said Sky. Gunning the engine, he drove the bike straight towards the edge of the terrace, knocking several Heartless out of the way as he and Bloom rode the bike down the slope of the castle walls.
"He's either gonna get them both killed," said Kairi, "Or they might just make it!"
"We'll never know if we stay here!" shouted Riku as the ranks of Heartless closed in again, "Come on!!" Before the gap where Sky and Bloom made closed up, Riku and Kairi followed them down the castle walls.
They all made it safely to the ramp that lead from the front door of the castle to the road leading into the forest.
"That was the bravest and stupidest thing I had ever seen!" Riku shouted to Sky, "Don't ever do that again!"
"You're not my mother!" Sky shouted back.
"I met your mother," said Bloom, "It was only for a second, but I got the impression that if she saw you doing that, she'd give you a good spanking!"
"You're probably right!" said Sky, "Anyway, it shouldn't be that much further to Alfea."
Just then they saw several Heartless blocking the road ahead, forcing them to stop. This allowed two Shadows to try and grab Bloom.
"Get them off of me!!" exclaimed Bloom.
Kairi tried to rush over and help, but a pair of Soldiers blocked her way.
Fortunately Sky revved up the bike and shook the Shadows off. Riku then blasted the road clear with his Dark Aura, allowing them to continue.
"Now, if we can just have five minutes without someone or something trying to kill us," said Riku. But he spoke too soon; a bolt of dark lighting struck the road just ahead of Bloom and Sky. He managed to avoid the bolt, but another one nearly hit them.
"Remember when you said that you've got the feeling that somebody doesn't like us?" Kairi shouted to Bloom, "I think you're right!"
Just then another bolt of lighting hit nearby, only this one was close enough to disrupt the energy functions of the bike, sending it out of control. To make matters worse, the road ahead took a very sharp turn. The bike crashed into the guardrail and shot over the cliff into the woods below.
"Oh crap!!" exclaimed Riku and he and Kairi followed Bloom and Sky over the edge of the road. This wasn't exactly a smart move, for they both landed hard on the ground, their anti-gravity equipment shorting out upon impact.
But the good news was that they landed next to where Bloom and Sky were, and both of them looked completely unharmed.
"Everyone alright?" Sky asked.
"I'm fine," said Riku as he looked at the shattered remains of his skateboard, which had broken in half, while Kairi's rollerblades were in a dozen pieces.
"Well that was fun," said Kairi, "While it lasted."
The end of chapter 6. Next chapter, while Kairi and Riku continue to help Bloom and Sky, Sora and his group arrive at Alfea and help defend against the seemingly never-ending waves of Heartless. Who will survive? Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you next time!