warning: mild gore. theres alot of fighting, blood, and death.

BUT DON'T WORRY...it's all bad-guys.

Chapter 21: Raven and Sedusa

Blossom huffed as she ran down the never-ending corridors, one hand in Brick's hand and the other clasping the key ring. Her feet pounded against the stony ground and she could footsteps and spurts of breath of the others.

Her hand felt warm in Brick's hand, and she felt a sense of security. It had been a dying hope from the start that they were still alive - something to grasp onto that would make the daring fulfillment of the prophecy meaningful. Even now, with all six back together the outcome was bleak, but she had to stay positive for the sake of the others.

As the group raced down the bending turn of the tunnel that formed an even longer tunnel. Secretly, Blossom felt relieved. It may be cowardice of her that she was glad that the dungeon seemed endless. It meant she had more time to wander around with her sisters and friends before some final battle with an evil witch.

"Okay..." Boomer wheezed, slowing down to a stop. Bubbles came to a halt beside him, her chest rising and falling quickly from her ragged and uneven breaths. Butch and Buttercup looked no better off. "Kind of...drained..."

Blossom yanked back on Brick's hand, finally taking a moment to size him up. His eyes were still the same crimson red, but they were much more tired than the once sarcastic and playful Brick she knew. His skin was pale and he definitely had a slight fever. How had she not noticed his condition before? Butch and Boomer looked almost identical.

Brick glanced at the blue and green teenagers who were desperately trying to move onward - Buttercup supporting Butch by holding onto his shoulder and Bubbles trying to pull Boomer to his feet. He felt drained of energy as well. He couldn't put the boys through too much of this. "Let's take a snack break then we'll keep moving."

Buttercup collapsed under the weight of Butch and they fell to the ground. Butch flinched in pain. Buttercup positioned him against the wall as comfortably as she could before curling up in a ball beside him.

Bubbles tossed down her sword, bow, quiver of arrows, and a few knives all of which had become to heavy to carry herself. She slung off a pack filled with a variety of nuts, berries, and dried meat that a maid named Sophie had filled back at the palace in Monshea. Bubbles then began forcing Boomer to eat to help get his energy back up.

Brick and Blossom stood together in the middle of the hall, hands woven together, musty torch-light flickering from where they were welded to the walls.

The pink-eyed girl reached up on her tip toes, planting a kiss on Brick's lips. The kiss was inviting, relaxing even and it held the same spark that had told her that she loved him. Blossom stared into his red eyes. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

He rubbed the back of his hand down her cheek. "For what?"

Blossom sniffled, refusing to cry. "For not taking into consideration that you three have been rotting in these caves alive. For hauling you along with us."

Brick would've laughed if he didn't feel so crummy. "It's not your fault! We all have to do this. Being captured was just a stupid mistake. As far as our conditions? There's nothing you can do about that either."

Blossom frowned for a moment, then instantaneously perked back up. "But I think I can." She held up her and Brick's hands that were locked together. Blossom placed her free one on top. She closed her eyes. "Gahs hilo ba tito! Gahs hilo ba tito!" She exclaimed.

Brick surged forward, falling to his knees weakly. Blossom kneeled with him, knowing the healing process felt ironically painful. He shuddered for moment, then got to his feet. He stared at his hands as they returned to their natural color before his eyes. His fever went back to the normal human body temperature and his energy felt revived.

He laughed joyously, twirling Blossom around in the air. "You're a genius!"

Blossom blushed as he set her on the ground. "I was just being resourceful. Now go get some food while I tend to Butch and Boomer."

Brick kissed the top of her head. "Anything you say, Blossy."

Blossom hurried over to Buttercup and Butch, once again grateful for pants and a top instead of a big clumsy skirt. "Go eat Buttercup. I'll fix him up for you." She shooed.

Buttercup pursed her lips, clearly not liking the order. Butch grinned, snaking a kiss onto her cheek. "I'll be fine Butterfluff. I'll be right here."

"Well, okay," Buttercup grumbled reluctantly, climbing to her feet. She rested a shaky hand on Blossom's shoulder, a pleading look in her eyes. "He's dying..." she whispered. Buttercup could hear her own voice cracking, but her best friend was dying. Out of everything they've been through together, she sure as hell wasn't going to let him die from being malnourished.

Blossom nodded her head slightly. "Everyone's going to be okay. Butch isn't going anywhere that we can't follow him."

Buttercup bit her lip, nodding slowly. She glanced at Butch one more time before joining Bubbles, Boomer, and Brick.

The sound of Blossom's footsteps echoed behind her as her older sister went to heal Butch.

Buttercup plopped down beside Brick and Bubbles. She let out a whistle. "Whoa Brick. You look really healthy."

Brick wrapped an arm around her neck giving her a nougy. "I've missed you to, BC."

Buttercup shoved him away, a smile tugging at her lips. Just like old times. "Sure whatever. Pass the cranberries would ya?"

Bubbles tossed a small bag full of bright red fruit to Buttercup. "They're really good. Sophie did a good job packing."

"Who's Sophie?" Boomer managed. He had to force down a handful of some really bitter nuts that Bubbles had frantically shoved in his mouth in an attempt to revive his health.

Bubbles and Buttercup shared a look. Brick narrowed his eyes, clearly picking up on something. Why did their mental shields have to be up? "Bubbles? Buttercup?"

"Sophie...is our maid." Buttercup finally said.

Boomer choked out a laugh. "A maid? We're the poorest outlaws in Dorton. How do you have a maid?"

Bubbles giggled weakly. "Yeah...about that..." her voice trailed off.

"Bubbles?" Boomer asked again, poking the blonde in her side. She smelt alot like those ugly little pig things, but Boomer decided to keep that to himself.

Bubbles looked to Buttercup for help. Buttercup took the hint and called attention on herself. "As it turns out, Bubbles, Blossom, and I are sisters." She paused, waiting to see how that would sink in.

Brick smirked really big and Boomer burst out laughing. "WE KNEW IT!" They chorused together.

"What?" Bubbles scrunched her face, confused.

Boomer took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You three look sooo much alike! Like triplets almost."

"Well, we are triplets." Buttercup muttered quietly, crossing her arms.

"You're personalities all balance each other out and you act much to similar to not be related." Brick surmised.

"Oh yeah?" Bubbles prompted.

"Yeah...?" Boomer stated as more of a question.

"We're the long lost princesses of Monshea." Buttercup stated flatly.

Boomer and Brick shared a brief look of disbelief. "You sure about that?" Brick asked.

Bubbles groaned. "Boys are so helpless."

"Why are we helpless?" Butch asked, walking from the shadows looking healthier than he's ever been with Blossom right beside him. Buttercup smiled, jumping up into his arms and kissing him in front of everyone.

"Yeah. Go Butch." Boomer cheered sarcastically. Bubbles rolled her eyes, stuffing the blue boy's face with another handful of tasteless nuts and berries.

Blossom plopped down beside Boomer, taking one of his hands in hers. Without looking up she said, "Buttercup, detach yourself from Butch."

Boomer, Brick, Bubbles, and Butch began laughing. Blossom ignored it and carried on healing Boomer. Buttercup had a blush, then sat cross-legged on the ground. She munched on a piece of dried venison.

"Wat I miss?" Butch remarked, eagerly chewing on berries and meat.

"The girls are sisters." Brick told him.

Butch raised a brow. "That's no surprise."

"And they're the lost princesses of Monshea." Boomer added wistfully.

"There's something new." Butch nodded, not looking very impressed.

"Why don't you believe us!?" Bubbles cried out, pouting.

"I believe you." Brick repented.

"Yeah. Sorry if I didn't sound enthusiastic." Butch answered.

Everyone turned to Boomer. Suddenly he felt a little uncomfortable. "Boomer?"

"Yes. I do believe you guys."

Blossom grinned triumphantly. "I'm glad we've reached an agreement."

"Me too." Buttercup smiled smugly.

"Me too." Bubbles echoed with a smirk.

After their snack break and a chance for Blossom to heal the boys, the six young teens persisted down the dreary tunnel. Bubbles was glad to have Boomer back, but if they were all destined to fight Disoria herself, then Bubbles was worrying about how long she had left with Boomer.

She squeezed his hand in hers, making sure he was there and that she wasn't hallucinating or going insane. But when she looked up, Boomer's gentle smile and kind eyes stared down at her and warmth coursed through her body.

"You okay?" Boomer asked her. They were lagging toward the back of the group, so no one was really bound to eavesdrop.

Bubbles pursed her lips. "Boomer. I need you to promise me something."

Boomer frowned. Her happy and cheerful demeanor had disappeared replaced by a timid longing. "Depends what it is."

Bubbles kept her eyes on the new ribbon that was tied up in Blossom's hair. Keeping her eyes focused was the only thing keeping her from breaking down into tears. "Promise me that if I get into trouble, don't risk yourself for me. Save yourself."

Boomer made a face. "How could I promise that? I wouldn't dream of letting you sacrifice yourself on my behalf." He kissed her head, soft blonde hair pressing against his lips. He was surprised when Bubbles didn't burst into a fit of giggles.

Instead, Bubbles inhaled sharply keeping her gaze ahead. "Please. Promise me."

Boomer sighed, coming to the conclusion he would break the promise if it came to it. "I-"

Boomer was cut off before he could make the binding oath. Buttercup stopped dead in her tracks. "Did you hear that?" she hissed.

Brick and Blossom stopped to listen. Butch, Boomer, and Bubbles listened too. The tunnel seemed eerily quiet.

Butch shrugged, wondering if Buttercup had finally lost her mind. "I don't hear anything."

"SHHH!" Buttercup hissed back. She crept farther down the tunnel straining her ears to pick up any morsel of sound. A small scratch-like echo came from the depths of the cave, where torches were no longer lit and it was a plunge into darkness. "Did you hear that?" she questioned.

Boomer perked up a bit. "Yes. I think I did."

Brick raised his eyebrows, not sure if Boomer was delusional. "Are you sure?"

"It was probably a rat," Butch suggested.

"Hellooo?" A hoarse voice crossed out farther into the black hole of a tunnel.

Buttercup turned around, arms crossed. "Now please tell me that you all heard that. Otherwise, y'all are going crazy."

Blossom blinked. "Nope. We heard it."

Bubbles eyes got wide. "I know that voice!" She realized. She sprinted off into the darkened hall, her pounding steps the only sign of direction. Boomer opened his mouth to say something, but instead bolted after her.

"Bubbles!" Blossom and Brick coincided together. Buttercup and Butch raced after her.

Brick took a strong grip on Blossom's hand, and with his other one caused a small flame to flicker in his palm to light the way. The two set off at an incredibly fast pace they almost didn't have enough time to stop when they saw Bubbles crouched by a cell door. A hand was sticking out, holding onto Bubbles' hand.

Boomer was holding a different hand that was protruding from the bars as well as Buttercup. Blossom kneeled beside Bubbles. "Who is it?" she whispered.

"Robin," a weak voice inside the cell answered.

Bubbles squeezed Robin's hand, a tear rolling down her cheek. "We'll get you out. Hold on."

"So tired and hungry," Princess' voice broke down into tears.

Boomer hushed her soothingly. "Princess, everything will be fine. We're here now."

"We'll get you out." Brick started looking through the key rings.

"How long have you been here?" Blossom asked, keeping her voice as steady as she could manage without crying.

"Almost 4 days." Bunny managed. Her voice sounded sore and her hands were frail. "No food or water for days."

"Oh my gosh." Butch stared down at their malnourished hands, to perplexed to swear.

"We need to get them out!" Buttercup exclaimed, furiously pulling on the bars. "Bunny, watch out." A small shuffle inside told her that her friend had move out of the way. Buttercup layed down on her back, then began kicking relentlessly on the iron bars. "It's not working!"

Butch looped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her back. "We stole the keys for a reason."

Brick frowned at the assortment of keys. "None of them look like they fit."

"What?" Bubbles turned around, tears dripping from her lashes and fell from her chin.

Brick tried jamming a key into the lock. As he suspected, it was to small and it was the biggest key they had. "Figures!" He spat sourly. "These cells must have no keys!"

"Leave us!" Princess urged sickly from behind the bars. "Find Disoria. Kill her!"

Blossom stared at Princess. The lightning was awful, but she was pale and her eyes were sunken. Her lips were chapped and peeling. Her once beautiful curly orange hair was now matted and stained with brown and bronze. "We're not leaving you." She said firmly.

"Butch!" Bunny coughed. She looked no better. Her purple eyes looked almost black, lips chapped and trembling. Her hair was chopped unevenly and her skin looked almost ghostly.

"What?" Butch answered.

"Break the bars!"

Butch scoffed. "Our powers were useless against our cells. It won't work."

"Butch," Boomer pleaded, hating to see his friends in such a state. "Try."

"But-"

"Try!" Brick repeated boldly.

Butch bit the inside of her cheek, not sure how well it would work. If it hadn't worked on his cell, how would this be any different? He locked his fingers around the bars. Mustering as much will power a he could, he pulled back and his Strength did the rest. The bar crashed against the floor. He breathed in awe. "It worked."

Bubbles managed a smile as she latched onto Robin, giving her a hug. Blossom held Princess in a tight embrace and Buttercup cradled Bunny in her lap. Boomer and Brick hurriedly scrounged their packs for food and water. Butch was still admiring his job well done.

Boomer passed Bubbles a large piece of bread. Bubbles took it gratefully and began coaxing Robin to eat. "Robin, look! Food!"

Out of the three of them, Robin was in the worst condition. Her skin was so white it looked green and she could hardly open her eyes or speak. Bunny and Princess eagerly ate and drank water while Bubbles dribbled some water into Robin's mouth.

"Brick," Princess said, stuffing the remaining bits of bread back into the pack. "There are more captives."

"More?" Buttercup asked, tying Bunny's hair into a ponytail on top of her head.

"Yes," Robin stirred, trying to sit up.

Blossom rushed over to her. She muttered a few words and Robin looked mildly better. She could open her eyes and move, but her skin was still dangerously white and thin.

"Four boys. Four girls." Robin continued. Bubbles helped her sit up a bit.

"Four?" Boomer asked.

"That's what we said." Bunny shot back.

Blossom walked around, trying to heal them the best she could without straining herself.

"Please don't tell me who I think it is..." Brick rubbed his eyes, worry brewing in his features.

Buttercup's eyes widened in alarm. "You don't mean-"

Boomer and Butch took off running down deeper into the tunnel. Torches became more frequently lit so Boomer determined that they were closer to the higher floors now. They climbed a small set of stairs where the room opened into an illuminated room with cells on either sides.

Two plump goblin guards were on duty. Butch and Boomer threw two daggers so fast, the goblins were dead before they could tell that they were even there.

"Bree!?" Boomer hissed hastily. "Britt? Bhumi?"

"Basil!?" Butch called in turn. "Block? Anyone?"

"Boomer?" A small voice called out.

"Shhh! It's a trick!" An annoyed voice scolded.

"Britt? Bree?" Boomer ran over to the cells where the whispers came from, Butch hot on on his trail.

"Is that Boomer and Butch?" A third voice asked.

"It looks like them." Said a fourth.

"But how?"

"It can't be really them."

"A trick!"

"No!" The more childish voice exclaimed. She rushed toward the bars and gripped them so tight, her knuckles became white. "Boomer? Is it you?"

Boomer smiled down at the girl. She was taller than he remembered, and her blonde hair no longer had the orange tips although it was still pulled back in two low ponytails. She was even thinner than before, but her eyes were still vibrant and she looked much healthier than the unicorns. "Firecracker! What happened to your orange hair?"

Butch got closer to the bars. "Hold on. We'll get you out."

"Butch?" A voice asked.

Butch recognized it immediately as his 'older sister.' "Basil! Where's Bree and Bhumi?"

"Over here." A feminine voice that was definitely Bree's answered from the cell directly beside it.

"Shit. How long have you been here?" Butch broke down the bars like he had the first time. Britt immediately ran to Boomer who wrapped her in a hug. Basil climbed out, her legs weak.

"Almost a month." Bhumi replied from her cell.

Butch gave Basil a hug, then proceeded to free Bree and Bhumi.

"Britt, you've gotten big!" Boomer placed the girl back on the ground so he could embrace Basil.

Britt beamed. "I'm 12 years old now."

"12?" Buttercup asked, striding into the room. Britt's eyes filled with happiness. "Then you could really use this." Buttercup ran up to Britt, catching her in a hug as she walked over to Boomer and Basil. Buttercup pulled away from the blonde, then revealed a dagger from her boot. "Use this to protect yourself."

"Forget that!" Butch yelled, helping Bree over the trashed gate. "Just stab some monsters!"

"Hello?" Brick called, walking into the room. His red eyes beamed when he saw his adopted sisters alive. Bubbles helped Princess, Bunny, and Robin hobble in.

"Brick!" Basil called.

"Basil!" Brick called back.

"Boomer!" Bhumi shouted.

"Bhumi!" Bubbles said.

"Bubbles!" Bree said.

"Blossom!" Basil said.

"Brick!" Britt called.

"Britt!" Bubbles said.

"Why isn't anyone saying Butch?" Butch demanded.

"Uhhhh...cuz we already saw you. . .?" Britt answered, though it came off as more of a question.

"Sounds good to me!" Bree laughed.

"What about the others!?" Bhumi exclaimed.

"The others?" Blossom repeated. Who else could be here?

"Bain? Bean?" Bubbles asked concern in her voice. She was cuddling Britt and keeping Robin steady.

"Brin? Block?" Buttercup finished.

Bree nodded her head, but began to faint from moving her head to quickly. Brick caught her and laid her on the ground gently. She was still conscious but it was a strain for her to move to fast. "They're on the other side of the wall."

Britt twirled the end of Bubbles braid, cooing softly. She pointed to the wall.

"Come on." Brick called to Butch, who was helping get Bunny and Basil in comfortable position. When Buttercup took over, he trotted over to Brick. "We have to get the others."

"Well no duh." Butch answered. "I thought we were gonna make faces at them and tease them with bananas."

"You wish," Brick mumbled, shouldering past Butch.

"What!? I would not- well, maybe." He jogged after Brick.

After making sure all the 10 girls were okay, Boomer ran after his brothers.

Blossom tried healing everyone as best she could without draining her own energy, but they seemed to have been given better living conditions over the course of a month than what Robin, Princess, and Robin had been given over a four day period. Everyone was mainly just hungry.

Robin yawned, fatigue catching up with her now that her stomach was full. "Goodness, I'm tired."

"Me too," Bunny agreed.

"Ditto," Princess nodded.

"Hey..." Basil said quietly. Her eyes lit up when realization dawned on her. "You three are those unicorn girls that the dragons captured a few days ago, right?"

Bunny nodded. "That's us."

Bhumi nodded, her lip curled. "That's why you three looked familiar."

"What now?" Buttercup demanded, crunching up her nose.

"When the guards brought us here, we had to walk down this set of stairways. They must have seen us through the cells." Princess explained.

"Where are your horns?" Blossom pointed at their bare wrists. "Shouldn't someone be writhing in guilt right now?"

"Unless you're an ugly goblin without a soul." Bunny spat, rubbing her wrist where her charm bracelet should've been.

"Foul little creatures." Robin muttered, crossing her arms.

"Uhhhh-huh," Britt suddenly became a little wriggly in Bubbles arms.

Bubbles noticed the change, and looked down at her. "Hey. You alright, Firecracker?"

Britt smiled guilty. Bree narrowed her eyes at her sister. "I know that face. What are you hiding?"

Basil gazed down at the younger girl harder now. "Yeah. What do ya got there?"

Britt reached her hand into the inside pocket on her indigo dress. She pulled out three thin wires with a single charm in the shape of a curled horn.

Princess' face lit up. "How did you get them back?" She plucked the treasure from Britt's hand and placed it back onto her right wrist.

"And how are you sane?" Robin asked nicely, taking the blue bracelet. The two instantly became whole and free from illness when they touched their horn.

"Wha. . .?" Buttercup and Bunny managed together.

"Britt! What the what?!" Bree stuttered.

Basil hid her face in her hands. "Oh my gosh."

Bunny retrieved her own bracelet and transformed it into her favorite dagger. Much more useful.

Britt blushed snuggling deeper into Bubbles as the blue eyed girl hugged her tighter. "Later that day, a goblin had come to feed us. He was bragging about how much bad luck he was having after taking the horns."

"And?" Buttercup urged her to continue.

"Well, I remembered the story's my mom used to tell me about unicorns. I knew that they would come in handy but I wasn't sure about the whole guilt thing. I tricked the goblin into giving them to me. You can only imagine how relieved I was when I wasn't losing my mind."

"But how can that be?" Blossom asked.

Princess shrugged. "Beats my knowledge, and I've been around for a couple hundred years."

"And I thought that I was old." Bhumi muttered quietly.

"Hello?" A hoarse voice called across the room.

Bree was up almost instantly. Even though she stumbled over her feet a bit, she jumped into the outstretched arms of a young man about 22, who was dressed in ragged clothes and boots that were missing the sole. His chestnut colored hair got tangled in her fingers and his eyes were as beautiful as ever. "Bean!" She laughed happily, pressing her lips against his.

"Awww!" Bubbles, Blossom, and Robin cooed together.

"About time." Basil huffed. She felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around only to be caught in a tight embrace and kissed by a young man a little younger than Bean, about 20 years old. His hair was black and caked in mud and bits of dried blood. His lips were chapped and his eyes glowed a beautiful green. She pulled away when she heard Buttercup and Butch whispering. "Bain!" she glowered, trying to keep a straight face.

Bain smirked, an attitude very similar to Butch. "I missed you to, Basil."

Bhumi ran up to Brin, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. He felt warm against her, and she felt a spark - safety, tenderness, love. His golden hair was so dark it looked more brown now, but his eyes were still a sparkling green. "Brin..." she whispered, pressing her cheek against his chest.

"I'm here," he cooed softly, stroking her dark hair.

Block and Britt approached each other awkwardly. Britt felt her heart hammering in her chest as he got closer. She knew Bubbles and Buttercup were certainly watching her as well as Brick, Boomer and Butch. Blossom was probably too. Her sisters were too busy caught up making out with their boyfriends to pay her any attention.

She smiled when they stopped in front of each other. He was a little bit taller than her now, and his blonde hair was more curly than she had remembered. His dark blue eyes shone almost as bright a blue as Boomer's.

It was a little awkward between them since the last time they saw each other, they had been 9 almost 3 years ago. They weren't weird little kids any more. The two of them were growing up and life was leading them with a plan.

"Hey," Britt said. She wondered if he was nervous too. If he was, he was good at hiding it.

Block smiled widely. "Hey Britt-Spit."

Britt couldn't control her fit of giggles. "Block the Rock."

He surged forward and the two 12 year olds shared a hug.

"You two are sooooooo adorable." Brick grinned at the two, his arm locked around Blossom.

Britt and Block blushed deeply, releasing each other and taking a few steps in the other direction.

"No!" Bree laughed, her hand firmly in Bean's.

"Yeah." Bubbles giggled, hugging onto Boomer's arm. "You're so sweet."

"Very!" Robin and Princess sighed dreamily.

"Oy," Bunny face palmed, though she found the entire set up cute too.

"Guys," Buttercup huffed, getting a little edgy. Everyone turned to her. "We'd better keep moving. 1 ½ hours til sundown."

Bubbles slung her bow over her head and into her hand. She notched an arrow as she followed Brick and Blossom's lead. Brick was trying to navigate them throughout the castle to Disoria's room and Butch was leading the caboose. (Which he wasn't thrilled about.)

The castle was set up much different. The hallways were all outside the castle with only the rooms being inside. As far as Bubbles could figure, the big stone arches over the halls acted as an awning to shield it from weather. (Think of Mines Tireth from Lord of the Rings)

Boomer came up behind her, gripping the handle of a sword sheathed at his waist. Bubbles held her breath as she inched farther along the cavernous hallway. It seemed endless and Bubbles felt very exposed because of all the different cleffs and ledges that surrounded them. An army of ugly little goblins or towering zitcoe zombies could launch an assault.

Blossom's foot hit a stone, and it skidded across the stone floor until it crashed into a steel set of double doors. Blossom held her breath while she and everyone else raised their weapons. After a tenseful minute, nothing happened.

Buttercup released the breath she was holding and lowered her sword and dagger. A smile was spreading on her lips from the relief she was feeling. "It looks like it's clear."

"Look out!" Bubbles and Brick screamed at the same time. Bubbles notched an arrow reflexively quick as lightning. Buttercup whipped around fast enough to watch Bubbles' arrow embed itself in the chest of a goblin up on a hallway ledge higher up and farther away from them. The goblin grunted, then fell over the edge, plummeting the 80 feet to his certain demise.

More goblins flooded from cracks, crevices, and archer goblins stood together along the other outdoor hallways. The zitcoes weren't there at all, and even though there were swarms of toad-like goblins, there weren't nearly as many as the parade of them that had been marching out of Disoria's gates.

"Nice going Blossom!" Buttercup scowled. She slipped small knives from her boots and sleeves and repeatedly chucked them at the assaulting enemies.

"My fault?!" Blossom exclaimed, her lips forming a frown. She snatched an arrow from the sling on Bubbles' back and thrusted it into a goblin that jumped toward her. "It wasn't me who jinxed it!"

"Jinx it?" Buttercup spat back, yanking out a bloodied knife from a dead foe.

"Yeah! Jinx it!" Blossom barked back at her.

"Blossom! Buttercup!" Butch shouted above all of the yelling and the metal clashing. Buttercup and Blossom, very stupidly, stopped fighting and turned toward Butch.

"Guys!" Boomer scolded. He sliced two air-born goblins out of their direct path where their talon like nails woulod have clawed the two girls' backs.

"Stay focused!" Brick told them, hacking away at a group of goblins.

Bubbles dropped more trolls from the farther distances. "Guys! We need to get out of here!"

"I think we already know that, Bubbles!" Butch countered sounding a bit iritable. He locked his eyes on the closest goblin, and plucked the pint-sized threat out of it's grasping mits. The goblin stared at it's empty hands for a moment before looking up at Butch and tried to smile apologetically. Butch smiled down at goblin, before killing it.

"Watch it, Boomer!" Buttercup cartwheeled, narrowly missing the tip of a spear. Sliding two knives from her sleeves the same way she had done before, she killed two goblins that had been sneaking up on Boomer's unprotected side.

Boomer laughed weakly at how close he had been to death. "Hehe...thanks."

Blossom had enough time to wink playfully before she the great distance between them, she could hear him cursing angerly. Franticly, she searched among the corpses for a useful weapon. She finally settled for a spear, even though she was fully aware that she had a crappy aim.

She ran over toward Brick when she noticed one of the goblins scaling the wall, finding hand and foot holds in minescule crevices and ledges. Hefting the spear, she prayed that she would miss Brick's head and hit the goblin. Taking a quick breath, she didn't give herself the reality check of what she was about to do, but instead flung the spear as hard as she could.

Brick turned his head uopn hearing the clattering of something against the wall behind him. A dead goblin was fastened to the wall by a spear that had traveled through it's body and into the wall. He heard the delightful squeal of a girl and he turned to find Blossom bouncing on her toes happily. "What are you doing?" he asked, a bit confused as he dispatched the rest of the goblin hoard.

Blossom couldn't hold back the last of her relieved giggles. "I threw the spear! And it didn't hit your head! It killed the goblin!" she explained a bit peppy.

"Is that it?" Brick asked restraining a few chuckles. It was hard to not laugh when Bubbles or Blossom laughed.

Blossom smirked, lightly punching him on the shoulder. "Yes."

"Wonderful." Brick replied, a cocky grin on his face.

"Brick! Blossom!" Butch and Buttercup called together. Their heads were peeking out from the huge set of double doors that was their destination. Bubbles and Boomer were holding back another swarm of goblins from the doors.

"Hurry up!" Bubbles screamed as loud as she could over the noise. All of the goblins stopped fighting back so that they could cover their ears. Butch and Brick hacked away several while their guard was down.

Boomer snapped his fingers. "Thats it! They can't stand high frequencies! Bubbles, scream as loud as you can!."

"What?" Bubbles exclaimed, stabbing at the nearest goblin. Blossom and Brick were getting closer as they waded through half sized trolls.

"He's right!" Brick surmised. "Quick, Bubbles, scream!"

Bubbles shrugged before releasing such a high pitched scream that it could have broke a glass in a second. The goblins shrieked and began scrambling in every which way, giving Blossom and Brick enough time to plow through the remaining threats to the door.

Butch and Buttercup slammed the door shut, but as soon as they did, tiny and vicous pounding was heard through the door. Taking the spear that Boomer had been holding, Butch weaved it through the door handles and used his strength to curve it upward. Slowly, the six walked away from the door. The pounding and shrieks persisted, but the door didn't budge.

"I think we're safe for now." Butch finally said. They had made it safely into a big, barely illuminated room.

"For now," Bubbles repeated, her voice raw from the high note that she had been holding. "Thats what worries me."

"Brilliant." A new voice crooned from the darkness. The voice was cold, thick, and ancient.

"Agreed, Raven." A second voice cackled somewhere beyond their field of vision.

The hair on the back of Blossom's neck prickled up. She knew that voice too well. Her arms felt stiff, but her need for vengeance suddenly surged. "Sedusa!" she called out angerly into the darkness.

"Well if it isn't my daughter!?" Sedusa was obviously amused by her presence.

"Sedusa..." Brick muttered, barely able to conceal his apparent furiousness.

"We're not your daughters!" Buttercup spat, trying to pinpoint the location of the two speakers.

"Silence!" The first voice, Raven, commanded. It filled the room with a eery and deathly feel.

"Pfft. You're not my mom." Butch countered, voice dripping sarcasm.

"Attitude." Raven mused from within the shadows. "Not a problem. You'll be dead momentarily."

"Th-thats what you think!" Boomer stammered out, bravely stepping in front of Bubbles.

Both voices laughed. With the simple snap of her fingers, Raven illuminated the room to reveal it to be completely empty except for the two witches standing in the center of the room.

"Well if im gonna die, im taking you bitches with me." Buttercup promised, unsheathing her Sword of Light.

Brick thought that he saw Raven become visably stressful at the sight of the sword, but she looked equally murderous in a second so he wasn't sure.

Sedusa sautered forward, dressed in a blood-red top, brown cotton pants, and accesable boots. She produced a metal staff in one hand by just winking. "Let's see how well you've harnessed your powers, Rose."

Blossom fumed. "NEVER CALL ME THAT!" With a flick of her wrist, blocks of ice the size of bowling balls formed over her hands. With a wretched scream, she channeld her energy into throwing the spheres at her old mentor.

Sedusa twisted the staff and the ice shattered against it. "Amature."

Blossom growled. She muttered a phrase under her breath and the ground beneath Sedusa's feet froze over and the woman fought hard to stay balanced. Blossom formed more ice blocks, only this time the size of baseballs because she knew that they were easier to throw. She tossed them violently at Sedusa.

Sedusa was still able to dodge 3 out of 4 of the ice balls that was thrown at her, but one hit her square in the face. Her neck snapped back, and when she looked back up, her nose was crooked and blood seeped from her busted lip.

"Fight back, Sedusa!" Raven giggled darkly, finding her apprentice being beaten hilarious.

"I don't see you helping!" Sedusa muttered as she spat bloody saliva from her mouth. Two knives materialized in each hand, and quick like a whip, she chucked all four at Blossom.

Blossom did a backwards hand spring, missing two of the knives, but the other two grazed her side and cheek. Pain flamed up in her face and abdomen. She squeaked out a half growl, half whimper as she steadied herself on her feet. She muttered a phrase and the wounds on her flesh healed and closeed up.

Sedusa stared shocked at the capablity that she failed to realize that Blossom had. Blossom didn't give her time to gawk at her. She surged forward and threw a giant ice shard as hard as she could. Sedusa flew backwards, landing immoble on the ground. Blossom held her fierce stance, waiting for her to stir. She didn't.

Blossom turned to find her sisters and the boys almost frozen in time. Bubbles was behind Boomer, clutching onto his shirt with her eyes closed. Boomer held up his fists defensivly with his own eyes tightly closed. Butch was reaching for his spear and Buttercup was making some unfriendly hand gestures. Brick looked like he was trying to run to her. Then she saw that they were slowly moving, milimeters a minute. Not frozen in time, Blossom noticed, but petrified with fear. She pointed a bloody finger at Raven. "Let them go!"

Raven giggled darkly. "I suppose i really did underestimate you and your friends strength, didn't I?"

The cold in the room seemed to lift mildly, but it was just enough for the other's to unfreeze. Brick stepped defensivly infront of Blossom, a growl escaping the back of his throat. Boomer drew a sword and Bubbles knocked an arrow, the string pressed against her face. Butch and Buttercup both held a collection of throwing knives.

Shunning the threat dismisively, Raven narrowed her black eyes. "Please. You six think that you can take me out?" She used the tip of her foot to nudge Sedusa. Raven nodded her head. "Yep, she's dead. Beautifully done, Blossom."

Blossom shook her head, when Brick stared at her. "It...I...she.."

Brick shook his head, not wanting an explanation—he was just glad she was safe. "I don't care about her. Are you alright?"

Blossom nodded.

"I must say," Raven mused, once again manipulating the temperature of the room. "The six of you together are very strong. Surviving the assasination attempts? Survivng the dragons and killing them was impresive. Just sneaking into the castle and making it this far was brave. Why fight against Disoria? She's going to win in the end. Let me be the first to extend the hand of friendship." She extended a well manicured hand out toward them.

Bubbles couldn't help but think that someone as evil as Raven didn't deserve to look as surprisingly pretty as she did.

"Join us," Raven invited, temptation in her voice. "Don't waste such good potential on a lost cause."

Buttercup felt herself being drawn to her—her voice wasn't cruel or cold anymore. Instead it was sweet and inviting. A hand on her shoulder brought Buttercup back to her senses. She looked over and saw Butch's intense green eyes. He was obviously determined—he wasn't going to give in to the people who killed his mom, dad, and two sisters.

Buttercup released a growl. "I ain't joining you."

"Never." Blossom agreed.

"No way." Bubbles shook her head.

Brick, Butch, and Boomer folded their arms together. "No," they all said at the same time.

Raven sniffed. "That's perfectly fine with me! I love killing off heroes." Without performing any form of spell or body gesture, two swords formed in her hand, both nearly 5 feet long.

Buttercup drew her sword. Out of nowhere, she felt her feet lifting off of the ground. Only after did she hit the ground did she realize that Raven had used some invisible force to toss her through the air.

Butch ran to Buttercup's side, helping her back to her feet. "Are you alright?" he asked worried, though he sounded angry as well.

Buttercup rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah," she groaned out.

Raven danced around on her toes. "You can be pathetic."

"What!?" Bubbles barked back, pulling an arrow from her sling. In a flash, the arrow was sailing directly toward Raven's face in an angle she wouldn't be able to dodge.

Raven held up a palm and the arrow disintegrated in front of her. She winked, then threw an inky black orb at Bubbles.

Bubbles eyes widened. "Watch out!" Boomer yelled, tackling Bubbles out of the way.

Where the ball exploded, everything the inky cloth had touched began melting into goo.

Blossom flicked her wrist and an ice shard formed in her hand. Brick curled his fingers, then a fireball the size of a dodgeball rested in his palms. His hands didn't even singe.

"You're really crossing the line." Brick warned her. "The one who's not leaving alive will be you."

"Surrender now or die." Blossom told her, a sneer on her lips. She leveled her ice shard at Raven.

Raven snickered, like the thought of her demise was silly. "Now. Now. Don't be brave." Swiftly, she dropped down on all fours and morphed into a giant panther with two heads.

"Oh shit. Are you fricken kidding me?" Boomer exclaimed, as he stared at the beast.

Buttercup scrunched her eyes and a death growl came from deep within her throat. "This cat is so gonna die."

"This fight keeps getting more and more predictable!" Blossom grouched, her eyes fixated on the enormous cat prowling around the room.

"I'll say." Brick agreed sarcastically. Winding up his arm, he chucked the fireball at the panther.

Raven hissed when the fire singed her fur, but otherwise looked unharmed. Enraged, she lunged for the nearest victim - in this case Butch - and pinned him beneath huge paws.

"No!" Buttercup screamed. She took her dagger that was the length of a person's forearm and tried to sink it into the back of the panther. Raven snarled at Buttercup, forgetting about Butch.

Boomer and Blossom pulled Butch to his feet while Buttercup lead away Raven and Brick and Bubbles went after them.

"You're hurt!" Boomer said, noticing the claw marks on his chest that were oozing blood.

Butch tried shrugging it off. "It's nothing."

"Let me see." Blossom insisted, opening up the tears of his shirt. He winced at the touch of the wound. "It's red and raw around the cut. Infected."

Perspiration beaded on his forehead. "It feels like an intense bee sting." Butch reported to her with a strained voice.

"Damn it!" Blossom spat.

"Poison." Boomer agreed, looking over his shoulder at Butch. He was watching their backs while the redhead attended Butch's wounds.

"What's that mean?" Butch asked, his face becoming green.

"Hand me that flask!" Blossom commanded Boomer. Boomer snatched up a fallen flask full of water and passed it to Blossom.

"What are you doing?" Boomer asked.

Blossom filled her mouth with water and swished it in her mouth for a second before spitting it out on Butch's chest. He yelped in pain. "That should help sterilize the poison. Keep it from spreading and to kill bacteria."

"Guys!?" Bubbles shouted from where she and Buttercup were backed up to a wall.

"Coming!" Boomer shouted, racing to their rescue. He made a move to throw the spear.

"Boomer!" Brick called from where he was holding back the two headed monstrosity with fire.

"What?!" Boomer's spear grazed Raven in the side but made a noise like metal on metal. No damage was done to the cat, but it was mad at Boomer now. The cat retreated from Brick and chased after Boomer.

Boomer screamed as he ran.

"Hey stupid ugly!" Bubbles spat, nocking three arrows. The cat perked its ears and snarled but stayed on Boomer's tale. "Get away from my boyfriend!" The arrows sailed threw the air and should have lodged into the hide of the cat, but instead bounced off harmlessly.

Raven hissed and started after Bubbles.

"Stupido!" Blossom hurled a chunk of ice at the cat. The ice hit the panther's second head and it stumbled mildly but still appeared uninjured. Once again, it changed its course and was after Blossom.

Taking a fallen arrow, Brick tried driving the projectile into its fleshy body. Just as expected, the cat moved from Blossom to Brick and was unharmed. "We're just playing tag it seems like!"

"How are going to kill it?!" Butch exclaimed.

"The thing is magically enforced!" Boomer groaned.

"I wouldn't be surprised if nothing can kill it!" Blossom asserted, trying to catch her breath.

Buttercup hissed. "This thing will die!" She unscathed her Sword of Light from her scabord. Right as Raven whipped around, Buttercup brought down her sword on the beast's tail and it came clean off. She didn't have time to process as black blood spewed from the open wound and Raven came after her again.

"What?" Bubbles asked stunned.

Brick felt like he had a revelation. He hadn't imagined it. Raven did look uneasily at the swords earlier! That's why she didn't look comfortable. The Swords of Light were her weakness.

"Hurry!" Brick slipped the Sword out of Blossom's sheath and lopped off one of Raven's two heads. Blossom had enough time to jump out of the way before she would have been splattered with black smudge.

Raven hissed and oozed black slime. It pranced around, swatting at anything that came close.

Buttercup came up behind and stabbed at it, but it could sense the attack and so Raven sidestepped the lunge, acquiring only a mild slice.

Raven's cat jaw dropped and a blue liquid sprang out aimed for Buttercup's face.

"No!" Bubbles leaped out in front and caused a spring of water to sprout from the ground and absorb the poision.

Brick tossed Blossom's sword to Butch who was closer. He caught it by the hilt using his pinky finger, taking the opportunity to prod at the cat's legs.

Raven's back right leg clambered to the floor and she released a pained hiss. She swatted at Blossom with an oversized paw. Blossom fell, screaming as her leg flared up in pain.

Buttercup and Boomer ran to Blossom's aid as Brick and Butch tried holding off Raven.

Bubbles slowly slipped her sword from its sheath. Immediately the glint caught Raven's eye. She abandoned fighting Brick and Butch, making a beeline for Bubbles.

"Bubbles!" Brick called frantically. He and Butch tried running to her but we're weighed down by their pain.

Bubbles screamed as the cat landed on her.

"NO!" Everyone screamed except for Blossom who was screaming in pain herself.

Boomer, Brick, and Butch ran to where the giant black panther lay motionless in a crumpled heap on top of Bubbles.

"Help me!" Boomer sniffed as tears poured down his cheeks. He began pushing the heavy dead animal off of Bubbles. A second later, Butch and Brick assisted with rolling the panther off of Bubbles' body.

Brick and Butch refrained from crying, but they could hear Buttercup crying somewhere behind them as she tended to Blossom.

Boomer's hand brushed against something soft and realized it was Bubbles pigtail. Bubbles sat up gently, her sword still buried within the cat. Boomer's heart skipped a beat as he flung his arms around her.

"Boomer!" Bubbles cried into his neck. "I thought..."

"Shhh." Boomer whispered gently.

"Bubbles?" Buttercup and Blossom asked together. Blossom was able to heal herself from the poison.

"Girls!" Bubbles greeted through tears. Buttercup, Blossom, Bubbles and Boomer hugged while Brick and Butch retrieved the sword.

"Well," Brick mumbled as he used a cloth to wipe black slime from the weapon, "two down. One to go."

I know that I am a horrible person for not updating. But I hope this chapter filled some plot holes. And I know I keep saying this, but I split this chapter in half also and now there is only two more chapters left.

But for real this time.

Final battle, Good vs Evil will be next!

But pretty please review

~PFG