Before we get started, I have to give a special shout-out to a guest reviewer whom left a Review so insultingly offensive, so utterly disgusting, I had to leave it up so everyone can read it to believe it.

I am now speaking to Doom Marine 54: You sir are no genius. You are a bully, a coward and a frog at that. I will not stop writing just because you are an ignorant coward who takes pleasure in insulting and blackmailing innocent people. Go ahead and drag my name through the mud, coward. I have my dignity and you can't take it away from me, no matter what filthy lies you spread.

Thank you for your patience, everyone, and now back to the story.

Chapter 9: Regrouping

…Monster High…

"I commend you for your resilience and ingenuity, Ester Bloodgood," said Irvin as he longed himself in Bloodgood's chair in her office, while Valentine, Draculaura, four Orphnochs in human form and three Shadow Acolytes, stood in front of Bloodgood's desk, while Nightmare was hobbled nearby between two Fangire. Bloodgood's body was chained to one side, while her head had been placed on the desk in front of Irvin.

"That panic room you had holed yourself and several of your students in," said Irvin, "attempting to mount a resistance, we would never had found you, if it hadn't been for that trail of blood leading between the lockers. And another stroke of genius to you, concealing the safe in the catacombs."

He then indicated a holographic display were two more Shadow Acolytes stood in front of the safe, attempting lock picking spells, "we would never have found it if our dear friend, Draculaura, hadn't already known where it was."

"I'll bet you're quite pleased with yourself, Mr. Weis," said Bloodgood irately.

"As a matter of fact, I am," said Irvin smugly as he leaned back in Bloogood's chair and put his feet up on her desk, "I'm having a pretty good day, how about you?"

"I've had better," said Bloodgood as she winced at how close Irvin's feet were to her face, "now, I suppose you want me to divulge the combinations to the safe."

"You assume correctly, Ester," said Irvin, "do you mind if I use your first name?"

"I am your prisoner, you may call me whatever you wish," said Bloodgood, "but no matter what you say or do to me, you'll never break my spirit! Just as you'll never break the spirit of Monster High!"

"Yes, yes, bravo, Bloodgood," said Valentine as he clapped mockingly, "show us that indomitable daring do that you were so proud of when you were a complete person."

At that Bloodgood tried to shuffle her head around in order to face Valentine, making noises in frustration as all she did was wobble about and nearly topple onto her face.

"Oh, forgive me," said Irvin as he stood up, "just a moment." With that he turned Bloodgood's head around, "better?"

"Much, thank you," said Bloodgood dryly yet politely. She then glared at Valentine, "now, you listen to me, you uncouth, shameless, dishonorable excuse for a vampire! Monster High may be a place of tolerance, acceptance and diversity, but I find your presence in these halls to be a disgrace! And you, Draculaura! Your friends may still believe that there's good in you, and I'm proud that they still try to see the best in you, but all I see is a heart twisted by darkness! Shame on you!"

"Blah, blah, blah," said Draculaura mockingly, "can we get to the good part now?"

"Yes, the 'good' part," said Irvin in a slightly annoyed tone, "honestly, Draculaura, your many centuries of immortal life has left you culturally inept, at least when it comes to bantering." He then walked around the desk and bent down to look at Bloodgood in the face, "nevertheless, we should get down to business. I want the combinations to the safe."

"Even if you had them, they will do you no good," said Bloodgood, "not without the keys, which are in the hands of Frankie and her friends." She then smiled, "and from what I've heard, they're beyond your reach."

"For the moment," said Irvin, "it's only a matter of time before we find young Ms. Stein and her friends. And don't worry about the keys, there are other ways to open a lock."

The assembled villains and Bloodgood then saw on the hologram screen one of the dark magic users then facing the source of the image, giving Irvin the thumbs up.

"Oh, they're finished already," said Irvin as he smiled with wicked glee, "marvelous!" He then looked at Bloodgood, "now that that's taken care of, you will give me the combinations."

"I refuse," said Bloodgood flatly.

"Oh, let's start already!" said Draculaura impatiently, "I want to see her suffer!"

"Oh, no!" said Bloodgood in mock terror, "you're going to torture me! Oh, what will I do? I'm completely helpless!" She then glared irately at Draculaura, "young lady, I've seen and experienced torments and horrors that would give even your father nightmares. I've been tortured by the best in the business, so what can you do that'll break me? Not much I think!"

"You'll be tortured, alright," said Irvin, "just not the way you think," he then pressed an intercom button on the desk, "Bring them in! Now!"

"Summoning your inquisitors or whatever you in Obsidian use for torture?" asked Bloodgood.

"Oh, I'll the one doing the actual torturing," said Draculaura, "but not on you."

Before Bloodgood could inquire further, the door opened. In came Cleo and Deuce, both bound and flanked by a pair of human-formed Fangire.

"No," said Bloodgood, her eyes wide in shock.

"Headmistress!" said Cleo, "don't tell them anything!" only to be slapped across the face by Draculaura, whom then punched Deuce in the solar plexus when he shouted in protest.

"Both of you, shut up!" said Draculaura, "you'll make plenty of noise when the time is right."

"Don't you dare," said Bloodgood to Irvin, "leave them be!"

"I won't lay a finger on them," said Irvin, "it's Draculaura you have to convince to stop."

"And she won't stop until Bloodgood gives up the combinations," said Valentine.

"Not going to join in on the fun, Val?" asked Deuce.

At that Valentine punched Deuce in the jaw hard enough to knock out two of his permanent teeth, earning a cry of dismay from Cleo.

"Call me Val again and I will," said Valentine as he wiped his hand on a handkerchief, "Draculaura, do your worst!"

"I prefer to save my worst for last, dearest," said Draculaura as she approached Cleo, "while starting small." Before anyone could react, Draculaura grabbed Cleo's left hand and by sheer strength alone, ripped off the nail of Cleo's left forefinger, earning a scream of agony from her.

"Oh, so sorry," said Draculaura, "I didn't mean to go so fast. I guess I don't know my own strength. I'll go slower with your next finger."

"Oh, I'm so gonna kill you, Draculaura!" said Deuce after spitting out a mouthful of blood, "I'm gonna take a stake and ram it in that rotten heart of yours! Then I'm gonna do the same thing to Val here!"

"Stop calling me that!" shouted Valentine as he pulled out a dagger and delivered a long cut to Deuce's face, then grabbed Deuce by his hair snakes, earning hisses of pain from the creatures, "I think I will join in on the torture by cutting these beauties off, one by one. And then I'll take the venom sacks from the heads and use that poison on some of the students."

"I hear that to be bitten by a Medusa serpent is a most excruciating experience," said Irvin, "the petrifying gaze is relatively painless, but their venom is almost unbearable. I mean, to be slowly turned to stone as the venom courses through your veins," he then shuddered, "simply nasty."

"And then I'll go to work on Cleo again," said Draculaura as she got behind Cleo and sharply pulled her hair back, earning another cry of pain from her, "I think I'll peel her face off, while keeping her eyes open. Yes, I'll flay the skin from her face in front of a mirror so she can watch as her beauty is slowly destroyed."

"And I'll make you watch as well," said Valentine to Deuce, "and then, maybe I'll take a spike and gouge out Nightmare's eyes."

That earned a scream of terror from Nightmare, whom tried to get away from her Kaijin guards, yet their hold was too strong.

"Or maybe we'll just hang your students, the ones we don't need as slaves," said Irvin, "yes, we can erect gallows on the school grounds, right in front of the flagpole."

"NO!" shouted Bloodgood, "I'll give you the combinations! Just don't hurt anyone anymore!"

"Headmistress! No!" said Cleo, "don't let them have the necklace!"

"It's my necklace, Cleo!" said Draculaura, "and I'll have it back!" she then glared at Bloodgood, "now give me the combinations, or so help me, you'll watch your precious students suffer until they beg for death!"

"Alright, you win," said Bloodgood in a defeated tone, "you'd better write this down."

"I'm waiting," said Draculaura as Irvin handed her a pen and pad of paper.

"First combination," said Bloodgood, "35 left, 7 right, 20 left."

"Go on," said Draculaura as she wrote the combination down.

"Second combination," said Bloodgood, "19 right, 44 left, 57 right, 12 left. Final combination, 31 right, 6 left, 59 right, 28 left, 17 right, 2 left, then back to 0."

Draculaura finished writing, ripped the page off of the pad, "be it on your head if these don't work!" said Draculaura. She then rushed out of the room so fast, the air displacement was enough to nearly knock everyone over.

"She really wants that necklace," said Valentine.

"Ya' think?" asked Deuce as he glared hatefully at Valentine behind his sunglasses.

Just then the holographic image showed Draculaura arriving at the safe. She imputed the combinations, threw open the safe door, ran inside and ten seconds later, emerged with the necklace clutched to her heart, a look of rapturous joy on her face.

"And now we have two," said Valentine as he eyed the diamond ring on his hand, "two Star Pieces out of nine."

"And the third one is missing in action," said Irvin as he looked at Cleo and Deuce, "your friends vanished with it. I want to know where they are."

"I don't know," sobbed Cleo as she clutched at her mangled finger, "and even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"Oh, but you will, Cleo," said Draculaura as she walked back in, the necklace back around her neck, "you think having a fingernail ripped off hurts, you don't know what pain is."

"I've experienced worse," said Cleo, "being entombed alive for thousands of years, the sheer boredom was torture enough. So go ahead and inflict whatever agonies your sick mind can think of, Draculaura, it doesn't matter. You'll only make things worse. When my father finds out what you did to me, he'll put such a curse on you, you'll be begging for death!"

"Haven't I made it clear by now?" asked Irvin impatiently, "no one is coming to help you! Not your parents, not the authorities, no one!"

"Why!?" demanded Bloodgood, "why is no help coming? How have you managed to keep the authorities out of this disgusting affair?"

"And how'd you keep our families out of it?" asked Deuce.

"Well?" asked Irvin to Valentine, "you want to tell them?"

"They might as well know," said Valentine, "yes, I'll tell them. Or, better yet, I'll show them."

"Oh, don't, darling," said an outraged Draculaura, "I can't stand her!"

"If she annoys you so much, Draculaura, imagine how Bloodgood and your former friends will react," said Valentine as he pulled out his iCoffin and sent out a text. A few seconds later he got a response, "oh, she's here already. Fangtastic!"

At that Irvin, Valentine and Draculaura walked out of the office, with the Kaijin guards frog marched Cleo and Deuce out of the office, while a Shadow Acolyte carried Bloodgood's head. They exited the school's front door and walked to the parking lot.

"Just what game are you playing with us now, Draculaura?" demanded Cleo, "and…why are you taking us to Frankie's car?"

"And who's that trying to steal it?" asked Deuce as he saw a girl of about 17 years with light green skin, long wavy deep blue and purple hair, and eyelashes that resembled small leaves. She had lilac eyes with a green tone to them, wearing a dress, shoes and accessories with a plant theme, while in her hair was a large, purple and green flower. She was sitting in the front seat of Hector, trying a variety of skeleton keys on the ignition.

"Ammit devour my soul!" exclaimed Cleo, "it…it can't be!"

"Cleo, who is this?" asked Bloodgood.

It was then that the ghoul attempting to start Hector looked up, "Oh my gosh!" said the surprised and delighted girl in a Valley Girl accent. She then got out of the car, "Cleo? Cleo de Nile?" She then walked over to Cleo, "it is you!" with that she gave Cleo a hug, "it's been so long! How've you been?"

"Friend of yours, Cleo?" asked Deuce.

"This no friend of mine, Deuce," said Cleo irately as she shrugged the girl away from her.

"Of course we're friends, Cleo," said the girl, "we have such history, and we're always sharing things," she then looked at Deuce, "and is this your boyfriend? What a hunk? Mind if I borrow him for a bit? I just want to take some selfies." With that she placed an arm around Deuce, pulled out her iCoffin and took several photos.

"Wait a moment," said Bloodgood. She then glared at Irvin, "you didn't! It's not time for the Corpse Flower to bloom!"

"Oh, Irvin arranged it so that could come out of the Corpse Flower and stay out," said the girl as she kept posing around Deuce, "Oh, sorry, I'm Amanita Nightshade. Cleo and I go way, way back."

"She was a brief, brief, tomb mate of mine," said Cleo in a tone that implied that she found the very idea of having anything to do with the girl distasteful, "it was a living nightmare."

"Oh, it wasn't so bad, Cleo," said Amanita as she now walked over and began taking pictures of her and Cleo, "your family was like so kind to take me in, of course, who wouldn't want a beauty of my caliber as a houseguest? And you were so kind to let me borrow your things!"

"You never returned anything, you obnoxious weed!" snapped Cleo, "you practically moved in and took over! And then when fate showed just a hint of good fortune for my family and an opening appeared in the tomb, you left to get help, and you never came back!"

"Well, I'm here now," said Amanita, "your welcome! Oh, is that your car there? The '71 Cadillac Eldorado?"

"No, that belongs to my friend, Frankie," said Cleo.

"Oh," said Amanita, "Well, when you see her, tell her that I'm like only borrowing it for a bit. Oh, and Draculaura! I so love that necklace! I'm just gonna borrow it, okay?" With that she walked towards Draculaura and reached for the necklace.

"Touch this and you lose your hand!" snapped Draculaura.

"Okay! Okay! Geez, don't mess yourself," said Amanita as she backed away.

"You're not supposed to be here, young lady!" said Bloodgood irately, "The Corpse Flower only blooms for a few days every 1,300 years!"

"I know, it's like a total bummer," said Amanita, "only a few days to live it up and be worshiped, only to go back to sleep in that stuffy flower for thirteen centuries, such a drag.

"But then Irvin and his shadowy magic users, they like totally opened the Corpse Flower and then enchanted it so I don't ever need to go back into it again. In fact," she then indicated the blossom in her hair, "I can carry it with me wherever I go. I'm finally my own monster!"

"You forgot about the condition of your emancipation, my dear," said Irvin.

"What condition?" asked Cleo, "Amanita, you're not working for Obsidian, are you?"

"I wouldn't call it work, per se," said Amanita, "they like did me a favor, a really big one, and I like do them a favor."

"And what favor would that be?" asked Bloodgood.

"Oh, nothing big," said Amanita, "I like use this item I borrowed from a really, really long time ago and use it to keep these people from interfering in Obsidian's business, or something like that."

"Just what you do, Val?" asked Deuce.

At that Valentine punched Deuce in the solar plexus again, "stop calling me that! And for your information, what good it'll do you, Amanita has an item from Atlantis."

"Atlantis?" asked Bloodgood and Cleo at the same time.

"Didn't tell you when we were tomb mates, Cleo?" asked Amanita, "I'm like totally from Atlantis. I sprouted in this wizard's garden, he like totally made me to be his girlfriend or something, but I said 'no way, old man!' Like I was gonna get married to some geezer, just because he knows a few magic tricks.

"Instead, I went out among the Atlantians and they totally threw themselves at my feet because I was so gorgeous! To them I was like the most beautiful ghoul ever! But after a while, they like totally stopped worshiping me. I was all 'oh, heck no! If you won't worship me, then you won't worship anything ever again!'"

"Oh for crying out loud," muttered Irvin impatiently, "she destroyed Atlantis and was sealed into the Corpse Flower for her sins, only able to walk freely every 1,300 years."

"Until now that is," said Valentine, "and wouldn't you know it, Amanita knew where to find a hidden cache of Atlantien items."

"And one of them allows its users to implant suggestions into the minds of multiple people," said Draculaura, "a group geass if you will."

"All I have to do is wear this item while sending out a group email that has a video attachment," said Amantia, "I am so loving technology. Anyway, anyone who sees the video will be hit by the geass and has to do whatever I want."

"It's far more complicated than that," said Irvin, "the item in question wasn't in the best condition when Amanita found it for us."

"It was so rusty and had so much icky stuff over it!" said a disgusted Amanita, "I mean, barf me out! Gag me with a spoon! But it worked. I got all those people to stay out of Obsidian's business."

"Well, if you had such a powerful item," said Cleo, "why didn't you use it to make the whole world fall on their knees and worship you? Fulfill that sick fantasy of yours."

"Because I don't have it anymore, obviously," said Amanita, "it like totally crumbled to dust after I used it to send out the email geass."

"It wouldn't have worked for her that way even if it hadn't fallen apart," said Irvin, "the geass item was too primitive to be used for complicated commands."

"'Stay away,' simple enough," said Valentine, "but 'worship me like a goddess?' no. And don't ask why it worked that way, magic is fickle sometimes."

"I know, total bummer," said Amanita, "but the email geass worked. Now every time the authorities or one of the parents even thinks about coming to help at Monster High, they'll forget about it and go about their business. I just wish I could have made them think of me all the time, 24/7.

"But you know, there's still like a few Atlantian items out there. I've got this deal with Obsidian. They'll find some of those Atlantian items for me and I'll use them to help Obsidian like find the other Star Pieces. And once they've got all nine, I'll like totally have this world to myself! I'll have everyone worship me like the divine beauty that I am!"

"You festering weed!" shouted Cleo, "I thought you were a selfish, greedy twit who always borrows without asking without returning, but you are evil!"

"How can you do this, Amanita?" asked Bloodgood, "how can you serve these heartless villains? Have you no sense of decency? Have you no sense of shame?"

"Since when has shame and decency gotten me what I wanted?" asked Amanita, "everything would be so much better if everyone were to like totally worship me, and they will. But I'm in no hurry. And since Obsidian doesn't need me for anything right now, I'm totally going shopping! I've got like almost 1,300 years of living to catch up with!"

With that she skipped back over to Hector, leapt behind the wheel, selected another skeleton key and successfully started the car, "Laters!" said Amanita happily as she drove off.

At that, Draculaura let out a sigh of relief, "I have to admit, a little of her goes a long way."

"I can't believe you recruited the likes of Amanita Nightshade," said Cleo in a dismayed tone.

"I personally can't believe she agreed to work for us," said Valentine, "a narcissistic twit like her, I'm surprised she didn't try to take over."

"She's too self-absorbed to even try," said Irvin, "and for that matter…wait…what?!" he exclaimed as he felt her pockets, "that weed! She took my wallet!"

"No, she borrowed it," said Valentine, while Draculaura let out a delighted laugh.

"Dude, I'd check your pockets too," said Deuce.

"Oh come now," said Valentine, "she wouldn't…" he then felt his pockets, "oh, that weed! She took my wallet!"

"At least she didn't take my wallet," said Draculaura. But then she realized something was missing, "my purse! She took it! I'll drown her in pesticide!"

"Don't you mean herbicide?" asked Cleo.

"Shut up!" shouted Draculaura. She then glared at the Kaijin guards, "Take her back inside and lock her in the dungeons!"

"Take them all to the dungeons," said Irvin, "we'll go to work on them later," he then pulled out his cell phone, "after I call my bank and credit card companies."

"We all should," said Valentine, "before that idiot reaches the maul."

…The Steam Vault…

Raven woke up in a strange bedroom that clearly had been decorated by someone else. Just as she was about to get out of bed, the door opened and in came Lagoona, carrying a vase of flowers. Lagoona then saw Raven was awake and dropped the vase out of surprise.

Reacting on instinct, Raven caught the vase with her magic and levitated it over to a nearby table. "Wow, that was close," said Raven as she smiled nonchalantly.

"You're awake!" said Lagoona.

"Well, of course I'm awake," said Raven, "at least I think I'm awake. I could be dreaming for all I know."

But Lagoona wasn't there, as she dashed out of the room, "Hey! Everyone! Raven's awake!"

Seconds later the room was stormed by Apple, Maddie, Avery, Cupid, Tobias, Dexter, Frankie, Lagoona and Clawdeen, all shouting their joy that Raven was among the waking world again.

But it was too much for Raven, the awful din from her friends. "QUIET!" shouted Raven irately as she clenched her fists and unleashed a wave of her magic, freezing everyone in the room in time.

"Oh, I forgot I could do that," said Raven sheepishly. She then waved her hands in a complicated gesture, ending the time-stopping spell and causing Apple, Maddie, Avery, Dexter, Cupid, Tobias, Frankie, Lagoona and Clawdeen to start shouting again.

"Everyone! Stop! Please!" shouted Raven, causing Apple and the others to calm down, "I'm alright, seriously."

"I wouldn't be so sure," said Apple, "that spell you used to get the broach was almost too much for you."

"Oh, yeah, the broach!" said Raven, "What happened? Is it safe?"

"Safe as a caterpillar in a cocoon," said Maddie as she took off her hat and pulled out the broach, the diamond that was the third Star piece sparkling in the room light.

"Well, that's one question solved," said Raven, "and now for a lot more. Where am I? How'd I get here?" she then realized she was wearing a purple nightgown, "and where are my clothes?"

"First, We're in the Steam Vault," said Frankie. "second, we brought you here after you passed out from recovering the broach."

"And your clothes are right here," said Cupid as she indicated a nearby dresser, "but…"

"We've got a lot more to tell you, Raven," said Dexter.

"First of all, it's been two days since you passed out," said Avery.

"Two days!?" exclaimed Raven, "are you kidding?!" She then frowned, "no wonder I'm so hungry."

"Well, we can fix up breakfast in a jiffy," said Apple, "but first you need to get dressed," she then glared at Avery and the other boys, "get out."

"Everyone, get out," said Frankie, "give the poor ghoul some privacy."

"I don't need that much privacy," said Raven. She then summoned a very thick privacy screen and stepped behind it, while Cupid retrieved her clothes, "so, what happened after I passed out?"

"Oh, nothing much," said a nervous Dexter as he turned around out of respect, "just…"

"Obsidian invaded Monster High and captured the school," said Avery, "we fought as best we could, but it wasn't enough."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Raven. With a flash of magic, the screen vanished, revealing a fully dressed Raven, "tell me everything!"

And so Avery, Dexter, Apple, Frankie and the others informed Raven of all that had happened, right up to when they had reopened the workshop door and discovered the endless expanse of gray fog outside.

"As far as we can tell," said Clawdeen as they left the room and entered the main workshop, "We're floating in some kind of limbo, or something like that."

Raven then heard Ghoulia moan something. She saw Ghoulia sitting in front of her laptop on a table. Nearby was Ian, Lance, Jessie, Chad and Preston, working at a makeshift kitchen. Sitting further away was Sasha, Clair and Elisabat, while Robecca was standing in front of a chalkboard, writing down some elaborate calculations.

"I know, it's more complicated than that," said Frankie to Ghoulia.

"We've become disconnected from our own universe," said Robecca as she finished her calculations and turned to face the group, "The Steam Vault is now its own pocket dimension."

"Then what is that gray stuff outside the door if not limbo?" asked Lagoona.

"It is limbo," said Robecca, "we're in normal space and time, just a space and time of our own."

"I don't get it," said Raven.

"It's quite simple," said Robecca. She then began a highly complex explanation of advanced quantum physics that left Raven, severely dumbfounded.

"Robecca, stop," said Jackson as he stood up and walked over, "you're just confusing her." He then looked at Raven, "okay, have you seen Doctor Who?"

"Uh…no," said Raven.

"Well, have you read 'A Wrinkle in Time?" asked Jackson.

"Uh…no," said Raven.

"Have any of you seen any Star Trek?" asked Jackson.

"Uh…not much," said Raven.

"For crying out loud," said an exasperated Jackson, "okay, just accept that we're in our own dimension and we're cut off from the rest of normal reality. Can you do that?"

"I…think so," said Raven.

"Great, let's move on," said Jackson. He then looked at Robecca, "tell her about your dad's message."

"Oh, yes, of course," said Robecca eagerly. She then went to another table, where a cylinder phonograph stood. Robecca picked up and placed a metal cylinder into the player, cranked the handle and played it, from which could be heard the voice of Hexiciah Steam.

'My dearest daughter,

'If you are hearing this, then three things have happened in conjuncture. First, I am no longer with you for some reason or another. For whatever reason that is, know that I would never willingly leave you to face the world alone, not without just cause. Hopefully, you will have made many friends whom have come to know and love you as I have.

'Second, the broach containing a piece of The Star of Rosskarn has been discovered and returned to our reality. If you know what The Star of Rosskarn already is, congratulations on deciphering the symbols in the chamber. If you need explaining, I have prepared a second cylinder with additional information.'

At that Robecca stopped the cylinder, "the second cylinder didn't tell us much more than what we already knew, except that the last descendants of Rosskarn helped found Monster High."

"That and some clues on how to find the remaining Star pieces," said Frankie, "but that can wait."

Robecca then resumed the recording of her father.

'Third, and this is a fact that I hope may never happen, is that Monster High has fallen to a hostile force bent on reassembling The Star of Rosskarn. By now you are aware that The Star is far too powerful to fall into anyone's hands. For good or evil, The Star must never be reassembled.

'And it is for that reason that you, my dearest Robecca, must find the remaining Star pieces and keep them safe. I've installed in my workshop a dimensional mechanism that will allow you and any friends and allies you've made to escape the hostile forces pursuing you and the Star pieces. You'll find instructions on how to use my workshop as a base of operations in your search.'

Robecca paused the cylinder again, "there are hidden compartments all over the workshop. Not only did we find instructions, but also food and water stores that are preserved."

"Hence breakfast," said Ian as he and the others finished preparing a tray of bacon, eggs, toast and a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice.

"Can you believe it, Raven?" asked Apple as she picked up an apple from a nearby fruit bowl and bit into it, "seriously, this apple has been in storage for who knows how many decades, and it's still as fresh as if it were picked this morning."

"Some kind of preservation spell or something like that," said Dexter, "there's even a spell for recycling water, so we don't have to worry about running out any time soon."

"We even managed to set up a makeshift laundry room and several bathrooms," said Lagoona, "Gil's fixing one of the pipes that sprung a leak."

"We've got pretty much everything we need to survive," said Frankie, she then sighed and sat down, "if only I managed to save Hector."

"Will you stop it with your car already, Frankie?" asked Clawdeen, "there's no way you could have gone back for it! And where would you have put it in The Steam Vault?"

"I could have at least put Hector somewhere safe!" said Frankie irately, "by now he's probably being driven by Draculaura, or Valentine, or Irvin, or someone from Obsidian, I just know it!"

"Your car's fine, Frankie," said Robecca. She then looked at Raven, "the rest of the cylinder is just my father wishing me all the luck and love in the world, and another warning about The Star; keep the pieces safe, don't put them together and not to underestimate the power of the individual pieces."

"Gotcha," said Raven as Jessie brought the breakfast tray over and she began eating. "So, what's next?"

"Next, we inform you of our overall objectives," said Avery. He then indicated a second blackboard that had several lines written on it.

1: Establish contact with The Base in Ever After

2: Activate Hexiciah Steam's portal device

2.5: Return to the world of Monster High

3: Determine how many students escaped, find and bring to safety

4: Determine how many students were captured, find and rescue

5: Activate Hexiciah Steam's device for finding other Star pieces

6: Save Draculaura (without killing her)

7: Defeat Obsidian.

"Well, you guys are pretty well organized," said Raven, "so, how are we on getting in touch with The Base?"

"Not very well, I'm afraid," said Robecca as she walked over to the devices that were the dimensional portal generator and the dimensional communication device used to call The Base earlier, "the mechanism used to transport The Steam Vault out of normal time and space, it caused a massive surge of energy throughout the workshop, damaging a lot of equipment. Most of the damage was done to nonessential items and old experiments of my father."

"But the portal and communicator were damaged the most," said Jackson, "we had to cannibalize parts from the portal device to fix the communicator, and we're still missing a few parts. Clawdia's looking in the storage areas for them."

"But if Hexiciah Steam was the genius we think he was," said Avery, "we'll be able to use what's left of the portal device and connect it to the workshop door. From there, we'll be able to travel anywhere in any dimension we wish."

At that Ghoulia moaned in an exasperated manner.

"Yeah, 'Assuming we can figure out the darn things,'" said Frankie.

"My father, his handwriting tended to suffer on his technical drawings," said Robecca. "I can read his journals and schematics easily enough. But he wrote a lot of notes on those schematics, but they're in really awkward places."

"Here, look," said Dexter as he brought over a rolled sheet of paper and displayed it for Raven. The paper had the designs for the dimensional communication device, while all around the lines and figures were additional writings that Raven could barely read.

"And I thought my handwriting was bad," said Raven as she summoned her spell notebook and opened it to a page.

"Your penmanship isn't that bad," said Apple as she looked at the page, "it's just…I can't understand the language."

"It's magical shorthand," said Raven as she closed the book, "okay, so, what happens if we can't get the communicator working again?"

"We have to," said Avery, "we're sunk if we can't get in touch with The Base."

"We were hoping to interface with The Base's computer in order to better search for the remaining Star pieces," said Robecca.

"And we need a known dimension as a reference point," said Jackson, "without a reference point, the portal device, once connected to the door, will open to a random world and keep opening to random worlds. We could spend the rest of our lives opening and closing the door and never get back to our home dimension."

"And that would be bad," said Lagoona.

"I know it's bad," said Raven, "can I help somehow?"

"Maybe," said Robecca, "can your magic manufacture the part we need?"

"I think so," said Raven, "can you describe it for me?"

"I need a 35mm steam gage assembly with a ratio of +5," said Robecca.

"All of Hexiciah's gizmos and gadgets are steam powered with some magical enhancements," said Frankie, "only some of our stuff runs on electricity. Speaking of which, I'm feeling a little drained."

"Good thing we've got a small gym here," said Ian as he went to a nearby elliptical machine that had several wires running from it to a device that resembled a large storage battery, said device having two power cables running from electrodes. Ian got on the machine and began exercising, while Frankie connected the cables to her neck bolts.

"Our own mini-generator," said Robecca, "but I'll always prefer steam. And speaking of which," she then looked at Raven, "can you make a 35mm steam gage assembly with a ratio of +5?"

"Uh…can I see what one looks like?" asked Raven.

"Well, if I had one to show you, I wouldn't need you to make one, would I?" asked an irate Robecca.

"That's no excuse for being rude," said Clawdia as she walked into the area, carrying a small mechanical part the size of a camera.

"You found it!" said Robecca as she hurried over and took the part from Clawdia. Robecca then hurried over to the communication device and began installing it.

"Where was it?" asked Frankie.

"It fell down the tool shelf," said Clawdia.

"Doesn't matter," said Robecca as she continued to work on the communication device, "it's only a matter of time before I have the machine calibrated and ready to call Ever After."

"In that case," said Sasha as she and Clair stood up, "I believe I have the solution to another problem."

"And which one is that?" asked Gil.

"The one where I can't transform into Kiva," said Clair, "but we think we've got it figured out."

"It's so simple, it's actually kinda stupid," said Kivat, "Clair and I, we're too different."

"Well that's calling the kettle black," said Lance.

"He means that we're from different dimensions," said Clair, "there's a whole lot of technical explanations, something about Kivat's universe having slightly different laws of physics and magic or something like that."

"The point," said Sasha, "is while Clair has the power of Kiva, she cannot activate it with Kivat, not our Kivat, that is."

"What does that mean?" asked Frankie.

"It means that whereas Siegfried transferred his power to Clair," said Kivat, "I need to transfer my power to another. Someone from Clair's world needs to become like me, a Kivat."

"I thought you were Kivat," said Jackson.

"I am," said Kivat, "but my people are also called Kivat. We are Kivat."

"Well, who's going to receive your power?" asked Raven, "and what will that do to you?"

"Most likely drain me out of existence," said Kivat, "which I'm okay with. And the only one capable of receiving my power is a vampire."

"Where are we going to get another vampire?" asked Clawdeen.

"Forget that, we can't let Kivat sacrifice himself like this!" exclaimed Cupid.

"Well, it's not like I'll die," said Kivat, "I'll just merge with our volunteer vampire. I'll live on in her."

"Her who?" asked Elissabat as she walked into the room, rubbing a town against her wet hair, "Oh, Gill and Clawd fixed the plumbing."

"You, oh queen of vampires," said Kivat as he hovered around Elissabat, "you'll inherit my powers and help Clair fight as Kiva."

"Yes, yes, of course! Elissabat!" said Raven.

"Uh…what are you talking about?" asked Elissabat

"Not only are you the only available vampire," said Sasha, "you share the same immortal blood type as Kivat here, which is important, don't ask me why. And most of all, you are in possession of an incredibly powerful magical artifact."

"The Vampire's Heart," said Frankie.

"Its power will absorb my power which will become your power," said Kivat.

"This old thing?" asked Elissabat as she looked down as the glowing gem around her neck, "I've never actually used it for anything. By right and tradition, I am the queen of the vampires. But, seriously, I'm an actress, not a fighter."

"You're exactly who we need," said Sasha, "so suck it up!"

"We need your help if we're going to defeat Obsidian," said Clair, "we need Kiva to fight the Fangire." She then looked at Chad, "no offense."

"None taken," said Chad, "I mean, I've done okay against Fangire, and I'm really good at taking out Orphnochs, but two Riders are better than one."

"So, what do you say, Elissabat?" asked Sasha, "ready to stand up and help fight the good fight?"

"I…if it's for Draculaura, then yes," said a hesitant at first, but then confident Elissabat, "I'll do it."

"Smashing!" said a widely smiling Sasha, "Oh, we'll need Frankie, Lagoona and Clawdeen as well."

"To do what?" asked Frankie as she, Lagoona and Clawdeen walked up to Sasha, Clair and Elissabat.

"To join your powers with Clair's when she transforms," said Sasha, "when she's Kiva, she'll be able to call on your powers to better fight The Fangire. In short, you'll become the weapons of Kiva."

"Over my dead body!" snapped Clawd as he and Gil walked into the room, "no way my sister is going to…do…whatever you want her to do!"

"I don't know what you want Lagoona to do either," said Gil, "but I don't like it!"

"It's not that big a deal," said Kivat, "basically, when Clair, as Kiva, has need of a special weapon when fighting, she'll be able to summon one of her friends. For example, if Kiva needs a sword, she'll summon Clawdeen and she'll turn into a sword. If Lagoona is needed, she'll turn into a gun, while Frankie will turn into a war hammer."

"You want us to turn into weapons?" asked a slightly uncomfortable Lagoona, while Clawdeen and Frankie looked equally uncomfortable.

"Not just weapons, supernatural weapons," said Sasha, "Clawdeen, as the Garuru Saber, you'll endow Clair with the natural speed and cunning of a werewolf, not to mention as a sword, you'll be able to cut apart Fangire with the natural edge of your own claws. You'll also have a sonic wolf howl that can knock Fangire off their feet."

"Lagoona, you'll also endow Clair with the grace and agility of a sea monster. You'll also have the power to manipulate water and weather to a certain extent, while as the Bassha Magnum, you'll shoot water bullets that can punch through solid steel.

"As for your, Frankie, you'll be able to call upon the superior strength of your father, as well as your own natural electrical abilities. As the Dogga Hammer, you can call down lightning and smash Fangire into dust."

"Really?" asked an impressed Frankie, "wow, that actually sounds cool."

"More than cool, wicked cool," said Lagoona.

"Creeptastic," said Clawdeen, "where do we start?"

"You don't!" said Clawd irately, "no way you're turning into some kind of sword!"

"And I don't want you to turn into a gun, Lagoona," said Gil, "bad enough we're all in this horrible mess."

"Yes, we are in a horrible mess!" said Sasha, "and that mess will only get worse. But with this, that mess will get cleaned up a lot sooner, possibly with fewer losses of innocent lives."

"The sooner I'm on my feet as Kiva," said Clair, "The sooner I'll be able to fight the Fangire and help stop Obsidian. I've been a dead weight long enough."

"You were never a dead weight," said Jackson, "but…if this is how you'll be able to attack the darkness, then I'm behind you, all the way."

"And the sooner Clair's gotten her powers up and running," said Sasha, "I can get to work on figuring out your powers."

"Oh, right, I did use fire that one time," said Jackson, "then I'm all for it."

"This is what I need to do, Gil," said Lagoona, "it's what we all need to do."

"Well, if it's what's needed to be done, then I'm with you," said Gil.

"Well, I'm not!" said Clawd, "No way is Clawdeen doing this!"

"Oh, and you're going to stop me?" asked Clawdeen as she put her hands on her hips.

"Darn right I'll stop you!" growled Clawd, "it's bad enough we're separated from our home, our family and friends, from Howleen for crying out loud! I've lost Draculaura, no way am I losing my sister!"

"Just calm down, man," said Dexter, "you're so upset, you can't think straight."

"I am thinking straight!" exclaimed Clawd, "As Clawdeen's big brother, I forbid her from taking part in this…this…whatever it is!"

"You're forbidding me!?" growled Clawdeen as she walked up to Clawd.

"Damn right!" growled Clawd, "I'm the eldest member of the pack present, I'm the Alpha and you will do as I say!"

"But you're not the eldest," said Clawdia as she stood between Clawd and Clawdia, "I am, which makes me the Alpha!"

"That's right, she is the eldest sibling of the litter," said Lagoona.

"I…uh…" said a dumbstruck Clawd. He finally pulled himself together, "alright, Clawdia. You're the Alpha. Now please tell Clawdeen she can't do this."

"Clawdeen, you've got my blessing," said Clawdia.

"What?!" asked a once again dumbfounded Clawd.

"These are strange times we're living in, little brother," said Clawdia, "we all need to do extraordinary things if we're going to overcome the forces of darkness." She then looked at Sasha, "I may not be the fastest or strongest werewolf, but I'm pretty smart. If my brains can help defeat Obsidian, then so can Clawdeen's talents."

"Thanks, big sis!" said Clawdeen as she hugged Clawdia.

"But…but…" said Clawd.

"I think you need another project," said Avery.

"I've got a few of my father's inventions you can take apart, clean and put back together," said Robecca.

"Huh…yeah…that sounds…okay," said Clawd.

"He's really messed up," said Raven as Robecca lead Clawd over to a workbench that had several random gadgets.

"His heart is still broken," said Cupid, "what Draculaura did may have shattered his heart permanently."

"All the more reason to free Draculaura from Valentine's control," said Sasha, "and for that, we'll need all the heroes and Riders we can get." She then looked at Clair and Elissabat, "are you two ready?"

"Yes," said Elissabat.

"As I'll ever be," said Clair.

"And you three," said Sasha to Frankie, Lagoona and Clawdeen, "are you ready to have your lives changed?"

"I think our lives are already permanently changed," said Frankie, "but yeah, we're ready." At that Lagoona and Clawdeen nodded in agreement.

"I'm ready too," said Kivat. He looked at Sasha, "you'll tell Siegfried's family, right?"

"You have my word," said Sahsa.

"Alright then!" said Kivat, "just so you guys know, it's been great meeting you all! Alright, one last time! Kivat Ikuze!" With that he flew headlong at Elissabat, diving and merging into The Vampire's Heart.

Elissabat gave a surprised gasp as a golden aura surrounded her body, while The Vampire's Heart glowed brightly. With a flash of red and gold light, Elissabat vanished and in her place was a golden and dark purple metal bat the exact shape and size as Kivat.

"Elissabat? Is…is that you?" asked Frankie.

"I think so," said the metal bat, "hang on, I'm going to change back," with another flash of red and gold light, Elissabat returned to her normal humanoid form, "well, that was, interesting."

"How was it? Do you feel any different?" asked Lagoona.

"Not really," said Elissabat in a thoughtful manner, "I think I felt a bit heavier than I am when I usually turn into a bat, but…" that's as far as Elissabat got before The Vampire's heart glowed brightly again, shooting out three gold beams of energy that hit Frankie, Lagoona and Clawdeen, earning gasps of surprise from them.

"Lagoona!" shouted Gil as the beams stopped.

"I'm alright, Gil," said Lagoona, "at least I think I do."

"I don't feel any different," said Clawdeen.

"Me neither," said Frankie, "except…I feel this…connection, to Elissabat and Clair."

"I feel it too!" said Clawdeen.

"And I feel connected to you two ghouls as well!" said Lagoona.

"I feel that connection too!" said Clawdeen, while Frankie nodded.

"I feel connected to all four of you," said Clair.

"But did it work?" asked Jessie, "can you transform now?"

"Only one way to find out," said Clair. She then looked at Elissabat, "I'm ready to try if you are."

"Then let's do it!" said Elissabat. With a flash of red and gold light, she assumed her metal bat form, "Elissabat Ikuze!" She then flew over to Clair, whom caught her in her left hand.

"Gabut!" shouted Elissabat as she bit into Clair's right hand.

A high pitched noise could be heard as a stain glass pattern appeared from Clair's hand, running up her arm, neck and onto her face, while ethereal chains encircled her waist, materializing into the Kiva Belt.

"Henshin!" said Clair as she clicked Elissabat into place onto her belt.

Clair's body was then covered with shimmering, metallic energy that shattered, revealing her as Kiva.

"Are you…are you alright?" Chad asked cautiously, while Frankie, Raven and the others looked on with equal anticipation.

Clair, Kiva, answered by running towards the wall of the workshop, ran up it, across the ceiling and down the other wall. She then performed several back flips, followed by a series of martial arts moves that ended with landing on her feet in front of Chad. With another shimmer of metallic energy as Elissabat detached from the belt, Clair returned to normal and smiled widely, "yeah, I think I'm alright."

"We're more than alright, my friends!" said Robecca as she stood up from the communications device, "I've got The Base on the line! I was only able to establish contact for a moment before I lost the signal, but I'll get it back soon!"

At that Ghoulia moaned happily as she stood up from her laptop.

"She says she got the dimensional data from Ever After!" said Clawdeen.

"That means we'll soon be able to use the front door device to go back to our world!" said Lagoona.

"And with that, we'll finally be able to go on the offensive," said Avery.

"Look out, Obsidian, we're coming for you," said Raven.

"Next stop, back to Monster High!" said Frankie.

…The End Is Just The Beginning…