Greetings fellow readers and writers! This is the fifth volume of Path of The Keyblade Master and I hope you like it! Okay, last time around Sora and the gang had finally gotten to Hogwarts. They learned a lot about magic, made a lot of friends, solved a thousand-year mystery and saved the world from being wiped clean of all life. But now things change as they've been forced to travel to a parallel Earth, one vastly different from the one they just left.

This time around we're crossing with Monster High, a franchise I became interested in last October. I know what you're thinking; Monster High is for girls, well, so is Winx Club, W.I.T.C.H. and My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Well, I like all of it and Monster High is no exception. This is a story I want to write and I intend to enjoy writing it, just as I enjoy writing all my stories. I only hope that you enjoy reading it as much. However, there's bound to be those persons out there whom are bound to have nothing but negative things to say, some because they simply don't like the story, others because they have nothing better to do than spout flames about other people's stories, just for the sake of hating. Well, if you don't like the story, don't read it. Just so long as you remember…THIS IS FANFICTION!

Now, I don't own Monster High or any of the other little stuff I've thrown into this fic. There's also some Harry Potter, a bit of Winx and a lot of other stuff just for flavor. I do own The Ramblers and all their different versions, so please don't sue me, I'm just trying to write a good story. And now, without further delay, please enjoy…

Kingdom Hearts: Path of the Keyblade Master

Volume 5: Of Monsters and Meta Humans

By AndrewK9000

Chapter 1: One Door Closes, Another Opens

"Okay, let's take a step back and think this out," said Tess, "what happened?"

"Well," said Malcolm, "let's see…We stopped a conspiracy from wiping out all life on the last world we were on, while also removing specific memories of that conspiracy. But then we wound up chasing after a koozed-out Kairi through a rift and wound up on a parallel world, where a friend of ours doesn't know us and now…" he then held up his handcuffed wrists, "and now we've been arrested! Does that clarify things enough for you!? Well!? Does it!?"

"You don't have to yell!" snapped Riku as he irately raised his hands, indicated his handcuffed wrists. Sora and Tess were also in handcuffs, with the four of them locked in the back of a tan van, being driven to who knows where.

It seemed like only a few seconds since Sora and his friends were at Hogwarts, celebrating with their wizard and Meta Human friends their victory over a demonic minion of Chernabog. Their trip to the famous school of witchcraft and wizardry had been marred by a conspiracy to unseal a spell capable of remaking a world into something else, while erasing the previous world.

The demon had sought out The Genesis Spell and nearly used it, but Malcolm was endowed by the powers that be with The Armageddon Spell, canceling out the first spell. After the demon had been exorcised back into hell, our heroes and allies voluntarily had all memories of both spells, specifically the ones of the spells themselves, removed and sealed away.

Afterwards they had a victory celebration with the witches and wizards of Hogwarts, along with many other witches and wizards, including Harry Potter and his extended family, as well as Max Kildare, Andrew and Jill Carpenter and The Ramblers, an elite team of Meta Humans working with The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense.

While Sora and the gang were solving the mysterious Sigh of The Sacred Heart, Harry, Max and the others were battling against Regina, Sephiroth, Dio Brando, Lady Tremaine and Gaston, whom had been sent to Hogwarts by Maleficent and Xehanort, in order to steal the secret of The Sign. Max and Harry forced the villains away and helped The Keyblade Wielders and their friends defeat the demonic plot to use The Genesis Spell.

The victory celebration was made even more special by the announcement of the wedding of Violet Baudelaire and Shawn Ohmsford, whom were also expecting a baby, as well as the unbirthday celebration of Professor McGonagall.

But the party was ruined when Maleficent, refusing to accept defeat without retaliation, inflicted Kairi with a cursed nightmare. Earlier in the conflict, Kairi had been stung by a Tracker Jacker. Aside from enduring intense pain from the venom of the genetically engineered wasp, Kairi's mind suffered intense and horrifying hallucinations that damaged her memories.

J.D. Wallace, a Scanner working for The Bureau, used his mental abilities to begin the healing process on Kairi's mind. But all his efforts were undone as the demonic nightmare sent by Maleficent, caused Kairi to see Sora as a monstrous creature with tentacles, while also seeing Riku, Tess, Aiden and the others as zombies with tentacles.

Terrified beyond reason, Kairi fled from Sora and the others through the corridors of Hogwarts, accidentally colliding with Tara Underhill, a 7th year Ravenclaw student, Head Girl and one of the first at Hogwarts to befriend our heroes. Aside from knocking Tara to the ground, the collision also knocked free Tara's Time turner. Still terrified, Kairi accidentally used her Keyblade on the Time Turner, creating an unstable rift in time and space.

Kairi then fled into the rift. Sora, Riku, Tess and Malcolm pursued, but then the rift closed before Aiden or anyone else could follow.

When Sora, Riku, Tess and Malcolm fell from the rift they found themselves in the middle of a vast park, Central Park in New York City to be exact, with no sign of Kairi.

Almost immediately they were surrounded by Bureau operatives, including an alternate version of Max Kildare, whom wasn't too happy to see our heroes.

Before Sora and the others could react, they were handcuffed and thrown into a tan van. For the past several minutes, the van twisted and turned through the streets of Manhattan, severely disorienting Sora, Riku, Tess and Malcolm to much that, even if they were more familiar with New York City, they had no idea where they were anymore.

"Handcuffing and putting us in a van without windows is bad enough," said Riku. The van then lurched to the right, causing our heroes to collide with each other, "but could they at least put us in a van with seatbelts?!"

"Forgive me for stating the obvious," said Tess as they struggled to sit up, only to be knocked about as the van lurched to the left, "but I prefer the other Bureau to this one."

"At least they'd have the common courtesy to tell you what you did wrong before clapping you in irons," said Malcolm.

"This an alternate reality," said Riku, "anything could have made this world different from the other. For all we know, there's no Hogwarts, no Harry Potter."

"What about civil rights?" Tess asked, "what about due process?!" she then kicked at the metal barrier that separated them from the driver, "hey! You up there! You can't do this to us! We didn't do anything wrong!"

"I don't think the driver can hear you," said Malcolm, "this van looks pretty sturdy."

"I don't care!" snapped Tess, "all we did was fall into this world looking for Kairi! They just can't do this to us!" she then kicked the barrier again, "hey you! You bastards never read us our rights! You're illegally detaining us! I demand to speak with a lawyer! Hey!" she kicked the barrier again, "are you deaf or something!? I want a lawyer!"

"Do we even have rights in this world?" Malcolm asked, "we are aliens here."

"I still want a lawyer!" said Tess irately.

"We're pretty much on our own here," said Riku, "Aiden, Roxas and Naminé are still at Hogwarts."

"So?" Tess asked, "just cause we're separated from our friends, doesn't mean we're completely helpless. In fact," she then held up her handcuffed wrists, "why are we enduring this? We can break these cuffs with our Keyblades!"

Just then a hidden window in the barrier opened. The Bureau agents in the passenger seat looked at Tess, "you can't break those cuffs!" he said.

"So you can hear us," said Tess, "well get this! You can't arrest us for just falling onto a world. I demand a lawyer!"

"You're not under arrest," said the Bureau agent, "you're being detained. Standard policy for all trans-dimensional travelers without the proper identification."

"You bastards never asked for our identification!" snapped Tess, "my friend and I have rights and you're violating them! Now pull over and get me a lawyer!"

"Sorry," said the Bureau agent, "but considering the circumstances, you're rights have been rescinded," with that he slammed the window shut.

"You bastards!" snapped Tess, "just wait until I break these cuffs!"

The window opened again, "you can't break those cuffs!" said the agent.

"Just you wait!" said Tess. She then summoned her Keyblade and tried to cut the chain, but the metal would not yield.

"What…no way!" said Tess as she tired again and again to cut the chain, but it wouldn't even scratch.

"I told you," said the agent, "now just sit back and be quiet." He then slammed the window shut.

"Bastard!" snapped Tess as she kicked the barrier again and again, "I'll carve Z's all over your damn bodies! Then I'll castrate you! I'll double castrate you!"

"Oh, give it a rest!" said Malcolm, "they're not listening and you're just wasting energy."

"At the very least, save your strength so we can figure out something," said Riku.

"Believe me, if you've got any ideas, I'm all ears," said Tess, "well, any ideas? Sora? You got any ideas? Sora? Sora?"

But Sora was just sitting there on the van floor, a look of depressed frustration on his face.

"He hasn't said anything since they clapped us in irons," said Malcolm.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Riku asked. But Sora just sat there, looking thoroughly miserable.

"He's upset that we couldn't find Kairi," said Tess, "or maybe he's messed up by that rift."

"What do you mean?" Malcolm asked. "That rift didn't mess me up."

"It certainly did me no good," said Riku, "for a second, right when we were between worlds, it felt like…like we were being watched or something."

"I didn't feel like being watched," said Malcolm, "what about you, Sora? Oh, I forgot, you're catatonic."

"I'm not," said Sora as he looked up at his friends, "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Riku asked.

"A couple things," said Sora, "like why we arrived where we did and Kairi wasn't there? Why did the rift close up after us? Why didn't Aiden and the others come? And how come we're on a world where its Max Kildare seems to hate us?"

Just then they felt the van slow down and eventually come to a stop, then felt the engine shut down.

"They'll probably drag us out of the van and into some interrogation room," said Malcolm.

"Let's not give them the chance," said Tess as she scooted over to the back door of the van, "as soon as they open that door, I'll kick whomever's there in the teeth!"

"What if that person is friendly?" Sora asked.

"It'll make me feel better breaking teeth," said Tess irately, "friend or no friend, I'm that pissed."

"Save some for us," said Riku as he scooted over to Tess, followed by Malcolm and Sora, "if they want us to cooperate, they'll have a fight on their hands!"

But instead of the door opening, Sora and the others heard a loud hiss, then saw four jets of white gas being pumped into the van.

"Oh…you sons of bitches!" snapped Malcolm, before he, Tess, Riku and Sora, all passed out from the sleeping gas.

An undetermined amount of time later, Sora woke up with a start. It took a moment for his confused mind to remember that he and the others had been exposed to sleeping gas.

Sora looked around his surroundings. He was in a well lit room that was reminiscent of a hotel suite. Two queen-sized beds covered in elaborate bedspreads, two dressers each with a mirror, between which was a large TV screen with a built in DVD player. To the left was a door that lead to a bathroom, while off to another side was a desk and chair. The room was well lit but had no windows and only one other door.

After realizing that his handcuffs were gone, Sora got out of bed and tried the door. It was unlocked, leading to a large sitting room that had several chairs, a coffee table and a large TV screen set into the wall. Off to one side was an archway that lead to a small kitchen, with three more doors lead to additional bedrooms, while a larger door was the way out. The larger room had no windows. On the table was a day by day calendar, with the date set for Thursday, December 20th, 2012.

Sora tried the big door but it was locked. He was just about to head to the other doors when Riku came out of the middle door.

"You just woke up?" Riku asked.

"Yeah," said Sora, "where are we?"

"No idea," said Sora.

Just then Tess came out of her bedroom, followed by Malcolm out of his.

"Those sons of bitches!" spat Malcolm, "they gassed us and did who knows what to us!?"

"I don't feel like I've been mistreated," said Tess, "and believe me, after what I went through on Metamore, I would know if I was mistreated."

"So what now?" Sora asked, "we could use our Keyblades to unlock the door, but then what?"

Just then they were all startled to hear a telephone ringing. It was an old style rotary phone on a small table near the kitchen.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Riku asked as the phone continued to ring.

"Huh? Oh, right," said Sora. He then walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver, "hello?"

A female voice with a rich Southern accent answered, "why, hello, there, Sora! How are ya'll doin?"

"Uh…we're fine," said Sora, "a little confused, but we're okay."

"Whoever that is," said an irate Tess, "tell them that we're not playing any games!"

"If they want to mess with us," said Riku, "they'll regret it!"

"You hear that!?" Sora shouted into the phone, "my friends and I don't like being made fun of!"

"Who said we wanted to mistreat you?" the voice asked, "oh, I do believe that it would be better if you put me on speakerphone."

"What?" Sora asked in a confused manner, "this kind of phone doesn't have a speakerphone."

"Just push the middle of the dial," said the voice, "trust me."

Sora felt the phone and realized that the center of the rotary was indeed a button for a speakerphone. He pressed the button and replaced the receiver. The voice was then heard by Riku, Tess and Malcolm as well.

"That's so much better," said the voice, "now, I'm currently en route to your location. I should be there in a minute or so, then we can get this little misunderstanding all worked out."

"Little misunderstanding!?" an exasperated Malcolm asked, "lady, in the past," he looked at his watch, "in the last three hours, my friends and I fell out of our world, were nearly shot by gun-happy goons, wrongfully detained, gassed and wrongfully imprisoned! If that's what you call a misunderstanding, then you're either crazy or just plain stupid!"

"I've been called worse, mind you," said the voice, "but please, try to be open minded. We at The Bureau have reason to be a little suspicious of strangers from alternate universes."

"That I can understand," said Tess, "but there was no reason for you to treat us the way you did! If that Max Kildare would have just listened to us, he would have known that we weren't evil. The other Max Kildare would have listened to us."

"I'm sure your Max would have," said the voice, "but as I'm sure you're aware of, when traveling to parallel worlds, you end up running into different versions of the same person, and no two are exactly alike."

"I get that," said Riku, "but…"

"No buts, please," said the voice, "I'm less than thirty seconds from you now, so just be a little patient and I'll explain everything."

"How come you're being so nice to us?" Sora asked.

"Because I've had time to be assured that you four are on the side of good and are enemies of those who serve the dark," said the voice. "What do you think was happening to you while you were out to lunch? I'll tell you; our Scanners were examining your minds to see just who you are and what you were doing here."

"You should have asked us that!" snapped Malcolm. "You had no right to probe our minds!"

"Under the circumstances, we had to delve into your inner thoughts," said the voice, "and you have my most sincere apologies."

Just then our heroes heard the sound of multiple locks being released. The door opened and there stood a woman in her mid 30's with shoulder length dark brown hair and blue eyes. She wore a brown and black business suit with black high heals. In her right hand was a cane with an elaborately carved silver handle, while in her left was a cell phone, which she then pressed the 'disconnect' button, while Sora hung up the phone again.

"I can't tell ya'll how happy I am to see you face to face," said the woman, "I would have come sooner but I was stuck in a conference when ya'll fell into this little old world," she then transferred her cane to her left hand and held out her right, "Patricia Walker, 'The Tallahassee Banshee,' Deputy Director of The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, at your service."

"Nice to meet you, Patricia," said Sora after he, Riku, Tess and Malcolm shook hands with her, "now, where are we?"

"In a specially made suite on a secret floor of The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan," said Patricia, "officially the hotel has 47 floors, but unknown to the general public and most of the private sector, there's three floors that exist in a pocket dimension that were added during a recent refurbishment. The Bureau uses those extra floors as part of our New York City branch.

"Now, I'm sure ya'll have a tone of questions," she then took her cane in her right hand again and limped into the room, "so, let's all just sit down and I'll start with the most obvious. What in the hell are ya'll doing here?"

"It crossed our minds," said Sora as they all sat down in the many chairs in the room.

"Well," said Patricia, "first of all, ya'll need to understand that we are aware of other worlds and have had visitors from those places. Some friendly, some down right evil, and we had to fight the evil ones.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell the good visitors from the bad ones. That's why we had your minds probed, we had to be sure of your intentions."

"And what are our intentions?" Tess asked cautiously.

"That you came here chasing after someone you care a lot about," said Patricia, she then looked at Sora, "someone you love with all of your heart. Believe me, I sympathizes with your cause and ya'll have my full support in finding Kairi. It'll take a while, but we'll find her.

"But there's more ya'll need to understand. Right now, nearly all of The Bureau's resources are being directed towards this one mission that you four fell right smack into the middle of. You have my most sincere apology for the way you were treated, especially by Max Kildare, he's actually a pretty nice guy once you get to know him, but we've been on high alert for some time now, things are getting a bit jumpy in New York City."

"So, we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Sora.

"Yes," said Patricia, "or maybe you happened to come here at the right time," she then smiled, "I'm going to go out on a limb here and let ya'll in on the mission. My superiors in Congress and The U.N. won't be happy about it, but I've been assured, by a very reliable source, that you four can be trusted."

"Just who assured us of our trustworthiness?" Malcolm asked.

"Someone I trust with my life," said Patricia, "now, here's the situation," she looked at her watch, "it's now 2:36 P.M. At 8 o'clock tomorrow night, December 21st, 2012, at The American Museum of Natural History, which is right next to Central Park, just a stone's throw away from where you fell into the world, an intact copy of The Necronomicon will be put on display to the public for the very first time."

"The Necronomicon?" Riku asked "I thought they were all destroyed."

"On the world you were last on, maybe," said Patricia, "but on this world, there's still one copy left. One copy, complete and in the original Sumerian script, and believe me, we at The Bureau have done our damn best to see it destroyed."

"What went wrong?" Tess asked.

"A lot of bull crap, that's what!" said Patricia irately, "we thought we had destroyed all the known copies of The Necronomicon, but this copy was unearthed a year and a half ago in the library of a private collector in Stockholm. The poor bastard inherited it from his archeologist grandfather whom found the book while on a dig in Iraq.

"Now, we at The Bureau have a standing policy concerning The Necronomicon; search and destroy with extreme prejudice. Far too many innocent lives had been ruined because of that accursed tome and all its copies. For a while we had thought the world was finally safe from the evils of the book, but then we heard of this copy in Stockholm.

"By the time we got to the home of the owner, we were almost too late. There's something about The Necronomicon that draws those in close proximity to it, making them read its cursed pages, out loud. When we got there, the owner had read several pages. He had been torn to pieces by the otherworldly thing he had indivertibly summoned, while more dimensional nightmares were crawling their way into the world. It took hours to destroy them all.

"But when the area was cleared of monsters and the dimensional rifts that brought in the creatures were closed, all that remained was to burn the book."

At that Patricia looked like she was mad enough to punch a hole in the wall, "but before we could point a flamethrower at the damned book, our superiors in Washington told us to back off, to not destroy the book."

"Why the hell would they do that?" Malcolm asked, "the book was evil, pure and simple, so why not destroy it?"

"A very good question," said Patricia, "coming from a kid like you. You've got dark magic in your veins, but light in your heart. Some would say you're a living paradox."

"I've been called worse," said Malcolm, "but yeah, I am kinda strange. Dark magic is in my blood, but I live by my ethics."

"Can we get back to why the book of pure evil wasn't destroyed?" Riku asked.

"It's all the bureaucrats fault," said Patricia, "The BPRD cannot function without the approval of the various world governments, and by that I mean funding. Without approval from Congress, we wouldn't be able to operate on American soil, let alone anywhere else in the world.

"Somehow, word leaked out that there was a surviving copy of The Necronomicon. A wealthy supporter of The American Museum of Natural History learned about the book and requested, or should I say, bribed and/or blackmailed, several key Senators and Representatives into putting pressure on The Bureau. At the last possible second we were prevented from carrying out our mission. Our orders were changed from destroying The Necronomicon, to returning it to Washington D.C. and handing it over to the rich bastard.

"To say that Max Kildare and The Ramblers were pissed would be an understatement. Max and his team had lost a lot of friends, both mortal and Meta Human, in their efforts to wiping out The Necronomicon. And now when they were just about ready to finish the book off for good, a rich bastard basically bought it."

"Why would the fat cat want such an evil book?" Sora asked.

"Who knows?" Patricia asked in an exasperated tone, "officially, he told us that the book was one of the oldest written texts in human history and deserved to be preserved for posterity. Bull crap, in my opinion. There's nothing human about The Necronomicon, plain and simple.

"Some of us think the bastard wants the book so he could use its power, which makes him either insane or completely stupid, in addition to being rich. And there's the possibility that he just wants it for the sake of wanting it. I mean, there's a lot of rich idiots in the world who waste their money on completely useless and often dangerous things. I won't go into details on how much trouble we have had on tracking down occult items that found their way on the black market, but let's just say that we had it rough.

"Anyway, Max and his team complied in their new orders, for the most part. They kept the book safe until it was back on American soil, all the way back to Bureau H.Q. in Washington, but that's where their compliance ended. Before the rich bastard could get to D.C. and claim the book, it was locked in a secure vault in our top security department. And when I mean top security, I mean once it goes in, it doesn't come out, not without three keys to the vault, and all three keys were in the hands of The Ramblers.

"Max had one, the second was in the hands of Laura Hurst, whom you'll soon meet, and the last in the hands of Dr. Aaron Spartan, our resident medical genius."

"We met them," said Sora, "but they're probably different from the ones on this world."

"Ain't that the truth," said Patricia, "any hoo, Max, Laura and Aaron had the keys and they weren't giving them up. They refused to hand them over when ordered. Not even the Director of The Bureau could convince them to hand them over. No one, not Congress, not the president, not the rich bastard, not even mandate from The U.N. would get them to give them up.

"It took months to convince Max and the others that the book would be placed in a new high security area in The American Museum of Natural History, while its display case would be state of the art. In fact, some of our resident Krelboyns designed the new vault and display case."

"Krelboyns?" Riku asked.

"Super smart Meta Humans," said Patricia, "yet even after all of that, Max and the others refused to relent. It took a while, but the rich snob agreed to never touch the book, that it would stay in its display case, from which it would be moved on a completely mechanical system to the secure vault. That and a whole lot more promises finally convinced Max and the others to hand the book over to the Museum, but only if The Ramblers were the ones to transport the book to its new home."

"That sounds reasonable," said Sora, while Riku, Tess and Malcolm nodded in agreement.

"It was," said Patricia, "and at first, all seemed to go swimmingly. The display case and special vault were completed, The Ramblers handed the book over and tomorrow night, it will go on display to the public."

"So what's the catch?" Malcolm asked, "I get that Max and his team are anxious about the book being on display but…"

"You're wondering why everyone's on edge," said Patricia, "it's quite simple. Tomorrow night the book will be put on display, while The Museum will play host to a grand gala. A lot of rich backers of The Museum will be there, as well as some politicians, historians, professors, archeologists, theologians and a lot of other movers and shakers interested in seeing what is quite possibility the most dangerous book in existence.

"As if that party wasn't a security nightmare in itself, we've received word that an as yet unidentified group wishes to steal the book, and they plan to take it right in front of everyone at the premier gala."

At that she looked at Sora and the others with serious eyes, "now you understand why Max was so pissed at you," said Patricia.

"He thought we were going to try and steal The Necronomicon?" Sora asked.

"He wasn't taking any chances," said Patricia, "too much has been put at risk over this damn book. By defying orders from their superiors, Max and The Ramblers risked being labeled traitors to not only The Bureau, but to The United States, the U.N., humanity and their fellow Meta Humans…well, not to us Meta Humans, we tend to look out for each other.

"But the fact is that up until that moment, the loyalty of Max Kildare and The Ramblers had never been questioned. We Meta Humans are in a bit of a precarious position. Technically, to the general public, we don't exist. If word got out that there were people with super powers running about, the mortals would panic and it would be chaos unbound."

"I figured as much," said Riku.

"So where does this leave us?" Malcolm asked.

"We come to a decision," said Patricia, "I've assured my superiors that you four aren't out to steal The Necronomicon, so now I wish to ask you four to help protect it, just for this one night."

"You want us to work with The Bureau and guard the book?" Tess asked.

"I just asked ya'll that," said Patricia, "you see, while we don't know exactly who will try to steal The Necronomicon, we also don't know how they'll will steal it, who they're working for and who really wants The Necronomicon.

"What we do know is that recently, our psychic Scanners have been detecting emanations of enormous power moving about. These power signatures are coming from humanoid life, but before we could determine if they're Meta Humans, demonic or otherwise and get a better location, we lose the signal and have to start searching for it all over again."

"I don't see how this affects us," said Malcolm, "sure, it's horrible that someone wants to steal The Necronomicon, most likely for some horrific, diabolic purpose, but what's it got to do with us?"

"We're putting almost everything we got into making sure that nothing happens to The Necronomicon," said Patricia, her voice full of righteous indignation, "not tomorrow night, not the day after, not ever."

"And you need more help," said Tess.

"Yes, and no," said Patricia, "any help would be welcome, and the sooner we get this particular night over with, the sooner that The Necronomicon is safe back in the special vault. That's when the special hologram projectors we installed will take over, casting an exact image of the book into the display case. When the museum opens to the general public the next day, no one will know that what they're looking at isn't the ream Necronomicon."

"That's brilliant," said Malcolm, "but why haven't you done that in the first place?"

"Because the rich son of a pig wants to see the real thing before we set up the hologram," said Patricia, "we tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn't give. I'm personally fed up with arguing, so let the bastard see his precious book. The sooner that's over with, the sooner we at The Bureau can get back to our normal routine," she then game our heroes a cheerful smile, "and the sooner we can get some of our Scanners to help you find Kairi."

"Just how good are your Scanners?" Tess asked.

"Not good enough to pin down a potential thief," said Malcolm as he irately crossed his arms.

"We're working on it," said Patricia in an annoyed tone, "believe me, these people who want The Necronomicon know how to cover their tracks. But compared to them, finding a lost girl would be easy as taking a walk down Main Street.

"Oh, I almost forgot; we've been getting increased sightings of Heartless."

"Heartless!?" exclaimed Sora as he stood up, while Tess, Riku and Malcolm now had Patricia's undivided attention.

"We know how to deal with those dark creatures," said Patricia, "sometimes there's only a handful at a time, while other instances they swarm in the thousands. Normally we've able to contain and wipe out the things before they inflict significant harm on civilian persons and property. But with the increased security involving The Necronomicon, a Heartless attack on New York City would be too much of a coincidence."

"You'd think the thieves are using The Heartless?" Sora asked.

"It's a distinct possibility that we cannot ignore," said Patricia, "so, now comes the question; will you aid us in this trying time? Will you help keep a dangerous item from falling into the wrong hands?"

"Of course we will," said Sora, "there's no way we'll let that book be stolen."

"We're here," said Tess, "we might as well help."

"The curse of being a Keyblade Wielder," said Riku, "wherever we go, we end up meddling in local affairs."

"Hopefully for the better," said Malcolm.

"Splendid!" said a brightly smiling Patricia, "now, I'll introduce you to this world's Ramblers and the other Bureau personnel whom will be on sight at the gala," she then stood up, "and of course, we'll have to have you all fitted for the proper attire for the event. Just because we're protecting the most dangerous book in existence, doesn't mean we can't look our best, now can we?"

"Tuxedo's again," said Riku in a mildly annoyed tone, "wonderful."

"At the very least, you won't look out of place," said Patricia as she limped towards the door to the hallway.

"What happened to your leg?" Malcolm asked.

"I broke my ankle a few years ago and it never healed right," said Patricia, "so I quit fieldwork and settled into administration. Oh, and before I forget, this suite is no longer your prison," she then opened a hidden panel in the wall and pressed a button.

Almost immediately, windows appeared along the walls. Sora, Riku, Tess and Malcolm looked out in awe at the Manhattan skyline.

"Consider this your temporary home," said Patricia, "you're welcome to all the amenities of the hotel and are free to come and go as you please."

"Well, I'll say this," remarked Tess, "this is one adventure where we'll be sleeping comfortably."

"And with a hell of a view," said Malcolm.

Riku said nothing as he admired the skyline, but he noticed that Sora was looking out at the cityscape with something else on his mind.

'Just hold on, Kairi,' thought Sora, 'we'll find you.'

…Someplace far from New York City…

Kairi woke up with a start, her heart racing from the horrific nightmare of the tentacle monster with Sora's face, her friends turned into zombies reaching out to rip her to pieces.

It took a second for Kairi to realize that she had been dreaming. As she struggled to ease her hyperventilation and slow her rapid pulse, she took stock of her situation.

At first she thought she was back in The Hospital Wing of Hogwarts, but as she looked around, taking in more details, she realized that the walls were decorated with gothic themes, bats, ghosts and other themes associated with a well crafted haunted house. Stone gargoyles adorned the walls and all in all, it was a rather…disturbing…infirmary.

Kairi felt a dull ache in her forehead. She reached up and felt a thick bandage wrapped around her head.

All of a sudden, Kairi heard the approaching of several footsteps. Flinging herself back onto the bed, she shut her eyes and feigned sleep.

The door of the infirmary opened and Kairi heard four individuals enter. The voices of these individuals came from teenaged girls, each one very different from the others.

"She's still out cold," said one girl, a voice that radiated with warmth and kindness.

"It's no wonder," said the second girl, this one with a slight Romanian accent, "the way she hit that locker after falling through that rift, all that…that…"

"It's okay, love," said a third girl, one with an Australian accent, "we know what happened."

"No, it's alright," said the second girl, "the more I get used to saying the word…blood," she then inhaled sharply, as if experiencing a brief anxiety attack, "the better it'll be for me. She was…bleeding…so much, I thought she wouldn't make it."

"Thank Ra that our school nurse is so much more than a nurse," said the fourth girl, one with a refined voice that reflected a personality that was used to being respected and revered by all those around her, yet still had much friendship and compassion in her heart.

"Yeah," said the first girl, "I thought we would need to call an ambulance, but the nurse used an that healing item that cleared up that…what was it?"

"A concussion," said the third girl, "and it also stopped the bleeding."

"If my family had the rights to that kind of metical technology," said the fourth girl, "we would have made billions."

"As if your family had enough money as it is," said the third girl.

"Yes, if my family can be accused of being filthy, it's at least money that we're rolling in. Now," Kairi then heard a pair of wedgie sandals approaching the bed she was on, "what about our strange Normie friend from another world?"

"I'm sure Headmistress Bloodgood would want to talk to her as soon as she wakes up," said the second girl.

"If anyone can figure out where this girl came from," said the third voice, "it's the Headmistress."

"And hopefully send her back," said the fourth girl in a cold, somewhat scared tone.

"You can't mean that, Cleo," said the first girl, "she's hurt and scared out of her mind, at least she was scared when she fell through that rift. She was clearly running from something."

"Or someone," said the third girl, "Frankie, maybe our new friend is on the run from an abusive boyfriend."

"Or maybe a hideous demon," said the second girl in an eager, somewhat frightened tone, "some kind of multi-headed fiend from the depths of hell! She may be marked for demonic sacrifice!"

"Chill out, Draculaura," said the third girl, "we don't know anything about her."

"You're right, Lagoona," said the second girl, Draculaura, "you can't judge a book by its cover."

"There's no reason why we shouldn't treat her like a friend," said the first girl, Frankie.

Kairi cracked her eyes open to look at the four girls talking about her.

Draculaura was easily the shortest of the four girls, despite her pink knee-length, spiked-healed, lace-up boots. She had long, black hair with pink streaks done up in two pigtails, pale-purple eyes, pale-pink skin with a pink, heart-shaped birthmark below her left eye. Her ears were pointed and her canine teeth were elongated, like fangs.

Aside from her boots, Draculaura wore a pink vest with two gray buttons with fishnet sleeves ending in white frills, a white jabot collar was adorned with a pink flower jewel necklace. Below waist level, she wore a short, white, frilly skirt with black lace underneath and slight pink stitching, with black fishnet tights matching her shirt, which at knee height became covered by her pink boots. As accessories she wore light grey safety pin earrings, while in her hands was a folded black and pink parasol. Draculaura had a sweet, friendly, easy to get along with personality, but also a bit naïve and very excitable.

Lagoona was about 15 with long, curly blond hair with blue highlights, with skin covered in pale blue scales, webbed hands and had fins protruding from her lower arms and legs. She had yellow eyes and wore a pink scale bathing suit with a teal scaly and black jacket with a hoodie over it the hood has blue mesh fins on it and black and teal board shorts with blue fishnet tights. Her shoes were black flip flops with black and white striped soles. She also wore gold earrings with coral and sand dollars on them, a gold beaded necklace with a seahorse, a gold beaded bracelet, and a pink lily barrette in her hair.

Lagoona had a friendly, laidback, easygoing personality that radiated serenity and kindness. She was calm and level-headed but wasn't afraid to stand up for what was right.

Cleo, apparent age 16 or so, was the most normal-looking of the four girls, yet even she had features that would make her stand out in a crowd, and she was one who relished in standing out. She had long black hair with brown and gold highlights, flawless mocha skin and turquoise eyes. Her face was adorned with thick, bright eyeshadow, cherry-red lipgloss, thick black eye liner styled in an Egyptian manner.

Cleo wore a strapless jumpsuit made of yellow-colored mummy wrappings with a turquoise wrapped organdy top with black lining. She carried her phone on a strap on her thigh. Her shoes were black wedges with round gold studs a long the bottom. She accessorized with gold jewelry which included a studded belt, pyramid like earrings, a golden arm bracelet, and a headdress with jewels, and mummy wrappings around her arm.

Cleo was of conflicting personalities. On one hand she seemed selfish, spoiled, arrogant and had a lot of hubris, as if she expected the whole world to worship at her feet. She was extremely competitive and strove to be number 1 in everything she put herself into. On the other hand there was compassion in her heart, a willingness to work with others for a common goal, and much love for those she was close to.

Finally there was Frankie, about 15 or 16 with long white hair with black streaks with a side fringe that covered her forehead that was secured with a hairclip. She wore a green and black plaid dress with a white collar and organdy puff sleeves. For accessories, she wore a black polka-dotted tie with a silver skull pin, a black studded belt with a lightning bolt buckle and a chain, blue skull earrings and blue and silver bracelets with black and white stiletto shoes.

What was most noticeable about the girl was her light, mint green skin with various stitches across her body, as if she was held together with thread. Her left eye was green and the right was blue. Adorning her neck were two metal bolts.

Frankie was sweet, polite, friendly and outgoing, eager to experience new things and wasn't afraid to admit to making a mistake, always upbeat, hopeful and determined to move forward and make the day a little bit brighter.

It didn't take a genius to determine that these four very unusual young women were friends, but to Kairi, an argument was brewing between them.

"She seems harmless to me," said Lagoona, "poor thing, what could have made her so frightened?"

"It's a demon, it's got to be," said Draculaura, "or something just as mean and scary."

"Whatever it was," said Cleo as she eyed Kairi suspiciously, "it could mean trouble for us Monsters."

'Monsters?' Kairi thought, 'they certainly are trendy monsters.'

"How can you even think this person is trouble?" Frankie asked, "yes, she may be in trouble, but there's no reason to suspect that her troubles will spread to us. At the very least, if she is in trouble, we should try to help her."

"Frankie's right," said Lagoona, "it's only right to help out those in need."

"Be as that may," said Cleo in an annoyed tone as she placed her hands on her hips, "this person is a stranger that fell out of a strange rift in time and space. Even more so, she's a Normie."

"And you think that makes a difference?" Draculaura asked in an annoyed tone, "after what we all went through on Halloween?"

"We did make things better for the Normies in our town," said Frankie.

"We've had the chance to get to know them," said Cleo, "for all we know, this girl is just passing though, dragging who knows what kind of trouble with her. And there's no reason to believe that she won't accept us!"

"Are you implying what I think you're implying!?" Lagoona demanded, "because, ghoul friend, if you're reverting to the old prejudices, then…"

"All I'm saying is that when she wakes up," said Cleo as she pointed at Kairi, "she'll see us Monsters and go complete berserk! She'll react like any Normie; she'll see us as freaks and try to run away!"

At that Kairi had had enough of playing possum. She fully opened her eyes and sat up, "you're not monsters," she said, "you're beautiful people."

At that the four unusual girls were slightly taken aback as they realized that Kairi had been listening to them. Cleo then broke the silence as she cautiously asked, "you…you think we're beautiful?'

"Yeah," said Kairi, "albeit a bit…unusual…but still beautiful.

Cleo blushed slightly at the compliment, then spoke boldly and with much flourish of her hands, as if she were a figure in an Egyptian hieroglyph wall carving, "well, of course you think I'm beautiful. After all, a princess of my noble heritage can hardly be anything but beautiful. Feel free to worship the ground I walk on."

"You'll have to excuse Cleo, love," said Lagoona as she walked over and sat next to Kairi, "she's one serious fish out of water."

"She was an Egyptian princess," said Draculaura.

"I still am," said Cleo. She then looked at Kairi as if addressing a peasant, "you have the honor and privilege of addressing the most noble and regal Cleo de Nile, daughter of Ramses de Nile, captain of the Fearleading squad and rising star of Monster High."

"There's a school for monsters?" Kairi asked.

"Of course," said Draculaura, "what, you'd think we'd teach ourselves? I'm Draculaura, and before you ask, I'm a vegetarian vampire."

"I know some 'vegetarian vampires,'" said Kairi as she smiled, "do you drink animal blood?"

"Goodness, no!" exclaimed Draculaura as her hands went up to her face in shock, "I would never harm an animal."

"Draculaura only eats vegetables," said Lagoona, "even the word 'blood' used to make her swoon, but she's getting over it. I'm Lagoona Blue, from The Great Barrier Reef, and yes, I am a Sea Monster."

"And I'm Frankie Stein," said the green-skinned girl, "my parents created me, the same way they were created by Dr. Henry Frankenstein."

"And they named you after their creator," said Kairi, "cool."

"Oh, she likes me!" said Frankie happily, while sparks of electricity shot out of her neck bolts.

"And how about me?" Draculaura, "are you okay with a vampire?"

"I've seen good vampires and evil vampires," said Kairi, "I've fought with the good and against the evil."

"How can you tell the difference?" Cleo asked.

"The good ones never drink the blood of humans, if they can help it," said Kairi, "and use their powers to protect the innocent. I've known vampires who had never even spilled a drop of human blood in their immortal lives. As for the bad ones, they kill people and drink their blood not only to sustain themselves, but because they enjoy destroying innocence and spreading darkness wherever they go."

"Sounds like my uncle Radu on a bad day," said Draculaura.

"You really think we're alright?" Lagoona asked.

"Definitely," said Kairi, "I kinda have a knack for seeing the goodness in people's hearts."

"Well, I knew you were alright when you first showed up," said Frankie, "even after you kinda fell on me."

"I did what?" Kairi asked.

"You fell out of a rift right in the middle of the hallway," said Lagoona, "you hit your head on a locker and then you landed right on Frankie."

"I did?" Kairi asked as she felt her forehead, "wow, sorry about that."

"It's alright," said Frankie, "I'm tougher than I look."

"I can see that," said Kairi. She then looked at Cleo, Lagoona and Draculaura, "you all are special in your own rights. I just hope I'll be around long enough to get to know you all better."

"Why's that?" Lagoona asked.

"You're not going away so soon?" Draculaura asked, "you just woke up."

"You should be taken to a Normie hospital," said Cleo, "the sooner the better."

"Why bother with all the hospital bureaucratic red tape and insurance crap?" Kairi asked as she began unwrapping the bandage around her head, "I don't think they'll even take my insurance in this world. And what is a Normie anyway."

"It's slang for Normal," said Cleo, "there's humans and then there's us Monsters, and there's a lot more of us than you might think."

"We'll introduce you to more of our friends," said Frankie, "but you really need to rest up."

"I'll be fine," said Kairi, "but I'd like to see a mirror if you've got one."

"Of course I've got one!" said Cleo in a slightly offended tone. She then pulled out a compact mirror and handed it to Kairi, "never leave home without one."

"Thanks," said Kairi as she opened the compact and saw her reflection. A long scar had formed on her forehead that still looked very sore but closed up, while the skin around it was heavily bruised, "wow, I really did a number on my head."

"The nurse managed to stop the bleeding and accelerated the healing process," said Frankie.

"And now I'll finish it," said Kairi. She then touched the scar and used her healing magic to vanish it, while the bruising also went away.

"Oh my Ra!" exclaimed an astonished Cleo, while Frankie, Lagoona and Draculaura also looked amazed.

"Did I say you were alright?" Frankie asked, "you're awesome!"

"Totts!" exclaimed Draculaura eagerly.

"It's alright," said Cleo, "but I've seen equally impressive magic."

"Oh really?" Lagoona asked daringly, "then how come all those idols and talismans and other pieces of Egyptian magic that you've used so much, how come they always end up making things worse instead of better?"

"Well, most magical items from the old country are cursed," said Cleo in a matter of fact tome, "I just have a hard time telling the difference, that's all."

"I think you need a better understanding of magic," said Kairi, "but other than that, you're perfectly fine."

"Is that all?" Cleo asked, "fine? Why be fine, ordinary, when you can be extraordinary? Dream big."

"I do have big dreams," said Kairi. She then frowned, "I mean, I did, now…" But she hesitated about telling Frankie and the others about what happened, about how Sora was torn apart about The Tentacle Creature, while Riku and the others were turned into zombies and how they haunted her dreams.

"Hey, it's okay," said Frankie as she put a comforting hand on Kairi's shoulder, "you don't have to tell us if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No, it's alright," said Kairi, "I…I recently went through something really terrible, something that's going to mess with my head for a long time," she then placed her hand over her heart, "but no matter how horrible it was, nothing is going to steal the goodness, the light, within me. I may be down, but I'm far from out."

"That's the spirit!" said Frankie happily, while Cleo, Lagoona and Draculaura nodded in agreement.

"Well, if you're up to it," said Lagoona, "the Headmistress would like to talk to you about your situation."

"I'd like to talk to her," said Kairi, "not that I want to leave so soon, but the sooner I get in contact with my home dimension, the better," she then frowned, "I just hope everyone else is alright."

…Hogwarts…

"Can't you do something!?" Aiden spat at Harry and Max as he paced back and forth irately in Professor McGonagall's office. Also there was the Headmistress herself, as well as Roxas, Naminé, Hermione, Ron, Andrew, Jill, Aaron, Jessie, Ashley and Tara.

"You two are like the best this world has to offer. You've got The Ministry of Magic and The BPRD at your disposal, and you tell me you can't do anything to fight Sora, Riku, Tess and Kairi?!"

"I never said we can't do anything," said Max in an annoyed tone, "I said it would take time."

"Time isn't something we have, pal!" said Aiden, "it's been over three hours since they ran into that rift! For all we know, my friends are neck deep in Heartless!"

"Well, what do you expect us to do?" Harry asked, "just magic up some kind of rift spell and send you off to some random world?"

"You could wind up on some horrific mirror world," said Jill.

"Mirror world?" Roxas asked, "like where everything is backwards?"

"It's one possibility," said Andrew, "but that's not what we're talking about."

"Jill meant a world with a negative situation," said Aaron, "on our world, at this moment in time, we're winning the wars on terrorism, drugs and we've got a lot of the international conflicts pretty much wrapped up. We've got better treatments for AIDS, cancer and other nasty diseases that had been plaguing humanity. Crime, poverty, joblessness, homelessness and world hunger are at all time lows. Nearly every country in the world has modern education and medical systems. We have new, safer means of drilling for oil, more efficient car engines that produce less pollution. The oceans are cleaner than they were ten years ago. The hole in the ozone layer will be closed for good within five. And a date has been set for a manned mission to Mars."

"And to add icing to the cake," said Hermione, "relationships between Wizards and Muggles have never been better. Our world is slowly but surely becoming a paradise for all."

"And it's partly thanks to the cooperation between magic users and Meta Humans," said Max.

"Now," said Jill, "imagine a world where none of this happened. Imagine a world that'll run out of natural resources in a matter of decades, where pollution is slowly choking the life out of the environment, where cancer, AIDS and other virulent diseases run rampant, killing tens of thousands each day."

"Imagine a world where hundreds of millions are out of work," said Andrew, "where the average family can barely afford to keep clothes on their backs, a roof over their heads and food in their bellies," he shuddered, "not my favorite world, by the way. Anyway, imagine a world where nearly everywhere you look, you see people zonked out of their minds on drugs, where crime has spiraled out of control, where governments cease to function, all in all, a world where the question isn't 'what will I do tomorrow?' but 'will I live to see tomorrow?'"

"You mean Sora and the others could be on one of these hell holes!?" Aiden exclaimed.

"It gets worse," said Jill, "they could be on a world where wizards and Meta Humans are persecuted, just because we're different from the 'normal' population. Or worse, a world where humans have been dominated by Meta Humans and wizards."

"There could be worlds where Voldemort won," said Harry, "where Muggle Born witches and wizards are murdered on sight and Muggles are enslaved."

"There could be worlds where The BPRD is a paramilitary group bent on dominating the world," said Jill.

"I think we've frightened them enough," said Ron. Indeed, Aiden, Roxas and Naminé looked horrified almost out of their skins.

"Do we really need to give them more worst case scenarios?" Ashley asked. She then gave Aiden, Roxas and Naminé a reassuring smile, "we're doing every thing we can to find Sora and the others, but we have to bring in the right equipment. This isn't the first time we've had to search for someone lost in time and space."

"The problem is adapting Bureau technology so it will function at Hogwarts," said Jessie, "the very magical nature of the castle interferes with Muggle machines. Most of the time a Muggle device fails to function, other times its power source overheats and it blows up, not a pretty sight to see."

"I've seen plenty of Lithium Ion batteries go critical," said Andrew, "not something you want to be in rage of. Anyway, providing the Dimensional Search Engine with a magic patch shouldn't take more than a day or so."

"A day!?" exclaimed Aiden, "they've already been gone more than three hours! They'll be dead by this time tomorrow!"

"Do you really think that little of your friends, Mr. Mackenzie?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I…uh…that is…" said a sheepish Aiden as he began to calm down, "well…Sora, maybe, he is a bit of a lazy bum, or so Kairi says."

"They'll be alright," said Roxas, "at least, so long as they stick together. Sora's got his blockhead moments, but Riku, Tess and Malcolm will keep him from going sideways."

"And we'd know if anything would happen to them," said Naminé, "I'm still connected to Kairi's heart, just as Roxas is connected to Sora's. Don't ask me if I can tell where they are, I only know that Kairi's still alive."

"Same with Sora," said Roxas.

"It's a start," said Max, "and the search may not need to take so long. While there's an infinite number of realities that Sora and the others could have landed on, we have started eliminating the possibilities."

"We've been in contact with alternate Bureau's for some time now," said Jill, "Our first conversation with a parallel Bureau was in 2011, and since then we've made contact with over a hundred different BPRD's, while some of them are in contact with even more versions."

"Some of these versions have the same people," said Aaron, "sometimes with different backgrounds and experiences, but all in all the core essence is there. And while travel to these alternate realities has been limited, we have a mutual understanding with a lot of the different worlds to pool information when needed."

"A trans-dimensional social network," said Hermione.

"Something of that manner," said Aaron, "all that's needed is to bring in the Dimensional Communicator and we'll begin scanning the worlds' we've made contact with. Hopefully, one of the worlds on our contact list may have picked up our misplaced friends."

"And how soon can the machine get here?" Aiden asked.

"It's being packed and shipped as we speak," said Jill, "it'll be airborne within the hour and, assuming they don't run into any problems, should be landing in Edinburg in four or five hours, then it'll be sent to Hogsmeade directly and assembled right here. The problem is to apply the magic patch."

"And how long will that take?" Naminé asked. She immediately regretted asking.

"It should be operational by tomorrow," said Jill.

"I think I'm going to be sick," said Aiden as he slumped down on the floor, while Roxas and Naminé also sat down with depressed looks on their face.

"But I'm sure we'll be able to speed up the process!" Jill said hastily. She then looked at Harry, Hermione, Ron and Jessie, "won't we?"

"Of course we will," said Hermione in a reassuring tone, "the only serious delay is waiting for the equipment to arrive."

"Why do we have to wait for the machines to be transported via Muggle means?" Jessie asked, "Owl Post is much faster."

"Those machines contain extremely sensitive parts," Ashley, "you try having an owl or a Parliament of owls, carrying one of those parts. One good crosswind and the part is useless. No, The Bureau has its own means of transporting equipment without damage. We'll get the machines here intact, and on time."

"In the meantime, we're stuck here with nothing to do but wait," said Aiden in a miserable tone, "while our friends are in the gods know what kind of trouble." At that Roxas and Naminé nodded in depressed agreement.

"Oh come on," said Andrew, "there's plenty to do. Now get up! We're going to the kitchens. You said you wanted to be a better cook, Aiden? Well, class is back in session. Roxas, Naminé, you're coming too."

"Don't argue with him," said Jill, "when it comes to cooking, my husband means business."

"Well, we might as well go," said Aiden as he, Roxas and Naminé got up. They then followed Andrew out of McGonagall's office.

"There, Andrew will surely keep those three occupied until the machines are all set up," said Max.

"Isn't there anything else we can do?" Harry asked.

"What else can we do, mate?" Ron asked, "ask Professor Trelawney to look into her crystal ball and find Sora and the others?"

"That's actually not a bad idea," said Jessie.

"You can't be serious," said Hermione, "Professor Trelawney is no Seerer."

"She has had true prophecies before," said Jill, "one of them came true this weekend. Yes, Sybil is mostly all talk and misdirection, but I believe, or maybe I just want to believe, that this is her moment in the sun."

"What say you, Minerva?" Jill asked, "Sybil is one of your staff."

"My personal feelings towards Professor Trelawney have no bering over the current situation," said Professor McGonagall, "we should explore all possible avenues that could lead to the rescue of the young Keyblade Wielders, even if those avenues are…unconventional."

"I'll talk to Sybil," said Jessie as she headed for the doorway, "hopefully she'll be able to give us a clue that'll help."

"Next thing we'll all be reading tea leaves again," said Ron.

"Speaking of which," said Professor McGonagall, "I do believe a cup of tea would do a world of good."

"You have anything stronger here?" Jill asked.

"Not in my office, no," said Professor McGonagall, "but, I believe a short visit to The Three Broomsticks would do no harm."

"I'm amazed that the pub wasn't destroyed during the fight with those villains," said Harry as they all prepared to go down to Hogsmeade, where the combined efforts of Ministry wizards and BPRD agents, were rapidly repairing the damage inflicted in the recent battle.

"Stranger things have happened," said Max, "I'm living proof."

But then Harry frowned.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"I just had a disturbing thought," said Harry, "while we're looking for Sora and the others, no doubt that Maleficent and Xehanort are looking for them as well."

"Then we'd better find them first," said Max, "I'm getting a little peeved off at both of those maniacs."

"You want to go after them?" Jill asked, "it'd be risky."

"And when have you ever turned down a dangerous mission?" Max asked, "even after becoming a mother."

"I was just concerned that you might be thinking of going alone," said Jill.

"Are you kidding?" Max asked, "like I'd deny you or the others a chance to rid existence of two great evils."

"There's more of them this time," said Harry, "but it's the same thing; they mean to inflict harm on innocent people. They must be stopped."

…Castle Oblivion…

"Can't this thing search any faster?" Gaston asked as he impatiently paced back and forth in the viewing room, while Dio Brando, Regina, Maleficent, Sephiroth, Doctor Insano and Xehanort, sat in comfortable chairs, while The Interocitor scanned time and space. Sephiroth and Regina were currently playing Triple Triad, with her right in the middle of a winning streak, Dio Brando was playing with a large Rubik's Cube, Insano was messing with some kind of gadget, while Xehanort was currently engaged in a battle of mental prowess with Maleficent; they both had hooked electrodes to their heads and were playing a game of virtual chess with only their minds. Maleficent was black and Xehanort was white.

"Hey, man, it's only been like three hours," said Dio Brando as he rotated the cube in his hands, "it's a big multi-verse."

"Getting upset won't help find Sora and his friends any sooner," said Regina. She then flipped one of Sephiroth's cards, "it appears I win again."

"That's fifteen in a row!" snapped the one winged angel as he threw down the cards in his hand, "you're cheating, woman!"

"Of course I'm cheating," said a viciously smiling Regina as she claimed one of Sephiroth's cards as a prize, "but the question is 'how' am I cheating?"

"If I ever find out, I'll take you apart, piece by piece," said Sephiroth.

"I can't stand this!" exclaimed Gaston irately, a look of anxious frustration on his face, "I need to destroy something! I'm going to explode if I don't destroy something!"

"Oh, now we can't have that, can we?" Insano asked, "if you need to blow off some energy, trash one of the rooms in the castle, there's plenty to go around."

"This castle holds more value in a single room than you could ever earn in a thousand lifetimes!" said Xehanort as he continued to focus on the virtual chessboard, neither he not Maleficent wavering in their concentration. "If you must destroy something, smash some practice droids, it's what they're here for."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do that," said Gaston as he headed for the door.

"Just remember to clean up after yourself," said Insano, "we really ought to hire a cleaning service."

"It's on my to do list," said Xehanort.

"Well, until then," said Insnao as he glared at Gaston through his goggled, "try not to destroy the whole castle while you're exercising."

"Some day, madman!" snapped Gaston, "some day, I will find out how to free myself from your control! Then we'll see how easily the axe slices through the meat!" with that he stomped out of the room.

"Either I truly am mad," said Insano, "or that made no sense at all!" he then giggled like the lunatic he was.

At that moment, Lady Tremaine walked into the room, her nose buried in a very thick book. She then looked up from her reading to glare at Insano, "will you stop with that obscene giggling! My situation is nerve grinding enough without you laughing all the time!"

"Am I really that annoying?" Insano asked, "does my laugh make you want to pour hot led into your ears?"

"I'd rather pour hot led down your throat!" snapped Lady Tremaine as she walked over to a chair and sat down. She then looked at Maleficent and Xehanort and their game of thought-controlled chess, "exactly what is the purpose of such a device?" she then pointed at the virtual chess board and the electrodes attached to it.

"It's a test of mental strength," said Regina, "not only must they move the pieces by thought, for ever piece taken, the player must put forth more effort to continue the game. Not only is this a contest of skill, but of endurance.

Indeed, several pieces had been taken on both sides, while the strain of their efforts was showing on the player's faces. But then Maleficent moved a Rook into position, while Xehanort looked at the board for several seconds, then moved a Knight into position.

At that Maleficent looked up from the board and glared irately at Xehanort, "you deceitful old man! You were playing to draw!"

"Indeed," said Xehanort as he removed the electrodes from his head, "In fact, I had been playing to draw from the very beginning."

At that Maleficent was about to scream irately and throw a curse at Xehanort, but she calmed down enough to smile viciously, "so, not only were you playing to draw, you were also playing me for a fool. You engineered this whole contest just to see me lose my temper."

"Have I become that transparent?" Xehanort asked, "well then, how about a different contest? It may be some time before The Interocitor locates our missing Keyblade Wielding friends. We shall use that time to come up with a proper stratagem to torment Sora and his companions."

"A tempting competition," said Maleficent, "and what do you wish to wager?"

"Whomever imagines the more brilliant strategy," said Xehanort, "a strategy that will bring out the most anguish in Sora's heart, is owed a favor by the other."

"A favor?" Maleficent asked.

"One favor," said Xehanort, "a single request that, if it is within the persons' power, will be granted without question. Is this not a fitting wager?"

"It is," said Maleficent as he held out her hand, "one favor to the winner of this contest." With that she and Xehanort shook on it and the two of them sat down to begin planning their horrific strategies.

"I've got a feeling that all the pain and misery Sora has gone through so far," said Dio Brando, "all the hell he's fought and endured, is going to seem like heaven compared to what those two are going to put him through."

"You may be right," said Sephiroth as he and Regina began another game of Triple Triad. But within seconds, Regina had won again, "Curse you, woman! That's sixteen! How are you cheating!?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," said Regina as she took another of Sephiroth's cards.

Deep within the infinite expanse of cyberspace there lay a private chat room set up so that only those with a complex password could access it. Currently only three users were in the chat room.

Killerfist819: I think the fuzz is on to us.

Frostqueen70: Impossible, we've been covering our tracks.

Quantummad666: Never underestimate The Bureau. We're lucky they only suspect us.

Frostqueen70: One on my team wants to back off. She's being an idiot. The other says go for it.

Killerfist819: Some of my people want to play it safe, wait for another night to pull the job.

Quantummad666: We can't wait. The plan to bring down the security measures must be initiated tomorrow night, it's timed for tomorrow night.

Forstqueen70: If we can't get it tomorrow night we might as well as forget about it.

Killerfist819: Without the book all our efforts would be for nothing. Our dream of a new, better world, it will amount to nothing without the book.

Frostqueen70: It's your dream, not ours, remember?

Killerfist819: I know, all you care about is using the book. I remember the pact. After the ritual is complete, you and your ilk are free to go, with the book, back to whatever hole you crawled out from.

Frostqueen70: Be grateful that my sisters and I won't destroy you in the process.

Quantummad666: Stop it! Petty bickering won't bring us closer to the book.

Killerfist819: Then what do you suggest we do? If The Bureau is as tenacious as you say, then we should call it off.

Quantummad666: If all goes according to plan, then The BPRD will be too late to stop us. You and your friends just focus on acquiring the sacrifice.

Killerfist819: We'll have the girl, just so long as the terrible trio doesn't screw things up.

Frostqueen70: We'll have the book, so long as our lunatic friend has everything else set up.

Quantummad666: Everything will be ready on my part. Be at ease, my friends. In less than 48 hours, everything we want will be right in our hands.

Frostqueen70: I'll hold you to that.

Killerfist819: Me too. My group and I have been getting the short end of the stick for too long. It's time the world learned the truth, whether they want it or not.

Quantummad666: Be at ease, my comrades. All our efforts will bear fruit. The only thing we have to worry about is whether or not our benefactors pull through on their end.

Killerfist819: They'd better, or else there'll be hell to pay!

Frostqueen70: My sisters and I have come too far just to be stopped by our so called benefactors. If they don't pull through, we'll destroy them.

Killerfist819: Not if my group destroys them first. The only thing we can do now is wait.

Quantummad666: Until tomorrow night, then.

Killerfist819: Until tomorrow night.

Forstqueen70: Until tomorrow night.

The end of chapter 1

Next chapter finds Sora and the others getting to know more of The Ramblers and learning more about their mission, while Kairi meets several students at Monster High. Reviews will be rewarded with cake and pie. See you then!