DESCENT INTO DARKNESS

[Gabranth]

One attack after another would land, but this was only slowing the process. Now standing several feet away from his adversary, Gabranth would have to make a final stand for himself. As he stood readied he began to brace himself, shielded by his swords. He watched as the monstrosities arm grew and cover the distance between. This was no mere foe, he thought.

The club of ink wielded in its hand raised higher and higher. Soon in a massive swing it began it's attack. Ready he stood. Not a moment sooner did the attack began, did a massive impact from behind this creature occur. It was enough to draw the Judge's attention away for a just a second or two. Thinking this was part of the creatures attack, his eyes drew focus to the noise. The attack that began, was still in motion.

It only took a second or two for the club to make impact the Judge. The swords would take the majority of the attacks blunt damage. The momentum was thrust through, driving Gabranth into a newly made divot in the ground. It was almost as if a truck made of water were to run you down, if there was such a thing.

Shortly after the attack his arms still holding forward feel to the sides. He was staggered from the force and stench. When some man came to pull the Judge from the new hole that was made. Staggered and unable to see the man, echoing through is visage he spoke. "Fashionably late ... I see."

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]With The Fallen off doing just whatever it was he did when not visible to her own eyes MeadowSong was left alone to guard and rule over the Castle of Naught--quite a boring task--which she coveted to that black heart of hers so tightly; things were going swimmingly, mostly. An assault had been launched here, and she was not about to get her hands--or dress--dirty by taking them on herself, for she had other things to do...

Plotting, for instance. Again, The Fallen was no longer within this realm, which meant she had full reign to do as she pleased. Though very grateful for his hospitality when greeting her in the confines of darkness, the First Black Faerie was too indulgent in all of life's greatest gifts; she wanted more, more of everything. Darkness, power, it would not matter, she just had to have it.

With Kefka off doing his own thing, and the others no longer present save for the Phantom Blob and the strange visitor, fending off unwelcome guests, MeadowSong thought about what might just happen should she attempt to enter the corrupt Kingdom Hearts behind Atticus...

Staring into the black sky above she saw its aura, a radiant royal purple, beaming off the broken heart-shaped creation with a grimace. Would it be so bad to take away all he'd done for them...for herself? Could she even do it? Did this Heartless have enough power? What if she fired again the Eldritch Machine...would The Fallen be swept away in the blast?[/glow]

[Atticus the Fallen]

If thou speak of the devil, then the devil shall appear...

The instant MeadowSong would begin to consider the things she could do to take more than her fair share would be the instant his presence would fill the air around her, becoming whole and undeniable. His footsteps would be heard, coming from behind, accompanied by something else...

Drip... Drip... Drip...

He stood there, looking to the first black fairy... one arm exposed from under the tattered coat for what it truly was. The long, bony claw was coated with a layer of crimson liquid, which even now dripped from his massive weapon-like appendage onto the altar itself. He was like something from a nightmare... or worse. And yet, he stood there as though this were the most normal thing in the world...

As MeadowSong would get her eye full, his head would turn slightly to look down to the ground floor where battle had been joined between Judge Magister, Phantom, and a newcomer in white. His eyes slowly came back to meet with the Mistress of All Evil; cold, merciless, and calculating... the eyes of a killer, the eyes of a schemer, the eyes of something primal and all together evil...

"tsk tsk... I'm gone maybe 30 minutes, and already the heroes come..." he whispered. Slowly he advanced on her, until they were within contact of one another. His still disguised arm wrapped lightly around her waist, pulling her close enough to look her deeply into those eyes, as though inspecting her very soul. "There's two more inside, my dear..." he said to her, then slowly lifted his blood-covered arm so that the claw was inches away from her cheek...

... at which point he lightly brushed some of the liquid onto the face of the heartless fairy. "I would appreciate it if they didn't survive..." he finished.

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]When Atticus announced his presence in the realm MeadowSong was nearly red-cheeked, having been secretly plotting against him in his wake when he ventured off up to Kingdom Hearts. He closed in on her, and she turned, so that their glowing eyes met, creating a bright mixture of yellow and purple. She smiled.

"It is not my fault the security here is lax...you may blame that on Xemnas...I have not the time to work on it. The heroes are just popping up like pests, though, and I'd like to know why."

When he spoke of others, her eyes narrowed and she growled.

"I should have suspected this..." she seethed, and turned at his last words. "You have my word I'll make them regret coming here..."

With that she fell into a Corridor opened by herself in the floor and disappeared into the depths of her castle, locating the presence of light only moments later in the form of Hercules and Kim Possible. She grinned, stepping out from a shadow in the wall and taking to the air.

"Greetings, and welcome to my domain," she said to the two, and eyed Kim Possible with a raised eyebrow.

"I see that you've managed to escape the little binding...I knew allowing Pete to stand guard over you would be a mistake...and look at this, I suppose my deal with Hades will be met sooner than I thought."

To Hercules she chuckled, shaking her head. "Are we still searching for the pretty damzel, then?"[/glow]

[Hercules]

Hercules was relieved to see Megara in the cell where Kim Possible pointed. With a smile, he ran forward. However, he only acheived the halfway point before an eerily familiar voice would call out behind them. He wheeled around swiftly, dropping into a ready position only to find a completely different enemy standing in front of him.

"Who in the underworld are you??" Hercules demanded. Keep in mind, when he saw her last, she was still Maleficent. "Don't get in our way! I'm taking Meg home and we're going to break that spell on her!" he finished, his fists clenching.

"I usually don't hit girls, but if you put up a fight..." he warned...

[Secondary Characters]

The Blot was hammering the metal frame of the Judge when another intruder would make his presence known. It turned its head to see the spectral form of Tweedbottom behind, and grunted slightly. "Another intruder? This one will have to wait its turn..." he gargled, his attention returning to Gabranth.

The end of his extended arm would mutate once more, from club to a curved pendulum blade. With a cackle, the Blot would step forward and whip this razor-sharp edge at the man, attempting to prolong his agony by slicing the armor away piece by piece, starting with that ridiculous helmet. "Let us see your true face, Magistrate!"

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]A dry, condescending chuckle, and MeadowSong threw out her arms to either side, green and black flames seeping up through cracks in the floor to create a barrier-like creation before her.

"Go ahead and try taking her, Hero. Guaranteed failure for you, I'm afraid, since nothing short of a my assistance or a dip in Styx will save your woman."

Again she laughed, shaking her head and clicking her tongue. To the two she beckoned with her index finger, raising Faerie's Wrath in her other hand, charging up a spell.

"With the ultimate power of darkness, and the proximity to the hub of it all, you will fail."

Snapping her fingers, soon a swarm of medium-sized armored dragon Heartless would appear on all sides of the Black Queen, and she closed in on the Meg statue nearby and smirked, thinking of just what she'd do to twist this against Hercules.

"Oh, yes...Hades will definitely be impressed with this next move..."[/glow]

[Hercules]

Hercules growled and threw an arm over his eyes when the fires leapt up to block him from MeadowSong. His fists clenched and he looked back to the Meg Statue, where heartless were already beginning to swarm. With a grunt, he looked to the black faerie and held up a fist.

"I won't fail!" he boldly declared, stamping his foot. "Because I've BEEN to the River Styx before! I'm not afraid to go again! And I'm definately not afraid of you!"

Turning on his heel, Hercules made a mad run for the Meg Statue, leaping through the flames without care for personal injury. Once he landed, steaming around the arms and shoulders, he began to get to work, punching at the heartless with enough power to KO an elephant. After one or two attacks, he began to glow...

Throwing his head back, and letting out a roar, Hercules powered up fully. His entire body glew a golden aura, protecting him from any harm. With this, he doubled his efforts, striking down dragon after dragon, keeping Meg safe, but that would only be part of the equation. He needed someone who could do anything to get the staff from the dark faerie... so the magic could stop!

[Secondary Characters]

Things were happening awfully fast for teen hero Kim Possible! One second, she was ready to escape, no big, but then she had to help a greek demigod find his girlfriend. Okay, a little big, but nothing she couldn't handle. Now, she was toe-to-toe with a Black Faerie with fire power and the ability to summon even more of those black creatures which looked even tougher.

Okay, now things were getting tough. She watched as Hercules had his banter moment with whoever the winged witch was, then took off through the flames. "Guess that leaves you and me, sister..." Kim said to MeadowSong, then pulled from her hip pouch what appeared to be a hair dryer.

But not any hair dryer! Taking aim, Kim Possible shot a wire up toward the ceiling and used the wench feature to lift herself up and over the fires, easily closing the distance between herself and the former Mistress of All Evil. She flipped as she made her landing, attempting to kick the scepter out of MeadowSong's hands in the process. Landing behind the black fairy, Kim spun on the spot and got to a ready position. With a smirk, she looked to the evil woman.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to play with fire?"

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]Through the flames the red-head made a bold leap, utilizing a seemingly mundane household item to do so; this made MeadowSong chuckle dryly, backing away from the girl the moment she came towards her.

The Queen of Heartless, however, would not be so fortunate once Kim had arrived on her end of the barrier; a second before MeadowSong fired a bolt of black electricity towards the Meg statue, and in the next moment the sceptre was flying out of her black, inky hand. She roared in anger, and hovered a little higher than the teen hero, her shoulders hunched and her eyes alight with radiant flames.

"You've meddled with the wrong queen," she intoned darkly, raising her hands forward; they began to crackle between each finger, lightning bolts dancing over what little webbing she had. She smirked when pointing over to the statue, which now seemed to be melting in a pool of tar-thick darkness.

"Soon you shall see the fury of my wrath! And I shall allow her to introduce you to it! Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

From the pool a vile creature began to rise...and apart from the sick bubbling sounds coming from its birth place only MeadowSong's laughter could be heard.

"Arise!"[/glow]

[Sir Tweedbottom]

"Another intruder? This one will have to wait its turn..."

So this blubbering creature was the one defending the castle? Arthur was so very confused. It would have been nice if the lady informed him of her allies before sending him down here. Alas, he disliked siding with beings of low class, but a gentleman's got to do what a gentleman's got to do. So before completing the summoning ritual, he ordered Talos to switch targets.

Talos, who was a man of honour when he was still alive, decided not to strike Gabranth while the man's back was turned, but calmly took a battle stance right next to the Blot, who proceeded to slice at the magistrate's helmet.

Meanwhile, Sir Tweedbottom opened a Corridor of Darkness, and then spoke the words: "Treguna Mekoides Trecorum Satis Dee!"

In response dozens of empty suits of armour emerged from the portal, brandishing all sorts of medieaval swords, clubs, axes, etc. Arthur himself decided to take a physical appearance, while forming two flintlock pistols out of the remaining mist tendrils that surrounded him. Nothing like personally commanding your own army of unliving automatons.

[Hercules]

Hercules had just finished dealing with the last heartless when he turned around to see something genuinely horrible. His eyes went wide as he watched the darkness overtake Meg's statue, and something nightmarish be born of it. He took a step back, shaking his head as it all happened.

"Meg... no..." he whispered. After all this time, all this way he had come, he had failed! He balled his fist up and shook his head a bit, gritting his teeth. "Megara! You gotta fight this!" he said, getting into a defensive position, ready for anything that came. "Your heart is good! I know that! Don't let the darkness manipulate you!"

He didn't know if his words would reach her, but he did know that if he had to fight... he wouldn't throw a single punch. He'd duck, evade, and run if he had to, but he couldn't bring himself to attack the woman of his dreams no matter what. What hero would? His aura glew a little brighter, his spirit rising to the challenge of rescuing his love. If only he could share his light with her, maybe...

[Secondary Characters]

Kim gritted her teeth lightly when the dark queen began turning the statue into... well... something else. Looking around for a quick way to gain the upper hand, she spotted the staff not too far away. She looked to it then to the queen before making a break for it. Lucky for her, MeadowSong was distracted with her stroke of "brilliance" and gave Ms. Possible all the time she needed to clear the distance and pick up Faerie's Wrath.

"Not if I can help it!" Kim called out when MeadowSong declared that it would be Megara that would fight them. Holding the staff up, she tried to summon what power she could to do... well... something! Unfortunately for her, she didn't know a thing about magic and this was entirely pointless. Instead, she held the staff and looked to Hercules. Maybe he knew something? After all, he was glowing like a techno club...

"CATCH, BIG GUY!" Kim Possible cried out, then threw the staff like a javelin through the flames over to the Demi-God. Lucky for her that she took a year or two in track-and-field! She looked to MeadowSong again, holding up her fists. "Now, how about you show me if you can fight like a girl!" she said, ready to rumble.

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

As the witch cackled the pool of ooze-like darkness continued to bubble and pop while the new creature was born. When at last a seemingly humanoid figure emerged, its head down, some familiarities emerged, one being the rosey-pink gown she wore--now covered with tears, dark patches with twin flickers of yellow light here and there--and the immaculate curls.

"Ngrhk-bble-eez," gurgled the creature in a Chthulu-esque manner as it rose from its kneeling position, its head raising slightly; its neck began twitching here and there while emitting painful-sounding snaps and cricks. The skin on this new meg was a glossy coat of fresh darkness...and when she opened her eyes this blackness fused with a bright yellow glow. A terrible grin--one that seemed to drool with lust for the human heart--shown through this glow, presenting two rows of dangerous fangs.

"Ngrhk-bble-eez," it attempted once more before throwing up its clawed hands and charging forward with cat-like speed, slashing horizantally and vertically with erratic swings hoping to tear open his ribcage.

In the distance the Black Queen stared this down with a look of victory in her eyes, until that whelp handed over the sceptre to the demigod and set her sights back on the queen.

"You insolent little girl," MeadowSong intoned darkly. "You will regret ever having met the radiance that is MeadowSong, the Mistress of Darkness!"

She cackled once more and lowered herself down nearer to the ground floor, her own claw-like fingers stretching to be ready for battle.[/glow]

[Hercules]

Hercules took a few steps back, staying out of Meg's reach while he tried to reach her. "Megara! You gotta snap out of this! It's me, it's Hercules! Don't you remember?" Herc dodged this way and that, easily getting around the madcap swings of an insane woman. This was nothing compared to a hundred-handed-one or even a hydra, but what made this fight dangerous was the simple fact that this was MEGARA he was fighting. He couldn't just pound her face in, he had to save her.

"Come on, Meg... please remember! It's Wonderboy!" he tried, using her little pet name for him since they first met. "Yes, I'm always this articulate!" he added, hoping a memory from when they first met might help. It didn't seem to be working just yet. Luckily, the few strikes she managed to get in were dulled by his aura, which protected him to an almost godlike degree.

Suddenly, he heard another voice. "CATCH, BIG GUY!" came from across the room, and as Hercules turned his attention that way, a staff came flying through the air like a spear. Lucky for him that Phil had drilled him so many times on catching these things. He snatched it up easily and crouched into a ready position with it... well... a ready position for a spear. This wasn't a spear, this was a staff. He blinked, noticing the dull end of the Faerie's Wrath only seconds later.

"What am I supposed to do with this thing???" he called back, quickly switching his grip to parry one or two more strikes from the crazed Megara/heartless hybrid.