Brightness and Darkness
Chapter Five: Fight for Freedom

Pairings: Sora/Kairi, Riku/OC, Cloud/Aerith, Leon/Yuffie, and maybe Riku/Sora

Author's Note: I'm having so much fun writing this! AH! Anyways, this chapter has some fighting in it, but I can't write fight scenes so don't hate me for it. I think this story sucks anyways.
Silver-hair Angel: What did you say? gets out the shockers
Uhhh…hehehe…gulp Remember to review! Hope you guys enjoy this chappie! It's one of the more dramatic/climatic ones if I do say so myself. runs away from Silver-hair Angel

¤-¤

"No you fool!" Kaze yelled and she hurled forward after Kairi. Kaze was too late to catch her younger friend before both of the adults vanished in the portal of darkness.

Kairi landed on the other side of the portal belly first. She couldn't see hardly anything except the revolving colors of black, blue, and purple. Ahead was nothing but pitch-blackness. The screams of the two children were the only sound that reverberated through the area.

"Laiktu! Kioko! Hold on!" Kairi screamed frantically, picking herself up off the ground. She ran in the darkness, following the sounds of the two children. She caught sight of the four figures carrying the children and picked up speed, but was slammed back onto the ground.

The four hooded figures turned around as the apparent leader stood at the front of the group. Raising his hand to his midsection, he suspended Kairi in air, not enabling her to move of her own accord. The man lifted his hand higher and, as he was balling up his fist, pressure was applied on Kairi's ribs, making it harder for her to breathe. Gagging and choking sounds issued from Kairi as the pressure exerted on her became greater.

"MOM!" Kioko screamed in agony.

Laiktu squirmed with all his might but was unable to break free of his captor's hold. He couldn't help but wonder why his mother wasn't here to save him. Did she lie about her worries and love for him? He pinched his eyes closed and tried again to break free of the man's grasps, but his efforts were in vain.

Kairi winced in pain as more and more pressure was applied onto her ribs. She knew that her body couldn't take much more of this torture. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her magical abilities as hard as she could, but nothing was happening. Why weren't her powers working?!

"Now," The leader sneered, "you die!"

"NO!" Kioko wailed. She pinched her eyes closed, not wanting to see her mother's death. Laiktu still refused to give up and was fighting for his freedom, and hoping he could free his Aunt Kairi before her demise.

A brilliant flash of light followed by an explosion vibrated through the air. Kioko let out an ear-piercing scream as tears fell down her face at the loss of her mother. Laiktu's eyes were wide and staring with disbelief. His aggression grew as he let his fist of fury fly, striking his captor in the head. Laiktu looked straight ahead and finally noticed that the leader was still standing up, but a gaping hole was in his stomach.

"Ouch," Laiktu whispered and grimaced. "One hell of a way to die. That had to hurt."

Kairi yelped and she came crashing down on the ground, coughing and gasping for air. She rolled to the side before the dead body of the leader landed on top of her. Kairi's whole body felt like a ton of bricks. It was hard for her to lift a limb. How was she going to save the children when she needed saving herself?

"Who dares interfere?" Kioko's captor asked.

"I do."

All eyes turned towards the right to see Kaze, her hand still extended with smoke rising off the tips of her fingers. Her face held no emotion and her eyes were as cold as ice. In her other hand, she held some sort of metal staff.

"MOM!" Laiktu was overjoyed at seeing his mother.

Kioko squealed with delight and clapped her hands. She was relieved that both her mother and Kaze were alive. Now they were going to be saved.

Kaze lowered her hand and raised her staff, pointing at the dead leader, "If you three don't want to end up like your buddy over there, I suggest you drop my son and niece before this gets really ugly."

Loud whispers spread amongst the darkness as the captors stared down at Kaze, who had slipped into a fighting stance.

"It is the heiress!" The one who held Laiktu spoke.

"We cannot fight her! She is the master's daughter. Although not as powerful as he, she is still very deadly," Kioko's captor's voice said in a shaky voice.

"He would surely have our heads if we were to harm his daughter!" The other figure spoke.

Laiktu's captor nodded down towards the children and stared at his comrades, "He will have more than our heads if we do not return with these two children!"

"ENOUGH!" Another voice boomed. A dark portal appeared behind the captors as another man stepped out. He had long white hair and his no datchi was sheathed at his side. "What is taking you fools so long?"

"Lord Sephiroth!" Laiktu's captor bellowed, but was unable to bow because of the squirming children. "The one on the ground behind us followed and while we were trying to exterminate her, the heiress--"

"The who?" Sephiroth turned his head slightly to the right and smirked evilly at the sight of Kaze, who was running over to help Kairi. He turned back towards his men. "Give me the brats."

The hooded figures did not hesitate in following Sephiroth's orders as they handed over the ever viscous Laiktu and the crying Kioko. The swordsman looked down at the two children and sighed. Why did his master choose him to be the babysitter?

Laiktu squirmed and let his fists start flying again, "Put me the fuck down before I kick you in the mouth so damn hard your teeth get lodged in your fucking throat!"

I hate children! Sephiroth was getting a little agitated by the boy's threats and the girl's cries that he did the only thing he knew to do. He twisted both children's heads painfully to the side, rendering them unconscious at the moment. Heads drooping and bodies limp, Sephiroth turned to leave with Laiktu under his right arm and Kioko under his left arm.

"What of the woman and the heiress, my lord?"

He looked back at his men, "Exterminate them both. And no questions, just do it!"

"NO!" Kairi screamed out. She tried to get up, but her body just wouldn't let her move.

Kaze growled and stood up quickly. There was no way she was letting Sephiroth take Laiktu and Kioko. Grabbing her staff she slung it out ahead of her, and, with great speed, she took off running, leaped into the air, and did a crafty front flip, landing right in front of the captors while catching her staff with her right hand. She didn't miss a beat. The hooded men looked wildly around for her, but did not have her in their sights.

Sephiroth turned around to leave, but froze when Kaze stood right in front of him, her staff was unwavering as she held it under his throat. The only thing Sephiroth could do was smile. These people amused him so much.

"To take them, you have to go through me first," Kaze growled, her voice not in the least hesitant.

Sephiroth laughed morbidly. He knew Kaze wasn't afraid. That's why he admired her so much, "You're father would be disappointed if I returned empty handed." He took a step to the side quickly, but Kaze slid to the side in front of him, blocking his escape yet again.

"I'll give you to the count of five, Sephiroth, to drop my children or I'm going to blast another hole straight through your trachea," And this threat Kaze would fulfill.

"Sadly," Sephiroth began, "I'm at no liberty to fight you as of yet, dear Kaze. But, I shall see you in the future that, I promise you. Until then, have fun fighting the dark army."

"What?!" Kaze's shout echoed as Sephiroth leaped up and disappeared into a portal overhead. Kairi screamed as she tried to wriggle from underneath the dead body she was trapped beneath.

Kaze's sole intention was to retrieve the children, and she readied herself to jump into the portal after Sephiroth. But before she could jump, several Shadow heartless arose from the ground, tackling her and causing her staff to slip from her grasp. She tried to break free, but more and more kept pilling on top of her.

Feeling some strength regaining in her limbs, Kairi used all of the upper body strength she could muster to push the leader's dead body off of her. She sat up only to find Kaze entangled in a web of swarming heartless.

"Kaze!" Kairi cried, scrambling to her feet. She had barely regained her balance when the hooded figures enclosed her into a tight circle. Kairi's hands clenched into fists as they threateningly cracked their knuckles.

Kaze meanwhile was frantically trying to unglue herself from the rapidly growing numbers of the shadow heartless. "Damn you…GET OFF ME!" Kaze's anger had bubbled over its peek. Although no one could see, her pale blue eyes morphed slowly into an inky black as her body was surrounded by a dark aura. "Ultima!" One by one, the shadow heartless began to explode, their dust scattering everywhere.

The hooded men turned around and gasped. "She knows the dark arts!" he cried.

Kairi, sensing opportunity, balled up her left fist and smashed it into one of the men's jaw. If my powers can't work, I'll use what I was born with!  He clutched his cheek as he fell to the ground.

The remaining three figures swerved around and attacked Kairi. She dodged as one of their legs came flying towards her face.  She ducked down and grabbed his leg. She threw it over her head, sending him reeling backwards. Kairi sprung up just to have one of them backhand her hard. She landed on her side with a sickening crunch. The three figures towered over her, ready to strike.

Before Kairi could shield herself, Kaze's figure appeared right in front of her, and flew towards the hooded figures, staff raised in the air. Kairi watched as Kaze flipped backwards and delivered a forceful kick on one of the men's head. She landed in a crouching position, waiting for the others to strike. When they did not make a move, Kaze swung her staff, hitting the remaining men in the legs and knocking them backwards.

Kairi was amazed by her friend's sudden increase in speed and strength. She could also feel Kaze's magical abilities had taken a great increase as well. All she could do was sit there and watch Kaze fight. When did she become so powerful? She's so fast I can hardly keep up with her.

Kaze moved to the side quickly and used her staff as a pool stick, shoving it into one of the men's stomach. Before giving him a chance to recuperate, she swiftly whacked him across the side of his face. As he was falling to the ground Kaze jumped onto his shoulders and sprung in the air. Staff spinning above her head, she was ready to deliver another forbidden magic attack, when a body slammed into her from behind. She crashed into the ground, but quickly jumped up. Her lip was bleeding slightly.

"A new breed of Heartless!" Kaze gasped as she was surrounded once again. These Heartless weren't the small shadows, but they were tall, like humans. Blue veins outlined their bodies. Kaze frowned. I don't want to use the dark arts again. I can't afford to…

Kaze crossed her arms in front of her chest and concentrated hard. She closed her eyes as a bright red aura surrounded her body. She gripped her staff with both hands she leveled it in front of her body horizontally.

"The flame consumes all…" Kaze whispered as she let loose a fury of Firaga attacks. She didn't waste another second before jumping back into action. She fought with all her strength, but the number of Heartless kept increasing.

Kairi watched as Kaze was hit in the face and kicked to the side. She was worried for her friend, but knew Kaze would be okay when she heard the familiar scream of a magical spell.

"Blizzaga!" Kaze's body glowed a light blue as her ice spell covered most of the area. But just as she was about to cast a thunder spell, the shadow Heartless jumped on her from all sides, pinning her down to the ground.

"KAZE!" Kairi shouted. She picked herself up off the ground and started running towards her friend, but was thrown back again by the hooded figures.

"We shall let the Heartless kill the heiress, but you…we will kill you slowly and painfully," One of the snickered.

Kairi closed her eyes. Where are they all coming from? I have to do something! Why can't I fight? Why aren't my powers working? I'm going to die here. Oh Sora, I'm so sorry. Our daughter…

"Dammit Kairi, do something! Remember what I taught you!" Kaze shouted to her friend. She was frantically trying to get the Heartless off of her again. I can't use my powers again. It'll increase my chance of being taken over…

Kairi's fists were clinched at her sides as her knuckles turned white. Tears slid down her cheek as she was feeling powerless. She didn't want to die. She wanted to get Kioko and Laiktu back, but what could so do? Kairi stood up, anger sketched all over her face. Her eyes hardened as she did the only thing she knew to do…she screamed. A mighty scream of all her bottled up emotions: rage, fear, and love. She didn't take notice that a white light hand formed around her hand and materialized into the mightiest weapon of all.

Keyblade…

Keyblade…

Keyblade…

Kaze heard Kairi's scream and immediately noticed the Heartless had stopped attacking her. She stood up, looking in the direction of the Heartless, and gasped. Kairi was standing in the middle of everything, the Ultima Weapon gripped tightly in her right hand. Her head was bowed and eyes closed tightly. She wasn't even aware of her danger. The Heartless didn't bother with Kaze anymore. They were more interested in Kairi and the Keyblade…

"God dammit!" Kaze swore. Kairi wasn't trained to use the Keyblade. "Why the fuck does the bad shit always happen to us?"

Kaze gripped the middle of the staff tighter as it shrunk to a smaller size and disappeared. She lifted her arms over her hand and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Her body once again was surrounded in a dark aura as she reopened her now inky black eyes, but before she could complete her spell, Kairi's head shot up and her glassy eyes popped open. Kaze blinked as her eyes returned back to normal.

"What the--?" Kaze whispered.

Kairi gaped at her surroundings. Realizing that she was under the Keyblade's control, she let its power manipulate her as she spread her legs apart, and thrust the Ultima Weapon in the air, gripping it with both hands. A brilliant light surrounded her body.

"Purest Light! Shine forth!"

Kaze held up her hand to block the immense force of the light. She heard the screams of the Heartless and the hooded men as they were all destroyed, disappearing in the light. Once the power died down, Kaze moved her arm and stared at Kairi, who was still holding the Ultima Weapon high in the air.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Kaze whispered. She couldn't believe Kairi did that. The girl had shown great potential when they trained, but never this. She took off in a light jog towards Kairi, but broke out into a full out run when Kairi passed out, her body drooping as it hit the floor. "Damn it, Kairi!" she swore as she approached Kairi. Just then, the ground began to rumble, nearly knocking Kaze off of her feet. "Son of a bitch!" she cursed loudly. She dove towards Kairi as the rumbling increased violently.

"Wake up! We have to get out of here!" Kaze said and shook Kairi's shoulders. Kairi's eyes remained close as Kaze shook her hard once more. Kaze looked over Kairi's head to see the floor of the strange vortex they were in was shattering like thousands of mirrors, closing in on Kaze and Kairi, who was still out like a light.

"I'm going to kill you for this you bastard!" she cried, shaking her fist in the air as the floor beneath them crumbled. Kaze lost her grip on Kairi and let out a roar as she was going under, Kairi's lifeless body sharply falling with her.

¤-¤

Author's Note: Oh my God, you guys, I'm so terribly sorry! The chapter was getting so long; I had to cut short! I know I promised to bring in Kaze's brother, but, from where it stood, the original chapter five would've been like fifteen pages! EEK! I'm so sorry! But the next chapter will pick up where this one left off, I promise!!

§§

Reviewer's Corner

Harry: They worked together…sort of, right? Don't worry; Kaze and Kairi do team up with other valuable allies and save Laiktu and Kioko, not to mention Sora and Riku. Well…I don't know if I'd call it saving or not. 'Sacrificing' is more of the word I'm looking for.

Linear: Yes, it was a shocker for me to write that too. Kaze showing emotions towards anyone is hardly rare. Wait till you see how she acts towards her brother and father. Hehehe…you thought she was cruel to Riku and Kairi, you should see how she acts towards them. Laiktu does have a mouth on him, but who do you think he gets it from? Riku or Kaze? I'd say both.

Tiger5913: I'm so happy you weren't offended! glomp Overreacting can be a bad thing sometimes! I was afraid you would've been offended by my comment. You don't have to apologize; it's okay, really. The story will most likely stay Sora/Kairi, just a little hint of Riku/Sora, if that's okay.

§§

Next Chapter: Laiktu and Kioko get to see the face of their captor…and the voice from the secret place. Meanwhile, Leon and the others are doing a check on the Dark Depths when something strange happens to the portal. Stay tuned!

Winter Peacecraft-Yuy