When You're Strange

Chapter 5

Battle not with Monsters…

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"Explain to me why we landed near a mountain top again?" Kairi asked, vigorously rubbing her arms.

"We can't just land in the emperor's palace, and this is the closest place we can land to it," replied Sora, the cold barely affecting him. "Don't worry. It's no too long a hike and, there's a village not too far from here. We can stop there if you want to rest."

"Please."

"Sure we shouldn't have let Leon and the others take you home?" Riku asked with a smirk. "Doesn't look like you're cut out for the whole 'adventure' thing."

"Riku?"

"Yes?"

Kairi walked up to Riku and got into his face, their noses inches apart. Her eyes were harsh and her mouth was curled in a devilish smile. "I have no problem giving Sora a good smack every now and again. What makes you think you're safe?"

"Better watch it, Riku," Sora warned. "She hits pretty hard."

Riku raised his arms in defeat. "Ok! I get it! But it doesn't make my concern any less true."

"That may be, but teasing me about it won't help," Kairi responded, and continued down the path.

"No more teasing. I promise."

Kairi looked back and nodded with a smile. The three continued down from the summit. As they began to descend, they began to notice a billowing black cloud of smoke coming from further ahead. The three exchanged worried glances before quickly sprinting down the rest of the way. They arrived to see the small village burnt and destroyed. Not too far away, they could hear the sounds of battle. They quickly followed the source to see a young woman fighting off a group of Heartless.

"Mulan!" Sora cried. The woman turned quickly to see them, then rolled away from an enemy strike just in time. The three rushed to her side, summoning their weapons.

"Sora? What are-?"

"No time! Talk later!"

Sora raised his keyblade, casting magnega and pulling in all the Heartless into an inescapable field. Kairi positioned herself under it and cast Holy, effectively eradicating all the opponents in one blow.

"Well that was quick," Kairi smirked.

"Wanna bet?" Riku asked, pointing to the small army of Heartless that appeared in front of them. "My turn. Dark Ripper!" Riku suddenly vanished, then reappeared facing the opposite direction. A wound opened up on each of the Heartless and dark light began emitting from them, followed soon after by a set of explosion.

"When did you learn to do that?" Sora asked with a gaping mouth.

"What?" Riku smirked. "Did you think I was just sitting around while you were training Kairi? Better watch it, Sora. You've always been trailing behind me. At this rate you'll never be able to keep up."

Sora growled in response.

"Ok, ok, stuff it you two," said Kairi, pushing the two apart. "Honestly, I can smell the testosterone coming off you."

Sora folded his arms and snorted.

"Um…" The three turned to the woman, now standing with her weapon sheathed. "Is an introduction too much to ask for?"

"Yeah!" joined in a small creature appearing on her shoulder, wearing a smug look on its face. "Just 'cause you're an old friend don't mean that my girl doesn't get the respect she deserves!"

Sora chuckled. "I wouldn't think of it, Mushu."

"Yeah, that's right. Now come on, I want the whole deal. Give her red-carpet treatment."

"Mushu, a regular introduction is fine," the woman insisted.

"Come on, girl! You're a national hero! You gotta milk it for all it's worth!" the dragon insisted.

"One of the marks of true hero or heroine is humility."

"Oh, alright. But I better be see some respect, or else!" he warned Sora.

"No problem. Guys this is Fa Mulan and Mushu. Donald, Goofy and I fought along side them when we joined the army to fight Shan Yu and his Heartless. Mushu is her family guardian, and obviously a dragon. Like he said, she's a national hero recognized by the emperor."

Mulan blushed a bit. "Actually, it's Li Mulan now."

"'Li?'… You mean?" Mulan nodded, somewhat embarrassed. "So you and Captain Shang finally got together, huh?"

"General Shang, now."

"No kidding? Looks like things have been pretty good since four months ago. Nice armor, too."

"Oh, this? It's a gift from the emperor," she explained. The breastplate was dark green and rimmed with bright red. The shoulder pads were also red, with a black design of a dragon painted each. The gauntlets and shin guards were also colored in a similar pattern. "After all, a royal guard has to look the part, right? So, who are your friends?"

"This is Kairi, and that's Riku."

"'Riku?' Aren't you the one that forced his way into the palace and took down Shang?"

"Uh, well…" Riku stuttered. "You see… It was… yeah…"

"Look, I understand why you did it. I can't say I forgive you, but I'm not holding a grudge." Riku sighed with relief. "Look, we can't stay here, or more Heartless are going to show up. I'll lead you guys down the trail. We should be safe once we're inside the walls of the palace." The three nodded and followed suite, not making any attempt to strike up a conversation.

They quickly and cautiously hiked down the mountain trail. After several minutes if hiking they turned a corner to find another small army of Heartless. Unlike their previous encounter at the mountaintop, however, the group before them consisted entirely of Assault Riders and Bolt Towers, the two highest classes of Heartless native to this world.

"Now, what?" Kairi whispered.

"We have to fight," answered Mulan. "This is the only path we can take. We should be fine if we attack as a group."

"No. You stay back. I can take them myself." Everyone turned to stare at Sora, who smirked at Riku. "Come on. You can't expect me let you show me up and not do anything about it."

"Sora! This is no time to-!"

"Let him go, Kairi," Riku insisted, wearing a smug expression on his face. "Let's see if he can really handle himself."

"Riku, you…! Ugh, fine! Go ahead and risk yourself for your stupid macho man contest!"

"Thanks!" replied Sora, and rushed out from behind cover at the creatures in front of him.

"I was kidding!" Kairi screamed after him.

The Heartless instantly caught sight of him and charged. Sora waited until he was few feet from his enemies, then activated a Drive. The force of the transformation sent the ones in front flying back into the rest of the group. Sora's normal black attire was now a deep red and a fleur-de-lis on the end of each sleeve and pant leg. The Kingdom Key in his right hand was now replaced with the Decisive Pumpkin, and in his left the Rumble Rose was now present. He took but a moment to take a ready stance then dashed forward, striking with blinding flashes. Within seconds, every last Heartless was gone. Sora deactivated the Valor form and turned back to his comrades, specifically Riku, and smirked.

"How was that?" he asked. Kairi, Mulan and Mushu showed noticeable surprise, but Riku simply grinned while walking toward him.

"Not bad," he answered. "… For an amateur." Sora locked eyes with his friend and rival, neither dropping their confident looks.

"Um… is this… you know," whispered Mulan.

"'Normal?'" Kairi finished. Mulan nodded. "Totally." Kairi calmly strolled over to the two and grabbed them by the ears. "Let's go boys," she said while pulling them along. "We've got more important things to do." Sora and Riku vehemently complained while Mulan and Mushu laughed. Soon Kairi had stopped with the painful action and everyone had arrived at the walls of the palace. Mulan gave a short knock on the imposing doors and a small piece of it slid aside, revealing a pair of eyes.

"Who are they?" asked the man behind the door.

"They're help," she responded.

"What about everyone else?" Mulan sadly hung her head in response. "I understand."

"Tell Shang that we need an audience for three in the emperor's throne room as soon as possible."

"Yes ma'am."

The sliding piece closed and the main doors began to grind open. The four quickly stepped through as soon as there was enough room, and afterward the doors were closed and locked with a large piece of wood. Sora, Riku and Kairi gazed around to see soldiers attending to cannons and catapults.

"I need you guys to wait for a moment," said Mulan. "We need to prepare a proper audience with the Emperor." The three nodded and waited as she headed up the stairs to doors of the palace. They kept quiet, giving a short salute to any soldier willing to be the same. They didn't wait long before a pair of soldiers informed them that the Emperor was ready for them. They were led to the doors of the throne room, which the soldiers opened. Inside was the Emperor sitting patiently on his throne while Shang and Mulan stood on his right and left, respectively. The soldiers closed the doors after the three had entered and they all sat on three pillows that had been set up for them.

"Welcome," greeted the Emperor. "It is good to see a familiar face, as well as some much needed assistance, in these troubled times."

"It's good to be here," answered Sora, "though I wish it was for a different reason."

The Emperor nodded. "I would like to make absolutely clear that I am indeed thankful for your arrival, but I would still like to ask as to why you have come. We were expecting aid from another."

"Who?"

"I must confess, I have forgotten her name, but she would be unmistakable if I were to meet her again. She was a young woman with a lively personality."

"Yuffie," the three friends answered simultaneously, smirking.

"Ah, yes. She had paid us an unexpected visit about a month ago. She informed us that she was from another world that was nearing the completion of its repairs, and as such was willing to offer their help to other worlds."

"That'd be Radiant Garden," Kairi added. "I was born there."

"You are…?"

"Kairi."

"Thank you, young lady. Yuffie had arrived not just inform us of her intentions, but also to give us a method in which to contact her and her allies. Shang?" The general stepped forward, presenting Sora with a fist-sized object wrapped in silk. Sora unfolded it, revealing a small transmitter of some kind. "She told us it could be used to contact her group at any time for any nature of problem. We have tried not to abuse this privilege, but the numbers of the Heartless have now grown beyond what we can handle on our own."

"We happened to be in Radiant Garden at the time you sent the alert," Riku explained, while Sora folded the transmitter in its cloth and handed it back to Shang. "We decided to come ourselves so the rest of the committee could focus on other things."

"You would be…?"

"Riku. We, um… Kinda met before… Rather informally…"

"I remember. You were the rude young man who forced his way into my palace, defeated my personal guard, and all for the purpose of informing me of an upcoming threat to my kingdom."

"Um… yeah… about that, you see-"

The Emperor raised a hand, silencing him. "I thank you, but next time please use a less violent method."

Sora, Kairi, Shang, and Mulan all snickered.

"Shut up," Riku muttered. "Anyway," he continued, "what can you tell us about what the Heartless have been up to?"

"They've been amassing an army, and are closing in on us from all sides," answered Shang. "Small groups have been popping up here and there, but the main force is steadily moving forward. And that's not the worst of it."

"Remember that dragon Heartless that we dealt with the last time you were here?" asked Mulan.

"Yeah, that's the one Riku warned us about," answered Sora.

"Well, now there's three of them, and they're leading the charge."

"'Three?'"

"Even worse, we've already had some considerable losses. We've lost too many soldiers, so our only option is to wait here and concentrate our forces."

"Well don't you worry," said Sora, standing up with bravado. "You can leave this to us. We'll handle it, so you don't have to lose anyone else!" Sora turned to Riku and Kairi, who both stood up and nodded.

"Your willingness to aid us is comforting," The Emperor said, "and I do believe that your assistance will assure us victory. However, I must insist that we combine all our forces. Your suggestion to minimize our casualties is appreciated, but I do not think it will be possible for you five to handle this situation alone."

"'Five?'" Kairi asked.

"You didn't think we were just going to sit on the sidelines, did you?" answered Shang.

"You three and my two guards are the best we have," explained the Emperor. "I would insist that you work together."

"Follow us, you three," ordered Mulan. "We need to work out a plan."

Sora, Riku and Kairi gave a short bow before leaving the throne room with Shang and Mulan…

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Kairi's slowed her breathing. She was doing all she could to calm herself.

"Are you alright?"

Kairi turned her head to see General Shang.

"I'm ok," she answered. "I just never expected to be part of an all-out war."

"Look, if you want I can have-"

"No," she said firmly. "I can, and I will do what is asked of me. I'm not sitting this out or taking an easier job."

Shang smiled and grunted affirmatively. He liked what he heard. Kairi responded with a short nod and went back to focusing on her assignment.

Just focus, she thought. Just do what you need to do. You're not the pretty face that needs to be rescued. Never again. Time to prove you can fight with the best.

"I hear them coming," muttered Shang. "EVERYONE READY!" he ordered. Cannons and rockets were aimed at the gates and torches were lit in response. It wasn't long before there was banging at the gate. The sound quickly increased in frequency and volume as the massive walls began to shake. Within seconds the door began to splinter, as did the sturdy wooden bar. Kairi gripped her weapon tighter, attempting to relieve herself of stress. The gate finally shattered open, and the Heartless began to pour into the courtyard.

"FIRE!"

Cannonballs and rockets flew through the air, thundering with deafening force. Heartless were blown left and right, and dispersing with just as easily. However, after the first volley was over the Heartless were still streaming in with great numbers.

"PREPARE THE NEXT VOLLEY!" shouted Shang. "SORA, LET'S GO!"

Sora and Shang led the charge with Mulan, Riku, and Kairi close behind. It was only them, as planned. In order to keep casualties at a minimum it was just going to be them, the best fighters available, fighting off the Heartless between volleys of cannonballs and explosives. The plan wasn't perfect, though. They didn't know just how many Heartless there were, so there was the chance of running out of ammo, or just being overtaken. Worse yet was the chance that the three dragon Heartless arrived before the other Heartless had been eliminated. So far, though, things were proceeding as planned. Sora insisted on keeping Kairi out of the most dangerous part of the plan, but she was intent on fighting like everyone else. It wasn't just her refusal to sit on the sidelines, she was almost eager for this, if a bit nervous. Besides, she needed prove in Sora's eyes that she could handle herself. As she rushed toward her first enemy, an Assault Rider, her training began to flash in her mind.

"If you can, let your enemy make the first move," Sora told her. "It can be a bit dangerous, but it's usually safer than just rushing in."

The Assault Rider raised it halberd and swung it downward. Kairi stopped just in time and the weapon came crashing down just in front of her feet. She quickly rushed forward and stabbed at its torso, knocking it back a few paces. Before it could react she swung her weapon around her head and stuck its left side. In response it charged forward and Kairi barely managed to sidestep out of the way. She quickly swung the keyblade up and got her enemy square in the head. The Assault Rider vanished, releasing its trapped heart. Out of the corner of her eye Kairi noticed a Shadow jumping at her. She quickly responded with a horizontal spinning strike, destroying it with one hit. Kairi was surprised with her own strength, as none of the Heartless took any more than a few well-placed hits to defeat. Kairi smirked, her confidence growing. It was just then she remembered another part of her training.

"Even if you're winning you can't get too confident. All it takes is one wrong move and you're through."

"You're one to talk about overconfidence, Sora."

"Same to you, Riku. But seriously, don't let it get to your head."

"On the flip side, if you're not confident enough you could lose your nerve," added Riku. "No matter what the situation keep thinking 'it's a tough fight, but I can still win.' That should do the trick."

Kairi dropped her smirk and went back to focusing on her opponents. She continued to attack her enemies with the keyblade, using Holy anytime she felt too crowded. Between her attacks she managed to catch a few glimpses of her friends. Sora and Riku were doing the best, as expected, switching interchangeably between their keyblades and magic. Mulan was doing the same, with Mushu giving some fiery support. She wasn't faring quite as well as Sora and Riku, but she was holding her own. Shang, despite having no magic or substitute for it, was doing remarkably well with just swordplay. He wasn't doing the most damage, but he certainly holding his own.

Right then Kairi heard a lone explosion. She turned back toward the army to see a lone firework had gone off in the air. That was the signal.

"FALL BACK!" Shang ordered.

Kairi cast one last Holy spell, giving her room escape the hordes of Heartless and retreat to the relative safety behind the artillery. Once again smoke, fire, and deafening booms filled the air, raining down projectiles. But no sooner had the smoke cleared that the Heartless rushed again, nearly upon their prey. They were streaming in too quickly, and there was no chance for another volley. It was right then Sora took action. He quickly activated a drive, the force of the transformation forcing back his enemies. His normally black attire was now blue, with his sleeves and pant legs decorated by a flame design. In his hand now was the Photon Debugger, and his feet now hovered above the ground. Sora quickly cast Magnega, pulling in a large group of the Heartless before casting a finishing Thundaga strike. The group of bolts eliminated the enemies caught in the field, as well as halting the advance of several others.

"Go!" he shouted. "I can hold them off while you pull back!"

Shang nodded. "GRAB THE ROCKETS AND RETREAT TO THE PALACE GATES! LEAVE THE CANNONS!" The soldiers quickly followed their orders as Mulan and Shang assisted. Riku, however, was advancing toward the oncoming horde. He summoned his energy into his left hand and let loose with Dark Firaga, unleashing a ball of violet flame. It exploded violently on contact with its target, throwing anything near the blast every which way. This gave him the opportunity to begin hailing on his enemies with weapon. Intent on not being left out, Kairi also charged the horde, firing Pearls as she advanced. When she was within range she wildly swung her weapon, destroying or damaging enemies left and right. After she had forced her way deep enough into the crowd she cast Holy, obliterating nearby enemies and giving her ample room to move.

"What are you doing!?" shouted Sora, who was continually casting the same Magnega/Thundaga combo. "I said I'd hold them off! You two get where it's safe!"

"When you say 'you TWO,'" Riku grunted in response with his keyblade destroying another enemy, "you mean 'Kairi,' right?"

"Did you really think I'd sit out after all this?" Kairi shouted, casting Holy once again. "I thought you said you weren't gonna force me to sit on the sidelines anymore!"

"That was before the plan went all to hell!" Sora shouted back, shooting magic bullets from the tip of his weapon as he bought time for his magic to recover.

"Lame excuse!" Kairi yelled back, firing a Pearl orb point blank at a Bolt Tower, destroying it.

Once again, a flare went off to signal that the army was ready. The three comrades quickly forced their way out of the enemy ranks, retreating up the steps to the palace.

"FIRE!"

Another wave of rockets came streaming down upon the dark army. By this time Sora's Wisdom form had been depleted, and all three friends ducked down to ensure that the projectiles soared harmlessly over their heads. After the last explosion had finished the three turned to see the damage that had been done. The rockets had indeed destroyed a large number of Heartless. More importantly, however, the end of the enemy ranks was now visible.

"We can end it now," muttered Kairi, taking the opportunity to rest a few moments.

"Yeah," agreed Sora. He stood up; taking a deep breath and letting out a sharp exhale. "I think I've got one more Drive left in me." He look down toward her and extended his hand. She quickly took it and he pulled her to her feet. Riku was already up by this point. "Sorry," he said to Kairi. "I keep forgetting how strong you are. I promise, no more forcing you to stay out of the fight."

"As if you could," she grinned, taking her stance.

"Yeah, well, the important thing is I'm not going to try to anymore. Now lets finish this!"

Sora activated a Drive once again, unleashing a flash of light. When Kairi opened her eyes she expected to see him in a different colored outfit with another keyblade. Instead she was horrified to see that he was no longer wielding a weapon and nearly everything about him was now black. His clothing, hair and skin were now jet-black, and fumes of darkness rose from his hands. The most disturbing feature was his eyes, which were now glowing yellow orbs, just like those of a Heartless.

Before Kairi could make any sort of reaction Sora sprinted forward with unbelievable speed, ramming into the horde like a battering ram. Several Heartless went soaring into the air and vanished before they hit the ground. Sora continued his attack, wildly clawing at the enemies in path as he continued forward. With each swing of his arm a slew of Heartless vanished. Within seconds he had forced his way into the center of the group and then proceeded to slam both fists into the ground. A massive shockwave emanated from the impact and chunks of the stone courtyard flew up into the air along with scores of Heartless. Before any of them had hit the ground dark tendrils shout out from underground. They lashed out at their targets, suspended helplessly in the air, eliminating them with inhuman ease. In moments every last enemy that had been thrust into the air was gone, long before any had even begun to fall back to the earth. The tendrils retreated back into the earth and Sora quickly spun around to face the half of the remaining Heartless closest to the palace. He quickly swiped the air in front of him, a seemingly pointless gesture with deadly consequences. Every Heartless in front of him was terminated by a burst of dark energy that erupted from the earth in a deafening boom. Before that attack had even finished he turned toward the rest of the horde. A hailstorm of dark bolts shot from his palms and within seconds every last Heartless was gone. Kairi stared in disbelief, constantly having to remind herself that what she just saw wasn't a dream… or a nightmare.

"Wh-What is this?" asked Mulan, who had now worked her way down to the bottom level of the courtyard along with the Shang and the rest of the army. Sora stood motionless, not even turning around to look at them.

"Be careful," warned Riku. "There's no telling what he'll do the way he is now."

Suddenly Kairi remembered when Sora had been turned into a Heartless and how she had helped to bring him back to his old self. She dashed forward before Riku or anyone else could stop her, determined to somehow fix the situation. Before she had taken more than a few jogging steps she now found herself face to face with Sora, his yellow orbs peering at her just inches from her face. Somehow he had covered several yards of distance in an instant, so swiftly that it looked as though he was always in front of her. Kairi froze, half expecting to have her guts ripped out of her in the next second, but Sora made no movement.

"Kairi, get back here!" Riku yelled. Kairi motioned for him to wait, not taking her eyes off of Sora. She gulped.

"Sora," she softly began. "It's me, Kairi. You have to remember me."

Sora took a few steps back, quizzically cocking his head to the side like a confused animal.

He's still in there, she thought. I can reach him.

Out of nowhere an uproarious laughter rang through the air. Kairi looked up und was horrified to see none other than Odd himself perched on top of the castle walls. He was clutching his stomach with both arms and keeling over with laughter. Tears were streaming down his because of whatever he thought was so funny.

"Oh my god! This is too rich!" he shouted between fight of laughter. "It looks like for all those bigoted epitaphs even the hero of light isn't above a little darkness!" He once again began laugh uncontrollably.

"You!" Kairi screamed, stepping forward. "You did this, didn't you?! What've you done to-!?"

Sora's arm shot out in front of her, stopping her from moving forward. His eyes were focused intently on Odd as he growled menacingly.

"Moi?" Odd asked holding a hand to his chest, his fits of laughter finally subsiding. "Honestly, I'm flattered…" Suddenly he was gone. "…But you give me far too much credit."

Everyone spun around to see him standing on one of the cannons. Odd has just gone from one end of the courtyard to the other. And since there was no presence of a portal that could only mean that he done this by pure speed. Odd leapt over the army, landing only a few yards away from Soar and Kairi.

"I'm afraid that this all your boyfriends doing," he continued, wiping the tears from his eyes. Sora quickly stepped in front of Kairi, protecting her, a motion that put her at ease despite his current form. Odd began giggling incessantly.

"What the hell is up with you!?" shouted Riku, readying his keyblade.

"Isn't that cute? Even when he's almost a Heartless he still wants to protect you." Odd's genuine happy smile quickly became more deranged and threatening. "And since it doesn't really look like the gears are turning in the top floor, I'd guess that what's dictating his actions in this form is his emotions. Namely, wanting to keep you safe…" Odd cracked his neck and his knuckles, "…and wanting to beat the shit out of me. Which is oh-so-fine with me."

"Oh yeah?!" said Kairi, stepping forward. "Well he's not the only you have to-"

Before she could finish Sora grasped the hood of Kairi's outfit and tossed at Riku, who barely managed to catch her before falling to the ground.

"What the hell, Sora!?" he shouted

"Looks to me like he wants to fight me himself," Odd answered. "Perfect." Odd snapped his fingers and from them emanated a force akin to that of a sonic boom, forcing everyone except Sora flying backwards. With a wave of his hand an impenetrable barrier sectioned the courtyard in half, cutting off the two combatants from everyone else. Odd raised his arms, summoning a dark aura eve more intense than what he had summoned in his previous bout. Sora to an offensive feral stance, growling even more menacingly than before. Odd hunched over in a sort of predatory stance. If anyone else could've seen the look in his eyes, it would've sent shivers down their spine.

"Don't disappoint me, kiddo."

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Ugh! I will be quite honest here, this chapter was a grind to write. You'll probably notice from the lower quality of writing that my "creative juices" were running low. Also, I've been busy with finals and things like that, not to mention moving. Honestly writing this chapter didn't become fun until the talk with the Emperor. Also, I'd like to apologize for some of the poor fighting sequences here. I'm not really good at describing fights were there are large groups of people fighting each other. I'm more suited to small matches, especially one-on-one fights, where I can describe every motion with intricate detail. And if you hadn't guessed yet, you'll be seeing a lot of that in the next chapter.

Anyway, the title comes from an old quote (I believe from Frederick Nietzsche) that goes "fight not with monsters, lest ye become a monster." I figured it was as good a title as any for a chapter when Anti-Form gets unleashed. God, I LOVE anit-form! So freakin' awesome! Anway, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up in a few weeks. 'Till then!