I'm pretty confident that this chapter's bumped it up to 'M' now…

Disclaimer: No, just no.

-A-D-

Garden of Snow and Ice

Nightmare

She was in the streets of Radiant Garden, fighting against a never-ending tide of Heartless. Crowning Flame was glowing brightly with light, and all around her were her friends and allies. Soronmon flew above, raining watermelon-sized icicles down upon a small group of Armoured Knights. Ohtarmon yelled, "Deciding Swing!" from somewhere close to her right, and Kairi's peripheral vision picked up the sight of his glowing mace obliterating a Neoshadow that had jumped towards him. A claymore shot a Morning Star up in the air.

Sora flashed in front of everyone else, intoning, "Shine your Radiant Light, Cosmos!" Remembrance flared with light, and its form changed completely to become that of Cosmos, the double-sided Kingdom Key. Sora swung his weapon in a horizontal slice in the direction of an Invisible. It paused for a second, then it started to shake wildly and shafts of golden light spewed out from it for a moment before the Heartless exploded entirely, three Keyblades radiating with light having cut it down from the inside.

Kairi shouted, "Get lost!" and swung her Keyblade down. At once a flare of white flame coursed down the cobblestone road, the flames consuming all the Heartless in its path. Hearts rose up into the sky, and Kairi ran on, seeing that the path ahead began to branch out and narrow. It would be too tight a squeeze for all of them.

"Split up!" Sora said, his three summoned Keyblades hovering around him. "Naminé, you and Riku take Kia, Tidus, and Anar and go down that way. Ohtarmon, Roxas, and I will go down this way with Olette and Wakka. Kairi, you, Yuffie, and Soronmon keep going up the middle. Hayner, Pence, Jeff, and Isil will hold the rear."

"Got it," Kairi said, nodding at Sora. He nodded back at her and they split up into the groups Sora suggested. Barely ten seconds after breaking up black mist formed on the ground in front of Kairi and Yuffie and four hulking Invisibles floated there, blocking the girls' path.

"You guys can't have the Garden!" Yuffie roared, leaping ahead of Kairi. The ninja vanished in a puff of black smoke and reappeared almost instantly behind the furthest Invisible. Flower of Wutai shot out and stabbed the Invisible in the back of the neck.

Almost immediately after Yuffie had used her ninjitsu, Kairi flash-stepped from her position to directly in front of the lead Invisible. Crowning Flame flared, and Kairi sliced her Keyblade diagonally across the chest of the much larger Heartless. Darkness spilled out of its wound and it clutched at its chest with its free arm as Kairi fell back to the ground, now holding her weapon out defensively in front of her, reminding herself that two uninjured Invisibles were still there.

"Blizzard's Bite!"

Reflexively, Kairi leapt back as the frosty image of Soronmon's head crashed to the ground, encasing the one Invisible that couldn't dodge in time in a prison of ice. Now there was only one that hadn't been hit by the Keyblade Wielders and digimon's quick attack pattern. That one came forward fast on Kairi, swinging its sword in broad, powerful arcs meant to hack the Princess to pieces. Crowning Flame met it at every turn, rising up to block the sword's initial strike first. Kairi pivoted on her right foot, turning her body aside and parrying the second swing harmlessly to the side with only one hand on the Keyblade's handle. She returned the second hand and faced the Heartless fully again, this time shuffling slightly to her right while bringing her arms around to have Crowning Flame dip towards the ground at Kairi's left, once more stopping the Heartless' sword.

She smiled. It had over-extended itself on that last attack, and was now bent too far forward. With a yell Kairi sliced her Keyblade forward, cutting the Heartless in the chest as she had the last one. She did not relent, unleashing another two quick slices into the Invisible and leaving it fading into darkness. Kairi turned quickly to regard the other one that she'd wounded, already manoeuvring her Keyblade into a position to defend against the expected attack, but found Yuffie standing there in the midst of the Heartless' released heart rising into the sky. The two girls nodded at one another before continuing onwards, pausing only to quickly finish off the one Soronmon had frozen.

A Shadow jumped out at Yuffie from nowhere, and the kunoichi almost casually whacked it into oblivion with a single swing of her Keyblade, never pausing as they ventured further into the heart of the city swarming with the creatures of darkness. Another intersection was up ahead of them, this one blocked by no less than six Charr Heartless. From this distance, Kairi could make out two Blade Storms, one Hunter, two Flame Wielders, and an Overseer.

"If they survive this, get the Overseer," Kairi told Yuffie and Soronmon. She waited to see both of them nod at her before pausing and beginning her favourite chant. "Sing now the hymn of the phoenix, the eternal fires of heaven and of hell; let Tartarus be forever lit by your falling effigy. I stand at the maw of the dragon of the skies to open its blazing gullet. Let the flame of the heavens rain down upon my enemy. Flame Style 22: Skyfyre!"

Kairi's back arched and her extended forwards. Clouds came into the sky above them, flashing as if crimson lightning was racing concealed inside of them. Fireballs began to descend from them, fireballs the size of full-grown cows. Yuffie and Soronmon continued towards the group of Charr Heartless that held the intersection along with a number of smaller and weaker types, including three Blue Rhapsodies. Only at the last second, with the fireballs from heaven careening towards them, did the Heartless look up.

There was no time for them to run. Bestial roars and squeaks issued from the impact zone for nigh on six seconds, barely more than half of the spell's duration, before all that could be heard was the roar of the descending meteors and the bone-shattering impact of them on the cobblestone road. Flames still burned and smoke rose from the intersection as the sky cleared of the murderous clouds Kairi had summoned, but no Heartless remained to come out and challenge the two Keyblade Wielders and Champion-level digimon.

"I think ya got 'em Kairi," Yuffie said, smiling approvingly at the younger teenager.

Kairi nodded her head, allowing herself a bit of pride. "Yeah."

Soronmon gasped from above and the fires in front of them suddenly died out, being replaced by three Scorpionkin. Kairi's eyes widened in sudden fear and the princess took a step back, swivelling her eyes around between the six scythe-like arms and the three bulbous mouths on the ends of the scorpion tails that would spit out deadly acidic poison.

"What are—" Yuffie started, taking in the sight of the large Heartless before the wall of a building next to them suddenly collapsed, revealing eight Charr Hunter Heartless standing with bows outstretched, flaming arrows nocked in the bowstrings. The one in the lead roared aloud from its black head, and all eight fired at the surprised pair.

"Reflega!" Kairi screamed, forming the honeycomb shield around them just in the nick of time. The lead's arrow still made it through, and it tore at the side of Yuffie's face as the missile glanced her cheek. The raven-haired kunoichi cried out in sudden pain as her blood began to flow from the cut and the nearby skin turned pink, but it was nowhere near as horrible as what would have happened had the arrow been one inch closer.

"Polar Chill!"

Kairi looked up as Soronmon flapped her wings, sending a volley of icicles at the team of Heartless that had just assaulted her and Yuffie, but Kairi could care less about the Charr, what mattered more were the three Scorpionkin that were blocking the intersection. "No! Soronmon!"

Her cry had barely reached her digimon before three blobs of acidic purple goo spewed out from the bulbous stinger-mouths of the Scorpionkin. There was no time for Kairi, Yuffie, or Soronmon to do anything besides turn to look at the approaching attack in horror.

The great ice eagle screeched in agony as all three of the blobs struck. One hit the middle of her left wing, eating through her feathers and flesh and laying bone bear to the biting cold wind. Another landed square between the wing joints at her shoulders, and the third sizzled into the many of feathers on Soronmon's upper neck. Kairi's tortured cry of her partner's name was joined by her grief and panic-stricken thoughts of, Not again, not again, not again!

What remained of Soronmon glowed with bright golden light and the Heartless and city around them turned to mist in a red-clouded landscape with no distinguishable floor or ceiling. Kairi and Yuffie looked around for a brief moment before the glow that was Soronmon's wretched body shrank down to the size and shape of a digiegg. Kairi's heart lurched and she started for the egg, but she'd barely taken three steps towards it when a staff plunged right through it, shattering the digiegg into a million bytes of grey data that would never be reconfigured to soar in the skies again.

Maleficent held the staff.

The Dragon Knight of Radiant Garden and the Wielder of Night stared, petrified. The sorceress said nothing to them, but her mouth opened and she let loose a cackle that stole all the will from Kairi's limbs. Kairi's limp grasp let go of her Keyblade, and Crowning Flame clattered to the ground before vanishing in a shimmer of light. Suddenly the two Wielders were grasped from behind, their arms wrung behind their backs and manacles clamped over their wrists. Kairi instantly felt drained of all her strength, and could barely cry out as whatever had captured her shoved her to the ground, kneeing her back and grinding her face into the floor.

"Did you honestly think you could defeat me?" Maleficent asked at last, her amusement at the defiance Kairi had previously shown clear. "Allow me to show you your folly." There came a sound so familiar to Kairi that it brought her hope: the sound of a Keyblade being summoned. Then pain came to her as her hair was pulled back with a jerk, and Nobody's Pride passed in front of Kairi's eyes to rest against her throat.

"Naminé?" Kairi asked in a fearful whisper.

"What have you done to Riku you bitch!" Yuffie screamed from next to Kairi. The red-head couldn't see who held Yuffie in a position mirroring her own, but she could just make out Way to the Dawn against the raven-haired kunoichi's neck.

"Why, they're right here," Maleficent purred, waving her staff.

"KAIRI! Yuffie!"

"Naminé! Riku!" Kairi groaned, the knee on her back digging into it painfully. The flaxen-haired Wielder of the Moon appeared in front of Maleficent, being held spread-eagle in the air by cords of darkness. Her chainmail had been removed, as had the rest of her armour, leaving her in a white slip and pants. Riku was beside her, his wrists and ankles also bound in black cords. While Naminé's head was up and her eyes were looking at Kairi in a wild and frightened state, she at least seemed unharmed. Riku, however, had his head bowed, and his limbs were limp; blood ran in lines down his arms and dripped from his feet.

"What did you do to them?" Yuffie shouted. "Riku! RIKU! Answer me!"

Riku made no movement to Yuffie's desperate plea, and Maleficent spoke again. "The boy has been punished for his insolence," she told them. The sorceress chuckled. "There was nothing more satisfying than seeing him cut down by his own Keyblade."

"Riku no…" Kairi whispered as Riku still made no further movement. She was too horrified to cry, even as she realized that he was dead.

"Kairi run!" Naminé shouted. "Yuffie! Run! Live! Find Sora and Roxas! Get o—!"

"SILENCE!" Maleficent spat. She raised her staff, and a bolt of darkness burst into Naminé's back. The blonde screamed before retching in agony, nearly losing the contents of her stomach. Sweat exploded onto her skin, and her breathing became haggard and heavy. "I think it's time I taught you a lesson you won't soon forget," Maleficent declared. She turned her head, and a figure approached from out of the red mists.

Kairi's blood froze. "Hey doll," said Anti, the demonic-looking Heartless lewdly grinning at her.

"Where's Sora?" Kairi whispered. "Sora! SORA PLEASE! Where are you?"

Anti, Maleficent, and whoever had both Kairi and Yuffie held down laughed. Tendrils of black darkness rose out of Anti's thick pectoral muscles, and snaked their way around Naminé's body. "Wha-what are you—EEE!" the Princess screamed as one tendril slipped under her shirt and tore it off, revealing the girl's bare chest. Instantly the same tendril and another began attacking her breasts, stroking and prodding them, circling around the girl's rapidly hardening nipples. "No! Let go! Don't touch me there!" Anti only laughed.

Suddenly aware of what she was witnessing, Kairi tried to look away only for the edge of Nobody's Pride to be placed against her neck again and her hair jerked back painfully once more. "You will watch this," said the voice of the one holding her down.

"Kairi… don't look," Naminé pleaded as tears already started to fall from her eyes. The girl gasped suddenly as another tendril went down the front of her pants. Naminé tried to cross her legs, only for the tendrils holding onto her ankles to tighten and force them to spread.

"You bastards!" Yuffie tried to snarl, though it came out closer to a whimper. "Let her go!"

Maleficent cackled and Anti gave Yuffie a look that said, "Once I'm done with her, you're next". Fabric tore and suddenly Naminé was naked before them, two tendrils still massaging her smaller breasts and another forcing its way into her mouth. Silent tears poured down from her closed eyes.

Two new tendrils reared up, and plunged.

-A-D-

"NAMINÉ!"

Radiant Garden's auburn-haired heir bolted upright, sweat rolling down her neck and forcing her pink tank top and flannel pyjama bottoms to stick to her skin. She realized that she was in near-complete darkness, and threw her right arm out, calling for light. Her heart answered her, sending out a ball of light as big as her fist that glowed with a torch's intensity. She only had to shield her eyes for a moment before Kairi was able to take in her surroundings. A four-poster queen-sized bed with pink blankets and white sheets that had been half chucked off, a bedside table with a reading lamp, a vanity with several beautification items on it, a writing desk, an armoire, the door to a closet, the door out of the room…

She was in her room in Talerith Castle.

Kairi placed a hand to her racing heart and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. A nightmare, that was all it had been; just a dream. She hadn't been fighting in the streets of Radiant Garden, she hadn't seen Riku, killed and his body paraded in front of herself and Yuffie; she hadn't seen Naminé getting tentacle-raped by Anti; and she hadn't helplessly watched Soronmon die again and her digiegg sma—

Where's Menelmon's egg! Kairi thought, her fear and panic returning. I'm sure I had it right here beside me! Looking over the edge to her left, Kairi sighed in relief as she spotted the digiegg in the light of her spell, lying perfect on the red carpet of the floor. It must've rolled off during her sleep. Kairi scooped the digiegg up with her good right arm and embraced it, giving it a light kiss near its top while rocking the egg back and forth.

It wasn't real. It hadn't happened; it was just a dream. "Just a dream," she whispered to herself.

But was it? Was it really just a dream, or was it a vision of a possible future like my other dream or some new trick of Maleficent's? Did she send this to me to break me or did she… No! Shut up Kairi, you're psyching yourself out! Maleficent didn't do this, just my overactive imagination.

"I need some water," the Wielder of Light muttered aloud. Gently removing the last parts of her blankets and sheets from her body—she must have been kicking them off in her sleep—Kairi got out of bed, keeping the digiegg close to her body.

Her bare feet padded down the carpet in the middle of the hallway, and Kairi glanced out the windows in the dimly lit corridor. The sky was clear of clouds, and the remaining stars and moon shone brightly onto the world. Kairi shook her head as she gazed upon the moon. I'm being silly, Naminé wouldn't lose. You can't fight the moonlight.

Humming escaped her lips as she continued down to the bathroom, but even after draining a glass of water and splashing her face, she still couldn't get Soronmon's disintegrating body or Naminé's shriek out of her head. "Maybe I should tell Sora," she wondered. Glancing at the digiegg, Kairi shook her head. "No," she whispered to her reflection, "Sora has enough to worry about. Even though nothing's happened on Ohana yet, it's only a matter of time. I can't go waking him up just because of a nightmare." She looked at the digiegg again.

"Kairi-REOW!"

Indigo eyes were covered by slender newly-calloused hands. Within moments they were wet. She thought she'd cried herself out already. "What's going on with me?" she mumbled.

"Kairi?"

Him. Of course it was him, with his towering frame and thick, knotted arms. They opened slightly, and Kairi was within them. Her heart felt like it was breaking, tearing open the old wounds that she thought had closed; the wounds left over from the deaths of her parents. His embrace was so strong now, so caring, so much like her father's when she'd made it home after the Organization had kidnapped her.

"I heard you screaming," Garda whispered. Kairi stiffened, suddenly afraid that her former master was going to reprimand her and tell her that she should be strong or that dreams shouldn't scare her or something of the sort, but nothing could have been farther from the truth when he continued. "It's okay. You can cry in front of me; you don't have to try to be a proper little princess for me."

And just like that, all the pressure that had been slowly building on Kairi's shoulders since she'd spent her first night in the castle and begun to learn more about her past and heritage was gone. She could be herself, without fear of repercussion. And right now, all that she, Kairi, wanted to do was cry.

Ovan Ramius quietly closed the door behind him as his goddaughter sobbed into Garda's white shirt.

-A-D-

Yeah… thoughts, comments, suggestions?

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