Okay, I have to tell you guys I'm really proud of this chapter. I meant to put it up before Christmas break, but ran out of time. The good news is I re-vamped it, so it's a lot better than it was. And Chapter 8 finally introduces Dark. Yay!

Chapter 7

Night Raid

Mika woke to the sound of shattering glass. She jolted up, looking wildly about for the cause of the disturbance. Distantly, the sound of shouting could be heard. She pulled the covers off and let her feet hit the thick, plush carpet. Satoshi had insisted she use one of the guest rooms instead of staying on the couch, and she hadn't complained. She tiptoed carefully across the room. Her feet made no noise as they sank deep into the carpeting. From the door, it was easier to hear the sound of running feet and shouting. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

"Thieves?" she wondered. But she knew immediately that it wasn't thieves. Thieves wouldn't make so much noise. Thieves usually didn't break in while the owner was home. It was the Powers. They'd found her. They'd lost her once before, she'd slipped through their fingers, but they were coming back for her now. They were coming to take her away. Mika felt her heartbeat speed up. These were the men who'd killed her father.

She wanted so badly to hurt them, but she also knew that they were much more powerful than her. There was no way she could win by rushing out and attacking. Just as she was wondering what she should do, the door was flung open, framing briefly the man who stood there. A glowing black nimbus surrounded his head. For a moment, their gazes met as the Power took in the scene. Mika stood there in nothing but a pair of pajamas she'd confiscated from the ruins of her home.

"In here!" the Power shouted. For an instant, Mika froze. He was blocking the door, blocking her escape. There was no where to go. And now more were coming. But as he raised his hand, darkness forming in his palm, something snapped inside Mika. And as that darkness was sent hurtling towards her, she put her hands out and a shield sprang up around her. It repulsed the attack. It wasn't a perfect shield, or a strong one. It shattered with a bright pulse of light when it was hit. But it was a shield.

The force of the blow to her shield pushed Mika backwards fast enough that she couldn't keep her feet under her, and she landed sprawled out on her back. She started to pull herself hurriedly back to her feet as the Power advanced towards her.

"Stay away from me!" she shouted, hurtling a picture frame that she picked up from the dresser at him. The picture frame exploded in a ball of darkness. Mika threw herself at the bed as another ball of darkness flew towards her. It missed. She scrambled across the covers and ducked down on the other side, just in time to be missed again.

"Stop stalling," the Power said, frustrated. "You can't escape."

"I can sure as heck try," she replied, from the cover of the bed.

"Fine." He started around the bed. Mika crouched on hands and knees. She knew she couldn't win, but she was determined to hurt him in the process. He rounded the corner.

"For my father!" Mika shouted, as she pushed off from the carpet and crashed head-first into the Power. Taken by surprise, the Power lost his footing. Both went down. Mika dug her knee into his stomach and clawed at his face with her nails, leaving long bloody gashes. The Power screamed. It wasn't enough, though. It would never be enough to repay what they'd done to her father. Something in Mika snapped, and the pent-up rage she'd been suppressing bubbled free, blinding her. She became a monster, existing only for the blood of the man beneath her, pressed into the carpet. She wanted to feel his flesh shred beneath her fingers and watch the blood ooze out, soaking into the carpet. Turning everything red. Tears ran down her face, dripping onto her claw-like hands, even while she panted with the need to rip the Power apart.

The Power's fist came up, slamming into the side of her head. She went tumbling, landing in a heap a little ways away. It didn't matter. She hardly noticed. Everything was so numb. The pain. The world. She tried to wipe the tears away, but stopped short. Her hands—they were covered in blood. She was covered in blood. Her hands were shaking.

The Power stood up, his face a red mask. It was running in little red rivulets down his face, into his eyes. So it was hard to see. But he saw the girl, lying brokenly on the carpet, staring at her hands. He approached.

Mika knew she had to get up; she had to get out of there. But it was so hard to move. She got her hands under her and pushed up, weakly, because her arms were trembling. But once she was on her hands and knees, she couldn't get any farther. It was like trying to push against a brick wall. Too late. It was too late. She could feel the shadow of the Power standing over her.

A hand was pressed to her head, a hand that was glowing with the darkness of the Living Flame. Her will dissolved. She collapsed back to the ground, panting.

And as she lay, trying desperately to move paralyzed muscles on the blood-stained carpet, she felt the Power grasp her and pull her up.

xxx

Satoshi's eyes flew open in the darkness, knowing instinctively that something was wrong, seconds before he heard the crash. He was out of the bed and across the room before you could blink. On the floor below, people were shouting. Half way down the stairs, he came face to face with one of the intruders: a Power. He'd known they'd come for Mika, but he'd hoped that they wouldn't figure out her location so quickly. Obviously, it was too late for that.

The Power saw him and froze for just a moment. Satoshi knew he couldn't turn and make it back up the stairs in time, not when his momentum was carrying him down. So he threw himself forward instead. The Power started to shout out, started to lift his hand, but not in time. Satoshi slammed into him and they went down, crashing into the coffee table behind.

The coffee table screeched in protest under the initial blow, but didn't break, and the pair slid to the floor. Both Satoshi and the Power took a moment to reorient themselves, but the Power recovered quickly. He couldn't get up because Satoshi was on top of him, but he could gather darkness into his hand. Satoshi noticed. Quickly, he knocked the Power's head sideways, into one of the table legs. The man grunted and fell limp, the darkness in his hand dispersing. Satoshi knew he wouldn't stay unconscious long and got up, running towards the room Mika was sleeping in. About that time he heard her scream.

"Blast!" he muttered. He darn near threw himself into the kitchen in his hurry, hit the linoleum (A/N: a type of flooring, can be slippery if you aren't wearing shoes) and immediately tried to stop as he realized with a shock that there were two Powers in the room. But his feet slid on the linoleum as he tried to stop and he went down, hitting the floor behind the counter. A ball of dark fire went streaking overhead, right where he'd been standing moments earlier. Fortunately the counter ended up between him and the Powers, effectively blocking them from hitting him.

"Come out, boy!" one of the Powers shouted. Satoshi crouched down behind the counter as the Power approached. He could hear the Power's footsteps on the linoleum.

Counting these two made a total of three Powers altogether so far. Three Powers was a few more than he'd reckoned on. Even with the one he'd knocked out earlier, these two were going to be a formidable pair, and the first wouldn't stay unconscious for long.

One of the Powers rounded the counter, one hand held up and bathed in a dark glow. But Satoshi made sure to stay out of reach of that hand. He grabbed the man's feet and pulled them out from under him. The Power went down with a startled yell. But as Satoshi went after him, the Power caught Satoshi by the arms. Satoshi immediately felt energy drain out of him as the man's glowing dark hand gripped his forearm tightly. Everything went slightly fuzzy. Satoshi twisted his arm free as quickly as possible, but the contact had cost him. His reflexes were a little sluggish as he struggled to keep the Power's hand away. But as absorbed in the struggle with the Power as he'd become, he'd neglected to check on the second one.

"Insolent boy!" Satoshi was caught off guard as a ball of pure light hit him in the side. He shook his head, trying to clear his vision. The other Power in the room had maneuvered for a clear shot; his hand was bathed in white light. Even as Satoshi looked up, he was hit again. His vision going fuzzy, he scrabbled off the Dark Power and took a couple unsteady steps away. Even though he knew it was no use. He couldn't get away now. The Power hit him again. Satoshi staggered and caught himself on the sink as the world started to spin.

By now the Power he'd knocked to the floor was up and attacking him, too. Satoshi couldn't fight both of them, plus the one that had just walked in the door, looking murderous for having been knocked out. Satoshi didn't have the energy to stand up under the combined attacks and started to sink towards the ground. But as he did, he felt ropes of Living Flame bind him tightly. He was lifted up, the floor receding beneath him, onto the counter and tied there.

"Stay out of our way, boy," the Light Power said. "Our quarrel is not with you." At that point, another Power walked into the room, half dragging Mika along with him.

"Four of them!" Satoshi thought. "And I can't even let Krad out or they'll realize who I am." As Mika struggled weakly against the Power, her eyes met Satoshi's.

"I've got her," the Power said. "Let's go!" He began dragging Mika towards the door, followed by the other two Dark Powers. Satoshi struggled beneath the oppressive weight of the restraints, thrashing about and lashing out, twisting violently. The last Power, the Light Power, walked over to him and stood for a moment, watching him. All of a sudden Satoshi felt the restraints tighten. He gritted his teeth but said nothing.

"You sure are quiet," the Power whispered. He reached out and grasped Satoshi by the chin, forcing the blue-haired Tamer to look at him. "I was told a Guardian was protecting the girl. Where is he, I wonder?" The Power let go of his chin to run the nail of one long finger down his cheek, leaving a long trail of blood in its wake. Finally, the Power turned and left.

xxx

Mika's world was fuzzy. She fought as best she could, but every movement was like wading through quicksand, it seemed so slow. She couldn't even push sideways in her mind to draw the Living Flame—she could only brush futilely at it again and again, each time feeling her mind slip past it. Why couldn't she think straight? Why was she so weak?

The one who had her, the Dark Power, was dragging her down the driveway towards a car parked there. One of the other Powers opened the door and her Power maneuvered to get in while still holding on to her. One of his arms was around her waist, while his other hand was pressed to her head. Mika had a vague idea that it was the darkly glowing hand pressed to her head that was hurting her, draining her of energy.

With her one free hand, she clawed him, raking her nails across his face. The Power jerked back, hissing, raising his hand to his face.

Freedom! With his hand gone she could suddenly feel the Living Flame again. It was there! She pushed sideways and lashed out. Light filled the vehicle, blindingly bright. There was a series of explosions, someone yelled, and when the light died away, the vehicle had a new sunroof.

"Can't you control one little girl?" the Light Power, the one driving, yelled. But Mika had broken free of the Dark Power's grip. One of the others tried to catch hold of her flailing legs, and she kicked him in the jaw. The resounding crack was audible.

"Catch her, you fools!"

"Get your hands off me!" Mika shouted. "Murderers!" The Power she'd raked with her nails was swearing vehemently (A/N: furiously). The one she'd kicked finally caught hold of her and dragged her up into his lap. Mika felt the strength and drive abandon her again as his hands (filled with the Dark Power) brushed against her temples.

"Hush, Mika," he whispered, shielding her from the wrath of the others. "Peace! We will not harm you! You are one of us!"

"You killed my father!" Mika tried to shout, but even that took too much effort. It came out as a breathy whisper. "You killed him! You can all go to ----!" She pushed pathetically against her captor.

"Your father didn't understand. He would have ruined everything. We had no choice. You don't have to fight us like he did! I know you must be scared and confused about your new powers, but we can help you! We can teach you. Let us help!"

"I'd rather eat dirt!"

"Give it a rest," one of the other Powers said. "She's as stubborn as her father, that traitor." At that point the whole windshield disappeared in an explosion of light. The Light Power slammed on the breaks. The car came to a screeching halt after spinning two hundred and seventy degrees. And standing there, a white and gold silhouette against the endless sea of shadows, the White Guardian, Krad.

xxx

Krad stood in front of the stalled car, his arms crossed, furious. No one got away with hurting Satoshi, kidnapping someone under his protection, and ruining his home. Absolutely no one. Of course, facing four Powers at once was probably close to suicide. Krad was willing to take on the odds. Especially if it meant saving Mika.

The driver opened his door and stepped out, facing Krad. Krad recognized him as the sole remaining Light Power. The other three would be Dark Powers. He wasn't sure which was worse.

"At last we meet," the Power said, stepping away from the car. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Release the girl," Krad replied.

"Why?" the Power asked. "What is she to you?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Could," the Power smiled, "doesn't mean you'll get an answer."

"Are you going to release her or do I have to make you?"

"Why do we have to fight?" the Power asked. "Join us, Guardian. Our master is most interested in you. He will reward you for your service."

"I serve no one."

"Pity. Yet still we have our orders. You should be grateful. Our master has ordered us to bring you back alive." The other three Powers stepped out of the car, one still holding Mika.

"I'm not going anywhere," Krad replied, throwing a ball of pure light at the man. It was too bad he managed to get a shield up in time, effectively dispelling the attack. The Powers wasted no time in counter-attacking, and Krad was forced to take flight to avoid the three-way assault. Only three-way because one of the Powers was still restraining Mika.

"You can't fight all of us, Guardian!" the Light Power called. In the air, Krad dodged their attacks.

"Watch me!" he replied, plummeting downward. As he fell he threw light down ahead of him, and with each successive attack the shield barricading the Power beneath him weakened. "Come on! Come on!" he thought, watching the attacks dissipate harmlessly on contact with the shield. He was getting awfully close. Finally, seconds before his downward momentum would have hurled him against shield, it shattered into millions of pieces and Krad nailed the Power, sending him flying backwards into a nearby building. It cost Krad, though. During those few seconds of defenselessness, one of the other Power's attacks had hit him. He was lucky. They weren't using their full power, because they didn't want him dead. So rather than disintegrating half his body, the blow only knocked him out of the air and weakened him.

He erected a shield.

"Finally deigned (A/N: consented or stooped to a lower level) to join the rest of us mortals?" one of the Powers asked. Their attacks were dissipating harmlessly against his shield as he advanced towards them. The Dark Power took a step back but was hemmed in by the wreck of the car. He formed a shield as Krad advanced, but that was just what Krad wanted him to do. Their shields met. There was an awful hissing noise. The light of the one shield and the darkness of the other exploded outward, plunging one half of the street into impenetrable shadows and the other into blinding light. Then the shields shattered.

Krad attacked the still-stunned Power, dropping him easily with a gaping hole in his side. The Power wasn't dead, but he stayed down, gripping his side in bloody hands.

Sudden light hit Krad dead in the small of his back. It sent him hurtling forwards. He brought his arms up to protect his face and twisted to change his momentum into a roll, coming to a bruised and bloody halt several feet from where he had been. The concrete tore the skin off his arms, leaving a bloody pulp, and shredded his wings into bits of downy fluff. With tremendous effort, Krad got to his feet. He was panting and shaking from the exertion and the blow. Still, he started toward the last Power, the White Power. He shielded himself as the Power attacked, but the shield was weakened by the damage he'd sustained and collapsed under the single blow, shattering out in razor-sharp pieces. He took the next blow to his shoulder. He staggered, but he took another step forward.

The Power was trembling from strain and breathing in ragged gasps.

"Why don't you ever quit!" he yelled, his voice hoarse. Krad ignored him and took a step forward. His shaking was getting worse but he was only feet from the Power. Just a little farther… He couldn't even erect a shield now, but light was glowing faintly in his hand. The Light Power attacked again, the strength of it diminished by his exhaustion. Krad couldn't move anymore. He took the blow, took one last shaking step forward, putting himself directly in front of the Power, and felt his exhaustion take him to his knees. The concrete bit into his skin, but he didn't notice. He was beyond caring.

Breathing was hard. Just remaining upright on his knees was hard. Facing what was coming was hard.

The Power raised his violently trembling hand, still glowing with light, in the beginning of one final assault.

"Even Guardians… are not invincible," he gasped and Krad was pleased to note that he, too, was barely remaining standing. Then the hand started to fall forward and Krad saw the ball of light start to form. It was over. His body was trying to heal itself, to replenish the energy that had been exhausted, but it couldn't do that fast enough. He couldn't withstand another attack. They'd have him. The Powers would have him and they'd have Satsohi, too. And Mika. And there was nothing he could do…

xxx

To DevineDragon: You asked about this line: "Satoshi had started to wake up by the time they got home. He wasn't too happy about it, either"... Sorry, it's been a couple chapters and I guess I just sort of expected people to piece it together, my mistake. Satoshi has been unconscious for over 2 chapters now, don't forget. Remember Krad knocked him unconscious when he saved Mika. No offense, but that's really got to hurt. In chapter 4, I mentioned what had happened from Krad's point of view: "Satoshi was beginning to stir in the back of his mind, groaning slightly from the effect of the mental beating he'd taken." So Satoshi isn't too happy about waking up because he has one heck of a headache! Ouch.
 Okay, next question: Are they falling in love wither her (Mika)? Hmm, I think the next chapter will answer that. I'm really bad at romance, so tell me if it sucks.
 Sorry, I can't tell you who the person in the dark room is, although I expect most people have guessed. Yes, Mika's father is the traitor. And the weak one was the one Krad killed. Wow, long response!

To Anne: Nice to meet you Anne! Yep, Dark's in it, but that's next chapter!

To Sakurafairy: Hello again!