Disclaimer: I don't own KHII, as you may have guessed.

Note: Well, since Kairi and Namine are basically the same person, I find them pretty interchangeable. Namine is like the embodiment of Kairi's soul, so I guess in a way Axel is just crazy about who Kairi really is on the inside… Yea my stories have been getting weird and confusing lately, I've been reading too much… Anyway, I'm really happy people are still reading this! I didn't want to give up on it.

Chapter Five

Despite being awake nearly all night and unable to sleep since leaving Destiny Islands, Kairi stared at the wall ahead with wide eyes. She had no real idea what time it was, since there were no windows in her prison, but she guessed it was getting toward evening again. Demyx sat silently against the opposite wall, he hadn't spoken for a long time and if Kairi had been in a better situation, she would have worried about the ex-Nobody.

His eyes were distant, detached from reality in an almost startling way. She swept her gaze over his hunched form and tried to guess his age. He couldn't be much older than Riku, now that she really got a good look at him. To her, he just looked like a scared kid caught up in a war that was quickly spiraling out of control for either side.

She finally found her voice, and had just parted her lips to try and comfort him when heavy footsteps sounded outside the door. Both of them looked up in fearful curiosity as the door was thrown open violently.

Kairi's eyes opened wider in shock, and Demyx hissed slightly.

"Xaldin, what the hell now?"

Kairi stared over at Demyx in shock, he had instantly transformed from a scared teenager to a vicious young man that seethed loathing for the dark figure in the doorway.

A cruel grin crossed Xaldin's face as he gazed down at Demyx, then over to Kairi. A deep laugh resonated in his chest and Kairi felt herself draw up against the wall in fear.

"We've decided to put you two to good use." He said simply, and stalked through the doorway reaching for Kairi.

She pressed herself up against the wall, scrambling to her feet and ready to make a run for it if she could slip past him. Immediately, Demyx was in front of her in a battle stance, though he had no weapon. His hands balled into fists and Xaldin laughed again.

"Oh Demyx, you've never won a fight in your life."

Faster than Kairi's eyes could trace, Xaldin's hand was around his throat and he lifted the boy up into the air. Demyx held very still for a moment, and just as a sneer appeared on Xaldin's face his feet lashed out and caught the much larger man in the chest.

He loud out a surprised cough and dropped Demyx, who landed gracefully on his feet and immediately jumped on him, catching him in a tight headlock.

"Run, Kairi! Get out of here!" He yelled, and she stared in horror for a moment before darting out the door.

She heard a loud crash behind her and heard Demyx cry out in pain, but didn't stop as her loud heartbeat began to drown out the sounds. Running footsteps pounded behind her, and she had just turned to glance back when something hit her in the shoulder and a pained shriek burst through her lips.

The force of the blow took her off her feet, and she hit the floor hard. Rolling onto her side, she struggled to sit up, clutching a hand to her shoulder. Her hands were shaking and she realized all at once that blood was running down her arm. Pain seared through her then and she stared up in horror as another black-cloaked figure appeared over her.

A smug laugh cut through her senses, and as she stared at the figure they reached up and lowered their hood, and Larxene sneered down at her.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" She asked sharply, not actually waiting for an answer as she grabbed the arm her dagger was stuck into and hauled Kairi to her feet. She screamed in pain again and suddenly Xaldin was standing just down the hall with Demyx's unconscious body over one shoulder.

"Hmph, better get started before these two come up with any more ideas." Xaldin said with a grin.

Larxene smiled sweetly at him and began walking briskly down the hall, ignoring Kairi's cries of pain as she jerked harshly on her injured arm.

x:X:x

"So what do you think they're planning?"

Axel looked up from the map to meet Riku's heavy, aquamarine gaze. They stared at each other for a moment before the redhead shrugged guiltily.

"I have no idea. They're probably waiting for Sora to come after them, so they can threaten to kill her. But I don't know. I don't know what they came back for, they must be up to something they can't have Sora interfering with." He said quietly.

He half expected Riku to try and blame him for something, seeing as how he used to be a member of the Organization. But the younger boy was silent, and stared back out the window.

"What are we going to do when we find her?" Axel couldn't help but ask. He knew Riku had been thinking it over since they left Hollow Bastion, he couldn't remember ever seeing the boy in such deep thought before.

"I don't know, try to reason with them I guess. Maybe they'll make a trade, take me for her or something." He said quietly. Axel nodded, he'd been thinking of it to.

Maybe if he just convince them to let him join the Organization again, he could get close to her. He'd have to be convincing of course, pick a fight with Sora and Riku to show he wasn't trying to trick them. He hated the idea, but he would do whatever was in his power to save Kairi from them.

Just as soon as they could figure out where they were…

x:X:x

Sunlight exploded in Kairi's vision, and she immediately held up her free hand to block the light. The sun was beginning to set, but she couldn't make out exactly where they were. Larxene's earsplitting laughter erupted behind her again, and she glared back at the woman in hatred.

"Where are we?" Kairi demanded in a steady voice. The older woman grinned down at her.

"Somewhere I'm sure you remember." She spat.

Kairi glared at her in confusion before crying out in surprise as she was thrown into the dirt. She glanced around, not sure what to expect, as several more cloaked figures appeared in her line of vision. Looking around, she could see the ruins of what must have been an old fortress, long since broken down into a ghostly image of what it once was.

Soft footsteps approached, and Kairi's eyes were drawn over to a tall, dark form now looming over her. She felt in in explication rush of terror as her eyes slid up the figure to their face, and her mouth fell open in shock.

"Maleficent." Larxene said the name for her as Kairi's eyes widened in fear. "I believe you two have met?"

The woman let out an evil laugh, tinged with amusement and distaste. "Ah, yes, I remember her now. Shall we get started? This is generally the point at with Sora decides to interrupt me." She said coldly. Larxene nodded and hauled Kairi to her feet again.

"But… I thought you were enemies…" She shook her head in confusion and Larxene spun her around and gripped her shoulders, her face entirely too close for comfort.

"Well, when you hate the keyblade master this much, you tend to make allies. A common goal, hm?" She grinned viciously and started to haul the girl forward.

Kairi struggled against her, but her grip was like steel. Twisting painfully in her grip, she managed to catch a glimpse of where she was being forced, and her heart nearly stopped in her chest.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" She shrieked, suddenly finding enough strength to fight. She clawed violently against Larxene, but it was useless as she merely dragged the girl forward.

Larxene laughed and flashed Kairi a grin that nearly froze her soul. "Evening the odds a bit, sweetheart."

She turned her around now so she could get a good look at what was about to happen to her, and Kairi heard herself screaming.

An enormous heartless was chained to the ground. Its orange eyes flashing hungrily and sharp, white teeth gleaming in the dying light. Darkness seemed to drip from its very being, and it clawed the ground with one long, thin arm. It shuddered slightly when it smelled her, and pulled sadly at the chains holding it still.

"Oh, this is a special one." Maleficent moved forward and stroked it's massive head affectionately. She turned to Kairi with another amused grin and backed away, nodding to Larxene.

"He'll leave the parts we need intact." She said simply before shoving Kairi forward.

She shrieked and landed painfully at its feet.

x:X:x

"Sora!" Yuffie screamed, nearly breaking the door down as she barreled into the room.

Everyone looked up in shock and Aerith jumped in surprise.

"Yuffie! What-"

She pushed past the woman and jumped on Sora, who was still slouched in the corner of the room.

"Sora! There's heartless in the Great Maw!!" She shouted in his face. "They're everywhere!" She was near panic now, and Sora's eyes seemed to light up as he finally returned to reality.

"Heartless?!" His voice broke slightly and he was immediately on his feet. Yuffie darted back out the door as he dashed after her, and in moments Leon was right behind them.

"Yuffie! What's going on?" Leon asked urgently, keeping pace with them as they pushed past confused civilians in their haste to reach the Bailey.

"I don't know! I was out training and looked down, and there were heartless crawling out of the Dark Depths!" She said hurriedly. Leon cursed lightly and looked up at Sora.

"I guess it was a good thing you stayed behind." He said calmly. Sora nodded, but his thoughts were too busy to really register what the other two were saying.

Within minutes, the three of them were perched on a ledge overlooking the Great Maw.

"There's too many to deal with right now, we need help." Leon said softly. Sora nodded, and Yuffie growled in anger.

"What should we do?" She asked sharply, itching for a surprise attack despite being painfully outnumbered.

Leon was about to respond when Sora interrupted him. "She's right, they were coming from the Dark Depths. Before we do anything else we need to go see why." He said quietly. The other two nodded and followed him along the top of the cliff.

Navigating from ledge to ledge was easy for them now, and within moments they found themselves huddled on sharp ledges overlooking the ruins of the old castle. Sora's eyes went wide with shock, and he hastily pointed down to the bottom of the ruins.

"There! It's the Organization!" He growled. Leon gazed down at the lone figure standing down below, recognizable only by the heavy black cloak.

"There's only one, and it looks like they're waiting for us or something." He said quietly. Realization dawned on all of them then, and Sora shook his head.

"They wanted to get our attention. The Organization was right here the whole time!" He groaned, thinking of Riku and Axel off scouring the universe looking for them.

Yuffie cursed softly and Leon put his head in his hands. "But what are they doing? Why now? It doesn't make sense…"

"We should- hey!" Yuffie was cut short when Sora took off down the cliff, leaping gracefully from ledge to ledge as he all but floated to the bottom. The other two immediately followed after him, Leon murmuring something disapproving as Yuffie bit her lip in concern.

The cloaked figure at the bottom didn't move as Sora slowly approached. He was less than twenty feet away when they finally looked up from the ground. They stared at each other for a moment before the keyblade appeared in Sora's hand and he took up a battle stance. Leon and Yuffie came up behind him, uncertain, but drawing their weapons.

All at once, the figure unzipped the front of the cloak and let it slide to the ground.

Sora stared at the figure in complete shock, the keyblade falling from his fingers to land with a thud in the dirt. Leon cursed and Yuffie gasped in horror, all three staring straight ahead.

"Oh god… Kairi…" Sora's eyes reflected the deep pain in his voice, and he fell to his knees.

"That's not Kairi. It has to be a trick." Yuffie said softly. Leon just shook his head.

Bright orange eyes rolled up to stare at them, darkness swirling around her shoulders like black flame. If her face held any human features anymore, they would have been half covered by her now black hair. Her entire figure was in shadow, though still recognizable. Her eyes flashed violently and small heartless began to pull themselves up from the dirt.

End of Chapter Five