Enjoy!

What is this man saying about Clancy not being here? He is lying on the floor beside my feet right now. Whoever this man is, he takes me for some kind of fool. "Don't believe me Keyblade Wielder?"

"Not at all. Clancy is right here," I look down at the half-dead Clancy, who is still leaking more dark liquid onto the map I dropped earlier. "What kind of game are you trying to play?"

"Clancy is no longer in this world. Do I look like the kind of man who would lie about that?"

"You are obviously someone I cannot trust." I grip the handle of the Keyblade tighter. "Who are you and what did you do to him?"

"Is he your friend?" his eyes fall to Clancy and a strange smile curls up. My shoulder is really bothering me now but now is not the time to worry about it. "Yes, he is. I can see that on your covered face." I adjust my hood to make sure it completely is covering my face, apparently embarrassed. How can he see my face when it is hidden so well in the darkness? "What did you do to him?" I repeat.

"It's not what I did to him. It's what he did to himself," replies the licorice man matter-of-factly. "Everyone has a choice to accept the Darkness within themselves and let it take over, or you can run from it until it eventually devours you. I took control of the Darkness a long time ago, when I was a little older than you." I remain silent, unable to respond to him. There is something off about him, something that makes me want to run out of here as fast as I can. I never felt that from anybody ever before. When I look into his eyes I get a feeling of helplessness and despair, who is this man? "This is frivolous nonsense-" I dismiss without letting him hear my fear.

"This 'frivolous nonsense' is why you are here right now, and the reason you are so confused about Clancy. That is nothing but a mere clone of him."

"Stop calling him that, I know that is my friend."

"Perhaps you were never that close with him. I thought the heart was supposed to be able to distinguish reality and illusion."

"You are pushing me," I threaten, becoming more enraged by the second. "I will hurt you."

"You're unable to, you're still a weak child. Now don't be brash-"

I angrily swing the sword, aiming the broken tip for his face but a wave of Darkness rushes from the floor and protects him. "Oh, now I see better," comments the man smugly. "A broken Keyblade for a broken girl, how fitting. So the Keyblade now chooses lost hearts?" Angrily, I strike at him again but it is automatically blocked by another wave of Darkness. Calm down, suppress your anger, and focus on striking him down. Repeatedly and deftly trying to buffet the stranger, waves of Darkness obediently block every move that I make. Why is it so hard to land a hit on him? I lock the Keyblade at his side, still being blocked by his Darkness. Then with my leg, I try kicking low but I am repelled abruptly and I fall into the pool of dark blood. "Clancy-!"

What is left of him is black liquid and his grappling claw, as if someone spilled juice on the floor and never cleaned it up. Like an insignificant thing; and now his blood covers me. "Rest assured your friend is not that thing. That was created by taking strings of Darkness and sewing them to a doll with a synthetic heart. It was only a test to see what it would do," explains the man suavely, clearly unaffected by any of my attacks. "It couldn't withstand the hits of a little girl I see."

I furiously turn to him, slowly getting to my feet. There is no way Clancy would melt into a pile of black ooze, it could not of been him. He has to be telling the truth. All this time, I was worried over nothing but now I am back to square one, not knowing where he could be. But how does this creep know who Clancy is? "Where is Clancy?"

"That is not your concern as of now."

"Then how do you know him?"

"Ask my pupil if you live long enough to see him. He's coming to your world soon to lead the Heartless to your world's inevitable destruction." Arms wrap around me suddenly, trapping me in this room with this dangerous person. Looking down, I notice the arms are black and nearly transparent. What kind of man is he? "It's time for you to return. If you're looking for a fight, come back when you can understand why your Keyblade isn't living up to its full potential and why you cannot lay a scratch on me, Broken One." I squirm fiercely the closer his hand comes to my face. His cold hand touches my face and I am devoured by darkness. If this is what death feels like, I do not like it, I never want to die. I have to live on long enough to find Clancy and bring us back home. Remember that Risa-death is not coming for me yet.

I am greeted by yellow lines under my hands. Breathing hard, I stand up and see the dark bloody sky. "Am I-back?" I grip my bleeding shoulder and recognize the abandoned street, the empty sidewalks, and the sirens in the distance. Are the Heartless all gone? Impossible, that man said someone was coming and leading them. If he is already here, I have to find him and finish him off for the sake of this world. I gradually start maundering, letting my right arm droop because moving it hurts too much.

Finding Clancy will have to wait for now. Everyone's safety is of the utmost importance today. If I find Mizuki still alive, we can take him on together. Mizuki is smart enough to stay alive, I am sure I will find her soon. Loud wails fill my ear with some hope that other people have survived long enough. I follow the screams hastily, no longer slowed down by my shoulder. There is a crowded police station in the distance and someone standing at the foot of the steps. As I get closer, I see that it is Mizuki, looking tired and frustrated.

"Looks like you made it through alive," I comment, relived that she was able to stop the Heartless for a short while. She immediately tackles me and gives me a hug too much for my shoulder to bear. "Christ, what happened?"

"Do not worry about that right now. What is important is-"

"Excuse me," a female officer in grey says behind us. "I need you to come with me."

"Why should I?" Mizuki asks, a little high-strung and more informal than usual.

"I'm not asking. There are things we need to discuss. Come inside now." She looks to me with a frown and then says, "Fine but she has to come with me too. Otherwise I'll-"

"Let's go," she glances at me and then makes way for the station. What kind of trouble did Mizuki get us into while she was fighting off Heartless?

J.G.P.