The sound of waves crashing against the beach was all that could be heard in the weak hours of the morning. Not even the gulls had begun their morning rapture. All across the island was the sigh of the ocean breeze mixed with the deep steady breaths of all who slept.

All that is, except for Riku.

He sat against his bed room wall looking sideways out the window. He counted the shooting starts as they passed through the sky, wondering if one would ever cone near enough to see up close.

This had become a nightly vigil for him, the sleeplessness, staring out the window at the sky. In the darkest hours, the ocean was so black that it blended and became one with the night sky, a seemingly impenetrable wall. The darkness made Riku shutter.

Soon though, the sun would be rising. Already he could see the faint hints of morning creeping over the ocean waves. At the first sign of daylight, he would crawl under the covers and sleep for a few hours, before rising again for school. He thought grimly of the day ahead. The people; the sounds; the routine. Over and over again.

But outside was the darkness, waiting patiently.

The feeling had begun again, many weeks ago. That twitch; that urge. It was the reason that he had convinced the other two to build the raft in the first place, and the reason that he had opened the door to darkness.

But they had had their adventure. He, Sora and Kairi had seen the other worlds, had healed the universe, and now Sora and Kairi were content to return to their lives, to go back to living day after day, with no remorse.

Riku had tried. He had returned with the others, repentant, his tail between his legs, knowing full well that so much of what had happened had been the result of his own stupid lust for adventure. Even now, he felt ashamed of the feeling he had within himself. How dare he want to leave again. How dare he even consider leaving the islands he had nearly destroyed himself and then had worked so hard to restore. And Sora, Kairi; how could he leave them? What could he say?

This world was not enough.

The first tendrils of sunlight were making their way over the water. It was time to sleep now, time to prepare for the day of school, homework, friends, laughter, and the gnawing ache that resided since the first time he looked out on the ocean. That voice that said, move.

The steady waves lapped against Riku's feet as he pushed his boat out into the water. He would visit their special place, he thought, nothing more. He needed the relief of seeing their secret corners, the cave and the clubhouse. These things weighted him to this world, and reminded him who he was and why he was there. He rowed out into the waves, but as he paddled, he found with little surprise that he was quickly leaving the islands behind him. He rowed until their special island was only a dot against the horizon.

Riku stood up in the boat and looked out across the empty water. There was nothing in sight, nor had their ever been. He could feel the emotion rising in his chest as he held out a hand to the empty space. He hadn't tried it since he had let go of the darkness, but he knew the power was still within him.

The power was rebuilding inside of him. He could hear the things they would say about him. Traitor. Liar. Weak. The boat shook beneath him, and it was a moment before Riku realized that it was the trembling of his own body that caused the disturbance. He gritted his teeth, even more ashamed of his fear. It had to be done.

The darkness burst from him like a plume of smoke and settled a few feet off the boat. The door wouldn't stay open for long. This was his one and only chance. Taking a deep breath, Riku looked up at the sky once more for courage. There, right before his eyes, was the last shooting star of the morning, plummeting to the earth, alight, but still barely visible as the sun came over the water.

Gathering the last of his fortitude, Riku dove from the boat and into the darkness, just as the falling star hit the water with a heavy splash.

Riku hit the ground with a thud. He got quickly to his feet in time to watch the portal of darkness seep away. He was losing his touch, he thought, as his rubbed his arm gingerly. He'd never had such a bumpy landing before.

Looking around, Riku saw that he was in a very unfamiliar place. He had opened the portal with no real destination in mind, but still he was surprised to find himself in a place he had never been before. All that traveling and still there were worlds to be discovered. The portal had dropped him in a dank alleyway. Just nearby, a broken gutter dripped onto the sidewalk, and the windows of the building across from him were boarded up. The buildings themselves towered up above him, disappearing into a dark fog that hung low over a night sky.

Night.

On the islands, the sun had just been rising, but here it was clear that the night was only beginning. Just beyond the edges of the buildings that surrounded him, Riku could hear the sounds of traffic and people. A neon light cast sharp and demented shadows into the street.

Cautiously, Riku stepped out of the alley and on to a sidewalk to get a better view of the city. The fog was thick, and softened the edges of the numerous neon signs that seemed blazoned on every corner. People and cars hustled and bustled back and forth along the streets; all of them seemed to be in a rush. Across the street, a group of well dressed women were crowded onto a corner, chatting and giggling loudly. Riku made his way over to them and saw that they were surrounding a moogle, but it was one unlike any he had ever seen before. It was electric blue, and wearing a crisp suit. In its hand, it held a class containing a lividly green liquid. In fact, the woman that were speaking with the moogle, and who were apparently entranced by his conversation, were all wearing suits with long tailed jackets and short skirts, and each one held a similar drink. They looked at Riku as he approached them, and then at each other.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?" Riku asked.

He saw the women exchange glances, the corners of their mouth twitching with suppressed smiles.

"You're in echo city," one of them said. "Did you hit your head or something?"

The other snickered.

"No I uh… I'm not from around here," was his cautious reply.

"Not from around here?" A taller woman with dark red hear spoke up. "Where else is there to be from?"

The other burst out laughing.

"I think you've had a little too much Mumba Juice," said the first one, wiggling her glass. "You're starting to lose track."

"No, he looks way too confused for Mumba," the second one says. "It's got to be Chlory."

The women laughed again.

"Right, thanks." Riku turned away from them and jogged down the street, out of sight. "Well that was embarrassing," he muttered to himself. He looked around at the bustling city. "Echo City. Never heard of it."

"Never, really?"

Riku jumped and turned around to see who had spoken. One of the women had followed him. She looked younger than the others, small and petite, with blond hair and a round face. She looked oddly familiar, and Riku started at her, hardly believing his eyes.

"Namine?" He hadn't noticed when she had been standing with the others, but this girl did resemble Namine to a T. In the trip black suit, she looked older and more sophisticated, yet there was no mistaking that smile, or those eyes.

The girl appeared confused. "Namine?" she asked. "Who's that? My name is Krill."

"Krill?"

"That's right."

Impossible, Riku thought. This girl couldn't be anyone but Naimne, but he had already made a fool of himself. He decided to go along with it.

"I'm sorry. You look very much like a friend of mine. I guess I got confused for a minute."

"Oh, does your friend live around here?"

Riku hesitated.

"That's right, I forgot. You're not from around here." Her eyes flashed impishly.

"Yeah." Riku looked away and shuffled his feet. "I'm not from around here. And I'm not really sure how I ended up here. Do you think you could tell me a little about this place?"

Krill looked thoughtful. "Sure, I guess. There's not a lot to tell. It's a big city, a lot of people. I work at one of the offices over at Kings Seat during the day, but at night the girls like to party, so I go out with them."

"What kind of parties?"

"Oh, the usual. Go to a club, have some drinks, go to another club, have some drinks. When the sun comes up, you go to bed and then wake up later and go to work."

"Does everybody act like that?"

"Most people, I guess." She shrugged. "It's just the lifestyle. I don't know a lot of people who don't go out. Do you?"

"Well I stay up late…" Riku realized how strange he must look. There was no way these people knew that there were other words. In every other place he had visited, he had done his best to blend it. He would have to do the same here. "I don't really go out much, since I don't like to go out alone I guess. But I like to stay up to watch the sunrise." That was a stupid lie.

"Me too!" Krill beamed. "I could do without the going out, but it's something to do right, to pass the night. You look tired, you know? Do you even sleep at all?"

At the mention of sleep, Riku couldn't stifle a yawn. At home he'd have been sound asleep by now, waiting for his alarm to bring him around for the school day.

"I guess I am tired." He admitted. "I don't sleep much lately."

She smiled. "Well, maybe you should hit the hay early today. The sun's not up for another five hours or so. You can stand to miss it one day."

"Maybe you're right."

"So where are you staying? I can walk you there?" Krill looked at him eagerly.

This was going to be difficult, Riku decided. How was he going to get away from her?

"I'm not really staying anywhere right now." He said cautiously. "I'm kind of on my own at the moment."

"Oh." Krill's face fell. "Are you having a thing with your parents? I understand. I moved out of my parent's home when I left school. They didn't want me to drop out but I mean, come on. I'm sixteen, I need to get a life. Plus all my friends had left. It's not like school was teaching me anything the real world couldn't."

"Exactly." Riku was relieved that she had filled in the pieces of his lie for him. "So I'm kind of out in the cold at the moment. But I'll figure something out. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Wow, this has happened before?" Krill looked sympathetic, but she as she gazed at Riku, he saw a hint of admiration in her eyes. He recognized that look, and knew exactly where this was going. "That's really too bad. But you don't have to stay out here, I have plenty of room at my place."

"That's ok," Riku replied. "I'll be fine on my own. I prefer it that way."

"No, I insist." She took Riku by the arm and began pulling him along. "I have plenty of space, and I need an excuse to get away from the girls anyway. They're planning on going way over board tonight and I'm just not in the mood."

Riku followed her to a building lit all around by neon signs reading VOX. Behind the heavy front door, he could hear the sound of a heavy bass pumping, a lights flashed on and off.

"I live above this place," Krill explained. "We just have to cut through the club to get to the stairs.

"It's kind of loud," Riku observed.

"Yeah, it can be, but I live up high so it doesn't bother me much." She pulled him over to the door, where a tall and very muscular man in a black suit stood blocking the way. Krill reached into her pocked and pulled out a small card. "I'm a resident." She smiled at the bouncer who looked like he was about to move, but hesitated when he saw Riku.

"Who's that?" He muttered.

"He's a guest," Krill said quickly. "He's just with me no one else."

The bouncer nodded and moved aside, and Krill led Riku into the club.

Inside, the music was twice as loud. The walls seemed to vibrate from the beat of the sound, and the room was full to bursting with people dancing wildly. Riku had never seen a place like this before. As he and Krill pushed their way through, he saw people holding each other close, grinding to the heavy beat. As they reached the back of the wide dance room, fewer and fewer people were dancing, and had taken instead to standing in the shadows, watching the crowd or wrapped in a furious embrace with a partner.

The two fought their way to a door at the far end of the club, which led to a towering flight of stairs.

"No elevator," Krill said apologetically. "It's not that long a climb though."

Eight stories up, Krill finally led Riku off the stairwell and into a narrow and badly lit corridor.

"This is my place." She unlocked the door labeled 13H and showed him inside.

The apartment was small, but not cramped. Krill had only a single sofa and coffee table in one room, along with a battered TV set which sat on the flood. The kitchen was a little square of linoleum floor with enough space for a stove, refrigerator and a bar stool beside the counter.

"The bathroom is down the hall and my room is in the back. Make yourself at home. I only have a couch unless you want to sleep with me!" She laughed and walked away before he could respond.

She opened the fridge and pulled out a can. "Catch." She tossed it to him and he read the label out loud.

"Red Vigor? What is this?"

"It's beer," she said frankly. "You don't drink it?"

"Not really…" He strode over hand handed the glass back to her.

"Ok." She took it with a look of surprise and opened it herself. She followed Riku with her eyes as he went and sat down on the sofa. "So if you're not going to school, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Doing?"

"Yeah. You must do something. You can't just sit and stare at the wall all day, can you?"

"I guess not. I don't do much of anything. I used to travel a lot. Lately I've just been feeling a little lost though. I'm not sure where I want to be."

Riku drifted away into his own thoughts, but was pulled out of them again when Krill asked, "Travel? Where did you travel to?"

Riku's breath caught in his chest. Dammit, he thought. That was the wrong thing to say.

Krill walked over and stood in front of where he sat.

"Are you going to tell me where you're really from?" she asked.

Riku looked her square in the eye and answered, "No."

She shrugged and sat down beside him. "Fair enough. Could you at last tell me your name?"

"It's Riku," he replied. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner."

"It's ok. Do you normally wait until after you've gone home with a girl to tell her your name?"

Riku felt his face heat up. "Not generally," he muttered.

Krill raiser her eyebrows and smiled. Don't worry about it," she said. "You're not the first to sleep on this couch without giving me a name."

Riku looked at her, confused, but rather than explain, she rose and said, "I'm going to change out of this. Be back in a minute."

She left the room, and Riku sat still, the awkwardness of being alone in stranger's house making his breath short. What was he doing? Why had he even done this? Sora and Kairi would be wondering about him by now.

He could go back, he thought. Right now. Just open the gate and step through, and forget the whole thing had ever happened. And yet…

He looked out the window at the bustling streets below the building. The florescence of the neon light glimmering in the fog was enchanting. The darkness was so heavy. Something about it felt comfortable.

"Here you go." Krill had reappeared carrying a pile of sheets and pillows. "Sorry I can't do better."

"It's fine." Riku watched from the window as the laid out the bedding. She had changed into a loose pair of sweatpants and a tank top, and the look seemed to fit her better than the suit.

"I think I'm going to bed," she said as she finished. "Sleep well." She smiled.

"Thanks."

They stared at each other for a moment, neither sure what to say next.

"Well, good night," Krill said finally, and she hurried off to her room.