This is something I've posted online before, just not on , so here it is. Note: this is just my speculation, so it's not canon or anything. Character death is implied. Perhaps this may be somewhat disturbing to certain readers.

Darker than BLACK does not belong to me.

It was midnight. The sky was inky black, with the exception of a few faintly twinkling stars. Dropping temperatures chilled the air and forced most people back into their homes. The nightlife that used to light up the streets at such a time was not as lively as before. It was too dark and too cold.

Most of the lights were out. The street lamps still shone, but they were hardly enough to brighten up the settlement. It seemed that everybody had turned in for the night, but to a careful observer, it was definitely not so. Behind a small window of a lonely house near the edge of the settlement, neglected half-drawn curtains betrayed the dim light inside. Someone was definitely still awake.

Within that little room, a blond girl in a lavendar night dress was sitting quietly in bed, the blankets comfortably tucked in and the pillow propped up to support her back. Her eyes were magenta in colour, large, clear and glassy, and seemed to see things that others could not. They gazed mysteriously ahead of her as her fingers played on her lap as though it were a piano. It was hard to tell whether or not she was tired - her face seemed to be set in stone, except for the infrequent blinking of her eyes.

There was a light knock the door. Strangely, the girl did not seem at all startled - her fingers simply lay motionless on the blanklet and her head tilted slightly towards the door. The door creaked open and admitted a fatherly looking man with worry evident in his tired greyish eyes. He shut the door softly behind him and walked over to sit at the girl's bedside. "You know you shouldn't be awake now, Kirsi," he said, gently grasping her hand.

She was silent for a moment. Then she looked up a little. "I'm not tired yet," she said simply, holding on to his hand with both of hers and silently telling him not to worry, but he was still too worried to leave her just yet; he sighed.

"Kirsi," he said, "just try to sleep, please? I know it's hard, but please just try. When you do, maybe you can really fall asleep then..."

"Don't worry about me," Kirsi cut in, "You need the rest more than I do." She knew that he had a meeting with some very important people tomorrow, even though she had not been told who they were exactly. However, it was enough to tell her that the meeting was by no means trifle. For Elis Kastinen, a very influential musician of the time, it was another challenge to keep his reputation.

Kastinen chuckled. "Of course, of course... But Kirsi, you must promise me that you will try to rest too, all right?" He gently squeezed her hand, his eyes pleading silently and as tired as ever.

She could sense the beseeching tone in voice. "I will try," she promised. It seemed to comfort Kastinen, because he gave her hand a grateful squeeze. He kissed her forehead and bade her good night before he quitted the room, switching the lights off on his way out.

For a moment, Kirsi remained motionless on her bed, staring blankly at the door through which Kastinen had left. Her expression was still set in stone, but a few traitorous tears finally escaped, falling silently on her cheeks. The promise to Kastinen was to just try to sleep; it had already been fulfilled. Kirsi quietly dried her eyes, removed the blankets and got off the bed.

Even without switching any lights on, finding her way around was easy - it would make no difference to her even if it were pitch-dark. Steathily, she slipped out of the room, found the staircase that led downstairs and held on to the railing as she carefully proceeded downwards.

Unexpectedly, there was a sound. It was a musical note, clear and bright. Kirsi recognised the 'A' key immediately. She stopped, listening intently. There it was again, chiming like a bell. Where did it come from? No, it could not be the piano within the house - it was a little too faint - so it must be outside. Enticed by the mysterious sound, Kirsi followed it without paying much thought.

It led her down the stairs, through the doors and into the world outside. That was a place that she would never have dared to step into without Kastinen's company and the assurance of safety. However, security was the last thing on her mind as she continued on the trail of the sound, her arms slightly reaching forward and her mind in a trance-like state.

A new moon hung in the sky that night. In the darkness, Kirsi had a strangely desperate longing for the familiar silver glow that she loved so well. There was a sense of foreboding, a feeling that it would never be there for her again. She wanted to feel it one more time before it was gone forever.

Her feet suddenly touched something cold, a sharp contrast to the soft prickly grass that they had been treading upon. Startled, she instinctively took a step backwards, but a familiar voice, calling softly as the sound still chimed, beckoned her to continue her journey forward.

"Turn back! Turn back, Kirsi! Turn back!"

"No... don't leave me alone..."

"Please, Kirsi, turn back!"

But deeper and deeper she went. She could no longer pluck herself out of the spell that she had gotten herself into. Finally, she found herself absolutely unable to return to the world that she belonged to. However, she was satisfied; a rare smile lit her pale face as she floated in the sea of voices that trapped her.

"Don't leave me alone... Mama..."

Early in the morning, a patrol officer found the body of a young girl lying on the rocks not too far off the coast. The corpse was taken in for investigation, but so far, the identity of the girl had not confirmed. It was unknown what happened to the corpse since then.

Recently, the cases of unidentified corpses had increased dramatically. These had raised many suspicions, but there was not enough evidence to suggest what really happened. Was this the work of a serial killer? What of the identified bodies? Nobody knew.

Except, perhaps, the secret agents within the Organisation.

"I will find you again, Kirsi..."