So, chapter 1. Story will be told in first-person narrative. Also imagine updates will be relatively slow as I am working on other things (stories) as well as school. Hurrah.

Still, I hope you all enjoy.

Dawn of A New Adventure

Ten minutes. That's all I wanted that morning. Just ten extra minutes of snoozing that day before getting up to face the usual grind of school. But life's unfair, as I'd come to find out in the recent months, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when instead of ten minutes of extra, undisturbed sleep there was the intrusive noise of someone loudly knocking on my door before it was (brutally) flung open with an equally loud voice proclaiming, "HEY, WAKE UP HIKARI OR WE'RE GONNA BE LATE!"

The lights flickered on, and I groaned and sluggishly rolled over to face the wall, stubbornly pulling the sheets around my shoulders. That didn't fly with the annoying she-devil standing in the doorway though, and I winced when I heard the sound of feet tromping closer to my bedside. Hands curled into the fabric and attempted to rip the sheets off of me, but I held on and absolutely refused to let go.

There was a disgruntled growl, "Ya know, if you weren't so stubborn all the time, maybe you'd-"

The demon behind me attempted to pull the sheets off again only to be met with more resistance before she dropped the sheets in frustration and finished with a huff, "-have a boyfriend by now!"

"Go away," I mumbled.

"No," was her response.

"Go away, Mari," I said again, this time with a bit more steel.

"Does this have to do with what Kobu said yesterday? Look, I know he's a bona-fide jerk, but you've gotta ignore what those types of people say, seriously," Mari said, no doubt placing her hands on her hips in that oh-so cheeky way she does.

"Not Kobu," I mumbled again, keeping my eyes shut.

I heard Mari sigh, "If its not Kobu, then what?"

"Bad day. Don't wanna move," I said, though by this point I knew I wasn't going to get back to blissful sleep. Damn it.

Mari was silent for a moment before realization dawned on her, "Oooooh. That. Come on, it's only been six months, she'll come back."

With an agitated sigh, I rolled onto my back and glanced at the girl standing by my bed. Mari was already wearing the standard school uniform, no surprise there. She had always been an early riser. Her hair had been pulled up into her signature twin ponytails, her favorite orange bows holding the golden strands in place. It was a look I thought was a little immature for her sixteen years of living, but I guess that was just Mari. Her hands were placed on her hips and there was a warm smile on her face, a look she gave anyone who she thought needed a little cheering up. No doubt to give me a little boost out of my slump.

But that wasn't going to work. Not today, "Six months Mari. I think normal mothers would have at least called by now."

"Oh, I'm sure she's got a good reason. After all, she gave you that bracelet when she left, right?" Mari asked, gesturing to the gleaming chain around my right wrist.

Lifting my arm, I gave the bracelet a once over. It was a sturdy, silver-grey chain, with pretty much no embellishments save for a small circular plate emblazoned with an anvil, of all things, dangling off the side. I grunted, "And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, it's like a promise! A promise that she'll come back!" Mari said, only to receive a confused look from me.

"A promise?" I asked, eyebrows raised, "Really?"

"Yeah, like a secret, mommy promise!" Mari explained.

"A secret mommy promise," I parroted, giving her an 'are you serious' look.

"Yeah, now you got it!" Mari smiled, my snarky comment flying right over her head, as usual.

Then her smile got wider, and a twinkle appeared in her hazel eyes, "Now get up!"

The blankets on my body were quite suddenly yanked off by Mari's ninja-like hands, the cold morning air very quickly returning me to my full senses.

I sat bolt upright, making a grab for the stolen sheets that Mari kept just out of my reach, "Mari, give those back."

"Nuh-uh," she said, childishly sticking her tongue out at me.

"Are you girls ready yet?" A voice called from downstairs, a voice I recognized as belonging to Mrs. Mikozo, the mother of the house. Mari grinned and cheekily answered, "Almost Mom! Just dragging the dragon out of bed!"

"Well, tell the dragon to hurry up or you're going to school without breakfast!" Was Mrs. Mikozo's warning. A warning which instantly got Mari up in arms.

"Did you hear that?! If you don't hurry up, we won't get to eat, so HURRY UP!" Mari demanded, chucking the uniform I had laid out the night before at me before bolting down the stairs. With my blankets. Still in her hands.

Great, now how was I supposed to make the bed?

Sighing at her overly-energetic antics, I swung my legs off the bed and placed my feet on the cool hardwood floor of my room. I'd only lived in it for six months, and it definitely showed, what with it's sparse walls and single bed. Although, that may have also been, in part, my refusal to decorate it in any way, shape, or form. Mari had tried time and again to get me to at least put a poster on the wall, but I was adamant. Adamant because I didn't want the room to feel like home.

It wasn't her fault, not at all, and it was kind enough of Mari's family to even give me my own room in the first place. I just wish I knew why I was even here to begin with.

But now I was just brooding, and I had a breakfast to get too before a certain someone decided I was better off dead. Yawning, I got up and gave myself a leisurely stretch. It always felt nice to get the blood flowing. I quickly pulled on my school uniform, brushing it out to smooth away the wrinkles before going to the bathroom to freshen up.

After brushing my teeth and quickly running a brush through my hair, I slipped on one of my favorite accessories; a purple headband with a small crystal embedded at the center of a lacy, off-centered bow. I wasn't usually one for fashion, but I liked the color, and it looked good when paired together with my black hair. Better than the overly bright bows Mari preferred, in any case.

I stared at my reflection for a moment more, satisfied enough with my appearance, before my eyes trailed down to the bracelet on my wrist. Lifting it a little closer, I let my eyes roam over the chain, as if I'd find the answer as to why my mother had suddenly decided to leave me here without so much as a note.

"A secret mommy promise, huh?" I asked to nobody in particular, before snorting and letting my arm fall to my side, "Yeah right."

"HIKARI, HURRY UP!" Mari's impossibly loud voice shouted from downstairs.

I rolled my eyes, giving my reflection one last look before heading towards the door to face the day.

If only I could have known exactly what that day entailed for me.

(******)

"-So, I said 'no way', and San's all 'yes way', but I still don't believe her because I think she's a chronic liar and makes stories up like that all time and are you okay Hikari, you haven't said anything in a really long time," Mari asked after her long-winded speech. I wondered at times if she even needed to breath.

"Oh, I was supposed to being saying things?" I asked, voice deadpan.

"Ha ha," Mari said mirthlessly.

The hallway was mostly empty by that point, most everyone having gone home as soon as the school bell rang. Mari and I having archery and kendo practice respectively, however, had to stay an extra hour once class ended. And God, was I happy for its existence today! I liked kendo, wouldn't be in it otherwise, but today was a day where I had really needed to let out some pent up aggression.

"So how'd kendo practice go?" Mari asked as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Pretty good," I said, closing my locker and picking up my practice sword, "But Renji still kicks my ass."

"Well, that's what you'd expect," Mari said, grinning.

I lifted an eyebrow, "And what's that supposed to mean exactly?"

Mari's grin got wider as she cheekily rubbed her nose and said, "Nothing."

I lightly punched her in the shoulder, and she playfully swatted back, giggling mischievously as she poked me in the side.

I jerked away reflexively, smacking her hand, "Hey, you know I don't like that!"

"But it's so cute the way you squeal," she giggled, almost evilly. That impish sparkle of hers appeared in her eyes once more, and she hunched over and flexed her fingers as if they were claws, smiling.

I backed up, shaking my head and slowly wagging a finger at her in universal 'now hold on a second' language, saying, "Don't you even think about it."

Mari didn't back down, stalking forward like a cat to a cornered mouse. In a last effort to get the message across, I swung my practice sword forward, "I will hit you with this Mari!"

She paused and pursed her lips together, seeming to debate if my 'squealing' was worth a bamboo stick to the face. After a moment, she finally dropped her arms and said, with an overdramatic sigh, "Aah, you never let me have any fun."

"Being poked in my side isn't fun," I shot back, though I did lower my sword.

"It is for me!" she said, grinning toothily.

I frowned, then sighed, "Yeah, whatever. We should probably start heading home now, it's getting late."

Mari glanced out the glass door of the school entrance behind me, sniffing, "Yeah, I guess so."

I nodded and leaned over to grab my bag, double checking to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything when ten fingers suddenly dug into my sides with a vengeance.

"EEP!" I cried, shooting straight up and whirling around just in time to see Mari bolt past me and run out the door, laughing madly.

"MARI!" I shouted, grabbing my bag and hauling after her.

Once retribution had been meted out in the form of head-lock, the two of us took our usual route home, talking about any interesting things that happened in school. And by talking, I mean I listened to Mari yammer on about her day. It was a familiar and, dare I say it, comfortable routine. It was amazing, really, how quickly she and I had become friends. It would have been harder back then too, considering I'd just been dropped on their doorstep without any knowledge of why, and feeling more than a little resentful at the time and not in the mood to be making any friends.

I stopped walking, staring off into the distance. The land before me sloped down, and I could see the ocean just over the tiled roofs, the water swaying gently in the breeze, the sun hovering what seemed like inches above the surf. The bracelet on my wrist felt heavy then. Heavier than usual.

Mari stopped as soon as she realized I wasn't following her, turning back with her hands laced behind her head and staring at me inquisitively, "Hey, what's up Hikari?"

I didn't say anything at first, and a perturbed frown appeared on her face, "Hey, you're not still thinking about your mom, are you?"

I gave her a look, "Of course I'm still thinking about her."

She trotted back to me, saying, "Ya know, if you keep doing that, you'll just make yourself sick."

"Yeah, you've told me," I assured her.

"It's just," I started after a moment of silence, eyes still on the ocean, "I wish I knew why I was here. Don't get the wrong idea, I do like the islands, and you've been nothing but nice to me the whole time I've been here. I just . . . wish I knew, you know."

I let out a dry laugh, turning my head away from Mari, "Heh, you don't suppose it's still too early to start considering I've been abandoned, do you?"

Mari didn't say anything at first, which was unusual. Normally when I got like this she'd jump up and immediately start saying something along the lines of 'secret mommy promise' or something like that.

Then, her face was suddenly in mine, very, very close to mine, examining me with a scrutiny I didn't think she was capable of.

Then she smiled and grabbed my wrist, "Let's go to the beach!"

"Huh?" was the only thing I could get out before I suddenly being dragged against my will, "W-wait, what about you're mom? Won't she get worried?"

"Nah!" Mari said blithely, casually waving her free hand in the air and never once letting go of my wrist, "It'll be fine! Hey, once we're down there, do you want get some watermelon? My treat!"

"Uh . . ." But words meant nothing at that point, I knew. So, I simply acquiesced to fate and let Mari drag me off wherever.

With Mari leading the helm, we made it to the beach in record time, the sun just starting to set below the sea-line, the blue water sparkling in the light of the fading sun. It was quite a pretty sight.

Mari, who didn't even look the slightest bit fazed by the jog, looked at me and cheerily asked, "So, watermelon?"

I gave her a look, leaning against my practice sword and panting, "You and your ideas. I sometimes wonder if its just you in that head of yours."

Mari laughed, "You know, Markus says the same thing sometimes. Who knows, maybe you're right! So anyway, watermelon?"

I chuckled, shaking my head, "Sure, whatever you want Mari."

"YES!" she cried, and once more my arm was used as a leash to drag me to the nearby confectionary stand. Beaming over the countertop and the man in the white cap, Mari enthusiastically said, "Two slices please!"

Glancing up almost catatonically from his phone, the man didn't seem to immediately realize that we were customers, looking between the two of us as if he were trying to figure out if we were actually there or not.

I crossed my arms and cocked my head to one side, saying, "No, that's okay. Take your time."

As soon as I spoke, he realized that, yes, we were actually customers and comically leapt out of his seat, stuttering as he went to grab the slices, "O-oh, yes, r-right away ma'am! That'll be, uh, 1,400 munny."

Trying her utmost to stifle her laughter, Mari gave me a thumbs up before handing the man the munny, "Thank you sir. Snrk."

Slices in hand, we made our way down to the shore line, finding a nice spot to sit just above the waves. The melon was sweet and watery, easily quenching my thirst as I savored each bite while trying my best not to get any of the juice on my clothes. Mari, on the other hand, inhaled hers as soon as she sat down and was now taking the time to lick the juice off of her fingers with gusto. Whilst I cringe.

We stayed there for a bit, simply enjoying the sunset and admiring the colors and the sound of the waves splashing by our feet. The tiny island close to the mainland's shore stood proud against the blue, and even here I could see the palm trees swaying in the wind, even though all of it looked like it could be swallowed at any moment. Mari had told me she used to play there sometimes as a kid. I'd never been. Hadn't really wanted to go.

"Hey."

I glanced over at Mari, eyebrows raised at the unusually subdued note in her voice, " . . . What?"

"Your mom didn't abandon you," Mari said resolutely, eyes still on the ocean surf, "Maybe she is a little late and maybe it was a little mean to not tell you where she was going, but I think she really meant best for you, ya know."

My eyes fell to the sand at my side, not sure how to respond to that. Once more, I found my eyes straying to the chain on my wrist, and found my thoughts unwittingly straying to my mother.

After some silence, I looked at Mari again, "Mari-"

Mari suddenly stood up and started brushing off the sand with her usual Mari zest, humming to herself as she cleaned up. I stared at her, unsure if she wanted me to respond, when she extended a hand to me and said, "Come on, let's go find some pretty shells to bring home to Mom!"

I stared at her hand, then back to Mari, then back to her hand. Hm, maybe I wasn't supposed to answer her after all.

I closed my eyes and sighed before accepting the offered hand, "Sure, why not."

Mari smiled and pulled me too my feet, and her regular enthusiasm returned full force.

"Now, the tide's low, so we're going to have to get close to the water to find the really nice ones," Mari explained, eyes sparkling with eagerness, "Try looking for really colorful ones, okay Hikari?"

I looked down at the wet, claylike sand, not to enthused with the idea of getting soaked. My eyes followed the rim, trying to find a place where it wouldn't be too obvious I was trying not to get wet when a figure in the distance caught my eye. Eyebrows furrowing, I peered at it, curious, "Whose that?"

Mari blinked and turned to follow my gaze, "Hm? I can't really tell."

She turned back to me and grinned, pointing a thumb at the person behind her and placing the other hand on her hip, "Hey, why don't we ask them if they want to help us find shells? The more the merrier, right?"

"Sure, let's just go over and ask them if they want to go mud diving with two complete strangers," I said sarcastically, arms crossed.

"Mud diving? But it's sand though?" Mari asked, tilting her head in confusion.

I shook my head, sighing, "Nevermind."

"Oh, okay then," Mari grabbed my hand (thrice), and started heading towards the figure in the distance, "Let's go ask!"

I shook my head once more before looking ahead towards the figure, sending mental apologies to them in advance.

. . . Wait . . .

"Hey, Mari?" I asked slowly.

"Hm?" she inquired cheerfully.

"Wasn't there only one person over there?"

"Huh? Well, yeah, we were going to go . . . ask . . . them . . . ?" her voice trailed off as did her pace, and both of us stared at the two figures in the distance. We were close enough now that I could see some details. One was a girl, maybe our age, and the other was an older man in a long dark coat and with really red, spiky hair. It looked like they were talking, but I could only begin to guess what about.

"Huh, weird," Mari commented, "I didn't see that guy before."

"Me neither," I replied. In fact, I could have sworn I had only been one person over there.

"Ruff! Ruff ruff! Arf!"

I jumped as a dog suddenly sprinted past us, running full kilter towards the people in the distance, barking like mad.

I quirked an eyebrow, "Alright?"

And that's when things got really crazy.

Four figures, pale and unnatural, suddenly twisted into existence, surrounding the girl and the dog. Their bodies jerked in a way that reminded me far to much of the last horror movie I'd watched, and in unmatched unison, walked in slow, deliberate circles around the pair, like wolves around sheep. I shook my head, thinking I was hallucinating. But I wasn't hallucinating, because it soon became clear I wasn't the only one seeing it.

Mari's grip tightened on my wrist, her voice unnaturally serious, "Hikari, let's get out of here."

My eyes remained glued on the spectacle before me, even when she pulled me in the other direction, back towards the town. It was common sense, what Mari was doing. Those creatures were not normal. They were dangerous. Anyone with sense would immediately turn and run away. And sense almost won, because I did back up when Mari tugged me the other way. But then I saw the fright on the girl's face, and something inside of me commanded me to stay. To not turn my back. To not walk away.

So instead of doing that, I dug my heels into the ground and said, "We can't just leave. That girl's being attacked!"

"But Hikari-" Mari protested.

"I can't just leave!"

Without thinking, I yanked my wrist free, dropped my bag to the floor, hefted my sword, and charged.

"Hikari, WAIT!"

I didn't feel fear in those first few moments, even though I knew I should have. But all I felt was adrenaline coursing through my body, my blood roaring in my ears, and with a speed not even I knew I had, I shot forward and, with a furious cry, slammed the shaft of the wooden sword square into one of the creatures white heads. It's body trembled at the force of my blow, it's head even caving inwards at my strike.

So why didn't it feel like I had made any contact?

"What?!" a male voice shouted, no doubt the guy in the cloak, clearly taken off guard by my unexpected entrance.

The dog barked uproariously as I leapt back beside the girl in pink, taking a defensive stance. Four enemies, and the one I had successfully hit looked like it hadn't taken even the slightest bit of damage. Crap.

"Who are you?" the girl asked, shocked.

"Introductions later, survival now," I said, keeping my eyes on the oddly prancing enemies. Up close, I could see that they definitely weren't human. The white jumpsuits they wore looked much more like skin, and their heads were nothing but an unzipped mask with a black void serving as their faces, the zipper almost resembling jagged teeth.

The first flicker of fear wormed it's way into my heart, but I clamped down on it as quick as it came. This was not a classroom, I could not afford to get distracted now. Still, that didn't stop my heart from pounding, nor the bead of sweat that rolled down my cheek.

"Well, what's all this? Pretty sure I didn't invite you to this little meeting," The red-haired man said irritably.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the creatures jerk spastically, it's knees bending. Shit!

Turning around, I held up my blade just as the creature lunged forward, it's thin, razor-like hands digging into the wood with a strength belied by it's unnaturally thin frame. My knees almost caved at the unexpected force, but I tightened my muscles, clenched my teeth, and thrust him off. It stumbled back, and didn't make a move to come toward me again. Still, I lowered my sword in it's direction, showing it I was ready in case it decided to attack again.

The girl behind me gasped, "Stop it! Leave her alone!"

"Ruff!" the dog barked, growling.

"If this is you're idea of a meeting, pal, I'd get a dictionary if I were you," I retorted.

"Oh, a wise-gal huh?" The man snorted, "Look, I just wanted to make the little lady behind you an offer. An offer that I'm sure she's been waiting for, for a long time. But if you really wanna make this an issue-"

Flames licked along the man's arms, burning brighter and hotter with every second, and in a brilliant flash of crimson embers, two spinning, lethally spiked chakrams materialized out of thin air, fire dancing along the blades. And with a smirk that seemed far too cold for the flames than now flickered around him, the man finished, "-then we'll make this an issue."

My eyes went wide. Fire? He summoned fire?

"How the-" I shut myself up before I could ask, shaking my head and focusing back on the situation in front of me.

Okay, this changed things. This changed things a lot. I realized now that he wasn't just some creepy guy in black coat. This guy was way outta my league. I knew that, and he knew that. He could wipe the floor with me if he wanted.

"But hey, I'm a nice guy, so I'll give you a choice," the man said, twirling the chakrams around his fingers as if they were nothing but toys, "You turn around and walk away now, I'll forget this ever happened. Cross my heart."

I narrowed my eyes. That last bit was said almost as if it were a joke.

"And what about her," I asked, nodding my head towards the girl behind me, "I don't suppose you'll just let her go too?"

"I'd be more worried about my own skin, if I were you," he taunted.

Damn it, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Running away would mean abandoning this girl to God knows what, while on the other I could-

I could . . .

It was then the real weight of this began to crash in on me. This guy, he could really kill me if he wanted to, and how long could I last against someone who could play with fire and not get burned? My arms began to tremble and my breath became quicker and more erratic as I looked to see if there was any way out of this situation. I swallowed thickly and clenched the handle of my blade even harder, trying to wrestle the fear under control, but I knew he could see. His eyes told me that he saw I was afraid.

Then I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Please, don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Just get out of here, please."

"See, she's made her choice. You can walk away, guilt free," the man goaded, "But you better hurry it up, I'm on a tight schedule."

I bit my lip. We could try running away, but something told me that guy had very good aim, and wouldn't miss should he decide to throw one of those things. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

But then, out of nowhere, a sharp whistle cut through the air. I whirled around, and watched in awe as a strange shadowy portal suddenly appeared out of thin air. The dog at my feet barked and promptly took off toward the gate, turning around to make sure we were following, "Ruff! Ruff ruff!"

So, now we had another choice. Chance it with the strange black portal. The dog seemed okay with it, and clearly wanted us to follow him. At the same time, who knows what can of worms we'd open up then. But I was left with very few options at this point, and since the only other option was to get skewered and flambéed at the same time, beggars couldn't be choosers.

But the man wasn't done talking, "You and I have something in common, Kairi. You and I both miss someone we care about."

I looked at her, and saw the hesitation in her eyes. I didn't know what he wanted from her. I didn't know what she was looking for. But I did know one thing for sure, and that was that that guy was bad news.

"Don't listen to him. Whatever he's offering you, it'll go sour, that's how these types work," I reasoned with her.

"And how would you know what it is I'm offering. Don't take it, Kairi, and you might be stuck here forever, waiting for someone who might not even come back. It's the same with me," The man's voice was almost sickeningly sweet with his next words, "Hey, I feel like we're friends already."

I glared at him. Freak.

Then the girl, Kairi, stood up a little straighter, a determined looked stealing its way into her eyes. Her hesitation gone, she ran toward the portal, turning just long enough to give the man one last farewell, "You're not acting very friendly!"

I quickly ran after her, glad that she'd made the right (well, better) choice. She was fast too, already disappearing into the darkness of the portal ahead. Guess my mind was made up for me then. And like hell was I staying around with this guy.

I glanced back to give the man a smug smile, savoring this impromptu victory and wanting to convey that to him. But it quickly died when I saw what he was about too do. The flames on his weapons were burning brightly, and one of his arms was cocked over his shoulder, ready to throw the lethally spiked weapon for all it was worth.

And he was looking right at me.

"Shit!" I shouted, pushing all my energy into my legs to propel myself forward. The portal was right there, if I could just cover those last few feet!

Suddenly, something thin and black shot over my head, cutting through the air with a sharp fwip!

"GAH!" the man's sudden and startled cry made me spin on my feet to see what had happened, and when I saw the fletched end of an arrow sticking out of the man's shoulders, I felt my smile return. Spinning back to the portal, I continued running, smiling at the girl standing besides the portal with a bow in hand.

"What took you so long?" I asked.

"Sorry," Mari apologized, "But let's get out of here first!"

And with those words, the two of us plunged headfirst into the swirling pool of darkness.

Where we came out, well, I couldn't even begin to describe. It was corridor-ish in shape, but everything moved, shapes that made no sense to me crawling along the blue . . . something that I guess were supposed to be the walls.

"What the hell?" I asked, jerking my foot away from as a small grey symbol-thing that slithered a bit too close for my comfort.

"Got me!" Mari chirped helpfully as she shrugged her shoulders. I glanced at her. Well, she seemed strangely okay with this.

"You're okay!"

I looked to my left and saw Kairi running towards us, the dog right by her heels, a look of relief on her face, "When you didn't come through right away, I thought something had happened to you . . . um . . ."

I gave her a reassuring smile, "Hikari. Don't worry, I'm fine, thanks to this one over here."

I gestured to Mari, who gave Kairi a big smile, "Howdy! I'm Mari!"

Kairi returned her smile, looking between the two of us and bringing her hands up to her chest, "Hikari. Mari. My name is Kairi. It's nice to meet you."

"Ruff!" the dog barked, excitedly wagging his tail. I gave him a smile and a small wave, "Hey."

"Nice to meet you too!" Mari said appreciatively, giving Kairi a once-over and winking.

"Stop that," I said, sharply elbowing her in the rib.

"Ow!" she grunted, rubbing her side and giving me a teary look, "I was just being friendly!"

"That's not being friendly, that's being creepy," I countered.

Kairi looked between the two of us, seemingly at a loss. But instead of backing away slowly, like most would, she placed a hand to her mouth and giggled.

Mari, still rubbing her side, smiled, "See, Kairi thought I was being friendly."

"Arf!"

I rolled my eyes.

The giggles quickly subsided, however , as Kairi's attention began to turn towards the aberrant scenery of the place. Not that I could blame her. This place was, to put it mildly, bizarre.

"Hey, do either of you know what this place is?" she asked.

"No, I've never seen anything like it," I responded, "The important question though, is how are we gonna get out of here?"

"Well, what about that white door-thingy over there?" Mari asked, pointing.

Both me and Kairi gave her confused looks before following where it was she was pointing. And lo', another strange portal! Although, this one was much nicer looking, giving of a soft and pleasant white light that seemed far too cheery for a place like this. It was even bell-shaped.

"Where do these keep coming from?" I asked, gesturing to the portal with both my hands..

Suddenly, another whistle cut through the air, the dog's ears immediately perking up in eagerness. With an excited bark, he ran toward the mysterious white portal, vanishing into the glow beyond.

"Come on, let's go" Kairi said, walking toward the portal without fear.

I watched her for a moment, glanced at the ever-changing and empty world around me, and shrugged, "Why not. Go through one portal, you've gone through them all."

"Eh, what's the worst that could happen?" Mari asked, walking backwards so she could face me.

Just about everything, was what I wanted to say. But again, beggars couldn't be choosers, so I kept quite as the three of us walked over the threshold and stepped into the surprisingly warm light. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Kairi pausing and turning around to look back into the distortion world we had just left. I stopped too, not wanting to leave her behind.

Then she froze, "Huh?"

Confused and a bit alarmed, I turned around to look at her just in time to see the portal close behind us. No turning back now.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

Her eyes remained on the spot where the portal had closed, unmoving.

I looked at the spot she was looking at to see if there was something there that I was somehow missing, but all I saw was peach-colored light. Folding my arms over my chest, I stepped forward a bit closer and asked, "Kairi?"

She jumped a little, turning around to face me, "Huh? O-oh, I'm sorry. It must have been my imagination."

I raised an eyebrow, "What must have been your imagination?"

She abashedly brushed a few strands of her dark red hair out of her face, looking a little red herself as she said, "I just . . . thought I saw someone."

I looked at her, then over her shoulder, frowning, "Well, if you did, they can't get to us now."

"Hey, what's takin' you guys so long?" Mari shouted from a little ways off, waving an arm over her head, "Come on, I see something over here!"

I shook my head and glanced apologetically at Kairi, "I hope you know how to handle energy, because Mari is living silo of one."

Kairi smiled, "Don't worry, I used to play with people who used to run laps around the island for fun."

"Well, consider them your training wheels, because Mari is on a whole other level, I assure you," I warned, but there was a small smile on my face as the two of us walked towards the impatient Mari, who seemed to be tapping her foot on the ground at a rapid-fire speed.

Kairi laughed at that, when a look of sudden realization crossed her face, "Oh, that's right! I never thanked you for your help back there."

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't really much help, anyway," I said, though I could feel my cheeks heat up just ever so slightly. I really hope she didn't see that.

"Still, thank you," Kairi said, and her honest gratitude almost hurt. My face got just a little hotter, and I turned my head the other way, "I said don't worry about it."

"Come on!" Mari shouted, throwing her arms up in the air.

"Alright, coming, just try not to pop a blood vessel!" I yelled, picking up my pace. Behind me, Kairi chuckled.

When the two of us arrived, Mari quickly pointed out what it was that got her so excited, "See?"

It was a . . . well, I wasn't actually sure what it was.

"It . . . looks like a hole," I said, though I was still unsure.

"What are we supposed to do with it?" Kairi asked, though I couldn't be the one to give her an answer.

"Ruff! Ruff!" the dog suddenly ran up and launched himself through the hole, vanishing into the white.

"Uh . . ." I said, staring at where the dog had once been.

Mari cocked her head to one side and grinned, "Guess that's are cue!"

Before either of us could say anything, Mari pelted forward and dove headfirst into the light, her 'wheeeee!' fading as she did.

I slammed a hand against my face, "My God, you are insane."

"I think she's got the right idea," Kairi said, to which I gave her a pointed look.

"It might be our only way out of here," she pointed out.

I glanced at the empty scenery around me, and had no choice but to nod in agreement, "Yeah, you might be right about that."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Kairi reassured me, "I think whoever opened these portals for us wanted to keep us safe."

"Hm," I murmured. Could that really be true?

"Come on," Kairi urged, and once more, before I could say anything, she ran off into the white, disappearing just like the others.

I cocked my head back and rolled my eyes, "Really guys?"

But I wasn't going to get an answer here, so, looking back at the hole in front of me, I shrugged, "Guess there's no time like the present."

Taking a breath, I hunched down, braced myself, and dove into the light.

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