Brandon rubbed his throbbing head softly. He looked around. His first thought went immediately to Star. Where was she? Was she okay? He sighed. She was nowhere to be found. If only he'd held on just a bit tighter…

…But now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. He could apologize to Star later, but for now he needed to FIND her. He only hoped she wouldn't hate him for not holding her tighter. He could almost see her now, her normally bright, shining face darkened with scorn, her usually perky, smiling lips contorted into a frown. He sighed again. He looked around again, this time trying to take in the scenery…or lack thereof. As his eyes wandered, he found himself sitting in a dark room, walls and floors featureless, surrounded by a dense fog.

Where am I? He thought to himself. What is this place?

Reaching over his shoulder to scratch an itch, he noticed he was carrying a backpack of some sort. Taking it off and examining it, he realized it was the bag that contained their supplies—Star's pack. Strange. He didn't remember taking it from her. In fact, she'd dropped it during the battle with the shadow creatures. How had he…?

Then it hit him. Misdreavus must have picked it up and given it to Brandon before the world began collapsing. Great. Now Star would think he'd flung her into the darkness AND stolen her stuff. Perfect. Before, his concern had been with asking her to lunch or something similar, but now he would probably have to struggle to convince her not to kill him outright for being a murderous, thieving stalker. Suddenly he heard a laugh and the fog began to take a black form…a horned being that appeared at least slightly human.

"Hello, child."

"Hello, ugly apparition," said Brandon with a mix of distaste and lack of interest.

The creature laughed again. "There is much darkness in your heart. I can sense it."

"Listen, freak. What's in my heart is MY business, not YOURS," Brandon said defensively.

"Calm yourself, child. I mean you no harm."

"You told me there's darkness in my heart and now you say you mean me no harm?"

"There is no evil in darkness. Only those who do not understand it. Darkness is power. Power is derived from darkness. There are people who cannot see this, and so they shun the darkness."

"You're just trying to get me all worked up. Buzz off, pal, I got a friend to find."

"Your friend is on another world. You won't find her without help."

"I don't need your help. I'd never need YOUR help," Brandon said fiercely.

"My, my. We ARE determined, aren't we? Pity you'll never find her."

"Excuse me?!"

"Surrender your heart to darkness and you will achieve the power to find your friend," said the creature mysteriously.

"Who are you?"

"I am Nightmare."

"Well, Nightmare," said Brandon, walking away, "you can go kiss the rear end of a Piloswine. I'm not interested."

As Brandon disappeared, Nightmare smiled. "We shall see."

Three black knights arose from the fog. "What is your bidding, Master?"

"Go, my Heartless. Capture the boy. Bring him to me…alive."

Star charged and began to slash, but stopped the Keyblade inches before Riku's face. "Why aren't you moving?" she demanded.

"Because," Riku said with a frown, "you are hesitating. Don't. Try to drive the Keyblade through my skull."

Star swallowed her inhibitions and began another slash. She wasn't going to hold back this time. As the blade approached Riku's face again, he cracked a smile. He swiftly pulled a dagger concealed in his belt and guided the Keyblade away, nearly causing Star to lose her balance. He stabbed at her wrists, forcing her to release the Keyblade and jump back in surprise. CLANG! Went the blade as it hit the ground forcefully.

Riku lifted the Keyblade and brought it to within an inch of her throat. "Lesson one," he said calmly. "Never drop your weapon in a battle."

He pulled the blade away and casually tossed it back to her. "I think that's enough training for the day," he stated as he resheathed his dagger.

Star concentrated and the Keyblade went…well, she hadn't really thought about where Keyblades went when they weren't being used. Oh, well. She panted heavily on the way back to the inn.

"A little tired?" asked Kairi, grinning.

"Exhausted."

Kairi laughed. "Well, you'll get used to it."