'Sleep tight, kiddo. I'll check up on you now and then, ya hear?' a quiet voice whispered from a dark corner.

'You are my only hope left... there isn't anyone more qualified to help than you... see ya...'

Laura woke up from the strange, calm sound to find herself on an unfamiliar yet comfortable surface in an unlit room. It seemed spacial. "Where...Am I?"

As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could make out objects flowing parallel to each other to her left. A few more seconds passed, and she made them out to be two thin linen curtains. Sitting up slowly and carefully, she expected some sort of pain, but only felt comfort. The bedsheets covering her were thin and soft to the touch. She guessed them to be white, or a pale grey, as she bunched a section into her hands, pulling them up to just above her chest. "These look expensive... but who do they belong to? Me?" she asked herself in confusion.

Shouldn't I be in my own bed? Oh, maybe I am... did Adam change my bedsheets while I was sleeping?

Feeling a tiny itch on her forehead, she let go of the bedsheets and raised her hand up to rub it. She froze when she felt the tough, fibrous feeling of what she assumed to be a band-aid.

Huh? What the...

Confused, she instinctively felt around her arms and the rest of her face. "Ow..." she flinched as she grazed a few cuts, scrapes and bruises along her arms. She brought her hands up to her hair, and found it to be brushed carefully and straight instead of her usual knotty bedhead.

Okay, something is definitely not right here, she thought to herself as she carefully slid her legs to her right side, and off of the bed. Standing up straight, her eyes had adjusted to the small amount of moonlight shining through the thin linen curtains. Silently tip-toe-ing towards the window, which she had discovered to be slightly ajar, she store out the window and was shocked at what she saw.

Palm and other tropical trees as far as the eye could see, were seen from her left to her right. A vast, starlit ocean rested farther away from the trees, separated by a beach. The distant ocean sky held dark, heavy storm clouds, that seemed to have dissipated from their former splendor and might. She saw a small village of around 20 huts of houses down below her, the scare window still lit. Far to her right was a tall, grassy field, with a winding brick path leading to god knew where. "I'm on a hill? A cliff?" she stopped herself for a moment.

A tall grassy field...

At that moment everything rushed back to her. The strange people in her apartment hallways. The strange reoccurring voices. Her strange dream. The portal. Running away from everything. Her world was gone, lost to the darkness in peoples' hearts. Getting lost on the forest trails. The kids that had scared her half to death. Two boys. The red-head girl in her dreams. 'Marly'. The white halls and rooms. A key?

No way of returning home.

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, building up and letting loose down her cheeks. "I'm still here... It's all real." She fell back onto the floor. She rested her hands on her upper legs, and realized she was in a plain white dress, instead of her pajamas she had arrived in. Her hands fell to her sides, clawing lightly at the hardwood floor below her. How did I change into this? Her mind raced back to the moment she barely felt herself fall of of the distressed tree branch... and how she didn't feel herself hit the cold, hard ground that waited for her so impatiently.

Running a hand through her hair, she urged her mind to calm down. She was still alive, not drenched in rain, dirt and sweat, not hanging on for dear life, nor was she freezing to death.

This new found feeling inside of her intrigued her. Realizing she was safe. She was never one to count her blessings like she was, sitting on the hardwood floor of an unknown home. Right, unknown. Think, Laura... who were the last people you remember seeing? It then struck her like a bolt of lightning: she had heard two male voices over the rain, wind and thunder from her treacherous perch so high up in the trees. "Sora...and Riku. They saved me, and brought me back here... Wherever here is." She blinked, her hands moving to grab a hold the night gown she wore in fear.

If they saved me, then that means they had to...

"...shut up, idiot, I'm just going to check on her," a familiar voice hushed another behind him from outside the room, whispering "you just checked on her 5 minutes ago, you pervert" and "i'm watching you with wide open eyes, cradle robber" from another room close to hers. Panicking, she ran silently back into bed, covering herself with the covers just so. Only seconds after she readied her scene, the door quietly but surely opened, and then closed behind the one who opened it.

She heard footsteps coming closer and closer to her, which were followed by the boy who came in to sit down on the bed, next to her. She was thankful she had her back turned to her, so he couldn't see how red her face was becoming. She almost twitched when he began to speak very quietly, trying her hardest to keep control of herself. "I shouldn't have made your mind race like that earlier today. It was...wrong, and... I'm sorry," he whispered quietly to Laura whom he thought was fast asleep, "jeez listen to me, apologizing to someone who isn't even listening. This is pathe-"

"I shouldn't have run away." Laura couldn't believe she actually spoke, and blew her cover so easily, just like that. She felt Riku almost fall of the bed in shock and fear. "Shit... you're awake," was all he had to say with a nervous chuckle as she turned around towards him to lie on her back, facing him from below. She crossed her hands together on her stomach and stared him in the eyes. "Tell me what you meant. About Manhattan..."

Riku gulped. "It's complicated, and uh.."

"Tell me. You owe me that much."

"We just saved your sorry ass from your happy perch on your branch, so I think that's enough for one-"

"Drop the tough guy act and tell me."

"...Fine."

Riku looked away, towards the linen curtains, and inhaled deeply. "There are many worlds out there. Manhattan being one of them, and Destiny Islands another," he began, and Laura sat up on the bed to better listen to what he had to say. "Every world houses people. Every person has a heart, and every heart, no matter who you are, houses both light and darkness within them." Riku expected a nod from Laura, but she simply gave him the most blank stare that he had ever seen, even after all of the worlds he had visited. He sighed in annoyance, and got up from the bed. "Come on," he gestured to Laura, who nodded and got out of bed.

Riku walked over to the window, and Laura followed. Once she was able to see clearly out of the window, he looked out of it as well.

"See all of the stars in the sky?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah. What about em?"

"Every star you see out here is actually another world."

Laura blinked. "Seriously?" she was ready to believe anything at this point, if it got her safely back home.

Riku smirked at her lack of knowledge, but didn't take it for granted. Only a few people knew of the world order. "Yeah."

"So then, what about Manhattan," Laura brought up, crossing her arms and looking down to the low window sill, "will it come back?"

Riku's grin from before turned into a frown. He didn't know how to put what he was going to say.

"Laura, I've been to Manhattan once before with an old friend," Riku began, turning to her, "and I can't say that even I felt welcome there. So much darkness... it was almost overwhelming."

Laura frowned. "So you're saying..."

"It's highly unlikely. You were lucky you escaped." her frown took a turn for the worse, and she turned around, moving towards the bed, and sitting down. Riku was about to think of something to say in attempt to comfort her, when-

"Alright lovebirds, that's enough! Now what's going-" Sora took a moment to notice the solemn look on Riku's face, hands in his pockets in inability to know what to do, and the frown on Laura's face, "...on?"
Riku took long, quick strides towards the door. "I was just leaving," he answered quickly, but was stopped. "No. Please stay, both of you." Laura's frown was still visible, her hands intertwined in discomfort. Sora gave Riku a 'please just stay' look, and Riku shifted a little, but then followed Sora to sit down. Riku quickly turned on the bed-side table light, and sat down on one of the guest chairs. Sora followed, and gave Laura a reassuring smile.

Laura cleared her throat. "Riku's told me that he's pretty sure that Manhattan is gone. For...good." Sora looked down to his side. "I'm sorry Laura, it's not your fault." Laura exhaled shakily, and shifted a little. "So, what about my guardian? My best friend? Are they gone, too...?" Sora felt her pain all too well, giving a shamed sigh. "Think of the last time you saw your grardian and your best friend," Sora asked her, and Riku continued, "were they in high or low spirits?"

She closed her eyes, guessing the answer to hers. "Adam was down about his mother being in intensive care at the hospital for a week then, and Lionel seemed to be feeling like he usually did..."

Riku leaned forward in his chair, gaining her attention. "It's tough to know from just that, but whether or not their hearts were strong enough... would decide if they're still out there, somewhere." Laura nodded quietly, but then a question arose in her head. "You guys are always talking about hearts, and how they have light and darkness in them... and Sora," he nodded, "you said I have a special kind of light. Is that why I was able to escape?"

The two boys blinked at each other, not sure how to answer that. Laura got up from the bed, and touched her heart. "I was standing in the kitchen back at my apartment, late at night, to get a drink, and then..."

"Then?" Riku blurted out, and Sora nudged him, as if he was saying 'shut up, just watch'. Laura nodded. "Then, I heard a voice. It told me to trust the light, and it would show me the way. I- I didn't know what to do, other than going towards my door, which unlocked itself, and then..." Laura was lost for words at that moment, and felt slightly strange. Sora quickly turned off the bedside table lamp, which shocked both of the teens in the room with him. "Uh, Sora?" Riku questioned, which was followed by a confused look from Laura. Sora turned his confused friends' face towards Laura, and immediately his eyes widened.

"Laura, you're..."

Laura looked down towards her chest, and whispered out, "glowing." Never in her life would she have guessed she would glow in the dark, like the stars on her ceiling. "Is this... it?" Sora got up, and turned to Laura. "This is what I was talking about. As soon as you started to talk about the voice you heard, I had a feeling." He gave a big smile, and moved towards the bed-side table to turn the light back on. Riku didn't know what to say, he just simply sat down once again, looking a mixture of confused, amazed, and exhausted. "The king was right."

Laura shook her head, and she stopped emitting the small amount of light. "Guys, what does this mean? What am I going to do?" Sora walked over to the door, and stopped in front of it, facing Laura. "Tomorrow, we set out for Disney Castle! We need to get some well-earned sleep right now though. G'night!" As soon as he opened the door, he was gone, which left the two remaining teens awkwardly alone. They stood there, silent, for a few moments, before Riku quickly strode towards the door. "You heard the boss. Get some sleep now," he bid before slowly closing the door after him, his footsteps audible down what she assumed to be a hallway.

Laura flopped backwards onto the bed, arms outstretched. She let out an exhausted sigh. "I have light... I glow, for crying out loud..." She slugged up towards the pillows on the bed, and turned to her left side once again.

Slipping into the covers, she shifted until she was comfortable. "What a mess..."