The cracks continued to get larger as they stared at them. One of them had split the sides, but it wasn't deep yet. They had to make a decision on what to do, back out or go in.

It was chosen for them.

Hart let out a terrified scream, followed by Yuma and Shark yelping as the ground beneath them crumbled. Cathy shrieked as the small part of land she had been standing on faded away, causing her to tumble in, followed by a startled Astral, who'd dove in attempting to rescue them.

"NO!" Tori screamed it, attempting to catch Cathy as she fell. Caswell, Flip and Kite just stared at her as she backed up to where she had been standing. This wasn't good. Black Mist had wanted them separated. It would make it harder for them to find Kat that way.

"Whad'ya know, the first thing that happens is we get separated." Flip rolled his eyes and started to walk away. Caswell and Tori followed, leaving Kite to stare into the crack momentarily before he followed them. Now he had to rescue Kat and Hart.

Fantastic.

XxXxXxXx

"GAHHHH!" Yuma yelled it as he hit the ground. Shark came flying down, landing right on top of him. Cathy tumbled onto both, then shrieked as Hart landed on top of her. The pile of four bolted up, taking in all of their surroundings. The sky was dark, navy blue, with small meteors that dotted it. The ground was light, baby blue with red, purple, yellow and green swirls. It represented Astral World, Yuma realized.

"So, how the hell are we gonna get out of here?" Shark asked, looking around. Yuma found it odd that even though it was 4:12 now, the purplette was dressed in his usual attire, black pants, mahogany shirt, and the purple jacket that matched his white shoes.

"I have no idea," Yuma admitted. Astral shrugged. "Neither do I. This is a part of the key that I am not familiar with."

"Great." Cathy sighed and turned away, walking around in circles. Hart followed her, trying to kill his boredom. They continued to walk like that for about five minutes before plopping down on the galaxy-based floor.

Yuma growled and sat down as well. This wasn't going to go too smoothly. Shark watched as Astral flew up a little bit, then floated back down. Even he couldn't fly back up to the surface, and this was his key! That really said something.

XxXxXxXx

Bright lights flashed in front of her eyes. Kat stared in agony as they became brighter, then went dimmer, and continued in a pattern like that. Her neon-blue bangs covered her eyes for her as she closed them, looking away. Kat just couldn't stand it anymore.

Cackling soon rang through the area. Kat jerked up, staring at the lights as they got brighter once again. Black Mist soon showed himself, a smirk crossing his lips as he stared at his captive.

"I see you're finally awake Kat."

"Shut up."

"Right, like I'm really gonna listen to you. You're powerless while you're tied up like that, and there's no way you could possibly-"

"I said, shut the hell up!"

"Hmph, such language!" Black Mist seemed stunned for once as Kat glared up at him. He hadn't expected her to be so assertive.

But then again, it was Kat he was dealing with.

"Well whatever. I'll have you know the others are pointlessly trying to find you. Like they'll succeed. I've split them up and now you're all screwed." Black Mist let out a cackle and approached Kat. His dusk colored tentacles wrapped around her waist, and he floated closer to her. He stroked her cheek, causing the blue and brown-haired girl to flinch and growl. The black being chuckled and slithered away. Kat shuddered.

"Ewww. What a creep." She shifted uncomfortably and watched as some of the lighted areas grew brighter than others. One in particular seemed to constantly grow brighter, and it would get closer to Kat every chance it got. She thought that was strange, but she shrugged it off like usual.

The only thing to do was stare around at everything. Kat just sighed and did so, looking at the floor, at the sky, at anything she could see clearly. She would be keeping an eye on the single light, however.

There was something about it. Kat thought she should know it from somewhere. She just couldn't place it.

Suddenly, the ground began to crack around her. Slight, little cracks that weren't deep whatsoever. Kat gulped. This wasn't good.

And from afar, Kat could hear the insane cackling of Black Mist.

XxXxXxXx

A roar ripped through the area. Black Mist just smirked as he approached Astral's little wall of Numbers, where Heartearth Dragon and Kat's memories were being held captive. Heartearth let out another roar of anger as the black being that held it captive continued to come closer.

"Let me guess, you would like to know what's wrong with Kat? Well I'll tell you. She can't remember a thing! Tragic really, I wonder who was responsible... oh that's right, it was me." Black Mist simply laughed. Heartearth Dragon was not happy at all. It smacked itself against the small enclosure it was in, but was only able to make a dent.

Another roar ripped throughout the area. Black Mist had to cover his ears in order to shut it out. Heartearth smashed its great body against its enclosure once again, only this time, cracked it.

BANG!

The crack became a small hole.

BANG!

Now it was a large hole.

SMASH!"

Glass shards flew off in all directions. Heartearth roared and took off. Black Mist growled, attempted to grab the massive dragon with his tentacles, but missed. He scowled, but soon shrugged it off.

"Pf, minor set-back. So what if Heartearth freed itself? Not like it'll ever find Kat." Black Mist cackled again and turned, walking away smoothly.

It was nearly time for him to put an end to Kat, once and for all.