The dim light filtering through the bars of the cell door was just barely enough to illuminate the floor in front of Kairi's feet. Breathing heavily, she glanced back and forth from one gloomy stone wall to another. Was it her imagination, or were they closing in on her?

"Help!" she cried, jumping to her feet and running the few steps to the door. She clung to the cold metal bars and pressed her face up against them. "Someone please help me! Sora! Where are you?"

From out of thin air a figure appeared, cloaked in black, its face shrouded in darkness. Kairi took a step back away from the door, her heart pounding.

"Sora is not coming," the figure hissed, looming closer. "No one is going to rescue you, princess."

"He will come," answered Kairi, her voice hardly more than a whisper. "He has to come."

The black figure began to laugh, quietly at first, then louder and louder until the evil sound echoed through Kairi's cell. Clasping her hands to her ears, she stumbled backwards until her back was up against the wall. "Please...just let me go..."

As the hooded man continued to laugh, darkness emerged from around him and began to swirl through the air. Kairi watched in horror as it grew bigger and began to consume everything around it – the bars, the walls, the floor – and finally came after her. Opening her mouth, she tried to scream, but it seemed that the darkness swallowed even her voice.

Just before the dark void closed in around her, Kairi woke, sweaty and shaking. She gulped in a deep breath of air to try and steady herself and blinked her eyes a few times to make sure the dream was really gone. Looking around the dark room, she tried to place her unfamiliar surroundings.

"Oh, right," she remembered. "We're spending the night at Merlin's house in Hollow Bastion." Sitting up, she pushed the covers away and leaned over to flip on the bedside lamp. The nightmare had been so real, part of her still felt like the darkness was hovering nearby and might come after her at any moment.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Kairi jumped slightly. "Kairi?" came a hushed voice. "It's me, Sora."

"Come in," Kairi called, grateful for the prospect of some company.

The door opened and Sora poked his head in, his brown spikes tousled from lying in bed. "Is everything okay?" he asked. "I thought I heard you scream."

"I'm okay," said Kairi quickly. "I was just having a dream. I'm sorry I woke you."

"You didn't wake me." Sora stepped the rest of the way into the room and shut the door behind him. "I couldn't sleep. I don't think the others heard you, either." Walking across the small bedroom, he perched on the edge of the bed and looked at her with concern in his eyes. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

Sighing, Kairi turned her head away. Part of her did want to tell him, but with everything that he had been through she knew her own troubles were quite trivial. Besides, she didn't want him worrying about her. "It's nothing," she said finally. "Just silly stuff, really."

"I don't think it's silly if it's bothering you," Sora disagreed. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "You can tell me if you want."

Kairi looked back into his earnest blue eyes and found herself nodding. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "I've been having these nightmares for a while now...ever since we all got back home."

"What are they about?" Sora prompted.

"Being kidnapped," Kairi replied reluctantly. "Mostly about my time in the Castle That Never Was. Usually I'm in the cell, and it feels like I'm suffocating. There are always Organization members there, though I usually can't see their faces. Sometimes they don't speak, other times they say terrible things to me, taunting me. And sometimes there's this darkness that comes, and takes over everything..." she shuddered.

"That sounds awful," said Sora, giving her hand a squeeze. "I'm so sorry."

Shaking her head, Kairi gave him a half-hearted smile. "It's nothing," she repeated. "Not a big deal."

"Sure it is," Sora exclaimed. "What you went through was terrible. It's no wonder that it's giving you nightmares. I just wish that I could have stopped it from ever happening...and that I could help you now."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Kairi responded. "You had important work to do, so you couldn't be there. I understand. I know when you found out, you got to me as quickly as you could, and you would have saved me if Naminé and Riku hadn't gotten there first."

"Yeah, I'm glad they were there for you, even though I'd rather it have been me."

"It really wasn't that bad, though," Kairi continued. "I didn't get hurt, and I was only there a few days. I feel ridiculous even bringing it up. Especially with everything that you guys have been through."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Sora scolded gently. "Just because your ordeal was different doesn't mean it was any less scary." He took a deep breath. "Sure, I've seen...and done...some terrible things, and yeah, sometimes it keeps me awake at night." For an instant there was a look in his eyes that Kairi had never seen before, and it pained her to see it now. She wondered if he was thinking again about whatever had kept him from sleeping on this particular night. But just as quickly as it came, the look was gone, and he squeezed her hand again. "But one thing that hasn't happened to me yet – I've never been kidnapped. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you."

"You're sweet," Kairi said, her smile more genuine this time. "Thank you, Sora."

"Of course," he smiled back. "You can always tell me what's on your mind, you know."

"And the same goes for you," she answered.

Sora gave a nod. "Are you ready to go back to sleep now?" he asked.

Hesitating, Kairi chewed her lip. Though she did feel much better after talking, the nightmare still lurked in the corners of her mind. "Not really," she finally admitted. "I think I'll stay up a while longer." She paused again, debating whether to ask him for what she really wanted. "Would you...mind sitting up with me for a few more minutes?"

"Sure!" Sora replied immediately. "I wasn't sleeping anyway, remember?"

Scooting back further onto the bed, they leaned against the wall side by side. Kairi hugged her knees to her chest. "Tell me about another one of your adventures," she said.

"Hmm..." Sora propped his chin on his fist, thinking. "Oh, I never finished telling you about the worlds in the exam, did I? You've gotta hear about how I met Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, but they had no idea who I was!"

Before long, Kairi found herself smiling and giggling at Sora's stories, her dreams far from her thoughts. They both got so caught up in talking that they forgot about the time. Eventually, though, Kairi's eyelids started feeling very heavy, and she could hear Sora's voice sounding sleepy, too, slowing until he had stopped talking altogether. Without really realizing what she was doing, she let her head slide down the wall until it rested on Sora's shoulder, and drifted off to sleep.