My breaths are coming out in pants and I can barely repress the tremors coming up my arms, down my spine. But damn them if I can't hold his hand. I'm not letting go of Sora, not now. Not when he's finally managed to look me in the face.

I have the feeling that I know where we're going, I'm not afraid to share my theory. "He is taking us to that world, the one you tried to keep me from." Looks like Sora's puppet master hasn't given up.

"What?" Sora's lower body is gone now, completely entrenched in the dark, black, tar-like substance taking us all away. Riku's already gone. "Kairi, I can't move."

"I know, I know." I laugh. My voice sounds so foreign to my ears. I'm starting to hate it. "I got you though. Don't you still trust me?"

He answers me immediately, almost eager. "Yes. I trust you."

I smile and don't bother to wipe the tears I feel escaping from my eyes. After everything that's happened, after all I've done he can still look at me like that. Like I'm important, like I'm special . . .

I deserve nothing more, his love is enough. Even as I watch all our bodies completely merge into this black portal, even as we fall towards an unknown reality . . . I don't feel scared.

He loves me. By the light, he still loves me.

I shake and hug whatever parts of his body I can still make out to my chest just as I'm blinded by a sharp, burning white light.

Don't Be a Gentleman: New World

My eyes open slowly and I watch my breath fog up in front of me. Cold, it's really cold.

My body doesn't want to move at all, but I fight it. I grip the wooden floor and push with all my strength, getting myself into an unstable sitting position. My back immediately protests and I can visibly see my arms shaking. No, my body screams, lay back down!

I growl and grunt through the unnatural fatigue, somehow standing and then falling as my legs crumble under my weight. My thoughts scatter erratically as I slam into the floor from behind, knocking the wind out of me. A strangled gasp comes out of my throat and my eyes stretch open as wide as they can go.

Well, if I wasn't awake, I am now.

The groaning commences as I sit up followed by the warbled grunts of my friends. I turn my head and see Sora hold himself up on his hands and knees. Riku is using the wall for support, breathing heavily. It's like we're all tired from some hectic chase, our chests heave up and down in rhythm as our shattered cycles of breath hit the air in misty swirls.

Sora looks at me strangely for a second before turning his head towards Riku. His mouth turns into a firm line, it's like he's thinking hard on something. Then he stands. "Everyone okay?" he asks.

I wrinkle my nose. "My legs won't work," I mutter nonchalantly.

Riku waves his hand in a weird motion, like he's shaking away ants. "My head burns," he says, even more apathetically than my complaint might I add.

Sora smirks and shakes his head. "Well, my stomach hurts like hell, so I guess we're all alright."

For some reason, in his dry hoarse voice, the statement makes me laugh. I start giggling, holding my stomach as the emotions tickle my ribcage. Soon enough, my infectious mood affects Riku and Sora. It's hard to describe this type of laughter, it's not really joyful. More like an understanding, like an agreement between old friends because everyone knows we're in deep, like, crappy stuff.

But it's comforting. We've all seen the worst of each other (hopefully, otherwise I would rather go blind). What more could go wrong?

I shake my head free of these silly thoughts and finally stand. It's still hard to support my weight and I nearly fall again but a single hand holds me up. I glance up into Sora's tired face. He smiles at me but I have trouble finding warmth in it. I swallow and try to move away.

His lips twitch and turn into a small frown as his eyes shine with worry. "What's wrong?"

"You're face . . . " My hands shake as I place them on his cheeks, moving my right hand along the faint, jagged scars left by the scratch I gave him when I was . . . when I was . . . "It hasn't healed."

Sora shrugs. "No. I tried using a healing spell, but it didn't work. When I went to see your dad I was wearing make up." He moves my hands away from his face while biting his bottom lip.

I blink once, feeling a part of me inside snap. Was it really only a few hours ago that I did this to him? Some dark force compelled me to attack . . . or maybe it wasn't me. I grip my head, hiding my face so that he wouldn't see my shameful tears. The bruise on my neck flares briefly, but not enough to really be a nuisance. In seconds I'm biting down on my knuckles so that no sobs can escape, teeth biting against hard bony flesh. I can almost imagine Sora stiffening beside me, close my eyes and see him pull me into a hug and wipe away my tears.

But that doesn't happen. Instead, I open my eyes and see Sora walking away from me just as Riku slowly turns the knob, opening the door to a new world. It's at this time that I fully take in my surroundings, notice how different this room is. The wooden flooring is spaced rather oddly, coated in weird purple splotches of paint that remind me of dried up blood for some reason. The walls are covered with empty, white picture frames and there's a rusted chandelier on the ceiling that replaces regular white light with odd, red shades.

I blink once then walk slowly towards Riku and Sora, taking in all these details. As I get closer to the door I instinctively cross my arms over my chest, covering my shoulders with my hands. It's getting even colder. I hear the sound of Sora's teeth chattering and he absently rubs one arm. Riku doesn't seem to be affected by the cold at all, rather, he opens the door even wider and is the first to step outside.

Sora and I walk out in sync, but it feels separate because we avoid each other's eyes. His shoulder brushes against mine briefly before we're standing beside Riku, looking around. In a strange sense of companionship, we all scoot a little closer to each other, then we all look up.

Now, I'm not sure how to truly describe the emotions at work here, nor to explain the fantastical sights before me. For a second, simply imagine waking up in a foreign country. The weather is completely different from what you're used to, the scenery is practically a stranger, and last you get civilians who might as well be speaking gibberish in your naïve ears.

Think of all that minus the civilians. Your whole atmosphere is different. The air tugs at your skin, drawing you in cold breaths of temptation. The sky is a molding mixture of lavenders, oranges, and purples. The sun is red. Your eyes are blurry from the different air, almost like they're trying to adjust to new films to see through. Your whole body is shaking now because it's just so cold, unnaturally cold, yet you know that you won't die from it. It just feels so different, completely alien.

The village we're standing in is distinct by the architecture. The houses scream high class but also carry a dull aura of brooding and seriousness. Sharp edges forming into triangle roofs, two windows, metal doors with scary, tiger-shaped doorknobs. Every house looks the same down the block, a sea of purple houses.

Again, this is just a village. When our eyes move to the left we get to see the heart of this city, the prize that the puppet master briefly showed me through a portal in our battle weeks ago. The city pushes up towards the sky, sky scrapers that are orange, purple, and lavender. I know, colors that match the sky? You'd think it would blend in, right?

Well, the colors are blended together. When you start from the bottom you see the orange, then as you continue to look up it blends into the lavender and then the purple is at the very top, skimming against the sky. The contrast is like holding a bloody knife up to something white (you know, because of the red tip).

If my thoughts seem more morbid than normal, please try to forgive me. Again, it's just the ominous undertone you get from this place. The darker thoughts come naturally to me here, so natural and common that it's scary. And with all I've seen (with the exception of that petty fear for darkness), I've considered myself a little hard to scare.

A huge frown is present on my face when Riku finally turns towards us, eyes pale and yellow as ever (at least from what I can make out through his bangs). He looks haunted, but his posture is firm. "So . . . do you guys have any idea where we are?" he asks softly. You'd think he was simply talking about a blitzball match with how calm he sounds.

I don't even know how to respond, so I just stare back at him. Sora clears his throat, looking a little nervous. "Um, I think I know."

I gasp and instantly turn my head, staring at him fully in the face. My back suddenly feels so rigid and tight, like something is holding me up straight with a stick embedded in my spine. I stare at Sora and my voice is an octave lower when I speak. "What?" It's a flat answer, soft in it's delivery but there's a dark undertone that surprises me enough to make me step further away from him.

Sora's eyes narrow but he responds anyway, despite my rudeness. "I don't know . . . I feel like I've been here before. It just . . . everything seems vaguely familiar to me . . . "

Riku gives Sora a skeptical look. "Really? You mean you've been here before?"

"No, never. It's just . . . I can sense something, okay?" From the way Sora rubs his forehead and moans I can tell he's regretting opening his mouth.

Riku tilts his head, almost looking sympathetic. I swallow again, but it's hard. The lump in my throat is making it harder for me to speak and my surroundings aren't helping. Finally, I take in a deep breath and try to speak in a normal tone. "Let's just . . . try to find some people, okay? They can tell us where we are."

Riku nods while Sora just grunts in agreement. I clap my hands once then start heading towards the city on the road that's as black as night. It's sort of unnerving just walking on it. With the way we came here, sinking in a quick sand of purple tar, it sends shivers up my legs with the thought of drowning again. After five minutes of getting my forcing my feet to move my body relaxes and I'm able to walk a little easier. Riku and Sora are right beside me, matching my pace.

Time doesn't really pass fluidly here. The sky doesn't change, always shifting in that balanced merge of oranges, lavenders, and purples. I think I'm getting used to the colder climate (which is pretty fast, I'll admit it). Not like I like the cold now. Think of it this way, it's like having blisters. You get used to the rougher feel of everything in that area. Sometimes it's annoying, but your reactions to the change in texture becomes less and less pronounced over time.

Yeah, I'll just say that's what happened and leave it. What mainly concerns me is Riku. He's shown the least sign of surprise out of all of is, like he's trying to hide something. All I've seen so far is his skin get a little paler each minute, outlining his angular features a little more. It's a little disturbing, but I don't mention it, and neither does Sora (if he's even catching it that is).

So, we keep walking, and walking, and walking.

By the time we finally reach any remnants of a city I'm breathing heavily, barely able to stand. I press one hand against the wall. Even the building is cold, like skimming your palm against chunks of ice.

Sora sniffs then rubs his nose. "Well, we've reached an alleyway at least." He sounds uncharacteristically sarcastic.

Riku sighs and leans against the wall next to me. "Should we take a break?"

I lean my head back and stare at the red sun. "Does it matter?"

"Yeah, Kairi, it does matter." Sora stops, turning around, and crosses his arms. "Look, you guys can choose to laugh at me all you want, but I'm getting pretty bad vibes from this place. Even Roxas says-"

"Since when did you talk to Roxas?" Riku mirrors Sora's posture, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sora rolls his eyes. "Ugh, since now. That's not the point though."

I fight the urge to slap both of them in the face and push away from the wall. "Whatever the point is, we still need to find shelter."

"I think I may be able to help you with that."

I jump a foot in the air while Riku and Sora tense up. We all twirl in various directions towards the opening of the alleyway. A tall, lean young man approaches us, face framed by thick, brown locks that fall to his shoulders from behind. His eyes are yellow, almost the same as Riku. He has on long, black pants and a black T-shirt. His shoes are pointed but blend in with the pants (cause they're also black).

He gives us all a small smile before bowing. "If you'll be so kind as to let me introduce myself," he stands straight, holding out one hand, "My name is Terra. I have a place . . . if you can spare a little trust."

My response freezes in my throat and I stay silent. Riku fidgets a few feet from me, lips pressed together in a firm mind. Only Sora shows interest, only he takes a few steps forward. His movements are slow and hesitant, yet he reaches forward, taking this strange man's hand.

Terra's smile widens briefly before he gestures to the rest of us. "Come on, it will only be a few blocks. I promise."

Riku and I share a look. Then I sigh and take Sora's other hand, voice firm. "Alright, lead us there."

In the next few minutes we're walking down the street, warily glancing around. It's hard to make out any vehicles against the gothic set ups. Not that they're too hard to miss when you're up close to them. Every car is black. In my pink dress-like overalls and white shirt, I feel like a blinking neon sign against the dark landscape. At least Sora and Riku are wearing dark colors, I so don't blend in.

The various windows of different apartment complexes are transparent and give us a view of some place's interior. In the city, from what I see inside the buildings, everything is decorative and formal. I spot a few more chandeliers right as a black, taut face rises up from one window, bright yellow eyes staring right into my face. It takes a lot for me not to scream as I jump back.

Terra stops moving and I can see the muscles in his back flex. "Don't stare at the windows. Don't make eye contact with anyone in those buildings," He continues walking, muttering something under his breath quickly, "Or any thing . . . " I make sure to keep my head facing forward for the rest of the journey.

After a few minutes Terra stops again in front of a dull cafe. The entire place is completely grey and when he opens the door a high bell rings, the signal for customers I assume. The reception's desk is outlined by teal for the counter followed by five tall stools placed by the front. A tall, blue-haired woman with a round face is rubbing away at the counter with a rag, face twisted in concentration. Her lips are also blue and there's a faint blue shade that dusts her cheeks (make up, I'm guessing). When she looks up her eyes sparkle for a second, a lighter yellow than Terra's, before she quickly makes her way around the counter and bows in front of us.

"Welcome to Twilight Cafe. How may I serve you?"

I tilt my head as I think over her words. Her voice had a weird inclination to it, almost like she was intentionally making it high on purpose. There was also an accent to it, an ostentatious air to her tone that resembled the polite adress one might say when addressing a ruler.

Terra places a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, they're newcomers."

The woman instantly straightens herself, speaking in a normal tone now though there's still something haughty about it. "New you say?" She starts laughing. "Don't mock me, Terra."

He closes his eyes, an ever present smile on his face. "Naw, I'm afraid I'm serious this time."

She shrugs then looks us over. Her eyes pause on Sora and she mutters. "You brought him? The one everyone here can't keep their mind off of?"

Terra nods. "He's caused quite a stir."

She turns away from us and speaks again, but all I can make out is melodious rambling and occasional shifts in octave. He starts speaking again to her, a beautiful sounding melody of enchantments. Are they talking in a foreign language now?

I sigh and stare at the ground as awkward feelings rise up in my chest. Sora looks lost, not that I blame him, while Riku simply looks bored. Terra finally finishes his conversation and crosses his arms, English now flowing from his lips. "Alright, sounds good."

"Of course it sounds good, since when have I been wrong?" She rolls her eyes in what seems to be a playful manner, then places her hands on her hips and speaks to us. "Well, allow me to properly introduce myself. My name is Aqua, and if you want to live I suggest you do exactly as I say. Otherwise, we're all going to be targets and you may never make it back to your own world again." She raises an eyebrow. "Are we clear?"

For some reason the fact that both of them can already see that we're from a different world doesn't bother me. No. What's freaking me out is all the yellow eyes and the way they're staring at us right now. It's not a cruel look by any means, but it's not kind either. You can't help but be a little offended when you know you're already being judged harshly (and negatively) by one look.

I flinch under her stare, but I don't let myself show any other emotion. Riku cuts to the chase. "What do you need us to do?"

Terra gestures for everyone to enter a dark room while Aqua simply lifts her finger, moving it in front of my face. "Well, to start off," she taps my nose once before tugging lightly at my pink shoulder straps, "We need to get you out of this."

I blush angrily and push her hand away. "Right."

Aqua chuckles lightly. Don't let that fool you though, with the way she's staring at me . . . I can tell I'm already unwanted. "Well, make yourselves at home." She walks through a different doorway, glancing behind, eyes narrowing past us. "You might want to hurry though. We may have customers soon."

We follow where her finger points and turn our heads. Outside the cafe windows it looks like a multitude of people are standing around. Except they're not. Humanoid in appearance, yes, but their skin is as black as the streets we plowed through and what compensates for hands rises up, claws scratching at the glass.

All outside, all staring. Blank, bright, and yellow eyes the size of my thumb piercing into all of us. But after a few more seconds they zero in on me.

Won't you come outside, Kairi?

Please, come out.

We're all waiting for you.

I grip Sora's hand as tightly as I can, then finally follow Aqua into the hidden hallways, hoping with everything in me that no one else heard those soothing, persuasive voices.

A subconscious part of me senses the danger, acknowledges the fear. In this world I guess we'll always be watched.

Whew...interesting.

I'll be honest and admit that when it comes to describing things and plain narration (or, in other words, absence of dialogue) I tend to struggle a little. Criticism is much appreciated in regards to this.

Anyway, thank you all for reading! We've reached the hundreds, I never expected this story to come so far! Thank you everyone for following and reading up to this point, it means a lot to me.

Well, until next time.

Justice