Kady opened his eyes, hoping against hope that the first thing he would see was Kiara smiling back at him. Instead he awoke in a pristine white hall, and two sets of doors on either side. Around him, the others were waking up as well, groaning as they picked themselves up from the floor. There was no evidence of the time machine, and the weapons they'd used were also gone.
"Is this… the space between dimensions?" Hayley asked, craning her neck.
"Must be," Basil said. "Either that, or we're all dead and this is Heaven."
"Or Hell," Ratigan suggested.
"Wherever we are, we better not waste any time trying to find Kiara," Kady said. He nodded to the doors that led down the small stairway. "Let's go that way."
They descended through several identical halls, sticking close together. All kept their eyes peeled, turning their heads in all directions, the shadows themselves seeming prepared to leap at them. Faint music drifted through the air, like someone playing an organ, but without a clear source they ignored it. They continued through the mirrored halls and stairways, their footsteps the only other company.
Luci's fingers hovered over the keys. "Perhaps it's better if I start over after all," he whispered. He rolled his shoulders, and all around him the shadows darkened violently. They became pitch black, slithered, and rose up as crude humanoid creatures with glowing yellow eyes, darkness manifest.
"Go and deal with our guests."
The Heartless scurried away, disappearing into the cracks and grooves and natural shadows as they left the room.
"Just how big can this place be?" Hayley wondered aloud. They entered an enormous T-shaped hall, when across on the other side Kiara appeared.
"Kiara!" They all shouted in unison. She jumped and stared wildly at them as they ran forward and stopped just short of her. She backed up a couple steps, still staring.
"Kiara, it's us!" Basil said. "We've come to save you!"
Her brows furrowed as she looked them all up and down, peering at their faces.
"…Kiara?" Hayley asked.
She blinked several times, and haltingly said, "Hayley." She pointed to each of them in turn, "Basil. Ratigan. Kady." She relaxed her stance, and stepped closer. "My family! My friends!"
"Kiara, what's happened to you?" Ratigan asked.
Her face crumpled. "Oh no, you can't all be here. We have to leave, we need to escape! Please tell me you know how to escape?"
"We kind of bet it all on just being able to get here," Kady admitted. "We have no idea how to get back, or even where we are."
She clawed at her face. "No! You never should've come here, it's not safe! If he finds you—"
A dull roaring, like wind escaping a vacuum, alongside increasing organ music, interrupted her words.