EDITED 6/17/2010

Author's Comments: I've made huge revisions to this story! If you've read this story already, I encourage you to read it again and to comment on the revisions made. My main hopes for this re-edited version include showing you more than telling you and indulging in Imani's journey of self-discovery with much more descriptive detail. Please let me know what you think!

This story takes place after KH2. It was my pathetic (desperate, but effective) attempt to occupy myself through the rest of the summer. It has no connection whatsoever to whatever brilliant ideas Mr. Nomura has in mind for future Kingdom Hearts chapters, as I can only dream of coming up with something worthy of turning into a video game as amazing as any of the Kingdom Hearts games. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters, or its story lines (as noted with an *). I do own Imani.

It's dark.

Being in the dark hasn't bothered me before, but now...the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. An uncomfortable, sticky weight sits in the pit of my stomach. My hands start to sweat. A steady, quick-paced drumbeat pounds against my ribcage.

Something seems off about this dream...but I can't place my finger on the reason. No matter how hard I squint, I can't see anything. No shapes or edges. Nothing.

I squint harder, blink a few times, and squint again, turning my head from left to right. There has to be something here...not that I want to find the cause of my unease.

"...She's ready..."

My heart leaps to my throat and I freeze in place.

"Soon...rts of our own..."

"...Superior..."

Whisperings so soft I second-guess my hearing them at all. My only proof of hearing the voices are the goosebumps rising from my skin.

"...smet Scr..."

Who's there? Who are you?

Instead of an answer, a low noise rips through the silence. It sounds like...something being sucked through a drain...

I blink furiously, whipping my head from side to side in a vain effort to identify the source of the sound. I can't pinpoint exact locations; the noise seems to be all around me, ringing in my ears and drowning me in what sounds like an invisible vortex. My temples throb the more I crane my neck. Sweat breaks out on my back and my pajamas stick to my skin and the pounding in my chest intensifies with each increasing decibel of the noise and I feel like I can't breathe in enough air—

Yellow. Blinding yellow orbs force me to shut my eyes in pain. As the sucking noise blasts my ears, gusts of air whoosh past my body, chilling my wet skin and raking through my short hair like swiping fingers. When I open my eyes again, a soundless scream constricts my throat.

A sea of bobbing yellow orbs surround me, casting a collective glow on the claw-covered floor and reflecting off the jagged edges of toothy mouths. Though my limbs feel like they've turned to stone, with much effort I take a step back...

Something icy and solid brushes against my ankle. A shiver races down my sweaty spine. A shriek rips through my lungs, hardly loud enough to override the chaotic racket deafening me.

Help...

"Imani!"

I pant for air, press my arms against my chest tightly, cross one leg over the other, and wonder how a dream could possibly be as realistically horrifying as this.

"Imani! Fight!"

My eyes dart around above the yellow sea. Huffing and puffing quickly becomes sobbing. Who's calling my name?

"FIGHT, Imani!"

Warm wetness pool at my eyes and the orbs blend into each other like smeared paint. Noise drowns out the voice, but not the panic and fear frying my nerves.

Please...whoever you are...Help me...

"Imani!"

Author's Afterthought: Yes, I'm painfully aware of how short this is. At least there was a little familiarity in the whispering characters. Can you guess who they are? (I'm sure you can.)

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