The child lay still and silent, his golden eyes never blinking as he stared sightlessly into the distance. His crimson cape fluttered slightly, though no wind blew through this strange, shadowy place. In fact, nothing seemed to move here at all. . . Stretching out in every direction, parting only for the motionless form of the white haired child, was a blanket of total darkness.

Suddenly, the child moved. His head tilted to the side slightly, and he winced--the first emotion that had crossed his face in quite some time. For a long moment, he simply stared out across the shadowy void, not quite comprehending what he saw. . . Then he closed his eyes and let his head fall back to the dark ground beneath him.

This isn't right. . .

The thought flickered through his mind, but then drifted away, replaced by a dull throbbing pain in the back of his head.

Shouldn't be here. . .

The child groaned softly and reached up, clutching his masked face in both hands, trying unsuccessfully to block out the waves of pain that washed over him. Nothing made any sense. . . He knew that he should be somewhere. . . That he had been doing something. . . But he just couldn't quite remember what it was. . .

Leon. . .

He paused for a moment, confused. He knew that name from somewhere. . . Suddenly, he sat bolt upright, ignoring the sharp jab of pain it sent through his throbbing head. "Oh. . ." he whispered softly to himself, his golden eyes widening. "I'm Leon. . ." he frowned slightly, cautiously glancing around the seemingly endless darkness that surrounded him. How could he have forgotten something like that. . .? He hesitated, shimmering eyes narrowing as he stared down at the inky darkness below him. Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember much of anything at all. Though, there was one thing he remembered clearly. . .

Falling. . .

Leon winced and shook his head, his bronze mask glinting in the strange golden light of his eyes. He couldn't remember what had happened. . . Or why he had fallen. . . But he had the strangest feeling it hadn't been an accident. He shivered. It was probably best not to think about that. . .

The child hesitated for a moment longer, then leaned forward, placing his hands against the ground. He carefully pushed himself to his feet, staggering for a moment and nearly loosing his balance on the strange floor of this dark, empty place. He took a wavering step back and regained his footing. Slowly, he returned his gaze to the unnatural darkness that surrounded him, searching hopefully for any signs of life. He couldn't really be the only one here. . . Could he. . .?

"Hello?" he called out, cupping his hands around the bottom of his mask.

For a long second, he stood silently, waiting hopefully for some kind of answer. . . And then his answer came.

"Hello." a quiet voice called back.

Leon's eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat. . . But then his shoulders slumped in silent defeat. The voice had sounded exactly like his own. . . It had just been an echo. But, then again, it couldn't hurt to ask one more time. . .

"Hello!?" he yelled, louder this time.

"I'm sorry. Are you deaf?" the same voice snapped back, sounding mildly irritated.

Leon went still. That voice. . . It sounded so much like his own. . . But now he was quite certain it hadn't been an echo. He spun around, barely even noticing the pain that shot through his head. "Who--" he started, then fell silent as he noticed a young figure resting in the darkness behind him.

The child sat cross legged on the shadowy floor, his head lowered to read the crumbling pages of a book that sat in his lap. Though his face was turned towards the ground, Leon had the strange, unsettling impression of looking in a mirror. . . A dark, distorted mirror. . .

The child wore the same cape as Leon, the red eye sewn into its back displayed proudly. The top of a bronze mask peeked out from behind his spiky hair, though instead of crisp white, this child's hair was inky black. He shifted slightly, still not lifting his masked face from the book.

"You should probably leave." the child said, finally, his voice emotionless. "Creatures of Light aren't welcome here. . ." the child trailed off, falling silent.

Leon took a small step away from the dark haired child. "I-I don't. . ." he paused, slowly shaking his head. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter. . ." The child shrugged, still not looking up from his book. "This is the nightmare realm. Anything you do here--anything I tell you--you'll forget by the time you wake up. . ." he hesitated, then sighed. "But if you have to know. . . My name's Kage."

"Kage, huh. . .?" Leon said softly, searching back through his shattered memories. "We, uhh. . ." he frowned slightly. "We haven't met before, have we. . .?"

Kage gave a small snort of laughter and shook his head. "I highly doubt it."

Leon waited for him to continue, but the child had once again lapsed into silence. "Uhh, okay then. . ." the child of light muttered awkwardly. "Not much of a talker, huh?"

Either Kage, didn't hear him, or simply chose to ignore the comment, because he stayed silent, absorbed in the yellowing pages of whatever book he was reading.

Leon gave an uncertain cough, then reached out a hand. "Err, I'm Leon, by the way."

This, at least, seemed to get Kage's attention. For the first time, the child looked up, his swirling black eyes widening as he stared up at Leon. "What did you just say?" he hissed, the book in his hands dissolving in a cloud of black smoke.

Leon paused, thinking for a moment. "Uhh, you're not much of a talker?"

"No--" Kage muttered, stumbling to his feet and backing away across the swirling floor of shadows. "You--That's impossible! You can't be Leon!"

Leon paused for a moment, his hand still raised. "Uhh, nope, I'm. . . Pretty sure I'm Leon. . ." he frowned over at the child, confusion sliding across his masked face. "Why wouldn't I be--"

"Shh!" Kage hissed, glancing around the dark abyss anxiously before hurrying forward, grabbing Leon's outstretched hand and dragged him roughly ahead. "You can't be here! You have to leave, now!"

"Hey!" Leon cried, but allowed the dark haired child to lead him along through the darkness. "What are you talking about? Why can't I be here?"

Suddenly, Kage came to a halt, staring the child of light dead in the eyes. "How much do you remember?"

"What kind of a question is that. . .?" Leon muttered, trying halfheartedly to pull away from Kage's grip. Then he stopped, for the first time noticing the almost fearful look in the child's dark eyes. Whatever was going on, here, it was serious. . . "Okay, fine!" he muttered, beginning to feel slightly unnerved. "Not much. Just my name, and--Uhh--I think there was something about falling. . ."

Kage nodded slightly, shooting another fearful look around the darkness. "That makes sense. . ."

Leon's eyes narrowed slightly, and he gave his hand another hard yank. "How does any of that make sense?"

The child shook his head, releasing Leon's arm. "There's no time to explain. You'll figure it out, eventually." he reached out, spinning the child of light around and shoving him roughly ahead. "Just go! Before he finds you, here!"

"Wait!" Leon cried, turning around, but Kage was already gone, leaving nothing but faint wisps of darkness in his wake. "Go where. . .?" Leon finished, though no one was there to hear him. After a moment, he turned back, staring out at the darkness ahead.

At first, it seemed the same as everything else in this strange place; dark and empty. . . But as he looked closer, Leon noticed a faint line of soft golden light suspended in the air, standing out against the shadows surrounding it. Leon reached out, cautiously tugging at the edge of the glowing line. It split down the middle, easily pulling apart to reveal a small doorway. His eyes widened, and he shot one last glance over his shoulder. Then, he hesitantly pulled himself through the shimmering hole in the darkness, disappearing into the light beyond. The doorway lingered for a moment--a shimmering star in the surrounding darkness--but then the swirling shadows slid across it, closing the window of light once again.

Leon blinked as warm sunlight streamed down across his masked face and the mingled sound of birdsong and laughter echoed around him. He winced and slowly sat up, absently rubbing the back of his head with one hand. Hadn't he just been talking to someone. . .? He paused a moment longer, then shook his head. No. . . It must have just been a dream. . .

Suddenly, the child realized he wasn't alone. He glanced back over his shoulder, shifting slightly on the stone bench.

Standing across the room, laughing cheerfully among themselves, were four figures. The two tallest of the group--nearly identical except for their hair--seemed to be having some sort of argument, while the other two sat off to the side, watching in amusement.

Leon titled his head slightly. He couldn't remember if he'd met these people before. . . But something about the two taller figures seemed almost. . . Familiar. . .? Did he know them. . .? He paused, then slid off the side of the bench, landing silently on the stone floor below. There was--he supposed--only one way to find out.