Astral woke up in fear. He sat up in bed, panting, trying to catch his breath for a while. M-maybe that was a dream...?

"Oh, this isn't a dream," a voice purred.

Astral looked up, and he was looking into the eyes of the reflection. He caught his breath sharply upon gazing at those malevolent eyes.

"What's the matter, Light Side?" he laughed. "Didn't you want to meet me?"

Astral was speechless. "H-how...?"

"How did I get out?" the reflection finished. He sat on the bed, right in front of Astral, and smirked. "Well, when you looked in the mirror, you set me free. As you requested, I didn't cause any trouble at all tonight. However, you did."

"Wh-what!?"

The reflection grinned and waved his hands. A scene played where Astral was holding a little girl hostage with a knife to her neck. He was smirking with crazy eyes.

"B-but...I didn't...I don't..." Astral was speechless. He couldn't believe, wouldn't believe, what he was seeing.

Outside, the sirens of ambulances and police cars wailed in the night, and the lights flashed past. They blinded Astral's eyes for a while.

"I would never do that..."

"Oh, but you did, Light Side!" the reflection chuckled. "Now, with that task done, what are your next wishes?"

~.~.~

Astral awoke with a start. He was shaken from the dream. He sighed in relief, glad that it was only a dream. He could relax for a while.

That is, until Sanji burst through the door and into his room in a big rush.

"Astral, why did you do it?" he demanded. "Why did you kill her!?"

"Kill who?" Astral asked, panicked.

"Stop acting dumb! My sister! You killed her!"

"Y-your sister...?"

"Yes! I'll show you if you don't believe me!"

On the way to Sanji's house, many people shot Astral angry glares, but Astral didn't understand why. As far as he knew, he did nothing to them. Luckily, the trip to the house wasn't too far, so he didn't have to endure those glares for long.

Astral gasped when he saw the little girl on the floor with blood pooling around her. He didn't know who did this, but he could only assume that it was the reflection. He would never do something this terrible!

"Wh-what happened...?" Astral whispered. "When did...?" He was absolutely appalled.

"You held her hostage last night!" Sanji exploded. "You went crazy and demanded something that none of us could offer! Then, you killed her when we didn't give it to you!" His eyes narrowed, glaring like the angry people. "Then, you just went home like nothing happened."

"Sanji, please believe me when I say that I have no memory of what happened," begged Astral. "You of all people should know that I would never do something this...this...brutal! I cannot stand the sight of blood!"

"Sorry, Astral. I saw it with my own eyes. I'm gonna have to not believe you on this one."

Astral didn't know what to say. His best friend didn't even believe him. "Sanji...you should know me by now..." With that, he flew away, up so high that the people on Earth would need a telescope to find him because all he wanted to do was be alone.

He picked a cumulus cloud and flew into it. It was damp, it was uncomfortable, but it was quiet. Quiet enough for him to stop thinking and just stay by himself for a while. Or maybe forever...

~.~.~

Late afternoon. Astral decided that it was time to go back.

He emerged from his slowly-shrinking cloud and made his way home. Along the way, the once-friendly people shot him looks of daggers that pierced his soul. It wan't a good feeling. He wasn't used to it.

Please, stop... Astral begged silently. It wasn't me. I would never do something like that.

For a while, he tried to ignore the glares, but he just couldn't. Just then, Yuma ran up to him.

"Hey!" he called.

Astral looked over to him. "What?" He kept moving to stay away from the all the angry eyes.

Yuma caught up to him. "Is what the poeple say true? Did you kill a little girl?" He didn't seem to believe the rumors.

"I do not know," Astral confessed. "All I know is that I would never do something so horrendous."

"I believe you."

This surprised Astral. "Y-you do? But, there were many eye witnesses there. How can you believe me? I do not even remember doing any of that, so I have nothing to prove that I didn't do it."

"I know. Lots of people told me about it, and they seemed steamed about it, but I have a hard time believing that it was actually you," Yuma explained. "Maybe they only saw what they wanted to see."

"Collectively?" Astral reasoned. "It is impossible that they all saw the same mirage unless that 'mirage' was actually true."

Yuma thought about that for a while. He made a good point. "Still, I had a hard time believing it was you. Maybe I would if I had seen it with my own eyes."

Astral looked in front of him. To his relief, the house came into view. "I must go now." Without another word, he quickly flew into the house.

Yuma watched as his new friend went into the house like he was in a big rush. Astral looked distressed. He wondered why. Maybe it was because of all the fuss people were making. He sighed and went home.

On the way home, Yuma caught a glimpse of gold and white eyes. They were tainted with black, though.

"Show yourself!" Yuma commanded.

"As you wish," the voice sang.

~.~.~

Astral shut the door. He pressed his back against it and sighed. All those angey eyes...they have never been directed toward me before. How long will this last...?

"I met your little friend." The reflection floated in through the window. "He got away before I could properly introduce myself, though."

Astral's eyes widened. He met one of them!?

"Are you scared?" The reflection chuckled. "By the way, call me Dark. We don't need confusion among ourselves." With that, Dark flew into the wardrobe.

Astral was shaken. He met Yuma? Or Sanji? What did he do? He sighed once more. What will he do now?

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Astral jumped in surprise, and he almost let out a yelp.

"Astral?" Yuma called. "Are you in there?"

Astral got off the door and opened the door. There, Yuma stood with a concerned face.

"I saw someone that looked like you," he reported bluntly.

Astral was surprised. "What do you mean, Yuma?"

"I saw some guy that looked like you," Yuma repeated. "Do you have any idea as to who it might be?"

"No," Astral lied with a shake of his head. "I have no idea."

"Okay." Yuma nodded. "I just thought you might know." With no other word spoken, he walked back to his house.

Astral closed the door, sighing. He turned around and came face-to-face with Dark. He let out another yelp of surprise.

"Why didn't you tell them?" Dark taunted. "We could have been the best of friends!" He pinned Astral against the door, grinning menacingly. "I'm still waiting for your request, Light Side. Think about what you want first, though. Last request, you ended up causing the trouble."

"R-request? What are you talking about...?"

"You don't remember? Last night, I asked you what your next wishes were. You never gave me an answer, so I'm still waiting." The reflection smirked and added mockingly, "Would you like me to refrain from causing trouble again?"

Before Astral could say yes, Dark silenced him.

"Think about it," he teased.