He nodded, reaching out to touch the brick facade of the building beside them, then withdrew his hand to frown at his palm.

"Yeah," he said, "this is my hometown. Welcome to Radiant Garden. Though it doesn't seem too radiant at the moment, I'll admit." He watched a shiver grip her spine as one of the not!Heartless skittered past them, and waved a hand. "Don't worry too much about them," he said. "They're a pain in droves, but one or two aren't a big deal." He met her eye. "Remember how I told you about the guys who lived in the castle who brought about the downfall of the world?" A beat of silence, and then he spread his arms to his sides. "Welcome to the end of the world, I guess," he said, almost sullen. "If I'd known you were gonna be joining me I would have tried to have a dream about a beach or ice cream or something, sheesh."