[Active/Open] wake me, I want to see the daylight

[unlockingsmiles]

Who: Sora, anyone.
What: A series of nightmares.
Where: In ~dreams~.
When: Anytime between the start and end of the Nightmare storm. Let me know if you have a preferred time!
Warnings: Possible fighting of the Kingdom Hearts shadows and darkness variety, sad children with keys, otherwise nothing!
Notes: There will be three different nightmare

Comments

[unlockingsmiles]

[Sora keeps running, a little farther along on the beach, but he doesn't see Thomas. Right now, he's focused on only one...well, two things. And one of them is standing in the darkening sea.

Another boy, around Sora's (currently apparent) age with white hair waits. Turns around when Sora approaches. Smiles.]

Riku, get out of-

[Then he speaks, only not really; it's a voice, a memory, that seems to spread throughout the nightmare, though the figure's lips don't move.

"The door has opened."

And Sora doesn't move. There's no way he's hearing this again, no way-

"We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back."

So calm. So ready to leave this world for the one outside.]

Riku, don't-!

["But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us. I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

The other boy - Riku, or Sora's memory of him - holds out his hand. Darkness pours out around him, attaches to him. Reaching for Sora, inviting him to come along (because he trusts his best friend, doesn't he? what should he be afraid of?).

A wave begins to form behind him. It grows bigger and bigger, until it's massive, enough so that when it crashes it will cover the entire beach, if not more. Yet Sora runs toward it, because he's not letting Riku leave this time; because none of this can happen again.

But if Sora and Thomas don't run, they'll be washed away. And who knows where the ocean could take them, at a time like this.]

[ohcruelworld]

[Thomas mind races. What was going on? Why are they out there? Why was one of them so accepting of the current conditions? He wants to move toward them, but he feels like he can't move.

Not yet.

While he watches the scene, he doesn't even realize the hastening retreat of the waves, how much they have grown in the size of their swells. And as if on cue, it isn't until the point in which the boy reaches out toward his friend that Thomas sees the oncoming tidal wave.

There is only a handful of moments available in that time span - on that is impossible for them to get completely clear of its path.

But why is Sora running toward the danger?]

Sora! No!!

[His voice returns to him right then, his own feet forcing themselves to run forward over the sand.

As much as he wanted to flee, his concern for Sora is far greater.]

[unlockingsmiles]

[Sora can't tell what's rushing through his mind at this moment; he doesn't know what will happen when he reaches his friend, how in the world he could pull him away from whatever that is. Somewhere, buried deep in his thoughts, is the firm realization that none of these actions will end well. That this isn't real. But, as in many nightmares, his body doesn't respond to those thoughts. That knowledge never quite reaches the surface. Some invisible force, a feeling, pulls him forward. He keeps running.

Until he hears Thomas.

That voice is so out of sync with everything else that's happening; a repeat of that night, so long ago. But Thomas had nothing to do with any of that. He couldn't be here. Shouldn't be.

But he is, because this is just a dream.

He stops. Turns around, away from Riku, away from the darkness and the wave. Toward the voice.

It's just a dream.

And now someone else was right in the middle of it.

...the wave!]

Thomas!

[The need to help his friend overcomes whatever script the dream was trying to play out. Somehow, he forces himself to start running away, toward something...because there was still time to get away, if they hurried!]

Come on, this way!

[He waves his hand, then points to the place he's running to - a small shack, under a bridge.

But they didn't have much time.]

[ohcruelworld]

[A small sense of relief shows when he's able to get the keyblade wielder's attention. Boots kick up excess sand, forcing himself to stop running; any further and he can also get swept away by the pull.

And if he spends any more time standing there, stopping will not keep the oncoming wave at bay.]

-A-ah, right!

[The change of direction comes quickly for him, turning too sharply in haste. Thomas' balance is regained when he places a hand against the ground to push himself back up.

Running after Sora is all he can do at the moment. He knows this place. He knows where to go.

But what of his friend? What of the events that led up to this point did he interrupt?

He had to remind himself that something is still amiss. They couldn't be anywhere else except Nautilus. And if Sora hadn't stepped away from his role in this place, then it would have said otherwise about the reality at hand.

It's here that Thomas takes a glimpse of the danger - a dream, just a dream? - rising behind them.

Can they really outrun a rushing wall of water?]

[unlockingsmiles]

[Maybe they can, if they hurry. Sora was used to running in sand, but with every step it felt as if his feet were being weighed down, like he was barely getting anywhere. Was there enough time to get Thomas out of here, at the very least?

But, thankfully, the seaside shack really wasn't all that far off. But Sora can already feel that wave above him, ready to crash down and wash them away to somewhere, when he shoves open the door. He reaches for Thomas, trying to make sure that he can get in, shutting the door only when he's sure that the other boy is there-

At the last second, Sora closes the door. Safe.

It's dark in here, though. It's hard to see a few feet in front of your face, much less to tell where they are. Something was off, and Sora could tell, but...well, it's just a dream. He has to remember that.]

You okay, Thomas?

[Sora pauses, leaning against a wall to catch his breath. Something about it felt wrong, but...]

I'm sorry about that. I thought...well, I didn't realize what was happening, at first.

Just be careful, okay? There are probably Heartless somewhere around here.

[Lots of them, though Sora can't say for sure where they would be.]

[ohcruelworld]

[Everything happens in quick succession. The running, the forced attempt to grab onto the hand that reached out toward him, the relief that ran over him when he gets pulled to safety. The sound of the door closing and muffling the roar of the wave while letting the darkness take over adds both comfort and unease, but it will have to do.

The castle master rests his hands upon his knees, catching his breath before replying with a weak smile.]

I-I'll be all right. Thank you.

[Another breath is taken. And a sigh.]

...It's not your fault, Sora. I think it has been a common occurrence. Too common, in fact. I am glad you regained your senses, though.

[Thomas then nods as he tries to look at the rest of the room in the dark, squinting slightly. Heartless. He remembers them.]

I'll do my best.

[unlockingsmiles]

We'll be okay, though, if I can just find a way to wake up. It can't be that hard.

[He wants to wake up. It's just a nightmare. He's strong enough to handle it. But that doesn't mean that Sora wants to relive any of this.]

I think there's something wrong with this place, too. The walls are...hmm.

[He puts his hand on the wall again, trying to figure out what's wrong. Maybe if this wasn't a dream, he would've figured it out right away. But it's taking him some time to focus and register the fact that...

That the walls are stone, not wood.]

Wait. I don't think this is the shack.

[As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he began to notice other things - that it was too narrow and too long to be the shack, for one thing. That there was a short distance to walk toward the end, even though the light where the opening should have been was notably absent. But he would know this place anywhere.]

This is our secret place. Me and Riku and Kairi used to play in here.

Guess we both need to be careful, 'cause-

[The Secret Place. His eyes widened, the sentence cutting off as he realized there was only one thing he would find here in a dream like this.

And, as if on cue, a girl's voice can be heard.]

"Sora..."

[He turns in the direction of the voice, and freezes.

Kairi.

He wants to run. Wants to find her. But now that he knows that none of this is real, he knows exactly what he'll find.

But where else can they go?]

It's just a dream, right?

[He needed to hear someone else say that out loud again. Just to be sure.]

[ohcruelworld]

Waking up would be ideal, yes...

[Thomas blinks, tilting his head before glancing back over in Sora's general direction.]

Secret place?

[His eyes take time adjusting to the darkness of the enclosure, looking at the craggy formations forming the walls. Definitely not a shack. A few steps scuff the floor, even more telling of their current location.

It's the sound of her voice that sends a slight chill down his spine.

Thomas jerks, turning in the same direction. He wasn't even aware that he held onto that last breath, exhaling as he shudders. The tremor in his tone is audible.]

...It's just a dream.