Chapter Eight: Twenty Four Hours

Disney Castle: The Library

Riku

"It's incredible, isn't it?" I stated with a surplus of enthusiasm. Immediately following the marvellous revelation we'd all experienced through Roxas, Lea's first suggestion was to relay the event to the crew at the Disney Castle, which we all readily agreed to be a good place to start. Even if they couldn't provide any useful insight regarding what happened, at least they could celebrate the same as us. Everyone was genuinely in need of a new sense of hopefulness and purpose—and I believed we'd found a way to provide just that. I was prepared to deliver each figure in the search party a new dose of optimism, one that was way past due. I looked down toward the ground to meet King Mickey's gaze. "There's no way it was a coincidence."

"It doesn't sound like one at all," he responded, nodding in agreement with my statement. "Gee…I guess the question is what we should do to follow up."

I sighed, overcome with a rush of disappointment that he didn't have an immediate suggestion of action. I'd mentally prepared for that to be the likely case, but for him to have a lack of information was still upsetting. He tended to have more wisdom than most, so if he didn't have any true ideas, I feared no one would. "Yeah, we weren't sure either…" I murmured.

"I have an idea, I think, maybe…I'm not sure," Kairi interjected, instantly captivating everyone and their attention. She paused for a moment, seemingly riddled with some sort of hesitation, but I had no idea what was causing it. Maybe she feared being wrong just as much as I often did; thinking you had something real to go off of and then being met with failure took its toll emotionally and mentally. Sure, we did have an undeniable new lead, but finding the best way to go forward was a path full of uncertainty at every corner. In that sense, I could understand her apprehension, but I wished she'd overcome it and finish her thought. Then, she did. "I've been having these weird dreams."

"And?" We all seemed to respond in unison—me, Lea, Roxas, the king, Donald, and Goofy.

"It's Sora. I see him in my dreams," she began. "At first, I thought that I was dreaming of him because I miss him, but then it kept happening and getting more realistic. And then there was the sand in my sheets…"

"The what?" Roxas questioned.

"Gawrsh, how come you didn't tell us sooner?" Goofy interrupted, scratching his head.

She looked down, shaking her head back and forth. "I was out of touch with everyone. I was nervous to try to reach out. I was still trying to figure out if any of it was real. Even if it was, I didn't want to sound crazy to everyone. I want to find him more than anything, but I don't want everyone to think my mind is playing tricks on me or that I'm going insane." She sighed. "I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone."

"Don't be," I quickly responded. A long time ago, I may have been more than frustrated with her for keeping something from me, but now, there was no one to blame but me that she had apprehension about sharing such a thing with anyone—especially me. Regardless, there was no part of me that questioned her sanity and I absolutely believed her confession did have some underlying meaning. Maybe it boiled down to my wishful thinking, but I was sure her dreams had to lead us somewhere. Either way, we had to try. "Can you tell us about the dreams?"

"And the sand, whatever that meant." Lea reinserted himself into the conversation as he often did. However, he made a good point—I wanted to know what she'd been referring to as well.

She nodded. "When it started, he was kind of just…there. In my dreams, I'd see him off in the distance. I would just be going for walks on the islands or some sort of generic dream, only I'd spot him somewhere, but I couldn't move quick enough to catch him. Then one night, I was dreaming that I was in the Realm of Darkness and he was there. He was there right next to me, finally. But when I saw his face…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes fell, giving away that she clearly felt very troubled and upset about what she would say next. "He just looked so sick. Like…lifeless. Then he told me that he missed us."

"Did he say anything else?" Roxas asked.

"Yeah. He said that he doesn't like himself when we aren't around. He didn't tell me what it meant. Then I woke up all of a sudden and there was all the sand. There was sand just like in the Realm of Darkness. There was no way it was sand from the islands. Besides, I'd have noticed it in my bed before going to sleep. That's when I was convinced it had to be real somehow."

"He doesn't like himself when we aren't around…?" Mickey took a moment to think, but nothing seemed to come of it. "I wonder what that could mean."

"His friends are his power," I said.

"Excuse me?" Lea looked puzzled.

"It's something Sora used to say." Roxas responded before I could, turning to face Lea. "It was one of the memories I had from him back in the organisation."

"Yeah…" I trailed off. "He said it to me when I was overcome by darkness. When Ansem possessed me." Despite it being years ago, I could still hear his words echo through my head; I remembered the shame and embarrassment I'd felt when I found my way back to the light. I wished that no one had ever seen me become so weak, naive, and gullible—but when Sora did, it humbled me. I couldn't be that cocky little kid everyone knew so well, not anymore. That boy could no longer exist. For too long, I had seen Sora as inferior to me and I never had any desire to hide it. In reality, all I had been doing was projecting my jealousy and insecurity onto him in the worst ways. There were so many things he had that I never could, things he didn't even have to try to obtain. They came to him naturally. I used to spend countless nights at the islands when everyone went home; even at eight years old, I was practising my skills wielding my little wooden sword, running laps around all the palm trees in hopes to build up my endurance and speed—all for one reason. Sora, while admittedly clumsy, was also naturally athletic and likely would've been able to surpass me had he practised the way I did. After all, he often joked about how he'd eventually outgrow me, and knowing my luck, maybe he really would have a spontaneous growth spurt that would let him pass my ranks. I made sure he had no idea about my extracurriculars, so that he would believe that I was better than him without even trying—and he did, as did everyone else. Yet still, he outdid me in things non physical. The biggest one, that had bothered me for longer than I cared to admit, was our unspoken competition for Kairi's affection since she'd first arrived to the Destiny Islands. Truthfully, I couldn't be sure I'd even wanted her for her; maybe I just wanted to prove that I was more desirable than Sora. Either way, I'd failed. It was clear which one of us she'd chosen from the start. For a long time, I would get so angry when I saw them together, but there came a time when I finally accepted it—cheered for them, even. But, more than anything else, the most significant thing he'd bested me at was the power of heart. I had been too quick to fall to the dark. He would never.

"Huh…okay," Lea responded to me. "Sounds a little corny for my taste, but I could say the same about my friends."

Goofy chuckled. "That's Sora. Always a little cheesy. A-hyuck!"

I laughed under my breath. I could draft a considerable list of cheesy quotes of his on the spot, but more considerable than that was my desire to hear his voice again, whether he was saying corny things or not. "The sand, though. There was sand in your bed after dreaming of him? And what's happening to Roxas…he must be finding a way to communicate with us!"

"Seems right to me," Mickey agreed. "We just have to figure out how to communicate back. Kairi might be doing that with him in her dreams, but we don't know for sure. We should also try to communicate through Roxas if we can figure it out. It seems like Sora has been using his keyblade to reach out to us. Maybe the key to reaching him is through his keyblade. I'm just not sure exactly how…"

"Like a keyblade ouija board?" Lea interjected.

Donald stamped his foot, groaning. "That's for talking to dead people!"

Lea's cheeks turned almost as red as his fiery hair. "Oops. Right." He would never say it, but I knew he thought it was a true possibility. He would never stop helping us look, but I always had a feeling that a part of him felt like we were chasing a lost cause. I simply chose not to acknowledge it just like I knew he would never act on it.

"We got his keyblade to show up because of Kairi," I stated. "Clearly he can tap in and hear us, but we don't know when or how. Even if we talk to him and he hears it, he can't speak to us back. The key to hearing what he has to say might be in Kairi's dreams. We should start there."

"Uh-huh," she nodded. "I'll do whatever I have to."

"Well, gee…" Mickey muttered. "I guess we'll need ya to sleep, Kairi."

"Can Namine put me down to sleep for awhile again? Like she did to Sora before?" She showed no signs of apprehension to be put in what was essentially an induced coma.

Mickey nodded, but his concern and hesitation were very apparent. "We could go see her at Radiant Garden and ask."

When we arrived at the computer room within Ansem's study, Namine had already prepared arrangements for Kairi to be able to sleep soundly. Although it was a simple reclining chair that had clearly been used, she'd laid blankets and pillows down that made it look good as new and comfortable as ever.

"You're sure about this?" Namine questioned, helping Kairi onto the makeshift bed. "Last time, it didn't help us get very far and I don't want to put you through that again unless you're ready. Even if you do find the real Sora and talk to him, if you're in too deep, I may not be able to wake you up. You'll have to find your way back on your own."

"I'm sure." Kairi's determination did not waver and if she had any reservations, she did a great job of hiding it.

"Can we please put a time limit or something?" I implored, fearful of the worst. If we couldn't get her to wake up, we'd be down two people, not just one—and I couldn't bear the thought of losing the person he'd sacrificed himself to save. Aside from that, I simply couldn't fathom the possibility of living without her. "So she can't stay asleep for long enough to wander off too far?"

"Hmm," Namine pondered. "We could, but we'd risk interrupting her if she finds something important."

While I wanted to contemplate the benefits versus the risks, I ultimately knew I couldn't put Kairi in harm's way no matter what the benefits may be. "That's fine," I asserted.

"Riku!" Kairi groaned. "We need all the information we can get. I'll be fine. I'll find my way back on my own."

"No." I shook my head. "We can't risk losing you." Her eyes seemed to light up at my sentiment, a youthful and sweet look that, for a brief moment, reminded me of the little girl I'd met over a decade ago. "Please be safe."

She laid back on the reclined chair, smiling at me in a way that warmed my heart—a way that gave me hope. The road so far had been rugged and uphill, but as we locked eyes, I was overcome with the serene feeling that we'd finally reached the peak and the rest would be downhill smooth terrain. We were on the right track. I stepped closer to her, placing my hand on top of hers.

"Okay, you have twenty four hours and then I'll wake you up. You ready?" Namine asked, but she was the one that truly sounded unsure.

"Yup."

Namine placed a blanket over her as she chanted something under her breath, some sort of charm to activate a long sleep. I gripped her hand tight, smiling down at her. "We'll see you soon." As she peered back up at me, her eyes slowly closed and her face looked suddenly so peaceful, a relaxation I hadn't seen in her since before Sora had disappeared. Then, I felt her hand release its hold against mine. She was fast asleep. Sora, I thought. Please keep her safe.