Chapter Text
Riku jolted awake to the thunderous roars of lightning striking the ground. Rain splatted hard against him as the dark skies roared again with threats of more to come. Picking himself up off the ground, he wildly looked around at his surroundings.
Where was he? He had been back on Destiny Islands, resting per Mickey’s request after their brutal encounter with the Demon Tide in the Realm of Darkness. The last thing Riku recalled was fighting off the urge to sleep in hopes of finishing the last chapter of his book. Now his room was nowhere to be seen; instead in front of him loomed a massive field of flowers with cliffs in the distance. The flowers whipped around wildly in the stormy winds, causing some leaves and petals to be whisked away into the darkened sky. A shiver crept down his spine as the cold from the rain sank through his clothes down to his skin. It had crossed his mind that perhaps he had been dreaming, but this felt far too real.
Taking a grounding breath, Riku picked a direction and started walking. Standing idly wasn’t going to magically fix this situation— though he still had no idea WHAT exactly the situation even was— but he was going to get to the bottom of it. Squinting through the rain, he noticed a gazebo-like structure further ahead. At least he could get out of the rain and come up with a better game plan, even if it meant waiting out the weather. By the time he reached the cover of the structure, his clothes were entirely soaked through. Running a hand through his silver hair to shake out the water, he looked around his surroundings once more.
There was something about this place that felt so familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. He knew he had never been here before, but he swore he had been somewhere like this in the past. Where had he seen this landscape before? A flash of lightning lit up the area, followed by the roar of thunder. Riku sighed, trying to grasp at the memory that was just out of his reach. Another blast of lighting illuminated the area, but this time something caught his attention. His brow furrowed as he realigned his focus to his surroundings. What was that? Riku shifted to get a better look around the gazebo pillar in front of him. Was someone (or something) else out there?
The sound of hooves caught him off guard. Whirling around, Riku called his newly found keyblade, Braveheart, to his hands just in time to guard against a large winged horse. It let out an angry neigh as it flapped its wings, electricity crackling off it.
“A Dream Eater?!” Riku exclaimed.
As if responding, the Nightmare Pegaslick screamed again, rearing up on its hind legs to lash out with its electrified forelegs at Riku. Leaping back, the keyblade wielder cast off a Dark Firaga. The dark fireballs honed in on the target and landed in rapid succession. Staggering backwards, the Nightmare began flapping its wings madly in an attempt to get airborne. Seeing this, Riku surged forward and slammed Braveheart hard into the pegasus’s side. With a screech, the creature was sent flying sideways, wings flapping madly to try to upright itself once more. Seeing the opportunity, Riku closed the gap again and landed hit after hit with his keyblade. With one final swipe, the Nightmare Pegaslick screeched as it faded. In its place, a dark swirling orb remained.
Riku stared at the orb with a furrowed brow. What in the world was that? He had never seen such a thing before during his Mark of Mastery exam— wait! A gear in his mind suddenly clicked into place. This place was familiar because he had seen it during the exam; this was the world from the enchanted music sheets in Master Yen Sid’s tower. Though he hasn’t been to this area exactly, he knew that it was without a doubt a part of it. But why was he here now? Or rather, a better question was HOW was he here? Sora and himself were only able to get to the Sleeping Realm by returning to the point in which Destiny Islands had fallen to darkness…
Riku’s stomach dropped. The islands hadn’t fallen to darkness again, had they? Surely he would’ve woken up to such an event, right? The crackling sound of electricity tore him from his thoughts as another Nightmare Pegaslick dive bombed him. Barely summoning Braveheart in the nick of time, Riku staggered backwards and slipped on the muddy ground. Landing with a wet splash, a hissing sound brought his attention back to the dark orb lying on the ground. Darkness was swirling around it aggressively as it swelled, before finally bursting in a bright flash. Where it once rested, the defeated Nightmare Pegaslick was back once more. With an angry snort, it stomped its hooves.
“Great,” Riku deadpanned as he slowly got to his feet, “That’s just great.”
Riku readied himself, just in time for the airbone pegasus to dive bomb once again. Dodging, he launched a Dark Firaga at the one now charging for him. The hit landed, stalling the creature in its path. Spinning on his heels, Riku locked onto the other Nightmare and launched another Dark Firaga in its direction. Hearing neighing from behind once more, he turned again to rush forward to take on the charging pegasus and stagger it once more. Crackling electricity alerted him that the other was closing in again. With a quick sidestep, he barely dodged the oncoming charged attack and retaliated with a downward strike with Braveheart. Now side-by-side, Riku surged forward with a Dark Splicer, finishing off the two Nightmare Pegasicks in unison.
The Nightmares faded in a defeated tantrum as lightning lit up the sky once more, leaving behind the same kind of dark swirling orb as before. Knowing what he knew now, Riku carefully placed Braveheart above one of the orbs and attempted to stab through it. To his surprise, the orb seemed to absorb the attack and remained completely unscathed. A frown formed on his face; he has expected that to work. If he couldn’t destroy the orbs, would the Nightmares keep coming back? How could he get rid of them? And how come he never dealt with these when he was here during the exam?
Wait. Another gear clicked into place in Riku’s mind. His exam— his Dream Eaters. They had been there with him; had they dealt with these orbs for him? But how would the Dream Eaters…
Riku paused as realization slowly dawned on him. It was in the name: Dream Eaters. Master Yen Sid had told him and Sora about them prior to their exam— but the connection had not been made that they literally live up to their name. Komory Bat and the others must’ve been consuming the Nightmares as they fought their way through the sleeping worlds. Perhaps he could summon them now to help him out?
Riku dismissed his keyblade and brought his hand to his chest. He focused on the memories of Komory Bat, hoping it would come to his aid. To his excitement, magic began to gently swirl around him before closing in and the releasing in a dazzling burst. Opening his eyes, an unfamiliar sensation caught his attention. Confused, he shifted around and reached an arm around to his back and froze when he grasped something attached to his body. Riku cast a glance over his shoulder to see he was holding a wing in his hand.
“… What is happening,” Riku blurted out loud, throughly confused by the development.
Clumsily, he stretched the wings to wrap around his front to get a better look at them. The wings were long and colored with purple and pink hues. Golden star shapes in a variety of sized dappled the wings’ inner surface in a way that reminded him of the stars on Komory Bat’s wings. For what it was worth, he had to admit they were mesmerizing. But why would he have wings similar to a Dream Eater?
The answer immediately hit Riku after he finished asking the question to himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh. Right. He would have wings similar to a Dream Eater because he WAS a Dream Eater. He had gained the power during the Mark of Mastery exam unknowingly to save Sora from Organization XIII. Although he didn’t have a way to check, he was certain that the sigil was on his back once more.
A hissing sound broke Riku from his thoughts. One of the dark orbs was threatening to come back to life once more. Not wanting to fight the same battle over a third time, the silverette rushed forward and scooped up the grapefruit-sized orb, which to his surprise was cold to the touch. He hesitantly glanced at it in his hand, wondering if he was really going to do what he had been thinking, but another hiss and pulse from the object gave him no time to consider other options. With a quick motion, Riku had brought the orb to his lips and bit into it, hoping it wasn’t hard enough to break his teeth.
To his surprise, and slight horror, his teeth sank into the orb with little to no resistance. A thick, syrupy liquid as dark as the pitch black nighttime sky oozed from the punctures. The substance was cold, sickly sweet, with a heaviness to it that could only be described as darkness. In a matter of moments that felt like a century to the silverette, the orb had all but dissipated from his hands.
Riku let out a cough and gagged a little bit. He hated sweets, always had, but this? This was worse than any sugary concoction Sora had ever forced him to try during their childhood. It made him think back to the time the brunet had made him a milkshake when they were younger— and at that moment he wasn’t sure if the orb or milkshake had been worse. His eyes caught sight of the other dark orb remaining on the ground; darkness was now orbiting around it in a threatening way. Swallowing, Riku hoped that the milkshake was the worse of the two.
He picked up the remaining orb and gave it a once over. It was purple-ish black in color, and a dark, almost glittery substance could be seen swirling inside it. Out of curiosity, he picked at it with his nails, only to find the surface hard and impenetrable. He furrowed his brow at the discovery. His own keyblade had no effect on it, but his teeth could slice through it like it was nothing?
“I guess that’s probably how they got the name Dream Eaters,” Riku said flatly before pausing with another realization.
These dark orbs were probably the reason why his Dream Eaters had seemed to go absolutely crazy for the sweet treats he had given them during their journey. It was no wonder they had an insatiable sweet tooth if this was their typical meal.
Bracing himself, he bit into the dark orb and let out a startled noise as some of the dark substance sputtered out from the puncture wounds like a pierced water balloon. The droplets were cold against his face, and the overflow onto his hands reminded him of melting ice cream. With a gag, he sank his teeth in deeper in hopes of finishing it off faster. To his relief, that had actually seemed to work.
As the orb faded out from existence, a silence fell over the area as the rain seemed to instantaneously stop. Riku stiffened, on guard for what exactly this development would bring. Sunlight began peeking through the cloudy sky, bit-by-bit, until the entire sky gave way to a brilliant shade of blue and warm sunny rays. The environment, once bleak and dreary, was now a breathtaking display of colors. There wasn’t an ounce of doubt left in Riku’s mind that he wasn’t in the world from the music sheets. But yet, he still didn’t know why or how he had gotten here.
A gentle breeze passed through the meadow, carrying a few leaves and petals on the wind. He watched as they danced, and drifted towards a breakaway in the cliffside, revealing a path. He supposed that may be his sign that it’s worthwhile to head there next. Another breeze blew from behind him, applying gentle pressure to the wings he had almost all but forgotten about. He half considered trying to fly with them, but given he could barely navigate the motion to span them out, he figured walking would be the faster option.
The trail was long, winding, and slowly sloping upwards. The gray stone faces of the cliffs almost made him forget about the colorful world he was in until they finally sloped away to luscious green grass bluff. Further ahead, he noticed something strange at the top. Darkness was swirling and slowly rising before dissipating into the wind. Riku proceeded with caution, uncertain if more Nightmares were waiting ahead. As he advanced, he noticed that the darkness was localized close to the ground. It wasn’t until he reached the top of the slope that he was able to see what it was.
“Sora!” Riku shouted as he rushed towards the brunet lying on the ground.
Sora looked sound asleep, though his face was crinkled like he was having a bad dream. Kneeling beside his best friend, Riku grabbed ahold of Sora’s shoulder and gave him a gentle, but urgent shake.
“I’ve lost my powers again,” Sora’s saddened voice sounded from seemingly everywhere and nowhere all at once, causing Riku to jump.
Sora’s mouth hadn’t moved, and he remained mostly stilled in front of him. What was going on? Riku shook his friend’s shoulder with more urgency, calling to him once again and pleading to wake up. The last time he had seen Sora like this was back during their exam when the Organization had trapped him in a deep slumber. Was it happening again? Riku couldn’t tolerate the thought.
“Sora, please wake up,” Riku pleaded again, “Don’t chase the nightmares.”
“How can they rely on me if I’m this weak?” Sora’s voice sounded from around them once again, sounding on the verge of tears.
“You’re not weak, you’re one of the strongest people I know,” Riku called out desperately, “Don’t listen to the darkness.”
As if being summoned, the darkness around Sora swirled upwards and condensed on itself. In a burst, a Nightmare Electricorn lept upwards and over the pair, landing gracefully a few paces away. It scuffed a hoof threateningly in their direction, electricity crackling off its horn as it readied itself for battle.
“Oh you’re on,” Riku said threateningly as he rose to his feet.
The keyblade wielder didn’t hesitate to make the first move. Rushing forward, he deflected the incoming Thundara attacks from the Nightmare and closed the gap. Seeing this, the unicorn whipped its head to slash at Riku with its swordlike horn. Blocking with Braveheart in the nick of time, he stood his ground as they locked blades. With a sweeping motion, he broke their lock and let off a close-range Blizzaga. The spell hit, sending the Nightmare sprawling backwards to the ground. With an angry neigh, it fought against the icy magic that was now limiting its mobility. Seeing the opportunity, Riku closed the gap once more and delivered a flurry of strikes with Braveheart. With a final decisive blow, he brought his keyblade down hard on the Nightmare, causing it to screech as it dissipated into nothingness. Amongst the ice-coated grass, a dark orb now rested.
Riku quickly grabbed the object and rushed back to Sora’s side. Darkness was still swirling around the brunet, though noticably less than before. With a frown, Riku tried once more to shake him awake.
“Sora…” he called, “Please wake up.”
“What if I can’t gain my powers back?” Sora’s voice echoed through the area with a heaviness that threatened to break Riku’s heart.
“You will,” Riku responded in hopes Sora could hear him, “I know you will.”
The silverette let his hand fall back to his side. He looked at the dark orb in his other hand. Was this Nightmare the reason he couldn’t wake him? There was only one way to find out. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, Riku brought it to his lips and let his teeth sink into it slowly. The sickly sweet syrupy substance oozed out slowly, making him wince as it came into contact with his tongue. With a grimace he finished off the core and focused his attention back to Sora.
The darkness around his best friend had slowly began to dissipate before coming to a halt altogether. Riku felt the tension release from his shoulders; that had to be a good sign. Reaching once more for Sora, he was shocked when his hand passed right through him and landed flatly on the ground.
“Sora!” Riku called anxiously, not understanding what was happening.
“Or maybe… things will turn out okay,” Sora’s voice sounded softly like a whisper on the wind.
The world around Riku became visibly hazy, with trees and bushes slowly fading in and out of sight before disappearing without a trace. Whipping his head around as the landscape slowly faded away, he focused attention back to Sora. Glitter danced around him as he too slowly grew hazy. He reached for Sora once more as the whole world seemed to disappear without a trace, with him along with it.
——————————————————————
Riku startled awake, sitting fully up in his bed, hands gripped firmly full of bedsheet and blankets. Breathing heavily, he glanced around as he took in his bedroom as his mind slowly tried to wrap around what had just happened. His eyes caught the soft glow of his alarm clock; the time read 9:47 AM. This was the latest he had slept in since he was a kid.
Realizing his vice grip on the bedsheets, he released them from his hands. Had it all been a dream after all? He clearly never physically left his room last night, nor finished his book by the looks of it. He sighed as he let himself lay back down in his bed and stared at the ceiling. It certainly was something straight out of a dream — or would that technically be a Nightmare? He guessed it didn’t matter either way.
Riku paused for a moment before rolling over to reach for his Gummi Phone. He tapped the screen and unlocked it. For a moment, he hesitated on the main screen as he contemplated how he wanted to do this. After thinking it through, he clicked the messaging icon and typed a quick message.
[Hey, just wanted to check in]
Riku stared at the screen of his sent message for a moment, and to his surprise a typing response bubble appeared, followed by the message not long after.
[Riku! :) We’re doing great! Phil made breakfast for everyone and it was SO good! Everything okay?]
Riku let out a soft laugh. How Sora had the foresight to ask that question was beyond him.
[Yeah. Just had a feeling to check in with you is all]
He was being honest with that one. He did want to check in, especially after what happened in that dream. A ping signaled Sora’s response.
[Was your darkness radar going off? :D Herc’s world isn’t as peaceful as the last time we visited— so many Heartless! We’re helping him take care of things and—]
Riku watched as the string of messages continued from Sora, and noticed that not a single one mentioned anything about sleeping poorly or bad dreams. If Sora had really been there, he would remember… right? Though, it wasn’t uncommon for dreams to not be remembered.
Staring back at the ceiling once more, Riku sighed. It was VERY possible it was all just a vivid dream and nothing more, but something about it was nagging at him. Was it possible to visit the Sleeping Realm without a world falling to darkness, let alone from his own dreams? With no other details to go off of, this would have to remain a mystery for now.