****

How long have I been down here?

Kairi stared into the black abyss above, lying in the dark sludge. She was so very tired. She wanted to sleep more than anything.

...But she couldn’t.

Sleeping within a dream...who knew what that would do to her? Sora learned that the hard way, more than once. He was the entire reason why she was here in the first place.

And he wasn’t making it easy for her. She couldn’t get the first conversation they had in this place out of her head...

***

“He told me you would come.”

“Who?”

Sora smiled, showing his dimples on either side of his mouth. At least that was familiar to her.

“You know. That master guy.”

“That’s right...” Kairi turned her head.. “You talked about him in your messages.”

“...What...did he do to you?”

“Nothing. He didn’t do this to me.” Sora took a look at his hands as if he was finally noticing himself. He seemed unfazed by it. 

“He just gave me some options. So I picked one.”

“Which was...?”

Sora shook his head. “It’s a secret for now. But you know what?”

“What?”

“You look pretty tired.” he crossed his arms. “You should take a nap. Maybe it’ll make you feel better.”

Kairi tensed.

“What? No. I can’t do that. Technically, I’m already sleeping. And I don’t think I should do that here of all places...”

“Why not?” Sora inquired. “It’s nice and quiet here. No one can bug you. And if it makes you feel safer, I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Kairi winced.

“...You know what would really make me feel better?”

Sora tilted his head. “What?”

“If you came with me.” Kairi extended her hand towards Sora.

“Please. Let’s get out of here.”

Sora sighed.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why not???” Kairi’s voice raised. “There’s nothing FOR you down here! You should be back home! With our friends! With Riku! With...with me...” 

Kairi pressed her fingers into the bridge of her nose, resisting the urge to cry. She felt Sora’s hand touch her shoulder. It was ice cold, and she could feel the foreign texture of his sharpened nails graze her skin. Almost like claws.

“Kairi.”

“What...?” her voice quivered.

Sora gently rubbed her arm. 

“...I want to show you something. But I can only do it if you trust me.”

“Trust you...?”

Sora nodded. “I need you to fall asleep like I said before.”

“Why?” Kairi opened her eyes, giving him a pleading look. “At least tell me why...”

“You’ll understand.” he placed a strand of her hair behind her ear. “But only if you listen.”

Her instincts as a keyblade wielder were screaming at her to refuse. But her heart, despite being one of pure light as a princess...told her otherwise. It felt...drawn to his words, somehow. 

She needed to understand why. But as much as it hurt to admit it to herself...going along with what he was asking of her was a bad idea. Kairi pulled away from him, taking a few steps back.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t.”

Sora gave her a disappointed look.

“Okay. If that’s what you want.”

He turned around and started to walk away. Kairi breathed in sharply and went after him.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“He was right.” he glanced back at her. “You’re not ready.”

“Ready for what???” Kairi was beginning to get desperate. “I don’t understand. Just tell me what’s going on!”

“You’ll know soon enough. You just...need more time.”

Kairi blinked, and Sora was gone. She pulled out her keyblade as Heartless began to appear.

“Sora...”

***

Kairi’s head throbbed, snapping her out of her thoughts. Fighting Heartless for several hours (or days? Weeks?) was becoming too much for her. Sora hadn’t shown up at all after their little talk. She was worried that he’d flat-out abandoned her. So much for bringing him back home on her own.

I can’t do this anymore. Kairi’s eyelids drooped. 

I need....rest...

Kairi closed her eyes for just a split second. When she opened them, she was startled to find that she wasn’t in the dark place anymore. But rather...an oversized toy store?

Kairi stood up, feeling a little strange. She looked down at her hands and gasped.

“My...my hands! They’re made of plastic???” she inspected her clothes and legs. 

“Am I...a toy...?” she clapped her cheeks, which clacked at the contact. Her entire body was hard and smooth to the touch.

She lowered her head. “I guess I did fall asleep...how am I gonna get out of here?”

Kairi looked around, twiddling her fingers anxiously. 

“Helloooo???” she called out. “Anyone here?”

Her voice bounced off the walls. She could only assume that the store was closed from the ominous silence. Kairi decided to walk around and get a better grasp of where she was. But as she did, she couldn’t shake off the strange feeling that she was being watched...

***