Altered Tundra

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

As they walked back up the flight of stairs and went through the center of town along the train tracks, Kai was still moping around about not being able to surf. Even if the prospect of getting a Berry Jelly Dog wasn't off the table, Kai was still feeling disappointed that he wasn't going to get his feet wet like he had originally hoped he would. An upside of this, though, was his headache from earlier had more or less dissipated. That, at least, was something to be thankful for. He still couldn't believe how much his head was hurting and how foolish it was of him to jerk so quickly when he was on the bottom bunk.

Oh well, time to focus, Kai!

"Yeah, it is," he said, confirming what he told her earlier.

When they had come to the entrance to the Underground Concourse, Kai gave Aira a quick nod, hearing her voice echo through the large pathway of tunnels. Admittedly, he didn't know how deep or even where it led to. In all the time he had lived in Sunset Terrance, Kai couldn't recall a single time when he had explored this place. In fact, it wasn't until just a few days ago where the tunnel was open to the public. How odd that it magically was open to everyone.

That thought lingered as Kai glanced over at Aira, nodding once more as the two would go in. With his struggle bat in his hand, he took the first step. When he did, for a brief moment, he thought he heard something. This prompted him to freeze for a single second. But, just as quickly as he did, it was gone.

"It's so big in here. How was it that no one knew this place existed up until a few days ago?"

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

"Something else?"

Kai tipped his head to the side. This wasn't like Aira at all. She had always enjoyed their moments in the water, with him surfing and catching the waves and her being his support as he would crash and wipeout on shore. And when they had enough of their fill of the sun and sea, they would head into town and get a Terrance Dog, which was basically the usual hotdog sold in Twilight Town - just with a special Berry Jelly in place of mustard. Most didn't care for it, but Kai and Aira loved them. Alexander, the man who runs the only hot dog stand in Sunset Terance, which was located just a few clicks from the station, knew to save a few extra crispy dogs for his two favorite customers. And, after soaking in their town, the two would end the morning by going up to Sunset Hill to watch the afternoon sun and feel the breeze of the wind and the butterflies coming out.

So, one could imagine the surprise that Kai was experiencing right now when his best friend in the whole universe suggested they do something else.

"But..surfing. And our Berry Jelly Dogs."

It was as if Kai's entire world had come crashing down on him like a wave too high for its own good and forcing itself to collapse within itself. But, as Kai looked upon that gentle face of hers, seeing the fire in her come alive when she uttered the words of exploring, he knew he couldn't say no to her; better yet, he wouldn't. She was just about the most important person to him - other than his mother and little brother, of course - so, how could he possibly say no to her?

He let out a defeated sigh, then gave Aira a wide smile. "Fine. You win, Aira," He told her, shrugging somewhat, "just let me stack my board in our hut and we can go explore...wherever it is you want to explore."

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Kai gave Aira an equally-intrigued, confused look. What was she talking about? He didn't say anything about seeing darkness or anything of the like - just a black sea and a heart-shaped sun. But now that she had mentioned something about it, he became solely focused on what she had said. His mind wandered deep, diving head-first into the 'what if' scenarios. Every part of him that was present tried as hard as they could to remember every intricate detail of the dream. Kai knew it was there. He could feel the emotions that came over him. The feeling being helpless while being helped; the feeling of being useless while being used. Everything and anything that happened to him was there, yet it was far out of his reach. It was like something was blocking him from accessing the entirety of that memory.

"Gah!"

Out of frustration, Kai let out an abrupt, sudden yell, no doubt alarming Aira.

"I'm tired of not getting anywhere on this trip down memory lane. I'd rather just enjoy this beautiful day," Kai said, giving Aira a grin, turning a complete 180 of his previous mood. "I've got my surfboard, my struggle bat, and my best friend. That's all I need today." Kai nodded to himself, even vocally confirming it with himself. "So, what do you say? Want to just enjoy this day and maybe go check out the passing trains later on top of Sunset Hill?"

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Though it was a serious moment between the two, childhood friends, Kai couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. Only Aira would assume that Kai's dream that involved water would automatically mean it was centered around surfing. "I only wiped out because that wave snuck up on me. Honest." Kai huffed negatively, then looked at his usually cheery friend, then he sighed. His mind went back to the topic at hand, "I love how you went to that first," Kai said, grinning at her, "but that's not what it was about. I mean, not really. It's hard to explain."

And even after he had explained it to her and explained it in his head, Kai couldn't properly find the right word to explain the sort of dream he had. It was like nothing he experienced before. What was even worse was that something in the deepest part of his heart gave him a bad feeling. He knew it was just a dream and there was no reason for him to be so on edge. Why would a dream make you feel so paranoid about something that didn't even happen? Sure, those vivid dreams that were so intense and so life-like would cause one to feel as though they were real. Maybe that's what it was.

As he was going to respond to the last thing that Aira said, Kai suddenly felt something in his stomach. He didn't know what it was, but for a moment, when he had gone to gaze at the sea, that wasn't what he saw. In front of him, he saw darkness, smoke was rising from the sea, and the sky was as black as night with something that looked like a heart-shaped sun in the sky. He immediately shook his head and everything was back to normal.

"Whoa!" Kai jerked to Aira, looking at her, almost as if taken aback by what he just saw, "did you just see that, Aira? Did you see the black sea and the heart-shaped sun?"

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

"That's a good question."

Kai didn't know how to answer that. He remembered bits and pieces of the dream. He remembered being under water and feeling like he was being protected from drowning. He remembered being at a loss for words when he heard a voice and how, no matter what he did, he couldn't escape that stasis. It was like an endless loop and the only thing that was keeping him from drowning was, ironically enough, his mindset at the time. It was as if his desire to keep going kept him from sinking into the darkness. But how would he properly explain that to Aira? It was bad enough that he couldn't remember anything past the water part, but there was this feeling deep inside him, though he wasn't able to recall, he felt like something really important happened.

As his gaze left the sea and went to Aira, Kai simply spoke with an uncertain recalling of events. "I remember being under water. And a bright light. There might've also been a voice. I don't know. I just can't be sure.." He scratched his head, letting out a forced laugh.

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Kai had done everything he could to both satisfy his mother so that she wouldn't worry about his well-being, so he made sure to eat his food at a reasonable pace. Not too quick so it was to worry her but not too slow that it would make her suspicious. Just casually eating it as she would smile at him and his younger brother. Eventually, he finished and put his plate on the counter, giving her a kiss and waving to her as he grabbed his Breeze Board from his room under one arm and his struggle bat under the other. All the while he did that, he had holstered his bag onto his shoulder and hopped out his window and used the adjacent buildings to make his way down almost to the ground level.

He hitched a ride on top of the cable car that ran through the middle of town to make it easier for him to get across town. He and his family lived in the Sunset Terrence district of Twilight Town. It was a relatively remote area of the town. It had a hilltop resort where most of the kids went when they wanted to observe the best view of the trains coming in and out of the train station. It also provided the best view in the early hours of morning when the midnight blue skies of night were given light with an array of violet and blue hues for the sunrise and when the time of dusk came, those blue shades in the sky and the white clouds were aligned perfectly with the sun to give birth to Magnificant, varying hues of red and pink, the sun itself fading down lower than the horizon.

That was among several reasons why this was the best place to live in Twilight Town. Everything from how everyone knew everyone to the scenery, Kai also had a lean to the beach, which was exactly where he was heading.

As he turned to look towards the tunnels, for a moment, he thought he saw something, causing him to miss his stop. He stayed on the car to see if he could spot it again, but when the cable car passed the tunnel, there was nothing. "Maybe it was just my imagination," he said to himself, jumping off and heading down a flight of stairs where he took in a whiff of the salty, sea air - a smell that he much loved about the sea. And paired with that, the sounds of crashing waves brought such a relief to him. Boy, did he love living here?

Kai made his way closer to the water, seeing a familiar girl standing just on the shore. "Sorry I'm late. Mom made me eat breakfast. And then, I missed my stop. I thought I saw something, but I don't know," Kai went on, ranting about nonsense like usual. He shook his head, returning to planet Kai, "anyway, how'd you sleep? I hope better than me. I had this weird dream about...I don't know, something bizarre and odd."

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Everywhere he looked, whether his sea-colored eyes glanced above him or if they went to his left, to his right, or even below him - every inch that surrounded the young boy - was all water. It seemed he was under the sea, though the location was absolutely unknown to him. He didn’t know what time it was, what day it was, where he was, or how he got here. Everything was a blank to him. The only thing that he knew to be certain, the only thing that was absolute, was that he didn’t feel like he was in any immediate danger.

As the boy was in a stasis of sorts, his body neither ascending nor falling, his mind wandered to places of intrigue and paranoia. It wandered from hope to despair. It was not eternally dark around him, for the water he was in provided the boy with enough light to see his hands in front of his face and about ten yards (give or take) in every direction, yet no matter where his eyes glanced, he couldn’t see which way was up or down; he didn’t seem to have any grasp of direction. If he moved, he assumed it was up, but then it felt like he was going downward. If he swam down, his sense of direction made it seem like he was going upward. He really had no way of telling if the direction he was swam in was actually the one he was really heading in.

Tired of being dragged from one corner of this endless sea of nothingness he was in, the boy swam as much as he couold, going ina ny direction his body allowed him to. He swam upward, twisted to the opposite of that, then went to the left of him, to the right, and just a combination of all four. It got to a point where he was tired and frustrated by it all. “I’m done!”

And on the dime of his admit to defeat, the boy was overrun by a wave of energy flowing from - well, he didn’t know exactly where; he only knew it was a bright light that had consumed him in no time. Though, as he was transferred into a white void, he didn’t feel threatened. Like with the water, it didn’t seem like he was in any real, mortal danger. The light was warm and welcoming, The boy had finally been able to stand upright. No longer was he falling in some direction or trapped in an oceanic stasis. The white void around him was the first time since experiencing this that he was finally able to know what was up and what wasn’t. As soon as he did, the white void around him peeled away, revealing a sea of radiant colors. Below his feet was the image of a princess of sorts. She was quite beautiful and had radiant, blonde hair. In front of him were pillars.

“Good, you’re here at last. Can you walk?”

Suddenly, he heard a voice speak. He looked around, trying to see where it was coming from. As his eyes look around him, he sees a total amount of seven sillouettes standing next to each other. All of them are of equal, or similar, sizes. They all were surrounded by a heart with a crown hovering over it. Then, just as he sees them, the voice speaks yet again.

“It’s okay. I assure you, you are safe.”

“Safe? Why? Am I in danger?” He says, somehow finding his new surroundings unsurprising; even more to the point, he felt comfortable.

He wasn’t certain if it was due to the familarity that he felt when the voice spoke, or if his surroundings eased his mind of any anxiety he might’ve felt prior. What he knew to be true was he felt like he could trust this voice.

A sound that was the equivalent to a nod was heard, then followed by, “Please do not be alarmed by what I am about to say: your world has fallen to darkness. It’s not the first, but it most certainly won’t be the last.”

Now was the time for him to be doubtful. “What are you talking about? Darkness? You mean the power grid?”

Amused, the voice laughed, though would continue, “no, by evil. It has fallen to the same darknesss that plagued the worlds one-thousand years ago has returned. Only you and the three other, reincarnaed Keybladers of Light, Darkness, Dawn, and Heart can stop it.”

The boy was officially freaked out. Keyblades. Darkness. Savior. It was too much for him.

Out of instinct, he started to back away, looking around him frantically to look for an escape. But there was nothing. He was standing on the only visible platform. However, as he heard the sound of glass starting to crack, he looked beneath him and saw the outer edge of the platform he was standing on starting to peal away. Out of his self-survival instinct alone, he ran in the opposite direction, however, every direction he ran was experiencing the same thing. It had gotten to the point where he was standing in the center and only the center had remained.

Just before the final pieces of the platform chipped away, a bright light shined right in front of his face, blinding him for a few moments. The last thing he heard was….

Kai immidiately jerked up, hitting his head on the bunk bed he and his little brother shared. “Ow! Ow! Ow!” He wined, rubbing his forehead. “Great, that’s going to leave a mark,” he wined again, though Kai was past it already.

He got up from his bed and sat there for a few moments, trying to recollect that weird dream he just had. Most of it was now a blur, but some things stuck with him. The feeling of being trapped in an endless sea of darkness, the sense of being protected by...someone, and then, as he got up from his bed and went to exit his room, the words you are my only hope came to him in the same voice that he thought he remembered. A peaceful, protective voice, but just like the entirety of the dream and all that it might’ve been, it had faded from his memory.

Kai shook his head, his golden hair, which had formed the ever-infamous “bed hair”, returned to his wavy glory. As he opened his door and went outside, the golden sun was out shining. The town he called home, Twilight Town, was in full bloom. And thank the god it was summer. That meant little homework and a lot of fun.

Just as he was going to leave, he heard his mom yell for him. “Kai! Come eat breakfast before you go play outside!”

And just like that, Kai’s cheery grin was gone. He closed the door and went back inside. I hope Aira is having a better morning than I am.

“Kai, come on! It’s getting cold!”

He groaned, “coming mom!”

Shuffle your music player and post the first 10 songs

_{Sell My Heart For Stones — Nevermore — The Godless Endeavor
Disturbia (Rihanna Cover) — The Cab — Punk Goes...Pop Volume II
Relaxing Place — Motoi Sakuraba — Eternal Sonata Original Soundtrack, Disc I
The Cathode Commission — Impaled Peach — Impaled Peach
Automatic Part II — Utada Hikaru — This is the One
Lonely Boy — The Black Keys — El Camino
Otherworld — Nobuo Uematsu — Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack, Disc I
Better Than You — Metallica — Reloaded
Broke — Walk Off The Earth — My Rock
Stand Alone — Iced Earth — Something Wicked This Way Comes}

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

And with that, my two mains are up. :D

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘶𝘴𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘸𝘯 | 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒐 // 𝑻𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒓𝒂

Nεxuš ♦ 15 ♦ Thε Lïηκ ♦ Thε B⊕ψ ωï†h †hε Vï⊕ﾚε† Hαïr αηd Crψš†αﾚ Eψεš ♦