songerein | Nightmare Graves

Entry tags:

Nightmare Graves

Who: Zhao and anyone who wanders into his dreams
Which: Open Interactive Dream post
What: Separate log for Zhao's nightmares
Warnings: Lots of bad language and severe violence with potential child abuse

[If you've wandered into the graveyard, you might find a passed out Zhao near one of the graves. He doesn't seem to be waking any time soon. The grave near him seems to be changing its message depending what Zhao's dreaming about. It seems to switch between "...they don't exactly bring back the best memories" and "That's a textbook opening move for a war."]

((OOC: Please specify if you want a nightmare from Zhao's past ("...they don't exactly bring back the best memories") or his present ("That's a textbook opening move for a war."))

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[This dreamscape is a dark and vibrant place at the same time. In a lot of ways, it reminds Sora of the strange and dreary place of Halloween Town. But it definitely isn't as upbeat as that place. Sora himself seems to be slightly changed in this dream. His eyes are darker around the edges and his clothing dark and pointed. He has what appears to be vampire fangs that peek out of his lip when he talks. And very real bat wings that twitch at his back.

When he stumbles across the graveyard it makes a shiver go up to his spine. But when he notices the body laying there on the grave...]

Zhao-?! Holy crap-!

[He rushes to the body and reaches out to shake his shoulder.]

Zhao! Hey! Are you dead?!

[The gravestone reads... "...They don't exactly bring back the best memories."]

[As soon as Sora reads the gravestone, everything changes and he's shunted into the middle of Zhao's nightmare.

It doesn't seem that bad right now however. It's a bedroom for a teenager. There's posters on the wall with script in a language not familiar with Sora. Some books, a CD player, some martial arts tools. A TV with a game system. And a teenager, even younger than Sora, looking up at him with a little smile. It's hard to tell who this is except for the flashy shirt that it might be a younger Zhao.]

Hey! Do you want to play a game?

[Suddenly everything around Sora changes with a flourish and a blur. It makes Sora dizzy for a moment as he whips his head around and tries to keep his bearings straight. When he blinks and sees himself in a room he feels a strange sensation in the back of his head.]

Huh?

[He whips around and upon seeing the younger version of Zhao he stares.]

Uhh- Zhao? Is that you? Where is this place? What kind of game?

[The kid seems a little surprised at what he's called and laughs.]

Zhao? That's what people call my dad. "Yes Zhao-san, no Zhao-san."

You can call me Tianyou. This is my room and it's my safe place until the monsters come out. So until that happens, we can relax and play some games.

[It just looks like a console with some kind of fighting game he's playing.]

Tianyou?

[Wait- He didn't think Zhao had a kid-

... No, this seems to be a part of a dream somehow. This is Zhao. This place seems too airy and unreal not to be a dream. Sora looks around before he feels that strange displaced shiver up his spine again before he looks back at the kid.

Monsters...]

Uh, sure. Okay, let's play some games.

[He moves to sit next to him and checks out the game. But what is it about monsters...]

Are you sure we're safe here?

We are. We just have to watch for the time.

[Because it's a dream, there's a clock now on the wall that wasn't there before. It's counting down time and it appears to be at 45 minutes and winding down.]

The trick is to not go over. It's a game we gotta play on top of this one.

[It's stated so clearly and simply that it's eerie and unsettling, but Zhao...or Tianyou as that seems to be his first name, hands him a controller, seems to not be that bothered by it.]

I bet you're really good at these games. What's your name?

[So it's a game inside of another game. That kind of dream that seems disjointed and odd with no real rules. Sora looks curious but he doesn't feel all that scared about what's happening. Maybe a little off-put but how eerie this all is. But not scared!

He takes the controller and sits with the boy.]

Yeah, I'm pretty good at games! I haven't played a video game in a really long time. I'm Sora.

[He glances at the clock and then to the boy and television screen. Time to learn?]

How do you play?

Edited 2021-10-19 02:21 (UTC)

Here, it's not hard at all!

[And in the matter of dreams, Sora picks it up right away and they have a good time trying to beat each other with increasingly ridiculous characters.

It's not so bad except they lose track of time and the clock on the wall says they have ten seconds left. Tianyou freezes.]

Sora! Go hide in the closet, okay? I don't want the monsters to get you!

[He shuts the console off and there's a definite pounding of feet down the hallway outside of this room.]

[It's probably something along the lines of an old version of Super Smash Brothers on the Nintendo 64-]

Huh? Wait-!

[The pounding of feet startles Sora to his own. He looks up and he tries to summon his keyblade but it doesn't appear. Right- his normal powers don't work in dreams...!]

Zhao- I mean Tianyou! I'm not gonna leave you out here to get attacked by monsters!

Sora you have to hide...!

[The door flies open and there are a group of about five adults who enter. A few of them look like they could possibly be related to Tianyou.]

We were just playing a game! And we turned off the console in time, see? Everything's fine!

[Everything is immediately not fine as one of them grabs Tianyou by the throat and slams him into the wall.]

You were trying to disobey my rules and you know what happens when you disobey!

[Holy crap- What is happening? Who are these adults? Why are they attacking Zhao like this?]

Hey!! Stop it, he's just a kid!! He means it we were just playing games!!

[Sora isn't one to stand around and let these monsters attack. Adults or not... He grabs at the dream figure's wrist to try and rip him off Zhao.

... But... This is a dream. A memory...]

[There's a sudden vicious raise of a hand as though it means to do serious damage to Tianyou but is stopped in time by Sora. The man lets Tinayou drop to the ground, coughing and gasping as he can finally breathe.]

So you want to stop me from making my son into the man he needs to be as well?

[The group of adults all sneer at Sora and Tianyou.]

Fine then. Let us be your monsters.

[And then all of them form up into one giant ogre, straight from an old RPG. What will you both do?]

Yeah! I'm gonna stop you because that's not how you help someone grow up, you ugly jerks!!

[Which he didn't mean to happen for real. The adults morph into an ugly-looking orge. Is that old rpg music he hears in the background?]

What!? Hey!

[Sora is going to open his palm. His usual weapon won't appear but instead, a dreamed-up steel sword. It will have to do!]

Back off! Don't come any closer to us!

[Well if his new friend is going to fight some monsters, so can he! He doesn't get a sword, but child sized version of his saber.]

Me and Sora will take you down!

[He then proceeds to flip kick the ogre in the belly. it seems like even as a child, Tianyou may or may not have possessed some skills.]

[That is the spirit! Don't let some ugly jerk monsters bully you around! Although there is something to say about those adults somehow being the ones responsible for raising Tianyou too... A big question on how this might have reflected Zhao's life as child. What kinds of memories and dreams are tied up here?]

Yeah! We're standing up to you so you better watch out! Take a giant hike!

[Sora slashes at the ogre as well trying to take a notch out of it. Critical hit!]

[For all the abuse it's taking, the ogre is still doing its best to smash them with a giant club and wreck the entire room.

Tianyou thinks about their options.]

Sora! I bet it's like we have to unleash a special move together to take it out! Let's hit it at the same time!

Huh? What do you mean, like a combo move?

[Are they going to team up to smash the final blow on the ogre? Yeah! That is the name of the game when it comes to Sora's skills! He always works better with a team!

He grips his weapon. And power seems to charge up from it! Just like in a game!]

Right! Let's do it! Together!

[Tianyou gives a fairly decent battle cry, hefting up his child-sized saber.]

Let's do it now!

[He takes a running jump to smash the ogre with his weapon, hopefully doing it in spectacular fashion at the same time as Sora.]

Now!!

[And with a brilliant shine of light Sora jumps at the exact same time as Tianyou does. There is a sparkle of toy-like sparks that explode and a bunch of old-rpg style pixel graphics explode as they double-attack the ogre! Together!

The ogre howls in dangerous terror!]

Back off!

[The ogre, clearly not ready to deal with someone who can fight back, decides he's had enough and runs away.

Tianyou raises his saber with triumph and looks over at Sora with a sad smile.]

Thank you, Sora. You know something?

I wish fighting my monsters was always this simple. Guess I need to grow up and be big enough to fight back...

[As though that were enough to break the nightmare, everything begins to fade away. Zhao blinks awake, starting away from the grave he'd passed out near, shaking his head. Now as an adult and especially as a weretiger, he is taller, stronger and maybe even more dangerous than the people in his nightmare.]

What...what happened?

[The ogre is defeated! But the words that Tianyou says to him leave something sad in Sora's chest. He looks at him about to say something else when the dream seems to shift away in a dizzying blur.]

Tianyou! Wait! Hey-!!

[... He blinks. Back in the graveyard with all the darkness and fog. Sora whips his head around to try and find Tianyou again but he finds the adult Zhao instead.]

Zhao? We're... We're back.

[Sora goes to him holding a hand out to help him up.]

Are you okay? Do you remember anything that happened?

[The adult monsters...]

[Even though he could easily crush Sora, he accepts the hand and gets pulled up.]

Man, can't believe I got caught up in something that easy to avoid.

What I remember? I think I had a dream about when I was a kid and my family was being strict. But that's nothing new. I've had those dreams before.

Why? What do you mean by "we're back"?

[It is the way that he looks down at Sora. That he might not be that far removed from what he called an adult monster. And then he rubs at his eyes and that momentary similarity fades.]

[Hey, don't go crushing his hand with that yakuza power- geeze.]

Uhhh... Zhao, I think I saw a big chunk of your dream too.

[He isn't sure if that is because of this world. He had no idea that it was possible for them to share dreams or for people to visit other dreams. Hazy memories colliding together in a whirl... It's all really confusing.]

I saw some of the people who were your family? But they weren't very nice to you.

[Sora gives Zhao a concerned look.]

Well, that's nothing new. Probably just saw my dad and uncles being their charming selves when I was young.

[He just shrugs. That wasn't even the worst thing they did. As stressed and panicked as he might have been in his dreams, he has control out here and it's been a long time since he's been a kid.]

But you helped me out, so thanks, Sora. I'm staying way away from this graveyard. Might want to do the same.

[Sora frowns but he does nod.]

I don't think it was very good of them to treat you like that, Zhao.

[But yes they should get the heck out of this graveyard so Sora starts walking with him.]

You seem like a nice guy, nothing like them.

[Alastor strolls up to the passed out form, hands behind his back. His ears twitch at the slight breeze as he reads the stone: "That's a textbook opening move for a war."]

My, my, my. So another fly got caught in the web.

[He'd had to be broken out of his own nightmare after all. Personally, he has no interest in helping others. But he always enjoys watching others suffer.]

[He closes his eyes.]

Let's see what's holding you hostage, shall we?

[Alastor is transported to what appears to be a hallway in some kind of building. It might not be immediately evident what this place is, but there is a scent of food somewhere.

Down the hall, there's a closed door. It sounds like there are a number of people inside and that someone is getting soundly thrashed in there. Where would Alastor like to go?]

[Food or getting to witness suffering? Decisions, decisions.]

[Oh, who's he trying to kid? Of course he's going to go witness suffering.]

[He starts humming to himself as he walks to the closed door and tries to open it.]

[The door appears to be locked but the sounds of beating have also stopped. For a moment anyway.]

Well, don't work him over too much yet. I want him alive to hand him over to the Omi Alliance.

[There's sounds of assent and then the door sounds like it's being unlocked.]

[The second that door unlocks, Alastor is gonna Alastor: Just gonna throw those doors wide open and greet whoever's on the other side.]

Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening! Sorry for the lack of specificity, but I'm not quite sure what time it is! Ha ha ha!

[Zhao lifts himself off the floor, lip split and blood running down his face. All he can do is stare at confusion at whoever the hell this is bursting in.

The people who'd been giving Zhao a thrashing only pause for a moment before pulling out their weapons: tasers, guns, knives, whatever's on hand.]

[Alastor doesn't flinch at the weapons. If anything, he starts grinning wider, his smile at impossible proportions as one of his ears twitches in excitement.]

Think very carefully, gentlemen, before you act! You never know what you might be up against!

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Nightmare Graves

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Oh this should be fantastic then

Definitely. He is such an asshole.

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Sorry for the delay. Got swamped.