The ships docked outside of the Mysterious Tower as Aqua and Twilight got out.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so nervous." Twilight said.
"Calm down. Its going to go fine." Aqua said.
"Fine? I'm being tested for a keyblade mastery. Its so nerve racking." Twilight said.
"Oh come on, Yen Sid said we;d go in with you." Hope said.
"Uh...no he didn't." Aqua said. "He's given me strict orders to keep both teams away from the tower. I'm sorry Hope, but the Mark of Mastery Exam is important and sacred. You guys going in could tamper with the results."
"I see." Hope said.
"You arent...you know….gonna go obsessed?" Aqua asked.
"No...of course not." Hope said as the teams got back on and took off.
"Huh? He took that better than I thought." Aqua said.
On the ship, Hope kept pacing back and forth like he was trapped as Lacy was eating some meat. "So...why'd you lie?" Lacy asked.
"I didnt lie, I just was worried. I've always had some sort of connection with Riku." Hope said.
"Were new here, Hope. Who is this Riku guy?" Ibuki said.
"Hes a friend. You could say he kinda fell into despair like you all did." Hope said.
"He did? How?" Nagito said.
"It was back when I first met him. Maleficent, an evil sorceress, she manipulated Riku into getting her seven princesses of heart in exchange for a friend. But she wasn't the only one. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, he manipulated Riku too. But Sora was able to save him. When we finished Ansem, my team and a few others were on the side of the realm of Darkness as we shut the door. Riku and I, we're good friends. He even embraced the darkness to protect all of us." Hope said.
"Wow. He must have been worth it if you were stuck in a whole world of darkness." Mahiru said.
'Yeah. But now, he's going to some Realm of Sleep and I can't even enter dreams and bring people into dreams." Hope said.
"Annette can." Lacy said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, she's the master of the Dream Style now. She could help." Hope said.
"Yeah. You know, I think the Cosmic Circus is playing a show very closeby." Titanica said.
"I dont know about you guys, but I gotta make sure Riku does this." Hope said.
"I agree Hope. I feel the same for Sora." Jexi said.
"Then I guess we're going to the circus." Gemini said.
At the circus, Annette had finished with a customer.
"That dream will most certainly come true sir….in a thousand years." Annette muttered. "Next customer please."
"Yo." Hope said walking in dragging Damien.
"Hope, I told you, I dont wanna...ah!" Damien said.
"D-Damien!" Annette said hugging him. "The broadcast of the tournament, it showed everything."
"Uh...nice to see ya too, sis." Damien said.
"Yeah...wait." Annette said. "Hope, I know you aren't here for a family reunion. What do you want?"
"I want you to send our teams to the Realm of Dreams." Hope said.
"Hmm. True, I've just started sending people into dreams as well as myself. But...what do I get in exchange?" Annette said.
"Uh…" Hope said. "Any ideas?"
Nagito then walked up writing a check. "This is how much we'll pay." he said handing it to Annette as she grinned ear to ear.
"We have a deal. But I can't do it here. We can do this in the sound proof room below the big top." Annette said.
"Okay." Hope said.
In the room.
"The Mark of Mastery Exam that Sora and Riku are taking is placed in the Realm of Dreams. Their task, from what I hear, is to unlock all the Sleeping Words Keyholes. So we need to go in there." Jexi said.
"I see. Well, you came to the right person." Annette said. " You can only enter the realm of dreams by sleeping. But with my abilities, I can send you in deeper, to one of these so called sleeping worlds. My ability will put all of you to sleep. And since this room is sound proof, no noises can wake you. And I'll be going in to give explanations on how things work in there."
"Wait, time out." Hope said. "We cant risk us all going in there. Yen sid may be watching, and with a group as large as us, he could track us. I say-" he continued before falling asleep.
"I'm sorry, but...I just couldn't stand listening to that." Annette said. "Now…" she said as the others fell into deep slumbers as well Annette got in a meditative stance as she closed her eyes.
Hope then opened his eyes in a black space. Jexi opened his eyes in a white one.
"Sora and Riku are separated in each world by a Drop porton. It runs out, the perspective shifts to another." Annette said. "Jexi, you will be taking Sora…"
Annette then shifted to Hope.
"And hope, you will be with Riku. Does that sound fair?" Annette asked.
"Yeah." Hope said. "Though you shoudve listened to me."
"Sorry, but I can't stand long winded plans. And I'm Amadeus Flux's little sister." Annette said.
"Yeah, he is big on them." Hope said.
"But its too late now. They can't wake up until I do." Annette said.
"So we cant all wake up, just select a group to go in." Jexi said.
"Uh, not gonna work either." Annette said. "If only a select few go, the rest run the risk of losing their subconscious in this select space."
"So we just have to press on." Hope said.
"Yeah. Now, there's another thing. Dream Eaters." Annette said.
"Dream Eaters?" they both asked.
"They're sort of the main monsters of this realm and only exist in this realm. There are two kinds: Nightmares, that devour good dreams and Spirits, that devour nightmares." Annette said. "The Spirits can help you both."
"So its simple, find the Keyholes, beat the Dream Eaters, stay out of sight of Twi and Aqua. Easy." Hope said.
"Now, take these." Annette said as two strange devices appeared in their hands. "These are Dream Drives, devices used to store Dream Eater Spirits for easy transport."
"Thanks Annette." Hope said.
"Its not a problem. Now you have some friends to help. First stop, a familiar town." Annette said.
Hope and Jexi's minds flashed as they zoomed in on each other into their eyes, beginning the adventure.