"Here again?" Kairi wondered aloud. She was back in Traverse Town again despite having left it behind long ago. Maybe it still needed some help?
"Good to see you again, Kairi."
She heard the flapping of wings and turned to see Joshua land beside her on the roof. "Joshua!"
"Not a second too soon either." The boy smirked.
"Hey, I didn't know I had a deadline!" Kairi grinned, crossing her arms. The sass faded when she realized there must be a reason he mentioned time. "That being said, what can I do to help?"
"As expected, you're on top of this hero business. Riku is too, no doubt. And Sora…"
"He always gets to it, eventually." Kairi finished with a smile, knowing the boy was very easily distracted but that didn't make him any less of a hero. "How are those two?"
"They're doing alright. Just like you, they're looking forward to your reunion." The boy answered. "As for the reason you guys are here, it because when you left before it allowed the Shiki and Beat to reunite with their game partners."
"That's great!" Kairi smiled.
"Yeah, but now that they're back together, they have a dangerous mission and very little time to complete it."
"Shiki mentioned something about missions and a game." Kairi remembered aloud as they began to walk down the street. "If they lose, they're destroyed… But if they win…"
"They get to go back to their world." Joshua explained. He scratched the back of his head. "But they're facing an incredibly tough Dream Eater at the moment that can summon hundreds more like it. I was hoping you could help us out with it."
"Sora, Riku and I will do our best!" Kairi promised. She smiled then, thinking of the boys. "I'm glad to know they're by my side."
Joshua turned away when hearing that, not wanting to see her disappointed face. "We can't be sure of that. You're separated by unseeable walls and who knows what else? Time, distance, it could be anything."
Kairi shook her head, placing a hand to her heart. "No, we're not. We're connected by our friendship and love for one another, meaning they'll always be by my side no matter what."
"What a nice dream that is." Joshua smiled faintly.
Kairi took his hand suddenly, surprising him. She looked quite serious. "It isn't just a dream, not for me and my friends, and not for you and yours!"
The boy gave a laugh, looking off in the distance where Shiki and her partner were. "Right, friends…"
Neku and Shiki were facing the Nightmare, a giant bird that seemed to be a music conductor. After receiving another blow, Neku got a quick healing spell from Shiki.
"There'll be time to rest later." Neku called to his partner, noticing her growing tired. "We need to finish this thing now."
"Yeah, yeah, I hear you!"
They were knocked away in their distraction, Neku falling straight into the fountain.
"Neku!" Shiki called, seeing Nightmares approaching the boy. She ran to protect him from their spells before realizing she was too late to repel it. She braced for impact.
The impact never came.
"You guys alright?"
"Kairi?!" Shiki gasped, seeing her brandishing her keyblade. "You came to save us!"
"That's right! Where's your guys' dream eaters?" Kairi asked while Saki went for the smaller Nightmares.
"We weren't allowed any, those Reapers are making the missions harder and harder for us to complete." Neku explained, having prioritized keeping his headphones above water.
"Then you guys better get out of here!" Kairi cried.
"No way!" Shiki called, nearly dropping Neku back into the water in surprise. "We wanna help!"
"You have to make it out of this game, not only for yours but Neku's sake too!
After some hesitation, Shiki had to agree with that. She pulled Neku out of the fountain correctly this time before ushering him away.
"You got the small fry, I'll handle the boss!" Kairi told her spirit.
Saki nodded before going at the horde of Nightmares coming their way.
Noticing the monster was lining up its attack, Kairi quickly did the same before letting the blast fire. The beams of light struggled against each other for only a moment before Kairi's got through, hitting the Nightmare on the cheek.
The Nightmare gave a shriek in pain before it vanished, knowing now what it was up against.
"Kairi!"
Kairi received a big hug from behind and grinned, turning to Shiki. She then noticed the boy beside her. His hair and face reminded her of Sora but the expression was all Riku. "You must be Neku, Shiki's partner, right?"
The boy gave a curt nod. "And you're one of Riku's friends. He looked everywhere for you and Sora, said you guys mattered a lot to him."
Kairi blushed. She knew that, but it couldn't hurt to hear it every now and again.
"Speaking of, did you search all over for me, Neku?" Shiki asked, batting her eyelashes playfully.
It was Neku's turn to blush, glaring away. "Well, I enjoyed the peace and quiet while I did."
The girls giggled at his embarrassment.
"Hope I'm not interrupting something." They suddenly heard. They turned to see Joshua watching towards them. "Because that dream eater fled to another imagining of this world."
"So Sora or Riku are against it?" Kairi asked, wishing she was with them.
"Only Sora. Riku had his own things to sort out, things other than that Nightmare."
Before Kairi could ask what he meant, the boy continued on. "We need to keep the Nightmare in one world, otherwise we'll be going in circles."
"You're saying we trap it?" Neku asked.
Joshua nodded. "Yes, in the Third District.
"We'd better hurry, I just hope Sora isn't slacking off." Kairi teased him despite being separated. She knew that'd get a reaction out of him if he were here.
"Let's go!" Shiki grinned, taking her hand before running off.
After a moment of hesitation, Neku turned to Joshua. He narrowed his eyes. "Tell me- are we really going to make it back home?"
There was a silence between the boys before Joshua smirked. "You once told me you couldn't afford to lose. Give up on yourself and you'll give up on your world."
"Right… So I'll see you there?"
Joshua's breath caught in shock. "Me?" Neku and the others wanted him to come home with them to their world despite everything that'd happened between them.
Neku nodded. He didn't say it outright but the message was clear: he considered him a friend. They all did.
"… Thanks."
Neku caught up with the girls just as they were finishing off a group of Nightmares.
"Where were you, Neku?" Shiki asked in concern.
"Don't worry about it." He mumbled, crossing his arms.
Shiki gave a huff before walking on.
"It's okay to admit it, you know." Kairi whispered with a knowing smile.
"Admit what?" Neku asked, turning to her.
"That you like her too."
The boy glared away. "Even though you're friends, you and Riku are nothing alike."
"You remind me of him." Kairi smiled faintly.
Kairi reminded him of Shiki.
At that moment, they'd arrived in the Third District.
Just in time, a portal opened up and the boss flew through.
"Great job, Sora, I've got it from here!" Kairi called, summoning her keyblade.
"How about we'll focus on them," Shiki said, pointing to the various dream eaters appearing below. "And you and Saki get the boss?"
"It'd be our pleasure!" Kairi answered, giving Saki a high-five with two of her fingers.
The magician-like dream eater waved its staff, summoning the same Nightmare Kairi had faced during her first visit.
"We did it once, we'll do it again." Kairi said, pointing her keyblade at the familiar foe.
She vanquished it faster than its previous incarnation despite it being somewhat stronger. She had grown stronger too, perhaps enough to pass the exam with flying colors.
The wizard summoned more past enemies but Kairi and Saki got through them just as quickly. They were in perfect sync, after all.
Once the crab dream eater vanished, Kairi shot out a beam of light but the Nightmare dodged. The keyhole of the world suddenly appeared behind it then, allowing it to escape.
"No!" Kairi gasped. Now it's loose in the Realm of Sleep!
Shiki ran up at once before crossing her arms. "Joshua, what's the big idea? Where'd it go this time?"
"I couldn't tell you." Joshua sighed in disappointment, landing beside them. "Wherever it went isn't in Traverse Town."
"Wait, does that mean… we failed the mission?" Neku asked, eyes widening in worry. It was a rare show of emotion from him.
Kairi shook her head at once. They couldn't have, not yet! "It's still out there. I may not be a Player, but I am connected to you two through our hearts! Once I defeat it, I'm sure your mission will be over and you can go home!"
"Thanks, Kairi!" Shiki cheered happily. She gave her a squeeze. "You're the best!"
Kairi laughed until she was breathless from the hug. "Too tight, too tight!"
"Eh?! Sorry!" Shiki released her quickly.
"Jeez. Don't you know anything about personal space?" Neku smiled faintly.
"Nope!" Shiki stuck out her tongue playfully at him before clasping Kairi's hands. "Once you find your friends, you should come hang out in our town!"
"Make sure to bring Sora and Riku too. See you in Shibuya." Neku nodded.
"Okay, it's a promise!" Kairi grinned. She'd never been to Shibuya but knew her heart would lead her there one day, it'd never steered her wrong before. She held her hand out to the other three.
Shiki placed her hand first, then Neku placed his. They turned to Joshua expectantly. The boy slowly placing his hand on top.
"Kairi," Joshua suddenly said. "It's awfully easy to get lost in dreams, especially when diving deeper like you are."
Kairi blinked in surprise. She supposed she'd been diving pretty deep but it was for Naminé and the others connected to her heart. She couldn't possibly stop now. "But I don't feel lost at all. Every dream I enter is a step closer to getting the answers I need, I can feel it."
Joshua nodded, knowing he couldn't persuade her otherwise. Besides, if what she said was true, and from what Joshua had seen, it was, Riku and Sora would always be able to call out to her heart.
The keyblade shot a beam of light into the keyhole where hopefully she'd be able to follow that Nightmare. She waved goodbye before being engulfed in the light.