Sora opened his eyes to see the familiar neon signs of Traverse Town. Hadn't he helped save this world with Rhyme? "Huh? What am I doing back here?"

"Sora, I've been waiting for you."

Sora turned to see Joshua lounging on the same arc he'd first seen him. "Couldn't you wait on the ground? Come down here so we can talk!"

"Now?" Joshua asked lazily.

"What do you mean, 'now'? You're the one who's been waiting!" Sora cried, slightly annoyed.

The boy gave a laugh before landing beside him. "Regardless, I owe thanks to all three of you for coming."

"Three? You mean Riku and Kairi are here?" Sora asked excitedly, looking around. Had they finally been reunited.

"They are, but they're still in separate versions of the world. They're doing as well as they can facing such strong enemies." Joshua explained. "Riku's was… mostly empty. But in yours and Kairi's, there's a powerful Nightmare on the loose. It's jumping between worlds so it's a little hard for Rhyme and Beat to keep track of."

"You guys found Beat? That's great!" Sora smiled.

Joshua nodded. "He appeared right after you three left. Because they were reunited, the game started up again."

"Game?"

"Yes. It's a simple concept with big stakes. All they have to do is complete missions together within a time limit. But if they run out of time or get defeated, it's game over."

"Game over like they'll stop existing…?" Sora asked in clarification.

Joshua gave a grim nod.

Sora shuddered in worry. As far as he knew, it wasn't possible in their universe to stop existing. You were just separated from your body and waited til you were recompleted. You always came back. And it often even gave birth to a new existence all together if you believed Nobodies had hearts. The idea of nothingness after getting fatally wounded didn't sit right with him. "Is beating this Dream Eater their mission?"

"That's right. But they can't get a single hit on it when it's bouncing between worlds like this. It just reappeared at the fountain plaza, could you help those two out?"

"You can count on me!" Sora said, about to run off.

"Wait, before you go,"

He looked back to see Joshua.

"I'm going to try to explain this as simply as I can so you can follow, alright?"

"Alright!" The boy smiled before realizing what had been said. Did that mean he was dumbing it down for him? "Hey, what do you mean by simple?!

Joshua ignored the question. He had a lot to go through with very little time to do so. "You, Riku, and Kairi aren't in parallel worlds like I originally thought."

"So we're not fighting at the same time?" Sora asked. He was already pretty confused.

"I don't think you are. But you're not fighting in each other's past or futures either. Rather, you're fighting in three completely distinct worlds all together. It's like the same world but seen differently by three people."

"Ohhh, I see!" They stood in silence for a moment before Joshua gave a chuckle as Sora deflated. "Actually, I don't really get it."

"That's alright. It's confusing even for me." Joshua said smugly. "But I think I may have it figured out: You're all stuck in separate dreams."

"So I'm sleeping?" Sora asked. That was the only way he understood it. He thought for a moment before smiling. "Well, that's okay! Even if I am, Kairi will just wake me up!"

"I'm sure she will, if it's your dream you're stuck in."

"Wait, what?" Sora asked, his head was starting to hurt. "But you just said-!"

"I know." Joshua sighed, wishing he could explain it better. "Look, don't think too hard on it. All you need to keep in mind is you can't let either of your friends dream on forever, you understand?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I understand…" Sora whispered. Was that what the Organization meant by losing his friends? Did they somehow know about the dreams, what did that mean for the trio?

"Hey."

The boy looked up to see Joshua had placed his hand on his shoulder. "I didn't know you could think that hard."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Sora pouted, snapping out of it.

"It's a compliment." Joshua assured him. "I just mean you're one to keep moving forward, you don't let anything hold you back. It's something your friends should do more."

"You mean, Riku and Kairi… should learn from me?" Sora asked in shock, pointing to himself. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Kairi and Riku were the super smart and responsible ones of the group, after all.

He shook himself out of it. "This crazy stuff is making my head hurt. I'd better go help Rhyme and Beat beat that Nightmare! That makes sense!"

"Good luck." Joshua smiled after him, wondering if anything he'd said gotten through to the boy. But Kairi said he always got things eventually no matter how long it took to figure out.

Sora arrived to find the gruff boy he'd seen at Kairi's side before trying to take on the Nightmare before being flung away.

"I don't think that's working, big brother…" Rhyme called over his war cries.

Sora was quick to relieve him for a moment, surprising the siblings. "Need a hand?"

"Sora!" Rhyme beamed.

"Sora?" Beat repeated, eyes widening. "Rhyme told me all about you, yo! I wasn't there to protect my little sis and you were…"

"Do you have anything you want to say?" Rhyme asked, noticing he seemed to be struggling to say something else.

Sora tilted his head in confusion. He couldn't tell if Beat was mad at him or just frustrated in general by what he had to say. Yakumo also gave a curious whine.

"Nah."

"You gotta say it!" Rhyme pouted, punching him in the arm.

"No way! Guys like me don't say mushy stuff like that! It'll garnish my reputation!" Beat insisted.

"Since when? You burned that bridge a long time ago." His sister grinned, pointing to him accusingly. "'Nobody raises his reputation by lowering others.'"

Sora laughed, looking between the two. "I won't tell anyone you're a sweet guy if you don't want me to."

"See, Sora gets it."

Beat looked between them angrily. "I'm not sweet! Just saying thanks, that's all!"

Rhyme giggled as she greeted Yakumo. "My big brother only acts and talks like a punk, that's all."

"Yeah!" Beat smiled with pride. He then glared down at her. "Wait, did you just call me a punk again?!"

They were interrupted by a sudden shriek and turned to see the Nightmare. It didn't like being ignored, especially when its audience seemed to be stealing the show.

It summoned even more Dream Eaters around them, causing them to get into battle positions.

"Looks like we made it mad!" Sora grimaced. He looked back to the siblings. "Think you guys have things handled here?"

They nodded.

"Then we're off! Come on, Yaku!" They chased the Nightmare back into an alleyway, thinking they had it cornered until it suddenly summoned more minions.

No matter how many they took out, more kept coming; And by the time they were finished, the boss was already gone.

"Sora, we're planning to pin it between worlds! It should be appearing in the Third District!"

"Got it!"

"Going somewhere?" Sora ran into the Third District, blocking the door to the street.

The Dream Eater tried to double back only to see the siblings waiting at the other door.

"This is my street, yo!" Beat called, pumping his chest.

"You gotta play by the rules." Rhyme added with a smirk.

Just as it began to look truly trapped, the Nightmare summoned another portal, flying out of that version of the world.

"Aw man!" Sora cried.

Beat and Rhyme were just as annoyed. "Not cool, yo!"

"Now, now, don't forget Kairi's now on the case." Joshua reminded, floating down beside them.

"That's right!" Sora grinned. "She's so strong, she'll beat it in no time!"

Beat nodded, believing him.

"You're such a good listener, Beat." Joshua suddenly said, teasing the boy. "Like a sponge."

Rhyme and Sora looked between the two as they pet Yakumo.

Beat quickly defended himself. "I'm no sponge! I'm just me!"

"You mean Daisukenojo Bito?"

"Hey! Don't say my full name!"

That's his real name? Sora thought, It's so long! "It is a mouthful."

"Exactly!" Beat grunted.

Sora and Rhyme laughed together before noticing the keyhole nearby.

"After you're done, Sora, you could come see us in Shibuya!" Rhyme exclaimed excitedly. Beat nodded in agreement.

"I'll extend the invite to Riku and Kairi next time I see them." Joshua promised as Sora summoned his keyblade.

"Thanks, everybody." Sora smiled.

"Oh, and Sora?"

He turned back to Joshua.

"Keep thinking on what I said til it makes sense, alright?"

"You mean about dreams and sleep and stuff? I'll try, but my brain's gonna break." Sora joked. Really though, it did hurt to think about. Maybe he would just rely on his heart rather than his head, that'd always worked for him before. Riku, Kairi, I believe in us. As long as we eventually quit dreaming, I know we'll be together soon!