In which we meet Sheppy the Spirit.

The empty wide sea that held home to the mysterious hooded figure faded in a silhouette that fringed around Nemurin's body - her descent slowed, as if time itself had done so just for her, or if the fall was exceptionally deep, akin to the hole that led to Wonderland. And she would admit, the Dream World was a place she considered a world of wonder, what for somebody like herself. It allowed her to do things she never could even think about in reality, things that even a healthy person would struggle to do without making themselves tumble over into an outward state of idiocy - like standing atop a light post with a posture of perfection. She could even hop and use a hand to grasp onto her companion pillow and the other to look off into the exceptionally colourful distance before her now!

A rush of cold slipped through her thin socks, a palette of warm oranges, golds and yellows set Nemurin's senses alight as she took it in; the street below had a dainty set-up, akin to a storybook.

Or, like the beginning of a romantic manga, those she always heard were really good and read a few chapters of and absolutely had intended to get round to...well, up until her physical body went and died, that was...perhaps it was odd to speak of your own body in such a fashion, but it had felt like so long since then that she saw little point in sugarcoating it, at least to herself. Doing that didn't change much, and it wasn't like she would go talking like that about it to others.

Anyways - a stone pavement the same colour as chocolate and circled by a lighter, creamier shade stretched out into a flight of stairs with slightly bent pitch-black railings. Now that she thought of it - here, the girl bent her body downwards, as if she were bowing to an invisible person, her long hair strands slipping off her back and flopping in midair - the light post she stood atop of, and the one to her left too, seemed fairly wrangled at the bottom. For now, the street the colour of sunset was quiet, the soft glow below her feet giving her a gentle appearance from where she stood, apart from the occasional sound of the breeze as it brushed past her ears. More to her left stood a tall building with a dark wooden balcony, but it laid bare, lights aglow inside; yet it seemed only ghosts acted as inhabitants, for the district possessed, as far as Nemurin was concerned, a silence that sent the tips of icicles flushing her back here and there.

Letting out a sigh, Nemurin hopped onto the pavement, her hair bouncing anticlimactically to the floor, her socks shuffling slightly as she moved, as the streets greeted her with nothing but silence. "Let's see..." she trailed off, ready to zip off into town on her preferred mode of transport; until she heard a peculiar sound.

It was almost like an odd vibration; if a sheep had spoken through an odd filter, that was the best way to describe that sound that rattled through her ears. A blonde brow arched above her left eye in puzzlement, her head tilting slightly aside as she peered up the small stairway. She had only a few moments to look up the orange-glazed steps before the sound came barrelling down like a bowling ball down a lane - and Nemurin was clearly intended to be its pins! A high yelp chucked from her throat as she reached the stony sides, just avoiding being hit by her...oddly adorable attacker.

As it were, the sheep comparison Nemurin had made within her head was quite apt, even if the colours seemed far more out of a nightclub than it did any farmer's field; a dark blue symbol adorned its forehead, like a heart with bat wings crossing in and out of it, and it walked on four stubby blue and green legs when it wasn't bowling towards her. Its horns, if you could call them that, were instead floating whirlpools of mint, magenta and a sick, sticky-looking green. But she didn't have long to question or take in its physical features, for it was coming fast and hard and straight for her head!

It was then, in this moment, that she had an idea; the black bent lamppost stood askew still behind her, white gleaming off of it from the remains of the orange light. Turning back around towards her sheep-shaped enemy, her mind fell back onto the dream she entered, that of the little boy who watched a city be torn apart by a massive monster - at least until she entered, until her Nemurin Beam had purified its heart, that was! Even if there were odd forces at work, she didn't doubt she could still do the same here! And this way, she could perhaps get a grasp on just what this creature was, once and for all.

Was it part of the spiky-haired boy and the silver-haired boy's dreams? Or was it related to the one in the black coat, or the one in the brown coat? Were they working together? Or just the same person who liked to cosplay various fantasy coats?

Knees bent, the creature eyed her down widely, not seeming to catch on to what she was trying to do, simply based out what must have been his equivalent to a growl, before pouncing forward and rolling, and rolling...

BANG!

Nemurin felt a stone of guilt sink into her gut at her trick, especially since the poor thing didn't seem to be able to do much else but attack her the same way in this state, but it was the swiftest way to bring the encounter to an end. Pointing her hands upwards, towards her own forehead, she shouted out; "Nemurinnnnnn!~ Beam!~" she called aloud. With that, an array of baby pink sparkles and what looked like glitter came pouring out from the spot between her hands, and she shouted, "Pewpewpewpewpew!"

The sheep lay there dazed by the light of the post, the poor thing seeming to feel as dull as one too, only to be engulfed by a ball of pink light. Its strange attempts at growls were soon replaced by a softer sound, more to what you'd expect from a sheep, albeit still with a bit of an alteration as if put through an app that filtered its voice. Its appearance hadn't changed much, but you could certainly tell Nemurin's Beam had reached it; its colours had softened to the light pinks and yellows and whites she saw everywhere in the Dream World, and as it stumbled around to face her, its circular head tilted, before it let out another 'baa' and hopped up and down on its four tiny legs, coming towards her. However, the intent of aggression had faded, and at that, she felt herself smile.

Stepping forward, her hand (though not visible underneath her giant sleeve) patted the head of the sweetened creature. "There, there. Whatever darkness was controlling you is gone now, okay?" she assured. With that, the tiny sheep let out a noise of what she could only guess was happiness, as it nuzzled its round form forward, brushing past her nose as what looked to be its mouth tipped upwards, making a giggle escape her. "That tickles!" she laughed.

It was small moments like this that made Nemurin more than glad she had gained a grasp of her power back, that she could visit the dreams of others again as she pleased, that she still held enough power to purify evil. Only here mind you, only ever here. For a while after her body in the waking world had been lost to her, she felt weak, she couldn't do the same things as she had before, at least not to the same extent, but now she had mostly recovered, and she wished to hold onto it.

Standing up as the creature finally eased away from her, still staring up at her, as if watching her every move. When Nemurin took a step forward, the little sheep followed right behind her. It didn't take a genius to follow the pattern, and she realised that the little creature wished to stay with her. "Do you want to be my friend, little guy?"

The sheep baaed in content, rolling left and right on its balled back, hopping up and down - every equivalent to nodding you could find. It stared up at her, as if it knew her as an old friend, though for what reason she wasn't as sure, but the company of others wasn't something she minded - after all, it was a part of why she liked stepping into the dreams of other people. Nemu remembered her days in high school, where she would quietly stick to herself and the manga that caught her attention the most, and those around her would go about their days and activities with the energy of sunlight, befriending new people while she stuck to those she knew, those she listened to and smiled. But, she had never been like that. She didn't dislike people, and she had her friends, but interacting when you knew nothing, when a mistake could make you the laughing stock of the class for a week, that was...well, it was exhausting, to put it one way. Nemurin simply stayed with the friends she knew. And besides...listening to the fun stories of other people was a lot more fun. But in the Dream World, she could go anywhere and she felt confidence unfound in her regular life, do anything that most people only...well, dreamed of!

Kneeling down again, her cloud-clad sleeves limply falling to the ground, Nemurin's smile remained. "Well then..." she yawned a little, and her new friend imitated her. "You come with me...but you're going to need a name, huh?" she admitted, to which the sheep nodded.

"Hm..." Nemurin pondered for a moment or two. "How about...Dolly?"

A shake of the head, and a discontented bleat.

"Shaun?"

Another, much firmer shake of the head this time. A definite no.

"Snowy?"

An unsure sound now.

"Hmm...oh, bother...how about...Sheppy?"

Even Nemurin knew that perhaps wasn't the most unique name, but it had a cute ring to it, at least to her. And indeed, to her fluffball companion seemed to agree, for he hopped up and down on his tiny legs once again, sending a certain warmth through her heart. "Sheppy it is, then," Nemurin confirmed. "Well, Sheppy...let's get going...~" she said, to which her friend popped his head up and toddled contentedly behind her.

The pair went up the staircase, and turned to the left street; it was a guess on her part, but it had to lead to somewhere. Bright lights adorned the top of the buildings, all in that same warm tone, and yet it felt as though Nemurin and Sheppy were the only ones present, the only sound being the quiet bleating of the latter...and what sounded like a hiss, the rattling of tiles.

Street tiles?

Yet, whenever she looked behind, above and below, she found nothing but the ghostly empty street once again, and her companion rolling up at her legs as if waiting for instruction, before excitedly rolling ahead of her. Within a few minutes, she found herself faced with the fact that she had led herself into a set of back streets. The bright light of the lampposts had faded far away by now, dulled to a dimness that offered a layer of shadow to the alleyways and streets, emphasised by the dead blue light that hung over their heads. Now, admittedly, it was little problem for Nemurin; she was a Magical Girl, after all, her senses were heightened and thus, she was still seeing the path ahead clearly, but she knew Sheppy didn't have the same fortune. The tiny being seemed to bleat, as if whimpering, remaining close to her legs, and just when it seemed some confidence had been wired into him by Nemurin's rather relaxed demeanour, that rattling would echo throughout the tightly-built lanes. There had been lights here, bent down lower than the others, but those that weren't smashed, tiny shreds of glass lay scattered on the ground, they were dulled and flickering and sparking, as if they had been hit or damaged somehow. Chills wafted throughout, and it felt as though she was the only one guiding them. It made her breathe a sigh of relief she had the ability to see in the dark, that was for sure, and even she could feel a chill slip down her spine like sweat after a marathon whenever that awful rattling sound echoed in and out of the stone walls, bouncing off and making it sound as though it was coming from absolutely everywhere.

After what felt like a collective eternity in the crooked streets, the girl and her ovin friend felt as though an anvil had been lifted from their perpetually tired bones when they found a street with a glowing light at the end, the same light from the place they began in. A small silhouette flickered in the shadows, and that was enough of a cue for them to take that path without looking back.

And yet the rattling, and the hissing, it persisted...

The tiny shadow faded out, and the owner was soon revealed to them; wandering the streets now was a young girl, most likely a junior high schooler, with a short sunny bob of blonde hair which was hidden underneath a black beanie, a tiny white skull decorating the lined corners. She appeared to like skulls, or at least the aesthetic, as she also wore a long orange jumper with a black skull, stylized to look like a heart and crossbones, along with black shorts and black and gold shoes. Truthfully, the colours reminded her of another Magical Girl, one Nemurin frequently saw during the old weekly meetups; the witch Magical Girl, Top Speed. She didn't see much of her, but she heard a fair bit during the chats, and she did always enjoy hearing her stories...

Shaking herself from her bit of remembrance, the pyjama-clad girl waved a hand up. "Hey...are you lost?" she asked, gently.

The girl in the beanie turned to look at her, smiling. "Huh...? Well...I guess you could say that. My name's Rhyme, but...that's about all I know," she introduced herself.

"Rhyme...that's a nice name." Nemurin replied, her voice gentle like the clouds of her domain. "My name," she gestured her long-sleeve towards her chest. "is Nemurin, and this...!" the girl heaved Sheppy up into her arms, her hair decorations following along as she moved. "This is Sheppy. Do...do you not remember anything? Anything at all?"

Rhyme shook her head, folding her arms. "Nope...but it's okay. Sometimes, memories just need some help coming out. I feel like I'm trying to look for someone, but...well, that's about it,"

It was at this moment she recalled the two boys, the ones who were dreaming this dream. Did they know this girl? They must have, otherwise, she likely couldn't appear here...perhaps one of them did? "Actually...I just remembered, I'm looking for somebody too. Perhaps they know you?" she asked. "Why don't we go together...?"

Giving a bop of her head, Rhyme took her hand. "Sounds good! Let's go," she agreed.

With that, the pair of them set the path forward. Nemurin looked over her shoulder, once again feeling that muffled rattling drum in her ears, but was once again met with nothing. "Did you hear that...?" Rhyme questioned.

Nodding her head, the older of the two answered, "Yes...it's creepy. But, Magical Girl Nemurin will keep you safe...!" she promised.

That much seemed to bring the girl a sense of ease as they walked forward. "Thanks...! Actually, Nemurin, I do have one question..."

"Yes?"

"...Why are you wearing pyjamas out in the street?"

That was an odder question to her than you might expect. After all...most people who ended up in the Dream World usually had a semblance of a clue that they were dreaming, so nobody really asked why she wore them, even in dreams unrelated to them. Yet this girl didn't seem to. Then again, there was a fair amount of odd things that had happened lately, so she wouldn't dwell on it.

"Hehe...comfort," she responded, simply, giving a just as simple smile. Subsequently, you could hear a peaceful 'baa...' from down at their feet, Sheppy clearly relating to the sense of comfort, what with him wearing a cloak of cloudy white wool around him at all times.

Giggling, Rhyme remarked, "That's fair,"

By now, a tender atmosphere had formed around their hearts, putting their minds in a state of calmness. Enough that Nemurin hadn't realised the rattling had grown louder, and faster, and faster, and closer. A sharp gasp burst from her chest, a seat of clouds forming behind her back, and in front of Rhyme. "Get on...!" she ordered, not without kindness, but with urgency. "I'll catch up with you, okay?"

Taking a breath, the girl hoisted herself atop the cloud, looking down on them as if expecting them to fall apart, but they stayed as solid as a freshly built millionaire's car. She looked to her one more time, "What about you?" she asked, wide-eyed, worried for her sake.

"I'll be fine." Nemurin reassured. "I can handle this. It's just as I said...Magical Girl Nemurin will keep you safe," she swore.

With a smile from the younger girl, the cloud darted out through the streets, knowing to avoid the walls and not stopping until it reached a place safe and peaceful. And in good time too, for from underneath the ground erupted a monster twice the size of either of them. A slivering monstrous snake now made its way across the stone, its tail sharp enough to cut your throat, which smashed two lights at its left and right. So that explained the lights in the alley...its scales shone a sickly green, eyes a piercing bloodied red, the same symbol that had rested atop Sheppy's head laying on its own, a dark blue once more. Sticking its bladed tongue out at them, it hissed; but now it was above ground, it sounded more like a shrill scream, as if it had merged with the quiet of a deadly hunter and the final cry of its victims. Her heart lurched briefly, and then remained steady; this was no different than fighting the giant monster in the boy's dream, just a different coat of paint. Of that, she reminded herself again as the monster rushed towards her.

In its scream, drops of purple splatted out onto the ground, melting away the beautiful pattern and leaving broken pale stones in its stead. Sidestepping past, Nemurin's eyes searched for a weakness, ensuring her newfound ally stayed behind her, so he didn't get hurt. What took her by surprise was that Sheppy didn't stay by her feet; but he drilled into a bowling ball once again, cracking through the dirt and sending tiles flying through the air, spinning and spinning until he was knocked backwards, decking the snake right in its vile face. Within the moment, her socks shifted up and down her ankles as she sprinted towards its backside. Her tiny hands unclenched themselves, sweat nonexistent in this world, as they went straight for its spiked, golden tail. A level of pain fleeted into her palms, but to a Magical Girl, it was more than negligible. Drawing up all of her strength, she gripped on tight, and heaved hard - the snake shrieked again, twisting its body around and lunging at her body with its fangs. Jumping backwards, she managed to pull it down with her, crashing them both into one of the now not so homely-looking cottages behind her, what looked like a café, judging by the glass tables that broke apart and flew through the air akin to the frost of a blizzard, slicing at the armoured body of their enemy but doing little to deter it in its assault. Sheppy cried out to her, hopping up higher, just above the snake's body, that which led to its face.

And that, gave Nemurin an idea. The perfect way to get her close enough that her beam would most surely make its mark...! It was at this moment that she hoped he could exit with her to the border, once this was all done. Short as it was, she enjoyed his company and she rather liked his approach for being a sheep who spoke no words. Moving her hands up the snake's golden-tipped tail, she pulled her body upwards, slowly buckling her knees and forcing herself upright.

'Just like balancing on a light post!' she reminded herself.

It was the same balancing game, and what she could do then she could do here. Now running with aeroplane arms, her sleeves flying in the wind they had generated amidst the violent encounter, she stumbled, nearly tumbling off, but caught herself, hopping into the air - the snake instead catching her sock, taking it into its mouth and swallowing, only to shriek again. The more she thought about it, the more the creature seemed like a child throwing a temper tantrum!

Fortunately, her sock popped back up without a scratch, just as soft and cosy - you weren't allowed to change your Avatar, after all!~

It was only five steps, two steps, one step! She now met the eyes of the beast, arms wide out as she balanced herself, all while trying to sense if there were any creatures like this one near Rhyme now; fortunately, the aura she felt was warm, and she eased herself a bit. With that, the snake hissed and snapped and sniped away at her, missing by what it found to be an incredibly annoying thread. Once it got close enough, her long sleeves grabbed it by its face, as it continued to let out its now painfully irritating cry, smashing its tail onto the ground - and knocking poor Sheppy into a pillar, where he laid there dazed and whimpering.

Something in the girl rose up, an emotion she didn't feel often. It was piping up slowly, like the heat of an oven, and you could guess its colour was a raging red. Tightening her hold, her brow furrowed and slanted down in disdain, "Now, that's just awful...! Nemurinnnnnn...BEAM!" she shouted aloud, and there it poured out from her forehead, the light not pulling away once it met its mark. The snake shrieked and thrashed, but for the love of Fav she would not let go. Eventually, its size shrunk down in pieces, once big enough to fill an alley, now just below the roofs, now small enough to fit it into a fairly big fish tank, allowing Nemurin to reach the ground at last, and catch her breath.

But unlike Sheppy, the snake seemed in no mood to make friends, hissing one last time and slipping away into the dark, but at the very least, she hoped it was more of an anti-hero now than a creature ready to kill on sight.

Padding over to her companion, she knelt down gently, her braids falling to the floor. The tiny sheep bleated almost inaudibly, rolling onto its side, and then back to its feet, though some energy reached his voice at the sight of her. Allowing herself to smile as Sheppy began yawning aloud, the girl stretched as she stood up.

"Great job, little guy," she complimented. That seemed to please him, as he rolled back and forth and then hopped again on its four legs. "Now, let's go find Rhyme...you worked hard there...you must be exhausted. Up you come,"

With that, Nemurin opened up her arms - and quickly getting the message, Sheppy seemed to smile as he nuzzled comfortably into her chest, occasionally looking up as if exclaiming, 'Look how comfortable I am!'

The sight charmed her beyond reasonable doubt - but what she found next plunged her gut into the abyss again. She could hear it, faint yelling.

"That wasn't the deal...! You weren't supposed to hurt him!" a male voice shouted, accusingly.

Something told her ever-tired mind to hurry up, and with that, her sharp walk became a run until it led her to a wide-open area. The ground was like a chessboard, except the colours were dark purple and dark blue, the walls stood high with a similar scheme of colour; which offset the golden lights and fountain to the left side. But her eyes didn't fall upon that - but rather on the body that lay there on the ground.

It was the boy.

More specifically, it was the spiky-haired boy. He laid there, unmoving as a corpse, his head resting on his hands and a strange item was scattered at his side - an odd hybrid between a key and a sword. Another creature, of blue, white and hints of black, anxiously walked back and forward, before nudging at the boy's face. Nemurin didn't hesitate for a moment, her legs lifting and leaping over the guardrails as she rushed to his side, Sheppy crying out briefly in confusion before hopping out of her arms, turning to the creature beside him; another one like him, except it took the appearance of a cat and a dog mixed into one. A sad whimper escaped it, looking to her for reassurance. For a few silent moments, Nemurin looked him over; he didn't seem hurt, not a scratch to show, and now she was at his side she could spot the gentle, steady rise of a breathing body.

"He'll be okay," she said, simply. She looked upwards, at a wide alleyway, shrouded in shadows. Whoever the voice was, he was gone now.

Once more, Nemurin called to her clouds; and once more, was told that there was nothing that could harm Rhyme, that she'd been dropped off to a place of leisure and waited for her without a worry. With that, she decided to wait here for the boy to awaken.

She did wonder, though...

"Just how did you fall asleep...when you're already inside a dream?"

A/N: So, this chapter ended up a little longer than I initially expected, but I had a real ball writing it, and I hope y'all enjoy it too! Thank you to Captain Imaginat and Hekkasi for the reviews, and AGuyWhoReads, Hekkasi and HelpSomeone for the favourites and follows, I really appreciate it! In regards to the dialogue in the reviews, it's not much of a plot twist that the Organisation will be the primary antagonists since I feel they're too integral to take out and work best with what I have in mind, but I will be expanding on the Disney villains when they show up, which you'll see very soon! Unrelated, but I think I had a bit of a flashback when I saw 'The Nutcracker Prince' among your list, that movie was my childhood, hehe. Thank you all once again for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!