Where Sora and Nemurin find Neku and his partner.
Catching up with Sora didn't take especially long, especially as Nemurin picked up the pace; in all essentials, it looked like they'd be tracing the same steps as when they first came here, only in reverse; a walk across the gently-lit bridge in front of the conservatory, the houses surrounding her still offering a sunset-like glow from the windows despite the lack of people she'd seen kicking about the town for the wayward, down the alley and round a corner, which led her to the same place they had encountered Rhyme, specifically Sora's first meeting with the blonde-haired girl and her second. It was so surreal being back here again, already feeling like so much had happened in what was...what? One night? Two? Either way, Sora and his friend were having a long dream to get this done, that much was certain - though she admittedly didn't want to extend that length any longer than it had to go, in spite of the selfish pang she felt at the realisation he'd probably not be back afterwards, not in the way she thought.
'They don't even really remember you in the dream even when they know you, Nemu...remember that dream where you accidentally caused La Pucelle to get a bump on the head and she didn't even know it was you when you met up with her?' her thoughts said, practically scolding her.
Besides...Sora sticking around for longer felt...dangerous to her. She couldn't quite pin it down - maybe it was because when she started this journey, the dream world was her domain, a place she had pure control over in no uncertain terms. Even at the start, despite the waning she felt, it had been so minor she'd hardly even thought about it, but now its occupation of her thoughts on even the smallest, most basic level was impossible to deny. The longer that she let this go on for, the less capable she would be of protecting him if something went wrong, and even with the Dream Magical Girls at her side...the thought of it made her stomach roll over itself with anxiety, especially for Dream Calamity Mary.
Was she affected by this too...? She did create her...and yeah, she seemed fine when they met her during the situation with Monstro, but...
"Hey, Nemu! Over here!" a cheerful voice caught her attention.
Sora stood at the top of the steps, waving at her, while Morgana bounced on her stomach next to him. Tipping her head up, Nemurin felt her lips curve back into a gentle smile as she spotted her friend again, and she found herself reminded of what had helped get her this far in their journey, and she could only hope she could pay the favour back by helping him get to the finishing line of his own. Wherever he went from there, she knew he'd shine.
Giving a slightly slow, sleepy wave of her arm, Nemurin and her Dream Eater closed the gap between them. "Hey, Sora...!" she replied. "Sorry I lagged a bit behind there...I promise I didn't drift off,"
"Not for too long anyway~" Sora teased, grinning a little to himself.
"Meanie~" Nemurin joked back, her head drooping a little.
"If it helps any, I'm just as bad for that. Kairi used to have to wake me up all the time when I'd fall asleep on the beach," Sora recounted, a fondness sparking again in his eyes at the mention of his friend.
Together, the pair and their Spirits began to walk through the familiar streets at a steady pace, remaining vigilant of potential Nightmares, identical to how they had been left last, as if the haven town was frozen in time. Not a lamp light jolted with sparks or darkened even briefly, and the colourful archways over the next flight of stairs into the upper parts of town dulled in their brightness, their light forming flowing flicks that darted across them, making their eyes almost appear opalescent to one another, their hair like they were standing under the remnants of a fireworks display that never ended and never went up in flames. Aside from their chatter and that of Morgana and Sheppy's various bleats and meows and barks, the streets were left with a certain quiet, one Nemurin couldn't quite figure out as being peaceful or disconcerting.
"So, how'd the planning with Joshua go? Figure anything out?" her companion wondered.
"Uh...not really...I guess. For one, Joshua figured out about the whole power-sapping thing, but I can't really be surprised at that..." Nemurin started, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. She could see him nod, humming a bit in acknowledgement. "And...we kinda tried to figure out what that guy's after again. We didn't have much luck with specifics,"
"Oh...oh well. I can handle myself, whatever it is they're after - and I said I'd keep you safe, right?" Sora promised.
"Not quite...~ I'm pretty sure you promised that to me and I did the exact same to you," Nemurin replied, her expression regaining some cheer, despite the tiredness that had seeped into her on a permanent basis as of late.
"That's right!" her blue-eyed friend agreed, grinning. Flecks of mischief soon revealed themselves in that smile, as he abruptly scooped her up, turning towards the high number of stairs before them. "How about I speed things up?"
Laughing in wild surprise, the magenta glow Nemurin had come to recognise quite thoroughly told her immediately about the Flowmotion he was going to use, with Sora deftly landing atop the guard rail that lined the middle of the steps. Her hair flapped wildly in the air as the two of them moved from closer to the bottom of the staircase, a rush of air throwing life into her face as the gap between themselves and the Fountain Plaza grew shorter and shorter by the second, with him soon leaping from the edge of the railing and between walls, eventually leading them to a large wooden door, the place the fountain and their friends laid behind. Admittedly...she didn't feel great about not being completely open with Sora about what conclusion she and Joshua had drawn from their conversation, but she would also have to say it wasn't really that far off from the one they had previously discussed; and besides, he had enough anxiety with her situation and his own goal without specifically levelling on the burden of 'they're trying to trap you here so they can control you, no pressure while you do the rest of your mission here!'.
The last thing she wanted was to drive him into darkness like that which had been encroaching on his Dream Gate, like a twisted chain or bind.
As they opened the door and returned to the sight of the fountain, they were beset with a sight of chaos; namely a collection of smaller Nightmares, seahorses the same colour as wine blasting bubbles of ice and fire at Neku and his partner, a pink-haired girl with a large cap and a plushie of a black cat in her hold - with the latter having been knocked into the fountain by an array of lightning right as they arrived. With the seahorses were a strange duo; at first Nemurin thought they were like some sort of deer, specifically a doe, but she decided she'd call them horses or colts once she looked at them closer. Acting fast, Sora gave Morgana the nod - 'yes, you can go after those sea creatures' - and quickly bolted across the field before the Nightmares could unleash a worse onslaught on Neku, a fiery one to be exact. Sprinting and summoning his Keyblade, he came to a halt just a bit in front of him, successfully deflecting the shot of fire back at their primary attacker - a birdlike Dream Eater, seated atop a broom and holding what most would probably view as a book of spells, a Nightmare Nemurin mentally designated the wicked witch, which observed them from high above. Nemurin padded along swiftly to the edge of the fountain, extending a pyjama-clad hand out towards Neku's partner as she flailed in the water.
"Oh?" she said, looking up at the Magical Girl. As soon as she felt their hands solidly in each other's, Nemurin gave a strong yet careful tug, allowing the girl to get to her feet. "Thanks!" she said gratefully.
"No problem~" Nemurin gave a small wave of her hand.
"Miss us?" Sora smiled confidently.
"Sora? Nemurin?" Neku blinked, clearly surprised at their arrival.
"We can take it from here~" the Magical Girl walked over, readying herself into a 'battle pose', as she had once put it to Masked Wonder.
"No...I don't need your help," Neku refused.
"Course you do! Where are your Dream Eaters? How else can you fight?" Sora questioned, the Nightmares still circling but avoiding going in for the immediate attack, perhaps to see if he would lunge first.
"I don't need them anymore," Neku answered, flatly.
At that, Morgana and Sheppy seemed to take pause, looking at their own partners with wide eyes, as if that meant they were somehow up for a chopping block. The dreamy Magical Girl gave a quick shake of her head, crossing her hands over as if to say 'that's never happening...!', and the look Sora offered Morgana was enough to calm her jolt of panic.
"Oh right, your partner...still, don't you wanna make it out of the game? If you get hurt, who's gonna help your partner?" Sora pointed out, taking a step forward, as if acting as a shield against the Nightmares for the two.
Neku could only avert his eyes from his defender, glancing at Nemurin - and sure enough, she seemed to share Sora's view. His partner looked at him now, offering a small nod. With a deep breath, the headphoned boy finally agreed; "Okay...you win. I'll let you two do the sweating,"
The fight began as soon as Neku and Shiki made their way to relative safety, with one of the horses immediately beginning to barrel towards them, its most prevalent horn at the back of the top of its head pointed straight at them, while its hooves clopping against the cobblestone beneath their feet. Nemurin got there first however, covering their escape as she lunged forward, taking the phrase 'grab the bull by the horns' more literally than she probably would have expected to when she first heard that term be used. Wrestling with the strength she had left in her, Nemurin's pale hands clutched tightly onto it, even as it yanked his head up and her along with it - only for Sheppy to roll along the floor, bowling right into the colt's side, temporarily knocking it over. Sora closed the distance as he kicked off the nearby fountain, that distinct magenta aura swirling around him as he swung his Keyblade through the air, knocking the wind out of the seahorse-like Dream Eaters that attempted to cover the first horse. As soon as she had a steady footing, no matter how brief, Nemurin rose one leg in a fierce kick to the horse's gut, giving her enough time to cast her first namesake beam.
Its white light was brief, and she could feel the urge to sleep grow closer as soon as it was over, but she made the best use of it as she could, taking out the tiny colt and one of the seahorses. One horse down, one more to go, as well as about four seahorses. She could get through this.
Morgana visibly relished in taking on the aquatic-themed Nightmares, bouncing and throwing herself down upon them. Sheppy covered for her just as Sora did for Nemurin, continually rolling through the plaza to knock down the smaller fry like they were nine-pins. Once they were weakened enough, Morgana leaned onto her back, prompting Sheppy to bleat in puzzlement for a moment - only to understand. Quickly, the Spirit bounced onto her stomach, still rolling - and as soon as she felt contact be made with him, Morgana forced herself upright, sending the ball-like Dream Eater at a rapid speed towards their enemies, taking them out before they could even try to blast any fire at them, and that just left the remaining horse. Despite its swift charge towards him, Sora remained still for a moment, for a reason she couldn't quite ponder at first; until she heard the spell he cast.
"Drift!" he cried out, holding his Keyblade aloft.
From beneath the tip of his weapon, a wave of darkness slowly drifted in a circle below his feet - and just as the colt rammed right into its field, its own footing was lost as it was slowly pulled up into the air, held there helplessly as it spun, like its sense of time had been slowed straight down. Taking the opportunity while they had it, Sora moved forward, getting in a few more decisive strikes, enough that the short spurt of Nemurin's beam was enough to deal with it, leaving them surrounded by purified Spirits, now off to mind their own business once again.
At least - all except for the wicked witch, which seemed to teleport off as soon as they defeated its minions, a faint light made of purple octagons and gold diamond left behind for only a few moments. "No...! He got away," Sora said, as his Keyblade faded from his hands.
"Aw...at least we've saved Neku and his partner," Nemurin pointed out.
"Yeah!" Sora noted, lightening up as the two re-emerged.
"Thanks for the save!" the girl said, still holding the cat plushie in her hands.
"You must be Neku's partner, yeah?" Nemurin waved.
"Yeah! I'm Shiki. It's nice to meet you two," Shiki smiled. "Neku told me all about you,"
"Cool...! You should have seen him though..." Sora trailed off, folding his arms, his demeanour breezy. "He looked everywhere for you,"
The sleepy magical girl had to resist the urge to burst out laughing; given the fact that even behind his shirt's face-obscuring collar, she could see the flood of scarlet that was beginning to trickle all over Neku's cheeks at what Sora said, the boy jolting out of his usual neutrality. A few giggles began to escape, which she muffled with her large, drooping sleeve, as Neku's hands waved about as if hoping to physically remove the words that had just been said from the air.
Still red, Neku protested, "H-hey, Sora, stop talking!" he said. "Nemurin, don't laugh..!"
Her spiky-haired friend tilted his head, slightly puzzled. "Huh? Why?" he asked, innocently. "You said you need her. That's a good thing, right?"
'Oh, Sora...' Nemurin thought - the reminders he brought her of La Pucelle growing stronger all the time.
The words seemed to fumble in the redhead's mouth, his head hanging in acceptance of the fact he couldn't really argue with that fact. For what it was worth, Shiki's expression changed simply to that of a fond smile. "That's sweet, Neku," she said, patting the head of the plush cat she carried with her.
Still not looking them in the eye, Neku grumbled, "I need you to stop annoying me," though neither Nemurin or her friend could quite tell if it was directed at them, Shiki or all three of them.
"Mhmm...well, I still think it's sweet. It's nice to be needed," Shiki said, hugging the plush to her stomach now.
Knowing full well that this was true, given her adventure so far, the blonde magical girl could only smile. "Yeah, it is, isn't it...?~" she agreed.
"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" a familiar, intelligent voice chimed in, one they knew to be Joshua without even having to see his face or where he currently stood. "Because that Dream Eater we're after has retreated to the other imagining of this world,"
"Ohh...you mean the one Riku's in, right...?" Sora pointed out.
"Yes, that's the one. The friends he has there will do what they can to try and stop it, but...I find running in circles not a particularly good strategy." Joshua said.
"Probably not." Neku conceded.
"So, I have a suggestion," Joshua proposed.
Nemurin gave a knowing smile at her 'fellow omniscient', "You often seem to, don't you?" she said, not without admiration.
Offering a wry look in return, the mysterious boy looked up. "Never hurts to have one, we'll just say that. I suggest we trap it in one place, and finish it there."
"What about the Third District then?" Sora asked. "That seems like it'd work pretty well for an arena to take it down,"
"Sounds good to me...!~" Shiki said. "C'mon - let's go deal with this thing once and for all then...!"
"Yeah!" Sora confirmed, grinning as he pumped a fist up into the air, clearly confident about their chances.
Yet two seemed to linger a bit behind - specifically, Neku, and Nemurin, with the former clearly having a look of questioning towards her. Her magenta eyes flicked over to Joshua, confirming he had the same thought that she did; namely that he was catching on the same way others had started to.
After a moment of quiet, Nemurin broke the silence, her hand falling loosely near Sheppy's head, patting his head absentmindedly. "So, um..." she said, before yawning.
"You look different," Neku looked at her, jumping straight to the chase. "And something feels different about you too from when I first saw you fight,"
"Is it really getting that obvious...?" she wondered, scratching the back of his head.
"I don't know how, but you seem to be connected to all of...this. Kinda like Joshua." Neku remarked, hands in his pockets again. There was a glint of something in his eye, a longing for something - and she suspected she knew what it was, because it wasn't one she was a stranger to. Home.
"I...guess you could say that," Nemurin admitted, vaguely. "And I think you have more of a connection than I thought too. More than you'll let yourself admit,"
His eyes averted hers again. "...Maybe." he said.
"But Neku," Joshua began, closing the gap between the two of them. She didn't know how, but she suspected there was far more of a history between the pair of them than she knew, one that went long before they entered the Dream World, seeking refuge from what befell them. "I see that look in your eyes - I thought you couldn't afford to lose. Remember...you give up on yourself, and you give up on the world,"
Upon hearing those words, Nemurin couldn't help but stop a little, her eyes looking over at Joshua again. He didn't return the glance, but she knew he was aware of it. She...wasn't giving up on herself. But...maybe she had, in the waking world for too long before she passed. She'd given up on Nemu Sanjou in favour of Nemurin - and all this time she had never really thought about that, because she thought there was no difference. But...there was, and it was one this journey seemed to find little ways of reminding her about, without even knowing it.
"You'll..." Nemurin said, offering a truth she knew most couldn't offer her. Not without a miracle. "You'll find your way home. You all will," she promised, gently. "We believe in you, me and Sora~"
"Yeah...I know you do," the boy before her smiled a little, allowing his face to pop out from behind the collar. "So...Joshua...I'll see you there too, right?"
For the first time since she'd met him, Neku had done something that nobody ever could; namely that Joshua's usually controlled, calm expression was altered to one of genuine surprise, his eyes widened slightly and his lips forming a small line. "Me?"
"You're my friend, right? It's your home too." Neku stated.
The faint look of surprise gave way to a genuine smile on Joshua's part. "...Thanks," he said. "I have to go - someone else happens to be waiting on me. You two go on - we can't afford to keep them waiting, can we?"
As soon as he had appeared, the mysterious boy was gone, leaving only Neku and Nemurin, two people who sought for home, though she had survived without it long enough that she didn't need it the same way her friend did. But even still...he clearly did, she could see it in that look in his eyes, and...she hoped they could give him and their friends some way back, even if only by helping them with a single step, and that meant heading for the Third District in pursuit of Shiki and Sora.
A single step forward was still progress, after all.
A/N: Oop, that's another chapter split in two...! In part for my sake, since I've not updated for a bit again and getting into the flow of writing this chapter was a little difficult because of that, and in part because the ending of this one felt like a good place to stop off until next time, especially because I like having a fresh mind when writing the climaxes/finales of worlds' stories, even if the Traverse Town revisit isn't as long as some of the others. Also, happy Pride Month to y'all!
Now onto Keijou Hikari's review! ^^ You're definitely right that it's interesting to compare Sora and Snow White; as you've said, they've both been through a fuck ton, but the former usually manages to retain his cheerful demeanour, whereas the latter got a lot more stoic and quiet after the events of the first book, though I can't say I blame her given the sheer number of deaths she witnessed. It was quite fun writing Snow White and Lea, and in hindsight, I think it's kinda neat that she'll have found another fire-themed friend (given her friendship with Princess Inferno in JOKERS!). I'll just let the reveal of who Snow White ends up going with show itself in time~ I do adore all the ideas you mentioned though, especially with the thought of Sora in RESTART, given that book's actually my favourite out of the ones I've read so far in MGRP. I legit am going to have to seriously consider that, though of course I'll credit you!~ And aaa, Heartstopper's lovely! That description you wrote of it is pretty apt, and indeed, that's where my current profile picture's from - specifically it's Charlie, my favourite character. I'm glad for you having time before your classes and that start, I hope you enjoy it! ^^ Relax, you've earned it.
As always, thanks to everyone for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!