In which Sora and Nemurin finish things in the Third District...!

Finding the way back to the Third District after her and Neku's little chat wasn't a tricky task - given it was essentially the route they took during their first visit, only in reverse. Seeing the same spots she had been in not that long ago while at a comparative peak of her power left a small pit in her stomach, one that was hard for her to place; especially as she found a backwards route through the post office. The sounds of her and Sora having laughed heartily as they zipped through here taking out Nightmares as easily as breathing echoed in her mind, accompanied by the mechanical clunking of the post office's regular operations, carried out almost in irony given the ghost town that Traverse Town was now. The only ones here who could receive any mail were Neku and the others, and...something told her this wasn't how the Reapers delivering their 'game' would communicate to them. The emptiness of the post office was a fact especially emphasised given she had advised Sora to go on ahead so he could meet with the residents of Traverse Town for their plan, meaning it was just her and Sheppy for the moment - though maybe that was for the best, as it meant she could keep some of her power in reserve, now that its presence was so precarious. At least Sheppy's was company that would stick, once this was all over; and it felt like that time was edging closer and closer.

It needed to end, soon, she knew that. But...that didn't mean she didn't feel the smallest pang from it. It felt like how it was, before the Raising Project - back when she was able to help people through their dreams, and the effects mattered, even if in only their small way. Whether it was helping a girl find solace in the idea of love after a vicious breakup, or pushing a boy to play his favourite instrument again after some terrible incident, or really anyone who needed some help however small, it felt like she was being an actual Magical Girl again, rather than just a has-been sitting in the Dream World, going about her business as she always did. Of course, Nemurin wasn't gonna make a big fuss out of it; doing that sorta thing was tiring, and it wasn't her style. Sora probably wouldn't even remember her once he left, the same way people in reality didn't when she entered their dreams, and yet...something told her he was the sort of kid who remembered people deep down, even if he had no details to work with.

For what it was worth, the talk with Neku and Joshua had eased the little cloud of sadness that wandered in her chest; being in such good company was always nice~

And it was exactly why she had to keep them safe, that thought settling in once again as Nemurin and her cotton-tailed companion reached the large wooden doors leading to the district they were looking for.

"Ready, lil' guy?" Nemurin encouraged, pumping both fists a little.

Bleattt. Sheppy's head bowed, his little ears flat. Nemurin tilted her head a little, "Don't be scared~ I've got you, okay?"

Pushing against the heavy wooden door, the load was quickly lightened as she felt someone on the other side pull the weight forward, Sora's cheerful if somewhat pressured face meeting her. "Nemu, you made it!" he beamed, before glancing over his shoulder. "It's here. Riku came through!"

The gravity with those words pushed Nemurin through the opening, her Dream Eater close behind her; sure enough, just as the two of them closed the doors and stepped within the district's walled boundaries, the pair were met with the sight of the witch-like Nightmare floating on its broom, prompting the thought that if she were still able to call on Ideal Top Speed, she would have if only to witness how the fun-loving Magical Girl would have the time of her life poking fun at this thing. The creature let out a sound akin to a cackle, swaying side-to-side slightly where it sat, waving a wing forward. In glimpses of black and violet, those seahorse-looking opponents from before appeared, before quickly scaling the walls - Shiki and Neku having went to that side.

"We'll take care of these guys! You take care of the boss!" Neku called out, he and Shiki going back-to-back as they prepared to fight off the wicked witch's minions.

"Got it!" Sora nodded, his Keyblade in hand.

Acting fast, he dashed straight at the enemy, rising his blade high and striking downwards; only to hit a barrier, sending him sliding back down to ground level. Seeing the winged hand rise again, Nemurin closed the gap between herself and her friend, her sleeve-adorned arms quickly pulling him backwards - just in time to narrowly miss a blast of lightning it brought down.

Offering her a quick grin, Sora tilted his head back up at her. "Thanks...!"

"Don't mention it~" Nemurin waved her hand.

They couldn't linger on the exchange of gratitude long though, as in that moment the 'boss' vanished; leaving one in her place. Immediately, the duo's faces fell, less with dread and more with exasperation, as it took even less time for them to click what being was in front of them again; the Mandrill-looking Nightmare that hooded pest had sicked on them, and the first of many instances of his form of inconvenience.

As the two got to their feet, they quickly moved in separate directions, avoiding its massive fists as it slammed against the ground, once, two, three times. "This guy again?" Sora said, striking their old enemy's hands, which only resulted in it getting angrier.

"Just goes to show~ the side of evil is not only vile and wicked, but also horribly uncreative...!" Nemurin remarked.

Upon moving back, she spotted a number of barrels surrounding their arena, prompting a lightbulb to go off in her head. Normally these wouldn't do too much damage, but with a Magical Girl's strength...they made for mini projectiles. A smile played on her face, as she aimed, swerving her leg upwards; the barrel spinning and smashing straight into the Nightmare's growling face, making it stumble. Using the opening, Sora cast a spell, balloons appearing in a short period of time, allowing him to slam down on it and send them flying for it.

The creature roared, and pounded straight towards Sora. "I don't think so!"

Nemurin's voice chimed in - she now stood atop Sheppy's head, who had given her a lift so she could take on the (literal) higher ground, rolling forward, making the pair almost look like a circus performer balancing atop a ball. She might not have been able to blast this guy with Nemurin Beam, or hit as hard with her own hands like she could the first time she entered this particular world, but she felt assured knowing she wasn't helpless just yet! The pair jumped up, aiming for the guy's head again; though this time it was more ready for it, landing a hard blow straight against Nemurin's body, chucking her like a ragdoll across the arena. With a painful thud, her back smashed against the fountain display in the district's corner, dampening her clothes and sending her rolling off of it.

"Nemu!" Sora's blue eyes widened, as he began to run straight to her side; deftly moving through the gaps their attacker left.

Yet, it seemed this thing wasn't devoid of new tricks; as its massive form vanished, instead replaced by a...hammer? It floated as if carried by an invisible fist, and swung like a bat for a victory baseball game. Sora turned sharply, a look of puzzlement crossing his expression for a split second, one that divulged into an expression that screamed 'oh shoot!'. The blow of the hammer didn't hit directly, but it did succeed in ripping stone from the ground and sending Sora forward, albeit with a less rough landing than Nemurin had.

"You okay...?" Nemurin leaned over, once she finally got to her feet. With a strong hand, she pulled Sora up to his feet again, rubbing his head a little with his free hand.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Sora assured. "You took a way worse one than I did though-"

Before he could say more, the duo caught a less than joy-inducing sight from the corners of their eyes, prompting them to look back to the centre of the Third District. Of course their first 'boss' stood in the middle, but a gust of wind drew their attention to the witch Nightmare zooming above the area on its broom, lightning striking two spots beside the Mandrill-looking being, and then, standing now on the burnt marks on the ground were two other irritatingly familiar Nightmares; the one they faced alongside Weiss and Nana, and then the one they faced with Monstro with help from Beautiful Calamity Mary.

"Now that's not funny at all..." Nemurin drooped slightly.

"No kidding...!" an exasperated Sora agreed.

As the trio of enemies closed in, Sora and Nemurin were back-to-back, their Spirits at their legs. Morgana's paw scratched the ground like a charging bull's hoof, Sheppy quivered but bowed as if ready to roll into action. "Okay, so...plan?" Sora wondered, managing a shaky grin his friend's way.

"We're gonna need a power boost, for sure..." Nemurin pondered, her pace as she spoke speeding up as they realised they didn't have very long to think of a plan or conjure up a power boost. "...Hey, Sora? What do you think would happen if I boosted what Morgana and Sheppy could do?"

A ball of flame forced them into action, brought down on their heads by the Nightmare sicked on them by Frollo, fire bursting through the air and making them turn to separate sides of the arena. Still, Sora's eyes glimmered at Nemurin's idea. "No idea...! But it looks like it'd help!"

Pointing his Keyblade outward, he cast another spell, making water burst wildly from the end like a hose in summer, the fire cast by the gargoyle Nightmare dispersing into nothing. He swung his weapon in a circular motion so it covered the whole ground, much to the enemy's disdain; enemy number three decided to do the reverse, spirals of ice trickling down from above and forcing Sora back onto the defensive. Nemurin took a breath, and lined up Morgana and Sheppy within her line of sight.

She'd not used this ability for a while...but it was worth a shot. Putting both hands to her forehead, she gathered as much power as she could - painfully reminded again of the lack of weight it held compared to the fathomless well that once floated inside of her - all to one point within her. You've done this dozens of times. You can do it again. She'd give herself a chance to rest once this battle was over - hey, the start of wherever they ended up next was usually more relaxed. She knew Sora would understand, even if a twinge of guilt of having him worry about her lingered. It'd be fine. It'd be just fine.

For a moment, Nemurin feared that the beam would fizzle out and leave her staggered, just like the ones before it had once her powers started to slip away from her. But it didn't; though she could feel exhaustion wobble across her body, she remained upright as the white beam tore through the air in a glowy white line, bits of pink and yellow slipped between. "Dreammmm Balloon!"

Was that name improvised on her part? Yes.

The beam crossed over all three enemies somehow, and while not doing much to completely slow them down, it did manage to stun them if only for a moment or so. But it did have an effect on their Spirits, Morgana in particular; namely, she started bouncing, up and down, up and down, like she was on a trampoline, yet she wasn't just a small Dream Eater anymore - rather, one that took up about the same amount of space as their enemies.

"Woah!" Sora's eyes widened, his mouth forming a small 'o, his look shifting into one of awe. "Alright!" he pumped up his fist, before moving upwards onto Morgana's back to guide her forward, but not before extending a hand to Nemurin. "That was awesome, Nemu!" he said, his voice slightly shaky due to the frequent up and down. "Did you know that'd happen?"

"Ehh...nope!" Nemurin admitted, dazedly.

"Hey, I've got you." Sora steadied her, his hands on her shoulders. Once she was sat upright again, he turned his attention forward, towards their enemies. "Let's finish it, Nemu!"

"Right!"

Size, at least in this case, mattered quite significantly; it closed the gap between themselves and their enemies, allowing Sora to get up close, power flooding his Keyblade, aglow with white light. In that moment, as he dealt the blow that finished off the copies of their old opponents, Nemurin couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride. Obviously, he had experience, had his own adventures; but seeing how he was able to pick up the slack so easily and without breaking a sweat made her smile, even as she staggered once the effects of her 'Dream Balloon' wore off. Still, the purifying effect reared its head again; the figures consumed by a glowy white light, appearing similar to how they did before - but with much friendlier colour palettes, and like those before them, they seemed almost confused on what they were doing here.

"Aww...they're kinda cute when they're not trying to attack us." Nemurin commented.

"Can't argue with you there..." Sora shrugged, only to see Morgana stewing. "But not as cute as these guys! Now, where's that-"

Before he could say more, he was cut off by the sound of their main enemy appearing once again on the battlefield, and its feathers were clearly ruffled by having lost to them. So much so that it was beginning to turn around, clearly aiming to escape.

"Oh no you don't!" Nemurin and Sora said in unison, aiming to pursue it - but before they could even move, it flew up into the sky, towards a glimmering Keyhole, vanishing through it.

"No..." Nemurin drooped, the exhaustion from that battle sinking into her body, on top of the fact that their target had slipped away.

"Not again!" Sora frowned.

"Joshua, where'd it go?" Neku questioned, he and Shiki able to step out now that they had defeated the boss' minions.

Joshua looked down, his hands in his pockets, though he maintained his usual composure. "Somewhere else. And somewhere out of Traverse Town, out of my reach."

"Great..." Neku's head hung.

"Does that mean we failed...?" Shiki asked, uncertainly.

"Not quite..." Nemurin waved a hand. "We can go after it~"

"After all, Nemu and I aren't actual players - can't we bend the rules a bit?" Sora suggested, hands behind his head.

Joshua seemed to give it some thought, his eyes flicking between Sora and Nemurin, lingering on the latter for a bit. She simply smiled in silence assurance, making him sigh to himself. "Well...I guess the rules of the world don't apply if your hearts are connected, right...? It looks like that's how you two roll."

"Right! It's settled~" Sora pulled out his Keyblade, pointing it upwards in the usual routine.

"...Take care of yourself." Joshua told Nemurin, a hint of caution in his gaze.

"Don't worry about me...I'm a big girl, I can handle both of us~" Nemurin patted Sora's shoulder.

"Speak for yourself!" Sora grinned a bit.

"Sora," Neku spoke, making the boy's eyes grow more serious, though still soft. "...Thanks. It wasn't easy, but you made it easier."

"Wow Neku, you've changed~" Shiki smiled a little, her eyes sparkling.

"You think so?" Neku tilted his head.

"Yeah. You're less dorky...!"

"What?" Neku blinked, puzzled.

"Tell you what! Once you find your friends, Sora, you and Nemu should come hang out in our town!" Shiki suggested, brightly.

"Definitely. See you in Shibuya," Neku joined.

Nemurin felt a pang in her chest, one she quickly hid. Sheppy nudged her hand, bleating quietly. That...that wasn't possible, unless it was in their dreams. And it was clear that wasn't what they meant...

Sora went to speak, "Sure...! It's a-" he began, only to spot the shift in Nemurin's expression. "You okay, Nemu?"

"A-ah, yeah...~" Nemurin assured. "Don't worry, just zoned out. It's a deal..."

"Anything I should pass onto Riku?" Joshua added, clearly having spotted Nemurin's desire to dodge the subject.

"Don't worry about it. I'll see him soon!" Sora grinned. "Oh, wait! Tell him I have someone to introduce him to," he said, gesturing at Nemurin with his arms.

Joshua watched the scene - that glimmer of light that came from Sora's Keyblade, going for the sky, as he and Nemurin disappeared.

Now he could only hope she somehow had a plan, or at least knew what she was doing in all this...that gambit during the battle might have worked out, but he had the distinct feeling that it'd come back for Nemurin, and certainly not in a good way either.

A/N: ... SURPRISE!-

Yes, ladies and gents, I've not went up to the great library in the sky, I am indeed alive. So, where the fuck have I been? As I realise...I didn't write anything for this fic throughout my entire third year. Well, it's been...meh. It's not the worst I suppose but my timetable didn't work out in a favourable way, meaning I was in a lot more than I preferred, and combined with the fact my classes weren't super fun for a lot of it, I wasn't really in the mindset where I was writing for fun. Semester 2 wasn't too bad, but again, my timetable meant I was in a lot, and occupied with a work placement. But anyway, my assessments are done and this uni year is over until September, meaning I have loads of free time now!

Now then, stuff about this chapter! That's Traverse Town's revisit over with now, meaning we're back onto original worlds, and one of which is my favourite in the original game. I'm fond of both Country of the Musketeers and Symphony of Sorcery for separate reasons - regarding the former, I used to watch the movie it was based on a touch too much as a kid, so I can't help but feel some nostalgic affection for it, afhrbgbt. As for the latter, as said, it's my favourite world in the game - I adore the environments, I think they're so pretty, and I love the whole music gimmick with the BGM and sound effects, so the upcoming chapters are pretty exciting for me!

Reviews are next! Starting with Keijou Hikari, I'll indeed be answering the question of if Sora remembers Nemurin later. I said so in our DMs but I hope you're doing well as of now and that you enjoyed this chapter and the revival of this fic. ^^ Thanks to TheMotivatedOne for your review, good to have you here. You're definitely right that Snow White's gonna be having a wild time, for various reasons, so you've got that to look forward to.

As always, thanks again to anyone who's read this story, and especially to anyone who's stuck around through the hiatuses and such, cause I know there's been plenty. I'll see you all next chapter, when we head to the Country of the Musketeers!