In which Nemurin rescues a talking puppet.
Nemurin's violet eyes slowly scrolled up and down, like the bar on a well-browsed website, first falling towards the Nightmares who were intent on retrieving their younger, more vulnerable target, and then extending out towards the boy atop the platform. His own gaze met her own, frightened, timorous and shaking. It reminded her of her siblings, of being at the circus and feeling one cuddle into her at the sight of clowns they hated, and it brought a torrent of sympathy to her heart, hand-in-hand with the desire to take him as far from these circumstances as she could, and she made a promise as much with her eyes as she did with the words that left her lips immediately afterwards.
"Hey..." she began, softly, just barely loud enough to ensure he heard her. Pinocchio remained leant against a pole, holding onto it for precious life, glancing with a transparent uncertainty between her and the Nightmares who lay so dangerously close below his feet. "It's gonna be okay...! I'll get you down from there. You're gonna be okay, a...a Mister Jiminy Cricket told me all about you, and I'm gonna make sure you find him safe and sound, okay?~"
Pinocchio swallowed, slowly beginning to let his eyes remain on her. "O-okay..." he agreed, reluctantly. "T-thank you, miss...!"
"Just call me Nemurin~ and this here is Sheppy!" she introduced, breezily, gesturing more grandly to the sheep-looking Spirit at her side, who bleated in introduction. With a yawn and a stretch of her limbs, she put one hand confidently at her waist, before striding towards the Nightmares. "Now then...hey...! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size!?" she challenged.
The Nightmares were of a different sort, a vile-looking quartet; they appeared as large rats and were coloured a garish mix of dark blue and a neon, yet somehow sickly yellow - sickly to the eyes, to be frank - and with beady eyes, wide as saucers. They bared their teeth at her, and their claws soon after - and the largest was the ugliest, with the biggest eyes and the gnarliest looking maw, and seemed to want to murder her with its look alone. Still, what it didn't know was just how much meaner a Magical Girl could be...and in the case of her purifying beam, meaner with kindness!
"Oh, be careful, miss Nemurin...!" Pinocchio cried from the top.
"Don't you worry about me, Pinocchio," Nemurin assured. "I know how to deal with monsters like these~"
And deal with them she would!
Nemurin charged in first, wanting to ensure the Nightmares' eyes were on her and not on Pinocchio above them, Sheppy quickly rushing to her side. With a sudden sprint forward, she jolted her leg into a solid kick, smashing underneath one of the rat's jaws, before jumping up again and colliding with its side, ensuring it went to the wall and not into the air. It shrieked at her, and went to bite at one of her arms, one that was subtly rougher than the other thanks to the explosion of the mirrors from the previous chamber, while another of its friends lunged for her back. Sheppy covered her front, bowling its head into it like he was made of metal. She somersaulted backwards, landing atop the second attacker's back. Her glance turned downwards, as she began to chant the usual two words; only to be caught right as she was finishing her name.
For a split second, a pivotal one, the Nightmare she had forced down beneath her was no longer a Nightmare, far from it - it was the face of someone she knew. A sibling, a sibling giving her pleading eyes, puzzled at why she was harming them. A sharp gasp temporarily escaped her chest, as her mind caught up with the images it had seen before; illusions. The Nightmares, running amok in this place, their speciality was illusions. That would explain the images she saw in the mirrors earlier, playing on her yearning for answers; and she suspected strongly that Sora might have gotten a taste of something similar.
It was just as this realisation struck her like lightning that she was suddenly forced upwards - the little rat having used the opportunity to squirm itself free of her, chucking her into the air as though she were a bag of feathers. Sheppy bleated at the sight that followed, as her body pounded and then let out a scream as it slammed against the bottom of the trapeze platform, an explosion of purple bound to hurt in the morning, were she to have one, prompting her companion to move to her side instinctively. As she thumped gracelessly to the dirt floor, her body limper than she'd like, she felt a rush of wind as the third of the rats sprinted for her exposed feet, only for her to abruptly turn her body, kicking her assailant away and into the pole, halting it temporarily, Sheppy running them down while he had the chance. Jumping to her feet despite the solid ache in her side, the rat who deceived her charged her again, leaving one, two, three spots of darkness behind - whatever it was they did, Nemurin wasn't about to test her luck by stepping on them.
"NEMURIN...BEAM!" she cried out, staring that one down first. As she made eye contact with it, she felt her eye twitch, her mind in conflict with her heart as she watched the face of her sibling sprint towards her, their gaze inviting, unexpectant of the beam about to strike them - but she knew better. It was a good trick, but a trick all the same, one she'd come to see straight through.
The face of her sister squirmed for a moment, her jaw dropping in betrayal, blotches of black bursting off of her as the illusion cast over its figure began to disperse, cracking like the mirrors in the hall before, split between that of the rats and the face of someone Nemurin would never want to hurt - even now, she winced at the sight of it, turning her head towards the next three instead, which hissed at her immediately, the leader in the middle of it all. The leader stepped back, shifting and sniffing, yet its expression almost seemed twisted - stepping back closer to the pole that ensured Pinocchio was above the battle, and thus safe from its harms. Her Spirit companion waited as the other two bolted, one to her front, and another to her side, before bolting past them, bleating timidly as it went to buy her time; testing her luck, Nemurin made eye contact with one of the Nightmares - and sure enough, their figure changed to a familiar vision. Sickness churned in her gut as she took in their face; her big brother's face.
The face who'd talk to her when she felt lonely, or was stuck inside thanks to her asthma and kept her company.
The face who'd talk to her and offer encouragement.
The face of someone who, even now, she still couldn't help but miss even with the knowledge there was little she could do about her current situation.
With her eyes squeezed shut, she hesitantly barrelled towards them, elbowing hard into their gut. The faux-brother's arm rose, and slashed down her cheek, making her hiss back at him, but she persisted. Seeing a pole nearby, one of the many holding up the tent, she considered a way of luring him over there - only to feel her gut drop. There, by the trapeze's stand, was the king of the illusionists; one who was ripping his way through the wooden base like it was made of wet paper, having finally managed to knock Sheppy far enough away to succeed in its task, who let out a large whine, as if crying out 'no!', the very thought running through her mind. She felt her heart tighten as she heard a panicked, childish cry from above, Pinocchio desperately clutching to his end of it in hopes he could remain solid for just that little bit longer. As swiftly as she could manage, Nemurin gave the fake brother a forceful shove, one to get him off her back before sprinting straight for the boy. Summoning the magic inside of her, and once again surrounding herself with the soft blue aura of Sister Nana's own magic as a result of the exertion, Nemurin allowed a spring to coil into her soles as she leapt into the air.
Landing unsteadily on the shaking platform, she extended her arm to Pinocchio, wheezing, "G-grab on...!"
The boy's eyes held a soft concern at the sound, yet almost a sense of unfamiliarity at the noise she'd released, as he nodded and scrambled to grab hold of her arm, the soft fabric bunching up in his grasp as it drooped. Once she knew he was holding on tight enough, she then wrapped that arm around him, safely bundling him with her, as she took a large jump - aiming for the tightrope that hung above the ring like the moon in a starless sky. Breath passed her by for a moment, when it seemed like she'd be landing the two of them straight into the line of fire - but her other hand just barely took hold of the rope, a burning sensation slashing its way into her palm as they dangled there, high above.
"Woah!" Pinocchio gaped at the sight. "H-how did you...?!" he asked with boyish curiosity.
"I'll explain later..." Nemurin promised, wheezing again slightly as she spoke. Clearing her throat, she offered the boy under her arm a more relaxed look, a contrast to his returning worried one. "Don't worry about that. It'll pass in a second~" she added.
As her arm strained as she held onto the length of rope, her eyes flicked back down towards the ground, where her enemies scurried about as close to where she hung as they could manage, what with the difference in scale and height between them. With a grunt, she slowly eased her way along the rope, reaching the far sturdier platform at one end. Once she was sure they were both on solid ground, she set Pinocchio down, offering a friendly boop on his wooden nose.
"You'll be safe up here; I'll finish this~" she said, regaining her breath. "You don't mind waiting up here, do you...?" she asked.
Pinocchio shook his head. "Oh, no! Not at all...!" he said.
With a gentle smile, Nemurin hopped onto the tightrope. Straining her gaze a little, she summoned an ensemble of small clouds into her grasp, forming the shape of a tiny blade. With a dramatic flair, she cut one end - preparing herself for the drop, she took hold of the rope she stood on as her body tore through the air, swinging back down towards the ground in a circle. The rats hissed and squeaked at that, the leader most of all, who now gave her its full attention, while Sheppy greeted her in cheery acknowledgement, bounding into one of the rats so as to prepare for her swooping in. Once she was close enough, Nemurin spun the rope in her hand like a lasso, watching briefly as they got closer; once the first of the non-leader Nightmares drew close enough, she swung the end of the rope straight towards it, entangling it within the makeshift lasso's grip. Then, stumbling a little as the other two darted and sliced at her back with their claws, attempting to force her to look at them directly - likely to force another illusion on her - she spun on her heels instead, only stopping as she slammed her enemy into the ground, dazing them. In a sparkle of light from her head, the beam she'd been waiting to use, the rat's figure became that of a far friendlier, pastel-coloured mouse, which scattered from the battlefield with a timidness worn on its sleeve.
Just as she let out a brief, satisfied hum, she cried out suddenly as the third of the Nightmares leapt onto her back, knocking her onto the floor and all of the air out of her. Her eyes watered as she felt the urge to cough, her throat clogging and drying, but she resisted the urge as she warred with the creature in front of her, its heavy body keeping her down against the dirt circle of the circus ring. Kneeing it as hard as she could manage, she briefly forced it up on its hind legs, choking out her beam, which burst forth from her forehead as always. Stubbornly however, despite the light that should have been running through it, it continued to try and force her back down, refusing to break eye contact with her - its face changing to that of her companion throughout this journey, freezing her for a moment, and Sheppy too when he made the mistake of looking, letting out a sound that almost sounded betrayed.
The Nightmare had Sora's appearance, from head to toe, and was using it to try and finish her off.
From up above, Pinocchio couldn't tell why Nemurin had frozen at that moment, even if only for that second - but the second he saw her fall down, his mind scrambled for something, anything he might be able to do to help them. The thing that'd be brave, honest and unselfish, like the Blue Fairy said...his answer somewhat ironic, at least for the middle part, but arguably fitting both the former and latter quite distinctly. Leaning over the edge of the platform, close enough for him to see Nemurin, lies began to spout out of him, like the water of a fountain; and with them, his nose grew longer, and longer...
It was just as Nemurin found the urge to kick the boy again, that he suddenly seemed to go wide-eyed, as if stunned. It was as if a large wooden, thin pole had smacked into his side, sending him tumbling into the dusty ground below, and forcing him off of Nemurin, Sheppy rushing to get a hit in, almost in vengeance, slamming into its sides. A gasped wince escaped her as she rose - though she had little chance to acknowledge the peculiar sight of Pinocchio's exceptionally long nose - before she refocused herself, allowing the purifying light to hit the Nightmare's chest - or the fake Sora's, in this instance's. The illusion broke apart in only seconds, its resolve to avoid losing to her weighing heavy as its form shifted and dissolved into that of a mouse, of a Spirit.
"Oh no, you don't!" Nemurin shouted, seeing the final Nightmare run to try and take advantage of Pinocchio's attempt at helping. She tackled it down, a reverse of the situation she had just been in, putting all her strength into her next hit as she slammed its head against the ground.
Yet the leader offered something she wasn't expecting; differing layers to the images it displayed. She had almost expected the figure of her mother, confused and shrieking, begging her to stop - but that was the thing. The others didn't speak, and the way it spoke almost felt too real for words. She gritted her teeth, forcing herself to try and remember that it was an illusion, but it was difficult to avoid faltering all the same. With a sudden jolt upward, the rat forced her upward, sending her stumbling across the circus plain.
"Nemurin...!" Pinocchio's voice broke past the imposter's. He gestured himself backwards slightly, his nose moving along with him, still as long as the tightrope had been. "Grab on!"
"I know...! I'll use my beam, and stun it by coming in through the air..." Nemurin realised. "Hm...! You're a clever boy, Pinocchio!" she complimented as she grabbed hold.
With some effort, Pinocchio successfully managed to lift her into the air, sending her soaring up through the empty space of the ring, her body spinning like that of an acrobat's. Once he felt the weight of her let go, he came to a stop, avoiding the edge.
"HYAAAA!" Nemurin yelled, preparing the final blow.
Pulling her arm back, her fist clenched as she went through the air, the leader only having a moment to make eye contact with her; and then, as soon as Nemurin's purifying hit landed, its figure broke apart into thousands of splintered pieces, just like the mirrors, distorted and unnatural. The shards scattered across the ground, slowly coming together as its Spirit self returned, which hopped off contentedly as if forgetting the battle it had just been defeated in.
Waving it goodbye, Nemurin took a second to let another wheeze escape her heavy chest, drooping a little as she caught her breath. Once she'd tracked it down again, she looked up towards the area of tightrope and smiled sheepishly, Sheppy at her side, shaking slightly as though shivering from the things seen in the battle and in the chamber that preceded it.
"There we go...~" she sighed, yawning a little bit. "C'mon, Sheppy. Time I got Pinocchio down from there!"
With literally a hop and a skip, Nemurin had reached the top of the platform, walking towards the boy. For a moment though, she froze, staring at him briefly - having been caught up amidst the action of the battle against the illusion-casting Nightmares, she had failed, somehow, to detect the literal donkey ears poking out from just underneath his hat, slunk downwards, as if he were ashamed of them.
His arms were behind his back, as he said apologetically, "I'm sorry I had to tell all those lies. I know it's dishonest...!" he confessed, his nose shortening. "It's just...I wanted to help you! I mean, you seemed to be in real trouble!" he continued, his nose shortening again with each truthful apology. "I didn't wanna leave ya, not when you came here to help me!" he finished, and with a sparkle, his nose had reverted to its original length.
Nemurin shook her head assuringly, offering a smile. "Don't worry about it~" she said, gratefully. "Without you, I would have probably been in a lot of trouble. I think it was very brave of you," she said.
Pinocchio's eyes were aglow at that. "Gee, you mean it?" he asked, excitedly. "You really mean it, Nemurin? Was I brave?"
"Hmhm...!" Nemurin nodded, cheerily. "It takes a lot to get close to one of those things," she added. "So, thank you~" she gave an affectionate pat on the shoulder. "Now, come on. I'll getcha down now," she explained. "Then, we can start looking for Jiminy!"
Kneeling down, she moved her hair-tails to the sides, revealing her shoulders; it had initially been her idea to show her back, but recalling its less than clean state from the impromptu implosion of looking glasses, she decided it'd be best to spare the kid an unpleasant visual like that. Pinocchio hopped up, now safely atop her shoulders, and given a clear view of the higher area of the ring, before she slowly drifted back down to the comfort of the earthly floor, free from worry of falling and snapping your neck - though Pinocchio didn't seem to have that to worry about.
Alas, going backwards and tracing Sora's steps wasn't such an easy matter; for the door behind her that led her into this particular room had, like the very first, locked behind her. The trio then turned the other way, heading for an archway that led out into another corridor; fortunately far less suffocating and tight than the one Nemurin had used to get here. The scent of the sea wafted slightly off in the distance, eventually reaching her nostrils - a signal they were nearly outside.
"If you don't mind me asking, Pinocchio..." Nemurin began, walking along, Sheppy at one side of her, Pinocchio at the other after she had set him down. "How did you get those donkey ears...?" she questioned.
Pinocchio's brow slanted, his expression sadder as he averted her gaze. "No, it's okay, miss Nemurin..." he sighed. "I messed up really badly..." he explained, hesitantly. "I was supposed to be going to school today, but then this cat and fox told me about bein' famous, so I...didn't. Then, this scary man, Stromboli, threw me in a cage...! And then, when the Blue Fairy came and got me outta there, I ended up goin' here instead of going home, and made a real jackass of myself!"
Nemurin's eyes briefly went wide, mentally doing a double-take upon hearing the three letters after 'jack' come out of his childish mouth; "Um, Pinocchio, who taught you that word...?"
"Oh, Lampwick did...! I guess I didn't mention him, huh..." Pinocchio clarified.
"Word of advice from a grown-up - saying the last half of that, after 'jack'...? It's not considered polite," she noted.
"Oh no!" Pinocchio cried. "I didn't know that...!"
"Don't feel too bad; you can't know until someone tells you," Nemurin assured. "You know now, and that's what matters, right...?"
Pondering her words for a moment, Pinocchio accepted, "I guess so,"
Perhaps it was ironic of her to say these next words, what with how she had been...well, a NEET, someone who spent their time inside, and even by those standards, she had always been a girl who liked to hear of others' adventures more than she did going on her own - even if the dream world did give her more of a taste for it! Or maybe, she felt a little more knowledgeable because she was on the outside looking in. Just because you didn't experience it as much yourself, didn't mean you couldn't see it in the lives of others.
"And that goes for the whole lotta this...~" Nemurin continued, offering a small smile, swinging her arms back. "Sure, you've messed up a little bit. But everyone does sometimes, and that's a chance you can take to learn! I remember once, my brother had a friend - he was a real troublemaker, and he dragged him into some of that same stuff."
"Ohh...he sounds kind of like Lampwick, actually!" Pinocchio pointed.
"Well then, there you go - my brother ended up getting into some trouble because of it, and at the time, my parents were really bothered about it. But he learned from it, and he found friends who he got on with, and who looked out for him, and who he could look out for too. That kid learned eventually too, I think. It took a few years, but he got his act together, found stuff he was good at and that he could do instead of getting into mischief~" Nemurin recounted. "And if you just stayed at the side, not making any choice or doing anything, then it's hard to learn, 'learn' anything."
Like a puppy, the puppet boy tilted his head. "'Learn' learn?" he wondered.
Realising the way she'd said it left a fair bit up to the imagination, Nemurin felt a flick of sheepishness hit her at her error. "Well...let's put it like this. It's kinda the difference between being told something's good or bad, and knowing yourself. In your case, you were probably told it was good to go to school, right?"
"Yeah!"
"But you didn't really know that yourself - it wasn't until that stuff with that mean man happened to you that you were probably wishing you'd went, right...?"
"Huh...yeah, that makes sense! I think I get it now," Pinocchio answered, understanding clearing up the confusion in his eyes.
"Though...that doesn't explain the...well, you know," Nemurin noted, realising that her question hadn't technically been answered.
"Oh, right!" Pinocchio realised, eyes wide for a moment. "Anyways, I got here, and me and Lampwick were drinking this really weird stuff." he explained. "It was kinda amber-lookin', tasted funny, and I sure felt funny afterwards...I think it was another grown-up thing," he said. "Anyways, while we were drinkin' and playing this game, Lampwick started growin' them, and I did too...! But he..." Pinocchio shivered now. "He turned into a donkey...!"
Nemurin was startled at the sudden declaration, but the fact the boy's nose didn't grow, the fact he looked genuinely frightened as he remembered, and the fact he had a real set of donkey's ears and a tail to match told her that he wasn't telling tall tales. "Really...? That's awful..." she said, sympathetically. "It looks like you didn't turn the whole way, though," she pointed out, hoping to put him at ease, even if just a little bit. "Surely there's a way we can help get you back to normal..."
Wrapping his hands around his arms, as if to protect himself, Pinocchio answered worriedly, "Gee, I hope so..."
It wasn't long before Nemurin, Sheppy and Pinocchio had reached the end of the building, finally finding the source of the sea air. They stood on dark green grass, a patch seemingly outside Pleasure Island itself. To their side, they could see the stone of a high cliff, minuscule pebbles tumbling down towards the ocean when they stepped remotely close to it. If there was a shore the foam of the tides were swaying towards, it was currently invisible, though a small way into the distance, a wooden dock like that near the island's entrance sat at the bottom of the cliff face, somewhat clear to see, if quite small, from where they stood. Fresh air ran through their chests as they stepped outside, and the noise from within the 'amusement park' had dulled down significantly.
Almost too significantly.
Nemurin considered what Pinocchio had said about what had happened to Lampwick, and felt a deep stone of anxiety plunge into her gut. Sure, it wasn't the sort of thing she ever expected to have to think about - an amusement park where the owner turned visitors into donkeys when they acted naughtily - but this was the dream world, and she was sure if she thought back far enough she could say she'd seen things equally strange, particularly after beginning her adventure with Sora.
"Now, where did they go..." Nemurin wondered aloud.
"They?" Pinocchio inquired.
"Oh...! I meant to say - Jiminy met me and another friend of mine. His name's Sora," Nemurin explained. "He's a sweet kid, I know you'll like him,"
"Hm...y'know, call it funny - I don't know how, but I'm sure that name sounds familiar!" Pinocchio commented.
"It does?" the magical girl wondered, curiously.
"Hmhm!" the puppet boy nodded. "But I don't know from where, since I'm sure I haven't met him before..." he trailed off in thought.
Nemurin thought for a moment, as Sheppy bleated quietly; whatever he had to say, neither could quite know for sure, but he sounded sweet enough. Pinocchio laughed a little to himself as Sheppy came up to inspect him, timidly. "Hi there!" he greeted. "Sheppy's really nice. And so are you, miss Nemurin! If Sora's anything like you, then I'm sure I'll like him too! Maybe the reason he's familiar is because I'm going to be friends with him someday!"
The girl smiled to herself, knowing Sora's demeanour, the love he could easily inspire from others. She didn't doubt that. "I bet that could be why~" she agreed, softly. "And you're a nice kid too, Pinocchio. You'll find your way,"
Before anything more could be said however, Nemurin spotted it - activity, down by the docks. Her eyes narrowed briefly, adjusting to the night as she took in the vision playing out in the distance, and her heart dropped deep into the stone cliffs. Down at the docks, people had begun to bustle back and forth - dubbed in black coats that hid their faces, the distance blinding Nemurin to the possibility of telling them apart from those in liege with their hooded pest. Pinocchio turned towards her, mouth forming an 'o', as if asking what to do, prompting her to kneel down, gesturing for him to do the same. With a shaky nod, the boy jolted down, the wood of his joints knocking against the ground as he went, before she pulled him behind her, somewhat hiding him from distant eyes.
Exhaling deeply, Nemurin put her hands a few feet away from each other, before calling her magic - a small amount, just enough to get a closer look. A tiny set of clouds, with beady eyes, formed, and stared up at her as it awaited instruction. Silently, she pointed out, and off into the horizon it zoomed; her eyes gleamed, and she could now see through its gaze. For what it was worth, the hooded figures didn't seem to be of the same sort as those who had been bothering Nemurin and Sora throughout their journey...but that didn't make them figures she trusted either. Not with the wooden cargo they loaded - each holding one, sometimes even two donkeys, screaming their heads off and with eyes that struck Nemurin as...human. She gasped, jolting backwards as the cloud came back to her, Pinocchio looking to her with wide-eyed concern.
"Did ya see something, miss Nemurin?" he asked.
"It's...worse than I thought..." Nemurin muttered, inaudible. Realising what he had asked her, she stated, "We need to get you out of here - I'm going to find Jiminy for you, and then me and Sora are going to take care of this, and you need to go home, okay...? Can you do that...?"
Pinocchio nodded, rapidly. "Yes! Yes, I can do that...! I've caused enough trouble today...I just hope Jiminy and Sora's okay,"
Pushing down her own anxiety, Nemurin made herself smile, saying both to him and to herself, "Don't you worry...Sora's a tough kid. And I'm pretty tough too, you know~"
"Yeah, you are!" Pinocchio agreed, chirpily. "If anyone can help them if they need it, it's you!"
Now...if only Nemurin's feeling of gradual emptiness with each use of magic didn't oppose that statement...
A/N: Another fun chapter to write! And right before I start university again on Monday...fingers crossed that me writing a lot thanks to that will get me more in the mood for updating frequently like it did last year. I actually got the brainrot for this chapter more than I expected - see, the Pinocchio remake came out recently, and I watched it not too long ago and...contrary to a lot of the reviews and to my usual thoughts on most Disney remakes, I liked it. It's not my favourite remake, and there are some parts that fell flat for me (I did not need the visual of this puppet child looking at horse shit, thanks...), but I enjoyed it well enough. Then again, I wasn't that big on the original movie, so that could probably be part of it, but... the boy playing Pinocchio just makes him such a sweet little thing, and I kinda played on that feeling I got off of him for this a little bit, like with how Nemurin interacted with him and stuff. Also, Tom Hanks is a legend in anything he's in - and it was a relief to have him in something wholesome again, since the last role I saw him in prior was Elvis which he did great in but...man, it felt so fucking cursed to have the voice of a part of my childhood playing such a slimeball, you know? Anywho, I'm getting off-topic, the point is the remake helped me with this chapter more than I expected! Also, don't worry about Sora too much - his part was originally supposed to continue in this chapter, but Nemurin's stuff extended a bit longer than the outline initially planned for, but he'll be back next chapter!
Now, onto the reviews, as usual! Starting with Captain Imaginat. I'm glad you liked the stuff with the mirrors! It was something of a last-second choice, since it wasn't originally in the outline; originally I just stuck to the stuff from the game, but I thought the temporary split and then covering both halves with Sora and Nemu would work better. I hope you enjoyed the interactions in this chapter as well! ^^ I had a lot of fun writing them. In regards to the boys, I do actually have a thought on what to do with them, though you'll have to wait for the next chapter and see!
Onto Tsuuji! Thanks once again for the well wishes. I'm doing pretty good, preparing for university starting up again tomorrow, and I hope you're doing well too. In regards to the whole memory thing, your review did prompt me to try and add a bit more explanation on it, but the gist of it is a mix of 'they've leaked out, and the Nightmares are able to use that to their advantage', if that makes sense. Your point about N-City did stick out to me though...~ You're definitely right about Sora though; as Nemurin said, he's a tough kid - though I also personally think that there's a lot he keeps bottled up behind that smile too. I've definitely considered your points about magic, and it's made me think about maybe implementing a bit more magic/spells into it, like with barrages and that. Shoot, you're correct that it was Zettaflare and not Megaflare! And with a spell that powerful, it makes sense it would make you drop. I namely meant that as an extreme example; I do think the user can grow more tired from having to use magic too much admittedly, which lines up with the gist of what you said, so we're not too far off. Aahh, that's fair enough. I won't spoil anything here either, and admittedly I don't dislike him as strongly as I used to; he's still kind of a dickhead though, at least from what we see of him in 3D and III. XD I definitely find him more interesting to consider though; particularly his whole 'the strength of being alone is even greater' thing. That particular scene seemed to make the rounds a lot on Tumblr, what with the whole 'knowing nothing about hearts and love' bit being kinda ironic. You're welcome! I truly hope you do well in your classes, and that they're not too stressful for you! ^^ I'm glad we were able to figure out the whole PMs thing - I've PMed my thoughts on your story back to you, I hope my feedback was helpful!
And as always, thanks so much to everybody for reading, and I'll see you all next chapter!