The Princess in the Sleeping Worlds (A KH3D: DDD Fanfiction)

Reunion with TWEWY gang/Mickey and Minnie VS Maleficent

Back at Traverse Town, Riku looked around. "Traverse Town? Why am I back?" Then he saw Joshua arriving. "Joshua."

"Nice of you to join us," Joshua smiled.

"What happened?" Riku asked.

"Trouble happened," Joshua said. "I was hoping one of you could help."

Riku smiled a bit. "When did Sora and Hikari get here?"

Joshua seemed impressed. "Bravo, Riku. Why can't they be this quick on the uptake?"

"Yeah, well," Riku smiled. "Sora and Hikari are a little..."

Joshua laughed but started to get serious. "Now, let's get down to the problem. We've got a nasty Dream Eater on our hands. It keeps jumping between worlds. Not only that, it knows how to summon creatures like it—pretty powerful ones, too. The others how to summon creatures like it—pretty powerful ones, too. The others are on a mission to stop it, but they need help."

Riku knew what Joshua is talking about. "The others? You mean Shiki and her friends?"

Joshua nodded. "That's right. They all found their Game partners, and Shiki is over fighting in the other Traverse Town. In fact, Sora and Hikari are helping them out."

"Good to hear," Riku said. "So what can I do?"

"Actually, the Dream Eater just reappeared in the fountain plaza," Joshua said. "I sent Beat and his partner to face it."

"I'm on it," Riku nodded as he starts to leave.

Joshua stopped Riku for a moment. "Riku. There's something else you need to know. These two Traverse Towns separated by the Portal... I was under the impression they were parallel worlds, but it looks like I was wrong."

"Wrong how?" Riku frowned.

"That's where it gets tricky," Joshua explained. "After you, Hikari and Sora left, Shiki crossed the Portal to join her Game partner. Did you notice Players have a mission timer inscribed on their hands? Well, when she got to the other side, Shiki had more time left on her clock than her partner. And when Beat's partner crossed over from the other side, she had LESS time left."

Riku was surprised. "So time flows differently here and there? So what? That's true of any two worlds. Their home world would be running on a different time axis, too."

Joshua nodded. "Yes, I understand that. But if these Traverse Towns were parallel worlds, then time would flow the same in both. But it doesn't, ergo they are not parallel worlds."

"You mean there's a past...and a future," Riku said.

Joshua shook his head. "No. Impossible. The worlds are clearly separate—it's not just time that sets them apart. As you yourself noted, every world flows at its own pace, which tells me that for all their similarities, these are two distinct worlds."

"Distinct worlds?" Riku was confused.

Joshua nodded again. "Yes...but this is all conjecture. It's like the same world imagined by two people. What does that tell you? That we're in..."

"A dream..." Riku sighed.

"Yes," Joshua nodded. "Bravo again, Riku. In which case none of this may matter one bit to me or my friends. But to you, Hikari and Sora, I think it might be a vital clue."

Riku nodded back. "Right... Thanks. So you need me in the plaza?"

Joshua was impressed again. "Wow. I'm running out of "bravos.""

"Be right back," Riku said as he ran off.

Meanwhile, Sora and Hikari had found themselves back in Traverse Town but this time at the Fifth District.