"Now, now," Joshua said with some amusement. "There's no need for that. I'm not the one who's been doing this to you. Though I can certainly understand why you'd assume so."
As he spoke, not-Neku's memories played back. "Joshua". "Yeshua". Of course, that was why they had named him that! He thought they were just going for some fancy-sounding foreigner name at first, but now it made perfect sense. It was no coincidence either, Square was just the type to do that. He found it a little funny, and he was a little impressed with their research. Japan wasn't exactly known for it's accuracy for Christianity, so the fact they did this was sort of impressive in his book. It wasn't like they could straight up name him "Jesus" after all, so had to settle for "god is with us". A clever play you could only catch after playing through the game, if you knew the name etymology.
Unfortunately, it still brought back the other memories, so he wasn't exactly thrilled with this revelation.
"Let's go ahead and drop the formalities, shall we?" Joshua suggested as he hopped down to drop harmlessly on the ground. "Hello, Hida. Or would you prefer Yasu? My name is Joshua, though you knew that already. If you could, I'd prefer you not tell the others the truth about me just yet. And in exchange, I won't tell them your secrets. Deal?"
His heart hammered in his chest, body wound up to prepare to run if need be. Looked like his brain decided to make him literally know everything in this. Made sense.
"Let me also ease a few of your concerns," He continued easily. "First of all, this is not your dream, but mine. Given what you've been through, I can see why you're hesitant to believe this is reality, but you'll realize very soon that your wish didn't exactly go to plan. As for how and why this is happening, you'll need to ask your creator. He and I don't exactly communicate."
Not-Neku's good hand clenched.
"What I know of your world is based only on what I've learned from you," he said. "I dreamed you up, the same way I "dreamed up" Sora and Riku. That's why I know who you are, and that's why I know why you're so hesitant to go along with this. I can promise I have had no connection or influence over your personal life, and I never will. Assuming of course, you don't suddenly die in Shibuya any time soon."
He snorted in half amusement despite himself. He was a sucker for one-line references.
"Now onto business," he said, much more gravely. "As much as you will hate to hear this, the man in the black coat is right about one thing: the dream eaters are coming after you, and it does have something to do with your dreams. From my guess, it's probably because you turned your dreams into goals that you fully intended to make happen. And "goals" are much more real than "dreams", aren't they?"
He could already feel his heart sinking at the reminder. All of that planning, and practicing, and what good had it done?
"The dream eaters simply can't resist, so they'll come after you in droves. When you and Rhyme came together, it resonated so strongly it acted like a beacon. And that's why I'll need your help," Joshua finally concluded. "This wave of dream eaters will be too much for my players to handle for long. I need you to help Sora and Riku take out the ones sent by the man in the black coat. Once the big ones are gone, it should help stop the wave. You can start by teaching Sora flow motion."
"What?" Not-Neku finally spoke up, more out of confusion. "Why? I thought Neku was supposed to teach him. Unless," he looked down at himself questioningly, wondering if that was the role he was supposed to "play" in this dream.
"Oh no, the real Neku still exists. You're just taking their forms, not their place. I suggest not being in the same place as them. And as far as that goes, I can only guess the reason." He pinched his chin in thought. "Based on your memories, and what I know of what's been happening, I think your arrival unintentionally altered the course of events. The man in the black coat was probably going to try to recruit Neku the same way he did Beat and Shiki, but got distracted by you. He never got around to it."
Recruited. Black coat-
Now he remembered! When Sora first dropped, Neku had gone after young Xehanort to protect him. After he played TWEWY, he had thought back to 3D's interaction and thought Neku had been far too talkative and sociable to Sora for his first arrival, but if he was "recruited" into luring him, it would make sense why. But wait, was that why Shiki was talking like she was "waiting" for someone? She was purposely luring Riku the same way? That would explain her attitude toward him. Shoot. He remembered even less of the game than he thought. So he wasn't a "KH expert" after all. All that time focusing on Sora and not the games themselves, and what good did it do him?
"So now I'll need you to cross back over and help show Sora the ropes," Joshua said.
Not-Neku hesitated. "Cross back"…? And then he sighed, mentally facepalming. Of course, he dreamed that he had gone into the "other side" of the world in the game. That was where everyone had gone. All that panicking for nothing.
"Here's the good news:" Joshua interrupted. "Since your dreams are more thorough than normal dreams, you have better control over how you go between worlds. They'll allow you to go almost anywhere you want. You can cross the wall between worlds at any time."
Basically, he could see Sora and Riku whenever he wanted. Convenient.
"Teach him about flow motion, and how to make dream eaters. And for now, help make sure he gets to that last district, where Rhyme is. After all, it is your fault this is happening. She's safe for now, but who knows when more dream eaters will come for her? It's only right you try to fix things."
Guilt, shame and anxiety seized him. His eyes went to his fractured wrist, already feeling the weight of responsibility growing on him. This was exactly what he'd been trying to prevent.
Joshua smirked. "And while I certainly won't try to convince you what you should think or believe, I will give you one piece of advice." He lifted his finger to tap at his own temple. "Don't try to make things happen up here, but follow the rules of the game. You'll find things going much easier for you. And you'll find this world won't revolve around you, no matter how much you try or want it to." He lowered his hand and gave him a smug grin. "Even if you have made a deal with the devil."
Not-Neku exploded, throwing a blast of dark fire at Joshua. He leaped skyward, avoiding it easily.
"And there we go. Good as new," he said as he eased to the ledge. "Great for emergencies, but I'm sure you don't need a reminder of what will happen if you rely on the darkness too much."
Not-Neku looked down at his hand in shock as the flames dissipated. His wrist stopped hurting, and his fingers flexed and gripped strongly. Was darkness supposed to do that…? Wait, Riku! In castle oblivion! Lexeus had hit him so hard everything inside him should have been broken, but after he released the darkness, he not only survived, but fought! So "darkness" could "fix" things?
"Run along now. Sora is waiting." He leaned his head on his hand. "Unless you'd rather face Riku like that."
Oh right. This was a nightmare now. He didn't need a reminder of how suspicious he'd be of him, now that he'd seen him using the darkness. Riku would never trust him.
The ability was easier to tap into this time. Just thinking of how much he didn't want to be here, and how he wanted to be in the other world made him vanish with a computerized bleep. And not a moment too soon, for it was only a few moments later that Riku walked through the doorway.
"Hello, Riku." Joshua said easily. "What brings you back here?"
"Joshua," he called. "Did you see a guy with headphones come through here?"
"I did, but you just missed him." He said. "I think he was heading for the fifth distract on the other side of town. But I did help fix up his hand, so he should be alright for a while."
"Alright, thanks," he said, and headed back through the door.
Joshua just grinned.