Author's Note: Woah… So much retyping. Hopefully I won't get too lazy when rewriting this because that would suck for all of us. I know not many people comment on stories like this. Hell I probably wouldn't unless it was really well written and the OC's weren't Mary/Gary sues. (Which I really hope mine aren't. I promise you they aren't shit characters and I did spend a lot of time fleshing them out.)
This continuation is very heavily referenced to the Prologue (If you haven't read it then nothing will make sense to you I bet) SO GO READ THAT FIRST!
I hope to post chapters in chunks as I'm rewriting using the old documents. That's the plan. :)
If you do fav or review, updates will come in faster. I have poor self esteem already…I have a feeling that probably wont happen if not very few. If any errors or spelling issues come up could someone please point them out for me? I got no beta reader. But I'm determined to see this through.
I'm on a motherfuckin mission yo.
Disclaimer: I do not own SEGAs original characters
Chapter 1.
Maurisa's hand fumbled with her skirt pocket for a split moment, inevitably to find nothing there. Her phone was like an adopted child to her and she always had it close to her person, even when sleeping. Within its sleek, silver confines lay over a thousand songs, WIFI access and a communication haven that she rarely had a chance to exploit in the real world.
And once again, it was missing.
Blast that tight-wearing bastard.
Grumbling, the teen scanned over the monstrous trees blocking out the sunshine above her; which in turn, occupied Maurisa's equally monstrous Nightopia.
"Get your ass down here! I know you're up there!" She expected no reply, and that was exactly what she got. Maurisa stalked over to one of the lower trees−which in all honesty wasn't really all that low to the ground− and jumped for the closest branch. After she missed for the third time, the girl cursed loudly before lunging for it again, then the fourth, before finally grabbing on to the smooth bough of the tree.
It surprised her a bit that she was able to reach it. Almost. Over the past nine years since moving to Bellbridge her genetics had only allowed her to grow to a miraculous four feet and three inches down to the dot. With that, she was happy. Eight inches wasn't much to brag about, but her and her companion had a long lasting rivalry. So far she was winning by an inch.
What was she to complain? The wonderful amount of stereotype her physique supported towards her culture still never ceased to infuriate her. It just wasn't funny anymore. Where Maurisa lacked in size however, she made up with strength and with very little struggle she hoisted herself up onto the branch and began to climb.
Shimmying carefully into the arms of another tree across from her current one, a distant garble of sound poked its way out from the upper-most canopy. Jesus Christ, was he trying to blow out the head phones? An ominous chuckle bubbled up within her when Maurise realizing the advantage she had.
"Can't hear me, huh? Poor, poor, Renhet."
Her head broke the surface of leaves and sure enough, there he was. Lounging on the top branch with her cheap headphones stuffed under his red and purple hat. Linkin Park could clearly be distinguished. Her luck was rising. Maurisa still had the drop on him and it was a nice turn of the table. Having the ability of flight only made him harder to catch.
Ren's back faced the position she held, his sharper senses were blocked. The time to strike was now. The girl perched herself on the branch behind him and began to debate on whether to just pummel him with her fists or break off the nearest branch beside her. Sure, it sounded like an overly-abusive punishment, but the guy also wasn't human. He was a rubber, shock absorber. Nightmaren did not batter easily.
A decision was quickly made and corporal punishment would be set at minimal for now. Maurise had gotten her hands dirty on more then one occasion, so why hold off the inevitable? She inhaled a sharp breath and scrunched up her nose.
Adrenaline and irritation fueled her as a hand rose up to promptly smack him hard over the back of the head. Even with the jester's hat there to cushion the blow, the sound of the collision came off as loud, and hollow. It almost made her laugh, but Maurisa had a façade to keep.
As soon as the contact was made, Renhet's head sharply flew forwards, hand's flying up in defense. When he whipped around to see it was only her, he glared.
"OW! WHAT THE HELL?" He voice was a shout, deep and raspy. She doubted he could even hear himself speaking over the music. Her lungs opened wide to rival with his yell.
"NO ONE TOUCHES MY PHONE AND- WOAH!" With all the grace of a turtle on stilts, Maurisa's foot slipped on the branch and instinctively she latched on to the nearest support.
As luck would have it, the Nightmaren was the one she stumbled into. As luck wouldn't have it however, it caught Renhet off guard to the point where flight couldn't save him.
Yelling out alarmed shrieks and shouts while hitting a few branches on the way down, they landed on the earthy floor and a dull thud punctuated the impact.
A groan escaped the jester who now lay face down in the dirt. Renhet suddenly found himself thanking the many deities of reality for not having a nose to break. A human knee jabbed him in the side and a noticeable weight held his upper half down.
Maurisa shifted, causing the joint to dig in further and he hissed, eyes rolling. "Oh, get off!" Ren's hands drew up closer to his body and his arms proceed to push himself upright. It all happened quickly and gave girl no time to vacate her spot before the momentum had her tumbling into the dirt. Maurisa squeaked when her side hit the dirt and the jester left the ground to hover above her. His hands briskly slapped away the dirt on his the white sleeves before moving on to the vest he wore, not looking dreadfully pleased. Meanwhile, Maurisa re-gathered her bearings. That confrontation hadn't ended so well. She almost wanted to keep laying there but the glare of icy eyes staring down at her would have nothing of it.
After the dusting finished, Renhet's pale arms crossed over his chest and he growled crossly. "What the hell was that for?"
Still seated on the ground and not the slightest bit intimidated, Maurisa only had one response to this question. She held out her hand, pointing to the head phone cords poking from his headwear.
"Phone. NOW." It was simple, strait to the point, and she put every ounce of seriousness she owned into the words. A long, lecherous grin stretch the Nightmaren's face and he casually pulled out the device hidden under his vest.
"Oh. You don't mean this, do you?" Renhet waved it nonchalantly before her face and retracted his hand swiftly before the girl could swipe for it. Delayed, for she still sat on the ground and had to stand, another attempt to pounce was quickly thwarted. Renhet's feet left the ground further in a shimmer of white sparkles until he was only just out of reach, causing the visitor to snarl.
"HEY!"
He snickered at her from the air. This was how it usually played out with the Nightmaren taunting her inability to apprehend him whenever he took to the sky. What a bully. Always thinking he has the upper hand in these situations. Unknowingly to his fine perception however, she could still reach with a jump start. As he turned away to abscond elsewhere, Maurisa dashed a few steps forward and swiftly leaped upward. Her hands grappled determinedly onto the Nightmaren's ankle and hoisted herself up while the other struggled to disengage her. Her fingers capture one end tail of his hat and she knew the battle was won.
Gracelessly, she dropped to her feet, yanking the gaudy headwear off. The sight of poofy silver hair and the sound of an undignified yelp summoned a triumphant chuckle from the girl.
Give this guy an award for epic hat-head.
"Hey!" Renhet's arms shot up protectively to hinder her view. This was a fruitless mission, and it only made her laughed harder. "Give it back!" He then began to zoom around the visitor, looking for an opening to grab the stolen piece of wardrobe. Maurisa smirked and took up the jester's previously harassing role before the tables had been tipped. As she twisted, shielding the hat closely clutched to her chest from swift hands, the girl asserted sternly.
"Phone first, THEN hat."
The Nightmaren halted his urgent actions and hesitating for a moment. A short battle played out on his face before the reject dream-demon finally groaned in defeat.
Both exchanged the items held hostage. It wasn't often that the visitor would win. She pocketed the device after rolling the earphones and shut it off, while the other individual promptly shoved strands of hair up and out of sight.
"I've memorized every song on there." Renhet smirked after banishing the last bit of white and the girl stared back in disbelief.
"I don't believe you. You know why? Because there's 900 fucking songs on here." The jester remained unmarred by the sting and lounged backwards in the air as if the recent argument never occurred. Instead he laughed.
"Aw, Mori'. I'm the one with the better IQ, remember? I'll bet you full use of that for the night," He pointed at the pocket her hand had hidden the device in. "If I can guess, oh, 5 songs of your choice?"
That remark about her IQ deserved a good slug to the shoulder. However the visitor's curiosity had been peaked.
Holding a nerve-breaking stare with him, Maurisa pulled out her phone again and tugged out the head phones. The built-in speaker rocketed to life after she pressed shuffle.
"12 Stones, World so Cold."
Lucky guess. She flicked to the second song, "Fallout Boy, My Song's Know What You Did in the Dark."
The third, "The Gazette, Zetsu."
This test went on after five. Soon they reached seventeen songs before Maurisa let out an aggravated growled.
"Fine, take the damn thing!" The girl stood from the tree stump she'd claimed as a seat during the quiz and walked up the red jester, slapping him in the stomach with the electronic device before removing her hand. If it weren't for quick reflexes he wouldn't have caught it falling. Renhet chucked triumphantly and followed the visitor out of the woods as she stalked off.
This, believe it or not, was the norm for their little twosome. They'd confirmed it as a semi-black friendship developed over almost a decade of nightly visits. Had it really been that long though? Maurisa often wondered where the time had flown. She could speak English now as if she'd known it before birth. Even her accent was nearly indistinguishable now. The language exchange between her and her otherworldly companion had also been deemed successful. Engaging in arguments using both Japanese and English proved to be refreshing for the palette. Hell, Maurisa couldn't say it was ever boring. The only thing regrettable about teaching Renhet Japanese was that she couldn't call him anything obscene to his face now without a follow-up response. Oh how amusing it was in those days.
Whatever other mannerisms Maurisa had gained over the years, including a horribly sassy mouth and a brash attitude, had also rubbed off/educated her dear friend in the annoying arts of being an asshole. Which he really needed no help with since the beginning. Really. Having no decent role models to grow up with in your own realm can be quite a problem indeed. An air-happy jester and an old fart of an owl did not count as decent, neither did she for that matter. Wait. This wasn't her realm. It was difficult to keep track of 'what' happened 'where' in her life at times. Memory be damned. Maurisa had never suffered from the amnesia after affects which Owl constantly warned her about, yet she still often forgot the littlest things. Like how long it had been since discovering the Dream realm. If it weren't for the fact that her and Renhet had grown up things never truly changed.
"You know, Shortie. It's a good thing you jump like a squirrel. I didn't think you could reach me from−"
"Don't Make Fun of My Height! You're a guy and still shorter than me." She snapped, hitting back with another lame and overly used burn.
He's still trying to pick a fight? Genuine guy behavior. Though he wasn't one, not really. Oh well, gives me a reason to smack him. The visitor kept walking with the other on her tail, or braid to be more precise.
"I do believe we've had this discussion before." Renhet hummed. She knew that discussion, fairly well.
"Yeah, yeah I know. No balls figuratively or physically speaking. Gotcha." There. That was a good one. It was often that she'd forget the oddity of Nightmaren and their gender confused builds as well. Renhet held himself as any male would in appearance and in voice. But when the feminine traits slid in here and there it killed her in all the best of ways. Maurisa smiled to herself and caught wind of the glare striking her back. A small tug at the cloth-pleated braid running down her spine jolted her backward.
"Ow!" She growled out a bunch of other intelligibly irritated noises and smacked his shoulder. "Let go!"
"But it's such a convenient leash. Never cut it, please." Maurisa's lower lip curled into a scowl at his sardonic gush.
"I'll yell for NiGHTS."
The Jester winced and pulled back a foot or so, releasing the girl's hair. She could play her cards well.
"Low blow."
"Actually I was thinking about cutting it." Growing up, Maurisa played the occasional video game. Unfortunately she had horrible coordination when playing and could only fully complete a handful of games in her lifetime. It was a shameful existence for her. Final fantasy had been one of those admired games, and with a blind determination set she began to grow out her hair like Yuna. The character was confident, and confidence was what she needed at the time. It had been a good seven years since she began sporting the look and the hair running down her back easily reached her ankles.
"Aw come on." Oh look. Now he's squirming. Serves him right, "See, I let go. Happy?"
A familiar giggle blossomed up from behind them and Maurisa was the one who jumped. She never liked it when others crept up on her.
"Boy, don't you have a way with the ladies." NiGHTS gleefully twirled above them before screeching to a halt not far in the air, a familiar grin situate in place.
"Hey NiGHTS." Maurisa acknowledged before his son responded.
"Lady? She's a demon in a visitor's body." Ren didn't even need to look at the girl to avoid her swinging hand. At times he could be shit at dodging, and at other's it was as if Renhet and her were the same poles of a magnet. He had they habit of being unpredictable, just like her.
"Cut it out." His mother tisked. Probably sensing another looming scuffle in the distance. Just then the girl remembered that she had forgotten something and gasped suddenly after this realization.
"Oh no, no. It's okay. I need to check on Gimpers." This caused the other two to stop short and stare at the human.
Ren snorted and NiGHTS gave the girl a questionable look.
"Fuck. That's what you named it?"
"Uh, Gimpers?"
Maurisa stuck her fists promptly up onto her hips and raised her head smugly. "Yes, I named him Gimpers. Gimp-kun for short. "Thought it fit."
"No really. Who's Gimpers?" NiGHTS butted in again. Maurisa turned to the purple jester with a huge smile.
"I found a Nightopian with a gimpy wing. I think he hatched that way. He's so cute." She gushed.
"They all look the same." Renhet received a scowl for his comment before the girl continued.
"But he's special. He always falls on his face while the other's scamper around him." She made a sketchy little circle in the air while twirling her index fingers, "I like keeping him company."
"Alright?" NiGHTS sounded unsure of himself when the word slid out. The kid was weird already. Why question it?
Renhet yawned and lazily waved the visitor off. "Fine, go. Leave us in peace. We won't miss you." Maurisa turned away from the duo and ran for it, waving behind her nonchalantly.
"It's hard to believe she's still able to visit here. I mean, most visitors over her age never stick around for this long and I have yet to see any of her Ideya in person."
"I've come to the conclusion that she's a three year old stuck in an eighteen year old's body. 'Throws tantrums like one." Renhet rubbed the spot on his covered shoulder where her hand had hit. That was going to leave a mark. Not like he really cared much. At most times their banter was just a playful exchange. I was just the way they were. But she could really hurl a punch when she wanted to. It kept the Nightmaren on his toes and taught him not to mess around with human females.
"I don't know Ren." That face did not suit his mother. Nope. Not at all. Any worried, serious, or depressing looks were not allowed to be reserved for the happy, carefree soul who raised him. His slightly longer mouth drooped into a frown.
"Stop worrying will ya. I'd rather you not become a bothered old coot like Owl. Even at your age." Ren pecked him on the cheek as any other loving son would and dashed off, leaving NiGHTS under the canopy of trees. A few seconds passed before it clicked in the other Nightmaren's head.
The best way Renhet had learned to distract others was through insult. Maurisa hadn't taught him that.
"H-HEY! What did you just say?!"
All the violet jester could hear was the tail end of tenor laughter fading further into the woods.
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"Maurisa. Maurisaaa." I heard my name, but had no energy, nor any decency to care. Math was a school subject that should not exist. These classes were only good for napping. Who the hell was going to use tangents for the rest of their life anyway? Definitely not me.
A sharp jab to the side told me that my opinion was invalid and in result I was jolted violently from my nap.
Lucy, my solo human companion, held up the pointed end of her pencil and grinned underhandedly at my discomfort.
"Hellllooo! Time to get up, class is over!" At this statement my head plunked defiantly back down against my arms with a loud sigh. My head rose again after gathering a moment more of peace and reluctantly reached for the bag under my desk.
"Good. I missed all the pointless things I hope?" Muttering was as loud as I was going to get right now. Shoving the excessively oversized textbook into my bag along with the other supplies. Our classroom was vacant all except for us lone souls. Even the teacher wasn't present in the room, but Mr. Hendrick's odd disappearance hadn't shocked me. He spent more time outside the classroom then in it. Possibly gossiping with the other teacher next door.
"Just so you know, I'm not going to record all your notes for you as of tomorrow. But I said this yesterday, and the week before that− Anyway, I've got a question for you."
That grin earlier did looked awfully lecherous. My lower lip jutted outward in a skeptical response. I knew Lucy too well. She was up to something. The brunette could be conniving audacious in our conversations, just like my otherworldly friend.
Darn, do I ever know how to pick my companions.
This friend in particular had actually came to me and nearly out of nowhere. Maybe it was because the girl was a foreigner too and that those sorts of people flocked together? But people accepted Lucy instantly after she arrived a year ago. I wished I could say the same.
"Shoot." I suddenly wished I was back in bed, asleep, in Nightopia. Preferably playing with Gimp, as I didn't feel like keeping up with any sharp banter at the moment.
"Have you found someone special recently? Or have you been reading way too many fanfictions again?" She asked slyly.
"Have I− What?" I blinked, looking directly into Lucy's stare. What did it matter if I read the odd romantic fan-made work? Odd, as in religiously. Was it really so wrong that they weren't all that innocent to the purest of virgin eyes either? But seriously though, what the heck was she talking about?
"You know, boyfriend? Potential boyfriend? Friend with benefits? Girl, you're killing me here." Oh.
"No, why the hell do you ask?" My eyes narrowed with oncoming suspicious and I stood up, smoothing down the back of my uniform. Distracted by the conversation at hand, I swung my backpack up onto my shoulder −narrowly avoiding getting my braid caught− and failed to notice an open compartment before it was too late. Cursing loudly when four pens jumped ship and hit the floor, I crouched under the table to retrieve them.
Lucy chuckled at this, breathing the word klutz into the hand covering her mouth. This earned the girl a good natured slap to the leg from yours truly. This little bit of failure hadn't deterred Lucy from continuing.
"Just wondering. You kept saying a guy's name in your sleep like a fuckin' mantra. I almost had to stuff paper in your mouth a couple times." Lucy sighed, her Canadian-accent slipping through the British one she had forged.
"A name huh? You're pulling my leg again."
Let's play dumb here. Yep, that'll work fine.
"Yeah, maybe I am." Lucy moved in closer with an odd, half-cracked smile, "So, who's this Ren guy? He cute?"
I nearly flipped the desk I was getting up in front of. Thank god I wasn't under it when Lucy spoke. Now that they were at the same level I regarded her, aghast. "What the shit, Lucy." Was my simple, five syllable reply.
"So I was right!"
"I never said that! He's a just a friend of mine." I snapped and rubbed my heated face with one hand. The other palm simultaneously flashed the universal signal at her to stop-right-now-before-she-regretted-something. Was it universal? That did mean stop, right? Why wasn't she stopping?
Instead Lucy laughed, "Okay, okay! But who's this friend? Where'd you meet him? Tell me, because this is the first positive male encounter from you I've heard ever!"
"Seriously?" I paused, leaving the brunette hanging. Renhet had been labeled as an imaginary friend by whoever I had mentioned him to as a child. I kept a journal, just as Owl suggested, so I could record anything that could be lost to memory, but for some odd reason I'd never forgotten a thing. Not a single night. So now it was all I ever focused on. What I experienced every evening was a touchy subject. Not many people in the past ever thought I was sane for believing it. I had problems fitting into my new home from the beginning; the trauma I went through before instigating the move did not help me integrate. My imaginary world hadn't helped either.
Now I was almost afraid of sharing or bringing up the other world I was a part of. This was the first time the subject had been approached in a long time.
"Um, well, I grew up with him, sort of. He's an old friend of mine, that's all." It was a half-assed answer, sure. But it was better than Lucy knowing just how crazy I was. I'm friends with a rogue trickster Nightmaren who steals my phone and pesters me every night. Sounds great.
"He's in Japan?" I nodded and Lucy looked a little disappointed now.
"Yeah, guess you could say that."
The saddened look quickly evaporated from Lucy's studious amber eyes. "Too bad, you got my hopes up."
The second bell rang and we both jumped into action, myself less so then the other. My friend had a complex for punctuality, and it was surprising to see that Lucy had lost track of time.
"Shit! We have music next, don't we?" She ran for the door, me following behind the other in attempts to keep up.
"Yep. We're late." Lucy and I jogged quickly to our next class. On the way, we passed various stragglers wandering the hallways on their spare period. A small group of familiar boys stood at the lockers at the end of the hall and the tallest auburn followed me with his eyes as I darted around the corner. His stare was an odd one. Creepy. Wasn't he in my math class? It mattered little at the moment and my friend and I continued on with our race.
Everyone knew who I was. Loud mouthed, strange, slightly Otaku –but who could blame me- and just down right… strange.
We managed to slip in right before the teacher turned to see us scampering to our seats. Quietly, they got out our flutes and sat down. I unlocked the case pulling out three silver bits of metal and assembling them. A smile twitched at my lips, how ironic my choice had been. When I'd first began high school, I merely wished to try out instrumental music for the kicks and the school credit. However, the subject had grown on me and now I have taken it every year since. My marks were fair in the class, however it also helped that one of my friends was a Nightmaren who had been playing for gods only knew how long. That was a nice perk, even if the flute was invisible.
A voice interrupted my thoughts, "Oh wow. Kurt's here today." My attention drifted to the doorway as the girl beside me whispered. A behemoth walked through the square arch. Lanky, pale and silent. My eyes trained on the late student as he strolled over to the piano, giving a quiet apology to the teacher on the way. When he reached the bench, he sat; eyes staring blankly at the carpet floor.
"He's soooooo pretty." Lucy breathed next to me and I rolled my eyes.
"Don't you swoon on me now. He's just a rich-kid… and a drone." A hiccup jumped from my friend's throat as she turned to face me in shock.
"Drone? My god Mori, no wonder you don't have a man yet."
"Hey, not into zombies, thanks." The look Lucy gave told me that I was going to hell for that comment. Lucy had a thing for Kurtason. Then again, everyone did.
The teacher took that moment to speak up, breaking everyone from their conversations. "Alright! We have three weeks until the next concert date as of today. We'll be practicing piece thirteen and fourteen." The old man glanced over the latecomer at the piano, giving him a nod, "Kurtason, would you begin piece 13 for us from the beginning? Everyone follow along."
Everyone's instruments rose and I readied the flute at my lips. A skillful melody began at the piano and the flute's part began four bars in. From what I saw, the boy hadn't taken out any music sheets from his bag. Everything was entirely from memory.
From my gathered knowledge, Kurtason Cartwright was a prodigy pianist and had won competitions locally and worldwide. He also had a reputation for being notoriously absent for long periods of time. Many years had gone by since we had both begun attending the same school and yet he hadn't even made eye contact with me once. Being born into a family with a ton of money, I alway wondered why Kurtason even bothered to attend a public school. Not when he could be going to a fancy-ass academy instead.
Another observation was that even though he was often at the top of the schools latest gossip, he had no evident associates. Instead the kid acted like a breathing umbra, avoiding people's attention as if every other living soul was the black plague. I had to struggle every day to earn whatever positive feedback I could, and Kurtason didn't have to lift a finger to get attention.
Rumors could be cruel, and they weren't very lenient on him either. I'd heard some pretty disturbing things about him from classmates but I tried not to pay them any mind. He didn't seem like a bad person.
My hands fumbled with the notes when I realized the other player was looking up from the keys, still not breaking the music's rhythm.
Think of the devil, and he will look.
Our eyes met for a split moment as the song ended. I immediately looked away, feeling oddly bashful all of a sudden. His blank expression morphed a bit in my eyes, like a hint of curiosity.
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At the end of class, I stuffed my small instrument case into the shelf with the others. Lucy had already gone, as she had left to give something to one of her other friends.
Someone abruptly shoved into my back from behind. It set my off balance for a moment, but when I re-gathered my bearings, my head turned to see a familiar blond walk casually away surrounded by a group of girls. Lizzy Jordan, I sneered bitterly at the girl's retreating back. What the ever-loving fuck was that for?
Sensing that the room wasn't vacant just yet, my attention cast briefly back over the piano and noticed Kurtason still in the room picking papers up off the floor. When he stood, I realized why I hadn't noticed him still in the room. He had been crouching. Closer now that I wasn't up on a bleacher, the kid was gigantic next to my petite figure. Had I mentioned his hight before? Oh right, behemoth. If I was a betting girl −and I am− it was assumable that my eyes would meet the height of the guy's belly button, if I was lucky. Without saying a passing word to him, I gulped and walked out into the hallway. It was tempting to approach him, but, I'd lost my nerve too soon. Eventually I tracked down my companion in the library and we both proceeded to the lunch room.