NiGHTs could feel it...the darkness...it filled the land of Nightopia...Nightopians were scarce...Nightmarens attacked more frequently...
He could even feel it seeping into him...it ate into him like a poison that just would not go away...the dream world was slowly losing its luster and color...its life was draining away….
He was waiting now at the Dream Gate….waiting every night….waiting at the edge of it, hanging above the seemingly endless dark ocean.
He was waiting for some of the visitors he befriended over the years...Waiting for any of them…..Will...Helen...Claris...Elliot…..any of them, to return.
It seemed that even with their red ideya of courage, they were now unable to come to the Night Dimension...and there hadn't been any other visitors for a while...
NiGHTs leaned back in the air, resting his jester hat against his arms...
Of course he was worried for his friends, worried for Nightopia, but he wasn't sure what to do.
"Why hello, NiGHTs….Oh-who, isn't it a quiet one?" an old owl wearing a maroon jacket over a purple vest greeted, fluttering over to NiGHTs and landing on top of a nearby rock, "What are you doing out here? You know it not very well safe beyond the sanctuary gates."
NiGHTs sighed, dipping his head down, "I know, Owl, but I got to keep up hope that Will or Helen, maybe even Claris or Elliot, will come back."
"Unfortunately, visitors have not been coming for a while now," Owl said sadly, a fact they both knew very well.
"Yeah, Owl, but I can't just give up. I hate just sitting here, but it's something, right?" NiGHTs replies, looking up into the endless ocean of stars above them. 'At least their light still shine in all the growing darkness', the jester observed bitterly. The two friends sat there for a while in silence, just staring at the faded black mingled with hints of deep blue and violet that swarmed with the faint glittering lights of those stars so far away.
"Why NiGHTs, there you are," cooed a venomously sweet voice suddenly from behind them. Both NiGHTs and Owl jerked around, the purple jester already poised for a fight, knowing exactly who had spoken.
"Reala!" he snapped, "What are you doing here?"
Reala sneered at his twin, then put a clawed hand to his chest in mock hurt, "Really, NiGHTs, is that any way to treat me after all we been though?"
NiGHTs laughed sarcastically, "What we been though? Let's see," the jester held up one gloved hand and started counting off on his fingers, "You imprisoned me, multiple times…attacked me, multiple times...you hurt my friends…scaring Helen, threatening Will, endangering Claris and Elliot…should I go on?" NiGHTs grinned as Reala glared at him.
"Fine, NiGHTs," the red jester growled, "If you had cooperated, I would have brought you back to Wizeman in one piece...But now…if that how you want to act…" he suddenly charged at NiGHTs, claws extended to slash his face.
NiGHTs flew over him, placing his hands on Reala's shoulders and pushing him into the ground before launching off into the air as fast as he could.
Reala spat out a mouth full of dirt and looked up at the fleeing NiGHTs, fanged teeth bared in fury. He quickly got up and leapt into the air in swift pursuit. But NiGHTs kept ahead of him, still a ways off, and Reala could not seem to catch up.
A race ensued, with no ground giving or no ground gained as the two jesters raced through the ruins and floating landmasses of Nightopia. Reala tried all he could to get to NiGHTs, throwing blasts of red sparks at the purple jester and making shortcuts to gain on him, but the hero dodged each attempt.
"NiGHTs! Why do you run?" Reala shouted at NiGHTs, part of him still unable to understand why his fellow Nightmaren turned traitor for a bunch of weak visitors.
"Because!" the purple jester yelled back, "I'm not going back, and you won't make me!"
"Really, NiGHTs! You think you can escape this forever? I know you've felt the darkness growing, penetrating everything! Soon, when you've been exposed long enough, and I'm betting that won't take long at all, you will become weak and-ACK!" Reala was unable to finish, as NIGHTS had turned a complete 180 and shot back at him, ramming right into him, HARD.
Reala instinctively pushed the other jester off, and NiGHTs backed out of his reach before the red jester could remember to grab him. Both took a flying leap backwards, their eyes focused on each other, not blinking and giving the other the satisfaction of the first attack. One glared with determination, the other with hatred.
Suddenly, they charged at each other, clashing at break-neck speeds, their collision creating powerful shockwaves. Thunderous booms were heard for miles around, sounding again and again as the jesters of purple and red smashed into each other, neither one willing to back down.
Then, it started to rain. Both Reala and NIGHTS stopped to look up at the dark, ominous clouds that had seemed to swiftly appear above them. Reala looked back down at his fellow jester with contempt.
"Well, NiGHTs" he uttered, tired from the unyielding battle yet trying not to show it, "Perhaps the Nightopian clouds above are telling you to surrender with their tears?" he halfheartedly suggested, knowing the answer, yet still teasing the purple jester to hide his fatigue. NiGHTs glared at him, cradling one arm with the other, having been injured in one charge yet not caring if he showed such weakness or not.
"Y-You really think…I would quit…when you are tired as I am?" he panted, knowing that Reala wouldn't admit it, "You can't fool me, Reala."
Reala scowled at the purple jester, hatred burning in his icy blue eyes, "Even if I am, NiGHTs, you are still weaker. You're pathetic, and it's beyond me how you manage to defeat Wizeman time and again!"
"It's because I'm not a lap dog that follows orders like you!" NiGHTs snapped back, causing Reala to flinch. He ignored it, continuing his small rant, "You think terrorizing Nightopians and stealing Ideya from Dreamers is a life to be proud of?! You're the pathetic one! You prey upon defenseless people, and let Wizeman pull the strings! You're spineless and cruel!"
Reala clenched his fists "Keep your mouth shut about what you don't understand, NiGHTs!"
"Oh, I understand all right, Reala!" NiGHTs shouted back, "I may not know everything, but I understand that you are too cowardly and too stubborn to change! You will never change, and I will never go back with the likes of you! I would rather stay here and protect villagers from Nightmare, to continue to feel the joy and fulfillment that comes with helping someone, having their trust instead of spreading fear and sorrow like you! I have told you this MANY TIMES, but it seems that you are TOO STUPID to even UNDERSTAND THAT!"
Reala roared, his eyes murderous. He had enough of this pipsqueak! This nobody! This TRAITOR! NO MORE! He wasn't going to float there and let this purple thorn in his side insult him, not anymore!
"Oh yeah…Then let's see how strong YOU are WHEN I DO THIS!" He suddenly shot a red bolt of energy straight for NIGHTS, piercing him in the side.
NiGHTs flew back from the force, falling head-first toward the dark ocean.
Reala waited for him to come back up so he could strike him again. But something was wrong. Reala's eyes widened. The jester wasn't pulling up!
NiGHTs was too weak to catch himself, helpless as the pitch black ocean rushed to meet him.
Reala dove in a desperate attempt to capture him before he lost him for good.
"Bye…..Reala..." he coughed out before striking the water. As the back water swallowed him whole, he could faintly hear Reala curse in rage.
...
...
The black waves pushed him deeper down, deeper into the darkness and silence of itself, pressing in on him from all sides as it pushed him ever deeper, blackness enveloping him.
Was this drowning?...It didn't feel like it…No…..It was more like…floating…He felt so tired…Then it was like everything just stopped. Everything was so still, so quiet.
He managed to open his eyes. There was nothing, just blackness all around. He seemed to be laying on something solid. Did he find the bottom of the black ocean?
Wait, was that...a light? NiGHTs tried to float, tried to move his legs. But it was as if he was weighed down by Wizeman's hand, he couldn't lift himself up, and his legs wouldn't move no matter how much he tried. He turned his head back up. The light was coming closer. For some reason, he was afraid of that light. Something was very wrong.
NiGHTs struggled more, but it was as if he was stuck in Queen Bella's web. Why couldn't he move? The light became blinding. A loud, blaring noise threatened to deafen him. NIGHTS couldn't bear to look, the light was too fierce, and a roaring joined the blaring noise. Jerking his head around, he snapped his eyes shut. All was suddenly silenced in a painful instant, and he knew no more.
In another place, someone else was opening their own eyes... four 'someones' to be exact…..Two boys….and two girls…..four separate dreamers in their own separate beds within their own separate homes at the exact same time.
All four shot up out of their beds as one, and one name escaped their lips….
"...NiGHTs..."