AN: READ THIS: This is a sequel to 'Jackle's story'. Read that first (If you haven't already) otherwise a lot of things won't make sense.

It was cold. That was what Jackle noticed at first. He could feel that he was lying on his back, but he couldn't open his eyes. He thought for a moment, trying to think of what might of happened. But then he remembered. NiGHTS. He felt a tear slide down his cheek, the first of many. He stayed like that for a long time, crying silently. Until he heard a loud clanging noise. Surprised, Jackle quickly sat up, eyes shooting open. As he did there was a loud crunching noise and a horrible pain shot through his back. Jackle gasped and fell back to the floor, muttering a few choice curse words under his breath. Whilst he lay on the floor, he noticed his situation. He was in, what seemed to be, a cell. It was dark, dirty and rather small. There was a locked, barred door on one side of the cell. The cell was lit by a small gas lamp which hung from the ceiling, giving off a strange, green glow. The walls, floor and ceiling were made of rough, rock, which made Jackle suspect that he was in some kind of basement or cellar. The corridor outside was pitch black, but Jackle could see more of the green lamps in the other cells. Despite the fact that they were lit, the other cells seemed to be empty. Jackle waited until the pain had subsided, then sat up. Although he moved slowly, it still hurt. When he was sitting upright, he moved his arms around carefully, working out the kinks. Then he stood up, leaning against the wall for support. His body felt uncomfortably stiff. He made his way over to the door and tried to open it. Unsurprisingly, it was locked. Jackle frowned and wiped the tears off his face. Why would somebody lock him up? The last thing he remembered was NiGHTS knocking him out. Did NiGHTS imprison him here?

"No." Jackle decided, "He isn't like that. Even if he hates me now, he wouldn't lock me up." Jackle put the question to the back of his mind and focused on how he could get out of the cell. Jackle's mind was blank for a moment. Then he realised, he had heard something earlier on. Maybe there was some else down here. Jackle walked up to the bars and stared into the darkness, trying to see if someone was there. In the distance, there was a dim, blue light. It looked like it was coming from some kind of lantern. Jackle tried to call out and get the person's attention. Instead he let off a feeble croak. Jackle cleared his throat and tried again, but his speech was no louder than a whisper. He noticed a small stone next to his left foot. He picked it up and hit it against the bars. The noise echoed throughout the cellar. There was a pause, then the light moved slowly towards Jackle. Jackle let out a relived sigh, a small smile playing at his lips. Whilst he felt terrible about what he had had to do to NiGHTS, it was good to know he wouldn't be stuck in the cell for much longer. As the light came closer, Jackle realised something. The person's silhouette was the same shape…as a jester's outfit. Jackle felt a wave of shock crash through him. NiGHTS had captured him! What would NiGHTS do to him? Try and persuade Jackle to help him again? Keep him locked up here for the rest of his life? Make hi-

Jackle's train of thought derailed when the figure came into clear view. It wasn't NiGHTS, although Jackle couldn't blame himself for thinking that it was. His outfit was almost exactly the same as NiGHTS'. The only differences were that, instead of NiGHTS' different shades of purple, his outfit was red and black and, whereas NiGHTS had one large ideya shard on his chest, this person had three, smaller crystals. His skin was as white as a sheet of paper, he had black makeup around his eyes and mouth. He was holding a lantern (as Jackle suspected) in his right hand which was where the light was coming from. It didn't take to long for Jackle to figure out who it was. It had to be NiGHTS' twin, Reala. Jackle didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. Had Reala locked him up here? Maybe this was his revenge against Jackle, for letting NiGHTS escape? Reala stood in front of the bars and stared at Jackle for a moment, studying him. Then he gestured for him to stand back with his left hand. Jackle let out another relived sigh and did as he was told. Maybe Reala could explain everything when he was out of this cell. Jackle backed up until he was touching the wall behind him. Then Reala did something Jackle didn't expect. Instead of drawing out a set of keys and unlocking the door, Reala took a few steps back and smashed his left foot into it. The door flew open and crashed into the wall with a long 'clang'.

"Oh. Well…that works I guess." Jackle murmured. His voice sounded strangely raspy and when he spoke it felt strained. Jackle put that to the back of his mind for now. Reala stood where he was and gestured for Jackle to come out. Jackle obliged. Once he was outside the cell he noticed how long the corridor was. It seemed to stretch on forever in both directions, green lights running down both sides of it. NiGHTS had told Jackle how important rank and status were to Reala, so Jackle bowed.

"Thank you, Sir." Jackle said, for some reason his voice was still rather quiet.

"What is your name?" Reala asked. His voice sounded very commanding and, with lack of a better word, posh. He seemed to give off an aura which made him appear a lot older and wiser than he was.

"I'm Jackle." Jackle replied, standing up, "And I already know who you are, of course."

"Jackle?" Reala asked, frowning, "NiGHTS' friend?"

"Not anymore, Sir." Jackle replied, growing worried. Did Reala already know? How would he explain it to him? To Jackle's relief, Reala replied,

"Of course. Given the circumstances I hardly think any of us will be able to associate ourselves with him."

"You know what happened then, Sir?" Jackle asked.

"I would have to be rather dull if I did not." Reala replied, coldly, as though Jackle had insulted him.

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean?" Jackle asked, taken aback, "I was the only one there and I haven't told anyone about yet." Reala stared blankly at Jackle for second, then he sighed and shook his head.

"This is going to take a lot of explaining." He murmured. Then he looked up and said, "Come." He began to walk off the way he came. Jackle followed, with some difficulty (his legs still felt a bit stiff). Reala's lantern lit their path as they walked. Jackle kept on trying to clear his throat, to make his voice less raspy. None of them said anything for a while, then Reala spoke,

"There is no point staying silent, tell me what is on your mind." Jackle blinked.

"I was just wondering, Sir." Jackle began, his voice less strained, "What is this place? How did I get here? Why was I locked up?" Reala was silent for a moment,

"What is the last thing you remember, Jackle?" He asked. Jackle frowned, then replied,

"I was fighting NiGHTS. Then…he must've knocked me out."

"That is all you remember?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Nothing after that?"

"No, Sir." Reala was silent again.

"I suppose that would be the best place to start." He muttered to himself. Then he turned to look at Jackle. "When you left on your last assignment with NiGHTS, neither of you came back for a while. Wizeman became worried that something might have gone wrong. Eventually when all the nightmaren, including me, had retired to our quarters, you both showed up.

"I was fast asleep when NiGHTS knocked at my door. He held you in his arms, you were obviously unconscious. NiGHTS would not tell me what had happened. All he said was that you needed to be taken care of and that he was sorry."

"Sorry?" Jackle interrupted. He instantly felt nervous as Reala gave him a threatening look.

"Yes." He replied, coldly, "'Sorry', I would prefer it if you did not interrupt me anymore Jackle." Jackle nodded his head quickly.

"As I was saying." Reala continued, "He seemed to be very upset. He kept on saying sorry, more to himself than anyone else, and I could tell he was trying not to breakdown. Anyway, I returned you to your lair, as NiGHTS had requested. The next mourning, he had disappeared.

"I was not there when you woke up, in fact the only time I have ever seen you active and awake is now. But, apparently, when you woke you instantly went to Wizeman. When you told Wizeman of NiGHTS' actions, he punished you for failing."

"Punished me?" Jackle asked, surprised.

"That is how the story goes." Reala replied, simply.

"But, how come I don't remember it?"

"I am getting there." Reala insisted, holding up his lantern-free hand, "In any case, Wizeman told the rest of the castle of the happening. He then instructed for you to be held down here.

"I trust you do not know where 'here' is?"

"I haven't got a clue, Sir." Jackle replied, honestly.

"This," Reala began, "Is The Dungeon." Jackle frowned, then cursed himself for being so stupid. The Dungeon was the place where Wizeman kept the nightmaren who were no longer able to perform the tasks set for them but could still be of some use. It was at the very bottom of nightmare castle, like Jackle's lair. Wizeman would send a nightmaren down here, lock them up in a cell and put them in an enchanted sleep. He would only keep them alive if they had a trait which Wizeman wanted to give to his other creations. Wizeman could just copy it from the sleeping nightmaren. If they didn't have an important trait, they would be executed.

"Why did Wizeman send me down here, Sir?" Jackle asked, bewildered.

"He believed you were no longer fit for action because of your condition. He kept you, so he could use your intelligence in his other creations." Reala replied.

"So he sent you down here to wake me up." Jackle realised, "Why?"

"Wizeman did not send me." Reala stated, a sad look in his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Jackle asked, confused, "I thought nightmaren could only be woken up if Wizeman wanted them to be."

"Yes, that is usually the case." Reala replied, he sounded a bit distant, as if lost in thought, "However in this case…" Reala trailed off. Then he said,

"It will make sense if I continue my story." The authority had returned to his voice. "Whilst you slept, we were all instructed to capture NiGHTS. We were unsuccessful. NiGHTS paired up with two dreamers. The three of them, launched an attack against nightmare. They fought their way through the nightmaren, including me, unti-"

"Sorry to interrupt, Sir." Jackle began, "But how could they fight all of the nightmaren at once?"

"They did not fight them all." Reala replied, "They snuck past or ran away from a lot of them and when they did fight, it was only a few of them at a time. NiGHTS easily got rid of them, he was created to be better than every other nightmaren after all.

"In any case, their only concern was confronting Wizeman, so they avoided as many nightmaren as they could." Jackle felt a sense of dread pass through him. Part of him really didn't want to hear what happened next.

"They did confront Wizeman eventually." Reala continued, his voice becoming distant again, "And…well…"

"Well?" Jackle asked, the feeling of dread growing.

"Well…" Reala began, "Wizeman could not…" Jackle stopped walking suddenly. Reala stopped as well and turned around to look at him.

"You mean, Wizeman is…" Jackle trailed off. There was silence.

"Yes." Reala muttered. Jackle's jaw dropped. It was hard to believe, after all Wizeman had the power of a god. Jackle knew that, when Reala had said they had both fought each other, one of them would have fallen. But, in all honesty, he had been preparing himself for the announcement of NiGHTS' downfall not Wizeman's. Jackle felt weak at the knees.

"Wizeman is dead?" Jackle gasped, horrified. There was a pause.

"Yes." Reala said again, looking at Jackle sadly.

"What do I do now?" Jackle thought, "I don't have any orders to follow. But, that's why I was created in the first place, to follow orders."

"When he died." Reala began, his voice shaking slightly, "His powers must have failed. All the enchantments on the nightmaren down here wore off."

"But, I only woke up just now." Jackle informed Reala, eagerly jumping back into the conversation, trying to take his mind off what had happened.

"I suspect that, after your punishment, you slept naturally. You probably needed the rest." Reala replied, "During my fight with NiGHTS, I was knocked unconscious. When I woke up, all the nightmaren had disappeared.

"I went out and searched for them for a while, but I realised I would need someone else to help me."

"Me?!" Jackle asked, surprised, "But…haven't you heard…I'm a bit…you know…"

"NiGHTS told me a lot about you." Reala interrupted, "He said that, while your outbursts are often violent, if you are not stressed or anxious then they will not happen so often."

"But, why me?"

"I did not choose you myself. I only came down here to find someone, anyone. And I found you. It was simply coincidence." Reala explained. Jackle wasn't too happy about this. He didn't really think he was reliable and the thought of messing up and making Reala angry wasn't a pleasant one. He began to walk again. Jackle jogged back to his side and walked with him.

"So, did the other nightmaren down here leave as well?" Jackle asked.

"Well, do you see them anywhere?" Reala asked, sarcastically.

"How did they get out of their cells?" Jackle asked, "I needed you to open mine for me."

"The cell doors are very poorly manufactured." Reala explained, "They can be opened easily. But most of the nightmaren had been here a while and their body's were still recovering. The one's that had not been here so long could get themselves out. It is my guess that one or two of the more generous one's let them out."

"Hang on." Jackle began, "How long was I down here?"

"I do not know." Reala replied, "If I were to guess, I would say about five years." Jackle's eyes widened.

"FIVE YEARS?!" He exclaimed.

"Yes."

"But…how can I still move, shouldn't my muscles stopped working or something?" Jackle asked.

"Wizeman's spell keeps all the nightmaren in The Dungeon preserved, should they ever be needed conscious." Reala replied, "In other words, you should be more or less in the same state you were before your sleep.

"The only side effects you could have are stiff bones and partial memory loss."

"That's why I don't remember being punished, Sir?"

"Yes."

"What about trouble talking?" Jackle asked, "Could that be a side effect?"

"I suspect that, due to lack of use, that could happen also." Reala agreed.

"Well, that explains it then." Jackle thought.

"What was that loud banging noise earlier on?" Jackle asked.

"That was me." Reala replied, "One of the cell's lights had gone out and wanted to check if anyone was in there."

"So you kicked down the door, Sir?"

"Yes."

"That's a bit violent of you, Sir." Jackle thought, a small smile spreading across his face.

They walked in silence for a while.

"This corridor is very long." Jackle noted. Reala smiled slightly.

"Yes, it goes on for the entire width of the castle."

"If you don't mind me asking, Sir." Jackle began, "What do we do now?"

"We look for the other nightmaren." Reala replied, "We regroup with them and think up another plan from there."

"Sounds good." Jackle murmured.

AN: Well, that's that then. Sorry it's taken me so long to upload, but I kept thinking I should do it another way and starting from scratch. Also, I went on holiday for a week so I couldn't do any writing then. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, this takes place after NID. Jackle's story took place before and I just thought "Why not?". Anyway, R&R.