Author's Notes
It's NiGHTS's 20th anniversary today! :D To celebrate, I edited an old NiGHTS fic of mine to post up. I hope you enjoy.
Copyright Info
The NiGHTS franchise (mostly consisting of the video games NiGHTS into Dreams and NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams) is created by SEGA. The girl character in this fic was made up by me. She's not named, though. :)
Good Dreams
"NiGHTS? What are you doing?"
The purple, jester-like creature in question jumped and wheeled to see a familiar ashen face. NiGHTS sank like a non-helium balloon as he relaxed. "Oh, it's just you, Reala."
"You haven't answered my question," the red jester growled. He jabbed a finger past NiGHTS's shoulder. "What is that?"
NiGHTS glanced back. There was a little brown-haired girl, about five years old, screaming and running from a horde of bipedal, furry monsters. "A girl having a nightmare?" he said with a sheepish grin and half-hearted shrug.
"That's a pathetic excuse for a nightmare!" Reala spat. "Seriously, NiGHTS, you've been getting sloppy. Only the third levels do this whole 'monster chase' thing. It wakes dreamers up too quickly to get their Ideya most of the time. Let me remind you what a real nightmare is!" NiGHTS reached out a hand in protest as Reala homed in on the girl, but he gulped back his complaint. He watched helplessly as his fellow Level-One Nightmaren snatched a dark wisp from the girl's hair and inspected it with a toothy grin. "This will work perfectly," he sneered. "Let's get to work." He breathed, and the wisp grew into a thick, heavy cloud before settling into the shape of a one-story house.
The girl sighed in relief when the monsters disappeared and she found herself in her familiar home. However, her triumph was cut short by the sight of a strange man at the door. She heard someone approach from behind. Her father. "Daddy, there's a stranger," she whispered, tugging at his pants and pointing to the man.
"I know, honey," her father said. "He's here for me. I have to go work, now."
"Go? But why? I don't want you to go." Tears welled in her eyes.
Her father hugged her. "Don't worry. I'll be back." Then, he stood and left with the stranger.
With a flick of Reala's hand, time whizzed by. The girl saw her mother crying. "What's wrong, Mommy?" she asked, though she feared the answer.
"Daddy's gone, honey," her mother sobbed.
Tears trickled down the girls face. "Daddy," she cried. "Daddy!"
The two jesters emerged unnoticed from the shadows. "Now, let's see what we can find," Reala muttered. "Purity and Hope." His clawed hand lashed out and snagged the white Ideya. "I'll leave the other one to you, NiGHTS." He flew away, leaving the young dreamer in tears.
With Reala gone, NiGHTS hesitantly approached the weeping girl. Her red-ringed eyes and dripping nose instilled a strange, conflicting mix of disgust and pity. He raised a disembodied hand as if to pat her head, but he hesitated. Guilt warded off his touch, and finally he lowered his hand.
"Don't cry," NiGHTS whispered, instead. "I know you always worry about your dad leaving in the army. But, it's not as bad as it seems. You'll wake up, soon, and everything will be okay."
The girl felt a tap on the shoulder. She turned to behold the monsters from before, but all of them wore sad frowns, and one held out a chocolate-chip cookie in its furry claws. "Thank you," the girl said, accepting the cookie. She slowly nibbled on it while tears continued to leak down her face.
NiGHTS gave a small smile as he watched her eat. Soon, she would relax and forget the nightmare.
At least, he hoped she would. She still shivered and scrunched up her face. The monsters fidgeted awkwardly.
What can I do? NiGHTS wondered. Perhaps if she sees her dad, again… He waved his hand.
The girl found herself in her living room at night. The lights were on, but dim. Then she saw a shining form nearby. "Daddy!" she cried, running to her transparent father and hugging him tight. Her father held her and stroked her face as he had done so many times before to soothe her. He still seemed a little sad. "I have to go, honey."
"But I don't want you to go!" she sobbed.
"I have to go to heaven."
The girl cried into his shirt for several agonizing minutes, until at last she faded away from Nightopia, signaling her return to consciousness. NiGHTS sighed. So, that was how her brain took it? Very good, NiGHTS. You cheered her right up. Perhaps he was no good at anything but nightmares.
...
But a few years later, after his adventures defeating Wizeman with the help of young Visitors, NiGHTS spotted that same girl. She was running through a field of rolling hills, laughing. The sound buoyed NiGHTS's heart, and he drifted closer, drawn by the joy. The girl jumped, soared through the air for a few seconds, and drifted back down only to leap up again. Eventually, the girl faded away, mid-jump. "So she wants to fly, does she?" NiGHTS murmured with a smirk.
When next he saw her, the girl was wandering down a bright, clear-watered beach aimlessly, wistfully. NiGHTS crossed his legs in mid-air and put his chin in his hand, pondering. This was a former victim, not just of Nightmare, but of he himself. Dare he approach her after what he'd done? "Well, it's the least I can do after giving her all of those nightmares," he finally said, rising. It won't go like last time, he tried to persuade himself.
Before the Nightmaren could lose his nerve, he glided in from behind and gave the girl an imperceptible poke in the back. Suddenly, she found herself flying through the air, spread-eagle, as easy as swimming, unaware of the other presence merged with her body.
NiGHTS let her take the reins. They soared up toward the clouds, the wind rushing into their faces, then dove into the sparkling sea. Uneasiness washed through her consciousness under the water—a jellyfish drifted nearby (likely sent by Gulpo)—so the girl sprang them from the water to continue their joyous flight, scattering sparkling drops in the air like a natural star trail. They sucked in the fresh sea air and stared in the sun to mock its blinding glow. Dips and twists skimmed them across the water. After a precious few minutes, NiGHTS felt the girl's presence within him fade, leaving with him only her smile. He felt his stretched cheeks and giggled. Perhaps he wasn't so bad at this good dream thing, after all.
Author's Notes
Here's to many more years of an active NiGHTS fandom! (And to a third game! Please, SEGA!)
-Penelopi