Yay, new story! Told you guys I wasn't dead yet! Buuuuut, I'm doing this when I should be working on my lab report and my essay right after AP testing, soooo... I'll probably be dead from lack of sleep soon.

Yeah, totally don't own this game. I own a copy that I legally bought from Toys R Us when it came out, but I didn't create it and I don't own the rights, so sucks for me.

Chapter One

At the Dream Gate

This is a dream, right?

I found myself at the entrance of an unfamiliar gate.

Of course it is… I remember going to bed…

I shook my head. Standing there wasn't going to do me any good, I supposed. I looked behind me to see the path I had supposedly come from but found the path leading off a cliff, and beyond that, a vast abyss of nothingness.

So this is where the sidewalk ends…

I had no choice but to keep straight and see what lied beyond the gate; I took two hesitant steps toward it. It's not that I was afraid, no. Nothing could hurt me in a dream… I already knew that… But… What if this dream turns into a nightmare? If I wake myself up, I'll have to return to sleep eventually. It's a school night after all… And then… I'll find myself back here… If things take a turn for the worse, I don't want to have to relive the same thing over and over again until the morning comes.

"Why hello there, Visitor."

I squealed and spun in a circle looking for the source of that voice. And then out of nowhere I found myself sitting on my rear and a giant owl in front of my face... that apparently had clothes… and glasses…? Okay, how much sugar did I have before bed?

"Visitor?"

I blinked in surprise when it spoke again.

Oh shit it talks! What do I do? I gulped and gave a shy wave and that seemed to satisfy the creature as it backed up a bit so that I could stand up.

"Hoo! You're a shy one, aren't you?" He flew in a circle around me. I shook my head and used my hands to sign to him: 'I don't like to talk.'

"Mute?" he inquired. I shook my head again and signed: 'I like quiet.'

One would think that since this is my dream it would be natural for this… giant talking owl to know ASL, but shouldn't he also already know my preferences for silence?

"Well then, Visitor, you may call me Owl." I resisted the urge to snort and roll my eyes. Ay dios mio, my imagination is getting worse by the second. I blame school.

"Al." I said, pointing to myself. Good to know my voice still worked. I remember having dreams where I had gone completely mute or my voice was raspy and hoarse.

"Oh, so you do have a voice, hoo! My name is Owl," He tried correcting me, referring to himself.

"I know that." I said, irritation evident in my voice. "My name is Al. Short for Alexandra." I signed the letters A and L and pointed to myself. He laughed,

"Well then, Visitor, please do feel free to come in. I'm sure you won't find that gate to be very interesting, hoo!"

Actually, it kind of was. The metal work was rather nice and very ornate, but I digress. I followed the giant talking owl just beyond the gate, which wasn't much more impressive. Just a few doorways (some in ruin, others filled), the forest, and a fountain in the center of it all, which I chose to sit by.

"Visitor!" I jumped a little as he suddenly cried my name. I pulled my attention from my surroundings to my feathered companion. "The doors to Nightopia have appeared! You have have ideya!"

I rose an eyebrow, I must have…. What now? Idea? Well I have plenty of those. I just ignored my confusion and nodded blankly. I looked down at my hands and almost gasped… Okay this sounds a lot better in my head and a lot more awkward now that it's in the open, but… I had blue balls on my hands.

…

…

And how that you're done laughing your ass off….

"Blue ideya, the ideya of intelligence."

Oh the well placed foreshadowing irony.

I looked back at the door. That was there earlier, wasn't it? Just as I was going to go toward it, Owl appeared in front of me. I yelped in surprise and fell back in my rear.

"You musn't go through that door just yet, Visitor. It could be dangerous! Who knows what lies beyond that door!" Well, that's what I wanted to find out ya bloody chicken. God. The least he could've done was apologize. I mean, I could've fallen onto my back and my head would've hit the fountain and I'd've died!

I slowly picked myself up and dusted my clothes off. "Fine then," I said simply. I wasn't usually one for breaking rules, you see. It ruined my credibility. I turned on my heel and walked off into the forest.

"Wait! Where are you going, hoo!" I paid him no mind. The forest was calm and serene. Thank God that damn bird didn't follow. The trees were gigantic and the grass was lush and healthy… I was in heaven. I stumbled upon a lake and sat down by the edge to watch the brightly coloured fish swim by. The water was clean and clear; I could see the bottom! Down there… I spotted something shiny. I wanted it. But it looked deep, and I've never been much of a strong swimmer… So I had no choice but to stare at it longingly and imagine what it was and what it would feel like in my hands.

"Hello there!"

My peace was disturbed so suddenly that I squealed, causing all of the fish to scatter, and fell into the water. I panicked a little but kept calm enough to get back to the surface and latch onto the shore. I glared up at the cause of the disturbance, and lo and behold, Owl was there too. His 'friend' held her… at least I assumed it was a she… held her hand out to me. I grabbed it and was yanked from the water. Ringing my hair out, I gave a small nod in thanks,

"My name is NiGHTS!" She said in a very feminine British accent, giving a low bow. I nodded, still a bit sore about falling into the lake.

"NiGHTS, lower your voice! You don't want to frighten her! This is Alexandra." He lowered his voice to a whisper, just loud enough so that we both could still hear him, "She prefers quiet." I officially take back any bad thing I've ever said about Owl. NiGHTS looked taken aback and stared at my quizzically, as if she didn't know how to approach me after that.

"Oh, um… I'm sorry about the lake, Alexandra," she whispered.

"It's Al," I said quietly. NiGHTS's face brightened significantly and she grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the edge of the lake. It took me a minute to realize… she was flying.

"What… are you?" Her face changed from excited to ashamed. What, had no one ever asked?

"Well…"

"Gender-wise," I clarified.

"Huh?" And now she… he… it… was confused.

"I really don't care about what species you are (though I must admit, you do look rather interesting), I'm more curious whether or not you're a boy or a girl." Wow… I haven't spoken that much in a long time.

"Oh… Well then… I'm a boy…?"

"Then I'm assuming whatever your species is doesn't have puberty then…" I started to circle her… him, curiously.

"What?"

"That's a 'no'. Either that or you've been castrated…"

"What!" I shoved my face in his.

"Hey, have you ever noticed that you don't have a nose?"

"Um… Only in this form…" It was my turn for my face to brighten,

"You have other forms?" I gasped, "And you don't have ears! How can you even hear me?"

"Um…"

"And what's with your hat?" I reached out to grab at it in my excitement, but Owl got in my way.

"Hoo! Calm down now, young Visitor. You're going so fast, we can't keep up!" That's funny, I don't remember asking you. I thought to myself, frowning. What a buzzkill.

NiGHTS saw my face fall and sensed my mood suddenly turning sour and found us a distraction to keep this from getting awkward.

"Hey what's that?" He was pointing to the door Owl wouldn't let me go through.

"A door." I said, uninterested. Then Owl chose now as a good time to speak,

"Since NiGHTS is here with you, maybe now is a good time to explore Nightopia without fear."

"Seeing as I know not what to fear in this place, I may have done that already had you let me go through earlier." My tone was rather condescending, but I wasn't sorry. I simply walked off toward the door with those two following after.