Ugh... So bored... Dully, NiGHTS's eyes followed the pians that scurried about below her, playing yet another game of hide-and-seek. She hadn't seen any of her special Visitors in a while, not Will or Hellen or Claris or Elliot. All of the Visitors she'd encountered recently were boring, dull, and she sighed. What were those kids up to... She pondered the possibilities for a while, when suddenly she felt someone's gaze on her.
Her focus snapped up, head turning sharply to the right, and she found herself looking into an enormous eye set in a steel hand. Only a few yards separated them. How long had he been there? How had she not noticed? Her mouth fell open, slowly. "Ah... I..." What was she doing? Her resolve steeled, her duty recalled. The hand retreated as she scrambled up onto her feet and leaped after it.
"Wizeman!" she shouted, chasing the polished member through the night sky. To her immense surprise, he responded, stopping. So surprised was she that she actually skidded to a stop too, realizing she had no idea of what she would do if she caught him. It was only a single hand, after all. But before all her momentum disappeared, a portal opened too close to veer around, and she fell through.
She recognized her new surroundings instantly: Wizeman's chambers. Whirling around, there he was, sure enough. The hand she had chased rejoined the others; all focus was upon her. She stood tall, fists clenched, and shouted up at him, "Wizeman! Why have you brought me here?"
"I simply wanted to check up on my little girl."
"I am not your 'little girl'." He almost sounded affectionate. What was going on here? Her eyes narrowed; what was he up to...?
"Of course you are." One of his hands came forward, gently tilting her chin up. She jerked away. "I was never your 'little girl'."
"You are and will be, forever." His hand abruptly twisted around, clasping her in his palm, and pulled her close, only a few yards from his face. "Ah!" she shouted in alarm, pushing away from the cold metal beneath her. It was never warm. "No, I'm not! You replaced me."
"We missed you. But... It is not the same." She looked around at his eyes; only three were present, and they were, as usual, unreadable. "I cannot simply abandon my little girl." He suffered a sigh, seeing the suspicion in her eyes and her crossed arms. "All I desire is to have my NiGHTS back. My one and only." His thumb caressed her cheek, and her expression softened just slightly as she leaned into the motion. "One and only..." she repeated.