Note From the Author: (feel free to skip past if you just want the story
without the author's deep thoughts)
.
I couldn't help but notice that for some unfathomable reason, most NiGHTS into Dreams fans love Jackle. .
I had used Jackle briefly in my trilogy, 'NiGHTS into dayDreams" (please read it!), But I couldn't quite figure out Jackle's appeal, and so I decided to try my own hand at a Jackle fic. Now I see. It's so much fun to write for someone who thinks the way that Jackle does!
I see him as a misunderstood genius, far smarter than everyone gives him credit for. Now, there's a lot of Reala bashing in this, but only because that's how I imagine Jackle as feeling about him.
To not have Jackle silently bashing Reala would be like Wizeman deciding to stop trying to kill NiGHTS and giving him a big hug. In this fic, anyway.
.
This may change in the future. If I ever write about Jackle again. Should I? Shouldn't I? Please let me know!
So no flames from Reala lovers, okay? It's Jackle speaking, not me. Personally, I like him. No, really! Read my other fics and you'll see! .
Anyway, enough stupid rambling. You're here to read my first (and probably only) Jackle fic.
Well, this is my take on him, anyway. I probably won't write any more. . . unless I get a few requests. Enjoy! . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . . .
"Jackle!"
In the shadows, a pair of blue eyes opened and peered around, hoping to avoid the owner of that window shatteringly loud voice.
No, it wasn't Puffy, although there was a strange similarity between her and Reala when he was really screaming.
"Jackle! Show yourself, you worthless magician!"
The blue eyes narrowed.
Worthless magician?
Sure, you choose cards as your weapon of choice, and instantly, you're a magician.
Small minded fools. . .
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jackle.
Undoubtedly you've heard of me.
If it weren't for Reala constantly upstaging me, I'd be Wizeman's right hand Nightmaren.
Granted, I'm only a Second Class Nightmaren, but with only one First Classer to worry about, I don't see that as a problem.
Okay, so maybe there are two, but NiGHTS ran away ages ago, so he doesn't count.
NiGHTS. . . don't talk to me about NiGHTS.
"Jackle!"
Reala was becoming impatient, I could tell.
How?
Well, the fact that he was jamming those lovely claws of his into every Minion that he passed was a pretty good tip off.
Poor Minions, I can sympathize with the stupid beasts. We're in the same boat, after all.
Assigned a rank upon creation and held there, regardless of superior skill and wisdom. I am so unappreciated. . .
"JACKLE!!!"
I winced. Reala was going to slaughter me if I kept him waiting any longer.
What good is being invisible if you can still be sliced to ribbons?
With a sigh, I left my shadows and donned my cape, becoming easier for our glorious General to see.
"Jackle! Where are you, you worthless. . ." Reala saw me then and fell silent, but his look conveyed his mood perfectly.
It would have made grass wither and die, and clouds flee for their lives.
Heh, I'm such a poet, moreso than that worthless NiGHTS.
Ugh, don't mention NiGHTS to me. . .
When my glorious superior had finished glaring at me, he decided to finally put that unpleasant voice of his to good use and actually say what he wanted.
"Jackle, Wizeman has detected the Rebels' presence in Mystic Forest."
"I know." I said.
He glared at me again. He must think that he's scarier when he glares. Not so, he's scariest when he's smiling.
Our heroic, glorious General, favorite of our creator and master.
He really makes me ill. Err, Reala that is, never Wizeman!
"Jackle," Mr. Mime was talking again.
I swallowed my bile and forced myself to look as non threatening and submissive as possible. Nightmares, I hate him.
"I have been ordered to. . ."
"To send your Elite Guard after the Rebels, and you want to make use of my skills." I finished.
How interesting, our normally white faced General was actually a very pale shade of pink!
Have I mentioned yet how much I hate him?
"Your skills?" Reala laughed at me.
The idiot, he still thinks that I'm not as intelligent as he is just because I'm a lower class.
He wouldn't know true genius if it came up and bit him on his . . . well, somewhere where he wouldn't want to be bitten.
He was insulting me again. I've heard it all before.
"You're worthless, Jackle. You are only tolerated because Wizeman insists that I leave the boss 'maren intact. You are going to lead the attack simply because I have more important matters to attend to."
I grinned. This of course, meant that NiGHTS had once again managed to humiliate our glorious leader, and now Reala was trying to take it out on me by sending me out on a mission that would probably get me killed.
Idiot. He doesn't know me very well, does he?
I squeaked (I hate squeaking) in surprise as he grabbed me by the back of my cloak.
It was all that I could do to grab onto my precious garment, lest it be ripped away and leave me vulnerable to those claws.
Let me make this clear - I hate Reala's guts, but I'm not so stupid as to not be afraid of him.
Fear keeps a 'maren alive.
"I don't like your attitude, Jackle. You're plotting something, and that is reason enough for me to kill you on the spot!"
Oh nightmares, he was really going to try it this time! Think fast, Jackle!
"But you won't!" I heard myself choking the words out.
People don't realize that I have a throat. It's just invisible like the rest of me.
Betcha didn't know that.
But I digress. Rambling is another bad habit that I picked up from that purple loser.
NiGHTS . . . never mention NiGHTS to me!
Reala ceased crushing my invisible throat long enough to decide to squeeze even harder.
"And why not?" I heard him ask.
Good, I had him where I wanted him. I grinned smugly. "Wizeman still has a use for me."
He dropped me then.
I wanted to laugh, he was so predictable! Of course, laughter would have had him attacking me again.
No, I'd save it for later. And while I was at it, I would laugh at his stupid painted smile and mime diamonds, too.
I made a mental note - laugh at Reala later.
Reala was obviously sick and tired of me, and knew enough to leave before he forgot himself and ripped me apart.
Completely missing the fact of course, that I could fly circles around him and kill him long before he'd ever reach me.
I only play the part of the insane idiot, you see. I'm really quite a genius.
Oh, why are we geniuses always so misunderstood?
I waited until Reala had stormed out, and then waited longer until I was sure that he wouldn't hear.
Then I snorted, slapping a hand over my mouth.
The laughter bubbled out of me until I was squealing on the floor.
If it had been possible, I would have had tears streaming from my eyes.
Nightmares, that was our General? We were following a mindless, brainwashed mime wannabe! Nightmares help us all!
Only one Nightmaren had ever dared to laugh at Reala . . . to his face, I mean.
But that coward had . . . yeah, you guessed it. Fled.
I hate NiGHTS. Not as much as I hate Reala, but . . . ugh, never mention NiGHTS to me!
Okay, enough laughing at how stupid Reala is. I was trying to tell a story before I was distracted, wasn't I?
And so once again, I, Jackle, the unappreciated, despised underling was sent out on a suicide mission.
I wonder when they'll realize that I'm never the one who dies?
Idiots. They're all idiots, every single one of them.
That off key opera singer, Puffy, the ugly Nightmaren cat with the dumbest grin ever, Clawz, the monstrous dragon eel with no brain to speak of, GillWing, and that glorified minnow, Gulpo.
And let's not forget the mime who fancies himself our superior.
Reala's the most pitiful of all.
Even NiGHTS is a stunning display of enviable Nightmaren qualities compared to him!
Oh nightmares, why do I keep mentioning NiGHTS?
Fine, let me just get this out of my system.
Why do I hate NiGHTS, you ask?
What is there not to hate?
First of all, he's a traitor to our cause and our master. Need I go on? No, but I will anyway.
He's a mischief maker. Always was.
While Reala was always plotting and spilling blood, NiGHTS preferred to play stupid pranks.
Oh nightmares, the pranks!
I'm still finding paint on my cards from the time that he rigged water balloons filled with red paint to fall from every surface in my chamber at the merest touch!
And then there was the time than he dumped Clawz into the moat, and then used his influence to make it into one big bubble bath!
Well, that one was kind of funny . . . but I still hate NiGHTS!
And Reala is still . . . okay, I love NiGHTS for this one.
Reala's chamber will never be the same again.
Not since NiGHTS snuck in during one of Reala's meetings with Wizeman.
Okay, he reached an all time low and went for a whoopee cushion on the throne, but he filled it with perfume and catnip.
Reala had Puffy and Clawz chasing him around for weeks after that!
The guy had class . . . he got away with everything that he'd ever done.
I mean, he even got away with defying Wizeman!
That stupid, girly looking, wide eyed, purple freak!
NiGHTS!
Nightmares, how I hate NiGHTS!
And the number one reason?
Why I'm practically frothing at the mouth at the mention of his name?!
I was returning to the castle after snatching a few Ideya.
Menial labor, how primitive!
I have a small chamber, but it's filled with decks upon decks of cards, books, and a few . . . um . . . necessities.
(I like candles and incense, okay?)
Well, I got to my chamber . . . to find . . . the memory still burns me up. Piles!
He had been through my things and piled them out of order!
And spilled wax over an entire deck of cards.
They were useless!
That NiGHTS made a mess of my things!
Now I can be a good sport and tolerate little things like pranks or betraying our very reason for living, but nobody . . . I mean, nobody touches my things!
So yeah, I hate NiGHTS! Can't stand him, will kill him one of these days.
What was I saying?
Oh nevermind, that idiot Reala's sending me out again.
I'll worry about how much I hate NiGHTS when I get back. . .
NiGHTS. . . don't talk to me about NiGHTS!
I couldn't help but notice that for some unfathomable reason, most NiGHTS into Dreams fans love Jackle. .
I had used Jackle briefly in my trilogy, 'NiGHTS into dayDreams" (please read it!), But I couldn't quite figure out Jackle's appeal, and so I decided to try my own hand at a Jackle fic. Now I see. It's so much fun to write for someone who thinks the way that Jackle does!
I see him as a misunderstood genius, far smarter than everyone gives him credit for. Now, there's a lot of Reala bashing in this, but only because that's how I imagine Jackle as feeling about him.
To not have Jackle silently bashing Reala would be like Wizeman deciding to stop trying to kill NiGHTS and giving him a big hug. In this fic, anyway.
.
This may change in the future. If I ever write about Jackle again. Should I? Shouldn't I? Please let me know!
So no flames from Reala lovers, okay? It's Jackle speaking, not me. Personally, I like him. No, really! Read my other fics and you'll see! .
Anyway, enough stupid rambling. You're here to read my first (and probably only) Jackle fic.
Well, this is my take on him, anyway. I probably won't write any more. . . unless I get a few requests. Enjoy! . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ . . .
"Jackle!"
In the shadows, a pair of blue eyes opened and peered around, hoping to avoid the owner of that window shatteringly loud voice.
No, it wasn't Puffy, although there was a strange similarity between her and Reala when he was really screaming.
"Jackle! Show yourself, you worthless magician!"
The blue eyes narrowed.
Worthless magician?
Sure, you choose cards as your weapon of choice, and instantly, you're a magician.
Small minded fools. . .
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jackle.
Undoubtedly you've heard of me.
If it weren't for Reala constantly upstaging me, I'd be Wizeman's right hand Nightmaren.
Granted, I'm only a Second Class Nightmaren, but with only one First Classer to worry about, I don't see that as a problem.
Okay, so maybe there are two, but NiGHTS ran away ages ago, so he doesn't count.
NiGHTS. . . don't talk to me about NiGHTS.
"Jackle!"
Reala was becoming impatient, I could tell.
How?
Well, the fact that he was jamming those lovely claws of his into every Minion that he passed was a pretty good tip off.
Poor Minions, I can sympathize with the stupid beasts. We're in the same boat, after all.
Assigned a rank upon creation and held there, regardless of superior skill and wisdom. I am so unappreciated. . .
"JACKLE!!!"
I winced. Reala was going to slaughter me if I kept him waiting any longer.
What good is being invisible if you can still be sliced to ribbons?
With a sigh, I left my shadows and donned my cape, becoming easier for our glorious General to see.
"Jackle! Where are you, you worthless. . ." Reala saw me then and fell silent, but his look conveyed his mood perfectly.
It would have made grass wither and die, and clouds flee for their lives.
Heh, I'm such a poet, moreso than that worthless NiGHTS.
Ugh, don't mention NiGHTS to me. . .
When my glorious superior had finished glaring at me, he decided to finally put that unpleasant voice of his to good use and actually say what he wanted.
"Jackle, Wizeman has detected the Rebels' presence in Mystic Forest."
"I know." I said.
He glared at me again. He must think that he's scarier when he glares. Not so, he's scariest when he's smiling.
Our heroic, glorious General, favorite of our creator and master.
He really makes me ill. Err, Reala that is, never Wizeman!
"Jackle," Mr. Mime was talking again.
I swallowed my bile and forced myself to look as non threatening and submissive as possible. Nightmares, I hate him.
"I have been ordered to. . ."
"To send your Elite Guard after the Rebels, and you want to make use of my skills." I finished.
How interesting, our normally white faced General was actually a very pale shade of pink!
Have I mentioned yet how much I hate him?
"Your skills?" Reala laughed at me.
The idiot, he still thinks that I'm not as intelligent as he is just because I'm a lower class.
He wouldn't know true genius if it came up and bit him on his . . . well, somewhere where he wouldn't want to be bitten.
He was insulting me again. I've heard it all before.
"You're worthless, Jackle. You are only tolerated because Wizeman insists that I leave the boss 'maren intact. You are going to lead the attack simply because I have more important matters to attend to."
I grinned. This of course, meant that NiGHTS had once again managed to humiliate our glorious leader, and now Reala was trying to take it out on me by sending me out on a mission that would probably get me killed.
Idiot. He doesn't know me very well, does he?
I squeaked (I hate squeaking) in surprise as he grabbed me by the back of my cloak.
It was all that I could do to grab onto my precious garment, lest it be ripped away and leave me vulnerable to those claws.
Let me make this clear - I hate Reala's guts, but I'm not so stupid as to not be afraid of him.
Fear keeps a 'maren alive.
"I don't like your attitude, Jackle. You're plotting something, and that is reason enough for me to kill you on the spot!"
Oh nightmares, he was really going to try it this time! Think fast, Jackle!
"But you won't!" I heard myself choking the words out.
People don't realize that I have a throat. It's just invisible like the rest of me.
Betcha didn't know that.
But I digress. Rambling is another bad habit that I picked up from that purple loser.
NiGHTS . . . never mention NiGHTS to me!
Reala ceased crushing my invisible throat long enough to decide to squeeze even harder.
"And why not?" I heard him ask.
Good, I had him where I wanted him. I grinned smugly. "Wizeman still has a use for me."
He dropped me then.
I wanted to laugh, he was so predictable! Of course, laughter would have had him attacking me again.
No, I'd save it for later. And while I was at it, I would laugh at his stupid painted smile and mime diamonds, too.
I made a mental note - laugh at Reala later.
Reala was obviously sick and tired of me, and knew enough to leave before he forgot himself and ripped me apart.
Completely missing the fact of course, that I could fly circles around him and kill him long before he'd ever reach me.
I only play the part of the insane idiot, you see. I'm really quite a genius.
Oh, why are we geniuses always so misunderstood?
I waited until Reala had stormed out, and then waited longer until I was sure that he wouldn't hear.
Then I snorted, slapping a hand over my mouth.
The laughter bubbled out of me until I was squealing on the floor.
If it had been possible, I would have had tears streaming from my eyes.
Nightmares, that was our General? We were following a mindless, brainwashed mime wannabe! Nightmares help us all!
Only one Nightmaren had ever dared to laugh at Reala . . . to his face, I mean.
But that coward had . . . yeah, you guessed it. Fled.
I hate NiGHTS. Not as much as I hate Reala, but . . . ugh, never mention NiGHTS to me!
Okay, enough laughing at how stupid Reala is. I was trying to tell a story before I was distracted, wasn't I?
And so once again, I, Jackle, the unappreciated, despised underling was sent out on a suicide mission.
I wonder when they'll realize that I'm never the one who dies?
Idiots. They're all idiots, every single one of them.
That off key opera singer, Puffy, the ugly Nightmaren cat with the dumbest grin ever, Clawz, the monstrous dragon eel with no brain to speak of, GillWing, and that glorified minnow, Gulpo.
And let's not forget the mime who fancies himself our superior.
Reala's the most pitiful of all.
Even NiGHTS is a stunning display of enviable Nightmaren qualities compared to him!
Oh nightmares, why do I keep mentioning NiGHTS?
Fine, let me just get this out of my system.
Why do I hate NiGHTS, you ask?
What is there not to hate?
First of all, he's a traitor to our cause and our master. Need I go on? No, but I will anyway.
He's a mischief maker. Always was.
While Reala was always plotting and spilling blood, NiGHTS preferred to play stupid pranks.
Oh nightmares, the pranks!
I'm still finding paint on my cards from the time that he rigged water balloons filled with red paint to fall from every surface in my chamber at the merest touch!
And then there was the time than he dumped Clawz into the moat, and then used his influence to make it into one big bubble bath!
Well, that one was kind of funny . . . but I still hate NiGHTS!
And Reala is still . . . okay, I love NiGHTS for this one.
Reala's chamber will never be the same again.
Not since NiGHTS snuck in during one of Reala's meetings with Wizeman.
Okay, he reached an all time low and went for a whoopee cushion on the throne, but he filled it with perfume and catnip.
Reala had Puffy and Clawz chasing him around for weeks after that!
The guy had class . . . he got away with everything that he'd ever done.
I mean, he even got away with defying Wizeman!
That stupid, girly looking, wide eyed, purple freak!
NiGHTS!
Nightmares, how I hate NiGHTS!
And the number one reason?
Why I'm practically frothing at the mouth at the mention of his name?!
I was returning to the castle after snatching a few Ideya.
Menial labor, how primitive!
I have a small chamber, but it's filled with decks upon decks of cards, books, and a few . . . um . . . necessities.
(I like candles and incense, okay?)
Well, I got to my chamber . . . to find . . . the memory still burns me up. Piles!
He had been through my things and piled them out of order!
And spilled wax over an entire deck of cards.
They were useless!
That NiGHTS made a mess of my things!
Now I can be a good sport and tolerate little things like pranks or betraying our very reason for living, but nobody . . . I mean, nobody touches my things!
So yeah, I hate NiGHTS! Can't stand him, will kill him one of these days.
What was I saying?
Oh nevermind, that idiot Reala's sending me out again.
I'll worry about how much I hate NiGHTS when I get back. . .
NiGHTS. . . don't talk to me about NiGHTS!