"Okay, are you ready?"
The nightopian nodded, wearing a huge grin as its tiny hands were clasped tightly inside of NiGHTS'.
"Then here we GOOOO!" NiGHTS shouted and starting to spin, swinging the pian around as it shrieked with laughter. Half a dozen more pians were crowded around cheering as they awaited their turns.
After a minute of spinning, NiGHTS slowed and set the giggling nightopian down to wobble around as its fellows clamored to be next.
"Ready?" NiGHTS asked as he secured the next pian's hands in his. It giggled and nodded, its eyes shining.
Before NiGHTS could start spinning, one of the other nightopians began to shout. "No!" it shrieked, pointing, before it flew away in the opposite direction as fast as its little wings could carry it.
NiGHTS looked up as the other pians let out similar shrieks and took off after the first. He stiffened at the sight of his twin drifting towards him and let go of the nightopian he'd been holding. It squirmed away and fled after the others.
"What do you think you're doing?" Reala demanded, the black paint on his lips highlighting a deep frown.
"Playing," NiGHTS answered, crossing his arms and looking away. "Why, do you want to play too?"
Reala scowled, ignoring the question. "You forgot your persona," he said, holding up a gold domino-mask, so similar to his own.
"No," NiGHTS replied and made to drift away, "I didn't."
Reala snarled and lunged forward, grabbing his twin by the arm. "Put it back on!"
"I don't want to!" NiGHTS yelled and pried at the clawed fingers gripping his bicep. "Let go!"
Instead, Reala threw NiGHTS against the ground, which wasn't far, but NiGHTS still yelped when he hit. "It was a gift from Master Wiseman and you will wear it!" Reala shoved the persona at NiGHTS' face, trying to force it into place as the other maren struggled and pushed it away.
"No!"
"Stop being difficult! It is an honor to serve Master Wiseman!" Reala shouted back, trying to hold NiGHTS down and push the persona over his face at the same time.
"I don't care about honor!"
"SHUT UP!" Reala pulled back and punched NiGHTS on the cheek.
NiGHTS blinked in momentary confusion, his head turned to the side from the blow, before he sucked in a breath and started to wail.
A look of panic and regret played across Reala's half-covered face. He climbed off of his brother and pulled the sobbing nightmare into a sitting position. "Calm down. Calm down. I'm sorry I hit you, but you have to understand that I'm worried about you."
Nights sniffled and rubbed at his tears, looking up at Reala.
"This rebellion of yours is getting out of hand. Maser Wiseman has been patient with you until now," he paused, smoothing his hands over NiGHTS' shoulders. "But you know that's not going to last forever." His voice softened. "I know you're bored, but a few games aren't worth losing His favor."
"I'm not just bored," NiGHTS whined. "I don't like it! It feels wrong to take ideya from visitors. What happens when there are no more visitors? What if Nightopia disappears?"
"Then Master Wiseman will rule the entire Night Dimension and everything will be Nightmare," Reala reminded him with a smile that showed a hint of fangs.
"But I love Nightopia..."
"It's just a phase, NiGHTS. Just try to be patient and it will pass." Reala petted NiGHTS' hand as he spoke. "You'll remember what you are soon enough."
"I don't want to," NiGHTS whimpered, fresh tears brimming in his eyes.
"Shhhh..." Reala gently stroked NiGHTS' face, right where he'd cuffed him minutes before. "You're confused. Trust me, everything will be fine. You just have to be patient. I'll help you."
"I don't want to! Wiseman is wrong!" A few tears went flying as NiGHTS shook his head.
"Master Wiseman created us. We owe our very existence to him and you can not possibly thing you know better than he does what is right. He is Master Wiseman. He knows everything," Reala insisted, trying to hold his temper in check.
"Owl--"
"Owl is a deceiver!" Reala snapped. "He has poisoned your mind! It is because of him that you are suffering now!"
NiGHTS looked away, scrubbing at tears with the back of his hand. "... Owl is nice to me. He never hurts me like Wiseman does."
"That's because he is trying to seduce you!" Reala snarled. "Don't be a fool, NiGHTS! Master Wiseman has shown you mercy again and again. You should realize that He is the one who cares for you. That wretched old bird is just trying to use you and you are too innocent to know better! He banks on your gullibility!"
NiGHTS said nothing, looking down at the persona clasped loosely in his hands.
"You know that I care about you," Reala said, softly cupping NiGHTS' cheek and touching their foreheads together. "Please trust me. If you continue to behave so childishly, Master Wiseman will lose patience with you. I don't want to lose you, NiGHTS." He leaned away and lifted NiGHTS' face so their eyes met. The other maren looked miserable but subdued and Reala picked the persona out of his slack hands and placed it carefully over NiGHTS' eyes. His brother didn't struggle or protest this time.
"There now," Reala said. He looked around the landscape of crystal and mirrors. "This Nightopia is huge. There must be a strong ideya here." He smiled back at NiGHTS, catching his shoulders and pulling him up so that they were both floating vertically a few inches above the sandy ground. "Find it and bring it to Master Wiseman. I'm sure that He will forgive you."
NiGHTS nodded, looking away.
"Excellent," Reala patted his brother's shoulder and floated back a little. "I'll leave this to you then, NiGHTS. I'll see you when you come home."
"... Okay," NiGHTS replied quietly as he watched Reala paraloop a hole in the dream and slip through it.
He floated along dejectedly, glancing around at the large, purple crystals that protruded from the ground.
"NiGHTS..."
NiGHTS looked over his shoulder to the nightopian that had called his name. There were two others huddled near it, looking scared and anxious.
"I don't want to play anymore," NiGHTS told them and floated away. He could hear them whimper as he left. He flew over a ridge into a small valley with a castle at its center; there he spotted the door and the visitor coming out of it.
His heart sank as he realized it was her. It was Helen. Surely he could find a different Nightopia… It didn't have to be Helen's ideya that he presented to Wiseman…
He turned to fly back over the lip of the canyon, out of sight, but before he could reach it he heard Helen call out to him. He'd been spotted. He couldn't just disappear now…
NiGHTS forced a smile onto his face and flew down to where the girl was standing, giving her a dramatic bow. "Welcome! To the world of glass!"
Helen giggled. "Why the funny mask?" she asked and NiGHTS froze for a moment, remembering his persona, sitting there across his face.
He forced himself to laugh, pulling off the persona and tossing it aside. "Oh, it's nothing. Come on, let's go!"
Helen seemed to accept that and followed along, walking beside NiGHTS as he floated aimlessly, trying to decide what to do. When he heard the flapping of large wings he looked up, hoping to see Owl, but instead found two goodles glaring at him. "No! You don't understand!" he protested as they summoned up the cage.
"NiGHTS!" Helen shrieked from bellow and he looked down at her, running toward the cage as the goodles flew off to report NiGHTS' continued misbehavior. "Don't worry, NiGHTS! I'll get you out!" she shouted as she started climbing the chain.
NiGHTS felt a pang as he watched her climb. Dreamers really were so sweet and trusting. They were the very essence of Nightopia. Wiseman just had to be wrong... but that meant that Reala had to be too...