Thanks to those that read and liked this fanfic so far! Oh, and by the way, when I said that the action will be in this chapter, I meant that we'll get to see the Nightmarens in action, but not necessarily the actual Domination.

Chapter 2: NiGHTS

Jeremy

"Ok, time for hockey pratice." Jeremy sighed to himself as he went out on the ice once again. He saw Alexander grinning slyly, then caught a glance at Carl giving him a cold stare. "I wonder what they have cooked up this time?"

Jeremy took his place at center, waiting for the referee to drop the puck. As he waited, Jeremy took another glance at Alexander in left wing, and Alexander actually looked meaner than usual. Quickly brushing the thoughts off, Jeremy got hold of the puck once it was dropped, then hurried forward.

Normally at this part, Alexander would trip Jeremy and steal the puck to make the goal his own. However, Jeremy looked back and saw that Alexander wasn't skating towards him. In fact, Alexander's mean grin got wider as Jeremy got closer to the net. Coach Carl also seemed to be having the same ideas that Alexander haved, whatever they were. Jeremy then looked forward and saw that the goalie was standing totally still. When Jeremy got closer, he was very confused upon the realization that this "goalie" was infact a cardboard cut-out. "What the heck?" Jeremy asked himself. Noticing that everyone else was just standing there waiting, Jeremy shrugged and took a shot at an empty space the cut-out wasn't guarding.

But surprisingly, the cut-out quickly grabbed the puck and threw it at Jeremy!

"You ain't gettin' the puck in that kind of net!" Alexander cackled.

"GIVE UP!" Carl taunted.

Jeremy looked at the net again to see the cut-out fall over, revealing teeth on the net. Before Jeremy could comprehend what was going on, the net chomped its jaws and chased after Jeremy. Jeremy instantly skated away only to find the second net alive as well. He then looked at Carl and Alexander and saw their eyes glow red. The two then began to grow larger and morph together into a monstrous being. On top of all that, the ice beneath Jeremy was melting and splitting apart.

Jeremy tried skating away, but the ice melted too fast, plunging him into deep, freezing water. "How can all this be happening?" Jeremy gasped. "It must be a nightmare!" He then saw a bright light ahead. Feeling that the light was beckoning him, Jeremy swam toward it...

Molly

"You wanted to see me, Miss?" Molly asked as she went into her dance class. Earlier Molly got an announcement to visit her ballet teacher in her class for an important discussion.

"Yes, Molly." the teacher responded. "I know you are one of my top students, but your father has brought up something that requires your attention."

"My... FATHER?!"

"Yes, in fact, he's here right now." the teacher replied, gesturing to another door that was suddenly there.

Molly's father stepped out and stated, "Molly, we need to talk. Now."

"I'll leave you two alone." the teacher said as she was exiting. Molly was confused as to why the teacher would get out as soon as possible. Wouldn't she be helpful to take Molly's stand?

Molly's dad began, "I know you are a good mathematician, so even you should know that by calculating the probability of suceeding in ballet would equal a 5% chance! Otherwise, the probability of suceeding as an accountant would be 98%."

"But goals aren't something you calculate!" Molly retorted. She never had been this determined to defend herself before. "You pursue the goals that come from your heart!"

"Molly, please be reasonable." her father still objected. "Your mother and I know that taking a much surer chance will still put you on the winning side, so quit this class now or else I'll have to make you want to."

Now Molly was confused and nervous. "What do you mean by that?"

Molly's dad suddenly grew larger, and his body parts began to look like... numbers? He then flung some numbers at Molly. She quickly dodged out of the way and saw the numbers crash into the wall with a metallic thud. Seeing more numbers after her, Molly quickly ran out of the way and saw that the doors were gone and were replaced with just more walls. She hurried, trying to find another place to escape, until she came across a bright light. Knowing that it was either the light or being smashed by numbers, Molly ran toward it...

---

When Jeremy entered the light, he found himself in a different location. "What is this place?" he asked himself. He walked along a stone path and went through a large, open gate. There was an elegant fountain in the middle of a stone area, and surrounding the area was a forest. Then, a familiar voice called to him.

"Hey! Jeremy!"

Jeremy turned around. "Molly?" He grinned in delight when he saw her.

Molly smiled as well. She ran up to Jeremy and said, "You're not gonna believe this, but my father attacked me with numbers! Literally!"

"That's actually not hard to believe." said Jeremy. "Alexander and Carl turned into one big monster and the hockey nets were trying to eat me!"

"What actually happened was only a nightmare."

Jeremy and Molly turned around at the sound of a new voice. "Huh?" they said in unison when they saw an unusual creature floating in the air above them. This odd creature was dressed in a purple jester's outfit and looked very much like a human, without a nose, neck, or wrists.

"Allow me to explain." said the creature, who flew down to them in circles. When she (as Jeremy and Molly assumed was the creature's gender) got down to their level, she burst out laughing.

Jeremy and Molly exchanged puzzled glances.

The creature shook her head and her laughing subsided. "I'm just kidding. Explaining is for the birds."

"ExCUSE ME?"

Jeremy and Molly looked up and saw a brown owl fluttering down to the purple creature.

The owl said sternly, "I say, I resent that remark!"

"And what kind of animal are you, Owl?" the creature retorted.

Owl "hmphed" and muttered, "Smart-aleck."

The creatured turned to Jeremy and Molly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." She bowed. "My name is NiGHTS. What about you two?"

"I'm Jeremy."

"And I'm Molly." Then Molly hesitated. "Uh, sorry if this sounds offensive, but what are you supposed to be?"

NiGHTS looked uneasy. "Uh... One sec." She grabbed Owl and formed a huddle with him. "Should I tell them that I'm a Nightmaren?" she whispered.

Owl replied, "Well, remember all the trouble that you got into when you didn't tell Will and Helen that you were a Nightmaren?"

"Hmm...right..." NiGHTS got out of the huddle and forced a smile at Molly and Jeremy. "Well... I'm glad you asked. You see, I'm a...a..." But NiGHTS couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence, so she quickly changed the subject. "Hey, you guys like flying? 'Cause I can fly and I can make you guys fly and--"

"NiGHTS is a Nightmaren." Owl stated.

"OWL!!" NiGHTS yelled at him, turning red from embarrassment.

"Uh, what's a Nightmaren?" Jeremy asked.

NiGHTS swiftly offered, "I'll give you cookies!"

Owl explained, "Nightmarens work for the evil Wizeman who rules the dark realm of Nightmare."

"OWL!!" NiGHTS glared at the old bird, then smiled sweetly at Jeremy and Molly. "But don't worry, I'm not evil anymore! I'm a good guy--er, girl. Now who wants to go see a paradise called Nightopia?"

"Hold on, NiGHTS, I'm not finished." Owl said.

NiGHTS growled, "I think you are."

Owl ignored her and went on, "NiGHTS has been helping Visitors, children like you who come to the Night Dimension when they sleep, for a long time. I assume you were brought here because the Nightmarens were after you and your Ideya."

"Ideya?" Jeremy and Molly echoed.

"Ideya are the sources of dream energy that create these paradises known as Nightopias. Wizeman aims to take over Nightopia by stealing dream energy from Visitors with the help of his Nightmaren creations."

"But some Visitors and I have been able to stop him three times!" NiGHTS said proudly.

Molly then asked, "So why can't you defeat him once and for all?"

NiGHTS sank down a bit and mumbled, "'Cause I don't know how."

Owl clarified, "Everytime Wizeman is defeated, he keeps regenerating himself. He is, well, a god."

"Gee, and I thought my life was bad." remarked Jeremy.

"Tell me about it!" agreed NiGHTS. "Every time Wizeman tries to take over Nightopia, the same things keep happening! And he insists on attacking me with rip-offs of former Nightmarens! It's so annoying! And just when I think I've finally got a break for battling stupid monsters, Wizeman sends in his pet for me to deal with!"

Owl spoke up, "Oh my dear, I just noticed the time!"

"I'm not finished yet!" said NiGHTS, wanting to get on with her rant.

"Sorry, NiGHTS, but it is almost dawn. The Visitors have to wake up soon." Owl said.

Molly asked worriedly, "Will we ever see you again?"

NiGHTS assured her, "Don't worry, I'm sure you will. Hey, maybe you two should talk to Claris, Elliot, Will, and Helen. They're the ones who helped me stop Wizeman before."

Jeremy's eyes lit up. "Hey, I know them! I'm pretty sure I've seen them in school."

"Yeah, me too!" said Molly.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy listening to their tales of the Night Dimension." NiGHTS told them. Then she winked. "And who knows? Maybe soon you'll have tales to share with them!"

Jeremy and Molly smiled, then noticed their bodies were becoming transparant. They were waking up. "Bye, NiGHTS!"

NiGHTS waved at the fading pair. "Sweet dreams to you both!"

Everything became fuzzy to Jeremy and Molly, and the last thing they heard was the sound of a melodic flute before they awoke.

Well, I hope this is very good for you! And yes, Jackle will be playing a role in this fanfic, probably in the next chapter, when the Day Dimension Domination begins.