Darkness. Usually night was comforting to Rolf Landale, but lately darkness betrayed him while he slept. He had endured the same nightmare for weeks. His dream started in that same eerie void, with only a tiny speck of bluish-white light illuminating in the distance. The light grew until it took on the shape of something wicked and dreadful, a monster, the Demon of Algol, yet Rolf could not move or speak. He was forced to watch it form, though every part of him wished to strike it down before it completely materialized. The grotesque's arms extended to simian proportions, with massive, muscular hands sporting razor-sharp claws. Surely nothing could survive in the beast's potent clutches. Its skin, an exoskeleton of spikes and peculiar, tube-like appendages, was electric blue, glowing like neon light, with contrasting crimson eyes that pierced through anyone caught in its gaze. It had no limbs below its impressive trunk; it simply tapered off into a vaporous thread, hovering just above the ground like a genie. It breathed heavily through its fangs, creating a haunting, low growl that filled the darkness, as if to beckon any challengers to come out of hiding.

Then, Rolf heard it. It was the metallic clang of armor, of plates scraping against plates, followed by the shing of a sword unsheathing. He turned away from the beast, in the direction of this sound of medieval weaponry and armor, and he saw her. A teenage girl—no older than 15, but beautiful and fierce in her warrior's garb—faced the demon and held up her sword, ready to strike. Her long, straight brown hair was pulled back simply by a headband; she neither looked imposing nor regal, nonetheless she was ready to do battle with the evil in front of her. Her expression was both scared and determined, as if she hadn't asked to be a warrior, but realized her fate resided in expelling this hideous creature from her world. There was something very familiar about this girl, though it was impossible to place her.

Suddenly the creature sucked in vast amounts of air! It was an inhale that turned its mouth into a vacuum. Rolf remained cemented in place in his faraway corner, but the girl had to brace herself against the beast's mouth storm. She turned her body sideways and leaned back, using friction to keep her from getting closer to the monster. After the demon's long inhale, there was a brief pause; the girl held up her shield and made herself small behind it. Rolf's heart raced, waiting for the inevitable strike.

The beast fired from its mouth punishing bolts of electricity. They hit the girl's shield, eventually knocking her to the ground. She tried to push against the powerful magic, but the might of the beast's attack was stronger. Rolf looked on in terror as the girl's shield was ripped from her hand and sent flying through the darkness. She brought her sword front and center and clutched it tightly with both hands. She attempted to deflect the constant stream of kinetic energy, but she was being electrocuted. Rolf could do nothing.

She grunted and wailed. "I… I can't…do this alone! I can't!"

Rolf tried to shout. Silence. Rolf tried to move. Frozen. This wasn't happening! This wasn't fair! This girl was no match for such a creature!

The girl was on her back, holding her sword against her. She had been pinned to the ground by the demon. It lifted one of its giant, clawed hands high in the air and prepared to shred the girl. She cried out, helpless. It was a cry Rolf was sure all of Algol could hear.

"Heeeeelllllllp meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Rolf bolted upright in bed in a panic. One hand clutched at his chest while another shakily ran through his dark blue hair. It took a good moment for Rolf to adjust from the chaos of his nightmare to the familiar tranquility of his bedroom. He panted.

"Too many more of these dreams, and I'm going to have to see a psychiatrist."

At least it was only in his head, right? He swung his legs off the side of his bed and stared at the blue, pre-dawn light seeping through his window. Some fresh air might be nice. He extracted himself from the warm spot he had made between the sheets and rose to his feet. He stumbled, half-dazed, over to the window, pulled it open, and filled his lungs with the invigorating morning air. It might not have been country fresh, since the section of Paseo Rolf resided in was now under a clear, protective dome, but it was better than the stale air in his room. It didn't smell like his nightmares.

It was mostly quiet outside, with sounds of early morning city life a short distance from Rolf's neighborhood. There were no birds to sing for the dawn, no dogs or cats to announce they were awake, hungry or just plain bored, and the only rustle of leaves came from the artificial wind blowing through the stout, ornamental trees meant for city beautification. They were trees manipulated by science over the centuries, designed to endure city life with only the occasional douse of the sprinkler system and the dull light that filtered through Paseo's many domes.

Even with life as controlled by the Mother Brain Network as it was, Paseo, the capital city of the planet Motavia, was Rolf's home for most of his 21 years of life. It was like living in a machine; the citizens, with their cold, perfunctory lives, were just as much a part of the network as any of Mother Brain's control towers. But it was what Rolf grew up with, and if it weren't for the current problems plaguing his planet, he'd still believe that life under the rule of a computer network was quite normal.

Rolf sighed as he turned away from the window, pulled on a t-shirt and track shorts and left the room. He shuffled groggily down the hallway and into the kitchen. Lights turned on automatically; chipper computer voices greeted him with the time, temperature and... Rolf ceased all automatic systems with an angry smack to the control panel along the kitchen's island. He fumbled through the cabinets until he found a clean cup, and poured himself a glass of water from the sink, also on the island.

He didn't bother taking a seat at the dining table; he took his first gulp right over the sink. He was mid-swig before he noticed someone was sitting at the bar across the island, watching him. A timid voice broke the silence.

"Rolf?"

He spat water everywhere. The cup dropped into the sink. He held onto the counter and coughed on the water that had gone down the wrong pipe. There was only one person allowed to sit in Rolf's kitchen at this hour, and it better have pointy ears and purple hair. He looked up. It did.

"Nei! How long have you been there?"

Nei, the pointy-eared, purple-haired person Rolf had hoped to see, shrugged.

"Two hours, maybe? Are you okay? Do you want some help?" She hopped down from the stool and tended to Rolf like a maid. She dabbed at his shirt with a towel and wiped his arms and face.

"You've just been sitting quietly at the bar for…Nei, please, I don't need to be cleaned up." He took the towel from her and set it aside. "Why have you been awake so long?"

"I couldn't sleep." She looked down. "Then I was afraid of making the home wake up, so I sat very still so the house wouldn't start talking."

Rolf rubbed his temples. Nei could have watched TV, played some games or done pretty much anything besides sit in one place for so long. He wouldn't have heard anything from his bedroom. He took a long, weary exhale and moved into the living room, where he crashed into the sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table. He leaned his head over to get a look at the time displayed on one of the home's wall-embedded information centers. It was close to 5:30 A.M.

"Two more hours before it's time to get ready for work, and I'm never getting back to sleep now." He threw his head back and groaned.

Nei followed Rolf into the living room and sat next to him on the couch. She crossed her arms. "You had one of those dreams again, didn't you?"

Rolf nodded and ran his hands down his face. "I have to admit I'm getting quite tired of them."

"Well, you're not getting enough sleep, that's for sure. You toss and turn all night long."

Rolf picked his head up and looked at Nei. "Is that why you're up? Could you hear me?"

"No, you weren't making that much noise, but I could feel you."

Was that creepy? Or were Nei's primal instincts that in tune with him?

"I'm sorry." He sank further into the couch. "I didn't mean to keep you awake. Has it always been like this?"

Nei paused. "Well… not really. At first I didn't have a good sense for you, but the longer I'm here the more I feel bonded with you. I guess that's kind of weird, huh?"

Rolf chuckled. "Not at all. You're like my little sister; you know that."

"I don't feel very little anymore," said Nei. She looked at her chest and gestured at it scornfully. "I liked being a kid more than being…this. I hate growing so fast!"

"Aw, don't be like that. I told you; we're going to find someone who can explain why you're aging so quickly. I've already been placing calls to the biotechnology department at Motavia University." Rolf tried bolstering Nei's confidence, but he could only imagine how uncomfortable it must have been for her to age physically by about 10 years in the brief time—less than a year—she had been under his care.

"Do you really think they'll have an answer?" Nei's eyes widened. She leaned forward and clasped her hands together.

Rolf was touched by her enthusiasm, because he was rather skeptical himself that her mysterious origins could ever be solved. If Nei had been an important project to the people that created her, why had he found her alone and fighting off an angry mob ready to kill her as if she were nothing more than another ferocious biomonster?

"I don't know for certain, but I do know Motavia University is the best place to start looking." He gave her shoulders a squeeze. She snuggled into his chest and looked up at him with her expressive scarlet eyes, flashing him a content smile.

Nei yawned as she idly scratched one of her long, erect ears. "Do you think your dreams mean something?"

He hadn't thought about their meaning before. They were absurd adventures his mind had conjured up while he slept, nothing more. But what about a recurring dream? Should that worry him?

"I doubt it," he finally replied. "I just need to get more exercise and make sure I don't eat so late in the evening. After all, I…" He stopped as he heard Nei snoring against him. He chuckled quietly.

Rolf had something more important to worry about than silly nightmares, and she was fast asleep in his arms. Rolf moved some of Nei's long, violet hair behind an ear so he could get a better look at her face. "We can't keep doing this. You're not a little girl anymore, but I'll always be here for you, no matter what you decide to do with your life."

Rolf leaned his head back into the sofa's cushion and closed his eyes. He drifted to a peaceful sleep, without nightmares, only visions of protecting Nei and making her happy.