Oliver walked in the door to see his four year old daughter Nicole laying on the floor, colouring a picture, dressed in a purple halter top that had pink sleeves and a pair of pink pyjama pants. He snuck up behind her and tickled her, making her squeal with laughter.
"Daddy! Stop it!" She shouted. He laughed as he bent down and picked her up in a hug. "I'm glad you're home Daddy! I hope I never grow up, so that I don't have to go to work!" Then she showed him her picture that she was drawing. "Lookit Daddy! I'm drawing a picture of when you and your friends when you defeated Shadar!" She pointed to each person in the picture, who were all drawn pretty well for a four year old. "See? That's you, and that's Harmony flying on her staff, and there's Esther with her harp, and Swaine with his gun! And there's meanie old Shadar!" Oliver looked at her drawing and smiled, remembering that day.
"That's amazing, sweetie!" He told her. Then he noticed someone was missing. "You forgot Mr. Drippy!" She looked at her picture, and gasped.
"I can fix it!" He laughed again and kissed her cheek, taking the picture and setting it on the end table.
"Come on, littlie!" He teased, using the name that baby fairies were called. "Let's go see what Mommy's making for dinner!" Then he threw her onto his shoulders and carried her to the kitchen piggyback style, where Myrtle was setting the table. When she saw the two, she smiled.
"There's my hero!" She said teasingly to Oliver. "And my littlie!" She reached over and gave Oliver a hug and a kiss on the cheek, then tousled Nicole's hair. "Guess who gets to join us for dinner tonight?" Nicole got excited as Oliver lifted her down into a chair.
"Who?" That was when three of her favourite people entered.
"I come bearing hugs and a letter!" Melody's voice floated in dramatically, followed by Sam and Grant's laughter. Nicky's eyes widened and she jumped from her chair.
"Aunt Melody! " She exclaimed, hugging her aunt. Sam pretended to be disappointed.
"What? No hug for your favourite uncles?" She jumped up and ran at both Sam and Grant, who knelt down, caught her, and lifted her up together in unison.
"Hi, Uncle Sam! Hi Uncle Grant!" She exclaimed. That was when her grandparents entered.
"Hey! There's my favourite granddaughter!" Her Grandpa Rusty called, and she ran over to give them hugs. Grandma Betty smiled at Oliver and Myrtle.
"We overheard that Nichole's letter had come in." She said. Nichole was Nicole's namesake, of course, as well as her godmother. She often sent letters and cards around the holidays, and she had yet to miss a Thanksgiving. Everyone loved receiving the letters from her, especially Nicole, so it was always a bit of a celebration when one came and everyone came for dinner. Soon, they were all seated around the table, Nicole in between Oliver and Sam and they listened to Nichole's recent adventures over the seas...Later that same evening, Nicole ran around her room, wearing white pyjamas and a red cape, holding a stick.
"Take that, Shadar!" She shouted,jumping into the air. "Mornstar!" Oliver laughed as he came into the room."Come on, littlie!" He told her as he caught her mid air and set her on the bed, Myrtle coming in and sitting in her rocking chair. "What story do you want to hear tonight?" Nicole looked around the room at the pictures on the walls, then she came to a decision."Tell me the one where you and Aaliyah and all of your friends became mermaids!" Oliver's eyes twinkled. They always did that when he was about to tell a story. That was how Nicole knew it was going to be a good one. Then he tapped his chin."Hmm, I might need help telling that one." From behind his back, he pulled out her doll, that had been sent to him by Harmony, though Drippy claimed it was his idea. "Mr. Drippy, would you like to help me tell the story of how we became mermaids?" Then he pitched his voice so it sounded Welsh. "Well sure thing, Ollie-boy! Though technically, I was a merfairy, en't it though?" Nicole laughed and reached out and grabbed for the doll, then gave it a huge hug."Now please tell the story!" She exclaimed eagerly. Oliver laughed and nodded.
"Alright, well, we were searching for the Mermaid King's staff so we had to become mermaids..."

"Goodbye, Phil! I'll see you tomorrow!" Oliver called as he entered his house, then shut the door behind him, looking around his living room. Nicole wasn't there as usual. She was hardly in the living room when he came home.
"Nicole! I'm home!" he called up the stairs.
"I'll be down in a minute!" She called back. He sighed, then went into the kitchen where Myrtle was making dinner. He snuck up behind her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She jumped a little, then she saw him.
"Oliver!" She scolded playfully. "Don't scare me like that!" He laughed and looked out the back door window. "Nobody's coming for dinner tonight, Oliver. Sam had to work late tonight and Grant and Dad still hasn't woken up. Melody and Mom are getting very worried. It's been over a month, and now Melody's been having stomach pains."
"Stomach pains? That's a bit odd. And with Grant still in coma..." Oliver asked. Myrtle shrugged helplessly.
"I don't know. I really don't know."
Oliver sighed and sat at his spot at the table. It'd been a little while since they'd all sat around the table together. It'd been even longer since they'd done it to listen to one of Nichole's letters, since she didn't send any anymore.
He laughed, then saw his sixteen year old daughter come in the kitchen, and sighed again. Maybe seeing his wife was the same, but his daughter sure wasn't. She definitely wasn't the little girl who would dress up in clothes to suit the other world, sit in front of the fireplace and colour while she waited for Daddy to get home, or to beg for bedtime stories and hug her Mr. Drippy plush.
She was this big, teenage girl who had covered her long, reddish-brown hair with a black beanie. She wore a black shirt with white sleeves that had black stripes on them and skinny jeans with combat boots. She always had an earbud in and her fingers were permanently stained with paint. She always had some sort of painting project in her room. That was the only good thing about his stories these days. Nichole, or Nicky as she went by now, was always painting things from his stories.
When they sat down for dinner, Myrtle indicated for Nicky to take out her earbud, which she did grudgingly. The table was uncomfortably silent, so Myrtle decided to break it.
"So, Nicky. How was school today?"
"Shitty." She said. Both Oliver and Myrtle gasped at her.
"Nicky! We do not use that kind of language in this house!" But Oliver, living up to his name as the Pure Hearted One, had a compassionate hand and was curious on the reason.
"What's wrong at school? Your friends are all there and your teachers like having you in class." Nicky sighed and tossed her hair.
"Homework sucks, the food taste like crap, and with Kaden in class, what friends do I have?" Oliver and Myrtle exchanged was Denny's son, and they expected them to be good friends.
"What does Kaden do, sweetie?" Nicky shrugged.
"He calls me a freak because of Dad's stories, and he's got the whole school treating me like crap." Oliver sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Even the teachers give me looks like I'm retarded! Just the other day, my history teacher told me, "Nice job on your last exam! I didn't expect you to do so well, but you always know how to surprise me!" Even he thinks I'm stupid!" Oliver sighed again.
"Nicole, I know it's tough, but it will get better. You know, when I was younger, I was teased about Ni No Kuni too. People used to think I was crazy when I was walking through Motorville, talking to my friends from Ni No Kuni, but that was because nobody could see them..." Nicky groaned and laid her head on the table, covering her face with her hands.
"Mooooom... He's doing it again." Oliver was a little confused.
"What do you mean?" Nicky sat up and gave him a look.
"Using your stories as an excuse to say your life sucked as a kid." Oliver shook his head. "And I've told you a thousand times, I prefer to just be called Nicky!"
"Nicole, don't you remember the stories? You used to love them when you were a kid!" She nodded.
'Yeah, when I was a kid! Keyword there, Dad! I'm fifteen now! Tell me a real story! Like..." She looked around for a minute, then looked at her mother. "Tell me about how you met Mom!" Oliver smiled with that familiar twinkle in his eye, signifying that this story was going to be a good one.
"Well, before I met your mother, she was called Starey Mary. That was because, Grandpa Rusty had his heartbroken, and it was an effecting the whole-" Nicky slammed her hands down.
"Oh my god! Stop! I don't want to hear another word!" Oliver jumped back, startled. She had never interrupted one of his stories before. "I don't want to hear another word about the Great Sages, or Al Mamoon, or Esther, or any other of your stupid imaginary friends that you made up when Grandma Alicia died because you couldn't handle it!"
"Nicole..." Myrtle said in a warning tone, but Nicky was done. She banged her hands on the table again and stood to her feet, her chair falling back behind her.
"No, Mom! I'm done! If Dad wants to believe that his stupid stories are real, he can! But I am fifteen! I understand! Grandma Alicia died of a heart attack, so he made up a bunch of friends! Doesn't mean he has to force that belief onto me! Because that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of!" She glared at Oliver, then spoke in a low voice. "There comes a time when every little girl has to grow up. It's my turn." Then she stomped upstairs.
"Nicole, wait..." Oliver called.
"ITS NICKY!" She shouted, then a door slammed.
"Give her some time, dear." Myrtle told Oliver. "She's just at that age."
Upstairs, Nicky flopped onto her bed, careful of the low ceiling over it. She was so sick of hearing of those stories. She looked up and saw her Mr. Drippy doll, sitting on a shelf, next a box labeled Ni No Kuni drawings. She stomped over and knocked the shelf down, sending the drawings inside flying and out the open window. She glared sulkily at the window, then scoffed.
"I don't care anymore!" She shouted, as if the doll was going to protest. Then she saw her painting easel. Painting was one of her passions, and one of her favourite things to do was to paint what she thought things from Ni No Kuni looked like. This was one was of the Fairygrounds. It was beautiful, like a pure version of Tombstone Trail. She went over and gave it a huge kick, knocking the easel down and putting a hole through the canvas. Then she sat back on the bed and sobbed. "Why can't he just be normal? I just wish he would stop telling those damned stories."
"Perhaps I can help." A slinky voice said. She looked around, but saw no one.
"What the hell?" She muttered.
"You want your father's silly silly stories to stop, don't you?" Nicky nodded, still looking.
"Yeah, of course I do. But where are you?"
"I'm here, my dear. I'm here to help you." Then a shadow on the wall she had thought was her curtain melted off the wall, down onto the floor, and creepy man appeared from it. Nicky stumbled and fell back.
"Nicole? Are you alright?" Myrtle called from downstairs.
"Y-yeah, Mom. Just tripped." She called back. Then she said, "who're you?" He waved away the question.
"Names. Only labels. Unlike what I can do for you." She furrowed her eyebrows. "I can grant that wish. Make your father stop telling his silly silly stories." Her eyes widened.
"Really? How?" She imagined how normal he would be without his stories. How less of a loser she would be!
"Nicole? Can I come in?" She heard her dad's voice outside the door, but she ignored it as the dark man held out his hand to her.
"Just shake my hand, and your wish is granted." She quickly took it and shook it, and a blinding green light exploded from their joined hands, the man laughing darkly. She tried to pull away as a chain wrapped itself around her wrist.
"Let me go!" She shouted, desperate. "Dad! Help!"

PHH

Downstairs, Oliver was sitting in a chair in the living room, the TV tuned to the news, but he was hardly paying attention. He was thinking of how to reform for Nicole. He could hear her yelling, the crashing sound of her easel, then silence. He decided that she had calmed down, and maybe he could talk to her without mentioning Ni No Kuni. He went upstairs and knocked softly on the door.

"Nicole? Can I come in?" He asked. No answer, but there was a much deeper voice, then a bright green light exploded underneath of the door. "Nicole! Nicole, what's happening in there?" He called, worried.

"Dad! Help!" She screamed. That was enough for him! He ran to his room and grabbed Astra from his bedside drawer, then ran into Nicky's room, where a dark man had her hand and a chain was wrapping itself around her wrist. She looked to him, tears in her eyes. "Daddy! Please! Help me!" She begged. He created the Mornstar symbol and blasted it at the man.

"Mornstar!" He shouted, and the man went flying against the wall. Then he ran over to Nicky and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close like she was a baby. "It's alright, sweetie. I've got you." The dark man stood to his feet, and to their surprise, smiled when he saw Oliver.

"So, you're the Pure Hearted One. How nice to meet you." Oliver pointed Astra at him. "Oh please, there's no need for that." Then the dark man cast Fell Wind, sending Nicky flying away from him, then chains shot out from the dark man's hands, wrapping themselves around Oliver!

"Dad!" Nicky cried, picking up the dropped wand and pointing it at the dark man, who cackled.

"Please! Child, you hardly know how to use such a formidable wand!" Then he disappeared, taking Oliver with him.