If You Could?

Leaf of Impeccability

Author's Note: Well, this begins the Leaf of Impeccability, continuing from Branch of Perfection. If you need a refresher, that's chapter four. Well, shall we begin? OH! Before I forget! I'd like to thank the people who very kindly reviewed the last chapter.


Reala sat by NiGHTS' bedside, concerned as he watched the other's chest rise and fall with every unsteady breath. The punishment for noncompliance had been swift and severe. Reala knew that he'd done this before, perched by his twin's bedside, worry and tension etched into his face. But last time this had happened, NiGHTS had rebelled.

He knew that NiGHTS would revive shortly, nightmaren bounced back from illness and injury rather quickly, within hours for broken bones and such, but longer for more serious injuries… like this. NiGHTS was burnt all over, his skin a mess, his regular clothes incinerated, but that hardly mattered, he had a wardrobe full of that outfit.

He was garbed in a soft white robe of some kind of non-irritating material, the chest open to allow sensors to be placed over the heart and glowing jewel on his chest. Reala had to remind himself repeatedly that his brother would be fine, and would awaken soon. But after a day or so, he began to get worried, NiGHTS wasn't healing quickly enough.

NiGHTS did awaken, eventually, some time on the third day after the incident. He wasn't healed yet, and was confined to his bed, but that hardly mattered. Reala was simply glad that NiGHTS was okay.

"NiGHTS… are you feeling any better?"

NiGHTS fixed him with something of a glare. The damage from the blast from their master had singed his mouth rather harshly, making it difficult for him to talk without pain.

"Right. Sorry, I forgot for a moment."

NiGHTS gave him a harder glare.

"…Sorry!" Reala mumbled, looking chastised while NiGHTS sat back with an irritated expression.

"You're mad at Master, aren't you?"

A nod was his reply.

"Enough to do something petty and foolish as a way of getting back at him? I know you're thinking about that."

NiGHTS blushed hard at this, embarrassed. He HAD been thinking of running away from home…

"I don't think that's the best way to get back into Master's good graces. I think that'd just make him mad at you."

NiGHTS ducked his head this time, guilty. He didn't like it when his Master was mad at him. He just wanted to play with the shiny Ideya. It was so pretty.

"You really liked that thing, didn't you?" Reala asked, somewhat rhetorically.

NiGHTS nodded again.

"You're so weird, you know that?"

NiGHTS shoved Reala this time, making a strange noise of irritation. Reala almost laughed.

"It's not my fault you have a strange attraction to red Ideya. It might have something to do with that shard on your chest."

NiGHTS looked at his chest, at the red jewel that covered over the vast part of his chest, covering his sternum, ribs, and his heart as well. Perhaps it was his heart. He didn't know. He'd had it for as long as he had been able to remember.

Reala noticed the pensive expression that was settling over his brother's face. He knew that this particular situation had to be handled carefully.

"Are you still mad at our Master?"

NiGHTS seemed to consider, then slowly shook his head. He wasn't mad anymore. He was just irritated that he couldn't play around with the shiny. Reala smiled with relief. He had averted disaster… for now.

"Well, now that you're awake, and doing better, apart from your mouth, what do you say about going and checking out the Library, hm?" Reala suggested. NiGHTS considered, then nodded, sitting up to brush the sensors off him. They immediately began to shriek and beep in protest, but he didn't care. Even when the nurses rushed to see the problem.

They scowled and frowned, but figured that if he was okay enough to knock them off, he could go. The sensors had strong grips after all, and didn't like to be dislodged. NiGHTS was quick to make a side trip to the bathroom and then his own room before the library, however. He disliked the white robe that was over his body.

When he popped out into the elegant hallway once more, he was garbed in much slicker attire than his old clothes. While the others had been plain and simple, a vest and tights, with the white undershirt, this was much more… elegant. It was almost flashy, really.

A deep magenta waistcoat with a fine collar was worn instead of his pale rose vest. There were many more star buttons, down a strip of red. The entire thing was rimmed and trimmed with golden hems. Upon the collar itself were small blue jewels cut to look like the red one upon his chest, which was now fitted with a golden clasp, it seemed, to accentuate it. A orange ruff was tucked up under the collar, to mask his lack of a neck.

His hands, once bare to expose his claws, were now wearing fine white gloves. The white shirt he was wearing before seemed to have been updated with white embroidery, etching a fancy design into the fabric. The purple tights that were worn had a similar design on the outer thigh. His boots remained the same, but seemed to have a shinier strip of gold instead of the plain goldenrod of before. Perhaps he'd shined them?

Either way, the entire getup gave him an endearing look, almost feminine in appearance, but still just masculine enough to give him an androgynous look. He looked at Reala, a small smile etched over his face. "Well? How do I look?" he asked, his mouth seeming to have healed while he was getting dressed. Well, healed enough to make it less painful to talk.

Reala looked away to hide a rather fetching blush that was spreading over his cheeks. Jeez, NiGHTS was acting like a human girl that was trying to impress a male that she was courting. "It's… nice." he muttered, not expecting the tight hug from behind as he ended his sentence.

NiGHTS was hugging him with appreciation. "Thank you Reala!"

"It …. It's just a new outfit, NiGHTS."

"Yeah, but I wanted your opinion."

"I gave it, now let's just get going." Reala muttered, looking distinctly uncomfortable. He was not a touchy-feely kind of nightmaren. Most weren't. But NiGHTS seemed to enjoy it, physical affection and being generally affectionate.

But, even as Reala floated along, leading the way, he found himself feeling warm on the inside, like it was something that he almost welcomed. Not that he did. No way. He would never WELCOME any of NiGHTS' hugs. The library was soon within sight, a huge ornate door of deep mahogany wood.

Reala momentarily wondered where this wood came from, as Nightmare Core didn't have trees. Only short grasses and flowers, and a very strange plant that cast sparkling dust at all times. He made a mental note to suggest a flight through these fields of Nightmare later.

But either way, he pushed open the door with ease, the heavy door swinging open compliantly. The library itself was larger on the inside than one would expect, being full of bookcases that stretched upwards to infinity while the rows went on forever. The entire place was calm, and had a silent air about it. Reala stepped inside onto the hard floors carefully. The floor was made of a polished yellow-brown wood, old and sturdy. NiGHTS followed, looking at all the shelves with interest.

"I wonder how many there are…" he murmured.

"They say there are more books here than there are nightmaren. And that there is a secret place at the end of the bookshelves… but no one's gone that far."

"Why not?"

"There are too many books!" Reala said with a laugh. NiGHTS laughed quietly as well, taking a moment to appreciate the sound of Reala's baritone laughter. He had a strong laugh, which was full of power. Reala was a very strong person, to be sure.

NiGHTS found himself appreciating the sheer number of books the further he looked for the perfect book to read. Reala was, on the other hand, finding books on time and time travel. NiGHTS looked down at his searching brother, smiling a bit. Reala could be very productive when he wanted to. Looking upwards, he saw more shelf, and then above that, green-yellow light that was hazy and obscured the sight of the tops of the shelves. NiGHTS found himself growing rather curious.

With a quick glance downwards, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to just take a look, and soared upwards, into the hazy light and towards oblivion. It wasn't until he had flown up into what appeared to be a moonlit star-speckled skyscape did he realize that he had flown very far. But, he saw that he had reached the tops of the shelves… and seated himself atop the nearest shelf top.

A triple-moon hung in the sky, looking like a diorama or a mobile than true moons, and the stars looked like pinpricks in a black blanket, allowing light through the holes. He still found it beautiful, due to the hazy green-yellow fog lit from below and the hazy, satin-lace aurora high in the sky. It shifted from blue greens to purplish yellows and reddish pinks.

He hardly noticed when Reala joined him, sitting next to his sibling.

"It's… really pretty." NiGHTS commented.

"Not as good as the original, I hear, though." Reala muttered.

"The original?" NiGHTS looked at Reala, curiosity in his indigo-blue eyes.

"Yeah… in the Waking World, in really cold places, covered in snow and ice, there are auroras like this, according to what I've heard."

"Oh… now that you look closely… it doesn't look… very real."

"Want to see if we can break the sky's fabric?"

"Do you?"

"If you come along." Reala stood, looking at his fellow nightmare with a smirking smile. NiGHTS stood up as well with a nod, flashing the other a mischievous smile as he spun into the sky, darting to see if this was a mere apparition… or something more.

Reala was quick to follow, instigating the other to play in the hazy air. NiGHTS was quick to catch on, and the two indulged in a rare, fleeting game of tag, of catch, of chase and play… whatever one wanted to call it, it was simply… delightful.

Sparkles and sprays of glittery lights trailed limply behind their owners, silvery blue and golden yellow intermingling in the air, creating stars of their own as NiGHTS and Reala shot through the library air. It wasn't long until they reached the fake first moon, and it was as fake as NiGHTS had thought it'd been. It was made of cold crystal and stone, hanging from silky, silvery thread. The two twirled and spun around it, almost openly laughing as they darted about with glee on their faces.

Reala found himself no longer caring if his mission succeeded or failed, he just wanted this moment of perfect joy and carelessness last forever. NiGHTS could no longer hold in the laughter, bursting out into light giggles, then booming the still air with his whole-hearted laughs. The noise was infectious, and Reala found himself also emitting hearty chuckles and baritone guffaws of joy.

As the two ripped through the black cloth with the pinprick tears, the sound of laughter and glee echoed around for miles, making library goers lift their heads in confusion and sudden, similar, happiness. But as they came to a stop, their laughter trailing into giggles… they saw something amazing.

Hanging stones, held aloft by aural rings, cut into beautiful, simplistic shapes and in many colors. But that was not what was so spectacular. The faces of marens, living and long dead, appeared in the crystals, one face to a crystal. No two were exactly alike, there was a pinkish purplish blue crystal with the face of Puffy within it, near a green and blue one with Gillwing's face.

As they floated on, they saw that there were two missing crystals. One for NiGHTS, and one for Reala. That is, until they came to a very large, very powerful sight.

The sight of two clowns, intertwined, one of purple and golden shade, held in the arms of the other, carved from beautiful crystalline stone, eyes closed and the detail superb. The other was red and silvery-black, carved in equally exquisite detail and just as beautiful as the other it held in the embrace similar to that of a lover. The eyes of this one were also closed as it held the other close to its well-toned chest.

Reala gaped as NiGHTS flew closer, tentative. "Is this… you and I?" he asked, almost to himself. The statuesque crystal jesters were unmistakably them. It was almost creepy at how much the crystals dwarfed their bases, however.

They towered high, the very crest of the 'Reala' crystal's horns stretching high over their heads, almost passing into the deep blue mists above and the tip of the 'NiGHTS' crystal's boots stretching below. Bookshelves seemed to wrap around this crystal field and its inhabitants like a series of shields, stretching high above once more.

NiGHTS neared Reala. "This place… is very strange." he admitted. "I'm a bit scared.

"I'm getting a weird feeling too…."

"You… want to keep going?"

"Ye-Yeah, actually. It's… almost as if I can't help but keep going, you know?"

"I know. Let's keep going… together!" NiGHTS gave the other a nervous smile.

Reala nodded. "Yes… let's keep going together." he said.


Author's Note: Heheh, I like how this one turned out. The endless abyss is usually associated with going down, rather than going up. I don't know where the idea for the 'crystals' came from, but I like it, especially the two jester crystals that symbolize NiGHTS and Reala.

Also, sorry for such a looooong wait.