Ever since five years ago, she tried and failed to stop the worst nightmare of her life who directly killed her brother and then took away one of the children she was trying to protect, NiGHTS decided to take a break on being a Multiverse Initiative member, and even the Protector of Nightopia. After all, the Night Dimension's menaces were already probably dead, frozen, with her being the exception thanks to her good curse, the red Ideya shard.
Now, the purple jester of dreams lived inside the simple lake house of her first human best friends. In her head, it was surprising how much time progressed for them: when she first met William Taylor and Helen Cartwright, they were just twelve year old kids. She saw them pass teenagehood, enter adulthood, and now...they had a three/four years old girl.
Althought she was far from being a actual parent of Zoe Cartwright Taylor, NiGHTS took care of her equally, being like the fun aunt of the house.
On this new day, it was the usual routine of playing like a common court jester to Zoe, with the twist of showing amulets like the one of her first ally, Owl, that she would give as birthday gifts for the girl's parents. That is, until she noticed a giant vehicle shaped like thighs and legs, from which Sonic, Pearl and Giana came out. She didn't really look forward for what was about to be discussed...
Some minutes later...
"Now, we know what it sounds like.", Giana concluded explaining the whole plan.
"NiGHTS, you're like a jester that sees dreams from other's perspectives. Is anything impossible after what you saw?", Sonic asked.
"Well, no, but Dream fluctuation messes with the Planck scale, which then triggers the Deutsch proposition.", NiGHTS stated. "Are we good on that conclusion?"
"...thank you.", Sonic said. He, Pearl and Giana were all puzzled over, what in their heads, was NiGHTS talking techno-babble.
"Speaking Layman language, you didn't come home.", NiGHTS said, pointing at Giana.
"I did.", Giana firmly replied.
"More like you...accidentaly survive. It's a fluke of one to billion chance. And now you wanna...how's it called, exactly?"
"Time travel?", Giana replied, trying to hide the immense pride rising on her.
"Sureee. Time travelling. Of course, why we didn't think this like, two years ago? Because it's laughable, or is it a pipedream?"
"But we can take the stones from the past, and use them!"
"We can snap our fingers...and fix the scarred half of the multiverse.", Pearl added out.
"Or make it even more screwed, right?", NiGHTS sarcastically replied.
"I don't believe we would.", Sonic said, somehow, still tapping into his optimism.
"I need to say, I miss being that carefree-kind optimist.", NiGHTS confessed. "But hoping alot won't help if there's no way, smart or not, to execute a good time travel. The most possible outcome is our sure failure."
"Not if we follow the time travel protocol.", Giana said. "That is, no talking to us from the past, no going to sport events-"
"Wait- are you kidding me? The plan to stop the multiverse from crumbling itself is to use a time travel car?!"
"...no."
"Phew...you almost got me there. Because that's not how things work."
"NiGHTS, we have to try.", Pearl said, the most gentle she could.
"We did try...yet, here we are.", NiGHTS sourly replied.
"I know you got many things in your way.", Giana sympathetically said. "Your friends got a kid, and you are helping them take care of her. But I did lose family. Important people. And many others lost as well. And I just found out we can bring her back...bring the other half of the multiverse back. And you're telling me that if..."
"Yes, Giana. If we go back...I will never. Have. A non-blood niece."
Right in time, a dirty-blonde haired girl in purple clothes ran up; it was Zoe. The very young girl was gently picked up and lifted high by her non-blood aunt.
"Mummy and daddy told me to save you.", Zoe explained.
"Good job, you saved me.", NiGHTS beamingly said, before turning the attention back to her teammates. "I really wished you could've come to talk about... Anything else, really. I really...missed you all...those days...Oh, they got a table for six."
"NiGHTS, I get it...it's a whole new start for you, and I'm happy. Really! But we got a second chance.", Sonic said, getting straight to the point.
"Soni, I can't risk rolling the dice again and risk like my...brother did.", NiGHTS said, choking the penultimate word. She still felt empty without her mirror twin brother alive. "You can stay for lunch if you want."
The trio gave up in trying to convice NiGHTS' into going back to the fight, regretfully, as they walked back to the pink legged ship.
"She's scared.", Pearl sadly said.
"We can't blame her.", Sonic pointed out.
"Yeah but, guys, what we're gonna do?", Giana asked. "We need her...if we don't get her, we're gonna stop?"
"No...we gotta fix everything. We still need someone with a big brain."
"Bigger than hers?!", Giana said, in disbelief, pointing to the house.
But in fact, there was someone who's got a large knowledge, and large size as well.
