It was a long half week. Government, Media, Family.
And for the sake of their friends, Will and Helen endured it all.
Seth remained unconscious, body healing much faster than normal. The smaller cuts and scrapes were gone within hours, large gashes shrinking as the days went on, caking over with blood before chips of dried flesh and plasm flaked off, revealing healthy skin quickly re-forming. It was impossible, but the doctors could only watch.
The two were questioned repeatedly by multiple officials. The police wished to know if anything like that could happen again, to which they could not give a definitive answer.
"It might, it might not. This city is closer to where that thing came from than most of the rest of the world, but at the same time, there are…walls…in place, that keep them from coming in so easily."
When asked why it was that thing came through, they had no response save one.
"Seth is the only person we've heard of that can go between freely, without being asleep first. But he didn't choose to bring it here, it followed him somehow. When he wakes up he can tell you more."
As the days passed, military was scrambled to seek any disturbances. The two mentioned they didn't know if stuff like guns or bombs could hurt the monsters from the Nightmare, so the soldiers were equipped with bayonets just in case. The police considered a curfew, but surprisingly listened to the suggestion of the children.
"In or out of our homes, we'd be in danger if they crossed over. But that's only if they found a way to do what he can."
Parents were shocked and yet relieved when the city learned that the children that were disappearing and returning were simply 'falling in'.
"The big bad guy there, Wiseman, is hunting for very specific people. But he's probably now really busy trying to figure out why two of his creations were killed again, and how. The city is safe for now."
Helplessness descended upon the adults. What could they do? This was a battle that couldn't be fought with weapons or words, only dreams.
But now, their parents knew. It wasn't a massive secret, nothing that truly needed to be hidden, but yet not something you could easily bring up. And honestly, what could their parents do? Stop them from sleeping? That would be neglect, child abuse, they would go to jail for it, and the children would sleep anyway. They couldn't stop their children from dreaming either. They were helpless. But the kids had an idea. The shit had hit the fan, the Dream World partially exposed. But it wasn't meant to be a secret. It just existed, it was there, just not seen. Its existence had always been talked about, theorized, speculated, and now there was proof. There is indeed a dimension that we travel to through our sleep, where our mental selves take form and play our dreams out.
And like all worlds, there were inhabitants, some kind, some malicious. Up until now, few people had truly interacted with that world, became aware of it. So the kids thought something up. They would get in contact with Claris and Elliot, because by now, it was all over the world news that something strange had happened in Bellbridge, and gather all their parents together, to see the beauty of the Dream World, and not just the horrible demon that came from it.
But to do that, they needed Seth.
A soft but constant beep was present.
A groan echoed through the room.
A pair of eyes opened, blinding white filled their gaze.
The groan was louder, the maker trying to rub their eyes to relieve them of the burning sensation of bright.
"How are you feeling?" A soft, sweet voice asked.
Seth sat up slightly, slowly.
"Like I was just used as a chew-toy for the Black Beast."
Helen tilted her head, the nurses rushing in to check on Seth.
"BlazBlue reference…don't worry about it."
Slowly, as the nurses checked him over, doctor checking his wounds and bandages, scabs flaking off and revealing almost perfect skin, only a tiny white line wherever he was sliced remaining, Helen filled him in on what had been going on. How they were grilled by everyone, high up to down low, and their idea to give their parents ease of mind.
"I'm sorry."
"It's ok. You were in danger and accidentally came here. I'm just happy we could help out. But everyone has questions…questions only we can answer."
Seth nodded slowly.
"Give me a bit. Soon as I'm out, I'll get ready." She gently grasped his hand and squeezed it, as he lay back down.
"Get some rest." She said softly.
On the fifth day after the incident, the plan was put into action. Helen had brought her mother, Samantha, and Will, his father. Will's father, Tom, shared his son's blonde hair, but had bright green eyes, to his son's blue. Clad in what counted as 'informal' for him, to which Will just rolled his eyes, he wore a grey business shirt with black dress pants and simple black loafers. It was only at his son's insistence did he forgo the usual tie.
Performing the shift in the Cartwright backyard, Seth reached out his perceptions, tracing the lines between real and dream, reality and fantasy, projecting his feeling of falling yet staying still upon the world around him. He still preferred moving as he did it, as that made the change less jarring, but that wasn't much of an option. The group was holding hands in a chain, to make it easier to channel their thoughts and desires, to cross over, to see the new world.
In the blink of an eye, and a slight squeezing sensation, the group found themselves at the Dream Gate, where the adults stared in shock.
"Alright, I'll be right back." Will and Helen nodded, Seth vanishing in a ripple of air before the adults could ask any questions.
"What…is this place?" Samantha asked.
"Not yet mum…wait till the others get here."
"Alright you three, what's this about?" Elliot's father asked.
Standing taller than all of them, was Mark Edwards. His unruly brown fringe flopped down in front of his eyes, as he glanced with confusion and a bit of irritation at the trio of dreamers. He'd been working on a client's car when Elliot called him up saying he needed to come to Claris' house, because something important happened. Fearing his kid had gone and gotten the girl pregnant, he raced over. Still wearing blue-jean overalls over a white t-shirt with grease stains.
His mother placed her hand on her husband's arm. Denise Edwards stood just a head shorter than her husband, black hair neatly tied in a ponytail behind her. She too was wondering why they had been called here, though seeing Katrina again was always a joy.
"In a minute dad. It's something you gotta know about…but it's easier to show you." Elliot spoke, nervous.
Suddenly the bell rang.
"That's him." Claris spoke. Astoria raced off before any of them could react.
"Who?" Katrina asked.
"Seth!" Astoria answered, clutching his arm. Immediately Claris walked over and smacked him upside the head, to which Astoria leveled a heavy glare.
"What the hell were you thinking?" His response was unexpected. He stared her down, the same powerful, angry gaze he gave Nights when he thought the purple jester was a threat to Astoria's wellbeing. Claris took a step back on reflex, once again confronted with a stare that could give even a Nightmaren pause.
"I was thinking that I was a useless sack of shit that needed to hurry up and be more than a goddamn liability! Excuuuuse me for wanting to be something more than a goddamn crutch in this stupid fight!"
Claris saw Astoria's echoing glare and stepped further back, bowing her head.
"I'm sorry." She said softly. "I was…worried. Will and Helen told us everything…"
"You beat Clawz though." Elliot jumped in, hoping to diffuse the situation. Surprisingly enough, Seth sighed and stepped away from Astoria and yanked Claris over. She gave a small eep as he put an arm around her and held her close to him.
"I know it was dangerous, and I'm sorry I worried you. I thought I was good though. Stupid thing pulled me into its realm without me even noticing. Its timing was perfect, that was the day I was going to practice going back and forth, both between realms and between areas. I couldn't get out. And when I did, I'd apparently made a hole that he followed me through." Seth sighed again, feeing Claris relax.
"And no, I didn't beat him. Will and Helen did all the work. I just Sailor Moon'd him." Astoria gave a snort at that.
"You must be pretty flexible then." Seth just stared at her. "…touché." He muttered.
"Alright, what the hell are you all talking about?" Elliot's father was growing irritated. It felt like something was happening and he was both part of it and kept out of the loop. He hated that feeling.
"Calm down there, Gigantor. You'll see in a minute." Seth clipped back, just as annoyed.
"Uhh, Seth…might not wanna talk to my dad like that." Elliot said hesitantly.
"Your dad could be the goddamn Hulk and I wouldn't give a shit. I just took down a two-hundred pound cat demon that was fast as a cheetah and had claws that could cut through solid steel, AND summoned exploding mouse rockets from thin air. And I did it with only two fourteen year olds running backup, five days ago. Can he say the same?" Seth countered, irritably.
Having spent a fair amount of time with him since her abduction and him rescuing her, Astoria learned many things about Seth. One of which was he didn't normally flaunt or overstate his achievements. For him to do so, was out of character, and usually a sign of a currently active larger problem. So, she quickly but carefully reached out and intertwined her hand with his.
"Bad day?"
As if it were magic words, the vent flew open in Seth's mind.
"Bad week! I spend three days in a row bouncing between trying to overcome my stupid problem, and on the third day I get jumped by some random cat bastard, almost killed again, then make a random jump to wherever I could, end up smack in front of Helen, fucker follows me through my shift somehow, and damn near kills all three of us, along with a slew of innocents who just happened to be where I popped out of. I spend half a week trying to figure out what my limits are, and how to overcome the issue I have, and what do I get for it? I find out that I can pop out somewhere I've never been to and not only that if I do it wrong, I risk bringing something back with me!"
Astoria just pat his arm. "At least you, and all of them, are still alive. Can you say that it'd still happen that way if it were someone else? If you hadn't been practicing?"
Seth shook his head. "Let's just get this over with. I need to ask that jester a few questions anyway."
"Jeez, how long is he gonna-
FWOOSH
In a wave of air and sparkling lights, Seth and the others appeared at the Dream Gate.
"Whoa!" Katrina exclaimed, in shock.
"What the hell?"
"Claris!" Helen yelled out, waving. Slowly, as the three newly arrived adults got their bearings, introductions were made.
"What…is this place?"
"This, is the Dream Gate." Claris began explaining, before she stopped. "Ahh…shoot. We're gonna need more help explaining things."
"Where's Nights?" Astoria asked. Claris shrugged helplessly. "I dunno…I dunno what it does when we aren't around. It just…kinda shows up when it feels like it."
Seth had closed his eyes in irritation. When it feels like? Fuck that. I don't have time for this...
"Who is Nights?" Helen's mother asked.
"Nights is…"
High above Stick Canyon, a purple clad Jester stood atop a tall construction tower. It feels like something changed. As if the air is lighter here somehow. Almost like…a nightmaren was defeated. But how? And who? Hmm…maybe I should head back to the Dream Gate, and hang around there for a while. The others might need me.
Nights nodded to itself, preparing to jump off and begin its flight through the tears in the Dream that allowed one to cross between the individual worlds of Nightopia, and the Dream Gate. However, it felt a cold shiver race through its body, a very powerful pounding in its chest, the red gem on its breast glittering slightly. Nights turned around.
Where a little girl with long black hair in a red dress stood, hair blowing in the winds above the tower. She stands there, barefoot, eyes half-lidded, as if in a trance.
A dreamer? But…I sense no Ideya around her. Impossible!
"Daddy says come…" The girl mumbled out.
"So you come."
She lifted a hand, and immediately a flicker of red, blue, and black erupted into place, before it turned into a swirling black vortex right in front of the nightmaren. Nights blanched backwards before a hand reached out, and latched onto its wrist, pulling it through the swirling murky gateway before the nightmaren could react. Immediately, the gateway closed behind it.
The girl…was nowhere to be seen.
The group stared at Seth. Seconds after Claris began explaining to Samantha who Nights was, he began glowing, shutting everyone up. Swirls of black, red and blue wisps began wafting off of his form, twisting and writhing like an angry snake, before gathering in front of him, turning into a murky black oval. They watched Seth lash his hand into the gateway, eyes still closed, and then pull back violently. As he did, Nights came flying through the portal, which then closed.
"Whoa! What in the world?" The nightmaren exclaimed.
"Nights!" the dreamers called out, as Seth opened his eyes.
"Well…huh…that actually worked." He spoke, surprised.
Everyone looked at him.
"What? I didn't think it would work."
"That was you?" Nights exclaimed in shock.
"Yeah. We needed you here, and I didn't feel like waiting till you decided to show up, if you ever did. So I figured, I can bring things around, so why not 'people'? So I focused on you, how you look and everything, and just…reached out."
"But…what about the little girl?" Nights questioned.
"What little girl?" Seth asked, slowly, an idea in his head.
"The one in a red dress!"
"…did she have black hair?"
"Yes."
"Barefoot?"
"Yes!"
"Did she mention anything about 'daddy'?"
"Yes, yes, yes! She said 'daddy says come, so you come'! Is that your daughter?"
"Hell no!" Seth reacted. "But I do know she's the one who keeps showing up in my nightmares."
"Hey…" Katrina said absently. "Mine too! I keep dreaming of a girl calling out for her father, before these…things…pull her into this bloody pool."
Everyone else present mentioned the same nightmare.
"It must have something to do with Wiseman then…" Nights mused.
"Alright, I think we've waited long enough. What is this place, how did we get here, who the hell are you, and who the hell is Wiseman?" Elliot's father spoke up.
"You might wanna sit dad…this is gonna be a long story…"
They had been wandering the canyon, the adults marveling at the strangeness of the world, at the giant magnetic devices, the rock and steel fused together, as if some sort of hybrid planet made of nature and machine. After a lengthy explanation to the Adults how the world worked, what it was, and having many tear filled hugs from mothers and solid proud pats from the fathers, the group had moved on to showing the adults Nightopia proper. To show them that the world wasn't only danger, and fear. Elliot was a good tour guide, pointing out to everyone where certain things happened, how things seemed to work last time he was here.
"For two nights in a row, we kept screwing up. That tower, off in the distance, was a real bitch to climb while flying. These stupid rocks kept falling down, smashing into us and weakening our link. I never made it up that tower with Nights. So on the third night, I told Nights to hold back. That stupid tower kept randomly changing its format, gates that were open one night would be closed the next. So I had Nights wait until the power of the fourth Ideya faded, and it got re-sealed, while I got ejected from the merge. From there, I just ran around, collecting those orbs until I could feel like I had enough. Well, I ran to the tower, and would you believe it, one of those weird seed-shaped bumpers was there. I jumped on it and it bounced me all the way to the top of the tower, where the Ideya capture was!"
As Elliot told his story, Astoria was thinking. They were here, in this world. Everyone.
It was time.
Over the week since her abduction and subsequent rescue, she had been seen by therapists, psychiatrists…all sorts of doctors. It was annoying, but one of them made the vague suggestion that maybe, once everything settled and the kidnapper was caught, she should go back, with proper authorities and emotional grounding, to where it happened. To bring closure, as a way of saying 'yes, you hurt me, but now you're out of my life, you have no power over me any longer.' She researched it on the internet, and many victims of kidnapping and the like had said both positive and negative things on the subject. Regardless, she had a chance now. A chance to face the past, and stand up to the lingering fear within her.
"Seth…" she said softly. All conversation stopped, as everyone turned to her. She felt a bit nervous, but gathered her focus. Nights' eyes widened slightly. Her Courage was beginning to both flicker and fade, but pulse wildly.
"…we need to go back." She spoke, in that same, hesitant tone.
"What's wrong Tori? You feeling ok?"
"No…no I mean I'm fine. No it's…we need to go back." She urged, trying not to say the name of the place, giving into that one final brush of fear.
Seth blinked at her, tilting his head slightly. Back…go back…back where? If not back out of here…and not back to the dream gate then-
Suddenly his eyes widened heavily.
"You mean…back there?"
Astoria was facing the ground, eyes squeezed shut, taking shuddering breaths. It all came so suddenly! She was alright up until a moment ago, but then suddenly the thought of being there again took over. The reality that she was making that choice, to go back to where she was-
Her thoughts were cut off by a soft glow. Seth was holding his hand out to her, black and red entwined perfectly. Her eyes watered as she understood.
But I'm not alone. He was there too…he was just as scared. We were scared together. And we made it out together. I can do this…because he'll be right there with me, just like before. She took a deep breath, and took his hand, soft red glow beginning to rise from her chest.
"You're sure?" He asked. The flare up hadn't escaped his notice. Obviously he had to be glowing again if the stares of shock on the adults' faces were any indication. That feeling he always got, the feeling of the need to keep her safe, was in his heart, invading his mind. And he welcomed it. She was afraid, far more than he was.
She nodded. "Yes. I…need it."
"Astoria…honey what are you talking about?" Katrina was confused.
"I need to go back…back to where it all started for me." The girl said.
"Back to Mystic Forest, you mean." Nights clarified. The glow was staggering. And once again, the jewel on Nights' chest was pulsing. "We'll have to head back to the Gate then."
"No." Astoria said. "By then, I'll lose my nerve. I have to get there now…while I can still push past being afraid." She looked helplessly at Seth, her savior.
Seth nodded. "Leave it to me."
But it was a stretch. Such a large group…and punching through two layers. He'd have to cross over to the other side of the Dream, through the barriers that kept the hubs separated. Yet he was the only one who could do it. The only one who knew how, let alone had the power to. He'd need absolute focus…a trigger.
It would be foolish.
Dumb sounding or not, I need it to bring all of them. And who knows, it might make her smile.
So he knelt down and grabbed a random rock. This'll have to do. Alright…it's just like in a video game. The rock is the gate key to taking us to the other place. The Teleport Orb I need to warp into what counts as Astoria's Abyss. Damn, where's Rudy's punch glove when you need it? Well, my luck's probably already at WORST anyway so…
While he was thinking to himself, he had gauged the distance between everyone. He was going to try a new idea, a new development…that was only possible because of the girl clinging to his hand. Tossing the rock absently up and down, catching it each time, he seemed to nod to himself.
He tossed it up once more.
For Tori.
"Chaos…"
Nights' eyes widened further, gripping its chest as a now familiar pulse ripped through its body. For a brief moment, Seth's little wispy aura flickered silver.
"CONTROL!"
He snatched the rock out of the air, and in the following moment, an impossibly bright green light erupted from within his fist. Ripples of pale green light in the form of nigh-solid rings echoed outwards, stunning the entire group. The sound of electric sparks jumping from metal conductors filled their ears as the ripples returned inward, before the blinding light seemed to encompass all of them, a feeling of weightlessness overcoming their senses.
In a brief shockwave of Dream Energy, the group had vanished.
Fizzzzz-THOOOM
Disoriented from the bright light, everyone seemed to topple over, except Seth and Astoria. Though Astoria was only steady because she was holding Seth's hand. His other hand dropped the rock it was holding, smoking slightly as he shook it to relieve it of the mild burning discomfort. That made HEAT? I guess it makes sense logically but…damn my brain!
"Dude! Not cool man." Elliot said, getting up slowly.
"Hey, it's not like I knew you would land on your ass. Didn't know it had the portkey effect."
"Chaos Control? Seriously?" Elliot pressed.
"Had to think of something didn't I? CC's the only thing I could think of on the fly that could take a whole mess of people cross-country in an instant."
"And you just had to copy the pose and everything didn't you?" Claris quipped, helping her mother stand.
"Hey. Shadow is hardcore and a badass and I will not tolerate you insulting his Epic Pose with your heathen words, woman!" Seth countered, before immediately turning to Astoria.
"You ok?"
Astoria shuddered. "…no…" she whispered. She was back. She was really back. This damn forest…
The joy bled out of the conversation immediately.
"Obviously." Seth said pointedly, making Elliot's parents think he was an idiot for being so blunt. "Better question. Do you think you'll be ok?"
"…" She said nothing at first, just staring in the direction her heart knew that cabin was. "Maybe…" She whispered. "…just…don't let go…?"
Seth squeezed her hand. "Wouldn't dream of it." She couldn't help the empty laugh that came out. It was a horrible pun, and normally she'd be giggling at its stupidity. But that was the best she could manage.
"Hmm…at least that got some sort of reaction." Seth mused out loud, making the adults really wonder if he was being dumb on purpose or just that insensitive. To their surprise, Astoria just pulled him close, holding his arm to her chest.
"…thank you…" She knew he was trying to cheer her up, give her a boost of courage. It wasn't working too well, but she was beyond grateful. "…for everything." She finished.
He just pat her head with his free hand. "…you ready?" She shook her head. "No…but if I don't go now I'll never do it."
She squared her shoulders, and began walking, with Seth right behind her, hand still being gripped by hers, the group tailing after them.
They walked through the shrubbery for what felt like hours, in silence, Nights gently coasting along beside the group. Denise, intrigued by how casually the Nightmaren seemed to float along, asked of Nights.
"Why are you doing that?"
"What, hovering? Walking's not really my thing. Plus I get a bit antsy when it's too quiet, so I hover."
"Pfft." Seth snorted. "Shit, if I could do that? I'd only ever walk to remind my brain 'yes, I still have legs, yes, they still have a purpose.'"
Astoria squeezed his hand. "You will, someday."
"Yeah see, my problem is 'someday' could be anywhere between tomorrow and the day I stop living. So I'm not too keen on that." Astoria just squeezed his hand again.
"You will. I believe in you." Seth gave a soft sigh. "At least one of us does…"
Astoria stopped suddenly. "Eh?"
"Here." She said. She dropped down, touching the ground. There was a river not too far ahead. The grass seemed undisturbed, but Astoria was touching it like it was shredded.
"This…is where you were pinned down. I thought those things were going to tear your throat out." She said, softly.
"Oh yeah…usually I love wolves but those things needed to be turned into someone's coat." Seth replied. Astoria gave a soft, sad huff of air resembling a laugh. Getting worse…
It was here that Katrina finally understood where they were. This forest was the place Astoria was taken. This was the first place she saw, when she first came to Nightopia. Suddenly, she was overcome with grief. Her daughter was facing her past in a way that took her two years to do, not two weeks later.
Astoria stood up, leaving Seth behind as she walked back towards the group. They all backed up slightly as the girl seemed to be measuring her steps.
"Right here. Remember? This is where you grabbed my hand."
Seth nodded. "All I could think of was that I'd failed. And then I heard the voice of that girl. And for a second, I saw her, instead of you. And for some reason that gave me strength." Astoria nodded as well.
"Whoever she is, she seems to be connected to all this. This…right here is where we pushed ourselves out."
"I remember that. I was very uncomfortable with holding a naked little girl though, but getting out was more important."
"Teenager."
"Close enough."
"Ass." She muttered. She shook her head, walking back towards Seth's direction, slipping her hand in his and continuing, forcing the group to follow.
She stopped.
Standing before them was the cabin, where it all happened. She began to shiver, before suddenly she clamped down on her emotions, and strode forward. She stopped at Seth's exclamation.
"Holy shit!" She turned to him. "My shoes are still there!"
And sure enough, just outside the cabin door, were a pair of black sneakers. "I took them off because I didn't want to make too much noise. Huh, didn't think they'd still be here."
Astoria slowly stepped to the cabin door, avoiding going through the open portal and instead kneeling down next to the pair of sneakers that were gently aligned next to the door. The group watched as she touched them gently, caressing them almost lovingly, a strange empty gaze on her face. She picked them up, cradling them to her chest.
"Can I keep these?" She asked Seth.
The black haired teen blinked, mind racing, trying to figure out why she would want his shoes. And then it locked on. A keepsake.
"…logically…I want to say no. Because I know what you're doing, and it's unhealthy. However…unhealthy it may be…sometimes it takes us doing things that are bad for us, to make way for the good. and I understand why you want to hold on to those. So yeah…you can keep them."
Astoria nodded, turning back to the cabin door. As soon as Seth reached her side, she stepped in.
And yet slowly, her steps became more and more unsteady. Her breathing became frantic. Her eyes widened upon seeing the table, perfectly fine, though devoid of chains. She began shivering, shuddering. She dropped the shoes and whirled around, ready to flee. But Seth barred her path and swept her into a tight embrace.
"I can't! I can't I can't I can't!"
"You can, times four. Times infinity." Seth countered, holding the girl close.
"I was so scared! I thought…I thought…"
"I know Tori…I know. I was scared too. First time in this forest and all I knew was that I was probably about to find out what happened to those kids." Seth whispered softly, rocking the girl gently back and forth. Katrina raced for the two, pulling them both into a hug, since she knew there was no way she was separating them. Claris did the same on the other side, both elder Sinclair women with tears in their eyes. Helen too was sniffling, seeing first hand the result of such horrific trauma.
Suddenly, a deep black flare erupted from around Astoria, causing Claris and Katrina to step back, surprised.
"I want them dead! You hear me Seth? DEAD!" Even Seth was surprised at the malice and hatred in her voice, her eyes glinting with the flames of madness. All he could do was nod.
"We'll get him. I promise. We'll get him." Astoria violently shook her head.
"Not just Reala. Wiseman! I want to see him dead at my feet!" She snarled out. Seth nodded again. "He's the big one, we've got to take him out. No avoiding it."
"I want to be there. I want to be there and I want to see him die with my own two eyes! I want to watch him take his last breath and then I want to burn his fucking corpse!"
It was unprecedented, Nights thought to itself. The level of Desire she's putting out…and yet she's not succumbing to the Nightmare in the slightest! She wants it…but despite her pain and rage, she's somehow not controlled by it! Who is this girl?
"Can we even burn the corpse of a Nightmare lord? Hell would he even leave a corpse? His creations didn't…" Seth mused.
"Well we gotta burn something of his!" She cried out.
"How about his castle? All bad guys have a castle of some sort don't they?"
"Perfect! We'll kill him and burn his castle!"
"With lemons?"
"Yes! With-…wait what?" The rage and bravado vanished instantly, replaced by confusion.
"Can we make a combustible lemon that burns his castle down?" Seth asked, sounding completely serious.
Astoria just stared at him. Hell everyone stared at him. And then she gave a huff. Which turned into a laugh, which turned into a series of hysteric laughs, which then mutated into crying wails of agony, as she threw herself back into his arms. Everyone was confused and amazed, while being horrified at the cycle of emotions that trauma brought.
Will's father was shocked for a different reason. He has no history of psychology. And yet…in a manner of weeks he became this girl's pillar of strength, and is able to read her and react to her constantly shifting states as if it were trivial. That he knows how to blend humor with seriousness, blunt force with gentle touch…not even some of the best therapists in the world were able to freely read their patients so casually. Tom was a man who took many jobs, some of them being reviewing cases of mental issues. He'd met and witnessed people of all ages and of all walks of life.
And yet not once had he ever met a boy like Seth, who would easily shift tactics on a whim, keeping Astoria at peak performance, and yet able to perfectly react to her emotional needs. All of this…just got interesting.
The group had crossed into Spring Valley. One of the refreshing explanations that Nights gave to everyone, was how exactly Nightopia was setup.
"Imagine a circle. Nightopia is split primarily into seven fragments. Spring Valley, Mystic Forest and Soft Museum on one side, with Splash Garden, Frozen Bell and Stick Canyon on the other. The Dream Gate is smack in the middle, right in between all of them. Each side of the world has three layers, Spring Valley at the top for one side, and Splash Garden at the top for the other. Each layer is directly connected to both the layer immediately beneath it, as well as that area's counterpart on the other side of that layer. So Soft Museum and Stick canyon are directly connected, while also being directly connected to Mystic Forest, for Soft Museum, and Frozen Bell, for Stick Canyon. The middle layer, where Mystic Forest and Frozen Bell are, is the most important. Because it's from these two worlds that you have the greatest ease of travelling to other parts of Nightopia. To reach the side with Splash Garden, from Mystic Forest, you would just slip over to Frozen Bell, and go up a layer. Same in reverse. However if you wanted to get to Soft Museum from Splash garden, you would have to take a longer route, unless you went through the Dream Gate."
Astoria had begun to recover, slowly re-gaining her cheer as they got closer to reaching Spring Valley. A weight was lifted from her heart, though a dark resolve had settled in its place. Once again, the adults were stunned at the native beauty of the world. The crisp clean air, the green grass, the crystal clear waters, the red and black Jester floating not too far from them, the giant hairy spider clicking away next to him…
Wait what. Seth's mind paused.
Everyone stopped, eyes widening. "Reala!" Nights yelled out, immediately on guard.
No.
"Nights." The counterpart First-Nightmaren responded, casually.
"What are you doing here?"
No no no.
"Putting an end to this before it gets worse." Reala responded, petting the spider.
"This is another of my creations, say hello to the Spydre."
No no no no no no no no no!
His heart began to beat faster. His eyes widened, every hair on his body standing on end. Nerves were set alight with countless signals, warnings, feelings.
He had to flee. He had to get away. Run and never look back.
His mouth became dry, body beginning to shiver.
A giant, hairy, tarantula looking spider.
The worst possible thing.
And it was right in front of him.
Claris, Elliot, Will and Helen all stood in front of their parents. All of them ready to fight. Claris and Helen were grossed out by the creature, but they were able to push it aside. Will was a tad afraid, but he'd never liked spiders, and enjoyed crushing them. So he'd help crush this one too. And Elliot just didn't care. He wasn't going to let his parents get hurt.
A motion behind them caught their attention.
Seth had dropped to his rear, eyes wide. They watched him slowly begin crawling backward shaking his head the entire time. Suddenly it hit them. He was terrified. They'd heard him say the words, but until now, none of them, not even when Clawz showed up in Bellbridge, had seen a look of such pure fear on the unflappable Seth's face. Reala raised an eyebrow, very interested in the events occurring before him. A phobia of spiders…interesting, I'll have to remember that one.
They could barely make out Seth's voice whispering "no", repeatedly.
A pounding headache had suddenly erupted into place. They watched him grasp his head, as if suddenly being electrocuted. "make it stop make it stop make it stop…"
Astoria was too stunned to move. Claris stepped forward, reaching out to him. She called his name, and his head snapped up to her.
She was covered in them. Hundreds of spiders flicking over her flesh. How did she not notice? How the hell was she immune to seeing, to feeling all those spindly legs? Every bit of her was crawling in them!
They were coming out of her hair, her eyes, her ears…everywhere! And she didn't even notice!
A small part of him tried to say it wasn't real, it was fake. Something was wrong, there was just no way someone could miss all that.
But the pounding in his head drowned out the voice. All he knew was what he saw.
And he saw her reaching out to him, all the spiders gathering to her hand, ready to consume him just as they did her.
"GET AWAY!"
An explosion of black ripped from Seth's body as he screamed out in terror. Claris, eyes wide, could do nothing but gasp as a sheer feeling of FEAR ripped through her heart, before she was lifted off her feet by the kinetic force of whatever it was that kept lashing out at things, to protect him. She landed heavily on her back, where she could do nothing but watch as six glowing lights seemed to shoot out of Seth's body. Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black and White all seemed to flicker around him before they stopped, shuddering violently. His Ideya shivered heavily as their natural rotation suddenly stopped.
And then, with an echoing noise of fine china…
They shattered.
Even Reala's eyes widened as fragmented shards of Dream Energy wafted down to the ground. Seth's eyes rolled into the back of his head, body falling backwards. Astoria snapped out of her shock and tried to reach to him.
But a wall of blood red and black murky mist opened up beneath him. As his body his the ground, hundreds of grey, bleeding, sickly arms shot out of the vapors, wrapped around Seth's form, and pulled him into their depths. Astoria jumped after them, but the gateway to Nightmare closed the second they pulled him through, and the girl simply bellyflopped onto the ground.
Everyone was stunned into silence.
Before their very eyes.
They'd just seen someone lose their Ideya.
A/N: Boom. Very emotional chapter. Seth isn't an idiot. He knows what it feels like to be in pain. He also knows Astoria is naturally a fun-loving, cheerful girl. Seth displays tactics that I myself have used on people who were emotionally unstable. It's a very risky deal no matter how you approach it. But…as far as I've seen, my strange, crazy methods have always ended up giving them a spark of life back.
Oh hey, shattered Ideya. Wonder what that means.
D&S Master: Yep. I think very differently than others, speak differently too. I break people down into their base concepts and go from there. More epic and crazy and holy shit in this chapter for you. Not much fallout, but I have the full belief that even if something like that were to happen, it would be smoothed over quickly. At least the first time.
archsage328: Oh there'll be fights. Right now I'm still trying to iron out exactly who can do what. Last chapter was me letting go a bit, and just going "fuck it, they're gonna kick ass." The really good shit, the fights I can really excel at are still a little bit away. A fair few more references, and yes, those were all intentional and meant to be there, and not just "HEY LOOK GAME REFERENCE!" Seth is partially based off of myself, and I can tell you, I talk like that. Makes conversations much more fun.
