CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NiGHTS sat inside of the cage, looking morose. He felt so…alone.
It had once been wonderful to feel alive. It had been so nice before. Everyone living peacefully. Then Wiseman had gotten greedy and insisted that all of the realm of Dreams belonged to him.
He didn't understand why the others had gone along with Wiseman. It made no sense to him.
Although…perhaps it made some sense with Reala. Reala…Reals…he'd always wanted to be strong, to be good at what he did. Now he really was.
NO!
He couldn't think about the past. It would make him want to cry, and then he'd never be able to stop. He had to continue to look forward to the future, to believe that things would work out…
But Will…if Will found out he was a Nightmaren, he'd be heartbroken. NiGHTS didn't want to lose another friend, and-
Suddenly he heard a clinking noise. A very familiar clinking noise. He looked down and saw…
"WILL!" He shouted. "You've got to run, you don't want to get caught!"
"Aw, come on! We're friends, right?" Will said, climbing up into the cage. "No matter what you are, you're still my friend…so let's go!" He rose up to face NiGHTS and held up one hand.
"Alrighty then!" NiGHTS said, a smile appearing on his face. Will knew...and he didn't care. He truly WAS a good friend.
The jester raised his hand to Will, and two became one…
…
…
…
…"WOOOHOOOO!" Will shouted as he and NiGHTS's combined form soared through the air. They were on the playground, going up a slide and paralooping around blue spheres to reach a jungle gym at the top. "Oh, I LOVE playgrounds!" Will said as they sailed through a group of rings and Will felt a rush fill him from head to toe.
"It's so sunny and balmy out!" NiGHTS remarked. "And look at the clouds!"
"That one looks like a duck…"
"That one looks like a dragon. Speaking of which, I can't wait to get my next persona, you'll LOVE it, Will!"
"Ooh, that one looks like a big purple…beehive?"
NiGHTS stopped them in mid-air. Buzzing could be heard from the top of the jungle gym as they eye the rounded, bulging beehive. "It's NOT an ordinary beehive. Those are Nightmaren pests. Their stings are nasty."
"How can we deal with them?" Will asked. He noticed several "Beez" were picking on the Nightopians, chasing after them and stinging their little heads.
"Their hive." NiGHTS suggested. "You're good at soccer, aren't you?" A grin split his face.
The Beez heard a whistle from behind. "Hey!"
They turned around. Will used all of his strength and kicked the hive. It sailed into them and they all went flying through the air, turning into purple dust as the hive exploded into sparks. The Nightopians cheered at this.
"Hey, look Will!" NiGHTS flew up to a looong pole and twirled around on it. "Woo-woo! Oh, I could spend weeks here!" He laughed.
"I wish my dad were here with me…he and I would have a lot of fun!" Will admitted.
NiGHTS flew up to the top of a tree that was just near a building made up of playing blocks. He sat down, looking concerned. "You really think highly of your dad." He said.
"I just want him to be proud of me." Will said quietly, rubbing his neck.
NiGHTS was quiet for a few moments, then he spoke. "Will…I think if your father knew how much you've done here…he'd be VERY proud."
Will looked up. "You think so?"
"I know so." NiGHTS said.
"KRRAAA! KRAAA!"
NiGHTS turned his head to see three birds, complete with riders, chasing towards them. He grinned. "Time to have some more fun, Will! Let's do this!"
…
…
…
…Will sent the last bird flying into the sandpit and took the key from him, inserting it into the cage, which broke apart into chunks before vanishing. Then he and NiGHTS sat down in the sandbox with the Nightopians and Owl to begin building sandcastles.
"Oh, this is fun." Will said. "Look!" He showed off his work. He'd used a few shells and some blocks to make a gigantic mall. "Not bad, huh?"
"What do you think of this?" NiGHTS asked, showing off a sand-waterfall he'd made. Will giggled.
"It's very-ha-ha-ha!" He pointed behind NiGHTS, over at Owl, who had foolishly dozen off in the sandbox…near some very mischievous Nightopians. They'd buried him in the sand. Owl huffed and puffed as he tugged himself out, looking very miffed.
"I SAY! Why…the cheek! You little rapscallions!"
Oh dear…Will…NiGHTS…Owl…something's coming, something…big…bad…be careful…
They all perked their heads up just in time to hear the warning as a dark portal ripped the sky open above them. All of sudden it became dark around them, the lights turning from yellow to red, everything spinning…
NiGHTS and Will found themselves in a dark abyss with purple, teethy "thorns" rising from the ground as mist seeped everywhere. They were inside a dark ball cage of sorts…and a harvest moon glowed behind them.
"I'm scared." Will admitted.
"AWOOOO!"
"Now I'M scared." NiGHTS said.
They turned to see a strange dog with almost dark bronze fur. He had solid red eyes and a long ponytail made of fire. His fangs showed as he grinned at them, revealing a HUGE, rounded collar of gold that was covered in spikes. It was attached to a long chain and at the end of it was a golden ball…
Unfortunately there was another dog just like the first one who had purple eyes and a ponytail of ice instead of fire attached to the ball as well. There were spikes running down the top of their heads and they had long, thin legs with hooves at the bottom…they were like some demonic dog crossed with a horse. Red flames rose from the body of the first, while blue rose from the second, and bats raced across the sky on their leathery wings.
"I take it that's Cerberus…" Will whispered.
"Yes…but don't worry Will. We can take him." NiGHTS said.
Cerberus turned both of their heads to look at NiGHTS and Will and sniffed. A grin split their faces. "YOU'RE…DUALIZED…YOU HAVE A HUMAN WITH YOU…MMM…"
"You're not going to TOUCH him!" NiGHTS said, rushing forward. He grabbed the ball both of the dogs were attached to and kicked it. Both the dogs went flying back…and naturally, they snapped together, colliding hard. They fell into the mist, groaning in pain, seeming to disappear…
Then it was like they rose back up like sharks from the sea, snapping at NiGHTS and Will. "STAND STILL SO I CAN EAT YOU!" The two heads shouted. NiGHTS ducked underneath one of their heads while grabbing the chain and tossing it around the other head.
"WHAT THE?!"
NiGHTS tugged hard. The two heads were strapped together. The dogs growled angrily. "YOU'LL REGRET THIS YOU-OH NO, OH NO!"
NiGHTS kicked the ball the chain was attached to again. This time the dogs collided with a spike, and sank into the abyss with a loud howl of pain.
"They're almost finished, Will!" NiGHTS said.
"SO ARE YOU!"
This time the hellhound rose far faster than it had before, grabbing NiGHTS and shaking him, then stomping on him over and over. Will felt pain rack him as the two dogs stood there, sneering down at NiGHTS and Will's combined form.
"YOU FIRST?" The red one asked.
"OH NO, PLEASE, I INSIST." The second laughed.
Then they looked back down. NiGHTS was gone. "WHAT THE?!" Both shouted.
A whistle. They turned around. Will put his foot on top of the golden ball and smiled cheekily. "Hey, next time, remember this: it's not smart to gloat over your dinner, especially if you're not sure it's really dead."
He kicked it hard. The two dogs went flying past him with a final howl…
BA-BAM! With a golden explosion that sent confetti flying everywhere, they vanished. Will and NiGHTS undualzed and slapped each other high-five.
"That's what I call teamwork!" NiGHTS laughed.
Author's Apology:
Sorry it's taken so long to get a chapter up. I've got a lot on my plate right now, writing-wise…