Body

Nights: Into Dreams

Chapter 3

Released Into The Fire

In the darkness, she could only hear the coughing. He was in there, in the dark shadows at the back of the cell. The torch light reached only so far into the cell, the far back recesses could not be seen. The female Nightmaren was hesitant to go in. She looked down at her own hands and they were shaking with fright. This was Nights, the one who had destroyed Wizeman's plans, she had to go in there and meet this frightening being. No! She had to go in there and heal it. She had heard stories. Stories of his tenacity, of his viciousness, of his evil. This was the being that Wizeman had taken all of his frustrations out on for the past four weeks. Every night the sounds of screams and cries could be heard even up to the first level. Some of the other prisoners in the levels above had gone mad with the screams. Now, finally, Wizeman requested that a healer go in and look at the rebel Nightmaren, and she had been chosen. She took a deep breath and nodded to one of the guards standing to the side.

There was a loud clank that startled her so, and then a loud creak as the door opened wide into the cell. She was handed a torch, and told to be careful. "Even wounded," the guard said, "he's still very dangerous." The female Nightmaren nodded her head, took another long breath and walked inside. The door clanged shut behind her and her hand clasped the torch tighter in her hand. She felt safe in the warm light as her timid voice spoke. "H..he..hello?"

"Go away, whoever you are, and leave me alone. Wizeman hasn't won yet, I'm still alive." The voice was deep, rich, and struggling to get out.

"I'm sorry. I'm here to heal your wounds. I've been ordered by Wizeman to do so." She walked towards the back of the cell, holding the torch out in front of her. Her steps echoed in the silence, her breathing heavy in the chill, damp air. Finally the torch light reached him, and the female Nightmaren let out a little gasp. Nights laid on the floor, bruises all across his face, arms and hands. His clothes were torn to shreds with numerous slash marks clearly seen. Both eyes had been turned black, and his lips had been split in numerous places. There was blood everywhere. The only conclusion that she could come to was that this evil Nightmaren was a mess. Then she saw his eyes. Those purple colored eyes. They were passionate, almost beautiful. Those purple eyes were also intense, and filled with emotion. She hadn't expected that.

"Heal me?", that voice said. "Why does he want me healed?"

"W..w..well, um, he wants you healed so that he can continue with his, what he termed, recreation with you." She kneeled down next to Nights, looking him over carefully. "I'll tell you something, you're not what I expected."

"What were you expecting, and, what is your name?"

"Well, my name is Pirdy. I was expecting something with sharp fangs and claws ready to destroy me in an instant." She chuckled a little, reaching into her bag and taking out a bottle and some swabs. "I expected someone like Reala."

This illicited a chuckle from Nights, and then a wince as he doubled over in pain. "I'm nothing like my brother." He laid back and looked at Pirdy again, taking a deep breath to try and stop the throbbing in his ribs. Those intense purple eyes scrutinized the young female Nightmaren. It was apparent that her favorite color was gold, it was everywhere on her, from her floppies to her boots. Only her sleeves were white and they hung all the to her wrists where they flared out. On her chest was a red jewel in the shape of a heart, and it shone even in this dark cell.

She blushed slightly as she dabbed lightly at the cuts with the ointment. "What are you looking at?", she finally said. She looked at him with her own blue eyes, blinking as she tried not to look at all his wounds.

"You, you're nothing like the others. You're a healer, and you're eyes belie your intelligence and innocence. You're not a warrior, are you?"

She shook her head, taking a different swab in her hand and dipping it in the ointment bottle. "No, I'm no warrior. I'm tolerated because I can heal wounds and cuts. I'm jeered and scoffed at because I don't haul around a sword and hack others to pieces." As she spoke those words, she started poking harder and harder at the wounds until Nights winced loudly. "Sorry," she said, "I get a little carried away when I start talking about it. Have you ever felt like nobody understands you, that they enjoy laughing at your foibles and faults."

Nights nodded his head, smiling a little. "Yes, I do. It's why I ran away. I learned what Wizeman was planning and couldn't be a part of it." His voice was soft, quiet and sympathetic. "I ran away in anger. I know how you're feeling, lonely, maybe even like it's your fault."

Pirdy looked up once more, lightly nodding her head as Nights spoke those words. "Yeah, a little." She sat down, feeling a little more comfortable around the enemy Nightmaren. "So you felt that way too?"

Nights nodded his head, his smile growing. "Yeah, I felt that way too."

Pirdy continued healing Nights for a long while, talking with the 'maren. Her hands continued to heal his wounds, her mind racing at the new possibilities for her future.

Elliot had waited four long weeks for this reunion. He had even gone out to get a haircut and everything. He had taken all of the money he saved and had bought her a beautiful guitar that he knew she wanted. He had called and told all of his friends that he wouldn't be home tonight, that he had something important to take care off. He hadn't told anyone where he was going, and who he was going with. Elliot had taken special care not too, he didn't want anyone interrupting this night. For the first time in a long time he was going to get to see Claris all too himself.

In her small apartment where she spent most of her time, Claris was feeling very tired. She couldn't shake it off. She had slept soundly all night, not even dreaming which was unusual for her. Her body felt like it hadn't slept at all, it was slow to react to everything. She stood up from her couch, however. She had been looking forward to this day for a long time, and she wasn't going to let a little thing like a lack of sleep get in the way of her night. She had pulled every string she could think of to get this night off. She had even called her mother who was traveling abroad to tell Gerald to let her have the night off. Gerald had finally given in from the pressure, reluctantly giving her a few hours to go see her boyfriend. He had furiously scribbled off something he had scheduled in his book and looked at her with hurt eyes. "I try to give you everything, but if you insist on slacking off, then fine. Go see your boyfriend, but when you get back, you'll have to practice hard to make up for the time." He stormed out of the room, closing the door hard behind him.

Claris grabbed the picnic basket that she had prepared and took the bus to Twin Seeds Tower. On the way she fell asleep on her seat and it took someone next to her giving a hard shake to wake her up. She woke up still feeling groggy and tired. She nodded her head, yawned and stepped off the bus. There stood the Tower, soaring above her into the night sky. She smiled, remembering the first day that she saw Elliot in her own world, not the Dream World. He ran down the aisle, his eyes wide at seeing her for the first time as well. She knew then that they were destined to be together. It had been the greatest night of her life. She entered the Tower, looking about for Elliot. The door to the theater was open and she walked through. There she saw him looking up at the stage and wondered if he was remembering that night as well.

"Elliot!", she called out, running down the aisle towards him. He turned and waved, a smile coming to his face. He waited at the bottom of the aisle, opening up his arms and embracing her warmly. "I've missed you, Claris." She only smiled and sighed warmly, finding comfort in his embrace. She hadn't seen him in four weeks, and had only briefly talked to him on the phone. They embraced one another for a while, not daring to let go.

Nights felt it, the stirring of a familiar dreamer nearby. Pirdy had gone, her mind changed forever from her talk with him. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to calm down and filter out everything around him. His breathing became deeper, and he felt himself drifting off. Yes, a familiar wanderer. It was Claris, and her dream spirit was close by. She was ready to fall asleep at Twin Seeds Tower! Someone was watching over him, that's for sure. Nights hadn't expected this to happen for a very long time, or ever. This was a total stroke of pure luck, but it was luck that he was not going to pass up. He waited for Claris to fall asleep, it was only a matter of moments.

Elliot and Claris had set up the picnic on the stage in the theater. Claris had made sandwiches and had brought some potato salad and other picnic essentials. She looked at the food, but her appetite just wasn't with her.

"What's the matter, Claris?" Elliot had noticed that she didn't look like eating, and now that he looked closer, he noticed that she didn't look well at all. Claris only shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the picnic blanket. She didn't say a word, her whole body not wanting to do or say anything.

"Claris? Are you all right?" The sound of real concern caused Claris to look up at Elliot, the black bags under her eyes all of a sudden becoming clear. Elliot realized that she was only half here and half asleep.

"No, I'm not feeling to well. I think I'm coming down with something. I'm tired all the time, I'm feeling groggy and listless. Mostly I'm just really, really sleepy."

Elliot crawled around to the other side of the blanket, taking Claris in his arms. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I sleep like the dead, and Elliot, I haven't dreamed in weeks."

Normally that wouldn't have phased Elliot, but he knew what she meant. Since their adventure with Nights, they had dreamed every night. Whether or not they saw their friend, it didn't matter, they always dreamed. Claris had not been, however, and that troubled him.

"Maybe it's the stress from everything. I've heard that sometimes stars need time to adjust to their new lifestyle. You're just starting out and you're nervous and not getting the kind of sleep that you need, I don't know. What do you think?" She didn't answer. Elliot looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep against him. He only smiled a little, running his hand through her hair. "Maybe not."

Claris walked down the familiar shadowy corridor, no sounds or colors barring her way. In the far distance she saw the bright light of the Dream World and started running towards it. She had found her way back! A sigh escaped her as she felt the familiar warmth of Spring Valley wash across her face. No, wait, it was too hot. She walked a little further forward and felt it get hotter.

"Claris..."

This wasn't right, she always came to Spring Valley. It was getting hotter as she continued to walk further down the tunnel.

"Claris, can you hear me?"

She was almost to the end of the shadow tunnel, she had almost crossed over. The heat had increased as she continued to walk down the tunnel, and it had made her even more curious. She could feel the heat, but she was not sweating. Do dreams sweat? Do dreams feel heat for that matter? Something wasn't right.

"Claris, it's Nights, I need you to hear me. I need your help."

She felt something in her hand. She looked down and saw a red jewel, something that she had never seen before. It glittered with it's own light, and it was warm to the touch. Claris held it up in front of her face and looked inside, her eyes focusing on the light deep within.

"Claris, I need your help. I am in Nightmare Tower. I need you too come to rescue me."

She gasped as she heard the voice for the first time. "N...N..Nights! Is that you? I can feel the dream Nights, I can feel the heat and the wind!"

"Claris, your body is completely shut down. It's in the deepest stages of sleep. You're now closer to the Dream World than ever before. You can feel everything around you."

"You mean, I'm in a coma?"

"Yes, that is the name that you would call it. Claris, I don't have much time. I need your help now. Come to Nightmare Castle, find me and release me!"

Claris swallowed hard as she continued to walk down the tunnel. The heat continued to assault her as she walked forward once more.

"Nights, it's unbearably hot. What's happened? Am I going to Spring Valley?"

"I've tried to bring you as close to me as possible. You're going towards Stick Canyon, and the desert there. In the distance you'll see a storm brewing. Head towards it and then you..."

The words ended abruptly, the light inside the red ideya dimming a little. "Nights?", Claris said, "Nights, are you there anymore?" She shook the jewel as though that would bring the voice back, and then she sighed. "What's going on with you Nights, why are you in Nightmare Tower?" She continued to walk on down the tunnel, the light finally opening onto a scene of desert bliss. All around her there were the brown sands as far as the eye can see. In the far distance where the tall metal towers of Wizeman's Nightmaren traps. The magnets and the gravity pulls were all there, whirring away to protect Wizeman from the attack of a maren. Of course, it was all put to waste when Nights flew through it like it and attacked directly. Claris covered her eyes with her hand, shading her eyes as she spun about. It was all blue and bright as the eye could see, but there in the distance she saw the dark clouds of a storm. "I guess that's it.", she told herself quietly. With a dedicated determination, she turned on one heel and headed straight for Nightmare Tower.

It had been a few hours since she had fallen asleep and Elliot had eaten almost everything on the blanket. She was sleeping so soundly that he didn't want to disturb her, but it was getting late, and they needed to get home. "Claris, come on, it's time to wake up. We've got to go." He shook her lightly, waiting for her to stir. When she didn't move, he shook her again a little harder this time. "Come on Claris, it's time to go." He moved back to the blanket, picking everything up and placing it in the basket. "Claris, wake up and let's get out of here." He looked back over to where she slept and crawled back over to her. "Claris, this isn't funny. Come on, you have to get up." He shook her again, this time very strongly. She still didn't stir. "Claris, Claris!" He leaned down and listened, and heard her breathing and her heart. What was going on here? "Claris, come on sweetheart, you gotta wake up." He lifted her up and started carrying her from the theater, his legs moving as fast as he could.

Nights let out a long breath, smiling and nodding slightly as he did so. Claris had made it over to this side. She saw her own ideya, which means that her whole spirit was here, not just her dream self. That could be a problem later on, her whole spirit shouldn't be here. Nights opened his eyes, peering around the cell. It was quiet once more. He took this opportunity to get a few deep breaths, his bandaged ribs not causing him pain like they had for so long. Claris, thought Nights, wasn't going to make it across the desert and through Nightmare Tower alone. She was totally unprepared for what lay ahead of her. There wasn't just two Nightmaren now, Nights knew that but Claris didn't. It would take only one to catch her and bring her to a cell right beside him. He would need to send her some kind of help. Just then the cell door clanked open and a familiar figure walked inside. "Hello Nights, I'm here to check on your wounds." Perfect, thought Nights.

Claris traveled across the desert, walking around the tall metal towers, and steering clear of the large magnets that continued to pulsate with power. She kept to the shade as often as she could, despising when she would have to wake out from underneath them. Her mind kept wandering back to the fact that she was feeling all of this. The heat, the thirst, the tired legs. When she had come before, she could have run for hours and not felt a thing. Now she could barely put one foot in front of another. "This is crazy," she thought, "I'm in a dream. I've never felt anything when I've come here before. What's going on?" She continued to ponder this as she walked across the desert landscape.

Elliot rode with the love of his life in the back of the ambulance as it dashed towards the Twin Seeds Medical Complex. She looked so peaceful, he thought, lying there. He ran a gentle hand through her hair, brushing it out of her eyes. "Come on Claris, wake up for me. I need you here." The paramedic didn't say anything, he had seen it work before. He hoped it worked this time. The look on this kids face was enough to make the paramedic work twice as hard. This blue haired boy, with the black sweatshirt and the white T-shirt sticking out underneath. The green shorts, and the tennis shoes. He was the model teenager, but the look in his blue eyes spoke volumes more. This kid had seen things that had made him grow up a little faster. It was a look that he had once had himself.

"It's all right kid, she's not going anywhere. She's just sleeping very deeply.", he finally said.

"Sleeping? How deeply?" The look in his eyes showed the concern one reserves for a soul mate. "I..I..mean, what could make her fall into such a deep sleep."

The paramedic shrugged, checking the IV he had placed into her arm. "I don't know kid, I'm not a doctor." The ambulance pulled into the hospital, the siren silencing itself. Then it was a flurry of action as she was taken out of the ambulance and quickly moved inside. Nurses and doctors hovered around her as they checked her vital signs and stats. They opened her eyes, prodded her with instruments and checked her blood pressure. It was a flurry of numbers and medicines and medical terms that caused Elliot to almost swoon. He couldn't catch anything they were saying, everyone was talking at once. Then a hand came on his shoulder. He turned around quickly and saw the friendly paramedic. He only smiled and led him outside. "Come on, let them do their work."

He followed the man outside. The paramedic handed him a soda and said, "Listen kid, it's going to be all right. She's going to be fine. Twin Seeds Medical is one of the best in the state."

"Thanks.", Elliot said, a little downcast. He kicked the ground, looking at his soda.

"Kid, listen to me," he walked in front of Elliot and looked down at him, "Believe in her strength. Be there when she needs you most, and most importantly, never lose hope. I've seen people rise from their beds with the mere touch of fingertips. I've seen people who have slept for years awaken at a kiss. Magic happens, kid, and you know that."

Elliot looked up at him, an astonished look on his face.

The paramedic nodded his head, "You've been there. You've met him."

Elliot spoke in a quiet voice, "Who..", he barely whispered.

"The young man in purple who flew in your dreams."

Pirdy nodded her head, looking at the floor at her feet. "What you want me to do will get me killed." She looked up at Nights, looked at his eyes and his face. "I just can't do it. I'm not a warrior like you, I wouldn't be able to defend myself."

Nights nodded his head, the chains rattling slightly. "I understand Pirdy. You have to look at it from your own heart though. Not from what I need, and not from what the others think of you. No, you have to make this decision for yourself. What I'm asking from you is something that's going to change your life forever. It might be for good, and it might be for bad. One thing remains true, however, and that is it's better than living in fear and mockery all the time."

Pirdy nodded her head, looking down at her medical bag this time and running a finger along the leather. She would no longer be laughed at. She could be free to practice her art with a friend who would treasure it instead of jeer it. "All right, I'll do it."

Nights looked at her, "Are you sure you don't want more time to think about it? Again, it's a big decision to make." Pirdy only shook her head, as she stood up. "No, I'll go and find your friend and bring her here. We're going to get you out of here so that we can stop Wizeman."

Nights smiled and nodded. "She's in Stick Canyon, just passing the trap area. Be careful, those magnets are very powerful. Steer clear of them. You can't miss her, she's the only one with red hair in the entire area." Pirdy stood up and nodded, walking out of the cell with a newfound sense of self. She took one more look at Nights and then walked out.

Elliot walked into Claris' hospital room. Her body lay in a bed, her hair splashed all around her on the pillow. The doctor looked up and smiled. "Hi there. Who are you?"

"I'm her boyfriend, Elliot. I'm the one that came with her to the hospital. What's the matter with her?"

"Well, she's suffering from severe exhaustion. She's driven herself very hard for some reason and her body was unprepared for it. So, it just stopped working to allow it to recover. She'll be asleep for a while. We need to get in contact with her mother and father. Do you know their number."

"Her father passed away, her mother is in Europe traveling on business. She's in the care of her agent right now."

As though summoned by those very words, Gerald walked into the room. He was wearing the same clothing that Elliot saw him in the park wearing. Didn't this guy ever change? "What's going on," he bellowed. "What have you done to my singer."

"I didn't do anything. She just fell..."

"I don't want to hear it!", he hollered. "I want you out of here. She's my responsibility and I don't want you near her anymore."

"B...b..but..I want to stay.." Elliot pleaded.

"Forget it! I give her to you for a few hours and she ends up in the hospital! Get out of my sight." He shoved Elliot roughly out of the room, closing the door behind him. Elliot turned to look into the room only to have the blinds closed. He sighed and walked to a bench and sitting down with his head in his hands. He started to cry a little, shaking her head, this had to be the worst night of his life. A few minutes later, the doctor walked out and came over, sitting down next to Elliot. "You all right, Elliot?"

He just shook his head, wiping his eyes, "My girlfriend is in a coma, her agent just kicked me out, and I can't even see her. How do you think I'm going to feel."

The doctor nodded, smiling gently at the young boy. "Well, I can see your point. Tell me, what do you do when your not with your young lady friend there."

"I play basketball, I'm on the Twin Seeds High team."

"And what's the most important thing about playing basketball?"

"What do you mean?", asked Elliot, a little curious.

"Well, and coach will tell you that the most important thing to any sport is team work. No great athlete stands alone."

The idea hit Elliot of what the doctor was saying. He needed backup because the agent held all the cards right now. He needed friends if he was going to see his girlfriend anymore. The doctor's grin grew as he saw the idea hit the boy's brain. He patted Elliot on the shoulder and said, "Call in your markers boy, and kick that idiots butt. I'm behind you all the way." Another pat on the shoulder, and the doctor stood and walked away.

Yes, Elliot thought, that's what he would need to do. He stood up and walked over to a phone, picking up the receiver and digging for a quarter. Looking around, he plopped the quarter in and dialed.

"Yeah, Daren, it's me, Elliot. Claris is in a coma and I need your help. Thanks man, I appreciate the words. Gather everyone up, and I mean everyone. I need you to head over to Claris' private apartment. I've got the key. Go inside and look up her mom's cell phone number. We need to get in contact with her. I'm at the hospital. Meet me here. Yeah..everyone. It's time I fought back."