Disclaimer:
I do not own NiGHTS into Dreams or any of the characters contained within this story.
This story is dedicated to my good friend, sometimes advisor, and constant inspiration, Avis the Crow.
You made this one happen, my friend.
This Jackle's for you!
I got such a good laugh out of my last flame, feel free to entertain me with more complaints about names or personalities or anything else that I was not involved in the creation of.
It would have been really neat if I had been part of the group who named Puffy and the rest, but I wasn't, so oh well.
I'll be sure to be entertained by the badly thought out flames, and maybe pity the others who aren't mature enough to explain their views in a more constructive light.
Right before I delete them.
Have fun!
;)
"My name is Jackle, and I can FLY!!!!!"
"Yes, that's very good . . . will you please come back down now?"
The largely invisible creature paused from his exuberant circles, high above the head of his creator, and obediantly zipped back down. "'Kay!"
Okay, so maybe the creature known as Jackle had every right to be excited. After all, he was only five minutes old. Existing was pretty darn exciting when you thought about it. Doing exciting things like thinking and flying and . . . breathing . . . Whoa, that was a pretty good breath! Jackle took another, then wondered what would happen if he stopped.
Wizeman formed a tiny sweatdrop as his newest creation's eyes bulged slightly and he began to make little squeaky noises. "Breathe, Jackle."
Jackle gladly took a deep breath. "Whoo, this breathing stuff is complicated!" He gave a little cough.
Wizeman's stony expression darkened. "Indeed . . . I suppose you're wondering why I called you into being. . ."
"Not really, no."
Wizeman stopped at that casual negative. He had had a full speech prepared, with spotlights and flashbacks. It was going to look and sound so cool . . . and his new Nightmaren didn't even want to hear it!
Jackle failed to notice his master's agitation. "Oh, wow! Did you know that I have . . . one . . . two . . . ten fingers?!!! Cool!!!" He blinked as another realization hit. "I CAN COUNT!!!"
Wizeman blocked Jackle out, thinking. This fool was too hyper to be the intimidating monster that he'd been hoping for. It might be best to simply lock him away where he could do no harm to himself or others. Soft Museum, perhaps. . .
". . . sixteen . . . seventeen . . . um . . . twent, no . . . . eighteen. . ." Jackle was now counting Wizeman's fingers.
Realizing that his creation was still playing, Wizeman absently batted him aside. "Stop that!"
Jackle drifted away, then flew to another hand to resume counting. "Twenty one . . . thirt, no . . . twenty two. . ."
Wizeman turned away, ignoring the fact that Jackle simply followed the hand that he was counting.
"Now what did I do wrong. . .? I used the same energy that made up the foundation for the others. . ."
"Others? OTHERS?!" Jackle picked up on that word, and peered into the eye of the hand he was currently examining.
"I'm not alone?"
Wizeman moved two more hands over, watching Jackle. "Well, no. Actually, you are the youngest of five."
Jackle's eyes were wide and glossy. "Mmmmm. . ." He vibrated excitedly, then flung his disembodied hands and feet wide.
"I HAVE BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!"
"One sister. . ." Wizeman corrected absently, aware that Jackle was not listening.
"I thought I was all alone in the world and that was cool. . . but now I'm not and that's awesome! Hey, new words! Lesse, what else can I say? Radical? Dude? Tubular? Gnarly? Maybe I'll stick to cool. . . whaddaya think, is cool a good word?"
Jackle had by now drifted up to Wizeman's face, forgetting that there were no eyes up there. Six eyes turned to follow him anyway.
Wizeman was silent for a moment, reflecting on just how bizarre he looked. Then again, he wasn't half as bizarre as his creations - or maybe he was just trying to make up for his own insecurities by creating beings uglier and stranger than himself . . . and maybe he didn't care.
Wizeman went back to mentally reviewing Jackle's creation process, trying to pinpoint what could have gone wrong.
He grimaced as Jackle suddenly waved his hands wildly. "Hellooooooo!!! Attention, please!"
Wizeman's six eyes narrowed. Jackle looked like a fierce Nightmaren, but inside he was only a clown.
"Why don't you go and find your siblings? Get to know them." He suggested, supplying Jackle with a few mental images.
Jackle laughed, a shrill, wild sounding cackle that surprised and bothered Wizeman to no end.
He stared as Jackle spun around once and revved up with flailing legs, then - landed and strolled casually out. "Okay!"
Wizeman couldn't help but stare after his latest creation. Maybe that one wasn't as bad as he had thought. . .
Jackle bobbed along close to the ground, humming random notes that in no way went together.
Wow, existing was great! So far he had gotten a name, he'd learned how to talk and breathe and count . . . and now he was about to learn what it was like to have older siblings! Yep, life was good!
Well, Wizeman had given the impression that Jackle's oldest sibling was a big monster with a green underside and blue hide and wings. He was called GillWing because . . . well, Jackle reasoned, because he had gills and wings. That made sense, right? Of course it did!
Reaching a sort of portal, Jackle found himself staring. It looked like a woven, golden band formed into an oval and filled with churning, molten silver. Hey, new words! Jackle added Churning, molten, and silver to his vocabulary without ever pausing to wonder how he had learned them or why he knew what they meant.
The silver portal seemed to be composed of objects that Jackle could almost identify if he stared hard enough. There, that swirl just then looked like a face. . . and that one looked like a teddybear tumbling through space. . . and that one looked like a piece of boiling metal. Jackle stared for a long time, watching the churning, molten silver show before he finally remembered that he had not come to look at this pretty portal.
"Now why am I here again?"
"Why are any of us here, darling? That is Ti eternal question."
A deep, rich voice stated. It was low but obviously female, and musical. Not unpleasant. Jackle looked up in surprise, looking around.
"Look through Ti portal, dear." The voice instructed. Jackle blinked and looked. It was like looking into a mirror, except that his reflection looked nothing like him and didn't move when he moved. On second thought, it was nothing like a mirror. The figure in front of Jackle was not GillWing, but his second oldest sibling and only sister.
"You're . . . Fluffy?" Jackle asked.
The pink, ball shaped Nightmaren pursed her lips before smiling weakly. "It TIs Puffy, darling. And yes, I am. But who may I ask, are you?"
Jackle laughed happily, causing Puffy to shrink back in surprise and dismay. "Why, I'm Ja. . ." he was cut off by a gloved hand shooting through the portal and catching his floating mouth tightly, preventing further speech.
"You are an ill mannered, harsh voiced madman TI judge by what I have heard thus FAr. Now DO try it again."
Jackle blinked. He had never had his mouth grabbed before. Then again, he was only about a half an hour old.
He waited patiently for Puffy to let go so that he could speak again, and grinned happily when she did.
Puffy stared. That was most definitely not a normal reaction to being grabbed and disciplined. "Well?"
Jackle beamed happily. "My name is Jackle!" He proclaimed proudly, in a lower tone than before. Before Puffy could praise his proper speech, he went on. "How come you talk funny? I mean, I've never heard anyone talk besides myself before, and Master said a little, but you sure sound funny to me! Do all the others talk like you? Do you think they'll like me? Do you like me? I think that I like you, you're big and bouncy like a beach ball! Only I've never seen a beach ball, but if I did, I'm sure that's what you'd look like! And is there a reason why you're frowning at me like tha. . ."
Jackle blinked as Puffy grabbed his mouth again, effectively silencing him.
Puffy glared. "Your FArst lesSOn shall be TI art of knowing when TI be silent!" She let go.
Jackle stared. "What?"
Puffy held a bejeweled finger up, closing her eyes as she concentrated on her words. "Now, we shall begin. SO, are you REady?" She rolled her 'r' slightly, then blinked as no answer came. "Jackle?" The operatic Nightmaren looked around, finding no trace of her new brother. "Jackle. . .?"
"Well, that was fun, I wonder what the others are like?" Jackle beamed happily as he passed through the portal, heading for GillWing's cave. He became distracted several times by the swirling patterns that moved across the walls, and once by a Shleep that happened to be snoozing in the corridor he was in.
A few minutes of playing had taught Jackle that Shleep were nothing more than little animals, unable to speak. They also didn't appreciate having their horns pulled. He gave a little cough, remembering the awful cloud of gas that had been exhaled in his face. Shleep were thus categorized in Jackle's mind as not being much fun, but possibly worth playing with again sometime. If he was more careful.
Oh, that's right. He wasn't there to be playing with Shleep. Now what was it again?
A pretty log captured Jackle's attention. It was laying right up ahead, beyond another portal.
Maybe it was Jackle's Nightmaren instinct warning him to beware the unknown, or maybe it was a wisdom beyond hia years. Or maybe it was those nasty looking spikes coming from the tip of the "log," but Jackle found himself slowing out of caution. he knew that this was no mere log, it was something lethal and best avoided. He knew this without a trace of doubt . . . and chose to ignore it anyway. There were benefits to not being all there. Which was good, because Jackle was most definitely NOT "all there" in either the literal or the figurative meaning.
The largely invisible Nightmaren drifted over to examine this new creature, ignoring the raspy, ominous breaths or the occasional growl that came from somewhere nearby.
All caution took one look at the impish look in Jackle's eyes and his goofy grin, and made a beeline for the nearest exit.
Jackle instantly allowed himself to fall, plopping right onto that thick, rubbery hide and digging his heels in. "YEEEEEEHAAAAA!!!!!"
GillWing threw his head up in a startled roar before flapping wildly into the air, twisting and writhing like a dying worm under Jackle's far from expert riding skills.
Jackle meanwhile, helped by slapping GillWing's hide and laughing in that disturbing way of his.
It was hours and hours later when GillWing finally sank back to the ground, exhausted and admitting defeat. Jackle clapped delightedly before skipping over a few spines up to the monster's head, then peering upside-down into one of GillWing's large, bulbous eyes.
"Hi!"
He yelped as the dragon shook his head, knocking him loose. Jackle flipped and landed on his back, only to get right back up, grinning.
"I'm Jackle! You're GillWing, right?"
GillWing's response was a low, rumbling groan and a roll of his eyes. It was going to be a long, long century. . .