Chapter 24: Luna's Weakening State Revealed

In the different dimension where Vicki and Robert had seen the place not too long ago while they were dreaming. But what's different this time around was the fog had been subsided. Luna, the guardian of dream, barely walked as she took a few steps slowly. Her breathing was getting ragged when she fell to her knees and placed her hands on the ground. It took her a lot of time to get some air while she was very exhausted.

"H-How...can this be?" Luna asked to herself, as she was breathing heavily. "T-The dark forces...N-Noelle...D-Demonic Nightmare Squad...T-They can't...They can't possibly win!"

When Luna reached her limit, she suddenly collapsed to the ground. She barely moved her body and her eyelids were getting heavy. As if her energy was being drained, her fatigue was beginning to max out.

At the island of Triforce, Serena, Neon, and Wisp sensed something that was troubling. Then, they heard someone crying in pain and called for help, but it's not within the island.

"Guys, I believe it's Luna!" Serena exclaimed.

"You're right, we've got to see her right away!" said Neon.

"Let's us teleport to the different dimension now!" said Wisp.

The three guardians teleported to the dream realm where Luna was. They found her lying on the ground motionless, and she was slowly fading. She slowly turned her head and lifted up a little to see the other guardians.

"E-Everyone, how...how did you...?" Luna groaned.

"Luna, take it easy!" said Serena, in a panic tone. "What on earth happened to you?"

"It's...what I fear..."

"What you fear?" Neon repeated Luna's words before asking her a question. "What did you fear, Luna?"

"N-Noelle...and the Demonic Nightmare Squad...had successfully consumed all the dream life forces from the dreamers!"

Wisp gasped. "Then, what's going to happen to you?"

"I...will fade away soon...who knows where I'll end up..."

"Oh no, this is bad news, guys! We need to contact the dynamic duo and explain everything to them!"

"I agree with you, Wisp!" said Neon.

"That makes three of us!" said Serena in triumph.

Vicki and Robert were having lunch at the restaurant together. They were talking about their future plans like their wedding day and their first honeymoon. Claire and Sonia dragged Sammy and Jimmy by the ear and shoved them in front of the couple. It seemed that the girls were very impatient and forced the boys to speak up right now. Vicki and Robert had no idea of what's going on until they overheard the protests from the four people.

"Tell them right now, boys!" Claire demanded.

"T-Tell them what?" Sammy stammered, as he pretended that he didn't know of what Claire was talking about.

"Ugh, you know what I mean!" Claire immediately smacked Sammy on the head.

"Why don't you tell them instead, Jimmy?" Sonia asked.

"Me? Why me?" Jimmy complained, as he was pointing at himself.

"Just tell them right now!" Sonia elbowed Jimmy on the side.

Vicki and Robert stared at the four people arguing whether the boys would tell them, or the girls would tell them themselves. The duo began to react, so they began to interrupt their arguments. They really wanted to know of what's going on this instant.

"Alright, there's something you guys should know," Sammy confessed, while looking at Vicki and Robert.

"Yeah, we wanted to tell you right away, but we just couldn't..." said Jimmy.

"You see, Jimmy and I already talked this over, and we decided that we should move out to Soma with Claire and Sonia."

"Yeah, it's not because we're bad neighbors to both of you. The real reason is that we wanted to communicate and hang out with Claire and Sonia a lot more ever since we first met and confessed our love to them."

"Oh, I think I understand now," Vicki mused. "You guys wanted to move out, so you will live with them for the rest of your lives, right?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Jimmy nodded.

"Well, why didn't you guys say something in the first place?" Robert asked.

"That's right, you two should've at least told us sooner," Vicki suggested.

"As we said before, we wanted to, but I guess we're not prepared for this..." Sammy pointed out.

Later at night, Vicki and Robert were inside of Robert's house and discussed about the house remodeling and renovations. They needed to ask Tom Nook if it's possible to merge two houses into one big mansion since they would plan to get married. Since the duo were fully aware that Sammy and Jimmy would be moving to Soma with Claire and Sonia, Robert already told them that they should discuss this to the raccoon. Whenever they moved out, they would no longer be neighbors to Vicki and Robert. For the island representative respectively, he thought of them as "acquaintances" rather than just neighbors. At first, they were being disrespectful to him before he became an island representative. Until few years had passed, things suddenly got changed that Robert became friendly with Sammy and Jimmy, even they were still teasing and mocking him. That was something he couldn't get it off his mind.

"Hey Robert, what's wrong?" Vicki asked.

"Oh sorry, Vicki, it's just that-ever since Sammy and Jimmy told us that they're planning to move out to Soma Island," Robert explained, "I just can't help, but to...miss them."

Vicki nodded. "Yeah, I know how you feel... I know those two neighbors in a very long time than you have."

"That's very true. So, what are your thoughts about them right now?"

"Well, come to think of it, they may be impolite, mischievous, and obnoxious at first. Until now, they're kind, friendly, and come in good terms ever since they're fallen in love with Claire and Sonia."

"I see now. Do you miss them whenever they will move out to Soma Island?"

"To be frank with you, yes, I do miss them. What about you, Robert? What's your opinion about them?"

"Ah well, it's a long story short. My answer is the same as yours, but there's something that comes in mind. Ever since Sammy and Jimmy were sad because Claire and Sonia temporarily dumped them, I kind of feel sorry for them to be honest. I started to teach those boys of how to become a proper gentleman like myself, so they can win the girls' trusts. And now, I'm starting to get along with them very smoothly. I always think of them as acquaintances, not just neighbors though."

"Wow, Robert, you truly showed them some compassion, and you did a fine job getting along with them than I have!"

"Well, Vicki, that's something I can only see right through them than you'd expected!"

After Vicki and Robert were teasing each other a bit and started to laugh when it came to Sammy and Jimmy, Serena, Neon, and Wisp suddenly appeared right in front of them. They were surprised to see them again after a while longer. But the guardians told them the terrible news about Luna.

"Guys, there's something wrong with Luna!" Wisp exclaimed.

"What's wrong with Luna?" Vicki asked desperately.

"She's getting weaker now, and she might fade away real soon!" Serena answered, in a panic tone.

"How do we suppose to reach her?" Robert asked.

"It's simple, whenever you guys go to sleep," Neon answered.

"So, we have to go to sleep in order to contact her?" Vicki asked, tilting her head.

"Yes, you guys did that before, right?" Serena asked, reminding the young heroes.

"Now that you mention it, I believe we did..." Robert pointed out.

"Then, let's go to sleep together, shall we?" Vicki suggested.

"Yes, let's-!" Before Robert agreed, he glanced at Vicki with his face turned red. "V-Vicki, did you just say, 'we're sleeping together?'"

"Yes, I did. Is there any problem with that? Or you don't like the idea at all?"

"N-No, it's a not a problem at all; and in fact, I really like the idea after all! I-It's just that...well, this is the first time I'm sleeping with you."

Now, Vicki's face was turning red, just like Robert's. "C-Come to think of it, it's my first time sleeping with you as well."

While the duo's faces had gone red, Wisp immediately interrupted their moment and shouted, "Who cares about that? What's important is Luna's waiting for us in the dream realm! She needs us as soon as possible before it's too late!"

In the dream realm, the three guardians and the Duo of Justice had arrived. What the dynamic duo noticed their surroundings was the fog had completely disappeared and the area became a void. They all ran to find Luna anywhere until Phantom Angel saw her lying on the ground. When they all rushed to her, the guardian of dream suddenly became transparent.

"Luna!" everyone called out her name.

"E-Everyone...y-you made it this far..." said Luna weakly, as she turned her head and face everyone in the dream realm.

"Luna, what's going on?" Phantom Angel panicked. "What's happening to you?"

"I...I...may not have time to explain everything, but...I'll keep it short before I will disappear...whether it's nowhere and elsewhere..."

Luna explained everything to the Duo of Justice, just like she already explained to the guardians, except to make it briefly. She revealed to them about what happened to herself; and what Noelle and the Demonic Nightmare Squad planned to do with the stolen dream life forces, which made her protection of all dreams broken.

"Okay, so how do we suppose to defeat this Noelle person and the Demonic Nightmare Squad?" Masked Swordmaster asked.

"And how do we suppose to return all the stolen dream life forces to the original dreamers?" Phantom Angel asked.

"We wish we knew the answer, but no clue whatsoever..." Neon shrugged, as it made the Duo of Justice felt disappointed.

"A-Actually, I know the key..." Luna interjected, which made everyone seemed surprised.

"Luna?" Serena puzzled. "Do you have an answer to our problem?"

"Y-Yes, I do...I-I believe that the Duo of Justice have something that none of us have..."

"Luna, what exactly do you mean by that?" Phantom Angel asked.

"You two have the greater power within than the guardians have...including myself..."

"Sorry, we don't actually follow here..." said Masked Swordmaster apologetically.

"I think I know what she means," said Wisp. "You two have the greater power of all times, the power of love! That will strengthen the dreams and weaken the nightmares!"

"Say what?!" the dynamic duo exclaimed in unison, as their jaws were dropped.

"Enough with the dubious looks, Duo of Justice, I believe Wisp is right," said Neon.

"I totally agree!" Serena interjected. "Well, Wisp hadn't read the book if Vicki hadn't found it."

"Wait, what book?" Masked Swordmaster asked in confusion, as he looked at Phantom Angel.

"Oh right, that was like, last year when you vanished in a few days ago?" Phantom Angel recalled. "I just found a box that was washed away from somewhere and discovered a book that was inside of it."

"Oh, that makes sense now."

Suddenly, Luna made a loud groan and moan noises as if her magical energy was being drained. She was fading really fast before she disappeared out of nowhere. The Duo of Justice and the three guardians tried to hold on to her, but the guardian of dream would become more transparent, like a ghost. Few seconds later, she was turned into the particles of light little by little and disappeared.

"Luna!" the guardians shouted in unison.

"LUNA, NO!" Phantom Angel screamed in agony, as she embraced herself and Masked Swordmaster hugged her behind for comfort.

Vicki and Robert immediately woke up from their dreams as if they had nightmares. They noticed that it was morning time, which it could only mean the day had finally arrived. They found themselves lying in a one big bed inside of Robert's bedroom. Speaking of whom, Robert found Vicki lying her head on top of his chest, and Vicki felt Robert's arm was wrapped around her waist. They both blushed slightly, started to yelp, separated from each other, and got off the bed at the same time.

Meanwhile in the shadow realm, the nightmare mistress Noelle and her bat Noir were approaching the black sphere and found it very amusing. They saw someone floating inside of it, and it appeared to be an animal. Not just an ordinary animal, but a very unique animal that nobody encountered, except for the chosen ones. Noelle grinned evilly and chuckled happily as if she could identify her hostage.

"Once you're out of my way, the world will finally consume with dark nightmares!" Noelle cackled. "I've taken all the dream life forces from the dreamers, so I can be more powerful than you are, Luna!"

Inside of the sphere, it revealed that Luna was taken hostage by Noelle. The weak guardian of dream didn't open her eyes, nor her body hadn't moved an inch at all. She was currently in her deep sleep whether she could hear her nemesis or not.