Nights Twilight Dreaming
Chapter Twenty-Four
In the realm of Nightmares, somewhere in Reala's dimension, the scenery was shown to be in the sky with crow-like Nightmarens taking flight. A red and black vortex opened up and out came a screaming Princess Crystal. She felt as though she was falling for hours, but it was merely several minutes in the vortex. She looked around frantically as she twisted her body around to look at the change in scenery, her long, brown blonde-streaked hair fluttering upwards from the fall. As she looked around wearily while falling through the air, she noticed a clock tower in the distance in violet and red checkerboard. Only the clock face had a large eye that closely resembled one of the eyes of Wizeman the Wicked. The chime it made was distorted and strange. As she continued to fall, she looked around to see floating islands all with the same checkerboard design but this time in either red and blue, black and blue, or red and black. She then looked down just in time to see that she was fast approaching the ground and quickly panicked.
"Oh no!" she shouted frantically. She turned on her side and in a frightened frenzy, she clicked her heels thrice while shouting in succession, "Stop, stop, stop!" Just as she was about to give in to her fate, her telekinesis stepped in and let out a burst of light for a brief moment before she felt herself float gently to the ground. She looked around in a frantic state of terror hoping to find even a shred of friendly people in the area, but no such luck. She began to look around some more as she called out to the sky in vain.
"N-Nights!" she called out in fear as she landed safely on the ground behind some purple fog on the ground. The fog dispersed as she looked around frantically in a panic when she called out for other allies. "Cumula?! Pidge?! Anyone?!" She got herself up as she looked up at the dreary sky. As she looked up at the sky in hopelessness, she asked herself, "Where am I?" She began to pant as she felt that the air around her was heavy and constricting. She looked around at the new surroundings, the red and black checkerboard landscape with purple fog and a red and black cloudy sky. She knew that she was in for more than just a malicious surprise.
Crystal looked around the area to see that the landscape seemed rather familiar. She could not pinpoint what it was, however, as her memories had been tampered with for her protection. She began to walk around terror-stricken with nowhere else to go but forward. As she walked around aimlessly, a horrific realization fell from her lips.
"Am I back in the Nightmare Realm?" she asked herself. "I think I prefer the Stepford area more than this. This place is a mess of chaos and distortion." She saw what appeared to be a path leading to another part of the realm. Seeing as though she had no choice, she walked forward to where she needed to go. I need to get out of this realm somehow. If I can find a safe spot around here and use my Voyage, I'll be back in the Quartz Palace in no time. Or better yet, the Dream Gate. I hope my friends are all right. Crystal made her way through the realm and felt as though she was being followed. The air around her felt heavy and cold. After looking at the scenery one more time, she came to a terrifying conclusion. This has to be Reala's realm. The red and black interior is a dead giveaway. She wasn't sure if she was going in the right direction as Nightmare is known for its' deception. She looked over at the distorted mountains and made note of the distorted partition. She went past it in hopes of finding someone, or something, that could help out of the mess she was in. Maybe the kulning can get someone to help. Keeping this in mind, she went forward past a duo of lit torches. Little did she know that help was already on their way.
In another part of the realm she was in, a pair of bat-like Nightmarens were tending to their gems when Crystal came running in their direction. The two creatures, one with a red oval gem, the other with a green rhombus gem, looked up to see her in a panicked state trying to find a way out. Unaware of these harmless creatures, she looked around the area for a brief moment before groaning in fear and running off. The two black bats then looked at her in surprise as if they recognized her somehow. They conversed with each other in chirps and clicks while smiling before taking off in her direction in hopes of getting her attention. She was too focused on trying to find a safe spot to even see them coming.
Crystal was walking around toward what appeared to be an area with distorted hills, blue torches, and partitions that seem to come alive. Among this area were shadowy hands that seemed to be made of paper and covered with white specks. They seem to sway as if they were blown by the gentle wind. Crystal tried to get past them after noticing the path ahead of her, but one of the hands grabbed her wrist as if trying to pull her in. She struggled to get away, brandishing her Millennium Rod to zap the hand into letting go. It worked after five seconds of excruciating pain due to the long nails of the hand gripping her wrist. After healing the wound on her wrist, she put the rod back on the holster and continued her trek. The bat-like Nightmarens followed her at a distance. She was walking through the area for five minutes before noticing a yellow light in the distance. Crystal felt that this was a warm light as opposed to the cold darkness that surrounded the sky above her.
"Is that a Will o' Wisp?" she pondered. "No. Could it be a Nightmaren? Only one way to find out." She began to approach the light as it began to flicker slowly. As she made it to the light, it dispersed causing an auditory hallucination. The same gruff male teenage voice she heard when confronted with Wizeman's palm pierced her ears in a malevolent whisper. Your fear is what lead me to you. Crystal shuddered upon hearing those words. That voice, she thought. It's the kidnapper. She shook her as her thoughts continued. That despicable clown must have been listening in. But why would he bring me here to the Nightmare Realm and his realm no less? She thought it over before realizing that she had a mission to attend to.
"This is no time to procrastinate, Crystal," she told herself. "Let's get out of this place." She began to walk away from the area to a new clearing, this time in what appeared to be a crater-filled area. Some small, others large, and a few covering the pillars in the area. She was certain that there was something off about this place as she looked around.
Crystal was searching for an entrance for her to enter to find an area to use her Voyage. Before she could find it, the same two bat-like Nightmarens began to encircle her while chirping excitedly. Crystal had mistaken it for an attack and began to bat away at them in a frenzy. They landed right on her arms as she covered her face and heart thinking they were after her Ideya of Courage. But when she felt that they were tapping her playfully, she opened her previously shut eyes to see the red gem wearing bat waving to her before crawling quickly to her left hand. She took her arm away from her face to look at the little guy who was beaming at her with an adorable smile. She realized that it looked familiar. She had a flashback to her younger self speaking to the same pair of bat-like Nightmarens while hiding somewhere in a cave. The flashback ended with her grunting in pain as she heard a cracking sound as if the glass wall had widened its crack. She looked at the little one once more for clarity.
"Bela?" she asked. The bat with the red gem nodded enthusiastically as she looked at the one with the green gem adding, "Stella?" The other bat beamed and tilted its' head warmly at her the moment she said its' name. She chuckled slightly before hugging the duo. They chirp and clicked under her hand as she nuzzled them happily. After drawing them back, she inquired, "What happened to you two?" They chirped a little when she asked them, but she was able to understand them despite the language barrier.
"You were bat away by the kidnapper?" she said sadly. "You poor things. I'm glad you guys are all right." They nodded and chirped a little to let her know their plan.
"You want to help me escape this place?" she asked. The chirped almost in unison while nodding.
"Thank you so much!" she told them while hugging them close and squeezing them slightly. She let go allowing them to rest on her shoulders. The two bats, now known as Bela and Stella, have joined her cause. Stella flew off her right shoulder and chirped indicating that she had found something of interest. Crystal followed the little bat as she tapped her finger on the gate twenty feet ahead of her. Crystal noticed something about the entrance that piqued her interest. Two torches were in front of the door, yet something was amiss.
"Someone forgot to light the second torch," she noted. She walked up to the torch and took note of the height. It appeared to be about six feet in height. This didn't both her however as she was used to objects being taller than her. Stella returned to her shoulder soon after Crystal she activated a flame to light the torch with. By flicking it upwards, the flame reached it with little effort. She noticed that when it did, it changed from orange to blue. This startled the girl as she was not expecting it. Luckily for her, the door opened and she was able to pass through. As she did, she felt a sense of dread in the air. Her nightmare was not over yet.
Crystal continued her trek through the realm of red and black checkerboard hoping to find a way out. She was in another part of the realm that seemed to be wide-spread with doubt. She spotted an area with platforms for her to jump across. She ran up to it and with careful timing, and a little help from Bela, she managed to get across just fine. She also noticed something in the distance, to which Bela flew right up to it to confirm her suspicions. Another one of those torch puzzles. She took note of there being four torches this time as apposed to two from last time. Bela showed her which ones to light up and she followed. After lighting the ones that weren't lit, the gate behind the torches opened. In a rather quick motion, she ran through as if she had seen a ghost. As she did, Aricolumn was watching her at a distance. He watched as she made her way to what appeared to be a round-about route filled with distorted pillars and partitions. With his former beloved trapped in the Nightmare Realm, he grinned wickedly before leaving her to her entrapment.
Meanwhile, at the resistance headquarters, Nightmaria had been watching Crystal the whole time and had witnessed the entire event. She had been keeping a close eye on her since Reala's interception. As she continued to stare into the crystal ball, Lumière entered the room. He was concerned over what had transpired but remained hopeful for a more pleasant outcome.
"Well, aside from Nights, Rose, and Silvermoon getting captured," he told her with a calm expression, "and the kid ending up in Nightmare again thanks to you-know-who, I've got some good news." Nightmaria looked at him stoically as he said this.
"What news would that be?" she inquired.
"First off, the two little Screechers are with her so she's not alone," stated Lumière, "and second, we've got a light of hope in the dark."
"A light of hope?" Nightmaria repeated the last part perplexed. "What are you implying?" She then heard Crystal's voice from the crystal ball and turned her head toward it. Crystal sounded as if she were vocalizing a melody of sorts, almost as if she were a siren calling for someone to come to her. Nightmaria recognized what she was doing.
"The kulning?" she inquired looking into the crystal ball.
"Yep," replied Lumière with a wink while waving his cane. "Turns out our little princess is a Valkyrie. And what luck, Prisma's spirit is heading in her direction to give her a hand."
"Well," said Nightmaria with a smile. "May fortune favor the foolish." She nodded in approval of Crystal's plan. With the princess realizing what she must do, she knew that there would be hope for her after all. All she needed to do was use this hope to find a wait out of Nightmare.
Back in Nightmare, Crystal had just entered the area filled with distorted pillars and partitions. She had noted that there was what appeared to be a chair in the distance. It looked distorted four tendrils were protruding from behind the arms. She felt a sense of unease overcome her as she observed it through her foresight. It was on a towering platform with no staircase insight. The chair itself was red with black stripes adorning the tendril-like back as well as the arms and seat. Crystal, having deactivated her foresight, was a bit startled by the design. Although she had no choice in the matter, as she was going in that direction, she had to take a closer look for confirmation. She made it past the round-about, and headed straight down the narrow path, the purple fog skirting around her feet as she ran. As her three-inch heels echoed through the realm, her two Screecher friends were clinging onto her. They refused to leave her side. When she made it to the throne's location, she took a closer look. It looked as though it was seven feet in the air. Crystal couldn't reach it even if she wanted to use her telekinetic power to do so.
"Nice throne," she noted. "He must be a prince or something. I'm not surprised considering who made him." She then looked over to the left to see another clearing in the distance. Taking her chance, she ran for it as if her life depended on it. Little did she know that there was a higher being watching her the entire time.
Meanwhile, in another part of Nightmare, Reala had just entered a dark cave containing the quartz crystals that either he or his minions had gathered. Ruby was busy polishing them when he entered and she looked in his direction. Aricolumn was overseeing her work when he looked up. Ruby used her telekinesis to fold up the large cloth she was using earlier before turning around.
"I take it you snagged my good twin?" she inquired.
"She's cavorting about in my realm as we speak," replied Reala. He looked over at the torchlight behind her to see an image of Crystal running past his throne room giving off a mock pout while adding, "Poor little princess. Lost in a world completely unknown to her." He chuckled upon saying these words. Aricolumn looked to the torchlight as well with a slight frown.
"Knowing her all too well," he told him, "she may be forced to call out to anyone for assistance. She is a Valkyrie by nature and by her destined path." Ruby nodded in agreement with his statement. As Aricolumn used his frost to place the smokey quartz they obtained in place, Crystal's voice is heard as if it were on cue. Her melodic voice rang out as if calling by the wind. Reala looked to the torchlight along with Ruby and Aricolumn once they heard her kulning.
"Yep, there it is," said Ruby as she turned her head back to Reala with a smirk while he grinned. He approached the torchlight as Crystal's voice rang out again.
"Keep calling them all you want, my dear," Reala spoke to the image. "They can't hear you in Nightmare." He chuckled upon seeing her run toward the area she spied in the distance. He was certain that she was trapped. Unbeknownst to him, however, fortune is about to smile upon her.
In the area Crystal was traversing to, a group of wicked 3rd Level Nightmarens were all conversing with one another as Clawz came onto the scene. They greeted the big panther as he growled at them in acknowledgment. He purred slightly when they beamed at him. Suddenly, Crystal's siren-like voice rang out as if she was vocalizing a melody in the wind.
"Ah ah, ah ah!"
Those that heard her kulning looked over at her with a sneer, some of which were snickering at her futile attempt to call for help. Clawz growled mockingly at the girl as she ran up to the location but much further away from them. She stopped running before trying her kulning again. Only this time, it was at a higher note than the last.
"Ah ah, ah ah!"
Alas, no one had come to her aid at a moments' notice. As she realized this, she began to lose every last bit of hope she had left. But then, her choker, which up until now had been quiet, lit up like a small beacon as a familiar voice rang out in a calm whisper in her mind much to her surprise. I hear you, and I'm coming.
"Prisma?" she asked quietly in a slight whisper. The moment she said this name, a small flurry of lights began to float in front of her and fly back to where she needed to go. The lights quickly formed into the familiar form of Prisma's spirit. She beckoned to the young princess calmly and peacefully without making her worry.
"This way," she spoke to her, her voice as calm as her expression. She turned in the direction Crystal needed to be and began to float away from her. The young princess breathed a sigh of relief. Help had arrived at long last.
"Oh, thank goodness," she spoke finally as she ran to where Prisma was going. She followed the spirit with hope in her heart despite lacking such an Ideya within her. As she continued to follow the spirit, a looming shadow can be seen in the distance. A higher being was about to appear before her.
Crystal, with Bela and Stella in tow, began to follow the Prisma spirit at a distance. She came across an area that contained a large chasm with platforms hovering about it. Prisma's spirit was on the other side of the thirty-foot chasm waiting for Crystal to cross. Knowing this, Bela went straight to the first platform she needed to go to. Crystal followed knowing what he was doing right away. He continued to point to which platform to go to until she managed to get across the chasm with little effort. Bela returned to Crystal's shoulder while Prisma floated away from her and beckoned her to follow.
"I'm coming Prisma," she told her. "Hopefully the area you're leading me to is the safest one in this realm. I swear it feels like a maze in here." Crystal continued to follow Prisma's spirit from a distance in hopes of using her Voyage to escape the Nightmare Realm. She, along with Bela and Stella, came across what appeared to be a pendulum puzzle. With careful timing, she made it past the large pendulums without being knocked off by their sheer size. Reala has been training here since his creation. No wonder he's so strong. Crystal didn't have time to compliment her enemy as she began to run towards Prisma's spirit once more. She was leading her to what appeared to be a clearing surrounded by distorted hills. Crystal can see that it was ahead of two lines of torches, four on the left, and four on the right. Crystal walked through them with each pair lighting up with blue flames as she walked past them.
As soon as Crystal went through the final two torches and past the arch in front of them, she spied Prisma in the distance. She was beckoning her to come when she was suddenly bound by chains that seemed to spring from the ground. She was quickly dispersed the moment they tightened their group. The chains disappeared into mist soon after. Crystal, having witnessed the whole thing, was shocked to see that her guiding light was put out like a candle. She began to panic as she shook her head. No, no, no! I can't lose her again! She's already been through enough when she was alive! In a desperate attempt to call her, she used the kulning again.
"Ah ah, ah ah!"
The moment she did so, a low rumble is heard above her. She looked around for the source, even toward the sky to be sure she wasn't hallucinating again. As she looked toward the sky from left to right, she saw a frightening sight. As she gazed upon the dreary sky, a large ominous figure rose above her blocking the crimson red moon as if it were eclipsing its' light from the world below. Six huge eyes appeared above her in a quick motion and glared at her from above startling the girl and making her yelp in terror as she fell to the ground with a thud, her two Screecher friends cowering in fear. Then a familiar, eerie, god-like laugh pierced the sky and her ears as she stared up at the six eyes in abject horror. Out from the shadows came the hands of Wizeman the Wicked. He dispersed the darkness surrounding his true form as one of the hands approached the young princess.
"Foolish girl," his booming voice echoed through the air. "None can heed the call of the Valkyrie in this realm. Your efforts are in vain. Unless you dispatch my champion, you are to wonder this realm of unyielding darkness forever." Crystal realized what he meant when he mentioned this. She got herself up from her position before clenching her Millennium Rod.
"It's not going to be Reala, is it?" she asked rather regrettably. "Because frankly, I've had about enough of that clown's games."
"Reala is tending to your next 2nd Level Nightmaren," Wizeman responded. "In his place, you shall fight one of your own from the realm of Twilus. You may remember him from your many bouts against him, child of Queen Lorelei." Crystal was not surprised in the slightest that he knew of her mother, nor of the villains, she had fought over the years.
"Joke's on you," she told him trying to be courageous along with a stern tone. "I already fought Ruby and Aricolumn. And Zorc is already a wandering spirit."
"But you have yet to face one of your rivaling ability," replied Wizeman menacingly. "Behold, the one who became your tulpa." His large hand began to move away from the girl as she watched it glide over the area opposite her. The hand clenched for a brief moment before opening up and letting out dark thunder from it. The lightning began to form an arch, then a frame, and then a black mirror. Crystal clenched her Millennium Rod tightly. She recognized the design right away as a dark-red, draconian design in the frame. She watched as the mirror allowed a shadow-like mist began to form in the glass. After only ten seconds, the mist formed into the shadowy man that Reala had conversed with all this time. As Wizeman vanished into a large cloud of billowing smoke, the man opened his eyes in a sneer showing a familiar pair of violet eyes. A low draconic growl came from the mirror. He stepped forward phasing through the glass itself as if it were but mist in the wind. Crystal's eyes widened as she saw the figure before her very eyes. The man, who by now was no longer in shadow, was the very adversary she had feared to be the most dangerous of the Malevolent Shadows. King Rhett the Second has appeared before her in flesh and blood here in the Realm of Nightmares.
"Princess Crystal," he spoke to her proudly with a grin. "We meet again." Crystal's blood ran cold the moment she heard him speak those words. She clenched her Millennium Rod harder.
"King Rhett?" she replied finally, her breath caught in her throat. "But…you're supposed to be dead! Your spirit should have moved on!" King Rhett narrowed his eyes as if mocking her statement.
"Have you forgotten what I told you as a tulpa?" he asked rhetorically. "Even if the body dies, the spirit will continue to linger on Earth for all eternity. Especially when they have unfinished business to attend to. Now that we've finally crossed paths, warrior of hope and light, your coma will become your eternal slumber, once I deal with you here and now." Crystal let out a grunt of fear as she clenched her Millennium Rod tighter at the hilt. King Rhett gripped his scabbard, located on the right side of his belt, and drew his sword with his left hand. Having had no choice in the matter, Crystal brandished her Millennium Rod ready for King Rhett's moment to strike.
"Bela, Stella, take cover somewhere," she told her Screecher friends. "I'll take care of this tyrant." Bela and Stella nodded before flying off to hide from their mutual foe. King Rhett ran his finger down the side of the blade with a smug smile.
"The term you're searching for is conqueror," he told her. "Now…" He paused and swung his sword forward and thrust it toward her without moving from his spot and shouting with a malicious grin, his pupils shrunken with madness, "En garde, Princess Crystal!" Crystal spun her Millennium Rod thrice before holding it in front of her face in a battle stance with a stoic and brave expression. Her battle with King Rhett has just begun.
King Rhett's gloved right hand is shown close up as he snapped his fingers. This caused several Ruby Daggers to attack Crystal as ran around dodging each one, even performing an aerial twist backward to avoid them, and landing on her feet. She looked up angrily at her adversary as King Rhett himself walked onto the battlefield at least seven feet ahead of her. After showing his face to her, he brought his sword to the front of himself and slid his right hand across his mighty Dragon Flame sword with his signature grin.
Crystal began to run around the field as King Rhett used his signature move Ruby-Spears, a move in which he summons six ruby spears and commands them to circle her like a halo. They circled her thrice before he snapped his fingers causing them to stab the girl and disappear soon after. This caused significant damage to her as she brought herself back up from where she was. She ran around the arena again, this time while shielding herself, as well as healing herself in the process. As she charged an attack of her own, King Rhett, seeing an opportunity, flew straight toward her with his sword beside him. He broke her shield and slashed her with four strikes before landing one more strike, causing some more damage to her. This forced her to heal as soon as he backed away from her a few feet.
Having had enough of his majesty's interference, she activated the spell Twilight Flash. This blinded King Rhett for a while and Crystal activated her Diamond Sabre attack before running up to him for an up-close and personal bout. She refused to use Lava Sabre, or any other fire spell for that matter, due to his immunity to fire, an ability he has been equipped with due to his status as a manakete. King Rhett sensed her coming to her with the Diamond Sabre and brandished his sword at the front just in time for her to slash at him. He parried most of her attacks with his blade except for her flurry of slashes and riposte. She dealt some damage to him before running away from him to give him space to recover. He managed to wake himself from his daze rather quickly, and the battle resumed.
King Rhett began to walk toward Crystal with a malicious grin on his face. He paused before charging what appeared to be Dark Core, a move in which the user creates a sphere of dark energy in their hand. He then released it toward Crystal causing her to dodge the attack. However, the Dark Core ricocheted off a nearby pillar and struck her in the back causing some damage in the process. She healed herself soon after and began to charge a Light Magic spell to counteract his Dark Magic. As she did, he activated the spell Ember Swarm, a spell that summons an array of tiny fireballs to swarm the opponent, to beguile the young princess. She maintained her focus, however, even while she took minimal damage from the attack. After charging for about ten seconds, she unleashed the spell, Seraphim Lux. This spell is a supernova of a spell that unleashes a powerful wave of light and slams the opponent into a nearby wall, such as the case with King Rhett. After he was incapacitated, Crystal activated her Diamond Sabre again and slashed at him. King Rhett awoke just in time to see her about to strike once more before blocking her strike. After this, she backed away allowing him some space.
King Rhett activates the spell Shadow Lightning causing a huge storm of black lightning bolts to appear throughout the arena. Although she is immune to thunder and lightning due to her Lightning Rod, she was severely vulnerable to darkness. She took severe damage from some of the lightning strikes. She tried to heal her wounds but was blocked every time by King Rhett striking her with a slash of his sword. Having had enough of this, she used Sereph's Ring to create a make-shift barrier of rings. Not only did it block his sword strikes, but it also blinded him for three seconds, allowing her some time to heal herself.
The battle continued as King Rhett used the spell Ruby Stalagmite causing a wave of ruby spires to sprout from the ground and head straight for Crystal, causing massive damage to her in the process as well as disabling her Sereph's Ring. She healed herself again, and countered with Thor's Hammer, effectively causing the wave of lightning to surround the two and cause damage to the king. She ran up to him while activating her Halo Sabre and began to slash him repeatedly with a series of strikes ending with a riposte. Unfortunately, the battle wasn't over yet. King Rhett recovered as she ran back to her position of the field and began to charge a different attack.
Crystal anticipated his next move thanks to her knowledge of the tyrannical monarch. King Rhett used the spell Draconic Pulse causing a tumultuous heatwave to blanket the arena. Crystal activated her Aqua Shield just in the nick of time before she was seared off the face of Nightmare. As soon as he was finished with the attack, he activated Ruby-Spears once more, which worked the same way as last time. This time, however, she managed to get out of the way before they struck her, and she used the spell Supreme Thunder causing a large thunderstorm to blanket the arena. The dragon king did not relent despite the damage sustained during the storm. He used the spell Lava Plume to incinerate her, only for her to retaliate with Tidal Wave, dispersing the flames.
King Rhett anticipated this and activated his Umbral Sabre, imbuing his sword with Dark Magic. Crystal, realizing what he was doing, activated her Halo Sabre once again to counteract his Umbral Sabre. He practically flew on the ground toward the princess as the two clashed swords with one another. After a series of parries from both parties, Crystal finished the sword battle with a riposte, striking the dragon king. She jumped away from him anticipating his recovery.
Having had enough at this point, Crystal finally began to use her magic to its' fullest. She used the spell Etoile Magica to damage the king, only for him to dodge the attack, and strike her with a powerful Pyrokinetic Vortex, a vertical tornado of flames. She then used the spell Crescent Cartwheel, the Moon equivalent to Galactic Cartwheel, to ram into King Rhett. She also activated Halo Sabre again, just in case. He knew what she was doing, and prepared his Umbral Sabre for impact. Crystal held out her saber as he blocked it. As the two are locked in a power struggle, several waves of light and dark aura were shrouding the two while they pushed their attacks against each other. Crystal did not give up however and continued to push with all her might. Eventually, she broke through his defense and struck the dragon king with a resounding slash. She then promptly spun the Millennium Rod in her hand before putting it back in the holster. As she did, her arch-nemesis is shown imploding from the impact of her attack roaring in anger. Crystal was victorious.
King Rhett jumped back with anger as if Crystal had blown him away with enough force to topple an elephant. After a brief scowl, he produced a nose-sigh softly and smiled. As he did, he sheathed his sword and stood proudly to her. As he did, Crystal had already put her Millennium Rod away while Bela and Stella came to her side.
"You have grown stronger since our last encounter, my dear," he told her. "That is all for now." Crystal became suspicious upon hearing his words though she paid no heed to it.
"Let me guess," she spoke up. "Wizeman asked you to help him out with getting Nights back home no matter the reason for his refusal. I'm surprised you're able to even go to Nightopia, let alone the Nightmare Realm despite being dead. The question I have is how this is possible." King Rhett chuckled upon hearing her statement.
"Those who have become tulpas in the past shall enter and exit the Night Dimension as they please," he explained, "even if they have become mere phantoms in the real world. As for my allegiance with Wizeman the Wicked, I chose to assist him in regards to the Nightopian Resistance. You should know that I am a man of my word, Princess. Once I find out where your Nightmaren cohorts are hiding out, I promise that their downfall will be quite the spectacle. Farewell, for now, Princess Crystal. This will not be the end of our many encounters." With those words, he flourished his salmon-red cloak and vanished into a shadow-like mist leaving Princess Crystal and her two Screecher allies alone. She wasn't surprised at his sudden disappearance but wasn't about to stand around throughout her dream.
"Sorry about that, you two," she told her companions. "Sometimes old enemies would ambush me no matter where I go. Anyway, let's go find a safe spot to use my Voyage." Bela and Stella chirped in agreement. Just when she was about to walk forward, a sudden jolt of electricity shot through her mind as if she had been jolted back into reality.
"Crystal!" Owl's voice rang out. "Can you hear me?!"
"Owl?" she asked perplexed by the sudden telepathic message.
"Hoo! Thank goodness!" he called to her. "I knew for sure we would break through Nightmare's telepathic barrier!"
"Owl," Crystal told the voice. "I'm stuck in the Nightmare Realm. I've trying to find a good place to use my-," She was cut off by Owl's frantic message.
"Well, perhaps now isn't a good time to surge forward!" he called out to her. "Wizeman has sent a hoard of Nightmarens to capture you as well as your two companions! You must use your Voyage from you're standing to escape Nightmare! Don't bother returning to the Quartz Palace just yet as they will likely be waiting for you there! Hurry! We don't have much time!" Crystal realized what needed to be done the moment she heard the urgency in Owl's tone.
"Well, I guess we're going back to the Dream Gate first," she told Bela and Stella with a frightened look on her face. She looked back to where she was to see a rather large hoard of 3rd Level Nightmarens coming in the trio's direction. As the army of malevolent creatures came racing toward them, Crystal though fast.
"Voyage!" she shouted brandishing her Millennium Rod and creating a circle beneath her by spinning in a pirouette. She continued to spin as the hoard came closer. Once they tried to grab her and her Screechers, her circle was complete, and jumped right into the vortex beneath herself, closing it in the process. The 3rd Level Nightmarens wasn't fast enough to catch her and ran right into each other causing a dog-pile. They immediately dispersed soon after. Some of them were frustrated at the event, while others sulked about losing their prey. Crystal, Bela, and Stella have escaped unharmed.
To be continued…