Nights Twilight Dreaming

Chapter Thirty-Three

Crystal began to follow the orb in the direction it was taking her wondering why it was luring her away from her group. She went through one part of the tunnel that was covered in moonstone which housed Nightopians wearing hard hats. Crystal deduced right away where she was as her discovery left from her lips.

"Hey," she told her allies. "This is the Moonstone Cave. I was barred from accessing the place when I was young, but it looks like it's available now. Let's see what's on the other side." She activated a tendril spell and tied herself around her waist before tying the other end to nearby large quartz. She gave it a good jerk to ensure it was holding on good and tight. Her pets were a bit confused about her strategy but she gave them a reassuring nod.

"This is just in case we get lost in the cave," she told them. "Ever heard of the story of Theseus and Ariadne?" The pets all shook their heads no.

"I'm not surprised," she told them with a sympathetic look. She gave a good tug to make sure the vine was still in place while adding, "The latter gave the former a ball of string to help navigate the labyrinth so that he could slay the Minotaur that terrorized their city. Once the beast was slain, the citizens were safe from being the monster's next meal. Anyhow, let's continue." She went forward with her pets in tow to another part of the cave. As they left the area, a pair of Marlukes, one purple, the other green, come across Crystal's vine. Unlike their kin, they seemed to be curious about her creation. After talking among themselves in their native tongue, they brought out a wooden stick and a stiff board. After tying the stick and board together, they stuck the sharp end of their newly-built sign next to the vine, and with their tails wrote the words, "Moonstone Path Shortcut." After a high five, they took off in the direction of the Dream Gate door.

Crystal and her pets saw the orb that was once Prisma fly in through the cave and began to follow it. With every turn it made, they followed it knowing that the orb was leading them somewhere. They continued to follow the orb past good 3rd Level Nightmarens as well as Nightopians who were hard at work getting some gems from the cave. Prisma's orb continued to fly through the area as if it were in a bit of a hurry thus causing the group to try and keep up. Crystal didn't take long to notice that there was light at the end of the tunnel. She and her allies made it to the light in question and came out to see where the cave lead to. It led her to the forest of jasper trees and emerald bushes once more. To her surprise, she recognized her immediate location.

"I'll be gobsmacked," she said while looking around at her surroundings. "That cave was a shortcut back to the Crystal Grove. So why was I unable to access it back then?" Bela and Stella both chirped when she asked this question.

"You're right," she replied. "I was probably too young to go into a cave on my own." She began to look around for the orb that lead the group to her current location. It didn't take long for the orb to make its presence known when it approached the young princess. It gently brushed her cheek as a sign of reassurance before flying behind her toward a stone that Crystal failed to notice before. It appeared to be a rather medium-sized diamond-shaped tombstone made of onyx and was decorated with golden-yellow engraving around the edges. After careful examination, she recognized what it was. That's a tombstone, she thought. But why is it here in the middle of a forest? She approached it wondering why the orb would lead her and her allies to the very spot that housed a dead body six feet under. As she examined the tombstone, she immediately saw the name on the stone and gasped slightly.

"Prisma," she read the name. The pets were all surprised at this. Crystal added, "But why would she lead us to her own grave? This doesn't make any sense." She then noticed something behind the tombstone. It was a Chronos Lily. Prisma's orb began to float around it, hinting her to activate the petals. Crystal was hesitant to do so, but her pets all encouraged her to try. Swallowing her fear, she calmed herself before saying, "I want to know what happened to her." With her Ideya of Courage glowing brightly, she touched the petals activating the scene contained within the Chronos Lily. The scene changed dramatically to a dreary realm where shadows were more prevalent and debris from a castle can be seen floating in the air. At the center was a light that had shown in the middle as well as an eerie alter. Crystal was frozen in her tracks while at the same time was afraid of the change of scenery. Something about the place brought dread to her and familiarity. Her pets began to shake with fear when they see the environment as well.

"The Nightmare Realm again?" said Crystal perplexed and weary. "This area looks more pristine than the rest of the realm if that's the case." She then felt a twinge of pain in her head as well as her heart. She clutched them both feeling a bit dazed at the simultaneous strain impacting her. As she did, a faint crackle was heard as if a barrier of glass had widened its' crack around the dome. She looked one more time before getting herself straightened out. For some odd reason, she thought. I recognize this place. But why does it look familiar? The answer was about to be revealed sooner than expected. Bela and Stella both chirped and clicked to get her attention. She looked at them and they pointed to the left together causing her to look in said direction. To her surprise, there floating in the abyss of castle structures and darkness was Prisma looking rather calm and stoic. Crystal is shocked to see this as most insurgents refuse to return to the realm in which they were born and created.

"Prisma?" she said rather worriedly. "Why did she go back to the Nightmare Realm when she's a rebel? Unless she was forced to." She then took notice of a large shadow casting over her as she turned to see who Prisma was expecting. When she looked to the shadow's owner, she yelped in fright. There stood Wizeman the Wicked floating above Prisma, the eyes of his palms glaring at her in disapproval. Right beside him was the silhouette of Crystal's captor. One of his hands came to Prisma as Crystal's pets cowered in fear. Due to being a past image, Wizeman did not take notice of her presence, let alone her pets.

"Prisma," Wizeman's voice boomed. "You stand accused of assisting a visitor and interfering with the work of a fellow Nightmaren. How do you plead?" It didn't take long for Crystal to piece together the event that is taking place.

"She's on trial?" she said under her breath.

"I do not feel guilt for saving a visitor from your grasp, Wizeman the Wicked," said Prisma. "The only guilt I feel is following your orders blindly without reason. The visitor I saved from you was but a mere child no more than five years old, and only a mad man would keep a child her age as a captive and a puppet." Crystal gasped upon hearing this revelation. A puppet? Me? Why would they want to control me? Her thoughts were cut short when the shadowed Nightmaren approached Prisma briskly from his position. Crystal looked at him, and although he couldn't recognize him due to his form being a shadow, his voice was all too familiar to her.

"Your noble actions have lost me my servant!" he shouted angrily pointing his finger at her accusingly as if he were a father berating a child. "You banished the girl from the Night Dimension barring her from ever dreaming of her precious Nightopia again!"

"That voice," said Crystal. "It's the kidnapper."

"That child was the final piece of the puzzle," the shadow Nightmaren spoke. "She was to represent the Ideya of Hope as well as the Dark Ideya of Despair! With one less Child of Ideya, our invasion of the Waking World has been halted because of you! And now you will pay the price for it." Prisma was not phased by her fellow Nightmaren's anger despite the circumstances laid out to her. Crystal on the other hand was aghast at what she had just heard from the Nightmaren who stole her away from her dream.

"Final piece? Child of Ideya?" she repeated those phrases. "Does he mean there were others besides me? If that's the case, then who's the other four?" Her questions were cut short when Wizeman's voice pierced the air once more.

"I will ask of this again, Prisma of the Waxing Moon," he boomed. "How do you plead your actions against your brethren and your creator?"

"As I have said before, Wizeman," Prisma replied, "I am not guilty for doing what is right. And I will not let your influence decide my fate any longer. I would rather become a martyr for Nightopia than to serve you again." Crystal gulped upon hearing this statement.

"If you refuse to bow to my will," replied Wizeman, "then so be it. I hereby consign you to oblivion. Let your sacrifice remind those who follow your path of who created your brethren." His palm turned to the Shadow Nightmaren before Wizeman spoke again. "My loyal servant, execute the traitor from where she stands." Crystal and her pets gasped upon hearing his command.

"With pleasure," spoke the mysterious Nightmaren in response to his command. He waved his fingers for a brief moment before snapping them causing an array of spears to appear and surround Prisma. Crystal noticed that the spears were twisting as if they were clay drills. She and her pets looked over to Prisma who was stoic and motionless when she saw the spears ready to strike. Prisma closed her eyes while raising her head high into the air as if she were ready for the afterlife. At that moment, the spears all struck at once piercing her from every angle. Crystal gasped before turning her head away and shutting her eyes tightly in fear. She didn't get to see the rest of the memory before it suddenly ended changing back to the Crystal Grove once more. Crystal then looked back at Prisma's grave and collapsed in sadness. Her pets took notice and looked up in worry as she did.

"Prisma, I'm so sorry," she said to herself. "You were executed because of me." She held the pendant of her choker as she closed her eyes in prayer. Her pets all nudged her in reassurance as she did this. Gripping her pendant tightly, she opened her eyes once more with a determined look.

"But I won't let your sacrifice be in vain," she told the spirit. She placed her hand on the grave and activated a spell that caused roses to appear on the gravestone and the ground around it. They were a variety of red, yellow, and a beautiful shade of white. The pets were impressed with this as she stood up.

"The best I can do is play a melody in your honor," she spoke again. "I hope this gives you a good send-off until the right moment." She searched her bag for something before pulling out a flute of her own. This flute was made of beautiful tanzanite and decorated with stars. She brought the flute to her lips and began to play. The melody she played was different from the one played by Nights. It was Nocturne from Secret Garden. As she played the melody, she also attracted the attention of some of the Nightopians in the area who were all listening to her playing the flute. The sound of her flute carried out through the air eventually reaching Nights and Sunburst, who by that point have reached their destination. As she continued the melody on her flute, Prisma's orb began to form into her true form allowing Crystal to acknowledge her presence with a warm smile and a nod before continuing with her flute.

As Crystal played the melody, Prisma vocalized alongside her as a small crowd of Nightopians, Mepians, and good 3rd Level Nightmarens began to form. Nights and Sunburst were amazed by their duet as they continued the song. Song played until the two finished the song and Nights clapped along with everyone clapping in elation. Prisma approached her big brother with a calm smile as the two nuzzled each other. She looked to Crystal before changing back to her orb form and flying to her. After a few circles around her, she phased herself into the pendant the young princess was holding. Sunburst jumped mid-air while clapping as soon as she became one with Crystal's pendant. Nights touched her nose playfully upon seeing this causing her to giggle.

"Happy to see your sister again?" she asked him.

"Very," he told her. "And the best part is, she's a made home out of your choker." Crystal looked at her pendant with a smile.

"Like a genie in a lamp," she remarked. "Or a fairy in a bottle." Sunburst was looking at the Chronos Lily behind Prisma's tombstone and was a bit shocked to see it still glowing.

"Hey, the Chronos Lily is glowing a bit," she noted. She was about to touch the petals but was interrupted when both Nights and Crystal both shouted, "No!" Nights looked at her sympathetically as he figured she had already seen the contents of the Lily in question.

"Sorry," she said rather embarrassed about her reaction. "But I already saw what I'd rather not relive that moment again." Nights nodded in agreement before adding, "That was Prisma's final memory before had her destroyed. Did you get a good look at who killed her?"

"Sadly I did not see his face," replied the young princess. "And that's mainly because he was completely in silhouette. This leads me to one conclusion. The kidnapper and executioner are the same." She had a brief flashback to when she witnessed Prisma's execution took place. Admittedly, I did look away when the execution part came on. My kind is sensitive about this subject, so it's a habit of mine to avoid watching the result. At that moment, the spears all struck at once piercing her from every angle. Crystal gasped before turning her head away and shutting her eyes tightly in fear. The flashback ended soon after.

"That's when the memory stopped," she added. While clenching her pendant tightly, she added further, "However, I'm not letting her sacrifice be in vain. She saved my life that day, and I'm going to repay it in kind once I find out who she saved me from." Her pets all clamored in joy upon hearing her speech. Nights hugged Crystal right on the spot as soon as she said this nuzzled her.

"That's the spirit, Crystal!" he exclaimed excitedly. As he hugged her, she noticed her whisper crystal glowing brightly. He took notice as well, and so did Sunburst. Crystal gave a motion to let her go so that she could check what it was all about. Nights complied and she fetched her whisper crystal before switching it on.

"This is Princess Crystal," she spoke as the crystal flashed in her hand.

"Hey, champ in the making," Rhodonite's voice came out. "Time to head on back to the resistance headquarters. We've got three rebels who've been gone for too long. We're not sure where they ended up." Crystal, although slightly nervous upon hearing this information, remained calm during this time. Nights and Sunburst were slightly concerned as were Crystal's Nightmaren pets, as this was the first time they have heard of this.

"We're on our way, Rhodonite," she told him. "Don't start the investigation without us."

"You got it," he responded. "Rhodonite out." Crystal nodded and put her whisper crystal away before turning to her allies.

"We're being called back to HQ, guys," she told them. The pets were understandably saddened by this news before Nights piped.

"Hey, no pouting!" Nights told them hugging the quartet causing some giggles from the pets. "We've explored everything in the Quartz Palace that we needed to see. Besides, what if the next Nightopia is open?" The pets jumped in excitement the moment he said this.

"Good point Nights," said Crystal. "But there's also something else I'm worried about. We've got three insurgents missing from their posts, and we need to find out who."

"Right," said Sunburst in agreement. "Let's head on back and do just that. I'll betcha we'll find our friends once we figure out where they are too."

"My thoughts exactly, Sunburst," said Nights. "Let's go." The duo took off toward the door with Crystal and her pets about to do the same. Before she could, however, a blur of darkness flew past the trio with a speed that matched a cheetah in the air. Crystal and her pets looked behind her before the shadowy figure flew past her again while laughing menacingly at her thus alerting both Nights and Sunburst to her side. They looked to where their unknown foe had flown to and was surprised to see a fellow 1st Level Nightmaren before them. Chuckling can be heard from where the foe is floating with eerie mist surrounding his form. This quickly changed to laughter once more as he stared at the young princess with a leer. Crystal realized right away who it is when she heard his voice.

"Guys," she said. "That's the guy who kidnapped me." Crystal's pets all trembled the moment she said this. Nights got in front of her in a defensive stance while Sunburst looked on in wonder and slight fear.

"Why is he staring at her?" asked Sunburst with concern.

"We'll explain when we get back to HQ," Crystal responded while looking briefly at her before looking back at him. The shadow grinned like a Cheshire Cat, the same reaction he gave when Crystal gave her name as a five-year-old girl. He then began to fly toward the young princess. Nights' eyes began to glow blue causing some stars to fly toward the assailant. The shadow dodged nearly every star thrown against him. He flew right past Nights and straight to Crystal's side pushing the purple jester to the ground in the process.

"Nights!" Sunburst exclaimed while the pets all clamored and got to him to get him back on his feet. Crystal was about to assist them when she was suddenly pulled back by her kidnapper. She tried to use electricity to shock him, only for him to absorb it like a sponge. He pulled her head close to his before his lips met her cheek. A cold chill ran down her spine. As she struggled, the vision of Prisma's execution came back to her. Prisma closed her eyes while raising her head high into the air as if she was ready for the afterlife. At that moment, the spears all struck at once piercing her from every angle. Crystal then witnessed her entire body slowly crumble to dust upon the platform below her. She was shocked when she saw her kidnapper grin menacingly upon Prisma's demise. The vision ends with the shadow freeing her cheek from his lips. Crystal looked down in both fear and disgust while the shadow prepared to steal one of her Ideya. He began to charge a shadow orb causing her hair to darken along with her sclera. Before he could strike, Nights' hand grabbed her assailant's wrist rather forcefully. This jolted her back to her senses as well as caused him to let her go from his grip.

"Hey you!" he shouted at the shadow. "No more scaring visitors! Go home now!" He threw his adversary a good distance to the other end of the area. The shadow hissed angrily at the group causing Crystal to shudder while the pets all clamored angrily at him. After a brief stare-down, the shadow retreated away into the Nightopian sky. Crystal breathed a sigh of relief as her hair and eyes returned to normal. Her pets all came over to her with Cumula floating into her arms, the Screecher twins resting on her shoulders, and Pidge landing on her lower arm.

"Crystal, are you all right?" Nights asked concerned for her safety.

"I'm okay now," she told him. "That's about the third time someone has a crush on me."

"What was that all about?" asked Sunburst who was looking at the area that the Shadow was floating above. Crystal sighed slightly a little disturbed at the event that transpired.

"His kiss just showed me the final bit of Prisma's demise," she explained. "I didn't get to see the last part of the vision, and to him, that wasn't going to fly."

"Scare tactic no doubt," Nights told her. He looked over at the area the shadow made its' appearance. "He's gone now, but I'm betting he's waiting for the next time you two see each other." He turned his head back to Crystal and added with his mood changing to a more pleasant tone, "We'll have Hikaru look into it when we get back to the Dream Gate."

"Right," responded Crystal. "Let's head on back, ladies and gents." The group began to surge forward toward the door to the Dream Gate. As they ran to the door, Aricolumn is lurking nearby along with a few Marlukes beside him. After a brief chuckle, the group walked toward a nearby cave and went in going straight to the Nightmare Realm. Crystal's troubles aren't over yet.

To be continued…