AN: Hey, sorry for the delay. I am also sorry about the dismal length of the story also. I really have no excuse besides writer's block.

NiGHTS: Back to Earth

Actuality 10

Helen had waited for way too long; she came down to the kitchen, and then took the ketchup away from Jackle. "You've had it long enough."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Jackle didn't seem too upset about it, "but you will never guess why I had it," Jackle grimly told Helen, then grinned "what'cha want?"

"You know very well what we want," said Helen, "for NiGHTS to go back to the Dream World, and Pammy back in our world."

"And how would you know that Pammy is in the Dream World?" Jackle asked, "How do you know if she's missing somewhere else with Reala?"

Helen rolled her eyes, at least Jackle stopped with the pet names, "And where would you suggest Reala and Pammy would be?"

Jackle only shrugged, "somewhere in this world, how would they even get to the Dream World? Reala's shoes broke, remember?"

That was when Nicholas and Bridget came into the kitchen, "I am willing to explain that," said Bridget, "in this world, Visitors use something called Artificial Ideya to replace regular Ideya when taken from Nightmaren."

Nicholas nodded his head, "yes, and they have the same power are regular Ideya. We have collected four of the Artificial Ideya, only that Reala had the fifth. He probably stole the rest from Helen, but took Pammy along with."

"And how would you know?" Jackle asked.

"The clues leaded up to Pammy and Reala being in the Dream World," Helen told Jackle, "and you had to get to the Waking World somehow, so you also have a way back."

"Why are you assuming these things?" Jackle cried out, "I don't have a way back, seriously."

Nicholas knew that wasn't the truth. He just knew Jackle way too hard to believe that there wasn't a way to the Dream World. Nicholas just gave Jackle a glare, to give him a notice that Nicholas knew what he was up to.

Pammy walked around the castle all alone. She was glad to get away from Reala for once. It seemed like at that moment, and for once: she was over Reala. Yet she wondered why Reala refused to let her back to the Waking World. Could it be that…?

"And you must be that Pammy girl Reala is always watching in that crystal ball thing," said what seemed to be a giant spider.

Pammy screamed for a moment, frightened of what she had seen, only to remember: three years ago, that spider threw giant balls of web at her. It wasn't a pleasant memory, although familiar to Pammy. Then she remembered that the spider reminded her that Reala was stalking her, it had always irritated her since she found out about the matter, "Why is that your business?"

The spider snorted, "Geeze, I was only wondering. I mean, Reala and Jackle are the only two nightmaren here who has the power to go through worlds, it's not like either of them would send you back."

That was when Pammy became silent; she looked down, "It baffles me why he won't send me back."

Laughter came to the spider, "You're so naïve, very naïve," the spider began to pass by Pammy.

Pammy tried to stop the giant spider from walking away, but all failed, "What does she mean, 'Naïve?'"

There was full awareness in Pammy's head that Jackle wasn't there, so there was only one way to get back to the Waking World: Convince Reala otherwise. It was easier said than done. Pammy looked at the red and black checkered room. Somehow she knew that it was Reala's. Maybe it was because of the colors. Reala seemed to like black and red a lot; they seemed to be his signature colors. She walked into the room to see Reala sitting on his throne. He looked up at the ceiling; he hadn't even noticed the Visitor.

Pammy just stood there, not knowing what to say, or how to say it. She knew she had to convince him somehow to get her back to the Waking World.

That was Reala's eyes met to Pammy, which had really intimidated her.

"What?" Reala asked, "Do you need something?"

"Yes," Pammy proudly announced, "I want you to…."

"If it has anything to do with the Waking World then no…" Reala was straight on his answer, and it seemed as though he wasn't going to change his mind.

This had really made Pammy mad. She was confused the first time he declined, but the second time really ticked her off, "and why are you imprisoning in this horror to humans?"

That had just made Reala pause. He knew the reason, it was just the way of putting it, "I just, want you to be around; that's all, now leave, I'm pondering."

Pammy's feet stayed on the ground, which was amazingly clean, since Nightmaren didn't walk that often. She thought about it, maybe it was more than just, "needing someone to paraloop." He could paraloop an object for the whole thing to work. Then she thought that, maybe, just maybe, Reala actually does love her. Maybe those words he said before he paralooped her were actually true.

"What are you doing?" Reala looked at Pammy once again, "I said, leave!"

Pammy's eyes grew dark, "it had to develop over the years, and you had to do many terrible things to me. You had to use me and stalk me, but what you had said our last seconds in the Waking World was true."

Fear came to Reala; he didn't want Pammy to be aware of him actually having feelings, for a Visitor.

"You actually lo…."

Reala swooped down from his throne to put his hand over her mouth, he screeched out, "don't you dare!" A sharp feeling came to Reala's hand, "ah!" he screamed as he saw Pammy's mouth in Reala's hand. He quickly pulled away.

"I just can't believe you," Pammy began to say, "I have loved you with all of my heart, and cared for you…and it ended up that you have only used me for your own needs? That is low, as low as the pits of the Underworld. I am defiled now; you have picked out every emotion of happiness out of me. There is no one word to describe my feelings. You don't even understand!"

Reala knew those words well, he had memorized every piece of this…it was Joy's monologue.

"But now, since I know that the pieces of your return have come together," Pammy had added onto the monologue, with water in her eyes, "I think…I still love you, despite of what you've done."

The four were back in Helen's room; everyone was silent when Helen asked "well?"

Bridget stole Jackle's cards then took a look at them, "so, let me guess, your power is throwing cards?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Jackle asked, "I'm very deadly with my card throwing."

"You can say that again," said Nicholas.

"Oh," Bridget nodded her head, she seemed to get the entire thing, "so you're a card ninja?!"

Helen began to crack up, "oh my gosh, that is so true!" Helen hadn't felt positive about Jackle before, at least not enough to laugh at him.

Jackle just smiled, it wasn't as grim as his infamous Nightmaren smile, but still quite creepy, "you can say that I'm some kind of ninja."

"But let's get back to business," said Helen, then she glared at Jackle, as she knew what he would say after her next sentence, "As the rest of us knows, Pammy is trapped in the Dream World."

"What?" Jackle asked in response to Helen's glare, what he said wasn't what she expected at all "How would ~I~ ever doubt that Reala and his girlfriend is in the Dream World?"

"Um, you did," Helen pointed out, "quite recently you've questioned if Pammy and Reala were actually in the Dream World."

A baffled face appeared on Jackle, "what? Of course I agree that Pammy and Reala are in the Dream World, where else would they be?"

"Okay then," Helen was glad that Jackle began to agree, "I guess we shall start our rescue mission!"

That was when there was a knock on the door. Helen went downstairs to open it to see Devin, "Hey, have you seen Pammy…or Bridget in that matter?"

Helen shook her head, "haven't you heard that both Pammy and Reala went missing."

"Yeah, I know," said Devin, "My first thought was that they were here at your house."

Helen didn't want to spurt out the news to Devin, even though he did deserve to know the truth, it was just the cold hard truth, "um, let's just say that Pammy's physical body is in the Dream World…Reala forced her to come with him after he stole my Artificial Ideya."

Devin looked down, "well, there's no way to tell her parents that…" then he looked up, "and I suppose there is no way for NiGHTS to get to the Dream World?"

That was when the truth got warmer, "no, Bridget found another nightmaren named Jackle here in the Waking World. He might be able to help us get to the Dream World, he's with Bridget and Nicholas now."

"Awesome," Devin perked up then smiled, "then we can rescue Pammy ourselves!" Then Devin finally asked, "are there any complications to this?"

Right after Helen had exit the room, Jackle turned himself back into a Nightmaren.

"Wow, why are you turned back into a Nightmaren?" Bridget immediately asked, thinking that he looked amazing in his form.

Jackle didn't answer Bridget's question, he threw one of his cards which created a portal to the Dream World.

He was about to go in, when Bridget grabbed onto his where his shoulder should be, "Wait, Jackle, no!"

Jackle didn't listen to Bridget at all, he kept on flying, only Bridget didn't lose her grip, and she was injected to the portal as well as Jackle.

The immediate reaction of Nicholas was to run as fast as he could into the portal before it closed. The last thing Nicholas wanted was for more Visitors to have their physical bodies in the Dream World. The last thing that Nicholas wanted did indeed happen, another Visitor in the Dream World. He had guessed that there were two Visitors to rescue.

When Devin and Helen came to her room, they had found the trio gone. All they had seen left was Bridget's backpack and the last bit of the portal, which closed.

"I guess there is a complication," Helen bit her lip, "they left without us."

"What?" Devin whispered in anger, "first, the Nightmaren have taken my girlfriend, now my sister? What do they have against me?"

"They have nothing against you," said Helen, "it's just…a coincidence."

"Who is this Jackle?" Devin cried out in rage.

"Well," Helen began to explain, "He's a Nightmaren, with a big playing card obsession, a strange individual; he has the power to throw cards."

"Is he evil at all?" Devin asked.

"Don't get me started," Helen, rolled her eyes "he's evil, in an annoying kind of way." Helen had always thought of Devin as a calm person. He was so angry, this was the first time Helen had seen him that way. There was nothing neither she nor Devin could do, except wait.