Author's notes: This one was more difficult to get out, not because I just didn't have a story, but because my big Brother died in an accident. Between funeral arrangements and traveling to be with family, my mind hasn't been on writing lately.
So recapturing the story in my head has been more difficult.
A special thanks to fellow fanfic writer, Eternalfluffy who's story 'Quest of Memories' helped inspire me to finish this chapter.
For a well written fun take on the place of dreams and reality in the world read her story! It will not disapoint!
*8*
Shattered Dreams
Chapter 4
*8*
They came back to the center of the tree, the glowing orb remained in its place and holding the stone to it, it absorbed the stone and again changed color, seeming to grow more clear. This had to be among one of the more interesting dreams Nights had been to. Suddenly Nights sagged and realized the tiredness she suddenly felt was Maia, "Common, lets head back to the dream gate for a break."
Maia felt startled for a moment "Shouldn't we find the rest of the keys?"
Nights spun around a circle and felt the giddy-joy from the teen she was duelized with. "We have two of the keys, lets take a break." and she didn't give the girl any choice. Flying back to the dream gate.
*8*
Reala stared up at the orb that glowed above the Forest Arena "Interesting" he said and he pulled out a glowing orb from his vest, the pure white of it glimmered and sparkled giving more color to the place around him "Dragonfly, wake up. Wizeman has given you another chance, do not let them past you again. Oh, and try to actually CAPTURE the girl this time you fools!"
He placed the orb on the ground, the glowing stone above seemed to resonate with it and the two flashed, then from the ground rose the Purity and it began to take a more nebulous form then shifted and stretch, until Fly stood once again. The clown spread his arms and the ground shook the Golem, Dragon, began to form again. The Forest Arena darkening with the looming presence.
Reala watched the two reform and only gave a nod "This is your last chance. Wizeman won't bring you back again. He doesn't easily forgive failure. I suggest you tighten up your defense and work on something to make separating you two more difficult. You might key it as well for their arrival." Reala pointed up and Fly's eyes followed to the orb that glowed, then the little one grinned. Reala turned and holding out his arm a sphere of darkness formed and he stepped through it.
On the other side the dark harlequin knelt, head down. "Everything is as you ordered, my Lord Wizeman." he said his eyes cast down into the blackness that surrounded them. This was Wizeman's throne room. Endless blackness and nothing, where a door and a throne appeared to sit upon nothingness itself. Reala could feel the floor beneath his knee but see nothing. Like his master's heart this place reflected the terrible cold blackness that existed there.
"You delivered the Ideya of Purity as ordered?" Reala looked up at that dark voice and saw his master. The great form of hands, a cape and a domed head surrounded with spikes.
"Yes, as you ordered my Master. But was it really a good idea? What if they defeat that weakl-"
"Silence Reala."
"Yes Master Wizeman." his head shot down and he frowned. Why wouldn't he listen to him? Just once. Reala was sure he could come up with many more plans that would work better, Wizeman kept sending the same low class fools after his prizes, and then taking these risks! They already had the girl's Ideya, why would they risk losing them back to her again? Just like every other time some silly children came along. Admittedly this one was oddly just one child and not two. Normally they came in pairs. Reala wondered about it, and wondered about a lot of things. But it wasn't his place to question his master.
"We need to take all her Ideya, and you left her with her courage Reala" Wizeman said.
"It was damaged... I didn't think you would want it." he started then hurriedly added before he could get yelled at or worse, "I am sorry I failed you. I won't let it happen again."
"I want that girl brought here, after you have taken all her Ideya from her Reala."
"Yes my master." he said with a growing feeling of frustration in his heart, wondering why that girl was so important. She was just a cripple.
*8*
At the Dream Gate Maia was sitting at the fountain and watching Nights flit around over her head. In her lap Kitten was curled up contentedly dozing. Maia was starting to feel antsy.
"How much longer are we going to rest?" she asked Nights.
Nights glanced down at her then over at Owl who came over and perched next to the girl on the fountain.
"Hoo, if you are worried about waking up, here at the Dream Gate there really doesn't seem to be any real time passage for the Dreamer." he told her.
She blinked at him "How is that possible?"
"Think of the Dream Gate and Your Dream worlds as separate places. While you are here at the Dream Gate, you really aren't in your dream, you are in another world. Ours." Owl told her "So time passes differently here than it would in your dreams. Which are still connected to your world. And since that is also all in your mind, time goes much faster in your dreams than in the waking world."
"Huh." she said "So as long as I stay here, nothing really is happening then?" she asked.
"Well something like that, a lot of things are still happening, mostly all in the dream dimensions." Owl said.
Maia just looked confused a moment then she half jumped when Nights zipped in and stole Kitten, "Common, get big Kitten! Let's wander around with Maia!" she said and dropped the shadow cat who grew large as it dropped and trotted over to Maia. The girl sighed and climbed onto her friend's back. Nights flipped around in the sky and showed them about the Dream Gate. It was a little tiring but Maia was getting better, and Kitten in its large form seemed to have grown a bit larger, more stable, but she still had to cling to its back. "We really need a saddle." she said to Kitten who gave her a twitched ear in response.
"Hmm a saddle huh?" Nights flitted around the pair and snapped her fingers "Hold on! I'll be right back!" and she dashed off, Maia saw her flash through the gate door to her dream.
Since sitting around was no real fun, she started wandering more with Kitten, Owl helping them out and telling them a little about some of the features. Including it seemed if they located little drops of pure dream or 'Dream Drops' they would be able to fill the fountain and cause other changes to the Dream Gate that would reflect from her heart. She found that while Owl talked a lot, he really was very knowledgeable. There where several points in conversation she almost expected him to offer her tea and cookies like some proper English afternoon tea she'd seen in a travel video.
Of course by the time Nights should have returned, Kitten and Maia didn't notice her prolonged absence as they where floating on a stream of air coming up from a tunnel below them. Laughing as Kitten swiped at Owl futilely who was amused and keeping just out of reach of the currently small kitten while Maia tumbled in the air jet. It was almost like flying with Nights, which made the girl feel happy. Although she liked the freedom more of flying around the Dream Gate than just in a jet stream of air.
Thinking of Nights made her realize she hadn't seen the harlequin in awhile. Tumbling out of the air stream she crashed to the ground in a controlled fall and looked up. Kitten hopped after and Owl came down to her level.
"Wishing to try something different?" he asked her.
"No, I'm just wondering how much longer Nights is going to take before she gets back here." Maia told Owl and pulled herself to Kitten's back at the feline turned large and carried her back to the fountain.
"Hoo, yes, Nights is taking a long time" Owl agreed. "How about I pop over and see what's the hold up is then?"
She gave a nod "Sounds good. I hope Nights hasn't run into any trouble." Owl just gave a hoot and disappeared with a small pop. Maia got herself seated at the fountain and Kitten shrunk down and hopped into her lap. They had just gotten comfortable when Owl popped back into existence with a shriek. Startling the two at the fountain. Maia fell back into the dried up base and Kitten jumped strait up into the air landing with its tail bottle brushed out and dark shadowy fur raised in alarm in a ridge along its back.
"Oh! Its horrible! Horrible!"
"What? What happened Owl?" Maia said, but at the moment the old bird was too worked up to listen to reason. Instead he was just flapping in circles and wailing about doom.
The girl glanced at her shadow cat who blinked in response and then with a small yowl leapt up and caught Owl, growing bigger with the leap and brought him to the ground. Shutting him up by knocking the air from his round body.
"Okay Owl, breath now." Maia said leaning over the Fountain edge and staring down at Owl who at least was taking her advice as Kitten got off of him. He then flapped up to her eye level "Nights has been captured again!" he said.
She blinked "Again? How? Was it.. Reala?" she hesitated on the last line.
"No, it was Dragonfly!"
"What? We got rid of them!"
"They are back again and caught Nights, she's trapped in another cage."
She frowned "Like before?"
Owl shook his head "No, this one is half buried into the ground. You'll have to find a way to dig it up first before you can free Nights."
Maia rubbed her head, "Damn it! Why did Nights have to go and get caught! She should have been more careful."
Owl seemed to calm a bit and coughed "Yes well, Nights has always been a little too.. Trusting" he said with some embarrassment "Doesn't tend to pay attention to her surroundings and often lets herself be tricked into things."
Maia shook her head "Even I'm not that naive!" She beckoned Kitten who came to her and shifted to its larger size then she pulled herself up onto the sleek back "Well lets go I guess." she needed Nights to help her find her Idyea, so having the jester caught up in a cage wasn't helping her. "I'm going to have a long talk with Nights about this when I'm done! I can't go rescuing her all the time!" Kitten and Maia went to the gate and she got the door opened.
Owl flapped in place and shook his head "Applying logic to dream is rather impossible." he sighed "they are a lot stronger than they seem when the Dreamer is there and believes that they can do it. Even a Nightmare has to follow the rules set by the Dreamer in their own dreams." But he popped out of sight, following the two travelers into the dream realm.
*8*
Back in the Big Tree forest Maia felt herself twitching. It wasn't that everything had changed, no, it was the same place. But it felt as if someone had come through and redone all the paths, added more blind spots and ambush sights. "Okay, now. This is getting unfair!" she said with a feeling of anger. Her eyes narrowed as she scanned the area for a path "Can you find a path Kitten?" she said patting Kitten's side.
The giant shadow cat looked around and seemed to sniff the ground, then looked back at her and she had the impression of a nod. Maia smiled "Good kitty" she said and scratched Kitten's ears. The large shadow rumbling contentedly.
Owl popped in next to the pair. "Hoo, they have been busy haven't they?"
"Yeah well this is meant to be MY dream right?" she asked looking at Owl who gave a tentative nod.
"Then why are they CHANGING it!" she crossed her arms feeling a bit put out. She wasn't looking forward to the pain, or the very likely fight at the end of this. The last one didn't turn out so well and this one wasn't promising to be easier. There had to be a way to be able to stop Dragonfly without having her ass handed to her on a silver platter!
"You need to start thinking in terms of dream logic Maia, it is not quite the same as your world's." Owl tried to tell her.
She sagged and sighed "Dream logic, yeah, the logical illogic of dreams and Alice in Wonderland." she rubbed her face "Well, Kitten says he's got a path, so lets see how far we can get."
They traveled along the paths, Periodically having to turn back. There seemed to be fewer of those chests and clocks. With all the nightmares she was running into along the way she was running out of the blue chips. They came into a clearing and Maia sat back with a sigh of frustration. Another dead end. There was nothing in it at least, except a couple small harmless looking creatures that where tumbling about the ground in the center.
"God!" she said in growing frustration. They where running out of time and this was the third dead end they had come acrossed.
Kitten gave a low whine and she sighed stroking the beast "not your fault" she said and sagged. This was turning into Mission Impossible. Only without the cool theme music.
"Hoo," Owl popped into view and she looked up as he settled on a branch over her head "I think I may have found the path, I was just about to lead you to this place."
She blinked at him "It's a dead end!" she told the bird she was having a growing suspicion was insane.
"No, it seems to be a dead end. Actually there is a path up the far wall. And a few other things of interest to you, like dream clocks and I saw another of the dream drops over there" he said waving a wing in the general direction.
Hearing that there was a path made the teen perk and smile "Oh good!"
"Seems this place has for some reason some of the same properties as the Dream Gate" Owl said looking back at the clearing.
"Huh?"
"Its disconnected itself from your dream world somehow. It is still part of it, but you can rest here without fear of waking." he said looking down at her "At least, I'm pretty sure you can."
"Huh, well that at least is useful to know. I wonder why?" Maia looked around the clearing with more interest as she lead Kitten to a stump and slid down onto it. Getting comfortable as she could and just glad to be off Kitten's back for a little while.
"I have a theory." Owl said.
She looked up at the old bird with curiosity "Yeah?"
He cleared his throat self consciously "Well, I think it might actually have to do with you."
She raised a brow, "How so?"
"When we told you about the Dream Gate, I think you might have included something like it in your dream. Sort of a resting point."
"Huh, well, I guess that makes sense. But if I can include something like that why can't I just zap myself to where Nights is?"
"That would be because of Nightmare's influence and without all your Ideya you are nearly as powerful as you where before. So your shaping is more unconscious dreaming. When you want something you can cause it to be, but just not have full control of where it is." he fluffed out his feathers.
"Well I guess that does make sense" she said nodding and leaning back on her palms looking up through the canopy of the forest leaves. Kitten for its part had gone a little ways away and she looked down in time to see the shadowy form coming back to her with a clock in its maw. She grinned "Good Kitten" she held out her hand the clock disappearing, but that little internal timer seeming to reset itself again. As soon as she had the clock Kitten took off again coming back with the other items of interest nearby, like the Dream Drop and other such things.
Owl flustered a bit that it just rather felt like cheating, "How is it cheating?" she asked the owl "Kitten is a part of me anyway. So its pretty much like doing it myself!"
The old bird didn't have much to say to that and after a little while more of rest Maia got back upon Kitten's back and the two followed Owl up the tree.
It was the final stretch to the end. Nights was ahead. She still had no real plan for how to free Nights and defeat Dragonfly, but at least she was rested and ready for a fight.