While the Magical World was the place where dreams come true, that didn't mean you couldn't explore dreams. After all, how can you make miracles happen if you never have dreams in the first place? After a long day of helping prepare the Hocus Pocus Bash, Gabriel was glad to just head to his apartment and crash for the night.
"Too bad Jasiri is off helping party planning in Animal Kingdom. I'd like to " the raven yawned. Gabriel put on his nightwear, which consisted of a simple white t-shirt and grey shorts, and hopped into bed. "Goodnight Kessie."
The bluebird gave a yawn herself, nesting on a makeshift nest that Gabriel had made for her. "Goodnight, Gabriel," Kessie replied.
The two soon were off to dreamland, with Gabriel opening his eyes to see he was now standing in a space filled with stars, the ground completely covered in clouds. "Huh, I'm having this dream again…" he mused.
"Hey Gabriel!" called a voice, and up through the clouds came Sisu, the dragon happily bouncing around the clouds.
"Sisu! How'd you get in my dreams?" the raven asked.
Sisu shrugged. "I'm not sure. I was just flying through the sky in my dreams and just followed the clouds." She looked around and stared up at the stars. "So, what kind of dream is this?"
"I call it my mindspace," Gabriel explained. "It's basically just an empty void, but it allows me to create anything in my dreams. I get ideas for spells and such while I'm here." To demonstrate the abilities of the mindspace, Gabriel held out a hand, making an ice cream cone appear in it. He then snapped his fingers and summoned another cone for Sisu.
"Cool!" Sisu said, eagerly eating the ice cream. "Oh yeah, dream food is the best, and you don't even have to worry about eating too much of the stuff either." In a moment Sisu's ice cream cone grew a mile high, the dragon licking her lips as she looked at it. "Yeah, this mindspace is super cool."
"Do you have any interesting dreams?" Gabriel asked.
"Not really," Sisu shrugged. "There was this one time I dreamed I was a spider once."
"Well, some people say that dreams are ways to see into other universes, so maybe in that universe you are a spider," Gabriel suggested. The raven made his ice cream disappear and sliced at the air with his hand, making a crackling purple portal appear. "Say, since we're both sharing a dream right now, how about we go and see what everyone else in the Magical World is dreaming?"
"Sure!" Sisu nodded. "Hey, how did you do that portal thing? I've never seen you do that before."
"Well, since we're in a dream, that means we can do more than we can in the waking world," Gabriel explained. He did a spin and in a flashy sequence transformed himself into his dragon form, along with wearing an Iron Man-esque suit of armor, sans the helmet. "See? Now I'm Iron Dragon! Why don't you try?"
Sisu hummed with thought, before doing a spin and transforming herself. She was now a more anthropomorphized version of herself, the Dragon Gem tied to her hip and wearing Jedi robes. Sisu grinned as she pulled out a lightsaber, which turned on to reveal a pink blade. "Sweet! I always wanted to use one of these things!"
"I must say that you look nice in that form as well," Gabriel nodded.
"Well, I've seen how Destiny has both her whale, human, and in-between forms, so I wanted to try it out," Sisu said. "Maybe I'll try this out with the Dragon Gem when we wake up. Anyway, time to be dream warriors!"
"Dream warriors!" Gabriel chanted, the two hoping through the portal and going out into the dream world proper.
All around them was a vast mindscape, filled with windows and portals that peeked into the various dreams of characters within the Magical World. They saw Bluey dreaming about being a fruit bat, Dewey being the star of the high school basketball team, and Max Goof performing at a Powerline concert. Gabriel even got to check in on Jasiri, who was dreaming about relaxing at Hakuna Matata Falls.
"Good to see are friends having such sweet dreams," the raven said. Suddenly a green mist zoomed by, making Gabriel and Jasiri spin around from the speed. "What was that!?"
"Gain way!" shouted a voice, and soon a little black thing barreled right into Sisu, knocking her over. The thing turned out to be a little owl with pitch black feathers, grey talons, and glowing yellow eyes. The owl groaned, sitting up before seeing where he landed. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry, miss!" he said, blushing as he got off Sisu.
"I've taken worse hits," Sisu chuckled. She picked him up and smiled, giving the owl a big hug. "Aw, aren't you the cutest little thing!"
"Sisu, I think you're going to smother him with how much he's blushing," Gabriel said with a laugh.
"Oops! Sorry about that. Still getting used to the new form," Sisu apologized.
"No problem," the owl said. "Who are you guys? I would have expected Logan here, but not you."
"You must be one of Logan's friends. I'm Gabriel, Dream Keeper, and this is Sisu the water dragon," Gabriel said.
The owl gasped. "The Dream Keeper! It's so nice to meet you! I'm Jameson the owl, a Dream Walker and defender of the dream world." He gave a bow before taking a pose, which just made him look more adorable.
"So you do my job, but when people are asleep instead of awake," Gabriel mused. "So then, Jameson, what are you doing here?"
"I was chasing after my archenemy, Nightmare," Jameson explained. "He's always causing trouble, especially now that he's learned how to control Dream Eaters."
"You fight a guy called Nightmare?" Sisu questioned.
"Nightmare is a demon that causes, well, nightmares and feeds of the fears of his victims," Gabriel said. "He's kinda like Freddy Krueger, seeing as he can really only hurt you as long as you're asleep."
"And who's this Freddy guy?" Sisu asked.
"Isn't he a robot bear?" Jameson questioned.
"No, that's a different Freddy, and either way neither of them are Disney characters so we don't have to worry about them," Gabriel stated. "Still, if Nightmare has control of Dream Eaters, that could be a problem. With them he can cause bad dreams without even entering a person's mind himself."
"Then let's follow after him and stop those nightmares!" Sisu said, igniting her lightsaber.
"Woah, I didn't know Sisu was a Jedi!" Jameson exclaimed.
"Dream power," Gabriel said.
"Oh, right," the owl blushed. He pulled out a red baseball bat and pointed it forward, causing a cartoonish lion in rainbow colors to appear. "Aura Lion, lead the way!"
"Woah, you can summon Dream Eaters too!" Gabriel said in awe.
"Wait, I thought Dream Eaters were the bad guys?" Sisu questioned.
"Dream Eaters made of bad dreams are Nightmares, while Dream Eaters made of good dreams are Spirits. This Aura Lion is one of my Spirits," Jameson explained. "I've battled so many Nightmares that I have a bunch of Spirits I can call upon to help in battle. My own dreams serve as a house for them, actually."
"Okay then, let's follow that lion!" Gabriel said.
The three chased after the Spirit, flying through the dream world until they caught up to the Nightmare cloud. The villain's eyes glared at the trio before hopping into a nearby dream, a green fog encasing it. Aura Lion followed after Nightmare, with Jameson not far behind. "We've got you this time, Nightmare!" he shouted.
Gabriel and Sisu followed suit, falling into the dream to find themselves standing in front of a spooky castle. "Woah, whoever lives here must really be having a nightmare," Sisu said. "This looks like something out of all the Halloween decorations you guys are putting up."
"Actually, this is the ancestral De Spell home," said a raven perched on a tree. It flew down before transforming into Poe De Spell, the duck straightening his suit. "Greets, Dream Keeper and Water Dragon. Nice outfits you have there. What brings you to my dream?"
"We're chasing after Nightmare, a demon that inflicts bad dreams on people," Gabriel explained. "We actually came here with one of Logan's friends, Jameson, but he's not here right now."
"Which is weird, seeing as he jumped in before us," Sisu pondered.
"Either way, if it's a nightmare you are facing, then allow me to help as well," Poe stated, his amulet glowing with magic. "Since this is a dream, that means I'm at full power, unlike in the waking world." A sudden burst of magic came from the castle, causing a green fog to overtake the building. "I'm guessing that is Nightmare's doing?"
"Looks like it," Gabriel said.
The three headed into the castle, following the green fog until they entered the throne room. There they found Jameson, though the little owl didn't seem to be as confident as he was before. In fact, Jameson look terrified as the shadowy form of Magica De Spell loomed over him.
"How disappointing you are, just like little Lena!" Magica said.
"No… No, you're not real!" Jameson said in fear.
"You entered this dream, so you must realize whose it is!" Magica exclaimed. She raised a hand and gathered magic in it, only for a different magic blast to knock the spell away. "What!? Who dares!"
"I do," Poe said, stepping in front of Jameson. "You may have the form of my sister, but I can tell that you are not her. So show your true self, demon!"
Magica scowled, before bursting into green mist and transforming into a man with crazy black hair, pointed ears, pale skin, a tattered green cloak. "So you figured me out. I just needed to chase the annoying owl here to trick him, but I didn't expect him to bring friends."
"Nightmare! Your reign of terror on dreams ends here!" Gabriel said, holding up his hand to charge a repulsor blast.
"Oh look, the Dream Keeper. I've heard about you," Nightmare said. "I'd rather not be blown to bits, so I'll let you deal with one of my minions instead. Goodbye!" The demon disappeared into green mist, while leaving behind a creature that took the form of a pelican in a witch's hat and holding a broomstick wand.
"It's a Spellican!" Gabriel noted. "A boss Nightmare. Best be prepared."
"You know I am," Sisu said, taking a stance with her lightsaber.
"I'm ready for battle as well," Poe nodded. He turned to Jameson, the owl looking at him with a shocked expression. "Hm, would you perhaps be the owl friend that Lena told me about."
"The name's J-Jameson, sir," Jameson said.
"Yes, my daughter told me that you were an expert in fighting creatures of nightmares. Could to lend us a hand?" Poe asked.
Jameson nodded, holding out his baseball bat at the creature. "Yeah, we got this!"
Gabriel nodded, before reaching out to Fantasia as the battle began.
If the light the flickers in the shadows
Can find a way to your heart
Spellican fired out orbs of darkness, which Sisu jumped in front of, blocking the attack with her lightsaber.
Then our resonance will always come out stronger
Than words that call from the dark
Gabriel then rushed forward, both hands out as he used his repulsor to fire bursts of energy at the Nightmare boss.
Through the mirror, seeing eye to eye
I know our destiny's become intertwined
Spellican waved their staff in the air, calling down meteors from the sky. Poe smirked and clutched his pendant, creating a shield of darkness that protected the group from the attack.
We'll keep racing on through the night
To find our destination's the same
Jameson readied himself, then jumped out of the shield and raising his weapon, summoning colorful balls all around him. "Balloonga!" he shouted, smacking the balls away as they bounced around the room before homing in on Spellican.
So don't ever doubt, you know that I'll be there
Right by your side
"Good shot, young one," Poe said.
"Oh, t-thanks," Jameson said.
We will defend all our dreams
For all of the Nightmares
"Come on Sisu, let's finish this!" Gabriel called.
"You got it!" Sisu replied, the two flying up in the air together.
If the light the flickers in the shadows
Can find a way to your heart
Spellican fired off stars at the two, but their speed was simply too fast for the Nightmare to counter.
Then our resonance will always come out stronger
Than words that call from the dark
"Uni-Slash!" the two shouted, Gabriel using his armor to charge up Sisu's blade as she did a mega strike against Spellican, knocking the Nightmare to the ground. "This one is all yours, Jameson!"
You know that I don't care where it is you came from
I just charmed that we met today
The owl nodded, holding out his bat as it glowed with magic. "Red Phoenix Blast!" he called, shooting out a burning spirit phoenix that shot through Spellican, which flinched before exploding into mist, defeated.
For all the moments that we share, through pain and sorrow
Will make us strong when we wake
"Good show, everyone," Poe said, giving a gentleman's clap. He leaned down and gave Jameson a pat on the head. "Especially you. Those skills you used were very powerful for someone your age."
"I mean, the Balloon line of spells are notoriously overpowered, but yeah, that final attack you did as awesome," Gabriel said.
"Thanks guys. Well, I best be going," Jameson said, summoning Aura Lion once more. "The dream world won't defend itself. Oh, and Gabriel and Sisu should probably get back to their own dreams before you wake up."
"Will do," Gabriel nodded, waving goodbye as Jameson left. "You know, I feel like there might be more to Jameson that what he was letting on."
"Yeah, he seemed super freaked out by the Magica Illusion Nightmare made," Sisu said.
"Yes, and when I touched him, I felt a strange resonance with my own magic," Poe hummed. "It was almost like when my sister and I used our amulets together, or when Lena and I train. Very strange indeed."
"Whatever it is, we should let Jameson be the one to tell us," Gabriel said. He then let out a yawn, which surprised even himself. "Wow, I didn't know you could get tired in the dream world. Guess my body will be waking up soon."
"Off we go then," Sisu said, transforming back into her regular form and picking the raven up and putting him on her back. "I'll take you back to your dream, Gabriel. Can you give us a portal back, Poe?"
"Indeed I can," the sorcerer nodded, and with a sleight of hand conjured a sling ring on his finger. "I learned this trick from Wong." Poe spun his hand in the air, creating a magic portal back to Gabriel's mindspace. "I'll see you all at the Hocus Pocus Bash with Rachel. Good waking, you two."
With that Sisu and Gabriel left, having made a new friend and fought off a new enemy in the world of dreams. "I should ask Jameson the next time we meet if he could help me create Spirit Dream Eaters," Gabriel said to himself.
Author's Note
Meet Jameson the Dream Walker, another of Logan's friends and probably the cutest member of the Magical World cast (Sorry for losing that title, Toren!). He's created by Jameson the Phoenix Owl, and if you want to know more about him, I'd check out "The Adventures of Logan", specifically chapter 23 "a special sleepover" and chapter 26 "the second sleepover". This little guy has a lot going on, and he's tied to the De Spell family in some surprising ways.
We went to the world of dreams this time, and Gabriel and Sisu had fun trying out different powers. Nightmare is a real Marvel villain, using being faced by Doctor Strange, but he did appear in an episode of "Ultimate Spider-Man" that served as a parody of the classic Christmas Carol story. I thought he made sense to be Jameson's arch-enemy, and giving him control over Nightmare Dream Eaters also makes sense seeing as Jameson usually fights alongside Spirit Dream Eaters.
The song this time was "Resonance" from the anime Soul Eater. It's a fun watch and gives me Tim Burton vibes with some of the character designs. The song is also one of my favorite anime openings.
Next Time: The Hocus Pocus Bash is here, but the Sanderson Sisters are up to their old tricks!