The rest of their ascent was left in silence, just as suffocating of the dreadful void beyond them. By the time the six landed on to the ship, a sense of relief had swept through all of them that at least they'd at least have the task ahead of them to stave off that unsettling feeling in their guts. That feeling of…
Pure.
Agonizing.
(Unknown) Silence.
…
"…Can…you…hear…me?"
!
She was back.
Where were you?
"I don't know. I feel like I shouldn't be here right now."
What do you mean?
"It's hard to explain. I just…" He could feel her getting distracted, in awe of the hellscape she had returned to. "So this is where nightmares are from, huh?" Cody could practically imagine her rubbing her shoulders nervously just from her remark.
What's up? Aren't you into creepy stuff like this? He teased.
"Oh, can it. I am, but…" Her voice trailed off for a second before returning. "Something's nearby. I can't tell what it is, but it's freaking me out."
R-really? For all his teasing of how scared she could have looked in this situation, he was the actual one looking around like a fidgeting mouse caught in a death trap. Normally, he'd brush superstitions like this aside, but just being here, he hadn't felt this way since their unexpected run in with Death.
Could you keep me updated if you can? He continued to prod her. You can probably sense this stuff better than me.
…What am I even thinking? You're just a hallucination.
"I am not…" Her protest was cut off. Her voice cracked, and she faded in and out like a waning receiver. "I…I don't…what is…it's…"
Gwen? Hey, Gwen?
Gone once again.
The land of nightmares latched on to him. Against his better judgment, he flashed back to the night on the island. He remembered the familiar feeling of loss. How she slipped away to who-knows-where right in front of him. In his panic, his thoughts accidentally slipped out. "Gwen, are y—"
NiGHTS's thick white gloves squeezed his lips shut. They were so careful, they didn't even want to consider risking it with a shush.
Cody looked around. Everyone stared at him with bewilderment and worry in their eyes. Perhaps in their heads, they just witnessed someone give in to the domain's twisted energy. Or, well, that was basically what happened. All that over a figment of his imagination. He could feel himself grow hot in embarrassment as they all timidly resumed their careful trek across the ship's creaky floorboards.
As the group finally made their way towards the bridge, NiGHTS flew ahead of the rest to gingerly usher the door open. What greeted them was even more trepidation and confusion. Despite the quaint and dingy exterior, the inside was practically an entire cruise liner with floors upon floors of endless rooms and curios. All but the jester looked at one another with the same wide and reluctant faces. How in the world were they supposed to search through all this? Despite that, NiGHTS simply floated on ahead, only making one simple "come on" gesture, almost like a threat that they'd be left behind. They all looked at each other once more like they could feel their regret of agreeing to come here build up. Klonoa especially looked over at their guide with deep caution in his eyes. He had already come there with the thought that their jester "friend" was not what they seemed. Were they? Weren't they? How could any of them know? And it was with that uncertainty that they all forced themselves to trudge on further.
Exploring even one floor felt like an eternity with their slow and soundless hike. They were a sizable group of six whole beings, but with the looming doom and gloom that taunted their every step, they might as well have been alone. Each look around at the ship's eerily untouched bounty sent chills through their spines. It wasn't just the thought of exploring something akin to a haunted mansion; it was the very knowledge that wherever they were going, something just wasn't right. None of them could place it.
Not even Gwen.
NiGHTS glanced back at their five visitors with an anxious frown. The jester was supposed to be everyone's beacon of dreams, but given the group's situation, there was so little they could do without accidentally letting the enemies know they all were there. It pained them to see so many dreamers all at once be at the very cusp of succumbing to the night.
But sometimes, nightmares could hold the path to inner peace. And when the six stepped down to the next floor, NiGHTS could feel themselves wanting to let out a sigh of relief.
Before them all was what appeared to be an aquarium. Unlike the abandoned and desolate nature of the rest of the ship, the serene blue hue that shone from each tank and the calm presence of the fish gave it a lived in feel. It reminded Cody of that whimsical feeling he had moving alongside the aquatic fauna back when he first arrived in the world with NiGHTS. With no one else there, that same disturbing feeling continued to linger, yet all the same, it felt fine to lower their guard just a bit. Like the calm before a storm, and boy, were they all desperate to bask in that calm.
The group continued on without a word and admired the displays before them along the way. But that sense of upliftment did not last long because on that floor with nothing but the bubbling musings of swimming fish, they could hear something.
Banging. Desperate ones.
They all looked at each other and nodded. They'd prefer no confrontation at all, but if something was this close by, there was a high chance they'd be unable to avoid it. With more careful steps, they followed the noise…
…And at the center of the floor was a tall cylindrical tank. And rather than being populated by schools of fish, inside were two girls in pink. One was a preteen human girl with her blonde hair tied up into a ponytail. The other was the girl Klonoa knew as Lolo. Both pounded on the glass with all their might to no avail.
"Lolo!" It felt like the first real sound any of them had heard in ages. It echoed through the walls, and possibly the entire ship itself, and everyone but Klonoa simply cupped their ears, aghast. He had already sped on in full force before anyone even had the chance to scold him for their perfect no noise run going down the drain.
"Well.." NiGHTS briefly hunched over in exasperation before bouncing right back. "They would've heard all the banging eventually." They followed their cabbit friend and gestured the rest over. "Hurry. The Nightmaren should be swarming in at any moment now."
Cody and his three companions all nodded in agreement before they too joined NiGHTS and Klonoa at the fish tank. Both had already begun to pound furiously on to the glass, joining the girls in their efforts. Realistically, four pairs of hands should've been more than enough to break them free, but there was nary a crack, and even an additional four pairs wasn't much help either.
"Heh," Loudred smiled nervously as he paused to let the pain that started to pulsate through his fists waver. "A lot tougher than it looks, huh?'
"What is this thing made out of?" Al gasped for air.
"Hey," Mokona's ears perked up as his inner light bulb switched on. "What if I made it explode?!"
"NO!" Klonoa shouted simultaneously alongside Lolo's muffled gurgles from within.
The other girl in the tank replied desperately in response, but the water had distorted her voice enough, it was almost impossible to make.
"That's right," NiGHTS nodded. "We don't want Helen and our other friend here getting hurt, now do we?" They put a hand to their chin in thought. "We don't have much time. What's say you all figure out an escape route while I handle these two?"
"I'm not leaving her!" Klonoa's voice cracked, offended by the idea.
"There's no need to worry. You can trust me—"
"Out of the way!"
Cody had spent the entire conversation diligently pounding away when it hit him. His key is special, right? Maybe it's special enough to do the trick! He held it high and mighty like an axe, and the girls practically scrambled to the sides of the tank in fright.
That's when he saw her.
Helen and Lolo stood out brightly in the sickly blue waters with their warm hues of pink. Meanwhile she had blended in like bubbling sea foam. Her dark teal hair wavered like flailing seaweed. Her sickly pale skin looked like it was beginning to crinkle and fade within the flow.
She was in there. Still and motionless.
"GWEN!"
He hit the glass again and again and again and again.
And managed to chip off the smallest of dents on the super glass.
"If you're planning on freeing her, don't. It's pointless the way she is now."
Oh, for crying out…
They all looked up. Situated atop the glass was Trent, whose face was that of both boredom and disdain.
"What did you do to your own girlfriend?!"
Trent twitched. "Why would I…? Are you trying to piss me off?'
"EXPLAIN!" Cody's friends all nervously shifted their eyes towards each other and quietly backed away. This was the angriest anyone had ever seen him, and honestly, it was kind of scary.
"She was already in a coma when I found her," Trent grumbled. "I already did what I could to wake her up the 'normal' way and none of it worked. Why do you think I'm putting up with all this 'evil' crap to begin with?" His glare narrowed. "So calm down already. I would never lie about something like this."
"You're so full of excuses," Cody rolled his eyes as he resumed his Keyblade bashing. Poor Helen and Lolo were caught in the middle of it all, and all they could do was wince each time the toy-like weapon made a clink like they were bystanders in a packed bus unwillingly trapped between two arguing passengers. "No, it's the same one each time!" He pitched up his voice into an aggressively mocking tone. "'Oh, I gotta steal an entire colony's emergency engine so I can leave and save Gwen. Oh, I gotta destroy a world's main energy source 'cause I gotta save Gwen. Oh, I'm gonna turn into a psychotic anime villain because that's somehow the only way to save Gwen.'"
"And if that really is the only way to save the person you love," Trent grinded his teeth. "Wouldn't you do it?"
"No, because that's stupid, and I'd find a new SANE way to do it." His Keyblade smacking had grown all the more intense. "Oh, but you're too busy being all…" He pitched his voice once more. "'Woe is me. I'm so misunderstood and alone. What do you mean I should work with others and make friends? No, I'm supposed to be misunderstood and alone! I don't wanna change.' At least fake it like you did back on the island."
Trent twitched when did this annoying twerp get this much of a lip?
Worst of all, deep down, he knew there was nothing he could say to refute it.
"Oooh, being all quiet and moody now? If you're serious about saving her, how about you get your ass down here and help me out already—"
"Uh, Cody?" Loudred snapped him out of it with the sharp poke of one of his rocky bracelets.
"Wh—" He turned his head back in a violent manner, fully intent on letting him know his interruption wasn't appreciated. But then he saw why he had interrupted. A horde of not just Nightmaren but Heartless as well had breached the floor. They would be reaching them all any second now.
"This is a lot more than I thought there'd be," he overheard NiGHTS state in distress. And, well, it made sense. They all knew they had a time limit thanks to Klonoa's outburst. But you know what, Cody and Trent's verbal hissy fits definitely didn't help matters. And then there was…
Cody glanced at the blade of the very weapon he wielded; the weapon that was designed to both fight off the Heartless and act as their beacon.
Yeah, that'll do it.
While the others already went to work to do what they could to quell the crowd, Cody put all his energy into one last ditch effort into taking down the tank. He bashed and bashed and bashed, and the one tiny dent soon blossomed into a bloom of cracks. Still, that wasn't enough, and he had already run out of time. The Heartless and Nightmaren had already thoroughly flooded the scene and swept him and the others into chaos. None of them had any chance of fighting against the current, and soon, Cody and his usual three friends could feel themselves being taken completely and separated from NiGHTS, Klonoa, and the girls. Second by second, they were forced closer to the exit.
"Don't worry," NiGHTS shouted above the chorus of fissures. "I'll definitely get them out."
"Yeah, I'm not leaving until Lolo's free," Klonoa added.
With the overwhelming pressure sweeping by them alongside their ongoing efforts to fight it off, it was hard for the four to even reply in acknowledgment. All they could do was make semblances of half gestures to get it across that they trusted them. They were just about ready to tumble down the stairs when Cody took one last look at the scene. NiGHTS, Klonoa, Lolo, and Helen continued where they had left off. And through it all, Trent remained on top, now standing and grimacing at the sight like he was worried he'd fall in and get consumed by the waves himself.
Cody pointed at him and gave off one last shout. "You better help them out too, you asshole!"
And then they were gone.
oOo
Perhaps the split up was a blessing in disguise. With half the enemies occupied with terrorizing the ones still a floor above, by the time they had tumbled down the stairs to the next one under, the wave that swept them had faltered, and there was no longer enough to soften their fall. Their bodies aching in pain, they forced themselves back up to land a few hits on the remaining crowd. Unfortunately, what used to be an ocean was still very much a river. It wasn't long before they resigned themselves to retreat.
While the previous floor gave off an almost false sense of security with its serene oceanic displays, it was back to business with this new area which gave the essence of a haunted museum after dark. Painting's lined the walls in an uncanny uniformity, each with the same pattern of a jester draped in an outfit as bright red as fresh blood. He stared at them like he was mocking them. Laughed at them like they were trapped in a form of torture. And maybe it was in a way. Each time any one of them dared to look back at the creatures, it was an act filled with instant regret. These were the same Heartless they'd faced time and time again, yet something about this atmosphere they were in made them look more feral and terrifying than they ever had before. And to say nothing of the current state of the Nightmaren. Their gaudy color schemes made them look more strange than anything in the light, but here, it was like their toy-like forms distorted into the shape of carnivalesque hellspawns. At that moment, it really dawned on them what those silly little creatures truly were. What they were this entire time; nightmares incarnate.
"I would be lying if I wasn't a bit disappointed," an unfamiliar voice with a low, gravely cadence boomed like background ambience.
Who was that? The four looked around the room in confusion as their chase dragged on.
"Though I suppose it's only natural. Every being in every world has nightmares. It's one of the constants in continued existence. No matter how powerful any one person claims to be, they can just as easily fall prey to one dream gone wrong."
Where was this guy!?
"She really should have just sent me from the start. Think of all the time we could have saved if we didn't leave those failures to their devices."
It was then that they finally noticed. The adrenaline of fear had distracted them, but they saw it. Within every painting, the jester's crooked mouth flapped up and down. The movements were so minute in detail, it was somehow disturbing to witness. But just as they had identified their adversary, the paintings blanked out before their very eyes.
And they felt an immense pressure wrap tightly around them like a hungry snake.
Cody turned around. It was the most bizarre sensation. Right before, he could feel, see, and comprehend the motions of being crushed within the being known as Reala's fist, yet by all means, it should've been physically impossible. His hand did not appear to be any larger than it presumably typically was, yet he could feel the pressure caving in from all sides. He could hear and see his friends struggle as well, but Reala was only using one hand. If it wasn't already apparent to them, it definitely was now. This was the world of dreams. It was a huge mistake from the very beginning to not prepare for the impossible.
"I know exactly where to leave you four," he chuckled with an eerie and almost otherworldly tone that spooked the four to the core. Reala made one quick flick of his wrist and slammed them all into the nearest picture frame. They could hear the glass shatter, but to them, there was nothing. No jester, no ship, no nothing. It wouldn't have even been accurate to claim that it had all turned to darkness because that would have implied the concept of dark was there. There was truly nothing.
And then there was a breeze.
A strong gust in fact.
Cody's senses snapped back like a gut punch. He looked around, panting and drenched in sweat despite the dangerously immense wind. The blank void had been replaced with a plain night sky, and he and the others stood atop some sort of steel structure.
It didn't take long for the four of them to figure out what kind of place they'd landed on, especially in the case of Alakazam who immediately sprung over to one of the tower's support beams and hugged it for safety. "This is a tower. Why are we on top of a tower?" He whimpered.
Loudred bit his tongue and scrunched his face in deep focus. He grasped on to his pair of loudspeaker like antennae as he attempted to make out any kind of radio waves to give them an inkling of a hint as to where they were. "Uh…" He picked something up. "It says we're in the year 1999."
"How does that help?' Al whined once more.
"Wait a second," Cody interrupted. He too had been doing his own recon, observing the cityscape and noting the writing of the various signs sprawled every which way. "That's Japanese, ain't it? Are we on Tokyo Tower?"
They were so focused on satiating their confusion, they hadn't even realized Mokona was oddly quiet. Shaking even. Scared stiffless.
And that's when they felt the earthquakes.
The tower shook and swayed in a terrifyingly violent manner, like it was threatening to snap at a moment's notice. And the grounds below them weren't any better. The lively city buildings all crumbled into nothing in quick succession. At first, it was a small handful in the distance, but as the rumbling intensified, so did the destruction. A haunting choir of human suffering sang out in agony and grew louder by the second. In the distance, they could make out what appeared to be two dragons clashing in the skies. With each strike, they could feel the quakes grow and grow into frighteningly impossible heights. It wasn't just Al who held desperately to the main beam now. Cody and Loudred joined him and tightened their grips like their lives depended on it because, well, it literally did.
"Mokona, come on," Loudred shouted above all the clanging and sways as he unwillingly let one of his hands free to keep their smallest friend from attempting to squirm out of the hug circle for whatever forsaken reason.
"IT'S HAPPENING," Mokona screeched like a banshee with tears in his eyes. It was almost as frightening as what was happening before them. None of them would've ever dreamed of seeing their friend in this state. "IT'S HAPPENING! IT'S HAPPENING! THE END! THE END IS HERE!"
A sudden crack deafened the air. The beam they'd relied on had finally snapped and so did the steel that held them up from below. They fell, screaming and crying amongst the debris of the tower's demise.
But soon, it was just them. And the apocalyptic backdrop was replaced by that of a looming waterfall. One that they fell beside.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Al cried, his words barely audible between his chokes. "ALL THIS AND YOU WANNA MAKE ME GO THROUGH MY DREAM LAST NIGHT TOO?!"
It finally clicked to Cody. In the middle of all the screams of terror, he fought against the wind to yell out, "He's making us go through all our nightmares!"
"I COULD'VE TOLD YOU THAT," was what Al wanted to say, but when he noticed the rocky doom that met them below, he was beyond the ability to make any normal humane noise now. The four had no choice but to fall and fall until they met their bloody fates. Or in this case, until the forces above felt merciful enough to switch on to the next nightmare.
In the blink of an eye and the blip of the ear, the raging waterfalls disappeared within the confines of an endless black void. The rocky landing pad was nowhere to be seen and was instead replaced by a glass tapestry platform that they all gently floated down to. Al flopped headfirst to the floor in tears, and Mokona, still shaken up from his own nightmare tour, joined him while shaking uncontrollably. Loudred had to fight against his own vertigo to act like a dad and comfort the two, and Cody was left to his own devices to observe the area and assess what was to come.
"Just like back then," the others heard him mumble to himself. It had been a long time since he'd last stepped foot here, but like hell he'd ever forget every single minute detail that went down. "Okay, guys," he turned to the others. "I know we're trying to sort ourselves out, but there's gonna be a ton of Heartless swarming in just a second, and—"
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Huh?
He turned to his left. Right beside him, at the center point of the platform, laid what appeared to be a patched together ticking time bomb atop a small table. A pair of wire cutters were right next to it.
Oh, for the love of…
He was right. The moment the timer went off, the Heartless came along with it, creeping at the ledge of the platform like ants invading a freshly laid corpse. It was the all the weaker mook Shadows who had previously inhabited his dreams, but what they lack in power, they certainly made up for in numbers. As soon as Al, Loudred, and Mokona took one down, at least a dozen would come to replace it. In no time flat, the colorful glasswork was absolutely stained in leaking black ink, and poor Cody was in the center of it all with his hands on his head as his mind boggled around at the flashing numbers in front of him.
"Why is your biggest nightmare DEFUSING A BOMB?!" Alakazam screamed in between blows, having been forced into premature recovery over the mob.
"Well, I don't know about you," Cody whipped his head over in response, his face pale and clearly on the brink of a meltdown. "But I'm really freaking out right now."
The platform was a complete raucous pigsty and yet, all of it became blurred and muffled in his ears. In place of them, the uniform beeping of the timer clanged like cymbals and he winced with each tick. The last time he was put into this situation, it did not end well for him. However, last time, it was trash. This time? He wasn't looking to suddenly switch on to hard mode with all the stress, so it was best not to think about it. If there were any clear clues pointing to which wire he was supposed to cut, he was not in the headspace to deduce them. But the numbers slowly depleted one-by-one, and it'd obviously be better to pick one than none at all. With the wire cutter in hand…
…It was time to wing it.
Snip.
The beeping stopped. No explosion, no aftermath, no game over. He was in the clear.
"I," he dropped the cutter as he gasped in disbelief. "I did it?"
His shaky gaped mouth curled into a joyous grin. This was basically a successful do-over to that embarrassing fear factor challenge he faced on the island, and a part of him just could not contain the sense of satisfaction and triumph over it. "Guys," he turned around excitedly. "Guys, I did…"
The scenery had changed once more. The platform encased in the mysterious void was long gone. Now, he was in a vast and lush forest setting.
And he was alone. His friends were nowhere to be found.
"Guys?" He shifted around nervously before reluctantly strolling through. It was like a return to that silent and lonely walk through the ship much earlier. Only now, the loneliness wasn't just felt and was very much real. He'd turn every leaf and brush through every bush in hopes of finding even a sign that they were there, but the search proved fruitless each time.
"G-guys?" His voice returned to its wobbly waver. It began to set in for him. Wherever he was, he really was alone. That couldn't be right though, could it? He could hear vague whispers, he could see vague shadows, but every time he neared their source, they'd fade off with nothing left behind. He couldn't actually truly be alone, could he?
He couldn't even bring himself to continue on and call out for his pals. It was like being hit by a truck. He could feel what almost felt like a gaping hole in the pits of his stomach as he keeled over to the ground and hugged his shoulders in a futile attempt at self assurance. Through process of elimination, this had to be Loudred's nightmare, right? But then why was he getting such a strong reaction to it? He had a self professed friendless background, so he should be used to this, right? He wasn't afraid in the least, right?
This…couldn't be an extension to his fears, right?
Tears welled up in his eyes until he collapsed into a sobbing mess. The whispers came back and increased in volume, but he knew better than to look up to check. There was no one there. There was nothing.
…
"...There you are!"
…NiGHTS?
Cody looked up. A blinding burst of white tore into the forest, and at the center of it was the purple jester themselves.
"There's no need to be afraid," they reached out their hand. "Come now. No sense moping around here."
He quickly scraped his sleeves against his face, desperate to hide the mess he'd become in their absence. But it was obvious NiGHTS knew what had happened, and for some reason, he felt no shame that they knew. That pit in his stomach filled out, and he felt free and…safe.
He took their hand…
oOo
The light faded away. NiGHTS and Cody reemerged into a dreamy park plaza, lit by the dainty night sky. He could hear Alakazam, Loudred, and Mokona groan right beside them, having just escaped from their own hells as well. The blonde British girl from earlier, Helen, crouched down to help them and sweetly asked about their current conditions while NiGHTS floated around in relief.
The four of them looked at each other. Their faces said it all. They shared but one single thought between them:
We will never speak of this again.