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| -Chapter 2- Through Your Lifetime-
A small blue bird hopped down through a high up maze of branches to meet its companions. Dark yellow sunbeams swept the hazy mountains. A warm glow shadowing the sprawling dreamscape. Flickering swaying shadows as the sun moved slowly behind the horizon. Cool winter winds coming in from the west. The
lullful whisper of leaves as they left their daily standing and twirled
to the brown grass like colored rain. It was getting dark now. The thick
fluffy clouds turning a deep shade of lilac. Then fading to a clear
powder blue highlighted by the winter moon. Spring Valley always seemed
to slow down at night. Like it was waiting for something to come along.
Someone to come along. To tell a story, perhaps a long tale of things
gone by, things that change and why the first seed was sown. On a short grassy hilltop stood a tree. A sleeping giant. Not just any old tree, no. This tree was special. This ancient tree stood higher than any human built structure. Higher than even the mountains themselves. But for now, at this time of day, its secret was hidden. Instead, huge bare branches were lost in clouds and frosty mists. Three small birds settled down on the branches and snuggled deep into their warm feathers. Keeping an intent eye on angels looking like far off fireflies hovering around the landscape. Freud, Holtz and Jung surveyed the landscape before themselves. Knowing that what they sat in was only a part of their minds. This was a dream. And this was the majesty of creation at its best. The EngelBaum.
A single moonbeam shone through the thick breaking clouds making the spirits ice white skin glow in an erethral haze. Slightly startled he stopped midflight and gazed upwards. A feeling of comfort holding him as the light filtered through the snowflakes for miles around. Giving him a spotlight of sorts. Showing the world around him that he could be capable of beauty too. The spirit sighed sadly and briskly rubbed at his arms. Not feeling cold but feeling the air around him change softly. Nightmare was nearby, he could feel it approaching. Like an oncoming storm. Looking
downwards the landscape became devoid of any small lights that were
floating around before. The Pians could sense it too. Light hiding in
the shadows, to escape shadows, how futile he thought. His long white
forked tail coiling in the snowfall. Nobody could hide anywhere in this
world, no matter who you were, someone would always find you. Beings
reacted to thoughts and energies here, like invisible light signatures.
Some of the lesser Nightmare creatures only seen the energies and nothing
else, their god had granted them with blind sight. More efficient, simpler
to work to orders and no wayward dramas like this one here. NiGHTS smirked
mischievously as he caught sight of the pale silvery thin moon through
the clouds. It had often crossed his mind, if he were to keep on flying,
upwards and upwards, would he escape this place or was the sky simply
fake and just another cage? Was the moon even real? There again, did
it matter in a world of make believe? What did 'real' mean in the context
of a dream? The only 'real' he knew was just one big thorn in his side
he could do without. Exhaling roughly and giving a childish giggle NiGHTS
closed its eyes, made a short wish then broke through the cloud layer. NiGHTS recalled a time he'd done this years before, just after he'd carried through his horrible scheme and then he'd started to change. He'd panicked, ran out of Nightmare. And hell it was some light show up here. If he hadn't made it out of Nightmare in time then everyone would have seen. And all this trouble would have been much more short lived. He would be gone, his secret destroyed and whether or not Nightopia would be a safer place to fly for its inhabitants depended really on how far ahead you guessed at things. He'd be gone, Nightmare wouldn't. Nightmare was like one giant living creature now. Or maybe it was. He
shrugged awkwardly, almost embarrassed at catching himself off guard
as he mistook the light shinning off his soulglass as a hope he'd turned
back time. NiGHTS stared down at the empty glass jewel on his chest.
Tapping it with a curious black claw. If he stared hard enough he could
actually see into himself. Like he was hollow. It wasn't a very motivational
thought. Being hollow and having no soul. Can spirits still have a spirit?
Or is that a moot point. The demon shifted serpent like in flight to a higher standing. The air becoming colder. Parts of his form changing and twirling out like black smoke as stars fell. Looking far below his new landscape was purely a carpet of pale blue moonlit clouds. Just him, the thoughts of a maniac, the stars and the crescent moon. He bowed gracefully to the moon and smiled sadly. If Wizeman wouldn't look over him in a respectful way, if everyone was out to run away from him and mess with his paranoia then perhaps the moon was the only reliable thing in this place. His guardian of sorts. Where Marens were drawn to light i guess this was only natural for him of all people. Like a moth to a flame, it was his last sanctuary. "La Luna..." NiGHTS whispered softly. Bewitching voice sliding into the breeze. Yes, the moon was his sanctuary, his spirit. Or least a makeshift one. The only thing that had a connection with the waking world. Sometimes Nightmares fabric would warp it but everyone gazed upon the same moon, sun and stars regardless of what world they came from. Awake, asleep, daydreaming, parsnip. It was all part of , well, that was another one of the demons bigger looming problems that he hadn't even touched on tonight. That was a worry for another day. Just for once he'd like to be carefree. Truly carefree. To be able to kick his heels to the wind and say that nothing of a cataclysmic proportion was out to get him down. The pale glow cast sharp blue shadows across his tall figure. His hands trailing the breeze like dark razor blades. The shrill wind whistling underneath his covered horns as he stood stationary in midair looking at the unfurling land below him. Slowly the giant clouds thinned out revealing mountain peaks and dark deep lakes of ice water. Giant pine trees looking like nothing more than matchsticks. Snowfall so blurred it resembled only a hazy mist. It was always so pretty here... Looking to the land below he could see the light of a single tiny bright halo slowly making its way across the snowy landscape. This was a Nightopian. A Pian. A creature of light native to Nightopia. Pians were a bit of a mystery. Some claimed they were wandering spirits, some said they were throwbacks from the big sleep after the Guardians had been sealed away, some speculated that Pians were dead dreamers who had died of natural causes. Well whatever their origin their existence here was essential and devoted to watching over the sleeping humans and preventing nightmares; which was becoming increasingly harder these days. Wizeman's followers regularly terrorized the land of good dreams. Killing, eating, abducting and sacrificing the inhabitants. Pians to some of the Dreamrealms creatures were merely a self sustaining food source. Or sport. NiGHTS had killed more Pians than he could remember. And now he was stuck fighting his own denials. And then there was the dreamers. Mostly humans. As the years went by, all rather too slowly for his liking, he watched blankly as the Marens attacked, corrupted, tortured and seduced the humans. It had become a very bland and sickening thing to him. You can only really kill people so many times before it all just turns into one big mess of overdue bad karma. And he was most certainly getting this 'bad' karma a lot lately. As for what was worse, killing someone with your own two hands or ordering others to do your dirty work for you, it was hard to say. Marens were despicable. So animalistic. So disgusting and sneaky yet lethal and dangerously intelligent. Nightmarens... hmm.. Sometimes they would kill the humans in their sleep. Adults, children. Anyone really. Killing dreamers was frowned upon as it was a waste of dream energy. Ideya. The way things ran in this place, this plan of Wizeman's was all very scheduled. Scare the humans, make their lives a living misery, get at all their weak points, exploit their fears, but only kill them while sleeping as a last resort. Kill them while waking fine, kill them by driving them out of their minds and taking their own lives. Bring them close to death even. But no playing lucid chopchop with wake dreamers for fun. But
there again, NiGHTS was a pretty bad example in that area. In the past
he'd been prone to showing off. Flaunting his powers to anything that
moved for a reaction and feared respect. He was probably the only one
who could get away with it. He was Wizeman's prized possession afterall.
So -what- if a few human shells went missing? nobody would care here... NiGHTS slightly growled to himself, his catlike eyes following the small light below. The thought of having to lower his superiority and breed to that of a weak human child. To rely on something he couldn't generate himself... Pathetic. Humans.
The unlucky ones, they would endure the eternal nightmare of never being
able to wake up again, trapped in their minds. No escape. But for every
Ideya that Wizeman could claim his own, gifted to him, Nightmare would
grow that little bit more stronger. Until one day it would be as strong
as the so called 'real world' the Waking. Then Wizeman's plans would
really go into motion. The result of this continual destruction was
beginning to show on the beautiful realm of Nightopia. Some of the normally
scenic landscapes were beginning to fray at the edges, have misplaced
objects or landmarks and look very like the Nightmare world. It was
hard for the Pians to prevent nightmares when clueless dreamers were
wandering around brokendown dangerous landscapes getting themselves
into more trouble than usual. It wouldn't be the first world to fall
to Wizeman. And besides, the human world was becoming a place of destructive
stress, crime and pollution. Nightmare was becoming stronger there too
without even having made a move yet. The evil of Wizeman was steadily
and subtly growing. Eating away at human ignorance and their forgotten
respect for their 'dreams'. The
demon mimicked a feminine human voice perfectly, almost hissing out
the words in disgust. He shook his head and grumbled. Here, in this world of so called happy dreams, things were coming to an end. Something big had to change. The way things were going NiGHTS would be better just to conform, do his best to pretend, keep his head down. Do as he was ordered. Forget any hope or purity that the light lied about. Be that hollow murderer, stand in line and vow to crush traitors and weaklings. To be a twisted duplicate like the rest of them. "Well here i am... a traitor.. me." The prince of Nightmare winced at the hard irony. Isn't life a funny old thing.
Silence. Then a voice twisting around the throne room pillar, mockingly in the dark. "Oh
come now sister... i won't tell if you wontttt..." Huge black wings fanned out from either side of the throne behind NiGHTS, blocking off the only eerie light filtering through the huge circular window. All that was heard was the heavy angry breathing of NiGHTS as his entire form wrapped around the interior of the cathedral. Reala's stark blue eyes cut through the darkness and stared close to NiGHTS's face. Hissing softly before vanishing into the shadows. "Just remember... we're watching you....traitor"
Thinking back now, it amazed him that still out of all the chances and personal wars he had with the other Marens, nobody had spoken a word to Wizeman. All those fights with Reala and the other higher level Marens, and still he was unharmed. Sure he'd been threatened and attacked but the threats always seemed pretty empty. Did Wizeman know? What exactly was stalling him from coming down on his shoulders with his usual brand of discipline?... NiGHTS was literally kept in the dark. The
devil stared at the moon with a look of slight insanity in his eyes.
His mind wandered again. Things had been hard lately. There was only
so long he could go for before just going crazy and losing it completely.
Back there, when he'd tried to drown himself, that was, he had thought,
the point of snapping, but somehow he always managed to pick himself
up and keep on moving. A stray strand of blonde hair hung icily from
underneath his hat. His clothes didn't have to still be soaked with
lake water, but he didn't have the right attention span to care about
his appearance much right now. To have so many years of self control,
to have a safety net.. and then to have nothing. Nothing but this noise
inside his head. Feelings and emotions he couldn't respond to or cast
aside. The worst one was the guilt. NiGHTS had really thrown a spanner in Wizeman's masterplan this time. A permanent one. Now there's nothing quite as disgraceful as a Maren who helps save a human dreamer's life. One of the reasons NiGHTS was on the run? Lets just say NiGHTS had saved a few million peoples lives recently. The entire waking realm in just one action. And Wizeman hadn't noticed yet.
And that choice was to be himself. To be free.
"Staring up at burning houses and screams, happily waving. Hooking your claws into the flesh of another and shredding them into pieces like nothing but scrap paper. Being able to taste fear in a terror filled kiss. Fleeing victims covered in perverse shadows, crawling on all fours like animals. Desperate for any help. Humiliating your worst enemy in the sickest way you can. With any luck they'd vomit from fear in their sleep and choke to death. Innocent people had the best kind of screams. Watching the look of sublime horror dawn on someone's face as you slaughter their loved ones right in front of their very eyes. Trapping them in places they hate. Listening to them beg. Laughing as you prolong their pain for that bit longer after they wake so they'd screw up their entire shitty day in reality. Their 'safe' place. Safe as safe can be of course. Have to take 'pills'. Look for cures. Frustration was a sweet sweet thing. Feeling a person go limp and breathless in your hands. The thrill of the chase. The adrenaline coursing through your black as hell veins. This was the ultimate rush. Fear. Feed from it. Relish it. Live for it." A
tall dark man looked down at his bleeding victim on the floor and leant
over him, the tang of sweat hanging in the air. This cowering human
was supposed to be some real bigshot in the waking. Such a bigshot he'd
piss his pants from fear when given a little taste of a bad dream. Okay
so maybe the dead bodies of his entire extended family nailed to the
walls was a bit overkill but hey he found it funny and creative at the
time. You could get some awesome blood spray when humans panicked more.
NiGHTS laughed coyly and licked the dark blood from the blade he held
in his gloved hand. A bright white star fell to the dark stained floorboards. The
dying man on the floor screamed in confusion at the sight of the 'monster'
before him. Bored
the purple demon sat on the disembodied head and sighed shortly as he
looked to the ceiling. Noting a smoldering cigar stub on the floor the
Maren ground it out distastefully with his cloven foot. A simple nod
of his head and the ceiling vanished into swirls of smoke and sliding
colors. Returning to the brushy dead grass that now replaced the human
worlds floor. "Right guys hurry it up, move out, you all know you've
got to be somewhere..." NiGHTS
watched unimpressed, changing the nightmare surroundings back to the
Babel wastelands. It wasn't necessary for him to go out and join the
others, there were lower types for that, but sometimes he just liked
the thrill of the hunt. There was nothing worse than being cooped up
on a nice day. Well as nice as a day could get here in this arid warped
wasteland. He looked down between his legs at the still blood gurgling
human, its horrid little eyes darting around confused. The remains of the corpse vanished.
Three
school corridors later and NiGHTS was beginning to get irritated at
the child who was starting to turn this nightmare into a hide and seek
game. His long scaly tail wound around the staircase pillar and he rested
his snakelike cobra head on the stair railing. Two
rooms away a little girl called stacy giggled as she hid in a closet,
peeking through the slats. "Oh
ho oh! On the contrary my dear fearless little Stacy. You see, you would
appear to be experiencing what the grownups call- lucid dreaming." NiGHTS
paused and stared scarily through the door panels into the darkness.
Straight into her soul. ".... it means you should start screaming.." NiGHTS brushed off his hands as the realm changed back to Babel. Another job well done. Nobody would notice some dead gutted little brat. Especially not Wizeman. Not that there was much evidence anymore. The demon wiped a blood smear from his mouth and exhaled happily. He whistled and flew off all while thinking it was pretty funny the way she'd struggled when she realised she couldn't wake up. "The
primal fear of a person as they realise they're being pursued. The fast
choppy way their footsteps fall before they break out into some halfwitted
excuse for running. Only to find they can't run anymore. Or even better
they can keep running all they want but nothing moves. That is- funny.
The look of utter stupidity like it's something new. They yell out expecting
someone to save them from their personal demons. But no one comes. You
get real close, hiss in their ear, tell them you're
the reason that they should have drank that coffee before falling asleep
at the keyboard. Then you do what you have to do. Life is good.
NiGHTS blinked softly as he realised he was letting his mind wander again. A cold tear ran from his eye as his memories faded to nothing but memories again. Tired he wiped the salt water from his cheek and stared at the water on his purewhite skin. His fingers were so long and bony. He.. he never used to be able to cry. It was something he still couldn't get used to. A human thing. And now it was cursed to him like some kind of parasite. Humans.
Such strange creatures. He would steal their appearances in dreams.
Act with their mannerisms at times. Speak parts of 'their' languages
but...there was different types of 'humans'. And every night when they
crossed that line between dream and reality their memories would be
falsely implanted. Scrambled. The lucky few could somehow fight having
their dream recollection messed with, but most humans didn't care that
much about dreams to care. So lazy and naive "I can't remember my dreams. I don't dream." NiGHTS quoted in a child's voice. He often wished he could be the one to give everyone that wakeup call. But that's almost impossible when you've been reduced to a fictional dream character. Even moreso now. Now he'd sealed the gates.... Waving
a solemn goodbye to the moon NiGHTS turned heel and paused to fly east. And with that he swooped off leaving a bright trail of stars in the sky.
The
Fool is the unnumbered card and, like the joker in a conventional pack
of cards, can occur anywhere, and even replace any of the other cards.
Stretching his arms out comfortably he lowered his height slightly. Passing gently through a thinner cloud layer. Feeling a chilly mist brush his face. A brisk gust of wind from the right sent him swooping into a thick cloud bank. Damn clouds. Playfully he waved his arms around a bit, it wouldn't make a difference but at least he'd be able to tell if he was about fly into a mountain. Not that he'd ever done that before either. The demon coughed. His senses in this place weren't as fine tuned as they were in Nightmare. Things here were done differently. NiGHTS looked warily from side to side as the thick clouds closed in around him making it completely impossible to tell if he was flying up, down, left or right. The purple devil slowed down. The star trail behind him lighting the mists into shades of blue. Then he stopped altogether. Motioning to fly upwards and out of the mire he paused, sensing something on the air... something was coming nearer. NiGHTS turned around in midair, listening carefully to the sounds around him. The winds below his feet. The far off echo of water running. No that wasn't it.. it was- "-ssssscheißeEINALPTRAUM!!!-"
a sharp thump hit NiGHTS square in the back of the head making him near
fall out the sky. Angrily he turned around, grabbing the small creature
in the clouds before he could even visibly see what it was. NiGHTS opened his hand embarrassed and let the small bird fly out. It flapped off shakily into the clouds for a moment then flew back into vision, eye level with NiGHTS startling him slightly. He lowered his eyes, grimacing slightly, rather than show pity or the fact he was going crosseyed. "Ah!
I'm sorry, i didn't mean to, uh lash out like that, it's just-" The bird glanced confusedly at its dark reflection in the seethrough gem on NiGHTS' chest. "Well
my dear Maren, your master isn't the only one in this world who has
a sharp eye on the details. Rumors spread. News gets around. People
speculate. And lets face it... you're HARDLY subtle." NiGHTS looked down at his empty chest crystal a sudden pain in his heart. Tears welling in his angry eyes. "Well
FINE. I didn't WANT your help ANYWAY. All you people cared about was
what i held inside me! You think i couldn't see through your fake intentions
and worries? SURE she's gone okay? The child is GONE. But you don- you
don't understand. Something is HAPPENING to me and it won't go away." If anything hurt, it was the truth. 'Reality'. "You
were not created to feel human emotion. You were created to tear it
from the people it rightfully belongs to." The bird laughed as it flew off into the clouds. Its voice fading into the howl of the winds. "Ahahaha- you really ARE Card 0 NiGHTS...." Frustration. "I .. i'm a person too...." he whined bitterly. Lashing out and slicing into nothing but cloud. Stupid Nightopians. All of them stupid. None of them cared what happened to HIM. Ungrateful little- NiGHTS froze again That... that feeling from earlier. Of something coming closer. It was still there and growing. At first he had thought it to have just been Jung but no.. this was.. What was.. that.. that noi- An almighty thump knocked NiGHTS from the sky, latching onto his face like some ton-weight facehugger. "WHAT TH-" he shrieked, words muffled by the sudden lack of air. "HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" a terrified voice yelled- right into his ear. This would have been fine if Marens didn't already have highly acute hearing. NiGHTS
swore madly as he lost control, plowing through the icy clouds The chattering of the Marens growing louder like some giant black swarm of insects. "H-HELP! H-" the panicking ambusher wailed in a foreign tongue. Begging for his life while trying to cling to the falling Maren prince. NiGHTS cringed in some sort of auto reaction as he realised the creature was human. Human. Yuck. Pushing the frantic human to his back he shook his head and hissed menacingly knowing that he didn't have much of a choice but to keep flying d- "Y..YOU?!"
A high pitched yet grating female voice flew into his hearing. NiGHTS
quickly turned as long tendrils of black spiraling shadows created a
tunnel of darkness in the speeding clouds. A pair of darting bright
blue eyes with neon red eyeliner stared at him in the twisting smoky
darkness. NiGHTS looked across to the spinning confused Maren. The other
slower minions in the group lagged behind the female. Blocking out the
light. The attacking murder of Maren almost ground to a halt mid flight as they heard the older demon's words. A jumbled whisper of gasps and astonishment. "Wait
wait wait WHAAAAAAT?!" the multicolored shadow
Maren yelled in horror flying back a little. Her neon green hair thundering
upwards in the high winds. A look of utter bewilderment on her painted
face. "You can't NOT go BACK! Th- the WHAT ABOUT WIZEMAN?"
"You-
you not go back there with them? Are you- you not go back right?"
he stuttered in broken English looking upwards as the oncoming shadows
advanced through the clouds. HOLD ON." grimaced NiGHTS taking a sudden swerve to the left. The upward cries of the Marens echoed as they adjusted their flight path. The G-Force becoming almost unbearable for the human as the demon dived through icy winds hitting zero gravity. Then another left, then a right, then a stomach churning drop. And still the Marens followed. "The
monsters-" he spluttered, the air blasting his words. "Why
they chase us- what we do?" NiGHTS paused in thought his eyes growing wider. Like all the noise around him had faded to a small whisper. -He .. he's a GEN...- The rush of wind returned, along with the painful scrabble of claws and teeth thundering into them from above. "ARGH!
DAMN! THEY'VE SPLIT UP!" Down and down and down and D- Suddenly they hit something hard, a tremendous crash as NiGHTS smashed through what sounded like brittle icy twigs. Branches flying and splintering as the demon weaved as good as he could in between the arms of a gigantic tree, going down as fast as he could. The clouds now thinning to a cold mist. The human screaming like he was stuck on some killer rollercoaster. Giant tree branches whizzing just inches away from his skull. Feeling like he was about to throw up. Icicles spearing downwards as the sudden rush of air shook them from their holdings. NiGHTS winced as he was pelted with sharp flying ice and tree bark. His hat snagging on tree branches, being torn to shreds. Then- LIGHT. NiGHTS
taken by surprise and blinded, lost his concentration and slammed headfirst
into a huge tree branch. The human was sent flying in the opposite direction,
crashing through smaller branches, trying to stop himself hitting the
ground, wherever it was, at some painful speed. Spring Valley thundered as the sun rose over the mountains.
"Whuh?!..Jumoku?..." the Japanese man scrabbled about, looking around himself in wonder. Ducking he wailed as another branch swung low over his head, growing into a thick shelter, protecting him from harm. Shoving his head through the branches surrounding him he stared downwards. "H-hello?!" A translucent cage of emerald green foliage cloaked the once barren tree, a growing carpet of vines and petals. The bright orange morning rays of sun shone through the leaves casting a myriad of colors. Then one by one brightly glowing orbs of crystal light bloomed like a fairytale christmas tree. Ideya. Thousands of Ideya. As the sun filled the high valley the frost and snow was replaced with green dewy grasses, snowdrops and all manners of blossoming flowers. Like a veil of darkness was being lifted from the world. Startled by the light the attacking Marens started to slow down. Confused as to where so much Ideya had suddenly appeared from. Shodow
glanced behind herself, screeching at the subdued Marens. Her hair blew around wildly as the remains of the group stormed past her, twisting through the branches like angry wasps. This was Shodow's first time leading a real group of Maren and there was no way in hell she was going to have it ruined by some stupid dreamer and a demon with a personality crisis. Watching her troop move forwards she moved higher and stood safely in the branches, looking down to where NiGHTS had fallen as the group disappeared into the leaves after him. A cool morning air whisped through the tree. The Maren jumped in surprise as a small orb sprouted close to her head. Moving back slightly she looked up at the light in fascinated awe. It appeared colorless at first until it grew just a little larger, then glittering in deep aqua hues. The core of the light burning like a bright glassy star. Shodow stared transfixed. "Oooooh pretttty..." NiGHTS tumbled to the ground, flopping limply from the last few branches and landed flat on his back with a heavy thump. Wearily he opened his eyes and wheezed. Pale flaxen blonde hair strewn around him covering the grass with sparkles. He had narrowly missed landing on top of some large melting icicles spiked into the earth that had fallen from the tree on the way down. A slight haze rose from the melting ice. NiGHTS lay motionless staring upwards at the giant tree like some small bird that had been pushed from the nest. Cool shadows of huge roots shading his eyes from the bright rising sun. He squinted his eyes in a half scowl, watching the leaves flutter down. Waiting to see 30 something Marens come bursting through the tree to attack him ANY second now. But nothing came. Dazed and lightheaded NiGHTS reached upwards to find that his hat was missing. He wouldn't have minded so much, just that his horns were pronged into the dirt and he couldn't really do much but lie there looking upwards. Feeling stupid. He hurt too much to move. Blowing a leaf from his face he dizzily lay listening to the sounds of the valley as they swept in and out of his attention. The long grass tickling at his ears in soft waves of green. The running of far off waterfalls. The wooden creaking of small windmills turning in the spring breeze. Heaven. His confused gaze focused back in on the tree. What was he just doing agai- "Engelbaum." he smiled with a crazy half effort hand gesture to the sky. "Long time no see..." his voice trailed off. Meanwhile Shodow's attention snapped as she realised the area had gone rather too quiet. Dragging her eyes away from the glowing light she looked downwards past her shadowy tendrils to see no sort of disturbance at all. Not even a leaf moved. Nervously she gulped. Something wasn't right here. She peered further over the edge. "Gu...guys?" Silence. "Have you found them yet?!".... "helloooo?" Instead she could hear the distant yell of the human creature far below. Maybe they had caught him afterall. That meant SHE would have to deal with NiGHTS. Great. "Fnnuuuu" Why did she have to get all the easy jobs. She mulled her thoughts sarcastically, jumping off the branch into midair, and slowly floating down in a black cloud of pretty spirals. Where were the other Marens? As
she pushed curiously through layers of leaves and flowers, dodging Ideya
and jaggy twigs pulling at her silky hair she found she could nolonger
go any further through the leaves. She stopped and gave an almighty
shove. Panting madly as the mesh of branches wouldn't budge. The Maren stormed forwards with all her might. NiGHTS blinked as he heard what sounded like a Maren screaming somewhere far above his head. A few more leaves fluttered down around him. He sighed as he remembered the human he had fallen with. The dreamer was probably dead now or had walked off without a care in the world and woken up. Most of the wake dreamers done that, woke up after anything too dramatic for their brains to settle back into. He sighed sadly, then frowned, catching himself feeling those out of place emotions. He was a Maren, who cared what happened to the human? It was none of his responsibility. He should have used the dreamer as a decoy to escape while he'd had the chance, it would have slowed the Marens down. He hissed through his teeth, remembering what the man had called him. "Monster"
Monster? He should have left the dreamer to rot. "Ungrateful shel-"
NiGHTS was caught midword as a huge tree branch lowered over his head
and the dreamer hopped down to meet him. NiGHTS looked up at the tree
as it rumbled back into place in something of a confused horror. The
man also looked upwards, somewhat glad to be back on solid ground. His
eyes near bulged as he realised the amount of Ideya energy hanging from
the tree. His mind coming back into focus sharply. As if by instinct
NiGHTS' body jumped to sit up but instead he slapped backwards again
forgetting he was stuck to the ground. He hissed in half embarrassment,
half annoyance. The dreamer knelt down beside him and chuckled. He stopped to actually look at the man for a second. The dreamers attention was now on the small floating windmills scattered around the sky. He babbled away to himself taking in the sights, turning about on his knees in amazement at the sweeping scenery. The man, Japanese, late 20's, slim build, relatively tall with dark hair looked pretty bewildered; he wasn't the only one. NiGHTS shivered weirdly. This man was a Gen. One of the fabled. A person who took from their dreams. But by the looks of things he didn't know it. This 'Gen' was a sleeping Gen. They all were. Gone and never coming back... 'Good' thought NiGHTS silently to himself, pushing back a whole crop of other bad memories. He caught the dreamers vision as the man turned around to stare down at him again. He blinked feeling remorseful. "So then do you have a name human?" he asked dryly, trying his best to look sophisticated despite having his head half jammed in the ground. He could speak perfect 'Japanese', along with any other so called Human language, but he far preferred making the human struggle with 'English' as right now he was feeling pretty cruel humored. Monster indeed, pah. NiGHTS jumped slightly as the man shoved a tattered purple and black mess of material infront of his face. "My name. It- it is Ohshima...Naoto Ohshima" NiGHTS paused. "You brought me my hat back.. thankyou." he smiled gruffly. Half snatching the rag from the dreamers hands, trying to remind himself that manners went far. "You
have name too?" grinned Ohshima excitedly. Motioning for NiGHTS
to speak. The demon looked up mockingly and batted its eyelashes. The man jumped to his feet looking more than disappointed. He stared through his fingers at the demon on the ground. Fading out more and more with every second. NiGHTS sighed sadly. "Now's
the part where you wake up and return to your normal happy life and
forget all about the likes of me dreamer." The man flickered on and off like a broken TV set. "...Maybe" smiled NiGHTS watching the man vanish into nothing but air.
"NAITSU SAN naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaitsuuuuuuuu san. Hey princey! I SEEN THAT NiGHTS! Out of ANYONE i could ever have imagined helping a HUMAN, never did i think i'd see the day the PRINCE OF NIGHTMARE would disgrace us like YOU just did! NiGHTS stop this nonsense! Be a dear and get us OUT OF HERE!!!" shrieked Shodow waving her arms through a thick cage of branches, avoiding another smaller Maren that just crashed into the branches above her head. NiGHTS raised an eyebrow as he was met by the weirdest sight ever above him. The
tree had created a huge globe shaped prison around the marens. And now,
trapped inside the EngelBaum, they shied away from the blossoming Ideya
globes, acting completely out of character, freaking out as the tree
somehow radiated human emotion through their bodies. Shodow backed away
as a minion handed her a bunch of handpicked flowers and admitted his
UNDYING love for her. She shrieked in horror flapping around as NiGHTS
laughed loudly down below. Pulling the tatters of his hat back over his horns and shoving his hair in as good as he could muster right now NiGHTS blinked and in a small sparkle his hat was replaced by a tidy new one. "Magic!" he grinned looking upwards at the noisy leafy rabble. Taking account of his surroundings and his safety he walked closer to the EngelBaum and cautiously sat down upon one of the huge gnarled roots surrounding its base. Hanging his legs over either side to save falling off. The devil peered upwards at the huge circular tree. Now that he really paid attention the tree appeared to breathe. Morbidly fascinated he prodded at the bark under his right hand with a long sharp claw and ducked as a stray vine fell down, narrowly missing his head. "So you are alive..." he mused quietly, smiling to himself. Shodow paused for breath and hissed loudly back down through the branches at the purple Maren. Scowling almost triumphantly at him. "GO ON -keep- on smiling NiGHTS but as soon as we get back to Nightmare, you're TOAST. And this stupid TREE has enough Ideya growing on it to save weeks of work!" she cackled tearing a dark green Ideya from a pod and gripping it between her spindly claws. "Who needs to run around scaring dreamers when it's just SITTING here ripe for the picking! HAHAHAHAHA!" Never passing up on a chance to look intimidating, the group stopped and joined her in loud maniacal laughter. Some of them actually appreciating the temporary emotion for once. NiGHTS sighed exasperated. "Guys..
uh..i wouldn't do that if i w-" Shodow and the Marens screamed as the huge tree growled swaying violently onto its side in a deafening crash like thunder. Tiny birds burst from the branches in clouds of noisy color. Then a deep earthy roar shook the ground sending NiGHTS tumbling from the roots and somersaulting backwards down the hill upsidedown. He landed with a heavy splash in shallow water, sitting up almost immediately to see massive snaking vines roping through the wooden cage hanging from the swaying tree on the hilltop. The demon stared in awe as the entire EngelBaum started to twist heavily in a circle, swinging the cage around like a ball and chain. Faster and faster. The rush of wind blasting NiGHTS backwards against the streams bank. Flowers and leaves blew around like snow. The nearby windmills spinning madly out of control. "TRAITOR! YOUR TIME IS UP!" squealed a recognisable voice into the wind. Then a short loud snap as the vines broke and catapulted the evil group miles over the horizon in a trail of high pitched shrieks. NiGHTS sat bemused in a puddle as the tree resumed its normal position, sighing slightly. He sure was glad he wasn't a Mar- oh he was. Shakily he corrected himself. Today was certainly full of surprises.
The tall demon floated up to the foot of the hill again and surveyed the damage around him. It wasn't as awful as a 'pretty' landscape in Nightmare, but it still looked a mess in broad daylight. That and he felt responsible for most of it. The tree had lost a lot of its branches. Bushes were strewn around like confetti and some of the windmills had been blown over. "I always ruin everything..." he mumbled shielding his eyes from the sun, stepping to the ground. Softly he walked up to the broad foot of the tree. Making sure to keep his eyes on the branches incase it tried to crush him or something equally as nasty. Whispering under his breath as he took each step. The tree remained motionless like it had never moved in the first place. "Ok now don't get any crazy ideas Ki, i'm just going to walk a little closer and see what i can do to help...myyyy you sure have grown.... the last time i seen you- you were only a foot high and uh... not trying to kill Marens..." spoke the demon nervously, edging closer, step by step. Near having a heart failure as a huge splintered piece of timber fell to the grass infront of him. Had he had a nose it would have been gone. He swallowed hard, laughing inwardly and continued walking. Accidentally praying to Wizeman that it wouldn't flatten him with the wrath of Nightopia. Stepping
into the air NiGHTS quietly landed at the top of the huge roots and
stood before the trunk itself. Being careful to make no sort of sudden
movement the EngelBaum would mistake as an attack. "Freud,
Jung... Holtz... i'm just going to fix the mess THAT'S all. I'm not
here to cause trouble. I swear." Creature?
Thought NiGHTS, his teeth gritting. He could feel his nails growing
longer without even meaning it. Try to keep a level head, simmer down,
ignore the insults.... ignore them.. bite your lip. Bite ittttt NiGHTS
turned his head slyly and hissed evilly back at the birds in some sort
of bragging amusement. The birds paused. "He
has a point you know." added Freud thoughtfully. The demon frowned slightly... "I DON'T TRUST HIM!" screamed Jung flying full speed at NiGHTS' head. Freud
and Holtz watched in horror as the EngelBaum lifted one of its gigantic
branches and brought it sweeping across the sky into the tiny bird.
Jung dropped like a stone into some far away bushes. Holtz sat alone with wide eyes, shivering in the breeze. "The... the tree attacked one of US?... This THIS ISN'T RIGHT. Jung's fears were TRUE! The EngelBaum protects only us and the wake dreamers! WHAT'S GOING ON!? NiGHTS?!" NiGHTS turned around glowing strangely, a horrible twisted look of glee on his face. Suddenly he shoved his claws deep into the wood of the EngelBaum and screamed with hellish laughter as the tree moaned in pain. His huge black shadowy wings unfurling. Nightopia's sky flickered in color as every single leaf on the tree dropped to the grass in a violent storm of energy. Holtz, speechless at what was going on, flew distraught nearby. One by one the Ideya on the tree turned a dark grey and shattered like glass. The sky distorting into upsidedown mountains and valleys. Hanging. "IT'S
FATE MY FRIEND! ALL CYCLES HAVE TO END! It's the way
of ALL things. HAHAHAAHAHA!" "Indeed
and yet i come to reclaim what life i gave!" NiGHTS' voice echoed in the darkness. "NiGHTS?..." Laughter turning into birdsong and blowing gras- "Mother?"
"Wh-what happened... why..wh- i don't belong here- GET ME OUT OF THIS PLACE" choked the demon through confused sobs. The sun shone brightly down on Nightopia that day. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
He was going home.
Say
nighty-night and kiss me Somewhere in Edinburgh a girl with red and black hair lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. Dying... Stars
fading but I linger on dear Sweet
dreams till sunbeams find you Somewhere in Tokyo a Sega character designer woke up and smiled, remembering fragments of a dream he'd had lastnight. Thinking... Yes, dream a little dream of me Somewhere in the middle of nowhere a frightened creature flew in the direction of the only place he could call home. Wondering where he'd went wrong. Shaking... Dream a little dream of me...
Sometimes confronting a fear gives no resolve. The monster follows you. And you run.
It's amazing how solid a place can seem when it's not really there. How real it feels when sand gets inbetween your toes and cuts at your skin. How unnerving it feels as a bead of sweat runs down your spine and you fall to the ground. The way your vision sways, as every inch of air you breathe intoxicates you. Long wet black strands of hair clinging to your soaked face. Eyes starting to burn a little from the smoke. Your chest thumps. Blood pumping in your ears. Feeling yourself shake, trying to push yourself to your feet. Stumbling forwards into some drunken stupor. The landscape suffocating you. It's real. It's there. It's all around you. Shrieking. You can't stand up. Your legs no-longer work. Instead you stare up at the wide neon orangey pink sky and realise how small and insignificant you really are in this place. How small a part you play in such an ancient world that your kind ignores and doesn't understand. Swallowed in the thought you may never leave here alive. You're simply a trespasser in a dangerous wasteland of fear. When the morning comes you make that escape. Reality saves you from this frightening land. So sit a little longer until those alarm bells save your soul. Waiting for that signal to leave. It doesn't come. Does it ever? Just dust and sand. And that feeling. The thought you could wake up a million times over, and still never get home. Returning to this place every time you close your eyes. And you are alone. Nobody will ever save you. Nobody can see or hear you. You're trapped. Trapped inside your own head. Running though huge sprawling worlds that make humanity pale in comparison. And no one will ever care. Afterall. It's just a dream... Nothing important. So where is my signal to leave?....
From
within his mantle, a tired voice whispered. Pausing for a name. There
were so many names. Names that would only make sense in a place like
this. "Good morning..." hissed the nebulous spirit. Coughing slightly he batted off a long glowing dragonfly, exhaling roughly. The low buzz of insects distorting on Nightmares breeze. The sounds here were so strange, fragmented pieces of noise from other dreams that were killed, stolen, changed, changed into this creepy mad orchestra of faint whispers. He smiled. In the distance what looked like a small mirage grew closer. The fake heat making the outline of a small Maren waver in the black sunlight. The
angry looking creature scuffed through the deep sand, her small pointed
feet moving quickly. Hissing under her breath as she pulled along what
looked like some sort of tall jagged mirror staff behind her. The sunlight
catching it in short flashes as she moved across the sand dunes. A cold gust of salt air swept over the surreal landscape. The sound of long grassblades and jumbled laughter blowing into the wind. Up in the sky a loud echo sounded. Almost as if the world itself had just shifted. The sand shook slightly, running down in small streams. Jackle looked upwards to the boundary of the dream, whatever that actually was, feeling that familiar rush of adrenaline. Nightmare. Home sweet home. "It
would be true that people- Ornate
cards being produced from what seemed like thin air. Spinning from his
large clawed hands and hanging in the air as if suspended by magical
strings. The freakish sunlight shone down through the Occult display,
marking the sands with blocks of moving shadows. Moving so fast into
loud shuffles of such precision that human eyes would be hard pressed
to see through any sort of slight of hand. "So what are you searching for human?" he hissed curiously into her ear. "Perhaps i want to know the truth."
Jackle's
pure white fangs flashed in the eerie glow of the perpetual sunset.
The dreamer swayed slightly feeling drowsy, the air getting to her head.
The sea air billowed, whistling, ebbing away the sand dunes sending twirling dragonflies up into the breeze in a low distorted hum. Jackle had the girl spellbound as a tarot card materialized from out of nowhere and magically remained suspended. He plucked it from the air and handed it to his enchanted victim. Having to help her hold it. Eyes out of focus. Her lungs burning with the sudden solvent tasting air. "Tell me little liar...tell me about this card. What do you see?" purred the demon while he stroked her head in a state of chemical amusement. She
stared at the card. Beautifully decorated with goldleaf and quartz.
Feeling his hands snake around her waist she closed her eyes feeling
the horizon spin. Feeling so sick and dizzy. Whimpering as her hearing
faded in and out. "I see a horrible painful death." stated the small female maren dropping the large mirror spiked mace inches away from the girls face. The two females shared a blunt look for a second and then sniffed indignantly. The
gold edging turned to dust in the dreamer's hands and crumpled as the
image of the reaper riding over the heads of the past slowly crushed
like falling powder. She looked to the sky, letting the gold dust slip
through her fingers. Her fate blowing in the wind. Joining the clouds
skimming the purple sea. Losing her lucidity in waves. Zoning out in
a drunken haze. "Ahh
you return! And successful too i see. Welcome back. What took you so
long?" the demon grinned teasingly. On
one side of the reflection stood a small curious Nightmaren dressed
in blacks and colorful stripes. A greyish almost black skin framed by
two bright yellow bands above her head. The top of her head ending in
two short points almost like chinese buns. Small but fiercely strong
arms wielding dangerous claws. Wearing what looked like huge puffed
out baggy pants. Two little yellow pointed feet barely visible at the
bottom. She glared from yellow rimmed eyes baring her multiple rows
of sharp little teeth. Spitting in semi hatred at her reflection. On the other side nothing was visible to anyone but Dark Burraki. "Remarkable
isn't it?" mused the tall invisible demon in a throaty chuckle.
Dark blinked and leaned closer to the highly decorative staff, watching
her reflection fragment in the numerous large silver spikes, frowning
distastefully before scuttling up high over Jackle's shoulder and looking
down at the sitting girl hunched up in Jackle's cape. The
girl shrunk back into her long brown hair and nervously mouthed 'no'.
Watching her broad claws tap irritably. Jackle
paused for a second using the dreamers head as an elbow rest. Which
to be honest- is very heavy and uncomfortable. The girl listening to the blur of conversation, became frustrated with her lack of attention in her own dream and sat forwards in the sand angrily, turning dizzily to look up at the two creatures chattering amongst themselves in a vague tangle of languages. "Uh... ex-excuse me."
"Wait...Nightmare has a castle?" The two marens stared blankly. "In your mind- maybe." the pair grumbled. "Enough. Lets do this." Jackle motioned to the sky with his claws, barely blinking as the high standing cards sliced down through the air embedding into the sand. Creating a wide circular fence of sorts. The girl shrunk back as the cards hemmed her in. A thick cloud of dust making it near impossible for her to see. She coughed a little and waved a hand about. Hearing the muddled laugher of the two creatures in the circle with her. Somewhere. "So
then... what is so special about our little dreamer here?" spoke
the rough irish sounding voice, followed by some hoarse laughter. The
dreamer looked around quickly panicking and backtracked with her hands
in a direction she hoped was empty. The dream... the dream had never
done this before. Normally it ended in... well... The human dreamer sat up wincing, looking around herself with wide frightened eyes in the dust. "No
name." The dreamer pushed her forehead into her knees and scrunched up her eyes tightly. Trying to ignore the insults and questions whirling around her. "I
don't have any powers. I'm just a dreamer. I... i can't do anything
like that. I swear please- AGH leave m-" "I..
i am. I'm a dreamer. This is a dream. You guys are
the ones that give me nightmares. I come here every night because...
because- "Jackle
she has her eyes closed!" The dreamer tearfully stared into the mirror. "I
see.. a girl." "My
my MY, what little patience i had with you is all but gone. Something
is amiss here and i'm no damn closer to finding out what that thing
IS. And why is that? Hmm? Why is- " The dreamer screamed and kicked
her legs in a state of panic as the Nightmaren grabbed her entire head
in his strong claws and lifted her three feet off the ground. "Why
IS it that you have no reflection? Trying to make me look like a fool
girl? Maya doesn't LIE! Therefore YOU must be lying yes? YES?" "Wizeman." Dark Burraki turned her head to the sky and stared, senses alert. Already moving to leave. The sky flickering in color almost as if whatever was holding this scene together was now being diverted to another place. "Jackle we have to go." "I'M
NOT FINISHED HERE." he screeched getting madder at the hanging
girl. Spearing the mirror staff into the sand. A bright flare of light
blocking his angry eyes. "Now
where were we? Ah yes, you were infuriating me beyond belief and i was
saving my work for later." spat the restless creature tightening
his grip. The
demon froze as the realm shuddered around him. A distant warped growl
blowing in on the breeze. Cursing under his breath in disappointment. Maya stood silently in the sand above showing the truth of the scene. Watching. Learning. Remembering. Silvery faces reflecting the moving colors and long flaxen blonde hair that spilled across the sand from under the shadow of the Marens cape. Dull violet glazed eyes staring up at the sky. Jackle grinned through red stained jaws, eyes half closed in amusement as he let go of his prey. Hissing a poem into her ear before pushing her aside. "In
Xanadu did Khubla Khan,
One big one-way corridor of reality. Arrows pointed along the walls in a line. Reminding students to not walk the other way. Remembering. That time. A warm
end of day orange glow filtered through the big stairwell windows. Both
of them sitting on the top floor stairs. Watching the other students
feet as they walked past. Sunset colored shadows flickering like an
animation wheel. The dusty air making her smile as she listened to her
headphones. When she wore her headphones she couldn't hear the insults
being thrown around her. Smiling at Lynne's red hair glowing in the
autumn light. Watching all those people walking. Leaving to go home.
And them just sitting there. For no reason at all. "One day D.C, one day i'm gonna drag you up this corridor the wrong way. I don't think the teachers would like that." Laura
paused and smiled at the sleepy memory of her friendship. Whispering
the ambient words to Frou Frou - Let Go, along with her walkman. "A
CAREER IS FOR LIFE!" somebody had drawn a moustache on the lady's
face. Laura Philip giggled a little and cautiously looked around herself
as a few students walked past her. Reaching into her folder she quickly
pulled out a whiteout pen and scribbled a matching beard. After
going downstairs she sauntered cautiously along the narrow Hume corridor.
The drama meeting had finished early and it was near lunchtime- so she
didn't plan on sitting in a chemistry class. Especially if Lynne wasn't
there. Jeeze Lynne had issues, too many family problems and just plain
old, mentalness. But she could paint stuff good so Laura always had
cool birthday presents. She'd head up to the lunch hall after she'd
brushed her hair. All the strands had fallen down at the back. Strategic
hair spray always failed her.
Scrabbling around on the floor eventually D.C found the small piece of carved marble. Sighing a huge sigh of relief she shrugged and took the bubblegum out of her mouth sticking his nose back on. Cringing at her handywork. "There, you're presentable again. Byebye! I gotta go." Continuing
on her way Humming and grinning with a slight bounce in her step she
recalled last nights episode of Superman on the tv. Black, white, blue, black, white, black, white, a pencil, white, a torn schoolbag, white, blue, white, red, white, red, white, red, red, red, red, red, red.... D.C dropped to her knees, her face screwed up in disbelief. "W....what have they done to my Red?!"
NiGHTS sat perched by himself on a large weather beaten fence. A leg over both sides, hanging in the breeze. He'd been flying home and had paused for a break. Here in the strangest of places. He stared far off into the distance as far as the barrier went. Looking right down the middle of dream and nightmare. The borderline was a place that not many people got to see. It was all down to belief that the place existed. For NiGHTS it existed. He'd always been caught in the middle. Maybe this was his dream, his place.
This
was the point of no return. The literal line between wrong and right,
yes and no. Probably Heaven and Hell in a religious sense. But there
was no religion here. Just him and the rain and the nagging feeling
that he had to cross the fence. Maybe the grass was greener
on the other side. On one side lay dewy green grass dotted with buttercups and daisies. The distant sounds of children laughing. Merry-go-round music on the breeze. The closer the grass grew to the fence the sparser it had become, flowers withered and dead. The fence itself burnt and blackened in places. Ripped up turf leading in lines towards the fence as if long shadowy arms had stretched out and tried to claw more of the contrasting realm for itself. NiGHTS wiped his right eye and shook off his hand, dully noting he was only being rained on from one side. The
other side was where the rain fell from. The sky appearing to have been
cut in half, the weather and humidity stopping abruptly on the line
were NiGHTS sat. Grass grew on the ground there too. But it was full
of weeds and brambles, stingy things and knee deep like wild grey moorlands.
He turned his head to look across to where Nightmare manifested itself.
A blank flat canvas of never ending scrubby grass. No hills. No features.
No nothing. A giant void. Ironic when you considered how bright it appeared
from the inside. The atmosphere radiating from the place was enough
to drive most humans away. It looked like the end of the world, no definite
horizon. The unknown. NiGHTS exhaled moodily, leaning back on the fence arching his back as his clothing changed slightly. Covered in gaudy military decorative baubles and frills. Dripping with silver and pearls. "Oh
how lucky i must be to have earned such high regard. Such a
good little prince. Prince ahahaha..." the name amused him. He
really wasn't a prince of anything, but the others called him it in
distaste because of his spoilt nature. The bragging, the flamboyant
actions, the fact he could do no wrong in the many eyes of his father.
"Such a good little puppet." he spoke curtly
in his own voice choosing not to mimic stolen voices. The
devil barely blinked as the voice of Holtz quietly interrupted his self
mockery. Dropping dead within a few seconds of flight. "It was to be able to laugh and have fun, to play as idly as a stupid human child, to be able to fly through Nightopia without being afraid of scaring people. To be able to play with whoever i chose without being treated like a murderer out to harm everyone. To be able to return home and not be pitted against the people i care about. I can't have both and i can't have either. But no. I have so much shame inside of me, the worst part is that it's my own. So yes, yes i'm afraid, and i am ashamed. Any advice doctor? I'm sure you and your buddies have a constant field day on me." NiGHTS hissed in embarrassment and angrily looked down at the small bluebird sitting on the fence. Feeling disgusted with admitting his feelings. It was unMaren of him. Holtz flew up to meet NiGHTS as the demon turned to leap off the fence, sharply grabbing a handful of blue tail feathers from the surprised bird which squawked and fell to the ground amongst the flowers. "Be thankful i didn't eat you old man." yelled the stubborn demon fixing a long feather into a brooch on the right side of his hat, then jumping forwards off the fence across the border. Holtz flew back up painfully and watched the ground swallow NiGHTS whole in a flurry of glitter and flapping silk coat tails. The entire landscape fading out into a solid black wall of nothingness. Holtz chirped in fear and stepped back a little as the sound of his voice echoed for miles into the depths of the void. "...Never let go of that dream dear NiGHTS. God speed."
Chapter 2 will be completed soon :P Windows To A Haunted Mind Chapter2 copyright of Lynne Triplett 1995-05. |
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