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[Bannipper]

"That's it, Tide," whispered an evil-sounding voice that was similar to Bannipper's "Unleash all of your rage on that foul little oaf. Now, your partner-in-crime, me, the mighty Cloke, will be joining you soon. I wish to speak with that fraud who looks like me."

[InTheNightlight]

"Hold up, guys!" DaRKNES said, stopping his Shleep. He had noticed an odd golden glow in an alley. "Come on..." He walked up to the glow and looked closely. It was a bright yellow-gold, with two holes next to each other, and it looked kind of like a persona mask...

"THE MASK! Guys! We've found the mask!" DaRKNES yelled. Suddenly, a blur of yellow, silver, orange, green and purple flew past him. It was Tide! He grabbed the mask and chuckled, weighing it in his hand.

"...Wow, that guy's a fast healer..." DaYZ stared. Tide's laugh turned into a cackle as he tossed the mask onto his face. A white light engulfed him and when it faded, Tide was a white-coloured maren with black horns and a blood red vest.

"Aww...CRAP!" DaRKNES groaned.

DaYZ gulped and focused a shield around them. "HURRY! EVERYONE TO THE PORTAL!" He yelled. They all began to run, gaining speed with each slope. The shield acted as a kind of pinball, leaving it to the mercy of every turn and bump.

Finally, they noticed a bump near the building the portal was on. DaYZ did the calculations in his mind and shouted, "Everyone, run as fast as you can!" They obeyed and hit the bump, sending them into the air, towards the roof, and into the portal. Tide had also made it in, but hid behind a tree quickly.

[TheOrangeNightmare]

Nebula grinned. ".....FUN." He managed to cough, spitting clumps of grass from his mouth. "But wait...something's missing..." He speculated, and stood up to look around. "SNOOZY!!!!!" He yelled, turning back towards the portal he had just come through. "Are the Shleep gonna be okay?!"

[InTheNightlight]

"Yeah, they're gonna be fine. Tide won't hurt them, and the only threat to them is being seen. But since they look like clouds and fly, they'll blend into the sky, not to mention that they might find an actual pack of sheep, so they're fine." DaRKNES answered. DaYZ yawned and looked around. "Well, I guess that's it for now. Our only worries are that Tide is able to control Sciimer's Mask--"

"How do you sound so nonchallant about this!?" Selph yelled, startling DaYZ. "Do you have ANY idea what that power can DO!?"

"Of course! But Tide probably won't figure out HOW the mask can actually WORK unless he FINDS that old temple just West of the Upside-Down Tower. And even then, he's incredibly stupid." DaYZ explained.

"Stupid, am I?" Tide finally stepped out of the trees. "Well, then, if I'M so stupid, why did you just give me the directions to the temple?" Tide sneered.

"...D'OH!" DaYZ slapped his forehead. DaRKNES also slapped DaYZ in the back of the head. "THE BLOODY H*LL WAS THAT FOR!?" He yelled.

"FOR BEING AN IDIOT!" DaRKNES shouted back.

[Bannipper]

Bannipper was silent. He could sense something extremely familiar. But it wasn't Sciimer's mask. No, this was something very different. "There's someone else here," he stated, looking in all directions to find out who it was. "You sense me. How nice," said the voice. "Who are you?" asked Bannipper, "And where are you?" Nowhere that particularly important or special," hissed the foul voice, "But I will say this. I'm right behind you." Bannipper turned around.

The being that was behind Bannipper looked very similar to him, but instead of having white in his clothing, it was black. Not to mention he had a twinge of insanity in his eyes, which made him look mentally unstable.

"I am Cloke: The Living Veil," hissed Cloke, "And you, my boy...YOU ARE MINE!!" he lunged at Bannipper, wanting to pummel him to death. Things appeared to be rather gruesome.

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ leaped next to Bannipper. "Let's do this!"

[Bannipper]

"A challenge?" asked Cloke, "Vundabuh, vundabuh, vunbaduh! I could use another head above my fireplace." Bannipper, curious as to why he couldn't read his mind, asked him, "What are you?" "I am from the same realm as Tide, a Nightmaren from the other side," answered Cloke, "As for why you can't sense anything about me say for my presense on some occasions, well, I'm not called the Living Veil for nothing, you know?"

Bannipper charged at Cloke, who threw a blanket of shade over Bannipper's eyes. Bannipper was nervous. This was new to him, as he was never made a blind man in all of his years of existance. "What happened?!" he asked, "What in blue blazes did you do to me?" "You know," said Cloke, "For someone who was an old man, and then became a young man, you aren't very wise. Fighting me is proof of this, vermin." "Vermin this!" said Bannipper, attempting to punch the darkness around him, hoping to hit Cloke. "Also, I have another thing to mention," added Cloke, "I happen to know something you don't about ol' big belly, Isabelle." "Nobody calls my wife fat!" said Bannipper, managing to hit a solid object with his left fist. Cloke got nervous. It was he who was struck with the punch. He refrained from staying in a single spot for long. He knew he'd get hit again.

[InTheNightlight]

Meanwhile, DaYZ was battling Tide. "I'm not so sure that was supposed to be a fat joke, Ban!" He lashed out with punches and kicks, hoping to strike Tide. Tide was faster than he had anticipated. He was dodging DaYZ's every move!

"MY TURN!" Tide punched out in fury. His swings hit DaYZ every which way, as if he had multiple arms! Finally, Tide punched DaYZ in the face, knocking the young maren out cold.

DaYZ fell and finally crashed into the ground. DaRKNES and Light rushed forward to help.

"DaYZ! Wake up!" DaRKNES said, shaking DaYZ by the shoulder. Tide grinned. He had yet to finish his mission, but he thought of prolonging the time for a while. He flew down and grabbed Light.

"Hey! Let me go!" Light yelled. "Not a chance, lady!" Tide smirked he threw down a box and flew off. The box said: For DaYZ.

Selph was over with Bannipper, helping to fight Cloke. He picked up his Staff and swung it around in the darkness, hoping to punture the shade and bring in some light. He managed to swirl away a bit of shadow so that they could at least see each other. Finally, the shade faded and Cloke was gone, having slipped away with Tide.

"He's gone!" NiGHTS gasped in surprise.

...

"Ugh...where am I?" DaYZ asked. "DaYZ..." It was Timspay again! "Alright, THAT'S IT! SHOW YOURSELF RIGHT NOW! WHO ARE YOU!?" Silence, but three pillars surrounded him. They consisted of a sword and a shield; DaYZ already had the Staff. "Choose wisely, DaYZ. Do you think Strength is more important for your mission? Or is defense your forte?"

"..." DaYZ remained silent. "...Just..what...what IS my mission?" He asked.

"Light has been captured by Tide..." "WHAT!? ALRIGHT, WAKE ME UP! I'M GONNA GIVE THAT NO GOOD, WOMAN STEALING FAKER A PIECE OF MY MIND!" DaYZ shouted.

"Before you go, you must take your weapon..."

DaYZ considered. If he got the shield, he could protect his friends AND keep safe. But if he chose the sword, he was a fighting machine to anyone that got in his way...

He heard a scuttling noise behing him. Somthing dark jumped onto him and engulfed him. It was sticky, spread everywhere and seemed to shriek as it engulfed him. He squirmed around trying to break free. Finally, he stood up. He noticed that his gloves were now black and that his horns' stripes had turned black. His chest crystal had also grown considerably darker. He felt a fang poking out from his mouth.

"What is this?" He turned towards the weapons that would drastically change the outcome of the battle. Was DaYZ set to kill Tide? Or merely trap him in his aura staff?

Pacifist or killer?

Something inside him gave him newfound strength. The lust for death, the lust for bloodshed.

WHOAH! Where did THAT come from? DaYZ asked himself. He approached the shield. Defense was what he wanted. The power to help his friends.

He woke up...

...

He woke up looking at the sky. "Where...where am I?"

"Well, look who just woke up from the dead!" DaRKNES chuckled. He was carving a spear out of wood. "Tide left a present for you." He nodded towards the box. DaYZ aproved it and opened it. A glove on a spring shot out and glove-slapped DaYZ. A hologram of Tide appeared. "Dear, FAKER, I'm challenging you to a duel at high noon on February 10th. A one-on-one swordsman fight to the death. And bring your friend Bannipper. Cloke has a score to settle with him. Your REAL SELF, Tide."

"Aww, CRAP!"

[nightdreamer]

Illusia looked extreemly worried not just for Light, DaYZ and the rest of the crew but also because of the item she had yet to be able to tell in all the chaos that had happened so far. "That's not good, DaYZ! In more ways than just the obvious...I haven't been able to tell you with all the crazy things that have happened so far and the fact that I didn't want Tide to discover this and use it to his advantage. When you last tried to contact me using telapathy and were knocked out...somehow we ended up becoming linked...I feel your pain and I don't know what might happen if either of us are...well...eliminated...until we 'fix' this...and we don't have the time to do that yet..."

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ clenched a fist. "Well, THIS IS JUST DANDY! First, a faker shows up, not to mention that there are fakers of you guys, next, you and I are linked, third, Tide gets the mask and captures Light, and finally, WISEMAN IS GONNA RIP THE DREAM AND WAKING WORLDS AT THE SEAMS! Oh, HAPPY DAY!" DaYZ growled, rolling his eyes.

"Well, until we figure out HOW to un-link DaYZ and Illusia, we're going to have to wait." DaRKNES said, attempting to meditate.

The hologram of Tide started up again. "Oh, and if you refuse, your little friend will be found a slobbery pile of mush near Cerberus. Have a bad day!" It waved and dissipated.

"..." DaYZ growled. He felt rage enter his heart, similar to when he fought Sciimer. "THAT TWO-TIMING NO GOOD SON OF A BISCUIT FAKER IS GOING DOWN!" He yelled, a black substance covering him.

"Uh, D--DaYZ?" DaRKNES stammered.

"What?" DaYZ turned and saw the shocked expressions on him friends' faces. "What? You look like you've seen a ghost.

"Tell that to Mr. Monster Guy." DaRNES led DaYZ to a pond.

"Mr......Monster Guy?!" He yelled as he saw his reflection. It was the same nightmaren from his recent encounter with Timspay. A black-striped-horned hat with a pale face and a fang. DaYZ growled.

"What the h*ll is going on?" DaYZ asked.

"Hello, DaYZ..." They looked up and noticed that UV had been watching them the whole time.

"ULTRAViOLET...What are YOU doing here? We have ENOUGH problems. We don't need to add you to the list.

"Listen, you twerp...I have pledges to Sciimer that I intend to keep." UV growled at DaYZ's remark. "Now, you either come along quietly, or you end up a slaughtered mess along with Illusia."

Suddenly, DaYZ's mind went blank. His rage had taken control. He focused only on UV and struck with surprising speed. He punched, kicked, and threw things into UV. In thirty seconds flat, UV was unconcious and DaYZ was holding him over his head, planning to rip him in half.

"Go, DaYZ. Kill him!" He looked up and saw Light's Nobody and DaRKNES's Nobody, cheering him on. Meanwhile his friends, his REAL ones, were telling him to stop and just leave him in a cage.

He was having trouble deciding. His rage was screaming at him to kill UV but something told him to live and fight another day.

[nightdreamer]

Illusia could feel DaYZ's "problem" and desided to give him a little help...in the form of a blinding illusion light straight to UV's eyes.

"DaYZ and I aren't going to come with you or be turned into a mess by the likes of you." She shouted. She then grabbed DaYZ's arm and caused both of them to turn invisible confusing UV while the rest hid near by.

While she was hiding herself and DaYZ, Illusia found herself pulled into her own mind where she heard a familuar voice. Timspay. "Illusia, the link is a tool for you and DaYZ to use against Tide...not just a hinderance...but you must chose how...use your powers of light and this to aid DaYZ in his fight and to help all of your friends and family...even those who fight against you." A white wand with a rainbow colored circular crystal appeared in front of Illusia. As the green maren took the wand in her hands she found herself with DaYZ still invisibly hiding from UV.

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ was puzzled. He had never, NEVER wanted to kill ANYONE besides Sciimer. He even tried showing UV mercy when they fought*, but WHY did he want to kill UV all of a sudden? Something was wrong...

"Hey, WHERE'D THEY GO!?" Tinker yelled, dropping the device he was working on, swearing as it smashed to smithereens when it hit the ground.

DaYZ's questions dissappeared as his eyes turned red and his rage took over again. "Heh, thanks for the advantage, babe!" He jumped up and punched UV in the gut.

"GAHR!" UV grunted. DaYZ aimed a low kick to UV's shin, also punching UV in the chest. He began lifting UV into the air, and stopped at the edge of space. "Seeya, SUCKER!" He let UV drop...down, down, down...

DaYZ waited for the thud. Nothing happened. DaYZ was unaware that even as he watched from space, NiGHTS saw the event and flew out, catching UV by the arm as he fell.

"......Well that was...surprising..." DaRKNES sighed. "I know, just WHY would NiGHTS help the ENEMY?" Tinker agreed, giving and recieving shocked looks from DaRKNES. "...This staring never happened." DaRKNES said, giving his counter self the stink-eye. "Agreed." Tinker said, duly staring.

*This is the epic fight against UV in the first Staff of Selph

[Bannipper]

Meanwhile, Bannipper was still facing off against Cloke. "It appears that he is still alive," said Cloke, "No matter. I'll destroy him all the same." Bannipper began to feel weak. He was near death, he was so beat up. He could barely stand. But then, a bright light shined on Bannipper. And he was gone, for he had gone to another location entirely. "Wait, I lost Bannipper," said Cloke, "BLAST! I wanted his head for a trophy! I hate happy endings!"

Bannipper woke up in a bizarre reality. All he could see (in fact, this was as far as the eye could see) was a big park, something you'd see a dog being walked in. He could here a piano playing (the song was the song that you could hear in Smash Bros. Melee when you were in All-Star Mode). Bannipper turned to the person playing music, for after he observed himself, he found out that he had been healed when he appeared in this strange reality. This gave him enough energy to do things besides trying to stand up. "Who's there?" he asked.

Who he saw playing was a Maren-like creature in a wizard robe. The Maren-like creature's robe had patterns of suns and moons on it, and he was tall. He seemed distinguished, and perhaps even noble, playing his piano the way he did.

"Up, I see you are, young Maren," said the wizard. "Well, I'm actually old, but I was given my youth back--" said Bannipper before he was interrupted. "Spacetie, I am," said Spacetie, "My wife, Timespay is. Spatial Plain, my home you have entered. Observed you, I have. Too many invading forces from another universe, there are. I must act, should anything like this happen. Show you something I must. Time to lose, we do not have."

"What's with the music?'" asked Bannipper. "Make deal with HAL Laboratories, I have," said Spacetie.

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ flew down, noticing that NiGHTS had caught UV. He flew towards NiGHTS and punched him away. "You got involved with the enemy NiGHTS. You had this coming to you!" DaYZ shouted in a voice unlike his own. It was deeper, more serious.

NiGHTS put a hand to his mouth and yanked out a tooth that had been knocked loose. NiGHTS realized that DaYZ was ruthless with that black gunk on him. He had to find a way to get the stuff off or else everyone might be mangled.

NiGHTS flew around DaYZ, but the paraloop was countered with an Aura Strike from his Staff. DaYZ kicked NiGHTS in the face, sending the purple hero into a metal box. The clang was loud and deafening, but DaYZ covered his ears. "RAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" He seemed to be in pain!

"Okay, why the heck is there a metal crate in the middle of a fr***** forest!?" Reala asked(hey, he's gotta say SOMETHING sooner or later!).

"WHO CARES!" NiGHTS said. DaYZ lowered to the ground. NiGHTS gathered up the pieces and made a makeshift cage for DaYZ, using a bar to cause pain to the black gunk. The stuff started to evaporate, seeping into DaYZ's skin.

DaYZ fainted, back to normal...for now...

[Bannipper]

Bannipper and Spacetie walked over to what looked like a lake. Spacetie, with the wave of his hand, caused the lake to show the image of Sciimer's mask. "That's Sciimer's mask," said Bannipper, "Why are you showing me this?" "Responsible for the disasters you faced, is this fiend," said Spacetie, "Alive through his mask, Sciimer is. Destroy Nightopia and Nightmare Sciimer will, should more and more people cross dimensions. Indestructible, the mask has always been. Until now."

Spacetie soon showed a giant gray sphere to Bannipper through the lake. "The Sphere of the Erase, the sphere shown in the late is," explained Spacetie, "Located through an undiscovered portal it is. Unable to find it, those with psychic powers are. Only thought rigorous searching can you find this masterpiece. Go there you must. Give the mask to the sphere you must. Only then will these problems stop."

Bannipper began to think. "This could be interesting," he thought. "I'm in," said Bannipper, "If it's to stop Sciimer for good, then I am in." "Warn Timespay, I will," said a happy Spacetie, "Also, question, I have for Bannipper." "Yes, what is it?" asked Bannipper. "Think that Spacetie has speech impedement, you do?" Bannipper was afraid to answer that question. He soon changed the subject. "Where's the way out?" he asked Spacetie. Spacetie raised his hand, and whisked Bannipper away from Spatial Plain, to the location of his friends.

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ was in pain all over. He attempted to move, only to realize he couldn't. Something had happened. He suddenly started to cry. He had tried to hurt NiGHTS, one of his best friends! He felt like dying. He finally had enough strength to open his eyes. He was in a cell, guarded by the three fakers, Black, Tinker, and Shadea. He struggled to sit, and accidently banged his head into a wall.

"Well, well, well. Look who's awake." Black chuckled.

DaYZ clenched his fists. He ran up to the cell bars and shouted, "You no good fakers had BETTER LET ME OUT OF HERE! Or I will--" He was interupted by Black grabbing his vest and pulling him close to her, kissing him.

DaYZ pulled away and fell backwards. "*GAH!* *PTU!* WHAT WAS THAT!?" His answer was Black sending a black vortex onto him, shrouding him in darkness. He felt around and fell over again. He found himself wondering, "Well, THIS IS A FINE MESS I'VE GOTTEN MYSELF INTO!" as he felt around blindly. Finally, he found a flap in the wall. It was a trap door! He climbed through, and in doing so, heard a click. A dead end. The wall in front of him was flat rock, obviously solid. He must have looked ridiculous, crouched on his hands and knees. He shimmied back to the door and pushed. Nothing happened. He pushed again. HE WAS TRAPPED! The flap was an illusion made to trap the stupid, AND HE HAD WALKED RIGHT INTO IT.

DaYZ panicked. He began to scream as he beat the walls. The young maren seemed to have gone insane. Finally, his foot slammed into the flap, breaking it. He crawled out as fast as he could, gasping for air. He slapped himself and immediately calmed down.

He sat there and waited. And waited. Finally, he opened his eyes and there was the bright lights again. He must have fallen asleep. He hoped that he had dreamed of being in the cell, but unfortunately, he was still on the cell floor. He stood up and stretched. He had to do something he never did before.

"I have to THINK THINGS THROUGH..." He stood silent. "Or just fly out the window...Yeah, I'm gonna do that..."

DaYZ flew out the open window that was placed right above his head. Suddenly, his skin tensed as the black gunk covered him. He jumped to the side, somehow on instinct, and swung a kick into the attacker waiting to ambush him.

Black fell over, shrieking as she fell to the side. DaYZ had some control over the gunk, but felt different. Stronger, more agile. He stepped up to Black. "What do you want?"

Black got up giggling. "Catch me and find out..." She jumped away, flying from rooftop to rooftop.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

[Bannipper]

Bannipper saw his friends. He had loads of things to tell everyone. "I have to tell them everything that I saw and heard, especially that Yoda-like person," said Bannipper, "Hey! Over here!"

He flew to them just as they flew to him. "You won't believe what I have to tell you guys!" Bannipper told the others. Everyone was eager to listen to Bannipper.

After telling everyone everything that needed to be said, Everyone appeared to be interested. However, a few had some questions to ask.

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ jumped up. He wanted answers RIGHT NOW. Who were these people, where was Light, and how had he gotten back to this zone?

More important, how much time had passed since the parcel of challenge had been sent?

-----------------------

DaRKNES scowled. ANOTHER realm? As if 2 Dream Worlds weren't bad enough, NOW A THIRD EXISTED. And what was creepier, the person who was on their side was a Star Wars rip-off!

"Well, if that's the case, I suggest we find this...'Sphere of Erase', and just dump the mask in it...after DaYZ defeats Tide, that is, IF he ever FINDS HIM..."

"You know, I wonder why I even get involved nowadays..." Reala sighed.

"Hey, speak for yourself. I've hardly even SPOKEN so far!" Timer poked Reala in the side.

-----------------------

DaYZ saw Black land on a pillar. He landed opposite her. "SLOW DOWN, D*MN IT!" He shouted.

Black grinned at him, making him all the more angry. He jumped up and landed a punch in her jaw. She got up and flew off. Only now had DaYZ realized she had anticipated his atack. His feet were glued in place!

"AAWWW, CRAP!" He jerked his feet out and began flying. He finally caught her, and rage taking over, began beating her up.

He had sent Black spiraling down to a building. Only now had he realized they were high above Delight City. The black gunk went away. DaYZ panicked. "OH NO!" He flew down. "Please be alive...PLEASE!" He thought. He didn't want to kill her! To his relief, there she was, leaning against a pole, exhausted.

He walked over. "Are you alright? I tried to calm you down but--" Black kicked him away and began punching. DaYZ dodged and kicked back in defense. Black was sent off her feet, over the building's edge.

DaYZ once more panicked. "BLACK!" He yelled. He jumped down, catching her as she fell. Black chuckled evilly and suckerpunched DaYZ. DaYZ landed face-first in the dirt.

He yanked his head out of the ground just in time to see Black fly off. He hopped up, scooping up his jester cap which had, at some time, been knocked off. He dashed after Black. She stood in an alley.

"Alright. I want answers and I want them now!" DaYZ growled. He faked this, though. He thought she didn't know about the black gunk.

"Well. Aren't YOU the tough guy." She scowled. "Running around, thinking you own the place."

"WHAT?! YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND ATTACKED ME!" He shouted.

"At least I don't need help from gunk!" She stood from the box she was on. Only now did DaYZ see she had been crying.

"Whatever." DaYZ said. "Where's Light?" He asked, folding his arms.

"Oh, sure. It's always about Light, isn't it? Well FYI, brainzo, I trapped you for your own good!" She scowled. DaYZ couldn't help but remember her from SOMEWHERE...

"Oh, you did? But WHY!? We're mortal enemies!" DaYZ said.

Black pulled DaYZ close by the vest and said, "Look CLOSELY, DaYZ!" She scowled. It seemed odd, but for once, he noticed that her eyes were just contact lenses! They weren't pure black! She took out the contacts and revealed deep amber eyes.

DaYZ stumbled backward over a tumble of empty bottles. "No, not YOU. You're dead! I saw you! You CAN'T BE ALIVE!" He began freaking out more than usual. "I SAW YOU DROWN! YOU'RE DEAD! YOU ARE!"

"Geez, Light's REALLY been giving you nutso pellets with your tea! That's right. It's ME. The girl you drowned at Splash Canyon. The one whose body was never found." She began crying in a mixture of anger and sadness.

"WHAT!? Amethyst, I NEVER drowned you! I swam out to help you! But by the time I reached you..." He choked back the disgusting memory. "You...IMPOSTOR! YOU'RE NOT AMETHYST!" He shouted through gritted teeth.

-----------------------------

To be continued...

Who is Amethyst? Will DaYZ ever find a way back to his dimension? Why do I have so many questions? WHY AM I ASKING ALL THESE QUESTIONS!? All will be revealed...

[nightdreamer]

Illusia rolled her eyes at Timer and Reala who were still arguing. "Guys this is not the time. I KNOW Dayz has gotten into a huge amount of trouble and we need to help him and all our friends before all THREE worlds get torn apart let alone ourselves! Any one have any ideas how we can find him and stop this whole mess?" Illusia shouted in frustration as she also begina to glow.

NiGHTS backed up a little bit when Illusia shouted especially since when she got mad Illusia could be not only very loud but also begin glowing like a miniture sun. "Memo to everyone...stay on little sis' good side unless you want to be blinking a long time in order to clear your vision."

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ scowled. He couldn't believe this girl was immitating someone he held dear to him. He didn't care who she was, girl or not, he hated fakers. He jumped up and began to strike. Black dodged and shouted, "Believe it, DaYZ!"

DaYZ scowled. "Hey, why are we fighting like children? If you were the real Amethyst, then what's my middle name?"

"You don't HAVE a middle name!" Black said. "And if you did, you never told me!"

DaYZ's suspicions were wrong. He DIDN'T have a middle name...

"A--...Amethyst? It's...really you?"

Amethyst smiled. "You always were this naive..."

DaYZ realized something. "Hey, wait...GAH! Light! I was so caught up with this, I forgot about Tide!"

"Follow me. I'll show you a shortcut!"

[Bannipper]

Meanwhile, Sciimer's mask began to think things...horrible, horrible things...

"I must say that the progress I am currently seeing astounds me," said Sciimer's mask, "I haven't had this much fun since I gave a small child adult-oriented photographs.* However, I find that the antics of those fools are getting redundant. Time to spice things up a bit."

A portal was generated, and a terrible monster had been summoned. But what this monster was going to do was a mystery...however, it may very well have had the blood of Marens on its mind.

*The contents of the photographs will remain a mystery, and only I know what they are. PM me to find out what it is the pictures show.

[InTheNightlight]

Amethyst stopped and looked around. The coast was clear. DaYZ followed and within minutes, they arrived in the entrance to a circular throne room.

"This looks like Reala's room, but something feels...different..." DaYZ pondered. Out of nowhere, they heard a kind of clown-giggle. They looked up and gaped at what they saw. It was Reala, but this one wore a persona that had black feathers on it and a purple-feathered collar. He also wore a kind of criss cross of bandages on his torso and boots with flames on them.

"Oh, lookey here! Someone to hang out with!" He floated down. "Things have been really lonely since NiGHTS left! It's great that SOMEONE visits!"

"......Is he--"

"Gay? Yes. Yes he is." Amethyst answered DaYZ's perplexed expression. "Well, would be. Remember, all nightmaren are genderless."

"...Riiight..." DaYZ looked at the Reala Look-Alike. "I'm just gonna call him Puff."

"PUFF?!" Amethyst stared.

"Yeah! Short for Reala-Puff*!" Puff and Amethyst stared. "What? I'm working with improv here, AND PUNS IMPROV DOES NOT MAKE!" DaYZ sighed.

"...Whatever...Okay, Pu--REALA. Can you tell us where Wiseman is?" Amethyst said.

"Unfortunatly, I cannot. But here's a riddle. I have a face but cannot see. The answer lies beneath the sea. If salt and butter the sea doesn't make, what direction shall I take?" Puff snapped his fingers and dissappeared.

"...WHAT THE HECK?!" DaYZ shouted. "Why does EVERYONE use RIDDLES to tell the answer?!"

"Well, at least we know that the answer lies...beneath the sea..." Amethyst suddenly froze. Her pupils dillated and she sank to her knees. She was having a flashback...

FLASHBACK...

Amethyst, DaYZ, and Light were at Splash Canyon, trying to take a break. Light was building a sandcastle, Darkjester(DaYZ) was taking a nap, and Amethyst was out swimming. Suddenly, a claw poked at DarkJester's hat. DarkJester woke up, knowing that Reala was here just to get his goat again.

"So, 'Jester', what's new?" Reala asked, looking out at the sea.

"Oh, same ol' same ol'. We came here to relax, and lo and behold, look who shows up to spoil our time!" DarkJester replied.

"Listen here, DarkJester. You must be forgetting who's in charge around here. I am the general of the Nightmaren forces, and Wizeman's first hand, should something happen to the master. So, if you have ANY brains at all in that empty skull of yours, you'll stay in line. Or ELSE." Reala swung his claws towards DarkJester's face, but missed.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep thinking that, Ree." DarkJester taunted.

"You KNOW I hate that name!" Reala growled. "I swear to Wizeman**, you are JUST like NiGHTS. One day, you might even rebel..."

"AAAAAGH!" They heard a scream and DarkJester sat up quick as a flash. Amethyst was thrashing about, a dark red puddle showing in the water around her. A fin poked out of the water and Amethyst was dragged under. DarkJester gasped and jumped in. He just prayed he wasn't too late.

He reached the red area and dived down. He saw something glint. He reached down and pulled up a necklace with a sun design on it. It was the one that he had made for Amethyst, so she could supposedly swim better. He had not only lost sight, but also was almost out of air. He swam to the surface, but passed out beneath the water. A gargantuan hand lifted him out and examined him. He was alive, but where was the girl?

She was miles away, nearly dead...

END FLASHBACK...

*-This is a name that CORNSiLK and Maresuke gave to Reala in JoD on youtube.
**-Yes, he ACTUALLY said 'I swear to Wizeman'.

[Bannipper]

"A face that cannot see..." thought Bannipper to himself. He thought hard. What could not see, yet have a face? And what was this about the ocean? Well, there was Nautical Foundry, but that place hasn't been seen in years. He thought long and hard. Bannipper was probably going to do this for a little while until he could think of an answer.

[InTheNightlight]

"amethyst............Amethyst......AMETHYST!"

Amethyst woke up, startled. "Hmm? Wha--?"

"You passed out for a while. What happened?" DaYZ said, worrying that his friend was hurt.

"I......I'm fine. It's just a memory..."

DaYZ was totally clueless about what to do. He simply stood up. "Well, let's head off. We've still got to find Tide."

MEANWHILE...

"Hmm...Well, looks like we've not only lost DaYZ, but now Tide, Light, and almost the entire team is gone." DaRKNES sighed.

"Well, we'd have FOUND Tide and Light if SOMEONE had gone after him!" Selph scowled at DaRKNES.

"Hey, don't blame me! If Frosty's gang were here, Fig would have better luck than me, and you know it!" DaRKNES argued.

"Oh, both of you stop fighting like sissies!" Reala said, trying to concentrate.

"NO!" They both yelled.

[nightdreamer]

Illusia rolled her eyes for about the upmteenth time and was still glowing slightly.
"GUYS!!! Did you forget something...I still have a connection with Dayz. I could find him easily if EVERYONE WOULD QUIT ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER TO LISTEN!!!" She shouted trying to gain everyone's attention.

[Bannipper]

"Then I must say," said Bannipper, "I believe you may need to team up with me to do that. Something tells me it may take more than you rpower alone to track him." Bannipper got ready to meditate. He was going to help contact DaYZ.

[InTheNightlight]

DaYZ, on the other hand, was in the reverse world trying to find out where Tide is. They had checked every room, except...

"Wizeman's--or Wiseman, I really don't know who to think as the bad guy here..." DaYZ shrugged. They stepped inside. There was Wiseman, sitting neatly in his chair, as though he were king of the world--........Oh, wait...he was, here...

DaYZ slapped his forehead. WHY did he have a problem with thinking things through?! He and Amethyst stood still for about 5 seconds, waiting for Wiseman to start shouting at the top of his lungs. Until they heard a light snoring sound. Certainly, now he was asleep...

DaYZ noticed a hole in the wall. It was the same one that led to the computer room. He still has nightmares about that random crocodile they'd seen in the vortex yelling: "FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM FIND THE COMPUTER ROOM" ALL THE WAY TO THE ROOM! HE STILL WAKES UP EVERY NIGHT, SCREAMING!

DaYZ shuddered. "Well, this is new...let's go, Da--DaYZ? What's wrong?" Amethyst asked.

"Terrible memories that shall haunt me for eternity...would you hold me?..."

LATER...

After shoving DaYZ in, they arrived at the computer room. DaYZ studied the screen. "Hmmmm...what was the password again?..........Hold up, let me backtrack to the previous RP..." He picked up a book beside him labeled: Staff of Selph.

ABOUT 15 MINUTES LATER...

"Right! Waking! The password was Waking!" DaYZ typed it up and the portal opened. They went through, and, as before, nearly plummeted off the Twin Seeds tower.

"Okay, so now we just have to find Tide and Light!"

MEANWHILE...

"..." Light sat in a cage behind Tide's computer desk. She'd been taken to some sort of dark fortress.

"Well, someone's been awful silent, haven't they?" Tide sneered.

"Go to hell..." Light grumped. She must have been REALLY ticked off, because she never usually swore.

"Cranky, aren't you? Come on, this is for everyone's benefit! I'm the good guy here." Tide attempted to explain. "Sciimer has a plan on how to relieve all the stress from all living beings."

"Aha! So you WERE just Sciimer's meat puppet this whole time!" Light quipped.

Tinker stepped forward, about to use his tazer, when Tide held him back.

"Listen, girl. I could end a life right here and now if I wanted to..."

"So? At least I'd be away from you!"

"Ah, but you see, I wasn't talking about you." Tide chuckled.

"What?"

"If I were you, I'd be more concerned with what would happen to your little boyfriend, DaYZ." He chuckled evilly.

"WHAT?! YOU'RE NUTS! DAYZ NEVER HURT YOU WITHOUT REASON!" Light shouted.

"Watch your temper! DaYZ is MY lucid dream right now. I can expel him from my mind AND existence if I wanted to! Do you want this..." He brought up a picture of DaYZ smiling and waving. "...or this?" He changed it to DaYZ laying on the floor, his replicate gem smashed and bleeding profusely.

Light gasped, choking back tears.

"Think, girl. I will be back to fetch you...AFTER I deal with business..." Tide and Tinker walked away, but not before Tinker handed her a rose.

He said, "Look, I'm evil, but that doesn't mean I'm not a gentleman..."

[Bannipper]

Bannipper sensed something rather odd near him. "What's this?" he asked himself.

He picked up the item. It was a skeleton key (but not literally a "skeleton" key). He used his psychic powers to find out what it was used for. Everyone turned to Bannipper. Bannipper could see all of these strange things. However, there was one main thing that the vision had focused on that lasted longer than usual. It was the very key he was holding in his hand being used to unlock something. From the looks of it, though, the vision never specified what. Bannipper felt a hand on shoulder. One of his friends wanted to know what was going on.

[InTheNightlight]

DaRKNES looked at the key and said, "A skeleton key...where have I seen this before?" He asked himself. He thought for a second and snapped his fingers. "That's right! It opens a door in Wizeman's castle! I saw the exact same key on a sign near the door! If this is coincidence that a key ends up right at our feet, there might not be anything there. But if someone is following us, and hopefully they're on our side, there might be an answer to our little puzzle behind that door..."

As they walked towards the castle, they didn't see a pair of eyes staring at them, high in the trees...

[Bannipper]

Bannipper froze. He could sense a terrible presence coming from the trees. "I sense something from the trees," thought Bannipper to himself. His eyes widened. Bannipper could sense that whatever this thing was, it was just about ready to attack! "EVERYONE MOVE!!" yelled Bannipper, pushing DaRKNES out of the way of a very heavy creature's stomp attack.

Judging from the looks of him, he was a rather obese Maren with three eyes and large, blue, scaly arms and strangly lanky legs and big feet. He looked like a three-eyed cross between a poison-dart frog and a leopard.

"Orders..." it grumbled under its breath. "What orders??" asked Bannipper, "Who sent you?" Using his powers, he read the feeble mind of the ferocious creature. Sciimer sent this beast. Before Bannipper could find out more, he was cast out of the beast's mind by Sciimer's wicked magic. "Under orders..." grumbled the beast, "...kill Bannipper and friends...destroy hope..."

Bannipper got ready to fight, which could be said for his friends as well. This was going to be a tough battle.

[InTheNightlight]

DaRKNES stood, waiting to see what attack the brute was about to use. Suddenly, a shockwave hit the beast, causing heads to turn. The source of the blast was a rifle, held by a hooded figure. It landed swiftly near the group.

"Hey, who are you?" DaRKNES asked. before the person could reply, however, the beast gave a roar.

"I'll tell you afterwards." The figure said. It got into a battle stance like the others.

DaYZ and Amethyst were still high above the ground. "Tide's and Sciimer's base can't be far. I mean, where else WOULD their base be?" DaYZ said. Amethyst looked down.

"Wow. From up here, everyone looks so small..." She said. Suddenly, DaYZ stopped her. "What's wrong?"

"Either Tide is nearby, or I'm really hungry." He said. He noticed Amethyst's raised eye-brow. "Look, whenever I sense Tide, I get hungry, okay?"

"Well, then, how about a KNUCKLE SANDWICH?" They heard Tide's voice. Suddenly, DaYZ was punched in the face and fell to the street. Tide flew down as well, grabbing DaYZ by the throat.

"T-Tide..." DaYZ choked out. Tide cackled.

"Ready for our fight?" Tide asked, jokingly. He tossed DaYZ into a car, which exploded soon after. DaYZ crawled out of the wreckage. "Hmph. You're my original? What a disgrace!"

DaYZ coughed up blood. "Sez you. At least I don't kow-tow to a brute." He chuckled.

"DIE, INSOLENT WORM!" Tide picked DaYZ up again and began to puch him in the face repeatedly. Amethyst flew down to help, but was easily thrown away by Tide. DaYZ growled and triggered his Rage suit. He punched Tide in the face.

"Tide. You're in for a world of hurt!" He looked at Amethyst. "Amethyst! Go find Light. I'll take care of this impostor!"

[Bannipper]

Bannipper was about to get ready to fight when he sensed a familiar presence coming his way at high speeds. He turned to face the direction of the incoming individual. Thanks to his psychic powers, he knew who it was immediately. "I know who that is!" thought Bannipper to himself, "I was wondering where he was!"

As it turns out, Selph had been left behind by accident. He was going to explain this dissappearance to the rest of the team, but first...he had a mutated leopard/frog thing to fight. He charged right into the beast, knocking him into the very tree the beast was hiding in. Of course the beast got back up again, but Selph had nothing to worry about. He and his brother were going to take care of that thing.

[InTheNightlight]

"UUARGH!!" Tide screamed in pain as he was tossed into a wall. DaYZ was about to attack again, but Tide leaped away. DaYZ ended up punching a brick wall.

"Grah!" He yelled, clenching his fists. He turned to Tide. "Tide! Tell me where Light is or else!"

"Or else what?"

"Or else THIS!!" DaYZ leaped up and began punching in fury. He hit Tide each time. Tide fell to the street, barely concious. He chuckled.

"Well, it looks like Sciimer was right. You guys are tougher than you look." He grinned. "But are you tough enough to stop THIS?!" Tide charged at DaYZ, knocking the maren down. He continued lashing out, until he leapt back, charged up his dark energies, and fired at DaYZ.

WHOOM!

DaYZ groaned. The blast had weakened him too much, but he didn't feel any real pain. The Rage had protected him. He was just feeling worn out. He struggled to get up, but failed. "Wh...what'd you...do to me...?"

Tide cackled. "It's a little trick I picked up a while back. It drains ALL the energy out of a target. I'm surprised you're still standing..." He chuckled. "You know, DaYZ. I admire you. I've beaten you to a pulp, threatened you, brought about your near death, kidnapped your girlfriend Light, and brought you down. And yet you're still standing..."

DaYZ grinned as the Rage seeped back in, in need of a recharge. "Because Tide...You're a negative Nightmaren. You can't feel what we Nightmaren feel. We feel pain, not physically, but emotionally. We know when to move, when to stop, when to continue. But most of all, we Nightmaren have 5 things you negatives will never have..." He grinned more as 5 lights encircled him. "Courage." His replicate gem turned red, as did the silver stripes on his hat. "Intelligence." The orange stripes turned blue. "Growth." The purple stripes turned green. " Purity." The green half of his bodysuit turned white.

"And Hope." Finally, his colors became brighter than ever. DaYZ was standing there, the five Ideya helping him.

----------------------

Tinker was patrolling the halls. He didn't see why. Tide would take care of DaYZ in six seconds when they fought. Suddenly...

THWAM!!

Amthyst hit Tinker in his temple, sending the maren to the floor, unconcious. She picked up the keys from his belt and found Light in a cage. Light saw the girl unlocking the cage. "What, is Tide going to add insult to injury and torture me?"

"Light, it's me, Amethyst! I'm getting you outta here!" Light's eyes widened.

"Amethyst? But you--we were--and we saw you--" She stuttered.

"Yes I know. You saw me drown. It's a long story and I'll tell you later. Right now, we gotta get out!"

----------------------

The leopard/frog creature charged at the group. The hooded figure fired a shot, stunning one of it's legs. It growled and leapt at her. DaRKNES pushed her away and shot a water blast at the creature, sending it back a few feet.

The fight was nowhere near over...

[Bannipper]

The leopard/frog creature growled at its stunned leg. It couldn't pounce on anyone while he was like this. "That thing pounced on me a while ago," said Selph as he flew around the beast in circles, casually damaging it as he flew by with a punch and a kick, "When I scared this thing off, I lost contact with you guys, and I got left behind. I had to go get my staff just to be fast enough to find and follow you all. And now, this overgrown mutation is going to pay dearly for it, especially because of his affiliation with Sciimer!"

That's when the beast roared loudly. It was the loudest thing anyone heard since that one week when Jackle drank his very first cup of coffee. Bannipper could sense multiple presences approaching fast. They were just like the beast. In fact, they were of the same species. "Uh oh," everyone said when they were visible to everyone on Bannipper's side.

[InTheNightlight]

Tide stared. "I-IMPOSSIBLE! You can't be doing this!" He charged at DaYZ, but DaYZ raised a hand. His telekinesis sent Tide spiraling to the floor.

"Give it up Tide. You can't win." He looked up at the tower and saw Light and Amethyst flying back to Nightopia. "It's all over. If I take that mask, we'll beat Sciimer. But if you try to stop me, you'll just get yourself killed." He allowed himself to revert back to normal. "Tide, you can help us beat Sciimer. You don't have to listen to him." He stood in front of the fallen maren. "You had a life before this. And you still do."

Tide gasped. DaYZ was right. He DID have a past job before this. He grinned, but it wasn't as heart warming as DaYZ expected. In fact--

"OUF!" DaYZ was punched into a car. "Tide! What're you--GAK!" Tide began choking him.

"You're right. I did have a previous life. But if you hadn't jogged my memory, I would still be with that lowlife Sciimer." He tossed away the mask. "What my past life and job was concerns someone of higher valor than me. My job is...KILL DaYZ and Light."

DaYZ fainted from lack of oxygen. His last thought was, "How could I be so stupid?"
---------------------
"Let's go!" Amethyst shouted back to Light.

"Hey, you're older than me! I'm not as fast as you!" She yelled back. Suddenly she stopped. "Amethyst! Look!" She pointed to everyone fighting the leopard/frog thing. "Well? Let's go!" Light yelled. The two flew down.

[nightdreamer]

Illusia felt DaYZ faint and felt really woozy herself because they were still linked. "Guys...DaYZ needs help...pronto...he's unconscious!!!" She shouted blasting at the being they were fighting while trying to hold off any ill effects from the unintentional link between her and DaYS and focusing on using her powers in someway to help DaYZ hoping that her powers could wake him or help him get out of trouble. "HURRY!!!"