820 replies to this topic

[Aura24]

Youko sighed when she saw Scykle pass out, she flew over to him and landed right next to him. She gently shook him, "Scykle, Scykle, wake up." She then remembered that Visitor, and knew that he was most likely captured by Reala. Youko lowered her head slightly, but shook away the regret of leaving the Visitor vulnerable.

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle awoke, hurt and confused. He looked at the now-transformed Youko, and smiled.

"Why, hello, beautiful...what's your name?" He asked, recovering slowly from his ordeal.

[Aura24]

Youko rolled her eyes and sighed, "Scykle, it's me Youko. I'm in my Maren form."

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle's eyes grew to about the size of dinner plates, and his normally tan skin turned bright red. He jumped to his feet, which surprisingly, held his weight despite being choke-slammed by Reala through his Ideya Palace. He regained his composure, then looked around.

"Hey, where's Lucas?"

[Aura24]

Youko lowers her head, "He was captured by Reala..."

[EZEKiAL]

"AH! Reala! Right, I remember now!" Scykle frowned, suddenly filled with guilt. "I didn't...I didn't attack you, did I?"

[Aura24]

"Yes you did, and I still feel the claw marks on my back from when you grabbed me." Youko hissed, rubbing her minor injuries, "I can't transform back for a while now."

[EZEKiAL]

"I'm terribly sorry, Youko...but I'll have to make it up to you later. Right now, we have to save Lucas...and unfortunately, we're going to have to go back to Nightmare. I'll understand...if you stay here, but I have to go." Scykle took a shaky running start, then leaped forward and began wall-jumping from tree to tree, looking for a portal to Nightmare.

In Nightmare...

The massive hand dropped the Visitor on a large platform in front of the single most powerful entity in the Night Dimension: Wizeman the Wicked. He inspected the human, then called his legions of Nightmarens to him. They each looked at the boy in hopes that they would be the one to possess it and head out into the Waking.

[Aura24]

Youko shuddered when she thought of Nightmare, and knew Scykle was intending to save the Visitor from that forsaken place. "I'm going to regret this..." With a leap, she followed Scykle to help him save Lucas from Wizeman and the other Nightmarens.

[EZEKiAL]

As Scykle ran, he sensed Youko flying behind him. He turned his head and snickered. "Hey, beautiful, what's your name?" He laughed to himself, then grinned toothily at his new companion. "Thanks a lot for coming with me...I know it must be hard for you."

[Aura24]

Youko groaned, "It is. If I'm overruned by those Marens, I won't go down without a fight."

[Dreamer#96]

Lucas stood on the platform, knowing that when he exited from here, he would not be himself, he had long ago gave up any hope of escaping, his last moments as himself would be filled dread, "I should have gone back when I had the chance." Lucas thought to himself.

[EZEKiAL]

"Don't worry, Youko, you're safe as long as I'm here," Scykle explained with confidence. At last the pair came to clearing; everything was silent, and the landscape seemed to be twisted as if Nightopia itself was burdened by the prescense of Nightmare. "This is it," the false Nightmaren said in a calm, cold voice, "I can feel Nightmare...tugging at my soul. We need to make a paraloop here." He turned slowly to the female Nightmaren.

"If I get ambushed, I want you to fly away as fast as you can. There's no reason for both of us to die here..."

[Aura24]

"Don't have to tell me twice." Youko said, looking around nervously and staying close to Scykle.

[EZEKiAL]

Suddenly, the space began to ripple, and a massive black portal opened. A couple minor Nightmarens flew out, cackling, allowing Scykle and Youko to jump in.

The pair landed on a platform. In front of them was Lucas! He looked unconscious, but alright otherwise!

Hmmhmmhmm...it seems as though my trap worked...

The legion of surrounding Nightmarens were silent as Scykle turned around, and was face to face with Wizeman himself.

[Aura24]

Youko nearly shrieked when she saw Wizeman floating before Scykle. She was now terrified and her eyes were locked onto the massive entity of Nightmare.

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle roared at Youko, "GRAB HIM AND FLY! GO!" He shoved her towards Lucas and quickly jumped into the crowd of Nightmarens surrounding them. The other Nightmaren scattered, for fear of Wizeman's attacks. The Ruler of Nightmare launched fireballs, meteors, and whirlwinds after the blue and silver Nightmaren without saying a word, until he stopped suddenly, uttering two words.

Kill him.

[Aura24]

Youko hesitated for a moment, but she quickly flew and snatched up Lucas into her grasp and soared away for a way out without getting surrounded by the Nightmarens.

[EZEKiAL]

Luckily for Scykle, he could run slightly faster than most Nightmarens could fly, so he was alright for now; but the horde of Nightmarens behind him said otherwise. It was a mistake for the false Nightmaren to look back, however, because not ten feet in front of him stood Scykhell.

"Oh, fancy us meeting again!" He cackled, grabbing Scykle by his invisible neck. The larger Nightmaren lifted him off of the ground with pure strength, then threw him forward into the crowd of screaming Nightmarens. They obeyed Wizeman's command and began attacking Scykle, who couldn't defend himself against so many opponents at once.

After about a minute or two of this, Scykhell roared, shoving his breatheren away to reveal his mortally injured twin. He held him up by his arms, then got within whispering distance. He growled.

"Finally...I get to watch you die, brother."

[Aura24]

Youko looks back and noticed Scykle at the mercy of Scykhell, then she thought of something she didn't expect to do against a Nightmare. "Guess it's time to be a little naughty..." She held Lucas with one hand, then allowed a blood red fireball to appear in her free hand and she hurled it right at the back of Scykell's head.

[EZEKiAL]

Scykhell winced as the fireball exploded against his head. He dropped his twin, who once again fell to the mercy of the crowd of Nightmaren. They cackled wildly as they attempted to pry the Ideya from his chest, while Wizeman turned towards Youko and Lucas.

Such bravery by such small creatures...bravery? Or stupidity? Most likely the latter. He launched a his own fireball at the pair; it was quite a bit bigger, as you might have guessed.

As Scykle was about to breathe his last, he saw the attacks heading toward his friends. His Ideya glowed red once more, but this time, it was like a new power surged through him. He stood up, surrounded in the energy of the Red Ideya, and turned to Wizeman.

"No one hurts my friends, Wizeman." He jumped into the air, but unlike most of his jumps, he wasn't coming down.

Scykle was flying.

[Aura24]

Youko was almost frozen in shock when she saw the massive fireball barreling towards her and Lucas. Snapping out of her trance, she quickly turned and tried to fly out of the attack's range, and then felt the intense power of the fireball explod violenly behind her, nearly obliterating her and Lucas, and causing Youko to fly forward, spiraling a little out of control.

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle flew directly at one of Wizeman's eyes, bouncing off of it with enough force to cause the Lord of Nightmares to flinch, then launched towards his friends. He grabbed Lucas from Youko as she regained her balance, being careful not to burn her with a touch; enough Red Ideya energy was pouring out of his body to literally dissolve third-level Nightmarens. The shining Nightmaren flew in a circle, creating a portal back to Nightopia, where they all escaped.

Back in Nightopia, Scykle's glow dimmed and he landed next to Youko.

[Aura24]

Youko yelped and had crashed against the ground after making a quick flight out of the portal. She was dizzy for a moment, but shook it away and looked around. "We're...back in Nightopia...." She muttered,

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle nodded and smiled; he noticed that Lucas was waking up. He stood up to thank Youko for her help, but froze in place. He looked down slowly at the Ideya in his chest...it was cracked and grey. He had used all of his power to save his friends...and now it was gone.

The false Nightmaren fell to the forest floor, lifeless.

[Aura24]

Youko looked back at Scykle and noticed he was lying down. "Scykle, you tired or something? ...Scykle? Scykle!" She started shaking him, until she noticed his Ideya was grey and cracked, "No...Scykle..." She lowered her head sadly.

[Dreamer#96]

Lucas awoke a few minutes later, he was dazed at first, wondering if he was still in Nightmare. Then he came to his senses, he was back Nightopia,next to Scykle and Youko, but he knew he could never forget his time in Nightmare, he hoped to never go back.

[EZEKiAL]

Back in Nightmare, the Nightmarens were thoroughly confused.

"What just happened, Lord Wizeman?" Scykhell asked, rubbing the back of his head. Wizeman exhaled slowly.

Scykle...is a very special case of...Nightmaren...the Ideya in his chest is almost like a battery; it keeps him going until it runs out of energy. Once that happens, he must be returned to that Ideya Palace where he was born, so he can be recharged. What we witnessed was a sort of "Overdrive", wherein Scykle uses all of his energy at once. Although he only made me flinch, I am still surprised by the power generated by him. It was as if...all five Ideya were one...

[Aura24]

Youko slowly looked up and remembered something about Scykle being a different kind of Maren. She looks back in the direction where the Ideya Palace laid. "Of course..." She muttered, she turned to Lucas quickly and grabs him by the back of his shirt, looking at him, "Visitor, we have to get Scykle back to the Ideya Palace. If we do, we still might be able to save him." She slowly lifts Scykle into her arms and wobbled a bit by his weight, but flew onwards towards the Ideya Palace with two weights slowing her down heavily.

[EZEKiAL]

The Ideya Palace within Scykle's home had slowly begun repairing itself after being crushed by Reala's attack. As the last piece of stone moved into place, the five colored circles, indicating where the corresponding Ideya should go, lit up, then shot a point of light up into the sky, as if calling Scykle home to rest.

[Aura24]

Youko caught sight of the glowing Ideya Palace on the other side of the horizon. She quickly flew towards the direction where the light was coming from while trying to maintain the weight of Scykle and Lucas at the same time.

[Dreamer#96]

Lucas and Youko carried Scykle all the way back to the Ideya palace. "Ok, now that we got him here, how do we revive him?" Lucas asked.

[Aura24]

Youko gently placed Scykle down. "I don't know really...I thought he would be revived by the power of the Ideya Palace..." She replied to Lucas.

[EZEKiAL]

The five lights on the Ideya Palace shone brighter as Scykle got closer, then finally focused their light on the inside of the palace. They shone frantically and spastically, as if the Ideya Palace was a mother trying to get her baby back; and essentially, it was.

[Aura24]

Youko looked up at the Ideya Palace and noticed it was glowing brightly on the inside. Slowly, she carried Scykle and flew inside, then gently placed him down in the center of the five lights.

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle's Ideya glowed dimly, and the false Nightmaren slowly opened his eyes.

"...hey...there...beautiful..." He smiled at Youko, then slowly closed his eyes again. The lights of the Ideya Palace were glowing warmly, now contented that it had its baby back.

[Aura24]

Youko widened her eyes and smiled almost warmly to Scykle, almost glad that he was now alive again. "Just don't get all mushy now. I only saved you cause you saved me, not cause I care about you." She snorted.

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle laughed weakly, and grabbed Youko's hand. "Oh...you...know you...love...me..." He chuckled again, this time keeping his eyes closed as he spoke. "How's...Lucas...?"

[Aura24]

"You wish." Youko groaned, slipping her hand out of Syckle's when she heard him flirting with her again, then replied, "The Visitor's okay, he's here close to the Ideya Palace."

[EZEKiAL]

Scykle laughed, coughing as he did, then looked over at Lucas. "Good...I'm glad...he's safe..." The injured Nightmaren looked up at Youko, "Are...you alright? That fireball...it exploded...pretty close to you two..." His Ideya was beginning to glow brighter with each passing second, but he was nowhere near fully recovered.