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When William Taylor first stepped into the Lost Park, he was struck by how vast and empty it was. With its great, expansive desert and the amusement park rides scattered across the land, he couldn’t help but feel that something very important was absent from it. Perhaps Owl, who was following behind him, could shed some light on the situation.
“So, this is the new Nightopia?” Will asked, looking around at the Lost Park, “It… feels a little lonely, don’t you think?”
“Well,” Owl began, “Nightopia is created as a reflection of a Visitor’s heart, after all…” He looked to Will. “If you feel that this place is lonely, then that must mean that there is something missing from your heart.”
“Huh?” Will blinked as he attempted to decipher what Owl had said. He stopped and placed his hand on his chest thoughtfully. “Missing from my heart…?” It could have meant anything, really. His father, of course, was a fairly probable answer. Will definitely missed his father; he might not be home in time for the big game coming up, and he did know how much it meant to Will. Or, perhaps, was something else missing from Will’s heart? He himself didn’t know the answer.
His thoughts, however, were interrupted by a giggle coming from behind. “Greetings, Visitor!”
Will turned around to find NiGHTS reclining in mid-air behind him. Their golden mask was glinting in the sunlight. “ Huh? ” He looked surprised. “ You! ”
“It took too long for me to find you,” they continued, “You’d think that a little boy wearing a brightly-colored vest would be easy to find, right?”
“That’s enough!” Owl turned to face NiGHTS. “I don’t know what you want with the Visitor, but mark my words: you will not be harming him!” He began to fly towards them.
NiGHTS looked at Owl with an annoyed expression. “We were talking , you fussy old bird!” They shoved him away onto the ground. “Wait until we’re finished!”
Owl hit the ground with a firm fwump and was rendered unconscious. Will looked at him, concerned. “ Owl !”
“He’ll live,” NiGHTS said with a disappointed look on their face, “Besides, I’m not here to harm you, anyway.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Will asked skeptically. The last time NiGHTS had shown up, things had ended with Reala being locked in a cage and Will having to go rescue him. Surely, they had some kind of motive.
“I made a bad first impression on you, Visitor,” NiGHTS said, twiddling at the edges of their long, elaborate purple cape, “And I’d personally like to start things over again. What’s your name?”
“Will,” he said as he took a step back.
“Alright, Will.” NiGHTS altered their seated pose ever so slightly. “Let me ask you: how do you feel about... games?”
“Games?” Will tilted his head, a hesitant expression on his face.
“Yes, games ,” NiGHTS said, “Do you like them?”
Having no idea of where NiGHTS was planning to go with this topic, Will considered his answer carefully. “Yes, I do,” he said.
“Good!” NiGHTS smiled in an unsettling manner. “I love games.”
“ Really ?” Will tilted his head worriedly.
“Oh, yes!” They perked up. “In fact, I know the perfect game. It’s an old favorite of mine, and there’s just so many ways we can play.”
“What game are we talking about?” Will asked.
“It’s called… ‘Getting What I Want’ !” In the blink of an eye, NiGHTS flew over to Will and grabbed him. He let out a cry of pain as he was wrapped up tightly by NiGHTS’ arm and hoisted up into the air. “Now then, Will,” NiGHTS asked casually, “How should we play?”
Before things could go any further, it was interrupted by the sound of somebody clearing his throat. NiGHTS whipped around to find Reala hovering there, an unamused expression on his face. “And just what are you doing with the Visitor?” he said, tilting his head back.
“Reala!” NiGHTS looked as if they had just been caught sticking their hands into the cookie jar. “You’ve arrived just in time! Will and I were about to play-”
“-’ Getting What I Want ?’” Reala asked. His voice was eerily calm. “Don’t think I haven’t caught onto your old tricks, NiGHTS. Now do me a favor and get your hands off of him.”
“Let me think about that…” NiGHTS made an expression of mock contemplation for a few seconds. “No, sorry. I’m afraid I can’t. Now that you mention it, I was planning on bringing him with me to you-know-who.”
Reala narrowed his icy blue eyes dangerously. “ Not. If I. Can help it. ” He began inching towards NiGHTS.
“Careful now, Reala,” they said as they began to move away, “I’m holding a very fragile Visitor in my hands. You shouldn’t come any closer, or something regrettable might happen to him.”
Will watched Reala with wide, frightened eyes. He was too shocked to put up a struggle against NiGHTS. Reala, meanwhile, inhaled and twitched, but he stayed completely still. Eventually, he let out a frustrated growl and kicked at the air.
“Sit… Stay…” NiGHTS smiled appreciatively and snapped their fingers. “ Good boy !”
Almost immediately, another cage formed itself around Reala. As Will watched it rise into the air, he noticed that it was the exact same cage as the one from earlier within Pure Valley. Upon being caged, Reala circled around himself, cursing incoherently under his breath.
“ Reala !” Will called out helplessly, still being physically restrained by NiGHTS. Once the cage had steadied itself in mid-air, NiGHTS flew up to meet Reala. Upon seeing them, Reala pounded at the psychic barrier in between the bars of the cage and snarled at NiGHTS.
NiGHTS flinched back for a moment, and their eyes grew comically huge under the mask. They blinked and were silent for a moment; then, they fixed Reala with a look of mock pity. Will looked at NiGHTS, frightened. “Reala, that was just terrible ,” NiGHTS said, their voice quivering ever so slightly, “You’re really starting to lose your touch.”
Will had no idea what they meant by the last part, but he decided that now was not the time to ask about it.
“I’ve had enough of this, NiGHTS.” Reala still looked eerily calm. “Release him . Now. ”
NiGHTS took a look at Will, and they shrugged their shoulders. “Okay.” They let go of Will, and he fell from a great height in the air. He hit the ground and let out a cry of fright. He was thankful that he was still in a dream, or otherwise he would be dead. Either that, or he would have broken quite a few bones.
“Honestly, Reala,” NiGHTS said, “I’m having trouble figuring out exactly what you see in this one. In the end, he’s just like every other Visitor. Either way, you’re the only one worth bringing back to Wizeman.”
Reala fixed his eyes on NiGHTS and gave them a wordless glare. “Still,” NiGHTS mused, a smile growing on their face, “Leaving this one near your cage is a pretty bad idea. Remember what happened last time?”
“Leave the Visitor out of this,” Reala said, “It’s me you want anyway.”
“Oh, I’ll get to you soon,” NiGHTS responded as they flew down towards Will, who was beginning to get up, “Just let me deal with the Visitor first!”
They quickly and gracefully paralooped around Will, creating a dark portal underneath his feet. Will barely had time to react once it was formed. “Augh!” He was swallowed up by the portal, which closed upon serving its purpose.
Reala watched speechlessly, a horrified expression on his face. He looked up to see NiGHTS clapping slowly as they watched the portal do its job. “Good show,” NiGHTS said, laughing, “Good show!”
“Do you think this is a game ?” he asked them, his voice shaking slightly. He gripped onto one of the bars of the cage firmly as he spoke.
“I don’t think this is a game,” NiGHTS stated, “It is a game, Reala, and Wizeman’s on the verge of bringing out his biggest trump card.”
“Which is …?” Reala narrowed his eyes.
NiGHTS tilted their head and fixed Reala with an amused look. Then, they lifted a finger and placed it over their lips. “Spoilers,” they said teasingly. Then, with a flick of their elaborate purple cape, they flew off into the distance. Reala personally had no idea what NiGHTS did after capturing him, but it was probably something utterly pointless.
It was around this time that Owl began to regain consciousness. He took one look up towards the great golden cage and immediately flew off into a tizzy. “Hoo! Oh dear!” He flew up as far as his short little wings could carry him. “Not again!”
Reala whipped around and caught sight of Owl. “Old timer? Is that you?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Owl said as he looked around and took in his surroundings, “But what happened to the Visitor?”
Reala took a break from trying to pry open the cage to let out a resigned sigh. “My dear, irritating sibling happened to the Visitor,” he said, waving a hand.
Somehow, this managed to only worry Owl more. “That’s not good at all! Without the Visitor, we won’t be able to release you from the cage and defeat the other Nightmaren!”
“You think I don’t realize that?” Reala said irritatedly. He returned to pounding at the cage’s barriers.
“Well,” Owl said, flying up higher to get a better look at Reala, “Considering the fact that your attempts to break out on your own isn’t going so swimmingly…”
Reala paused and fixed Owl with a look. It was then that Owl noticed that despite the irate expression Reala was giving him, he could also sense an air of exhaustion within Reala’s eyes. “Don’t sass me, old timer,” Reala said.
Owl let out a hrrumph . “Then, Reala, what do you suggest I do instead?”
Reala’s gaze wandered open to the door leading back to the Dream Gate in the distance. “Keep an eye out, Owl, just in case a Visitor comes around.”
“Hoo!” Owl’s eyes widened from behind his spectacles. “But you said that the Visitor-!”
“ A Visitor, Owl,” Reala said, “Not necessarily the Visitor.”
Owl let out a sigh. “Hoo! If you insist, then…” He turned around and began flying towards the door. Due to the fact that he was an old owl, he wasn’t going as fast as Reala or NiGHTS would have flown on a good day.
With Owl gone, Reala let out a hiss and punched at the bars of the cage. Unfortunately, punching the cage didn’t do very much to help him escape. He gritted his teeth, cradled his aching fist close to his body, and let himself slump onto one of the bars of the cage.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t be trapped in here for long.