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To say that Master Wizeman was displeased would be a gross understatement. The eerie thing about it all was that he didn’t even need to raise his voice. It only took a noticeable change in the air for NiGHTS to know that they were in hot water with him. That, and the fact that his evil mumbling seemed more irate than usual.
“ All of my plans have been foiled… ” NiGHTS could feel Wizeman’s six eyed hands stare daggers into their soul as they gave him their signature elaborate little bow, cape swish and all. Two of his hands moved threateningly towards them. “ My worthless, pitiful creation… ”
“The traitor’s been absolutely intolerable , Master Wizeman,” NiGHTS said, kneeling down. Hopefully, they would be able to save face. “His new Visitor friend has the Ideya of Courage on him, and if it hadn’t been for the two of them, I bet everyone would go just-”
“ Be silent , NiGHTS. ” The two hands jerked uncomfortably close towards NiGHTS, and the irises within seemed to burn with the fury of a thousand hellfires.
NiGHTS gave a yelp and flinched slightly. “Alright, alright!” Not being even a little afraid of Wizeman, their master and creator, seemed to be impossible. “Will do.”
Wizeman said nothing. The only indication of his satisfaction was that two of his hands were no longer on the verge of squeezing NiGHTS into a mushy pulp. He withdrew them, and the air became tense for the longest of moments.
Eventually, he spoke again. “ Where that useless Second Level Nightmaren has failed, ” he mused out loud, “ Queen Bella will succeed… ”
“Queen Bella?” NiGHTS’ eyes widened, and they blinked. “Master Wizeman, you don’t mean the same Queen Bella I’m thinking of, do you?”
Wizeman did nothing to offer NiGHTS any reassurance; then again, he wasn’t really the reassuring type. “You are already aware, I know, that her talent for seeking out and trapping her prey is… unparalleled.” NiGHTS opened their mouth to speak and was immediately cut off. “Should you wish to avoid being caught in her web,” he continued, “I might advise you to take care as well, NIGHTS.”
NiGHTS bowed their head and gave their cape a little flourish. “Understood,” they said, “I’ll lead Queen Bella straight to Reala and bring him to you!”
The mission was clear. The plan was ready for execution.
Theoretically, nothing could go wrong.
Upon stepping into Delight City, Will was immediately taken with the newest iteration of Nightopia. The bright lights, the tall buildings, and the crisp air were more than enough to remind him of Bellbridge during the day. Compared to Lost Park, it was truly a dream. “This world looks really fun, Owl!”
As always, Owl stuck closely to Will in order to keep a keen eye on him. “Indeed,” he said, giving a nod of agreement, “The Green Ideya within this world symbolizes growth. Having come as far as you have has allowed for the creation of a more lively world!”
Owl’s kind words created a warm feeling within Will’s gut. “Thank you, Owl,” he said.
“Oh, don’t thank me.” Owl puffed out his chest proudly. “Why, it’s only my job to provide a guiding wing for young visitors like you!”
It was then that Will heard a rush of the wind and caught a glimpse of red and black in the sky. “Owl, look up there,” he said, “That’s Reala!”
He was about to catch up with his friend when Owl stopped him. “Wait,” he said, nudging Will behind a bush, “Hide, quickly! I have a terrible, terrible feeling about this…”
As soon as Reala touched the ground, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Will listened closely and found that he could hear a low, hoarse-sounding noise coming from him. He was humming a tune! It was a bit too mournful for Will’s personal taste, but there was no denying that it was pleasing to listen to either way.
Reala’s moment of solitude, however, was cut off by another all-too-familiar face. “Oh, Reala!” NiGHTS floated down, positioned in a casual, reclining pose. “Did you leave your little Visitor friend behind today? Shame, I liked that little Willard kid…”
Reala acknowledged them with a brief side glance. “His name is William. ” He then turned away. “NiGHTS, why are you here? If you’ve come to bother me again, then I’d rather you go away.”
“ Excuse me ?” NiGHTS let out an offended scoff. “Reala, I never expected you of all people to turn somebody away so quickly!” They paused, and their expression became more thoughtful. “ Especially towards somebody from your own family…”
“His own family? What could they possibly…?” Will paused. If NiGHTS and Reala were somehow related, and NiGHTS was a Nightmaren, then that could only mean that Reala...
An expression of horror crossed his face. “Reala is a Nightmaren ?” He turned to Owl. “That can’t be the truth, Owl! Can it?”
Owl slowly turned away from Will, and he looked towards the ground. “I’m afraid it is, Visitor,” he said in a sorrowful tone.
Will’s eyes widened. “No way ,” he said to himself in disbelief.
“If you’re not going to play nice, then let’s drop the pretenses.” NiGHTS placed their hands on their hips and gave Reala a pointed stare. “I’ve got direct orders from Master Wizeman to bring you in, and you’re not being very co-operative about it.” They were met with complete silence. “Come on, Reala, don’t pretend it doesn’t matter. You yourself know what he does to the Nightmaren who’ve failed him one too many times. Do you really want that to happen to me, Reala?”
Reala turned towards NiGHTS, his eyes widening. “Now that I have your attention ,” NiGHTS said, cracking a smile, “Wizeman isn’t all that happy about you suddenly galavanting off and playing the hero, Reala. I hope you’re getting that.”
“Do you really think it’s that simple, NiGHTS?” Reala tilted his head back. “Long ago, I could understand Wizeman’s intentions. We had a purpose; without nightmares, then what would be the point of dreams?” He crossed his arms and glanced away. “However, as Wizeman moved further and further towards the extreme end, it became clear-”
“Became clear?” NiGHTS snorted. “Reala, what could possibly become clear?”
“That Wizeman was evil , NiGHTS!” Reala’s voice suddenly went up a few decibels, causing Will to flinch slightly. “We can’t possibly let him go to the extremes that he’s been aiming for!”
“Do we?” NiGHTS raised an eyebrow, a confused expression appearing on their face.
“ Yes! ” Reala replied, “NiGHTS, you do know what happens once his plans succeed… right?”
NiGHTS considered this for a moment. “Well, as much as I’d like to think on that , you’ve been dragging this out for far too long,” they said curtly, “You’re going back to Master Wizeman, whether you like it or not!”
Reala gave them a hard stare. “I'm sorry, but are you threatening me?”
“Very much so. What, are you scared ?”
Reala was about to respond, but he quickly stopped himself. He inhaled, and his body visibly relaxed. He turned back to NiGHTS, and a nasty grin spread across his face. “Fine then. How about a little challenge?” He slowly made his way towards them. “You and me, one on one. If I win, I walk away free, and you return to Wizeman empty handed. If you win-”
“Then I’ll bring your head back to Master Wizeman myself !” NiGHTS flipped their cape back dramatically. “You’re on, Reala!”
They soared into the air, and the battle began .
Will found that he was transfixed by the entire fight. Sure, it was exhausting to crane his neck up towards the sky, but the entire fight was truly something he couldn’t ever imagine in his wildest dreams. It was a display of sound and color, with balls of energy crackling, wizzing towards each other, and exploding on contact. Both NiGHTS and Reala darted across the sky, doing their best to avoid the spheres.
His curiosity was piqued by the glowing magenta triangle in the sky and the three matching circles attached to the point. What could they possibly mean? As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Reala gained control of one of the spheres and sent it hurtling in NiGHTS’ direction. As soon as the orb made contact with them, NiGHTS let out a shriek of pain and one of the circles disappeared.
Oh, Will thought, So that’s what it means!
The battle raged on; although Owl attempted to shield Will’s eyes with his wing at one point, Will quickly ducked under and continued to watch. He cringed as a ball hit Reala, knocking him back for a few minutes; thankfully, it wasn’t enough to knock it down.
NiGHTS, in the meantime, gracefully moved about the aerial battlefield, their elaborate cape fluttering in the breeze as they did so. They prowled around, and it seemed as if they were searching for an opening - or, at the very least, the perfect opportunity to strike. Reala, however, took advantage of the moment by sending another fiery sphere in NiGHTS’ direction.
It made contact, and another circle vanished.
Immediately, NiGHTS flew straight towards Reala, who casually dodged by gliding right under them. He quickly flew towards one of the orbs and proceeded to send it in NiGHTS’ direction. Unfortunately for him, NiGHTS wasn’t about to let their last circle go to waste, and they quickly dodged the orb.
Will inhaled, and a worried expression crossed his face. “Owl,” he whispered, “Do you think Reala could lose?”
“Lose?” Owl pondered this for a moment. “Well, it’s certainly hard to say at this point, but…” He trailed off when he noticed that Will was staring hesitantly at his feet. “You look troubled, Visitor. Is something bothering you?”
Will took a moment to collect his thoughts together. “Everything Reala and I did together… was it all a lie, Reala? Is he not my friend after all? Can I still trust him?”
Owl tilted his head slightly. “I assume you’re speaking about Reala being a Nightmaren.”
“I am.” Will nodded, upset.
Owl considered his next piece of advice for a moment. Then, he landed onto the ground near Will. “Listen well, Visitor,” he said, “For my next piece of advice will be crucial for you. I believe that-”
He was cut off by an ear-splitting scream. Will and Owl looked up to find the last circle disappearing from the triangle in the sky, and NiGHTS plummeting from the sky. Reala flew down after them in alarm, but he was too late to stop them from hitting the ground.
Reala landed to find that NiGHTS was still alive. They lay on the ground in a fetal position, faced away from him, and their arms were wrapped around their stomach. “NiGHTS,” Reala said, “Get up.”
NiGHTS curled into themselves tighter, and they began to shudder. Reala’s chest began to ache upon realizing that he could hear a noise that very much sounded like crying coming from them. “NiGHTS?” His face softened. “NiGHTS, do tell me you’re okay.”
NiGHTS, in response, closed their eyes and went completely still. Reala blinked rapidly. “NiGHTS?” He knelt down to get a look at them. “
NiGHTS
?”
NiGHTS began to chuckle under their breath. Suddenly, their eyes snapped open, and they sat up. “ Psych! ” they said, grinning and giving their fingers a snap.
As a cage formed around him for the umpteenth time, Reala’s expression changed to one of genuine shock. “What have you-?” He turned to look at them from above. “ NiGHTS! ” Will and Owl gasped as the cage rose high into the air.
NiGHTS threw back their head and began to laugh uncontrollably. They were still clutching their stomach. “Oh Reala, you should see the look on your own face! It’s absolutely priceless! ” They kept laughing. “I can’t believe you fell for that so easily! Did you honestly think you could get an edge over me?”
They flew into the air so they could see Reala face to face. Upon gaining altitude, they found that Reala was still completely gobsmacked by the events of the past minute. “NiGHTS, what have you done?” he managed, “I made the terms exceedingly clear! You’re not-”
“Being fair?” NiGHTS snorted. “Oh, like you’re one to talk about being fair, Reala!” In response, Reala let out a hiss and turned away from them. “Don’t feel bad, Reala,” NiGHTS said, leaning against the cage, “I’m not going to leave you here all alone. In fact, I’ve got a very special spider sent to come visit you.”
“Spider…?” Reala’s eyes widened, and he turned around. “You’ve sent Queen Bella after me?”
Owl let out a gasp from below. “Queen Bella!” Will regarded him with a look of conclusion.
“She’s very particular about her prey, Reala.” NiGHTS propped their head onto their hands. “Personally, I think you should feel honored.”
Reala, however, did not appear to share that sentiment. “This is low, NiGHTS,” he said, “Even for you.”
NiGHTS rolled their eyes. “Whatever happened to you, Reala? You used to be so much fun before you got all high and mighty. I’m actually starting to look forward to watching you be webbed up and devoured by a giant spider.” They grinned. “In fact, I think I’ll stick around to watch…!”
They began cackling again, only to let out a cry of pain and grab ahold of their stomach. “Oh hell ,” they moaned, “I guess you did get a good hit on me after all…”
Reala was slightly concerned, and he began to move towards the bars of the cage to get a look at NiGHTS. “Don’t you dare leave that cage!” NiGHTS shrieked, moving backwards and still grasping their stomach, “Not unless you like being stuck in spiderwebs!” He narrowed his eyes at them, but he stayed put.
NiGHTS took a deep breath and relaxed slightly. “You know, this really does hurt. Maybe you haven’t changed as much as I thought you have…” A smile appeared on their face. “In that case, I’ll have to tell Master Wizeman the good news! See you soon!” NiGHTS flew off slowly in an attempt to not hurt themselves any further.
As soon as they left, Will got up. “Reala…” He gave the cage a momentary glance before looking down again.
“Visitor.” Owl flew up to meet Will’s eyes, ready to dispense his wisdom. “It is only natural that you are disturbed by the discovery that Reala is a Nightmaren.” Will turned to look at him. “If you feel that you can no longer trust him…”
Will looked at his feet again. “Well,” Owl continued, “I suppose it can’t be helped. However, I would think that by now, you’d understand Reala better than anyone.”
Will looked back up at him. “Owl?” He looked surprised.
“It’s up to you to decide who you want to trust, and what you need to do.” Owl gave Will a knowing look.
It was a lot for Will to take in. He couldn’t just leave Reala to rot in that cage, or he’d feel guilty for a long time. It was true that Reala was a Nightmaren, and it was true that the revelation left Will with a lot of doubt towards them. He thought back on their adventure together so far. Beforehand, it never occurred to Will that Reala would want to betray him; in fact, it seemed as if Reala was strongly opposed towards the other Nightmaren. Why else would he be so quick to save the Nightopians from their machinations, or to resist NiGHTS’ attempts to capture him? The idea of Reala plotting against Will didn’t seem to stack up with everything that Will already knew.
Will took another look back towards the cage. He didn’t know whether saving Reala would be the right move to make, but it was definitely worth a shot. He had done it before; he could easily do it again.