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Today, as every year, all kinds of business deals between HolyNightmare CO and the Haltmann Company were on the agenda. Since the Haltman Company's great success, which it was able to enjoy throughout the universe, the older company HolyNightmare had supported the younger company with open arms. Whether in business terms, with wide-ranging ideas, or with support. Together with their technology, ideas, and knowledge, they had already brought many useful products to market for their clients, and their situation had also changed for the better and become less complicated.
Nightmare had also finally hoped to find a permanent business partner he could keep up with. Most smaller collaborations were out of the question because his company was far too big for them. They were far too small to do business with him, so he either left them in peace or bought them out if the employers really wanted to.
Nevertheless, after all the positive twists and turns and contacts, Nightmare must sadly conclude today that his biggest business partner has not only gone mad but has also suddenly started demanding rare resources from Halcandra, because his dear friend Haltmann was planning something astonishing. However, Nightmare would not use the word “astonishing” to describe the “thing” that Haltmann wanted to accomplish. it was more like a curse of technology left behind by the ancients that plunged galaxies into confusion.
It seemed that the old man had completely lost his mind after his daughter disappeared.
Nightmare threw the blueprints and papers back on the table right in front of Haltmann and simply couldn't believe it. “A galactic Nova?” Nightmare rubbed his fingers between his eyes, bewildered.
“You know this thing isn't just a wish machine, right?” Nightmare sighed. “Even I stay away from the scum that the ancients brought into the galaxy.” Nightmare had been sitting with Haltmann in the meeting room for several hours, but no matter what he said, he couldn't get Haltmann's intentions out of his head. This father's longing for his daughter was too great to be stopped, and a machine that granted wishes would have prompted anyone to do the same.
Even though Haltmann still didn't understand that he was making the same mistake as his ancestors, who had actually created this thing and left their planet only to achieve greatness.
And this greatness was their downfall
“I have warned you many times before, when it comes to the technology and magic of the ancients, it is better to keep your hands and curiosity away from it.”
“Do not repeat the sins of your ancestors.”
Nightmare couldn't help but reject the offer, even though Haltmann offered him a lot of money. Generally speaking, any thought of the Ancients made him furious, and he never wanted to mention their names again. He would even go so far as to say that he hated them more than he had hated the Star Warriors back then. Being forced into a dream fountain and sleep for years was the greatest betrayal he had experienced from the other ancient wizards, even though he wasn't even one of the ancients himself, but had only been accepted by them because they saw potential in him. Now that he thought about it, those hundreds of years of sleep had been the most agonizing years he had ever experienced. It was no wonder he had taken the path of nightmares, because they reflected his pain during that time. Back then, he was known for spreading only good dreams.
Nevertheless, if he were ever betrayed again, the entire universe would suffer.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Haltmann, but I must decline your offer.” Nightmare took his decision calmly, but Haltmann did not take it so well, crumpling the blueprint in his hands.
“Great Nightmare, I—I beg you, the metals and ores can only be found on Halcandra, they are the only parts we still need-"” Nightmare raised his hand, a gesture that silenced Haltmann, his desperate hands buried in the blueprint, no hope left of changing the wizard's mind after all the hours he had wasted.
“I suggest you reconsider if you don’t want to be a dragon’s meal,” Nightmare said, watching Haltmann grow increasingly desperate, his piercing eyes boring holes into Nightmare, ready to shed tears at any moment as his last hope of getting her back faded away.
The sadness in his business partner's eyes made him uneasy, which triggered a strange feeling in him, and Nightmare had to admit that Arthur was the one who made him soften towards others. Of course, he still kept his dark, stern, intimidating tone in some situations, but Arthur had truly brought back the feeling of empathy that had been taken from him and that he had always lacked, and now it made him want to give the same to others. This ridiculous, silly Star Warrior had changed him for the better since their secret relationship and brought him closer to the beauty of the universe, and Nightmare hated and loved it at the same time.
Nightmare looked at his little creation, who had been writing everything down in a protocol since the beginning of the meeting. Nightmare could see that after all these hours, his little human-like creation was slowly losing concentration. For Takashi, the name he had given his little creation, who was still in his teens, it was the first protocol he had written in his training, and Nightmare couldn't help but slowly bring the meeting to a close, as he was also slowly getting tired of it. Not only tired, since his last meeting with Arthur six months ago, he had been feeling ill... but that was perhaps more because he finally needed to settle down in a dream fountain and replenish his strength. If only it weren't for the fact that Nightmare was currently dreaming himself. Yes, he was dreaming, a strange miracle he hadn't been able to do for thousands of years, and for some reason it was always the same dream, a dream that Arthur was currently dreaming too, about wanting a... Nightmare shook his head. Surely he was just imagining it all, he was just stressed out from work.
He really had to be careful whose dreams he ate and visited, he must have stumbled upon one that didn't do him any good without realizing it.
But then Nightmare remembered that Arthur was the only one he had visited in recent weeks and months, either to visit his dreams or just to nibble on them a little. Arthur really did have one of the tastiest dreams he had ever tasted, so he couldn't help himself. But he only did this to visit his little green ball, If they couldn't meet often in reality at least they could in the dream world.
So Arthur must have been the only trigger for his illness.
Nightmare looked at Takashi, reminding Nightmare that the meeting was slowly coming to an end and that they shouldn't prolong it any further, as they had done for the previous hours. Nightmare gave Takashi a little pat on the head, a sign that he was proud that he had endured these unbearable hours for so long. Takashi beamed happily, his long brown hair rising, a good sign that he would certainly be able to do good things for the company in the future and despite his young age, make his creator proud. Or should he rather refer to Nightmare as family…?
Nightmare rose with a loud sigh and, not wanting to let his best business partner down, came up with an alternative solution that might distract Haltmann from the matter and give him hope that he would not build a dangerous wish machine whose programming sought only pure destruction.
Nightmare couldn't help it when tears welled up in Haltmann's eyes.
“Max...” Haltmann was surprised that Nightmare suddenly used his first name, but this also meant that Nightmare was serious about the subject and not digressing like most people did. This probably also meant that the rumors were true, that the Wizard had developed a soft spot, though no one knew where it came from.
“How about I ask the GSA to look for your daughter...?” Haltmann's eyes lit up with every word of hope. “If I remember correctly, Arthur once mentioned a place that is teeming with portals to other dimensions. Maybe she's stranded there?” Haltmann was speechless and at the same time surprised to hear these words from Nightmare himself. It seemed so abstract.
“I didn't expect such a kind gesture from you. I-” Haltmann couldn't help but let out a liberating laugh that someone had finally taken him seriously and believed what had happened to his daughter.
“I can't afford to lose a valuable business partner like you, so don't take it to heart.” Nightmare tried to sound cold, but the unconscious gentleness in his tone was still audible. He himself had no biological family, but he could imagine how terrible it must be for many to lose a loved one.
Suddenly, Haltmann shook Nightmare's hand, tears in his eyes and his hands trembling.
“Thank you... Thank you so much.”
After five agonizing hours, the meeting was finally over, and Nightmare had finally decided to clock out for the day. The same was true for his trainee Takashi as the two walked down the long hallway together, finally freed from the tension.
“Sir? Shall I put the protocol papers on your desk?” Takashi asked, looking at his boss, who didn’t look well at all, and it seemed that Nightmare’s symptoms had suddenly worsened rapidly.
“Nightmare massaged between his eyes, hoping to get rid of his sharp, annoying headache. “Yes, you can put them there...” whispered Nightmare, tired and disoriented, and could have sworn that every single sound could soon make his ears burst, so sensitive was he at that moment.
“You don't really look well at all...” said Takashi with concern as Nightmare suddenly leaned against the wall.
“Nightmare?”
“I really should have been careful about what dreams I eat... Aughhh...” Not only was he bothered by the headache, but also by the strange mixture of heat and cold that alternated every minute. At first, it was so hot that he would have loved to take off his headdress, but then he was so cold that he had to snuggle into his warm cape. Not only that, but his circulation was slowly going haywire.
He had never experienced anything like this before.
Nightmare slid to the floor, whimpering and sighing, and Takashi rushed to him, concerned.
“Wouldn't it be better if you took some time off? You've been dealing with these symptoms for a while now. Should I let the department heads know that you won't be available for the next few days?” Takashi said, planning ahead as usual when he was worried that something sudden and bad might happen and needed to be resolved quickly. Nightmare patted his little creation on the head with a gentle smile that he rarely gave to anyone.
“You're really planning everything in advance even though such a situation hasn't even happened yet.” At that moment, Nightmare began to shake. Great, now he had the shivers too. As always, he would have pushed everything away and would have loved to say that it wasn't so bad, that he could handle it, if it weren't for the fact that his vision went black for a moment. He couldn't even hear Takashi's concerned words as they faded away second by second.
And then everything went black for him.
⋆⭒˚.⋆
A long month later, the GSA visited HolyNightmare not because they had made an appointment, but because Nightmare had given them access to a training arena some time ago, where they could train or do whatever they wanted at any time, of course with the knowledge of an employee who then informed the higher-ups that they were using the room. This room was used for training demon beasts, but since their peace treaty with HolyNightmare, the company was prohibited from selling demon beasts due to a deal. However, demon beasts that could be used for good were still registered for purchase, only those of the evil and dangerous kind were considered too dangerous to be sold and were therefore kept in enclosures at the company. And because Arthur had once asked for a place where they could train without worrying about causing too much damage, Nightmare had assigned them this room.
Arthur and his group had therefore decided to try out their Air Ride machines in this room this month and train with them without worrying about accidentally breaking something again that had made some aliens angry with them again.
Of course, this occasion was also a good opportunity for Arthur to see his beloved wizard again, for whom he had prepared a gift for their second anniversary that he had been working on for a long time. However, he had to find a good excuse so that his soldiers would not notice, because they were here to train and not to chat, and they currently had no intention of contacting Nightmare. Everything was going well at the moment, so why should they bother the busy Wizard?
Arthur had to come up with a good excuse and also find the wizard in this huge company, which could be very difficult, as not every employee had any idea where their boss might be. Hopefully he'll think of something... he always does.
“Captainnnnn, how do you control this thing?? It's a bit wobbly!!” Sir Falspar screamed, clinging to the Winged Star as he flew this machine for the first time. Sir Falspar had always been someone who preferred to operate machines on the ground, such as the Rex Wheelie, one of his main machines, which he used in battle. But today, Arthur had given them the order to learn how to drive and fly other machines as well, because there might always be a need to fly them at some point.
“Hold on tight, Falspar, and take it slow at first and keep your balance. I don't want to see any accidents today!” shouted Arthur to Falspar, who was dancing up and down on the Air Ride machine, a little shaky, but it seemed that Falspar was slowly getting the hang of flying machines, at least Arthur hoped so. They really needed to train more with their machines, but since peace had come, they had an excuse not to do so. Still, they had to be prepared.
Arthur looked at his other comrades, who were also having some difficulties but seemed to be slowly getting to know the other machines Arthur had assigned them.
Sir Falspar was on the Winged Star.
Kit Comsos was on the Jet Star so that he could become familiar with the skies like the others.
Sir Lancelot had the Turbo Star, because you also have to be familiar with the ground in battle if your opponent takes you out of the air.
And Yamikage had been given the Shadow Star. However, Arthur had no concerns that the Star Ninjas needed to train in the air or on the ground, as the ninjas in their group were natural talents even before they joined them.
Sir Galahad, however, had been given the honor of trying out the legendary Hydra machine today. After long training and hard work, Arthur had finally found someone he could trust with this legendary machine when things got tough.
And he was the proud rider of the legendary Dragoon machine.
Everything went smoothly and they trained for several hours. Arthur had also decided that tomorrow they could perhaps do some parkour or games with the Air Ride machines to become even more familiar with them. Sir Arthur watched his comrades with his arms crossed, but then suddenly he heard something...
At first, he thought he had imagined it, but then the sound came again... it sounded like someone was banging on a metal wall. It was quiet, but it grew louder and louder until he suddenly heard a beastly, quiet scream. He looked at the others to make sure he wasn't the only one who heard the noise, and as expected, Yamikage was the one who had heard it too, so Arthur was sure that his warrior senses weren't just pure imagination.
Then suddenly, right before his eyes, the large metal door of the training room burst open. He wanted to act quickly, but Yamikage suddenly pushed him aside with his Air Ride machine and deflected a fireball that suddenly flew through the door. The fireball hit a wall and exploded, luckily it didn't hit anyone; it just drew everyone's attention to the situation. Then suddenly there was a loud cry behind the door, and some of them recognized the cry.
“Is that a-” Arthur sat up. Yamikage little push had surprised him and hurt him a little, but Yamigake had saved him from serious injury, so it made a big difference.
“A chilidog,” replied Yamikage surprised to see this thing here. Hadn't Nightmare had to lock these things up because of one of their deals about how dangerous they were?
“It seems to have escaped from its enclosure.” Yamikage turned to Arthur, his katana firmly in his hands, waiting for the thing to finally jump through the door. “What should we do... kill it?”
Arthur shook his head and his hands. Killing it was going a bit too far, especially since he knew that the chilidog was one of Nightmare's best creations, so capturing it would be a better solution.
“It's better if we capture it, otherwise Nightmare will tear our heads off.” Yamikage's eyes bore into him, and even though Arthur couldn't see Yamikage's grin, he knew he was grinning. “He'll just tear your head off, or how should I put it, he'll just tear off the head of his beloved ‚green rubber ball‘”
Arthur's eyes behind the mask widened in shock. How-How did he know? He wanted to say something, but then Yamikage had already set off to find and fight the chilidog.
Sir Arthur drew his sword and sounded an alarm for the others, He can think about Yamikage's words later.“A dangerous demon beast has disrupted our training. I ask all inexperienced new warriors to go to safety and our experienced warriors to help us capture it!”
“I'll say it again, capture it, don't kill it!”
Immediately after Arthur's statement and warning, the chilidog leaped through the door, furious and with its jaws wide open, ready to make everyone in the room its feast. It roared throughout the entire room, its scratchy cry frightening those who had never faced this beast before and causing them to flee to safety. The Star Warriors took their positions, those on the ground attempting to capture the chili dog, those in the air attempting to distract the beast, but it seemed that another problem had arisen.
“Captain!” Sir Falspar shrieked from the air, and Sir Arthur looked up to see that Falspar had spotted something strange clinging to the beast. “Don’t attack! There’s someone clinging to the back of the chilidog?!”
“Someone’s clinging to it?” Arthur whispered, watching the situation more closely, and there he saw that the Chillidog was supposed to be wearing a mouth guard, but it had melted and only the remains were hanging there. But when he looked closer at the beast, he saw someone on the Chillidog's back, but he couldn't see exactly who it was, and as the beast came closer, the situation became even more abstract.
He suddenly heard a loud whimpering sound coming from behind him, and suddenly an unknown person, most likely an employee of the company, clung to Sir Nonsurat, filled with fear. They didn't even know where this person had come from, most likely from a side entrance or something.
“This thing has been following me all over the company!” the man screamed, pointing at the beast, terrified but with disgust in his voice.
“It's because Takashi is so incompetent at controlling this thing, as always!” screamed the man, and for some reason, the voice and the words seemed to make the chilidog even angrier. “I can't believe Nightmare made that stupid teenager his personal apprentice,” for some reason, the stranger spat out more words that had nothing to do with the current situation and just wanted to blame someone for how things had turned out.
The chilidog wasn't targeting them; they were loyal, clever beasts who listened to their keeper, so this stranger behaved somewhat suspiciously, which is why the beast appeared so enraged.
“Wait a minute... Takashi?” Now that Arthur looked closer at the beast, he was sure that Takashi, the little humanoid created from Nightmare, was clinging to its back. The structure could fit, but why?
There was no time to question it; they had to act quickly. “Sir Falspar, can you try to remove the person on the back of the Chilidog? We don't want anyone getting hurt!” Sir Arthur got a nod and Falspar flew off.
“Sure thing, Captain!”
Yamikage, on the other hand, struck the first blow while the rest had to make sure the stranger was safe and formed a wall. The chilidog withstood Yamikage's sword swing, then Sir Galahad joined in, but he tried to attack the beast as little as possible with the Air Ride machine Hydra. They needed the beast and the person clinging to the chilidog's back alive and without serious injury.
While the two fought, Sir Falspar tried to get behind the Chilidog, but this proved futile as the Chilidog suddenly became angrier and angrier, as if they were just obstacles that the beast didn't even care about, and ran off.
It ran towards the unknown man.
Sir Lancelot and Kit Cosmos raised their swords, ready to fend off the beast, but the chilidog suddenly jumped over them, and then there was only a panicked scream as the beast pinned the unknown man to the ground, its paws buried in the man's arms so that he could not escape.
“Hey! Hey...” said the young man in a trembling voice, but the tone of his voice sounded more like a desperate man trying to talk his way out of it with thousands of excuses that he didn't really mean.
“Heyyyy Takashi... Takashi, it was just a joke... you know I don't mean it...you know it’s just a joke from my homeplanet…” The Star Warriors were frozen, not knowing how to deal with the situation, not knowing what was happening or what it was all about, as they watched the little teenager from Nightmare rise from the back of the chilidog. his long brown hair was more pointed than usual, and Arthur could tell at first glance that he had accidentally transformed into a demon beast. After all, he was still a creation of Nightmare, so he was capable of taking on such a form.
However, many were no longer themselves in this form.
The chilidog's drool ran down the man's cheek, ready to devour him at any moment, but Arthur and Sir Galahad were the first to intervene.
“Hey! HEY! Can you help me? I don't want to become dog food!!?” the man screamed, trying to break free, but he was quickly silenced when suddenly a star-like projectile pierced the ground next to him at a speed he had never seen before. It was only a few inches away from him and almost hit his face.
Without a second thought, Sir Galahad jumped on the back of the chilidog, grabbed Takashi's wrists, and pushed him down. Sir Galahad then received a hard kick to the face, but this did not stop him from keeping the young teenager under control. At that moment, the teenager started crying, and Sir Galahad had no choice but to let go. For some reason, this also changed the chilidog's behavior rapidly. It let go of the man and went over to the crying, irritated Takashi with a whimper and a soft face, as if the beast wanted to comfort him.
In the name of Necrodeus, Arthur wondered if this was the human puberty that Nightmare had often told him about? And he thought Nightmare had exaggerated with these claims. Nevertheless, Nightmare had often told him that his little humanoid often transformed into his demon beast form during puberty, especially when he was pushed into stressful and confined situations, so something must have happened before that could cause something like this to happen.
But he realized that the young teenager was stronger than he looked, after all, Nightmare had created him with his own DNA, so there had to be a lot of potential there.
The man stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. “I'll report this to Nightmare when he gets back. He won't be thrilled that his own trainee let a chilidog run amok throughout the entire company!” the man pointed his index finger at Takashi and, despite the unpleasant situation, spat out words devoid of empathy, prompting even Arthur to ask the man to calm down a little.
And around them, the situation had finally relaxed too.
Sir Galahad, Sir Falspar, and Yamikage were with Takashi while the rest were with the man to find out what had happened. The chilidog whimpered anxiously as it cuddled up to Takashi and Sir Galahad questioned him.
“Is everything alright? What happened that made you want to let this man be eaten by a demon beast?” Galahad asked, pointing at the man with a raised eyebrow behind his mask.
Takashi, on the other hand, just sighed, his right hand clinging to his left arm, a sign that it was probably something very unpleasant. The three waited for a moment and gave the teen time to calm down, and then he spoke, even if his words were a little broken.
“I-I wanted to take the chilidog to his enclosure and feed him, and then...” Takashi paused for a moment and began scratching his arm.
“Then ‘he’ stopped me and harassed me for no reason...”
“Harassed you?” Yamikage asked quietly, in a tone of voice one would not expect from a ninja like him.
“I-I don't know, he just suddenly asked weird questions...” Takashi paused.
“… and then he just yelled at me, asking why a hybrid like me exists and slapped me...” These words were too much for Yamikage; he found it humiliating that such creatures without honor could even have a place in the universe.
Especially when you consider that human DNA, or hybrids created from their DNA, were very rare and that they also brought many useful things to the universe, so it was ironic that these hateful people targeted this young teenager, considering that there were rumors that Nightmare himself came from the frozen planet, but this seems to be more of a ridiculous theory rather than a fact.
Nearly inteligent extinct species should be treated with compassion because one cannot know what terrible event killed them all.
“I see...” said Yamikage, turning around quickly and suddenly throwing a throwing star that hit the man's foot. The man howled, which surprised Arthur and the others as to why Yamikage had suddenly done this.
“Yamikage??! What in the Nova was that all about?” grumbled Kit Cosmos, who could have had a heart attack, almost without irony, as he was no longer in the first flush of youth.
The man knelt on the ground, Yamikage had his katana pointed at the man's neck and could have struck at any moment, but unfortunately his honor was too proud to let blood flow without a fight. “Scum like you would be crushed by Nightmare if he finds out what you really are, so you'd better get out of here.”
With one last exchange of glances, the man disappeared, and although most of them didn't understand, it was probably time to leave the night behind, take a little break, and keep the situation to themselves. They deserved a little snack after this incident, so they shared it with each other. Arthur decided to sit next to Takashi, who was cuddling with the chillidog, his face buried in its soft fur, and needed to digest everything first. Sir Arthur had no idea that these dangerous creatures could have such a cuddly side to them. It was a sweet thought.
“Please don't tell Nightmare about this... I can't let such an embarrassing situation happen again“ It was a very embarrassing situation for Takashi, partly because he tried to be polite and decent the whole time, but some days he just wanted to throw things at the wall. Whenever his boss wasn't around, he was treated completely differently most of the time. Was it because of his current personality? He sometimes had difficulty expressing himself or was more involved in his work than in small talk with people... he didn't know.
Sir Arthur cut his sandwich in half and wanted to give one half to Takashi. “Don't worry, it'll stay between us, I promise,” said Arthur, and Takashi shook his head when Arthur offered him the food; he really wasn't hungry right now.
“I almost forgot my actual question. Is Nightmare not at the company right now?” asked Sir Arthur, taking a bite of his sandwich as he remembered the words of the man who had said that when Nightmare returned, he would snitch on Takashi.
“Mhmm...? Yes... he's seriously ill,” whispered Takashi, who could of course tell the leader of the Star Warriors the truth about why Nightmare wasn't here at the moment, also because he had known about the special relationship between the two since the beginning.
“seriously ill?” Arthur asked, somewhat alarmed and concerned, and could have asked a thousand questions until Takashi remembered another important matter that Arthur had reminded him of.
“Oh… I almost forgot,” Takashi suddenly pulled a photo out of his inside pocket and handed it to Arthur. At first glance, Arthur didn't recognize the two people in the picture, except for that one person who had appeared in a business photo at HolyNightmare if he remembers correctly.
“My boss asked me to ask you for a favor when you're here again,” Takashi paused and gave Arthur a moment to look at the picture. It looked like a lovely picture of a father and daughter, happy together.
Arthur felt a little envious, partly because he had always wanted a family of his own.
“This is one of our important business partners, Max Profitt Haltmann, and his daughter Susie Haltmann, but his daughter disappeared some time ago...”
“Disappeared? That's terrible...”
“That's why I wanted to ask you if you could perhaps look for her? Apparently, she was pulled into the another dimension” Takashi stroked the chilidog, who licked his cheek, and after a few long minutes, he finally calmed down too.
“In another dimension, you say? Yamikage was once almost kidnapped by a Grand Doomer, and through that situation, we found a place that was overflowing with portals...” said Arthur, aware of how dangerous the portals to other dimensions could be, but since they had dealt with the matter more closely, it was child’s play for them to find the dangers and the ways out through these things. And because it was such a piece of cake for them, they could gladly accept this mission and favor, also porque they could test their Air Ride machines there, a perfect opportunity to finally use them at will.
And a missing child was also a reason to redouble their efforts.
Arthur and his group took this request seriously and didn't want to waste a single minute standing around here instead of searching for the missing child. Arthur had appointed his best warriors, Yamikage and Sir Galahad, to lead the mission, and the rest were to follow. But what about him? He wanted to go, but Yamikage had stopped him and insisted that he stay here.
With a whisper, he had told him that he should rather look after the sick bat.
Arthur didn't know how Yamikage knew, and it irritated him a little. He had always been able to hide his secret well, but ninjas should never be underestimated, they have ears everywhere.
And so his soldiers went without him, which was also a good opportunity to see how strong their willpower and strategy were without him.
But in order to take care of his sick bat, he first had to find out where he was.
Takashi then revealed where Nightmare had been for the past month. Allegedly, due to his strange illness, he had to settle in a dream fountain for an unknown period of time, naturally in one where few could disturb him. Therefore, he had chosen a planet where he could rest alone in peace, one where no civilization had lived for ages.
Of course, the planet Takashi was referring to was in the #ID1992 solar system, which was several light-years away from here, but with his Dragoon machine, he could make it there in a few hours, if possible.
It was also very easy for the other Star Warriors to reach him if anything happened, as their new radios could transmit across several light-years.
On his way to the Journey, he hadn't forgotten his gift for Nightmare. At first, he was quite unsure what he could give Nightmare. Initially, he thought of a book or rare artifacts, but he wasn't quite sure which ones Nightmare would like, so he simply left it at that. But this gift... he hoped Nightmare would like it. He had made this gift himself, just for him, with all his heart.
His thoughts made the journey seem short, and before he knew it, he had arrived. Actually, they were forbidden to enter that solar system; it was under the utmost protection of HolyNightmare. However, since their contract, the GSA was allowed to travel there.
The solar system had eight planets and a yellow dwarf star in the middle. it was a solar system that had aroused much curiosity from other planets and galaxies, not only because of its structure but also because of one particular planet, where, as mentioned, Nightmare was said to have settled in the Dream Fountain.
The enormous planet appeared on the horizon, and Sir Arthur was eager to examine everything about this mysterious planet-its structure, its buildings, generally everything he could see. Ancient civilizations fascinated him enormously, but his concern for Nightmare was greater than his curiosity.
Then, after what seemed like hours, he finally arrived on the planet, Shiver Star.
He flew down and broke through the atmosphere, where he had to hold on tighter to Dragoon because the speed and, in general, the gravitational pull and steering had suddenly shifted. At that precise moment, he realized that he didn't even know where the dream fountain was located on this planet. It seemed that he would have to embark on a long journey to find it.
A cold breath escaped from his mouth. This planet had been trapped in winter for thousands of years, and it showed. He flew down a little and analyzed every single place carefully. Missing a dream fountain is a very slim possibility; they often appear in bright pastel colors, and the warmth there is not easy to miss.
Sir Arthur looked to the right and left, but all he saw were old, dilapidated buildings, nothing new in the last few miles he had seen. Then he looked ahead and was startled to see a large building in front of him and had to swerve out of the way. He pushed Dragoon to the side, but briefly lost control of the machine and lost altitude.
“Why does this always happen to me?!” Sir Arthur screamed, trying to keep the machine under control. After the shock, he managed to do so. He took a deep breath in and out and had to calm down briefly as he continued his flight, until he suddenly saw small stars in front of him. They were really bright because it was already night on the side of the planet where he was... wait a minute, weren't these the small stars from the starrod?
The stars moved back and forth as if to show him the way. It seemed as if the fountain of dreams had heard his wish and wanted to lead him, and Arthur did not hesitate to let himself be guided by the dream fountain of this planet.
The stars raced across the sky like little shooting stars, and he followed as the big one behind them. Dragoon ran at top speed, and the beautiful roar of the engine echoed across the planet like a melody. Several beautiful auroras circled him like a colorful show. Dreamlike warmth, smells, and senses embraced his body like a warm welcome to have arrived here and, as a reward, to be able to dream the most beautiful dream here. But his greatest dream was currently seriously ill.
He looked down and found the perfect spot for his Dragoon machine and flew down. He took the most important things with him, his sword, his bag, and of course the gift, and made his way to the main point. Out of fear, he had also hidden Dragoon behind a few pillars; you never know what might be lurking on this planet, and space pirates were not to be underestimated at the moment.
He ran and followed the stars that were waiting for him, but his steps became faster and faster as his concern grew. Nightmare had never been sick, and Arthur didn't even know he was capable of getting sick. His breathing quickened as he climbed the stairs on his way to the fountain that had its place in the sky. His breath faltered and his lungs burned, but he had no time to lose when Takashi's words suddenly came back to him, something he had mentioned before Arthur flew away.
‚Since Nightmare had eaten his dream that night, he felt sick‘
‚So was it his fault? That the Wizard felt so ill?‘
Arthur ran faster and soon reached the top, his lungs burning and sweat dripping from his forehead. He had decided to take off his mask and leave his bag next to the fountain without getting unnecessarily wet. He looked more closely at the fountain to see if he could spot Nightmare somewhere. He knew that Nightmare didn't sleep in the dream fountain, but rather on top of it, in the warm water of dreams, using it as a kind of bed.
Arthur stepped into the water; it was warm and pleasant and filled with magic. He looked left and right as he walked deeper into it and then, luckily, discovered a large familiar figure half-submerged in the water behind the fountain. Arthur approached with a relieved grin and then discovered a beautiful spectacle when he walked into something and fished it out into his hand.
His mind raced with a thousand questions as he finally realized that it must be Nightmare's hair, but something was different. Nightmare had often shown himself to him without hair ornaments, and Arthur always blushed when he saw Nightmare's long brown curly hair and long ears. This physical appearance always made him love Nightmare even more. He found it cute, also because Nightmare trusted him so much that he let him see his entire appearance. But back to the topic... he knew that Nightmare's hair was brown and long, but not as long as it was now, and especially not this color. The hair he held in his hands was in a variety of colors, like those of the dream fountain, and there were even little stars sparkling in it, as if they were their own little galaxy.
Is this a strange effect caused by an illness?
Sir Arthur approached Nightmare and was relieved to see that the only thing that had changed was his hair, at least, only the tips were completely different. Nightmare wasn't wearing sunglasses either, but Arthur had often seen him without them, so it wasn't a big deal. Arthur walked around to get a better look at Nightmare, and just as Takashi had said, Nightmare was fast asleep, not even awakened by Arthur's loud splashing. But at least the Wizard was still alive.
Nightmare lay in the dream fountain as if it were a large bed, the warm water enveloping him like blankets, forcing him to sleep and making him forget everything around him. Arthur came a little closer and watched the wizard. Everything seemed unchanged, except perhaps for the dark circles under his eyes, but Nightmare had had those for a long time.
He watched quietly for a few minutes and listened to the water in the fountain like a soothing melody.
Arthur approached quietly, his little feet breaking the surface of the water again as he finally dared to take a closer look at Nightmare after just standing there for a long time, relieved that Nightmare was still breathing, but a slight panic came over him when he remembered that Nightmare had told him several times that he could develop strange periods of slumber during which he could sleep for several months or even years and was difficult to awaken. So Arthur panicked a little that this strange illness of the wizard could mean that he wouldn't wake up for the next few months? No... Arthur was patient, but not that patient. His concern was too great, and he took action.
Arthur brushed the curly hair from Nightmare's face and tucked it behind the wizard's long ears, raising his voice softly.
“Nightmare...?” he whispered softly, even though he was sure that such simple words would not reach the wizard so easily, but he tried again. He placed his hand on Nightmare's shoulder and shook it, hoping that this might wake Nightmare up, but as expected, Nightmare did not move an inch.
Arthur became somewhat desperate but still maintained his calm demeanor as he placed his hand on Nightmare's cheek and stroked it briefly, glad to have some physical contact with the Wizard again after their long absence. He also noticed how hot Nightmare was, but his nose and ears were cold, and on closer inspection, his skin was paler than usual. It was an abstract thought that a life form like Nightmare could be sick, but for Arthur, it only activated his instinct to care for Nightmare. Their species was known for being very social and caring, so Arthur simply couldn't help himself.
“Nightmare...? Wake up...” Arthur whispered again. Sleep probably isn't the only medicine for the Nightmare Wizard, is it? But on further reflection, it would make sense if it were the only medicine. But surely he could treat the fever a little?
Then he remembered that he could use a wet cloth. The warmth of the Dream Fountain was just right for treating illnesses, but not when Nightmare was lying like this. Arthur also liked the idea of taking care of Nightmare, so he ran back to his bag. He was always prepared for thousands of scenarios that could happen and always had everything with him that could be useful. He unpacked the things and rushed back to Nightmare.
If Nightmare woke up at some point, Arthur would have to be careful that Nightmare didn't accidentally throw him across the place again. it had happened before, and Arthur had realized that Nightmare generally didn't like being woken up from a deep sleep. The reason for this probably had something to do with the Ancients, but Arthur didn't know why. Nightmare hadn't told him everything about himself that he could use to his advantage.
And that’s totally fine with him, everyone can have their own secrets that they can’t or won’t talk about.
Sir Arthur poured lukewarm water from his thermos onto the cloth. He had always used the water for his tea, but as it turned out, he could use the water he no longer needed for that.
Arthur thought briefly about what exactly he should do now, and decided he had to lay Nightmare on his back first, which he did. He then carefully placed the towel on Nightmare's forehead and sat next to the Wizard. His little legs were between Nightmare's head so that he could better watch the Wizard when he woke up or if something happened. When he woke up, Arthur would be the first thing he saw, but Arthur had always wanted to try this position out. Nightmare always said it would look ridiculous because Arthur was so small, but Arthur thought the idea was cute.
He brushed the hair from Nightmare's face again and quietly watched as Nightmare's breathing quickened slightly, surely a symptom of the illness, and then, after several long minutes, realized that he had become a little tangled and caught in Nightmare's long hair. It wrapped around him like a warm embrace, and Arthur could feel the pure, pulverizing magic on his skin.
“I didn't expect you to get sick before me in our relationship...” Arthur said, wanting to break the long silence that had prevailed for some time. He knew he wouldn't get an answer, but he imagined that Nightmare could hear him anyway.
“And it was only because of me that you got sick...” Arthur stroked his hand through Nightmare's hair, which was wet but still beautifully soft.
“I'm really sorry, I didn't know my dreams could be so tainted...” Arthur took it with humor, but also with concern; he couldn't even remember most of his dreams except for those that were very embarrassing or very dear to him.
It was true that he was currently dreaming of a family; even a warrior like him wanted a little one to take care of, as most do.
But surely these dreams weren't the trigger, were they? And now that Arthur realized it, his cheeks flushed a little. Had Nightmare seen these dreams of his? If so, he felt a little uncomfortable talking to Nightmare about this topic... maybe it was also because the two of them were completely different in physical terms and not many relationships like theirs existed.
Arthur looked up and took a deep breath. Thousands of stars in the sky shone down on him, and even though seeing galaxies and stars was an everyday occurrence for him, he never grew tired of observing them. He leaned forward and hugged Nightmare and became a little tired. In a place called the Dream Fountain, it was not ironic to fall asleep there. His eyes grew heavy, but he tried with all his might to stay awake, which he did when he suddenly heard a familiar voice on his walkie-talkie, let out a loud squeak, and was startled.
“Captain, are you there? We have good news, over.” Sir Arthur was startled when the calm, pleasant situation was interrupted and quickly picked up the walkie-talkie.
“Sir Arthur here, I hear you, Roger,” said Arthur, his voice also completely changed as he spoke to his soldiers, and he didn’t even have to wait a few seconds before he got a reply.
“We found the girl and are now bringing her back to her father,” Sir Galahad said proudly over the radio. “We have suffered no losses and will now take the young girl to safety.”
“Are you still at the company? Where can we find you? Over.”
Oh Nova, now he needed a good excuse. He rubbed his eyes as he finally spoke.
“Good work. We'll meet at the GSA headquarters. Something important has come up, so I'll be there later, Over.”
Not even a few seconds later, he received the reply. “Understood, sir, we'll meet there, over.” Arthur had to listen more closely, but he could swear he heard Yamikage laughing in the background, knowing where he was and what he was actually doing. Sir Arthur sighed loudly and cursed a little. Yamikage was a loyal soldier, but he grew increasingly afraid that his secret was not entirely safe and could burst like a bubble, letting everyone know what he had actually been doing and where he had been spending his time over the last few months.
He sighed even louder and cursed again. Cursing was rare for him, but in situations like this, he just had to, and then he noticed something moving between his legs and fell backward when the sick wizard suddenly got up without warning.
Nightmare yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes, the towel falling from his forehead, but he probably didn't even notice, so tired and disoriented was he. “W-Why do you always have to be so loud... really, you're a little annoyance who can't be quiet in the morning...” Nightmare muttered quietly and a little incomprehensibly, exhausted, as he tried not to fall asleep again, but it was Arthur's voice that had woken him up. He swayed back and forth a little, but for a short time he was able to fight off his tiredness, if it weren't for the strange dizziness and headache that still plagued him.
“Nightmare?” Arthur asked, startled, not expecting Nightmare to wake up, but relieved when he sat up, and by the great ancients, it was a miracle his face didn't explode from the heat at the beautiful sight.
Nightmare's long hair and the strange tips on the hair that had grown on the Wizard were soaked in water and have already taken over almost the entire dream fountain, which shone like galaxies of their own. His eyes could tell more than a thousand stories he had experienced, and in general, the sight of a life form born of nightmares in this tired state was a strange yet beautiful sight for Arthur.
“You always have to wake me up,” said Nightmare, so disoriented that he had forgotten where he was and why he was there. Sir Arthur could also see that the fever was taking its toll on the Wizard, as even his long ears drooped like a sad dog.
Nightmare sloppily grabbed Arthur's cheek and wanted to pinch it as usual. Nightmare also squinted frequently and had to make sure that it was actually Arthur in front of him.
“Arthur,” whispered Nightmare, wiggling back and forth and not even giving Arthur a chance to speak before Nightmare suddenly fainted and he had to catch the Wizard. He was strong enough to do it. Despite his small size, he should not be underestimated when it came to getting rid of or carrying even the biggest obstacle. He held Nightmare tightly against him, Nightmare's wet hair falling into his face and tickling him.
It was worse than he had thought.
He wanted to help the Wizard back to the ground so he could rest there again, when he suddenly noticed two hands wrapping around him and a cape that had briefly taken the shape of wings at the tips, pinning him to the ground.
“Arthur... stay here...” Nightmare murmured with a tired and pain-filled grunt and cuddled Arthur closer to him. Arthur's squashed face peered out from Nightmare's cape, but he didn't complain about not enjoying it.
“Please... Arthur... don't leave me...” Arthur was confused by these words, partly because Nightmare wasn't fully conscious, but he listened anyway.
“Please don't leave me like everyone else in the universe has done...” Nightmare's voice suddenly sounded more broken than usual, a tone Arthur had never heard from the Wizard before. Arthur freed himself from Nightmare's arms and took the gift he had brought with him. It was supposed to be a surprise, but he was sure it would be a bigger surprise if Nightmare woke up with this gift, so he took the gift out of the small box and carefully and slowly attached it to Nightmare's ears, partly because Nightmare had actually worn something there a long time ago.
They were large golden earrings in the shape of a crescent moon, which he had forged himself, and he had thought for a long time that they would suit Nightmare well.
Arthur smiled slightly as he snuggled back up to Nightmare.
“Don't worry, I won't“
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