"How it Began"

By: Eliyora

Nights returned to the dark palace where he and the other Nightmarens made their home, more than a tad tired. He had spent the entire night pursuing Visitors that had strong Ideya, and hauling the entire load back to the master's realm had been exhausting. Now that his work was done for the evening, he was ready to just relax and not worry about anything else. No more work, no more orders, just free time. It was his favorite thing in the world, since he absolutely hated being told what to do. To be honest, he didn't especially like who was telling him to do this, that, or the other either, but he knew full well that disobedience was not an option. After all, Jackle had disobeyed Wiseman once, back when he still had his sanity. The next time they saw him, he was, well, the way he had been ever since; completely out of his mind and blindly loyal(1). Nights shuddered at the thought of becoming that way.

"Well, you look rather disturbed. Is there something on your mind?" came a semi-sarcastic voice from behind him. Nights turned just enough to bring the speaker into view.

"Oh. Hello Puffy," he said. The pale(2) Nightmaren turned right back around and floated lazily as he had been before. "If you're looking for the kitchen, it was two doors back."

Puffy snorted indignantly. "I shall pretend that you did not say that," she said, clearing her throat. "At any rate, Nights, you are being summoned by the master."

Nights groaned audibly. "I finished my work for the evening! Why can't the old coot just let me be?" he complained.

"NIGHTS! Shush!" Puffy immediately snapped. "Do not anger the master!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he answered, flying down the hall towards Wiseman's chambers. "We all remember what happened to Jackle," he muttered to himself.

He entered Wiseman's room to see that Reala was also there. He wasn't quite sure if this made him feel better or worse. Reala was his best friend(3), after all, and was the only Nightmaren that could match his talents, but if they were both there, then more than likely something big was going on.

"You summoned me master?" Nights said, bowing respectfully.

Wiseman turned to face both of them. "Nights, Reala, you two are my finest creations. Easily the most powerful, the most agile, and the swiftest of all my Nightmarens. There is something that I need you to do, something I can trust to no one else."

"What do you wish of us master?" Reala asked.

"It would seem that Visitors have appeared in Nightopia that possess red Ideyas. The power of the red Ideya is far greater than any other. I must have that power!" Wiseman lowered one of his hands and turned the eye on the palm towards them, opening it wide and projecting an image of two children before them. One was a young boy with black hair and green eyes, and the other was a young girl with blonde hair and gray eyes(4). A glowing red orb floated around each of them.

"The Ideya of Courage," Nights whispered in awe. He couldn't place why, but the Ideya was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. He didn't understand why the red Ideya was so different from the others. After all, it was still just an Ideya, right?

"Yes. You must steal this from those Visitors," Wiseman said, vanishing the image.

"I thought that the red Ideya couldn't be touched by Nightmarens," Reala said.

"That is typically true, but there is one exception." He turned to the purple Nightmaren. "Nights, I created you specifically to collect the red Ideya. You will take the Ideya and bring them to me. Reala, you are to ensure that these Visitors do not escape. Those who carry this power are difficult to contain. Now go. Do not fail me."

The two jester-like beings left the castle, flying towards Nightopia. Nights turned to Reala. "You know, I would think that it would make more sense for the red guy to be able to take red Ideya. It would match your new boots," he remarked.

Reala stared for a moment, then chuckled, shaking his head. "Must you always make such lame jokes? This is a serious mission we're on," he replied.

Nights grinned. "I know, but if you focus too much, it'll fail. Besides, I got you to laugh, didn't I?" Reala made a face at him, which Nights took as a cue to dash ahead and out of Reala's reach. He had to admit, if he had to do extra work for the night, at least doing it with Reala made it more fun. The guy was very serious, so Nights had made it his personal mission to make Reala laugh as much as he could. Laughing to himself, Nights hurried along, Reala on his trail.

After a while, Nights was overcome by a strange sensation. It was similar to the feeling he got when there was an Ideya around, but at the same time, it was very different. It took him a moment to understand what it was. He was sensing the presence of the red Ideya(5).

"What is it Nights?" Reala asked.

"This way. The Visitors are this way," Nights answered in a serious tone that was fairly unlike him. They flew off in that direction and came upon the two children. They were sitting with a group of Nightopians and a brown owl wearing a brown petticoat(6), just chatting. Nights just stared for a minute at the red light that surounded the children, enthralled. Why did he find it so beautiful?

"Nights!" Reala snapped, pulling him back to his senses. "Come now, we've a job to do." Reala surveyed the surroundings. "That owl should be no problem at all, so all we need to worry about are the children themselves. Let's go." Reala flew down at them, Nights following after a minute. The Nightopians all squeaked and fled, and the owl hooted something to the children and flew back a short distance. The kids stood up and turned towards Reala.

"Who are you?" the girl asked.

Reala chuckled. "Someone you should be very afraid of," he answered. He morphed his hands into claws.

The owl hooted urgently, "Run! Run away quickly! He must be here to steal your Ideya!" He flew at Reala, flapping in his face and distracting him, giving the children a moment to get away.

While Reala tried to dispatch with the annoying bird, Nights caught up with the children. He grabbed for the boy, who had thusfar been silent, and stole away the boy's red Ideya. The girl screamed, but not in fear.

"Get away from him you grape-colored scumbag!" she screamed angrily. Her red Ideya pulsed with a blinding light, making Nights drop the boy and his Ideya. Seeing this, the girl got an idea. She took her own red Ideya and threw it at the stunned Nights, hitting him squarely in the chest and knocking him flat on the ground. She then grabbed the boy's arm and fled.

Reala, who had finally gotten rid of the lousy owl, came over and saw Nights laying on the ground, seemingly in a daze. The Visitors were nowhere in sight. Cursing to himself for the bird's interference, he hurried over to Nights to make sure he was okay, when he noticed something odd.

A jewel of the exact color of the Ideya now rested on Nights' chest.

LINELINELINE

Reala floated down the hall towards Nights' room, still mentally exhausted. Wiseman had read him the riot act when they returned to the castle empty-handed, but had chosen to not punish them himself since Nights was the one who had truly failed, and he was practically comatose(7). Reala was worried. Nights had not woken up since that encounter, and it had now been four days. He just hoped that Nights would be alright.

He entered his friend's room, not surprised to see him still laying there. Floating up to Nights' bed, he said quietly, "You know, I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss those stupid jokes of yours. I actually wouldn't mind hearing one of them right now."

"Then should I say that you getting all weepy-eyed is really creepy?" came a quiet reply. Reala looked to see Nights' eyes were half-open.

"Nights! You're alright?" Reala exclaimed.

"Yeah, just feeling really drained for some reason," Nights replied in the same quiet tone. "I'll probably feel better after a good night's rest."

Reala blinked. "But you've been asleep for four days."

THAT got Nights' attention. "Four days?" he yelped, sitting up quickly. He fell right back onto his bed, though. "I've been out of it for that long?"

Reala nodded. "Ever since we came across those Visitors and you got that jewel-thing on your chest."

"Jewel-thing?" Nights asked, looking at his new accessory. "What is this? Where'd it come from?"

"I don't know. Maybe that's what's draining your strength," Reala suggested.

Nights sighed. "Maybe. It doesn't matter though. Once the old codger figures out that I'm awake, it'll be right back to work."

"I wish you wouldn't refer to Wiseman in that manner," Reala complained.

"But he is!" Nights snapped, sitting up. "He's a nasty, cruel, ruthless old codger!" The gave off a faint red glow that went unnoticed. Reala looked shocked.

"Nights, what's gotten into you?" he asked.

Nights blinked, and the small light in the jewel died. "I have no idea. I've always thought of him that way, but I never thought about saying it!" Shaking his head, Nights got out of bed. "Strange. I feel a bit better."

Reala shook his head as well. "Yes, you are strange. Come, let's report."

As they made their way down the hall, Nights thought of something. "Um, Reala, did you get in trouble over what happened?"

"Of course, but since it was really your failure and you were in such bad shape, Wiseman let it go provided we get the Ideya the next time we see those Visitors."

"Oh geez. I'm sorry," Nights apologized.

"Just make sure you get the red Ideya from those kids and we'll call it even," Reala said as they entered Wiseman's chamber.

Wiseman turned to his two servants. "I see you have recovered at last, Nights. I shall ignore your previous failure, provided that you succeed the next time those Visitors come here. I've not sensed them since that first night, so until they reappear, you will collect Ideyas from other visitors. Now go." They left quickly.

"Woah. Bad mood," Nights muttered as they flew off.

"It's your fault that he's like that," Reala said.

"Right, because you getting stalled by an old owl has nothing to do with it," Nights grumped. The jewel glowed a touch again. "I don't suppose you told the old coot about that bit, did you?"

Reala was quiet. Nights just hmphed at him and flew ahead. Reala caught up after a minute. "What is the matter with you all of a sudden? You've always been a bit mouthy, but not like this."

Nights shook his head, the light dying again. "I don't know. Maybe I'm just touchy after what happened. I mean, I got knocked for a loop by a little girl."

"Just take it easy, okay? Keep it up and you'll piss me off," Reala warned. Nights took that seriously. Reala was very dangerous when he was angry.

LINELINELINE

Another week went by, and now Reala was more concerned than he had been when Nights was unconcious. His friend had been very snappy at everyone, unusually lazy about going out to do his work, and when he did, he was gone far longer than he ought to be and was bringing back less and less each time. On his last trip to Nightopia, he had failed to bring back any Ideyas at all.

Wiseman was becoming impatient with Nights. He had always been trouble, but when it came down to it, he always did his work. Now he was being outright insubordinate. Still, Nights was the only Nightmaren that could steal the red Ideya, so until he had it, he had to put up with Nights' outrageous behaviour.

Finally, Wiseman sensed the return of the Visitors. He sent Nights and Reala to find them, but before Reala left he said, "Keep a careful eye on Nights. It seems that something is wrong. Make certain he takes those Ideyas and brings them straight back here." Reala nodded and took off after Nights.

"What was that all about?" Nights asked when he'd caught up.

After a moment's debate, Reala chose to tell his friend the truth. "Wiseman wants me to make sure that you bring the Ideyas right back. You've been behaving strangely lately, and he wants assurance that he will receive the power he wants."

Nights snorted. "I don't care one whit what the old coot wants." The faint red light appeared again.

Reala glared. "I do. Wiseman is our creator and our master. You shouldn't act that way."

"Oh, do lighten up. You're always so dead serious about what Wiseman wants," Nights grumped.

When they reached Nightopia, Reala turned to Nights. "Where are they?" he asked.

Nights concentrated. "I'm not sure. It feels weaker than it did last time."

"Maybe they're apart. You sensed them when they were together last time. Maybe when they're apart it get weaker," Reala suggested.

"Maybe. Okay, split up then. If you find either one of them, bring them to me, okay?" Nights said. Reala nodded and they flew off in opposite directions. However, once Reala was out of sight, Nights turned and headed south. He could sense perfectly well where they were. He just couldn't bring himself to tell Reala that. After a bit, he found them talking to that same old owl. Flying down, Nights noticed something.

There was a chip in the girl's Ideya that was the exact size and shape of the jewel in his chest.

The gem in his chest was an Ideya shard.

"Well, that does explain a bit," he said out loud, announcing his presence to the others. The owl started flapping and the girl grabbed the boy's arm, preparing to run. "Wait! Don't be afraid. I don't want to hurt you this time," Nights called.

The girl scowled. "Why should we believe you?" she demanded.

Nights landed. "Just trust me. I don't want to hurt you this time." He sat down on the grass. "I just want to talk for a while."

The owl calmed down enough to land back on his perch. "You're a Nightmaren. Why should you want to talk about anything?"

Nights shugged. "I don't know. I just do."

The girl glared a bit more, but the boy just watched Nights. After a moment, he pulled free from the girl's hold and sat down right next to Nights. The girl stared. "What do you think you're doing?"

The boy just turned and looked at her. Some sort of silent exchange seemed to happen, and then the girl sat down next to him. "Well, I guess he trusts you. That must mean you're being honest. We'll give you a chance."

The owl hooted. "Very well then. First things first, though. My name is Owl. Yours is?"

Nights snorted. "What an original name," he remarked. Owl cleared his throat and ignored the comment. "Anyway, my name is Nights."

"I'm Maria, and this is my little brother Alex," the girl said.

"Why don't you tell me about yourselves," Nights said.

"Well, there's not much to tell. I'm a sports girl who loves tennis, and Alex is a guy who likes to paint," Maria said.

"And apparently doesn't like to talk," Nights remarked.

"Oh, how insensitive!" Owl snapped.

"He's mute. He can't talk," Maria explained.

"Oh! Um, I'm sorry. I didn't know. . ." Nights stumbled on his words, feeling guilty.

"It's okay. How could you have known?" Maria said, though it was clear that she was a bit annoyed at Nights' lack of tact. "How about you tell us about yourself instead, Nights?"

"Well, I do believe that Owl said it all. I'm a Nightmaren. That pretty much sums it up."

"What is a Nightmaren anyway?" she asked.

"It's a dark creature created by Wiseman to steal Visitors' Ideyas from them. He wants that power so that he can take over the Night Dimension," Nights explained.

Maria scowled. "I see. But if that's so, why haven't you taken ours yet? Last time we saw you, you almost took my brother's."

Nights shrugged. "I'm not really sure, but I do have an idea. Let me see your red Ideya." When Maria began looking hostile, Nights quickly explained, "I'm not going to fly off with it, I swear! I just want to show you something!" Reluctantly, Maria handed over the Ideya. Nights turned it over and showed her where the chip in it was. "I just noticed this. I think it happened when you threw this thing at me last time. The shard is embedded in my chest." He handed it back to her.

Owl looked stunned, but Maria looked confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You don't know what the red Ideya is?" Nights asked. "I figured the old bird had explained it to you."

"Excuse me! I am not an old bird!" Owl hooted indignantly.

"The red Ideya is the Ideya of Courage, the rarest one there is," Nights explained. "I think that this little chip has been giving me a bit of a confidence boost. Ever since then, I've been doing and saying whatever I want to more and more."

"What you want to?" Owl asked.

"Well, you see, I've never really liked stealing Ideya from Visitors. It's that power that gives Nightopia its beauty, right?"

"Yes," Owl hooted.

"Besides that, I hate being told what to do by anyone. I REALLY hate being told what to do.And I don't really like the guy who tells me what to do either," Nights continued.

"Wiseman?" Owl inquired.

"Yep. Nasty old codger," Nights grumbled. "He always orders me around, never lets up. He's really twisted, and he's just plain cruel. I don't like him at all." The Ideya shard began glowing brighter as Nights went on. "You know, the more I think about it, the more I'm wondering what the devil I'm doing working for someone like him." Nights frowned, and the shard grew brighter still. "I mean, I'm not exactly the nicest guy you'll meet, but I'm a lot better than Wiseman is! That old codger fancies himself as some sort of god! He nothing but a cruel, ruthless, self-serving, spiteful, bitter, nasty old blighter!! I hate him, and I hate working for him!!!"

The Ideya shard exploded with light, blinding them all for a moment. When it died down, they saw that a soft red glow had surrounded Nights' body.

"What's this?" Nights said.

"I don't know. I've ever seen anything like it!" Owl said.

"Are you okay?" Maria asked.

Nights floated up a bit. "Actually, I feel better than I ever have before!" he exclaimed joyfully. He flew up and danced around in the sky for a bit. "I feel fantastic!!" He performed a few tricks. " I feel . . . FREE!!!" He flew back down to the others.

"Strange. That Ideya shard appears to have had some sort of effect on you," Owl observed. "Why, even your face is different!"

"What?" Nights asked.

"Yeah. It's not all chalky like it was a minute ago, and your eyes aren't all cold anymore," Maria explained. Startled, Nights flew to the nearby river and saw that they were right. His pasty-white complexion was gone, replaced with a healthy tan. He looked less like a Nightmaren now, and more like a . . .

"I look like a Nightopian," he said. Alex smiled and nodded. He started to run towards Nights, but a familiar presence grabbed him and flew up high. Nights turned around. "Reala!"

Reala turned to look at Nights. "What's happened to your face?" he asked. "Meh. No matter. I'll hold the boy. You get the girl's Ideya, then you can remove his. We'll be back in Wiseman's good favor before the end of the night, and have nothing else to worry about." He looked at Nights, who had not moved. "Come on! Hurry up! You're usually the one who wants to get this over with so that you'll get more free time!"

Maria glowered at Nights. "You tricked us! You said you weren't after the Ideya this time!" she accused.

Nights still wouldn't move.

Reala was becoming impatient. "Oh, come on Nights! You're the only one that can take the red Ideya! Just take it! It's not like it's so hard this time! She won't run without the boy!"

Nights finally moved. He slowly floated up to where Reala was floating. Reala blinked. "Okay. You can take his Ideya first. As long as you do something."

Nights did something.

He punched Reala in the face, causing him to drop Alex.

Reala reeled for a moment before his mind processed what had happened. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Something I've wanted to do for a long time" Nights said. "I'm going to defy Wiseman's orders! I'm not going to take these Visitors' Ideyas!"

"Have you gone crazy? You're defying Wiseman?" Reala yelled.

"I suppose that would qualify as me going crazy in your book, so I'm going to go with yes," Nights answered.

Reala almost laughed. "I see. Another joke. You're funny Nights. This has to be the worst one yet."

"Too bad I'm not joking this time," Nights said. "I'm done being a slave! I will not serve Wiseman anymore!"

"Nights, you can't be serious." Reala almost sounded like he was pleading.

Nights turned to the children. "Run! Quickly!! You must get away!" They heeded his words and fled. Reala looked horrified.

"You really are serious. What's happened to you?" Reala asked.

"I've made a decision," he responded.

Reala's face began to harden. "You do realize that I can't allow you to do this. I can't allow even you to get away with treachery."

"I know," Nights whispered, deadly serious.

Reala flew backwards a bit. "Then I must bring you before the master for judgement." He suddenly dashed right at Nights. Nights, who hadn't been expecting it to come so quickly, wasn't able to evade it, and was slammed into a tree. Reala held him by the wrists. "I will bring you before Wiseman unless you change your mind right now, Nights. If you come to your senses right now that take the Ideya, we will keep this incident between us, and the master will never need to know."

Nights responded by bringing his feet up and kicking Reala away from him.

Now Reala was angry. Nights had betrayed them! He had decided to turn his back on his own creator, and on his best friend. Reala couldn't deny the hurt that came with this, but more than anything, he was just mad!

Nights sighed. "Reala, listen. You're my best friend and I don't want to fight you. Can we please, just, not do this?"

Reala snorted. "Well, you've got some nerve. After all. . ." Reala punched Nights in th face. ". . . You threw the first punch."

Nights landed harshly on the ground. Reala could hit hard. As he struggled to his feet, he suddenly felt a gentle hand on his arm, helping him up. He turned and saw the face of someone who should have been gone.

"Alex! I told you to run!" Nights yelled. Alex shook his head. It was pretty clear that he wasn't going to leave without Nights.

Reala chuckled. "Well, even though I can't take the Ideya, I can at least bring master Wiseman the Visitor that has it!" He charged at Alex.

Nights jumped up. "MOVE!" he screamed, grabbing the boy's hand.

They were enveloped in a while light so blinding that Reala had to fall to his original spot. "What is that?" he yelled.

When the light died down, Nights realized that he was floating there alone, but feeling more powerful than he had been before. With his newfound strength, he flew right at Reala, tackling him and knocking him unconcious. He landed back over where he had been standing with Alex a few minutes ago.

Maria and Owl came charging right at him. "Nights! Where is he? Where's my brother?" she screamed.

Nights shook his head. "I don't know. He was here a moment ago, but now he's disappeared."

"WHAT? Alex! Where are you? Ale. . ." Maria stopped short when she saw Nights eyes. They were different. They didn't look like the eyes of a Nightopian or a Nightmaren. Instead they looked like the gray eyes of a young boy. "Alex?" she whispered.

"What are you talking about?" Nights asked. Then suddenly, his head nodded all on its own. "What the devil?"

"Incredible! It would seem that you have Dualized with the boy," Owl hooted.

"Dualized?" Nights asked.

"To put it simply, you and the boy merged. You're now one," Owl explained.

"What? But how?"

"It is a rare power, to be certain, and I've never heard of a Nightmaren who was able to do it, but I'm fairly certain i know how it works." Owl cleared his throat. "Your heart and the boy's heart must have been on similar wavelengths. You wanted to protect each other, I'm certain, so that is what caused it to happen. I'm fairly certain that the Ideya shard had something to do with it as well."

Nights touched the jewel that was now a part of his body. "I think I understand, but how do we seperate?"

"I believe you simply must will it so," Owl said.

Nights concentrated and, sure enough, he and Alex seperated. Once they were apart, Nights felt a wave of fatigue wash over him. When the others asked if he was okay, he said," Dualizing must take a lot out of me. I'm exhausted." Standing up, Nights turned to his friends. "Listen. I think it might be for the best if you two leave this place and don't return. Wiseman is after your Ideya, and since I won't take it from you, he'll just come after you yourselves. For your own sakes, you'd best not come back to Nightopia."

Alex seemed saddened by this news, but Maria just nodded. "I think you're right. We'll stay away from her, right Alex?" Alex nodded sadly.

Nights seemed a bit sad as well. "Well then, I guess this is goodbye," he said.

"I guess so," Maria answered. "I hate saying goodbye to friends, though, so I'll just say 'see ya!'" Alex nodded and waved goodbye, then he and his sister faded away as they woke up in their own world. Owl turned to Nights.

"I must say, you are one courageous lad. What are you going to do now that you've turned away from Wiseman?"

"He's going to answer for his transgressions," came an angry voice from behind them. Nights turned around, but too slowly, and Reala caught him with a powerful punch that sent him through a tree trunk, knocking him unconcious. Owl started hooting angrily, but this time Reala spared no pity on the bird and just swatted him aside like a bug. Hovering over Nights prone form, Reala felt a wave of saddness wash over him. No matter what he'd done, or not done, Nights was still his best friend, practically his brother. Nevertheless, he had to be brought before the master. Picking him up, Reala flew back to the realm of Nightmare.

LINELINELINE

A chained Nights stood before Wiseman, not an ounce of fear on his face. All of the Nightmarens surrounded him, awaiting Wiseman's punishment. Jackle kept on screeching something about a rubber museum and playing cards(8), but Reala ignored him to listen to what fate was about to befall his friend.

Finally, Wiseman spoke. "Nights, for your insubordination and treachery, I will take away that which you so dearly love; your freedom. You are to be imprisoned in the Ideya palace in Nightopia. Reala!"

Reala flew forward. "Yes master."

"You will take Nights to his new home, then report back."

Reala bowed. "Yes Wiseman." Taking Nights by the arm, Reala hauled him out of the castle. Most of the flight was silent, until Reala finally said, "I wish that it hadn't come to this."

"So do I," Nights answered.

"If that's how you feel, then why did you betray us?" Reala asked.

"I dunno. I guess it's just because I can't stand Wiseman," Nights answered honestly.

"That's all?"

"That's all. What, did you think I did it so I could become some sort of hero? Please. Being a hero's more restricting than working for the old codger!"

Reala blinked at Nights, then shook his head. When they reached the palace, Reala sealed him inside. Before leaving, Reala said, "You, Nights, are truly weird."

Once he was gone, Nights said, "At least I can make my own choices." He looked around at his incredibly small home. "Fat lot of good that it did me."

He sat there for ages, thinking about a lot of different things, wondering how Owl, Maria, Alex, and even Reala were doing.

Then, one day, he saw a young boy with blue hair and a red Ideya walking across the field.

LINELINELINE

Eliyora: Ta-dah!! My very first NiGHTS fanfiction! Okay, now to clarify some things.

(1) And the reason for Jackle's insanity is finally given!

(2) I can't really picture Wiseman making such a gentle-looking Nightmaren, so I decided to make his original look closer to Reala's.

(3) Journey of Dreams made it pretty clear that Nights and Reala were once pretty solid.

(4) I thought it would be better to use different Visitors, someone who came before Elliot and Claris.

(5) Nights is drawn to red Ideya, remember?

(6) I know Owl had nothing to do with the first game, but I wanted to throw him in anyway.

(7) I'm aware that this seems OOC, but think about it. Despite his constant defiance, WIseman won't destroy Nights. I don't think that Wiseman will ever truly harm one of his precious Nightmarens.

(8) Yep, I am referring to the Soft Museum, where we first run into Jackle!

Eliyora: Now, I hope that's everything. Any other questions, just ask in your review!! Thanks!