A/N: Takes place after my Babysitter fanfic.

NiGHTS circled Dream Gate. Where was that Visitor? Nights never had this happen before. She could understand why the Visitor didn't care to talk with Owl, but her! All the Visitors were intrigued by her. Even the shy ones couldn't wait to Dualize with her and fly around. Yet this Visitor took offense to everything Nights said. Where was that Visitor? Nights had to reassure the Visitor she meant no harm and above all else, get the Visitor to like her better than anyone at the Dream Gate. There just could be no other way about it.

"Hello, Nights," came a voice. Nights stopped and looked around and saw nothing. The voice didn't belong to the Visitor but the invisible creature who had recently taken up residence at the Dream Gate.

"Oh, its you," Nights said not looking in any particular direction. "Hey, I don't suppose you've seen a girl Visitor around have you?"

"Mm, by the lake."

"By the lake? I circled there three times already."

"She must have just gotten there. Nights, what's wrong?"

Nights groaned. "Oh nothing," her tone indicating it wasn't. "just because I want to Dualize with the Visitor, she thinks I'm a pervert." With that Nights flew off.

"Mm," the invisible said after Nights left. Still she had to ponder, "What's a pervert?"

Sure enough, the girl was sitting by the lake when Nights arrived. The girl's thoughts were preoccupied, twirling whatever it was in her hand, and she didn't even hear Nights land. Nights thought about how amusing it would be to spook the girl and make her fall in the lake, but now wasn't the time for pranks. Nights situated herself and started to play her flute.

The girl whipped her head around surprised someone had shown up. She looked disappointed and somewhat angry to see Nights. "What are you doing?" Nights continued to play. "Is that a flute? That's stupid. You're stupid." The teenage girl hugged her knees and went back to staring at the lake.

Nights felt like pushing the girl into that very lake. She stopped playing her flute and flew in front of the girl. "Hey, why so upset?"

The girl turned away from Nights. "You wouldn't understand. No one understands."

"Try me. You could start by telling me your name." After all, Nights gave her name and it was only polite this girl give hers.

"What do you care?"

Nights thoughts about tossing the girl into the lake came up again. "It's fine if you don't want to. I just thought you would tire of me addressing yourself as 'Hey, you'." The girl didn't respond. Nights felt a bit disappointed as that last line usually got a giggle out of the most shy Visitors. Nights' eye went to the girl's hand fiddling with an object. "What's that you have there?"

"None of your business."

"Oh, let me see it." Nights playfully barged in and snatched it from her. Maybe she could at least play a game of keep away until the girl felt like talking. "Haha! Got..." Nights stopped as she stared dumbfounded at the item she had taken from the girl. Nights knew the item very well and could not believe it had turn up at the Dream Gate. Nights stroked the edges of the gold plated mask with its black feathers: The persona that belonged to Reala.

"Hey, give it back!" the girl yelled as she tried to reach up and take the persona back.

Nights didn't even hear the girl's question. "Where did you get this?" Her voice oddly soft.

"I said give it back!"

"Where did you get this?" Nights repeated.

The girl stopped her attempts and slowly looked away. "There's someone injured over on the other side of the woods. I tried to help him," The girl lifted up her sleeve and showed Nights the scratch marks on her arm. "but he didn't want my help."

"So, he's alive." Nights looked back at the persona. But if Reala had survived Wizeman's defeat, why wasn't he wearing his persona? "How did you get this?"

The girl still didn't look back at Nights. "I got mad at him for scratching me. I swiped it right off his face."

"Oh," Nights said sadly. She had hoped Reala had chosen not to wear his persona and what it stood for. "Come now," Nights told the girl as she started flying towards the center of the Dream Gate. "Let's return this to its proper owner then."

Near the entrance of the Dream Gate, Owl rested on his perch. "Ah." He motioned for the invisible creature to look over. "It seems Nights has found our wayward Visitor. Hoo."

"What is Nights holding?"

"I... don't know."

Nights flew up to the middle of the fountain, took a deep breath, and yelled loud enough for him to hear. "Reala!"

"What?" asked the now distressed Owl. "Reala is here?

"Who's Rea..." Owl shushed the invisible creature as Nights continued.

"I know you're out there, Reala." Nights held up Reala's persona. "You want this don't you? You wouldn't dare go back to Wizeman without your symbol of loyalty for him." Nights waited atop the fountain and braced herself for Reala's eventual attack. However, only silence filled the Dream Gate. Nights looked around. She doubted Reala would leave without his persona. Or could it be he finally decided to cast it off?

From the edge of the Dream Gate came the sound of foliage crunching under someone's step. Nights and the others turned their heads to see the red, black and gray Nightmaren standing there holding his side while his other hand supported himself up against a tree. The girl had told Nights that Reala was badly wounded, but Nights didn't imagine he would walk here; not when he had the power of flight. Was this to mislead her? Nights was a bit relieved to see him finally start to float off the paved circle of the Dream Gate. Even if only by a few inches.

"Ah, Nights. Long time no see." Reala sneered.

Nights kept her ground. "How did you survive?"

"Sorry your attempt to kill us all failed, Nights," Reala said while his head rolled along its joint. "Perhaps you'd like to finish me off in front of that Visitor or would you rather wait till my back is turned before you try again at stabbing it?

"Is Wizeman back?"

Reala kept his lazy look on Nights. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Nights could try her hand at Reala's game too. "I'm just surprised Wizeman made another second rank Nightmaren instead of healing you."

"That eye sore of a Nightmaren was created before you destroyed Master Wizeman!" Reala yelled.

"So, Wizeman is gone."

Reala let out grunt of frustration at how easily he was tricked in his weaken state.

Nights floated down to him. "Reala, you don't have to hold onto this." She held out his persona. "Wizeman is gone, you can be..." Nights' sentence was cut short as Reala grabbed his persona and made a strike at Nights. Had Reala been at his normal power, his attack would have been successful. However, Nights dodged him easily and he fell unceremoniously to the ground. He tried getting back up, but his legs kept giving out.

"Why do you think Master Wizeman is gone?" he screamed at her. The only thing he could do. "You killed him! I'm in this condition because of you! You did this to me!" He looked at his persona in his hand and held it close. He didn't even notice Night had kneel down to look at him.

She held out her hand. "Wizeman is gone. We have no reason to fight. We can live in peace."

He snarled at her. "No reason? Funny, I think attempted genocide is a rather good reason to fight." Reala finally pushed himself up. He placed his persona back over his face and then pointed at Nights. "You'll receive yours, Nights." He slowly floated back into the forest and out of sight.

Nights remained in her spot; a somber look rested across her face as she kept her sight to the spot Reala had disappeared from.

"You tried to kill them?" the girl asked.

Nights only hung her head in reply.

"You did! You tried to kill them."

"They're Nightmarens," the invisible creature spoke up. "They should all die."

The girl looked around. She had never met the invisible creature and didn't know where the voice came from. She took a glance at Nights before she ran off.

"What a mess! What a mess! Hoo. Hoo." Owl went on as he tried to figure out how to set things back to order. "Now, m'dear," he addressed the invisible creature first as she was there. "You shouldn't say all Nightmarens should die."

"Don't scold her, Owl."

"Nights?"

"After all, she's just saying they should be killed. I'm the one who actually did try to kill them all."

"Mm. Nights agrees with me."

Owl looked over to where the invisible creature was. The poor thing didn't know the truth about Nights. He turned back to her. "Nights, what shall we do about the Visitor?"

"I don't know, Owl. I don't know."

To be continued.