NiGHTS into Dreams: Destinies Come to Light

(Note: NiGHTS, Reala and any places, characters or things from either of the two NiGHTS games, NiGHTS into Dreams and NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, belongs to Sega and the Sonic Team. Illusia and any places, characters or things that you don’t recognize belong to me.)

Chapter One – Elaina Arrives: Dawn was just breaking in the east when Reala finally arrived at the Golden Mountains of Nightopia. The light from the slowly rising sun changing the glittering yellow-stone mountain range in front of him a fiery-orange hue as he continued his journey towards the Elder’s home, Diamond Palace.
“NiGHTS’ll be fine he was strong enough to stand up to Wizeman twice and help break me free of his control, he’ll be alright until we find and rescue him…Wizeman won’t do anything to him…I hope.” Reala thought trying to reassure himself as he glided through the sparkling gold colored mountains with their diamond tipped peaks reaching up to the Nightopian sky. “But how in the world of dreams are we supposed to find this “Visitor who isn’t a Visitor”? He said that the Elder could be able to find them using his powers but what if he isn’t able to…Wait a minute Reala you’ve got to keep faith in yourself, your friends, the Elder and your twin brother’s intuition! After all it hasn’t steered you wrong yet. Right now I’d better get back to them…I bet they’re still waiting for me to return…with NiGHTS.”
Reala continued flying through the golden colored mountains silently trying to calm himself down and stop worrying about NiGHTS until he reached Sunfire Peak the tallest mountain of the Golden Mountains on top of which Diamond Palace stood towering over Nightopia like a brilliant white guardian over all the lands of the dream paradise. The white diamond castle shimmered in the rising sun, shooting out rainbow colored beams of light into the sky as Reala flew up towards the castle stopping short of the castle’s twin doors of smooth silvery-white crystal and gold. As if they sensed his approach the crystal doors glowed with an opalescent white light before slowly swinging open to grant Reala entrance to the palace.
“(Sigh) I was right, they’ve been expecting me...” Reala thought to himself as he flew through the opened doorway and straight towards the Crystal Chamber where he knew the Elder of Nightopia and his three other comrades would be waiting for him as the doors slowly closed behind him. The black and red Nightmaren zipped through the twinkling hallways of the palace and through another set of silver crystal doors his thoughts slightly preoccupied.
“How am I going to explain to them that I wasn’t able to rescue NiGHTS…especially to Lighana?” He asked himself as finally flew into the Crystal Chamber. The chamber was located in the center of the castle and was covered by a dome of crystal clear diamond that allowed sunlight to enter the room without being split into the colors of the rainbow. The floor was smooth and a frosted white like the rest of the castle but it had a special gold design on it that was shaped like a sun whose gold “beams” reached out to touch the walls of the room. To one side of the room was four empty thrones, three small ones and one large one, made out of silver crystal trimmed with gold designs and covered by soft blue cushions but it was the huge crystal floating in the center of the room that dominated it. The crystal, which was the source of all good dreams, periodically changed colors and occasionally pulsing with a dim white light, as it floated above the center of the gold design that covered the floor.
The beauty of the room was lost on Reala as he flew straight towards the four beings sitting on the silver thrones and who were the focus of his attention. In the smaller thrones sat three beings that resembled Nightmarens like Reala but for a few small differences such as what they wore on their heads. These three, one boy and two girls, wore crowns or tiaras instead of the jester-like hats that both Reala and NiGHTS wore. One of the girls had long slightly curled red hair crowned by a tiara of midnight blue, light blue, gold and light orange which matched her short dress, tights and shoes. The only other colors besides her complexion of light peach was that of the green jewel trimmed with gold located in the middle of her chest just like Reala’s blue jewel and NiGHTS’ red one. Her light blue eyes were full of concern for someone and sympathy for her younger sister sitting beside her as she tried to comfort her while not showing her or their slightly younger brother any of her own worries and sorrow. The other girl’s eyes were the same color of her sister’s but were overflowing with unshed tears that continued to streak down her soft peach colored face. Her slightly curled lilac colored hair stopped at her waist, just like her sister’s and was accented by her dress, tights shoes and tiara of dark pink, indigo and silver. Her yellow jewel was mostly hidden from view because she was sobbing into the shoulders of the only boy of the three who was doing his best to try and comfort his older sister. The boy had short turquoise colored hair that peaked out from under his crown and a paler skin tone than that of his sisters’. His clothes wore clothes similar to NiGHTS and Reala except for the style and that they were golden yellow, light yellow, white and silver the same colors of his crown with a white jewel in the same spot as his sisters’ jewels slightly hidden from view by his sobbing sister’s body as she cried into his shoulder. His silver-blue eyes looked up at the figure sitting in the largest of the four thrones silently asking what they could do to comfort his older sister as he continued to hold her close in a brotherly embrace.
The being that the boy was looking up to closely resembled the three smaller beings sitting alongside him. He had tan colored face that had what looked to be laugh line wrinkles along the side of his brilliant, warm gold eyes. He had a short, glittering silver beard on his chin and wore a robe of crystalline white that glittered with every color of the rainbow when he moved or the light coming from the sun and the crystal in the room hit the robe just right. A cloak of gold draped over the tall being’s shoulders that matched the crown-like hat on his head and held a long staff of gold that had a crystal globe that hovered in the center of a sun-like carving just as the crystal in the center of the room did. His focus was on the three smaller figures sitting in the thrones beside him, his golden eyes shining with fatherly love and concern for their plight especially that of his youngest daughter. This was the father of the three smaller beings sitting beside him, the wisest creature in Nightopia and its ruler the Elder. Reala flew over to kneel before the four thrones, a habit he had retained since gaining his freedom from Wizeman’s control but he was noticed by one of the two girls seated in the smaller thrones first. Instantly she rose from her seat and flew straight over to the black and red Nighmaren Jester throwing her arms around his neck faster just as he stopped in front of the thrones
“Reala, thank all the deities of Nightopia, your safe!” She cried in relief, her gentle sounding but loud voice gaining the attention of both her other siblings and her father.
“Ahh, Reala you have returned safely, but what of NiGHTS?” the Elder commented softly noting the worry in the reformed Nightmaren’s face as he turned to face Reala and that the purple Nightmaren was nowhere to be seen.
“I…couldn’t rescue him…the net was…too strong…and…was enchanted…with a spell that kept NiGHTS a helpless captive…it…prevented me from…freeing him…I’m...sorry…” Reala explained as he tried to catch his breath and return the hug from the girl that was desperately clinging to him. “NiGHTS told…me…for us…to find…‘the Visitor who isn’t a Visitor’…from the prophecy…whoever that is...before it’s too late…for him…and Nightopia.”
Suddenly just as the other girl was going to begin crying again, the crystal globe on the Elder’s staff gleamed so brightly that it almost blinded Reala, the three Dreamtopians and the Elder. The Elder quickly rose and moved towards the large crystal in the center of the room followed by Reala and his three children. Standing a few feet between the thrones and the crystal the Elder waved his hand activating its power through the link with the crystal globe and the Elder himself. The crystal instantly stopped its usual color changing and began to shimmer with a pure white light dotted with sparkles of gold and silver before the image came into clearer focus. The crystal showed the five dream beings in the room the figure of a 12 year old human girl with short golden blond hair and deep blue (almost violet) eyes dressed in a pair of green pants, green vest, white blouse, a pair of white socks and a pair of green tennis shoes who looked to be standing right in the center of the crystal as if she was a small painted figure inside a snow globe that moved in time to some invisible music as she walked. The girl’s slightly curled blond hair was tied up in a ponytail that bobbed against the back of her neck as she moved. The Elder immediately took an interest in the girl that had been revealed to him.
“(Hmmm) This girl doesn’t look like any Visitor that I’ve ever seen before…the bright gold color of her hair…and the bright blue of  her eyes are quite…unusual…for any Visitor to have.” The Elder muttered softly as he, his children and Reala watched the girl as she walked around inside of the crystal. “Could she…she be the one we seek?”
Then without warning the crystal flashed almost as bright as the sun just long enough to dazzle everyone in the room before emitting a beam of rainbow colored light that landed on the floor only ten paces away from the five figures standing in the room.
“What’s going on?” Reala asked looking first at the crystal and then at the beam of colored light as he tried to blink the spots away from his eyes.
“Maybe the answer to our prayers...” The Elder replied softly as the colors in the beam of light began to swirl around taking the form of the girl who only seconds before was an image moving inside the crystal.  Once she had fully appeared the beam of light slowly dissipated leaving in its wake the girl standing on the smooth diamond floor her eyes closed as if she were asleep on her feet. Then as the crystal stopped its flickering of white light and went back to its normal soft glow of constantly changing colors, the girl slowly opened her eyes.
“Where am I?” The girl remarked her voice sounding as unusual as her appearance. Reala noted that it sounded similar to his and his twin brother’s voices but slightly different, more musical, as he watched the girl look up at the glittering domed ceiling above her and around the room. Finally her eyes fell upon the five of dream beings standing (or in Reala and the three children of the Elder’s cases floating in front of her) in shock only a few steps in front of her. “Who are you? And where am I?”
All Reala, Honour, Lighana and Staran could do was stare at the girl in shock but the Elder quickly began to try and calm the obviously startled girl.
“Welcome, young lady to Diamond Castle. I am the Elder of Nightopia the Paradise of Dreams. I am also its ruler and one of its few guardians. The slightly shocked floating red, black and jester is Reala, one of the two good Nightmaren that helps me protect this world. The girl that is clinging on to Reala’s is my eldest daughter Staran, the other sad but usually cheerful girl is my younger daughter Lighana and finally the boy is my son, Honour, my youngest child. They are Dreamtopians since they were created here and the last three protectors of Nightopia. Pray tell what might your name be?”
“Elaina.” The girl replied before turning to gaze at her wondrous surroundings. “How did I get here?”
“My dear, that I’m not completely sure of yet but maybe your arrival has just answered one of our questions concerning a precise part of a certain prophesy and our prayers for a certain type of help.” The Elder commented as he used his powers to check the young girl. He projected a soft white light from the crystal on the staff that flowed out and seemed to cover the curious Elaina in a gold light that turned dark blue and then disappeared as if it was confirming his theory. “Curious, it seems as if you’re whole being has been brought to this world. I regret that your parents might become very worried about you unless we get you back home soon.”
“I…don’t have any parents, sir. I’m an orphan I don’t even know where I came from…I was found as a baby and placed in an orphanage or was just there at an orphanage. I have been there for ages without anyone ever really noticing me or even knowing I was there. It was like I was invisible to them. All I’ve ever dreamed about was finding a family to call my own, dreaming about it during the day while my nights are…well dreamless…I just sleep in darkness and have never had a dream except for my daydreams. I never experienced a dream let alone know that there’s a world of dreams.” Elaina explained her eyes filling up with tears that she quickly wiped away.
“How curious, I believe that you are indeed ‘the Visitor who is not a Visitor’ that our prophecy talks about. But what exactly that means I know not at this moment.” The Elder remarked looking down and smiling gently down at the young girl as she finished wiping her tears away on her shirt sleeve.
“Me, why me?” Elaina asked looking confused all thoughts of tears and fears driven from her mind leaving only curiosity in their wake.
The Elder laughed at the look on the young girl’s face while turning her towards the crystal behind her using it and his powers to help illustrate his words.
“Young Elaina, I will try to explain I have fought to keep the Nightmares at bay for centuries but several times the evil ruler of Nightmare, Wizeman the Wicked, has been able to break through and come close to his goal of destroying Nightopia. Only through the power of the Ideya, the Visitors to the Dream World and the powers of Reala’s brother, a purple Nighmaren named, NiGHTS that tragedy was averted. At first Reala was as loyal to Wizeman as NiGHTS was rebellious but NiGHTS wouldn’t give up trying to free his brother from Wizeman’s control. Then Reala fell in love with my eldest child, Staran, shortly after NiGHTS was finally able to release us from our prisons. With her and NiGHTS’ help Reala was finally able to break free, reverting to his first and true form. Thus making two of our strongest protectors of Nightopia Reala and of course his brother NiGHTS with my children fighting alongside them. Sadly only yesterday NiGHTS answered a call for help in the area of Splash Garden while Reala answered a similar one located in an area he was familiar with, Stick Canyon. Both calls for help proved to be traps set by Wizeman’s men, fellow Nightmarens who are absolutely loyal to Wizeman and almost as ruthless as the ruler of Nightmare himself. While Reala was barely able to escape the trap set for him in Stick Canyon, NiGHTS wasn’t so fortunate. They captured him in an enchanted Dreamcatcher net and were taking him back to Nightmare when last we heard. Reala tried to stage a daring rescue last night but…” The Elder began explaining as the crystal showed images from Nightopias past before both he and Elaina turned to look at the black and red Nightmaren.
“I couldn’t,” Reala interrupted finally over his shock at Elaina’s sudden appearance. “The net’s enchantment was too strong to break or even untangle from around my twin brother’s body. He could be in Nightmare by now especially if one of the guards saw me trying to rescue him last night.”
“Right now we stand little chance at rescuing NiGHTS or winning against another one of Wizeman’s all out assaults unless we gain the advantage we need against our enemies. According to a prophecy I know of that advantage lies with the six Protectors of Dreams, six dream beings that will have the powers to stand up to the Nightmares and protect the dreams and Visitors from the darkness of Wizeman using the powers of six Ideya Jewels. I unwittingly set the prophecy in motion when discovered the six Ideya Jewels and used three of them to create Staran, Lighana and Honour. I lost the other three jewels to Wizeman, two of which he used to create NiGHTS and Reala. Years later NiGHTS betrayed Wizeman showing the power of Ideya Crystal fighting against him and winning against him twice when my children and I were rendered helpless by one of Wizeman’s tricks. Then Reala broke free of Wizeman’s control allowing five of the six Ideya Jewels to be reunited in the forms of the five beings that will uses them and their powers. For some reason unknown to me there is a Nightmaren out there that has the sixth Ideya Jewels hidden by Wizeman to try and prevent this prophecy from coming to past. This one who holds the last Ideya Jewel will be the sixth and final Protector of Dreams but it is said in the prophecy that he or she will only be revealed when ‘a Visitor who is not a Visitor’ arrives in Nightopia in a time of great need. I believe that you are that Visitor since somehow the crystal was able to pull your whole being into Nightopia and the fact we face a grim future without finding the missing protector and rescuing NiGHTS. You, Elaina, are the only hope we have at rescuing NiGHTS and finding the sixth Protector before Nightmares overwhelm our world.”
Elaina looked at all five beings who were patiently waiting for her answer though they couldn’t keep the anxiety that they were feeling from showing on their faces or in their eyes. As she gazed at each of them Elaina began to feel something that she had never felt before stirring deep inside her, the feeling of being needed and that she had returned home where she belonged.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help you save Nightopia and NiGHTS.” Elaina vowed causing a cheer to erupt from Reala, Lighana, Honour and Staran.
“Thank you my dear.” Replied The Elder once the initial cheering had subsided, “but before you embark on your quest let us first get you familiarized with the land of Nightopia…and the foes you are likely to come across in your journey.
Meanwhile at the dark and foreboding Nightmare Castle, Reala’s words are being proven true as two burly Nightmaren lackeys half-carried, half-dragged a reluctant NiGHTS into Wizeman’s throne room. Now without the suffocating restraints of the net imprisoning him, NiGHTS was trying valiantly to free himself from the two shadow gray beings that were just inches taller than him, both of which were hard pressed to keep their grips around NiGHTS’ arms. Suddenly a voice boomed out from the center of the room.
“NiGHTS, you’re treachery has spoken volumes for years yet you still struggle against my will even when you have no chance of ever escaping here.” NiGHTS glared up at robed figure with a silver dome that had lightning shaped dreadlocks poking out of it and six armless hands floating around it. One of these hands came close to NiGHTS and revealed its dangerous and glaring magenta, green, orange and yellow cat-like eye similar to NiGHTS’ blue ones and the eyes that was in each of the other five silver colored hands.
“Wizeman.” NiGHTS spat out contemptuously through his clenched teeth glaring back into the eye in front of him while still trying to free himself. “You’ve imprisoned and captured me several times before and I’ve escaped. What makes you think this will be any different?”
Wizeman snaps the fingers on one of his other hands causing the two shadow-grey cloud-like Nightmaren to release NiGHTS as four golden chains zip out from a platform that resembles the NiGHTS’ Capture except that it just hovers there and no glass or dome that is used as a prison located to the right of Wizeman’s throne and head straight towards the purple Nightmaren. Before NiGHTS could dodge or move out of the way the chains snap into place around his arms and ankles rendering him immobile. The chains then drag NiGHTS to the platform where he hangs spread eagle from them now level with Wizeman’s silver domed head and now two of Wizeman’s eyed hands.
“This time I will be the one who makes sure instead of incompetent lower level Nightmare or a Nightmaren whose loyalty is kept until the spell I had over him is broken by true love and your…determination. This time I shall take care of both yours and Reala’s treason personally especially when your twin comes for you.” Wizeman rumbles back watching as NiGHTS struggles to free himself from his chains and prison.
“You’ll never accomplish that! Reala is no fool and neither am I. You’ll never imprison our free will or be able to break that will no matter what you do.” NiGHTS retorted back glaring at Wizeman.
“We shall…” Wizeman begins to reply until something stops him. He sensed something…or to be more exact someone that he hadn’t felt since his creation of NiGHTS and Reala, a being that he thought he had taken care of all those years ago and would never feel again. “No this can’t be…she couldn’t have…”
Turning away from the captive NiGHTS and turned to the two cloud-like Nightmaren.
“Call all of my generals…tell them I have a job for them. I need them to find...someone who has returned to the Dream Dimension.” He ordered them. As the Nightmaren zipped out of the room leaving their master and his captive, Wizeman settles into his throne muttering to himself. “How could you have returned from where I banished you…Illusia? How?”
Wizeman’s thoughts are so preoccupied that he has forgotten the captive NiGHTS for the moment. The purple Nightmaren looks at his evil creator slightly puzzled at his current actions from his prison hanging only a few feet away from Wizeman’s throne.
“Illusia, who’s Illusia and why is he so worried about her? Could she be another of the Elder’s children that he banished because she was a threat to his plans for Nightopia…the same plans that I foiled time and time again?” NiGHTS puzzles looking at the plotting Wizeman. “If she’s an enemy of Wizeman’s I hope Reala, Lighana, Staran and Honour find her first along with that Visitor from the prophecy and that they’re ready for trouble because it looks like that they’ve got a huge batch of it coming their way.”
NiGHTS watched as the six generals that had taken his and Reala’s places as the elite of Wizeman’s forces slightly hidden by the shadows of the throne room especially as they knelt before their master.
“You summoned us, Master Wizeman?” one figure asked in a silky voice full of deceit that NiGHTS was just barely able to make out the dark gray and black jester outfit of the Nightmaren kneeling between two figures dressed in brown and black.
“I have…You are to go into Nightopia and bring back whatever new being that has appeared in that ‘dream paradise’ and bring them back to me. Tear the place apart if you have to! Separate yourselves and your forces between the areas of Nightopia and find me that new being.” Wizeman ordered his six generals.
“Leave it to us, master.” Another of the figures this one an icy cold feminine voice replied her ice blue and gray outfit including her pointed hat were just barely able to be seen by NiGHTS in the shadows of the room as she knelt between two other figures dressed in neon colors. The six figures quickly rose and glided out of the throne room to find the being that their master was desperate to find leaving Wizeman and NiGHTS once again alone. Then NiGHTS heard Wizeman muttering underneath his breath as his former master stares at the throne room door.
“While I don’t know how you got back here Illusia…but I’ll make sure that you won’t be able to have a chance to fulfill your destiny.”
As he mutters to himself, Wizeman is unaware that NiGHTS is taking a chance at contacting his twin through their special telepathic link, the same link that Reala used to track down his twin the first time, to warn him of the incoming trouble and inform him of what he has overheard from his prison.