paixaorpg | A Nightmare Awakes (active)

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A Nightmare Awakes (active)

Character(s): Reala, NiGHTS
Content: Reala arrives and gets down to business hurting Paixaoans. NiGHTS is there too,and does some stuff. But that's really not nearly as important. =P
Setting: Muspelheim gate
Time: THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT. MINE IS AN EVIL LAUGH. MWAHAHAHA.
Warnings: Uh, blood? Snark? Sibling rivalry?

A soft noise of confusion, a sudden shifting against a ground that was entirely too hard; Reala sat up without knowing he'd laid down at all. He had been flying--why was he waking up? And in such a strange place, at that? Ugh, this place was too damned bright.... Where was he? This certainly wasn't Nightmare. He'd never seen anything like it in Nightopia, either.... It seemed a little too brilliant and strange. Not to mention full of what looked quite like Visitors. None of the normal residents he would expect to find in Nightopia, yet none of them seemed particularly disoriented.... It was like some strange shared dream? Perhaps a new part of the Night Dimension altogether.

Reala picked himself up with a disdainful huff, dusting himself off and rising into the air with a quick burst of golden sparkles. They left a fading comet's trail behind him as he joined the line of visitors, privately scoffing at their obliviousness; they hardly seemed to think he was odd at all. Truly a wolf along sheep, with not even a skin to hide him.... "Name, please?"

Such a mundane question. As though he were one of these fools.... "Reala." He smirked; there was no reason at all to not give it. He doubted this Visitor would know who he was anyway.

"Welcome to Paixao! Here's your journal, please enjoy your stay!" The gatekeeper smiled and offered him a deep red rectangle and some pamphlets that Reala hardly bothered to look at.

"Thank you very much." Reala's smirk widened, and he moved to take the offering, apparently overshooting; pale fingers closed delicately around the man's wrist, gleaming pink claws leaving furrows down the entirety of his hand. The man jerked back and cried out in pain as rivulets of pale, glowing blue blood spilled over the journal. Reala caught the journal and pamphlets as they were dropped, offering a mockingly cheerful wave as he turned to glide into the city itself. So they weren't Visitors after all.... Visitors, as he recalled, bled nothing but crimson. "I think I will."

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Jackle was here. Jackle was here. And he was alive.

Those thoughts chased through NiGHTS' mind in a continuous refrain as the Maren floated silently above the city, her face unusually serious. What was this place? She could swear she had killed Jackle, and the memory of his destruction was clear even now. He had cackled madly, even unto the end, that final defiant laugh so fierce it had hurt NiGHTS' head. Claris had covered her ears and shivered in fright.

She was jerked out of her thoughts by the sound of a man crying out in pain, and her own nightmarish instincts screamed at her as she flew towards the sound - almost as if she was drawn to it.

And then she stopped, hovering a few feet above the ground, her mouth dropping open.

Reala.

Reala flew in through the gates--magnificently tacky, but he did approve of the subject matter, and the sentiment they could have conveyed--to the city proper, taking a look around. Fake plants everywhere, quite a lot of boring architecture.... It reminded him a little of Delight City.Perhaps this was some obscure part of Nightopia after all? These people certainly didn't seem to be dreamers, so they must be dreamed up themselves--not Nightopians, to be sure, but dreams could take any shape or form the Dreamer desired. Ah, but who was the Dreamer here? Now that was the question....

Reala looked around, aware of a gentle tug in the back of his mind, the subtle feeling of not being alone that he had long ago learned to interpret as NiGHTS' presence. How else would he to track his twin so easily, after all, if not make use of their special bond? He allowed instinct to guide how he oriented himself, and Reala flew, lips curling into a somewhat unsettling smile as NiGHTS came into view, quite still and looking rather flabbergasted. "Ah, NiGHTS.... Long time no see." A burst of golden sparkles, and he was brought up to NiGHTS' level, uncomfortably close as his smile shifted into a smirk. "Surprised to meet again so soon?" He supposed it was an appropriate response--after all, it wasn't as if they had parted that long ago, with Helen being spirited away....

NiGHTS was speechless, her mouth still open as her eyes drank in the sight of her near-brother. How? How? First Jackle, and now this? But she had Seen it, she had seen Reala's battered form fall from the sky, she had felt that sharp, stabbing ache in her heart as she had pasted that confident (triumphant) look on her face when Will and Helen had come up to her, happy that the big bad boogeyman was gone.

If only they had had a clue as to what NiGHTS was capable of.

But no. Now was not the time for such fiercely scattered (proud, almost) thoughts. She had to speak.

"Reala."

"Why, it speaks." Reala delicately touched the tips of his bloodied claws to his lips in mock amazement, smirk only growing at NiGHTS' speechlessness. Shaken so badly? Losing Helen must have been more of a blow than he'd imagined. "I hadn't thought you were capable of learning to still that restless tongue of yours." Reala moved closer, knowing well (and taking considerable pleasure in) the fact that shrinking personal space tended to unsettle most people, as did unexpected touch--and so he moved until they weren't even an arm's length away from each other, eyes glittering behind his Persona as he delicately took NiGHTS' chin with bloodstained claws, gently (almost as if he cared, he told himself) closing NiGHTS' mouth for hir. "What's the matter, can't find your friends?"

NiGHTS froze at the contact, knowing how Reala was taking pleasure in her discomfort but still not caring (alive, her almost-twin was alive, and the ache in her heart she didn't even know remained returned, but lessened). She was used to Reala's ways - how brutal and cruel he could be, but there was still a face behind the mask, and Reala could never fool NiGHTS into thinking otherwise. Perhaps their so-called "father," but he had only ever seen what he wanted.

"I..." NiGHTS shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, but it wasn't easy - she felt, for the second time today, as though she had been thrown for a loop. "I've made some new friends."

Even Reala knew, however, that NiGHTS would never forget the friends she had made in the past, even as she made new ones.

Ahh, the sudden, strained stillness, just as sharp as though he'd been shoved.... He recognized the reaction, and relished it. A black-velvet chuckle slipped from between painted lips at NiGHTS' shrug and response, even her--transparent, really, an almost insultingly poor attempt at a lie--tone, and his expression slipped into a hollow mockery of shock and dismay. "How heartless!" His claws skimmed a light trail from NiGHTS' chin to her chest, palm curving over the shard of red Ideya embedded there before giving it a brisk tap to listen to the chime of nail against crystal.

"Why, my dear sibling, I never knew you could be so cold.... Have you truly forgotten your old friends so soon? So quickly abandoned those you once held dear to reach for new pleasures? You always were so fickle...." His look was one of sneering approval (you see? You are one of us....) now, and he forcefully submerged any note of bitterness that threatened to escape. This wasn't about him, after all. This wasn't about what NiGHTS had done before. This was about NiGHTS and her brats alone, about twisting every little nuance of what she said and did to his advantage. Why shouldn't he take advantage of what was laid out for him for the taking?

NiGHTS quelled a shiver as Reala cupped the warm glow of positive energy that still remained in the shard at her chest. She felt the remnants of the Ideya shudder at being touched, being tapped, by Reala, cruel as he was. "You'd know a lot about heartless, Reala." And the light-reflection of her brother's shadow had to bite the words out, knowing the truth of it - that Reala was not heartless, that he chose this path, the same way had chosen hers.

It wasn't the fact that Reala was evil that bothered her.

"No." The answer was short, forceful, and NiGHTS knew that it was a mistake the instant it had slipped from her mouth. She was one of the Nightmaren, and she hadn't spoken to Elliot and Claris since the end - except to thank them, of course, by leading them into each other in the harsh, shattered-glass world called reality. She knew, as well, that she wouldn't speak to Helen or Will again - perhaps allow the strains of her flute to reach them, let them know she was there, but it was over. The life-span of mortals was painfully short, even to a being that didn't know much of time.

It was the only thing she had learned from WIzeman that she agreed upon.

Reala smirked and traced the edge of the Ideya shard with his claw as though he intended to cut it straight out of her chest, enjoying the subtle shudder he felt; the Nightmaren raised his bloody claw to his lips, lapping at it with a slow sweep of the tongue as though he expected some detectable trace of courage to linger on it--there was nothing of the sort, of course, though there was the faintest tingle from the blood. How odd.... "Ahh, perhaps, perhaps.... After all, I have had such a good teacher." Another smirk, this one double-pronged; it could cut both ways, that comment. NiGHTS was certainly a fine teacher for heartlessness, abandoning his family the way he had.... And mention of their father, too, had their uses. Master Wizeman, after all, had created them and taught them everything they knew--him and NiGHTS both, which made her equally as knowledgeable as he.

"No?" He questioned, smiling knowingly; NiGHTS was shaken by him, and he knew it--and furthermore, he knew that NiGHTS knew that he knew it, though that train of thought was twisting and rambling enough that it was better left to Jackle than he. "Methinks the lady doth protest too much~...." He tilted his head, false concern dripping from his voice. "And just how are your dear little Visitor friends then, NiGHTS? Do you know? Have you bothered to check?" The 'Do you even care?' lingered unspoken, simmering just beneath the surface of his words--veiled, but he imagined it was plenty clear to NiGHTS. Who knew him better, after all?

NiGHTS' iridescent eyes, so like Reala's but for the glimmer of midnight purple mingling with the blue, narrowed subtly - not subtle enough to hide from Reala, of course, but she was counting on that. Secrets between twins, real or not, were just that. A sharp intake of breath at her own implied heartlessness, and she resisted the urge to cup her own Ideya shard protectively, shield it away from Reala and make him forget it was ever there.

But of course, she couldn't do that - not with Reala, who knew her better than Wizeman ever could. It was a double-edged sword, for the two of them to be created as twins; the two of them repelled one another as often as they were drawn to each other. Right now, NiGHTS wasn't sure which one she felt. Elation, certainly, at Reala being alive after all, but apprehension as well. What would Reala do in such a place?

"WIll and Helen are all right," NiGHTS replied back, calm despite her own turbulent emotions. "They both overcame their fears, and they're going to be fine." Not that Reala cared, but NiGHTS did. Will and Helen would always be friends to NiGHTS, much like Elliot and Claris - even if they never met again.

Reala had to know that.

Reala noted the narrowed eyes, the gasp, and reveled in them both--NiGHTS was not pleased. So he'd struck a nerve, had he? Poor, dear NiGHTS, upset over being proven how she could never truly escape who and what she was..... Her birth was her destiny, and no matter what she tried, Reala knew she would fulfill it, even if he had to beat her down and drag her unconscious body back to Master Wizeman himself. As if she could ever hide her heart from him.... They had been made to be together, and he would read her regardless of how she might try to hide or deny that fact.

He wasn't sure what exactly he would do now, in this strange place of light and Visitor-shaped dream creatures, but he doubted it would be anything that NiGHTS would approve of lately. "My, how certain you sound.... Are you sure that your confidence is well-placed? They are only Visitors, after all...." And Visitors were vulnerable, foolish things, easily swayed and effected by the very things that they dreamed up. Besides, Master Wizeman surely had them both now; who knew what he would do to those little brats?

NiGHTS knew. She had always known that her fate and Reala's would remain intertwined - and likely hers and WIzeman's as well. NiGHTS still wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't dead after all, with the way she had spoken to Wizeman before that battle, with stingingly cold water, relentless earth and winds that forced NiGHTS to turn into her draconic form just to get past them. It had been a difficult battle, and between that and Dualizing with both WIll and Helen at the same time, NiGHTS had felt sure she was going to simply collapse from the sheer exhaustion alone.

And then the light which had engulfed her came, and NiGHTS had known that she was going to die. Even with that, however, she never felt a smidgen of regret, only smiled to WIll and Helen and taken one final bow.

Was this place what happened to people, Maren, Visitors and all, when they died?

"I know now, without a doubt, that Helen and WIll are all right. And if you don't recall, Reala, Elliot was with me when I beat you before."

"Bold words, for someone who was in such a tight spot so recently. How did you get free, I wonder?" Reala smirked a little; it was almost touching that NiGHTS had such faith in her little friends. Almost. The little brats hadn't been hard at all to send away, after all.... What made her so confident that they hadn't been crushed to a pulp by now in one of Wizeman's great hands?

And besides that, there was that little question of a cage.... NiGHTS had been trapped when Helen was sent off. With both Visitors out of the picture, there should have been nobody around to set her free.... How had she managed that? With what trick of fate? Perhaps some other errant Visitor had stumbled upon her.... Of all the dumb luck! NiGHTS did seem to have a good track record of fortuitous coincidences like that.....

"How I got free is none of your business, Reala," replied NiGHTS with a smirk, crossing her arms. She knew Will and Helen were all right, beyond the shadow of a doubt; if nothing else, Owl, knowing his concern for children, would have found them and led them back to the Dream Gate. As for Wizeman, he was no more.

At least, NiGHTS thought so. But now she wasn't so sure, between Reala and Jackle coming back. On the other hand, Jackle had sounded angry at the mere implication of Wizeman's defeat, whereas before he simply would have laughed long and loud as always at the sheer ludicrousness of the idea.

NiGHTS tilted her head, examining her sibling. "Just how did you get here, anyway?" Jackle hadn't known, but maybe Reala would.

"Oh, it isn't, is it?" Reala smirked back, mirroring NiGHTS expression as perfectly as only he knew how. "Why, my dear NiGHTS, haven't you learned by now that everything you do is my business?" Gleaming blue eyes moved over NiGHTS, the expression almost possessive or predatory, and he moved in a slow arc, gold sparkles swirling underfoot as he circled her for a thorough examination. "Such a brave face you're putting on, and yet you have so little to say.... I wonder~...."

He drew out the sing-song into an almost sinister drawl--the circle was almost more like a spiral in nature, each movement along his orbit bringing him even closer in his invasion of her personal space. "I wonder.... Just how much would you tell someone whose business it was, hmm? Or can you say anything at all? Perhaps you don't even know yourself...."

"Hmph," NiGHTS responded, her tone playful and almost arrogant, "Did you really miss me so much?" Reala had been relentlessly hunting NiGHTS ever since she had left Wizeman's side for good. Wizeman may have been her father, in a sense, but he hadn't acted like a father, from what Will had told her about them. More than that, he treated his so-called "children," the Nightmaren, with such utter disdain - they were nothing more than pawns to him.

She refused to budge as Reala circled her, her vivid eyes following him. "I know what I would say - and that's what matters." No doubt that Reala had some inkling as to what his sibling would say as well, but that wasn't the point.

Reala let out a low, rolling chuckle at NiGHTS' defiant comment; he did indeed know what she would say. She would say exactly the same thing she'd said to him--nothing more, and nothing less. There wasn't a chance she would admit her cluelessness, even to those Visitor brats. "Oh, certainly, certainly.... I sorely missed seeing you caged and helpless." Reala smirked. "Though I didn't miss your tireless chatter. I see you've learned to hold your tongue a bit better now, haven't you?" The spiraling approach had been slow but steady; Reala was close enough that they were almost touching now, and slowed to a halt as he moved behind NiGHTS, clawed hands settling deceptively delicately onto her shoulders. He had her, and he knew it; it would hardly take an instant to tighten his grip and dig those claws in to hold her fast.

"You...!" NiGHTS growled at Reala as his hands found her shoulders, and she turned her head to bare her teeth at him. "You should know by now, Reala, that you can't keep me caged for long." One way or another, NiGHTS always found escape - but that didn't stop her from hating being caged.

She grinned defiantly at Reala, her pupils thinning like an angry cat's at the way her near-brother moved. "Then again, Reala, you'd know a lot about being caged, wouldn't you?" The meaning of her words were clear -Reala left himself willingly in a cage, all for Wizeman. The way Reala was acting - did he know their creator was dead?

Reala smirked at the bared teeth--a Maren once was a Maren always, and it showed--and tightened his grip. Foolish girl, too proud to be cautious.... He ought to cage her and be done with it right now, take her to Master Wizeman right away. But then again, that wouldn't be any fun now, would it? And he still wasn't sure where they were, in general or in relation to Nightmare. That would bear some thought.

Regardless, his temper flared at the insinuation, his eyes' reaction nearly identical; if he had a tail, it would have been lashing. "I know a great deal about cages." He agreed, anger simmering almost explosively just under a thin veneer of calm arrogance; his grip shifted, enough o swing him casually around to put them face to face. "But I'm afraid you, my dear NiGHTS, are the only one who has practical experience with them!" Thus situated, his hands found her throat, and he kicked off against nothing--regardless, he propelled them towards the wall of the dome quite near the great fiery gates, a crushing bodyslam to dash her into a metaphorical corner. After all, it might not be a literal cage, but being pinned and held certainly counted....

NiGHTS was about to respond with a few sharp remarks of her own when Reala's claws dug into her shoulders. She winced, her breath hissing in, and managed to reply, "Of course you would know about cages, Reala, you live your life willingly in one." NiGHTS did care about Reala in her own roundabout way, but she could never understand why Reala was so loyal to Wizeman, when their creator treated them so.

NiGHTS cried out in pain as she was slammed, pain hitting her where her throat would have been, had she possessed one. "I wouldn't say that, Reala," she chuckled, her voice strained under the choke-hold Reala had her in. "You do work for Wizeman." Or did, but why sweat the small stuff right now? She had bigger problems on her hands at the moment.

NiGHTS' words only encouraged Reala to viciously tighten an already fierce grip, now on her shoulders to ensure some real pain, fingers curling to let his claws pierce flesh. His own teeth were bared at the mere implications, the sheer audacity.... He dipped his head with an angry hiss, lips a hair's breadth from brushing NiGHTS ear as he spoke. "Whatever you choose to call it, Master Wizeman's domain is our home. Remember who you are, NiGHTS, remember what you are--Nightmare is and always will be where you belong."

NiGHTS gave a strangled cry at the pain, struggling against her brethren. Despite the ferocity of her own struggling, however, she failed to break free - Reala had her pinned. He always had been the stronger of the two of them, just as NiGHTS was the faster.

She shivered and froze at Reala's words - they hurt. Despite her flippant reactions to her not-brother and the fact that, time and again, she had stood against the Nightmaren, she still was one of them. That wasn't exactly the part she minded, despite L's implications; it was the reactions she got when people found out. But she couldn't deny the near-truth of Reala's words. Near because she only belonged where she wanted.

"That's not true!" she hissed back, struggling anew.

The struggling, in fact, only ensured that NiGHTS drove his claws deeper into herself--Reala made sure of that. How weak.... Once he caught her, there was never any question of which of them was the superior half of their pair. He was the stronger of the two, and it was only a matter of time before he caught her, now and always. Reala had regained his composure once more at NiGHTS' blatant reaction, a vicious smirk sneaking across his face once again. "Oh, NiGHTS.... denial will get you nowhere, you know. Besides, the truth will set you free." Free from all ties with her little brats, for certain. "I told your erstwhile Visitor friends what you were--perhaps your new ones deserve to know, too...." He laughed and swung around, taking NiGHTS with him to throw to the ground.

Reala offered NiGHTS a mockingly cheerful wave before turning to fly off in a cloud of golden sparkles. Perhaps his agitation had stirred him up and sped the passage of the lumen blood through his system, for he hadn't gotten far when he first began to feel the effects of such concentrated light on a creature of darkness. Not that he knew what any of it was about, of course, or why it was happening--all Reala knew was that a vicious pain knifed through his stomach and chest, bad enough to make his breath hitch and his fists clench, a shuddering jerk pulling him off-course in midflight. Growling in aggravation, Reala did his best to ignore it and pick up speed once again.

"Ugh!" NiGHTS cried out in pain again, shoving at Reala defiantly (angrily) as she glared at him, the sharpness of her teeth showing. "Free? Like you?" she spat, clawing at Reala's shoulders in an effort to get him off. "Like Wizeman would have the Night Dimension, with everything being the same?" No way. No way. "Everything being boring? That's not going to happen!" She was angry now, uncaring of the way the citizens scurried around the two, giving them nervous looks as though the Maren might fall upon them and devour them en masse.

She gave a grunt as she crashed ungracefully into the ground, propping herself up on her elbows as she coughed dizzily, and looked up at Reala in dismay. Nightmaren were known to the ignorant Visitors as monsters, despite the blatant untruth of the stereotype (most of the time, they were only doing their jobs, and the Maren - excluding NiGHTS and Reala - didn't even have a will of their own); what would happen when word got out that three of them were in the city?

She had to stop him. NiGHTS picked herself up off the ground and shot after Reala in a cloud of silvery-blue sparkles, her speed allowing her to catch up when Reala's trail of flight hitched. Something was wrong. "Reala?" she called out, cautiously; what if it was another trick of his? On the other hand, what if he was really hurt?

NiGHTS efforts had been nothing but fruitless--Reala would always be the stronger of the two of them, and he knew that. He would be stronger physically, mentally, spiritually... Unlike NiGHTS, he had been strong and never let his loyalty once waver. Unlike NiGHTS, he had been strong and upheld their father's wishes. He had the strength and fortitude to see things through to the bitter end, even when NiGHTS could not....

Which was why he had to overcome this.... whatever it was and keep going. He'd had worse... hell, he'd flown a fair distance with far worse, dragging a struggling NiGHTS with him the whole way. This shouldn't be any trouble at all. Just get away from NiGHTS, get to some safe place, and wait this out.... He could find his sibling's friends later. The problem would be getting away from NiGHTS; whatever this was, it seemed to mean that she was actually in better health than he was. He pasted the best (though still, admittedly a little weak) sneer he could manage onto his face, shooting NiGHTS a look over his shoulder as he sped up again....

....Only to come to a near complete halt soon after as the strange sensations and pain grew much more intense. The Nightmaren was all but doubled over, stomach churning and heaving mercilessly; were he capable of doing so, Reala probably would have been retching. Still, his head swam alarmingly and it was very nearly all he could do to stay steady in the air; there was no way he could evade NiGHTS like this--hell, he had his doubts about flying at all like this.... As if he could reasonably expect to walk if he couldn't fly, pfft. What the hell was wrong with him?

Despite the fact that they had tried to kill each other a few dozen times, Reala was still the closest thing to a sibling NiGHTS had, and she cared about him. And, judging by Reala's apparent reluctance to kill NiGHTS, he cared, too - though NiGHTS knew he'd never admit it, just as she wouldn't.

Not admitting things, however, did not translate into showing them, and NiGHTS was at Reala's side in an instant, slinging his arm over her shoulder and supporting the heavier Nightmaren. "Reala, what's wrong?" she asked, her eyes betraying the concern she felt. She had never seen Reala like this, not once - and the was he was reacting confused her (frightened her, too, but she really wasn't about to admit that).

"Hey, Reala! Snap out of it!" What was going on?

All NiGHTS would get as a response was a burst of choked, hacking coughing as Reala's stomach tried to force him to do the impossible. He bared his teeth and managed to force out a guttural snarl--probably an attempt at a threat, though it was probably lost within the frustration and confusion. It was the sort of sound a wounded animal ran to ground might make--strained and weak and largely futile, but enough to show that it still had at least a little fight in it, an instinctive effort to scare its pursuer off. Not that Reala would have--or could have--told NiGHTS what was wrong even if he was physically capable of it--he was a Nightmaren, after all. The problem would be trivialized or dismissed. And besides that, he honestly had no idea himself; he had no concept of sickness, nor the proper vocabulary to describe it.

Either way, he didn't want to be here. Not with NiGHTS to see him in this state, not out in the open where he was vulnerable, not in a strange place where there was far too much light and far too many Visitors.... He wished for the cool darkness and secrecy of his lair, for the familiar solitude it ensured, for the safety to be able to wait out whatever was hurting him like this. Impossible for the moment.... he'd have to settle on whatever he could find. But he refused to settle for anything with NiGHTS still around. Reala made a clumsy effort to push NiGHTS away, made awkward by the strange position of having his arm around her shoulders--even with that factored in, the effort was rather feeble. And that, perhaps, could have told NiGHTS better than anything else how serious it might be; since when was Reala lacking for anything in physical strength?

What were those strange noises Reala was making? The snarl she recognized (of course, Reala just wouldn't be Reala if he didn't threaten NiGHTS at least once in every conversation. He was acting strange; NiGHTS had never seen this happen before, and all she knew about this was that she didn't like it.

She had to get him out of here. She needed to get him somewhere safe, a place where there weren't people she knew staying, but where? She ignored her sibling's feeble efforts to push her away (how could Reala be weakened so?) and looked around, trying to think of something, anything that she could do.

"Hold on, Reala. It's going to be all right."

Reala took deep, steadying breaths as well as he could, trying to will his throat not to clench shut as it was trying to do; it was far harder than it should have been. Still, it worked enough to let him talk, though with some difficulty. "I don't need to hold on to anything." It was the best he could do; his mind was fogged with nausea and pain, too much so to think of anything wittier or more caustic. That said, he pulled his arm off of NiGHTS, swallowing the pain and trying to leave as best he could, once again.

A shame that 'the best he could' wasn't really that good at all, at this point. It was in fact rather slow and unsteady, hardly fit for an escape at all. It would have to do, though....

NiGHTS caught Reala easily; whatever was wrong with him was serious, if Reala couldn't even be sarcastic. "Sometimes, Reala," NiGHTS replied, "Even you do." Look at the way he clung to Wizeman, after all - not physically, of course, no one would so much as dream of daring that (no pun intended, but it was true). Reala clung to Wizeman's ideals of a beautiful darkness covering the Night Dimension, of destroying the carnival of lights called Nightopia. And now Reala was clinging to his pride, not that that was anything new.

Only NiGHTS wouldn't let him do that... mostly. "Come on," NiGHTS murmured, taking Reala's hand so that it would look as if she was merely leading him somewhere. She tugged him in the direction of the Morem o Lisboa she had seen one day while exploring - she wasn't about to pull him towards Nina's or Ryuuzaki's hotel, even in the state he was in. She didn't, of course, know much about the area, but she knew that there were men and women who made odd noises and... it looked like they danced with people, but the shadows of their movements were so strange, even to NiGHTS, that she had never bothered to learn more about them.

"You're going to be all right."

Reala growled at the comment--damned insinuations again--but it was short and clipped, weak; he was focusing on staying properly in the air, not trying to sling back a comment in return. He fixed a look of displeasure--better than a look of pain and being miserable, which he might have worn if he were alone--onto his face and followed, flying as well as he could and using NiGHTS' hand to keep steady; had be been able to manage it on his own, he never would have consented to being dragged like this. It was cold comfort that at least he had the illusion of self-sufficiency this way, but in was absolutely grating--not to mention humiliating--that NiGHTS felt she had to be comforting.... What did she think he was, some sort of frightened Visitor?

NiGHTS giggled at how grouchy Reala was - the only time he seemed happy was when he was causing others pain or otherwise being... well, Reala - but frowned to herself afterwards. Reala was obviously in pain if he couldn't mutter angrily about whatever shenanigans NiGHTS was up to, whether it be taking off her Persona, befriending Visitors or undermining Nightmare as a "harmless" prank. She continued flying, letting her sort-of brother use her for balance, and soon enough, they were at the Morem o Lisboa hotel.

Ignoring the odd noises of the flashy building near the hotel, not to mention the strange noises that occasionally reached the two Maren, NiGHTS hurriedly scooped a handful of jeweled plants off the ground and tugged Reala inside, hurriedly checking Reala in at the front desk. Grinning at the clerk, half-tempted to pull a face (but knowing this was not the time), NiGHTS pulled Reala along up some stairs and reached his room as quickly as she could.

Once inside, she pointed to the bed. "Get in." Wasn't that what Visitors did when they got sick or felt tired? Maybe it would work for Nightmaren, as well.

The flashing lights and odd noises rather reminded Reala of Delight City, once again; the the similarity in his eyes went unremarked upon, and rather unthought of, at that; he was too busy trying to fly as normally as possible in spite of crippling nausea. The use of jeweled plants as payment was noticed and filed away as well, though with a little more care; he might need that information later.

"What do you think I am, a Visitor? As if I could be compared to one of those insects...." Reala was understandably irritated at the comparison and its implications--Visitors were weak, foolish little things, easily spooked, overpowered, and manipulated, so what did that say about him? Regardless, he found himself sinking onto the bed--sitting on top of the covers, incidentally--despite his protests. It was just easier that way; his head was spinning, his stomach throwing out more sickeningly intense spikes of pain from the prolonged period of motion and effort, and he was quickly sliding into exhaustion. Rather than crumple into himself as he might have if alone, Reala maintained as normal a sitting posture as he could manage, body tensed against the pain. This was already embarrassing enough as it was....

NiGHTS made sure to keep a firm grip on Reala's hand as she tugged him along, alert for any signs of her fellow Maren losing his balance. Her iridescent eyes searched her almost-twin, searching for signs of what was wrong almost anxiously. "Reala..."

She didn't speak further for a few moments, knowing - for once - that arguing wouldn't help. She had never seen Reala like this, so... weak. This wasn't like him. Normally, he'd fight tooth and nail, no matter how injured he was - NiGHTS vividly recalled the feeling of Reala's claws, golden bone back then, digging sharply (painfully) into her arm, even though she had beaten Reala, even though he should have been unconscious.

It wasn't NiGHTS' favorite memory, of course, but it was the one that stood out at the moment, showing itself in sharp relief. And here Reala was, sitting, pain and utter confusion reflected in his eyes, and NiGHTS had no idea what to do.

Except... "Lie down, Reala. You need to rest."

Reala's scowl only deepened as NiGHTS stared at him; this was ridiculous... how could he be so weak in front of her? This wasn't supposed to happen! What the hell was wrong? "Rest." He managed to scoff, though it was an effort. "And sleep, perchance, to dream?" Even with that comment, he had to keep himself from hissing as another wave of pain and nausea rolled through him. It was enough to make him lean back against the wall to keep himself steadily--even if it wasn't laying down, it was about as close as he was willing to get at this point.

NiGHTS frowned, looking at Reala steadily. "Oh, cut it out. Even we need to rest occasionally." For NiGHTS, it was sometimes after battle, or Dualizing with a Visitor. But no fight had taken place, and Reala couldn't Dualize - and try as NiGHTS might, she couldn't, for the life of her, figure out what was wrong with Reala all of a sudden. Sure, Paixao was full of light, and Reala was a Nightmaren - but so was she, and JAckle, and they hadn't gotten sick.

The Maren didn't move or bat an eye at her not-brother's pain, thought she wanted to - it was so foreign to see Reala like this. "Stop being stubborn, Reala. The sooner you rest, the sooner you'll get better."

She hoped.

Reala looked back, forcing a smirk onto his face even as it felt like his stomach was trying to rip itself in two. "So it's to be the lion laying down with the lambs, then.... if you insist." His smirk widened a fraction, sharp blue eyes glittering with malicious amusement as he slid down the wall to a more comfortably stretched out position. If NiGHTS was simply shepherding him off in another direction with the rest of this imbecilic Visitor flock, then he would play her little game until he had recovered enough to travel.... And then? Well, then the real fun could begin.

Reala was up to something; that much NiGHTS could tell. He could rarely hide things from NiGHTS, just as NiGHTS found it difficult to hide anything from him. She smirked back. "Oh, I know what you're doing, Reala." He was always scheming; even during their battles, when Reala had been wounded, he had always tried to drag NiGHTS back to Nightmare, one way or another.

NiGHTS playfully poked Reala on the forehead, her eyes softening a fraction. Despite her misgivings, she was glad to have her not-quite sibling with her; annoying him would give her something to do when she was bored. But for now, Reala had to rest, and NiGHTS would stay by him until he had recovered.

"Do you, now? Pray enlighten me." It was pointless to play at being coy, between the two of them; they both knew each other too well for that. Still, it was the principle of the thing, and the pain could let him think of nothing better. He didn't swipe NiGHTS' hand away, though he would have liked to; the thought that there was a real possibility he might be disoriented enough to miss was too embarrassing to act on that impulse.

Instead, he simply scowled irritably at his almost-twin and accepted the gesture, though his eyes were slipping closed in spite of himself. It wasn't sleep, exactly--not quite the way Visitors experienced it, at least. Rather, it was some loss of conscious awareness and action, a blank void of dead time that overwhelmed his senses from the pain, exhaustion, and illness that had spawned it.

"You're up to something," NiGHTS laughed, "and don't pretend you aren't. C'mon, Reala, we could always tell what's going on between us." It might be pointless to play at being coy, but NiGHTS found it amusing anyway. Her smirk faded a bit when Reala didn't even try to hit her (just what was wrong with him?) but she kept her expression cheerful.

At least until Reala passed out. NiGHTS frowned to herself for an instant, then took on a neutral expression as she floated by Reala's side. She carefully removed the mask, lest it hurt Reala should he stir in his not-quite sleep, and set it on the dresser next to the bed. The Nightmaren planned to be gone before Reala awoke, but she didn't see any harm in making sure he didn't get any more hurt than he already was.

What a day this had been. NiGHTS kept her eyes fixed on her near-brother, her expression unreadable. Something was going to give soon, and she knew it.

Reala had to know it, too.

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A Nightmare Awakes (active)

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