• Return of Cerberus

    “This is the Dream Door to Nightopia. When you enter, you will see the world reflected off of your heart.” Owl told Laura as she and NiGHTS got near one of the doors in the Dream Gate.

    Excited to see this world, and completely ignoring the part about it being reflected off of her heart, Laura rushed right in followed by NiGHTS and Owl. She expected to see a bright and colorful place when she entered, instead she sees a very large mansion surrounded by a forest of dead trees, cloaked under a night sky with clouds looming overhead. Thunder can be heard as the lightning flashes throughout the sky. Some Nightopians can be seen fleeing from the mansion as Laura looks around

    “This is Nightopia? It’s a lot…darker than what I expected” Laura said, with a bit of concern.

    “Well this is supposed to be a reflection off of your own heart,” Owl stated, “If you feel it is dark, then perhaps there is some darkness in your heart”

    Laura just looked around again, and then focused on the mansion. NiGHTS let out a shiver as the aura around the area seemed to give off negative feelings. Being a cheerful type, this area wasn’t exactly suiting to NiGHTS. Laura, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly fine, as she walked towards the mansion, seemingly entranced by its majesty. Owl of course stayed outside, feeling it would be safer, but NiGHTS followed her. The mansion was very bright on the inside, with lights everywhere, making it virtually impossible for any darkness to seep inside. The sudden light forced Laura and NiGHTS to shield their eyes for a moment.

    “This place is beautiful!” Laura exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.

    “yeah, I’ll say” NiGHTS agreed, looking around.

    The two wandered around the mansion, wondering what could have gotten the Nightopians so afraid. Everything so far looks relatively nice, no hint of Nightmarens or any other creatures anywhere. As they continued wandering around, NiGHTS got that chill again, making him freeze in place. He had a bad feeling about this place, but Laura didn’t seem to notice. It was when she opened another door that everything seemed to become twisted and blurry.

    “Laura get back!” NiGHTS shouted as he went and grabbed her.

    Down from the ceiling came a Nightmaren that NiGHTS had never seen before. It looked similar to his own design, its cloak blowing in the nonexistent wind. It was Luminix, just as Wizeman sent.

    “Who...who are you?” NiGHTS asked.

    Luminix just looked at them for a moment, then spoke up. “Me? You can just call me Luminix. And you must be NiGHTS, correct?”

    “And if I am?”

    “Simply put, Master Wizeman wants me to bring you back home. But I figured we could have a little fun first”

    Luminix reached one hand out of his cloak, his hand glowing as a cage surrounds NiGHTS, imprisoning him and rising into the air. Laura watched as her friend was being captured right in front of her. Before she could do anything, she was knocked back by Luminix, who merely shook a finger at her.

    “I hope you’re as fun as I imagine. I think I’ll get Cerberus to come here and find out. See ya.”

    Luminix vanished in a cloud of purple smoke as Laura wondered how to get NiGHTS out.

    “Cerberus…again??” NiGHTS asked himself as he saw Laura’s hands glow with the red Ideya. “Laura, you have the red Ideya! You can use that to get me out of here, just dualize with me and we can both get out”

    “O-Ok!” Laura shouted back as she started to climb the chain to the cage, her hands already hurting from the metal.

    Laura finally makes it, and NiGHTS dualizes with her, with her power they escape the cage and start to pursue the Nightmaren guard for the keys. However, the mansion is more mazelike than anything NiGHTS has ever seen, and it takes a while for NiGHTS to even find the guard before chasing it. The guard, on the other hand, was already on its way back to the cage to see if NiGHTS was still there, to its surprise it found that NiGHTS was not there, and began to follow NiGHTS’ trail. (A/N: It’s such a pain in the a** when you’re writing about someone who doesn’t have a gender)

    “We’ve been flying for hours, where’s the key?” Laura asked, getting impatient.

    “This place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside. I dunno how long it’ll take before we-“ NiGHTS was saying, just as they both spotted the guard heading right towards them. “Well, looks like there’s your answer, Laura.”

    “Ironic”

    And with a swift paralooping, the guard was beaten and the key snatched. The two flew back to the cage to fully unlock it to set NiGHTS free, at this point Laura was no longer dualized.

    “Laura, get away from here, quickly. Cerberus is going to be coming by, and it’s pretty vicious.” NiGHTS warned her.

    Laura trusted her friend’s words and quickly ran into one of the corridors of the mansion. She hoped the NiGHTS would be ok alone. NiGHTS waited and kept up a good guard, aware that Cerberus could strike from any direction at any time. It was then that he could feel the air changing, giving off a dark vibe. He looks around to try and spot Cerberus, but to no avail. Cerberus was indeed in the room, but it wasn’t visible in this realm. It goes to attack, and pulls NiGHTS into its own realm. The blue and red dogs, attached to the chain, both let out a loud howl as the yellow dog appears on the chain itself. All 3 dogs are ready to attack NiGHTS, thus his 2nd battle with Cerberus is about to begin!