DreamerPenelopi

Tallgeese growled and smacked Vayeate's hand away. "That hurts! Be more careful, you bumbling blueberry!" The robot jerked back. "I-I'm sorry, milord. I was trying to quicken your recovery..." They, and Mercurius, were in the throne room of Lacroa Castle. Tallgeese sat on the golden chair in his normal non-Griffonized form, while his henchmen were attempting to magically alleviate his wounds and scratches. Two dark magic circles intertwined above their heads, and the marks on Tallgeese's armor were steadily diminishing. But Vayeate had made the mistake of touching his side where Aleda's fire magic had punctured him. The hole was so small he h

The swords whistled, cutting air like butter. He knew Chief Haro had wanted him to get some rest while he could, but Baku just couldn't keep still. His friends were out there, fighting, while he was safe at base. And after he'd promised to help bring Aleda back himself. How had he gotten stuck moping around in Neotopia? "Haaaaaaaah! Take that!" Another sword slice split the air. He hated this. Hated it. Hated that he couldn't seem to aid any of the people he was indebted to. First Lord Buritenmaru, then Captain Gundam, and now Zero. Lord Buritenmaru was his strong and just ruler who'd taken him in as one of his warriors when he'd been a wande

The mall was busy and loud. Mobile citizens and humans shuffled along in uneven clusters, some walking slowly to accommodate little feet or to carry a conversation, and some impatiently weaving through the fringes to hurry to the storefronts. They moved up and down escalators, walked across bridges in the second floor, and trotted past giant windows looking out on downtown Neotopia, which presented a large reminder of the upcoming holidays—the twin towers framed a giant luminescent Christmas tree. Children screeched, robots clunked, heels clicked, and bags rustled. Amid this all, Shute was pressing his face against one of the windows, h

I was flying. I was... flying... I was flying! I grazed the treetops. The wind blew over my twin-tailed hat. The hills zipped by underneath me. One, two, three, four—too many to count! I laughed. I was free. Nothing could stop me now. Wizeman wouldn't have his way! I'd roll around in this Nightopia until not a shred of his scent was left on me! "This is amazing," I heard a voice say. I'd almost forgotten the dreamer. She wasn't speaking out loud, only through my mind, but that was… interesting in and of itself. I'd only let her Dualize with me out of desperation. Really, I didn't want her using my body. I wanted to take myself aro

Keiko had just plunked down her rolling suitcase full of bound books—projects of her students—and was heading towards the door to go pick up Nana from daycare, when the doorbell rang. "Were we expecting anyone?" she murmured as she reached the door and opened it. Purple eyes so sparkly and spacey they looked like a galaxy smiled at her. "Hello, Miss Keiko." "Well hello, Sayla." Keiko grinned. "What brings you here?" "The classroom calendar says that Shute's birthday is next week." Sayla clenched her hands enthusiastically. "I wanted to bake a birthday cake for him! After all, we're good friends." "Oh, that's very sweet of you! Shu

Two shadows danced in the tower, one whirling and slashing, the other blocking and stabbing. The torches flickered in their wake. Titan's bulky form darted in at every pause of the scythe, his movements quickened by flight magic. Another swing of the scythe passed. He lunged, jabbing at the nebulous body with the blade at the base of his shield. He scraped no metal or flesh, but a squawk came, and the beady eyes blinked out for a second as if Deathscythe were cringing in pain. I hit! Somehow, I—! The next second, Titan was in the wall, his shield and frame stuck firmly in the stone, the torch beside him tilting, the whole sconce looseni

The Nightopia changed me. My skin, to my surprise, tanned. My black colors, on the other hand, bleached to purple. I tore off my cape: I didn't need it to give myself a menacing appearance, anymore. And anyways it was too hot for this dream. I practiced music day after day, experimenting with the keys of my invisible flute to see what sounds and tunes I could replicate. Even though I was in a Nightopia, dreamers were nowhere to be seen. I figured the owner must have been busy elsewhere. Even though I had my flute, my life had become rather boring. Music is fun, but flying is more fun, and I wanted to be out there catching the updrafts over th

I admit I felt bitter at first against the dreamer. By coming back in time from when we were apparently friends, she'd shown my future to Wizeman. And big surprise, he hadn't liked it. The Ideya Palace he stuffed me in was wider than the dreamer's cage, but I still felt restricted. Just on the other side of the blue columns was the darkness of Nightmare that I'd always known: a wasteland of burnt trees and castle rubble, the ruins of another dreamer's Nightopia, seeable but unreachable through the invisible walls bordering the Palace. I sat in the corner to sulk. Partys passed by to titter at me, which was even more humiliating than when Real

Chief Haro stepped across the landing pad to meet the visitors rolling down the Gunperry plank. "Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn." James squinted at the green mask. "Chief... Haro...?" The head bobbed in affirmation, and Haro shook his hand. "Yes. Welcome to the SDG base." "Why are you wear—?" "Let's go somewhere else where we can talk," Chief Haro interrupted, ushering him and his two human relatives toward an inner door of White Base. "And I appreciate your commitment to confidentiality, both inside and outside the base. Nice to see you, Mary." The brown-haired woman nodded. "Nice to see you, too." "I don't think we've met," Haro said to the glas

Zero and Bakunetsumaru dropped first from the Gunperry. Or, rather, flew. Zero carried Baku closer to the gleaming portal in the distance, while their ride turned back. The other Gunperrys would soon discharge their own passengers. Below them, a road of wires led to a blocky building caged by electric towers. "They're attacking a power plant, this time," Zero mumbled. "What's a power plant?" Baku asked. "In Neotopia, power plants generate the energy needed for all of the citizens' machinery." Titan, having leapt from another Gunperry, edged close to them with his flight boosters. "That is not a power plant but an electric substation," he said