In the Nightmares: Part Five

      "Come with me," Neela said. She then turned to Kiri. "Kiri, you'd better come, too. You're the leader, here."

      Kiri nodded. The three of them started making their way to the end of the group, Neela showing them the way. Siena wanted to know what was going on, but didn't know if she should ask.

      "Well," Neela said, "you probably want to know what's wrong. See, there's someone here. She says she was sent from Edric's group to find us. You'll have to listen to what she says."

      "Who is she?" Siena asked.

      "I don't know," Neela said. "She told me to get you, Siena. She said you'd know who she is."

      Siena was confused. She didn't know who this might be. She couldn't think of anyone she knew that might be here now, sent from Edric's group. The only one from Edric's group that she really knew was Chara, who was already with them.

      "Here she is," Neela said, pointing nervously ahead of them. Siena looked ahead to see something bright. She took a step closer, realizing that the glow was coming from a light faerie standing behind the group. No one was moving forward anymore, and the entire group started to gather around this strange guest quietly. In the silence, Siena noticed for the first time that it wasn't raining anymore.

      Siena stood mystified for a moment, looking at the faerie in front of her. The figure had pale skin and hair that was nearly white. Her dress and wings were a glowing yellow color, and her eyes were an intense shade of blue that really stood out on her face. Siena had always imagined that faeries were small, but this one was much taller than any of the pets there.

      "Hello, Siena," the faerie said, looking at her. Her voice sounded light but yet eerie at the same time. Siena recognized the sound of it, and stood in silence and confusion.

      "Don't you know who I am, Siena?" the faerie asked. Siena shook her head. She was rarely afraid of anything, but for some reason she was very nervous right now. The faerie only laughed a little.

      "I'm from your dream," she said. "The voice that spoke to you and told you not to turn around. You know, after all the times you had that dream, you never once listened to me."

      Siena remembered now. She looked the faerie directly in the eyes and thought about what to say.

      "Alright," Siena said. "So, what brings you here?"

      "Well," the faerie said, "you should have noticed by now that you and Chara's latest dreams are reversed. What I mean by that is that anything that Chara dreams happens to you or your group, and anything that you dream happens to Chara or Chara's group."

      Siena thought about this, remembering how her group had found the spaceship, and how Chara had heard the strange noise. The only thing that both dreams had in common was the darkness, and that happened to everyone. Siena looked up as the faerie continued talking.

      "Well, I've been sent from Chara's group," she said. "The rest of the group has fallen into a trap set by the evil ones. I came to try and help, but there was nothing I could do. They are stuck where they are, trapped by magic stronger than mine. I can't help them, but there might be something you can do. Siena, your dreams tell the future, so you must have some sort of power. Chara must, too. Your group has to come to the space station. That's where everyone in charge of the entire league is. They might be able to help you."

      Siena thought about this. She somehow knew there was something very strange about what was going on at the space station. She would have been against it, but her dream was coming true, and she had to do something about it. She turned to Kiri.

      "Should we go?" she asked. Kiri looked unsure, but agreed.

      "Alright," the faerie said, pleased. "Bring Chara to me."

      "Here I am," a small voice said. Chara nervously stepped forward.

      "Very good," the faerie said. "Come closer, everyone. I can take you all there."

     ~*~

      When Siena opened her eyes she found herself in a very strange place. Everything around her was a shade of silver, and looked like it was made of some sort of metal. Nothing around was familiar looking at all. She turned to see the rest of the group behind her, all of them looking just as confused as she was.

      "Where are we?" Siena whispered, mostly to herself.

      "We're at the space station," Chara quietly responded. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

      Siena looked around more, trying to figure out everything about this strange place. She wondered where she was supposed to go to find the leaders of the league, and what she was supposed to do when she found them. She looked for the faerie that had brought them here, but she was nowhere in sight.

      "Well look who it is," a loud voice boomed from somewhere close by. A part of the wall to the left that Siena hadn't even known was a door opened. Out walked a rather large and businesslike Skeith. The door closed behind him.

      "You've been looking for the leader of the league," he said. "That's me."

      "Excuse me, sir," Siena said, stepping forward. "Our friends have been trapped by the evil ones. Could you tell us how to help them?"

      The Skeith just looked at her for a moment, then burst into laughter. Siena frowned, slightly offended.

      "I don't see what's so funny," she said.

      "Don't worry," he said. "Your friends are just fine." Siena raised an eyebrow, as if to ask him what he meant.

      "I knew it was a good idea to create the league," he went on. "You're all so trusting, and so easy to control. You just listen when I tell you to fight each other, and you don't even know what you're doing. All I had to do was tell you there were evil ones trying to take over Neopia. You'll do anything to save your little planet, won't you? Then, isn't it ironic that every move you made brought me one step closer to ruling your world?"

      Kiri stepped forward. "What do you mean?" she asked angrily.

      "Well, if it isn't Kiri," he said. "I've heard a lot about you. Your group was strong. That's why I brought you here. You're no match for my helpers up here. I've been the one telling the league what to do. I've made sure that every little thing you do helps me, and I've been planning this for a long time. There's someone here waiting for you."

      As soon as he had spoken, the faerie that had sent the group to the space station appeared in front of them.

      "Hello," she said. "You've been very foolish." She smiled at them a little, as if she was plotting their downfall. Siena shivered. She had to do something to distract her long enough that she or someone in the group could come up with a plan.

      "Have you been working for that Skeith?" Siena asked, immediately realizing that this wouldn't work.

      "Yes, I have," the faerie said. "I'm surprised you didn't catch on sooner. Everything that happened to the league helped us. We just couldn't keep your group from figuring out what was going on any longer."

      "Was that because of my dreams?" Siena asked. The faerie laughed.

      "Actually, Siena, you and Chara have been the most helpful to us by far."

      Siena didn't say anything. The faerie must be right. If everything the league did helped that Skeith and the faerie, her dreams must have helped them too. But the group had to do something, now. Siena continued the conversation to distract the faerie for longer.

      "If everything helped you," she said, "what about that little spaceship our group found. How did that help you?"

      "Well," the faerie said. "That was a difficult one. But it was in your dream, so we had to make it come true."

      Siena was confused. She had nothing to say to that. Instead, she took a step backwards, frightened.

      "Did you really think you were special?" the faerie asked. "You and Chara were the ones we chose to help us. You were the most imaginative. If we could get others to listen to your crazy thoughts, we could control the league even more easily. Your dreams don't come true because you have powers; they come true because I make them come true. Our plan was flawless, and it worked. Your dreams led you right to the space station. You'd never have agreed to come if it weren't for those silly dreams."

      "I don't believe you," Siena said, though something inside her told her every word the faerie said was true. With that faerie's magic, she could have easily made everything in their dreams happen.

      "Come, now," the faerie said. "This is real life. Pets can't have powers."

      The faerie's eyes began to glow a fiery red. A loud sound echoed throughout the space station as lightning struck in front of them. The pets backed away in fear. Another bolt struck behind them.

      "Siena," Chara whispered. "We have to destroy the space station. I've been here before. The wires that keep the power in here are in the walls somewhere. Without it, the station would break apart. I think they keep them by the Grundo warehouse.

      "How do I get to the wires?" Siena asked. Another bolt struck right next to her.

      "You'll have to break through the wall. Get something heavy. I'll distract her."

      Siena ran over to the Grundo warehouse, looking around for something heavy. There was nothing in sight.

      "Wait," she heard Chara say in the background to the faerie. "Please don't hurt us anymore. We give up, we'll help you."

      "Don't say that, Chara," Kiri said. "Are you crazy?"

      "No," Chara said, "I really want to help."

      Their voices faded in Siena's mind as she kept looking. There was nothing. Then she saw a lever on the wall. The sign above it said "do not pull." The top of the lever looked like a big hammer. If only she could break off the lever. That would be heavy enough to break through the wall. Siena pushed on the lever, but it wouldn't break off. She just wasn't strong enough.

      "Hi," Neela's voice whispered from behind her. "What are you doing?"

      Siena thought for a second. Neela was one of the strong pets.

      "Neela," Siena said, "can you help me break this lever off of the wall?"

      "Why?" Neela asked. Siena gave Neela a look that she hoped would tell her to just do it. Sure enough, Neela grabbed the lever and helped Siena push. A large piece of it snapped off.

      "We need to break through the wall with this," Siena said. Neela started swinging the lever at the wall, but nothing happened. Then, Siena noticed a place where there was already a tiny opening.

      "Can I see that?" she asked Neela, who handed over the lever. Siena started beating the wall with it. In only a moment she was able to create a large opening in the wall, and saw the many wires inside.

      Siena crawled into the opening. At that very second, she heard a startling yell in the background.

      "What are you doing?" the faerie asked. She had seen Siena. "I'll take care of you right now."

      Siena had to hurry. She grabbed as many wires as she could reach, and pulled at them as hard as she could. She felt something start to shake underneath her. Just in time, the wires broke. Everything went black.

      "Stop!" the faerie yelled. "You're destroying the space station. Stop it now!"

      Siena pulled out more wires. The faerie shrieked. With every move that Siena made, the faerie grew more upset and impatient.

      "Stop!" she yelled. "Please, you've already broken it badly enough. Just stop it."

      "Then send us home," Chara yelled. The faerie angrily shook her head. Siena tore out another group of wires.

      "Alright!" the faerie shrieked. For a second, everything stopped, and silence overcame the space station.

     ~*~

      "Are you alright?" Kiri's voice asked. Siena opened her eyes to find herself back in the desert. By now the sand was dry, and the rain had been over for quite some time. Siena's head hurt a bit, but she was mostly fine.

      "Yeah," Siena said. "How's everyone else?"

      "Fine," Kiri said. "Edric's group met up with us a few minutes ago. They're all doing well, too."

      "That's good," Siena said, nodding. "It's strange. Everything they told us at the space station... is it all true?"

      "Yes," Kiri said, "It seems like it is."

      "I can't believe it. This whole time I thought my dreams were predicting the future, but it was really that faerie that was making them come true. At least I won't have to worry about my nightmares, now."

      "I guess not," Kiri said laughing. "Why don't you come join the rest of us? We started a campfire, and we're going to be making dinner."

      "Alright," Siena said, "I'll be there in a minute." Kiri walked away, and Siena was left alone to think things over. Everything that had happened that day seemed so strange and unreal. But what was the most shocking to her was what she had learned about her dreams. She had always thought that she was special to have such a power, and now she felt so ordinary. But maybe there were other things that made her different. All of the pets had to be talented in some way to help stop the faerie on the space station. Siena didn't need magic to be able to help.

      "Siena," a voice called. Siena looked up to see Chara coming towards her.

      "Are you coming?" Chara asked. "Everyone's waiting for you."

      "Yeah," Siena said. "But first, I have something of yours." Siena took off the silver bracelet that she was wearing, and handed it to her friend.

      "Thank you," Chara said, putting it on. "Siena, do you think that the Skeith and the faerie will ever attack us again?"

      "I don't think so," Siena said, "but I guess we can't really be sure. We shouldn't worry about that now."

      "Yeah," Chara said. "We'd better get going before all the food's gone. Come on, I'll race you there."

      "Alright," Siena said, smiling. She got up and started to run. She didn't know what would happen next, or what the group would do after this. But even after a day like this one, she was always ready for more surprises. As long as the group was together, everything would be alright.

The End