Okay, just so we're clear, I wasn't able to see exactly what happened to inspired this little thing, but I know the gist of it. This was written at nearly a moment's notice.

I'm sorry those who anticipated this chapter, but it turned out to be longer due to a certain Nightmaren. You'll see.

Disclaimer: Sega owns the copyrights to NiGHTS, blah, blah, blah.

Edit: Just some touch-ups to detail, but nothing too major was changed. It's the same thing as prior with just some adjustments to some things I missed the first time around.

Chapter 1: NiGHTS into...Popularity?

"It's here, it's here, it's here!" cried the caped, somehow-body-less Nightmaren as he zoomed down to the Dream Gate. "It's heeeerrreee!" Jackle put out his feet as if skidding on the ground and came to a stop, hovering before the duo in front of him. One was a mainly purple clad jester with his hands intertwined behind his head and his legs crossed. The second being was a pale-skinned, scarlet-armored warrior floating in front of the former with his arms crossed and his head tilted to one side, although he seemed to have the physical characteristics of a mime. Jackle cocked what-would-normally-be-a-head at the latter and queried,

"Don't you ever take that thing off?" Reala snorted, his Persona staying perfectly still,

"Aren't you supposed to be banished or dead by now?" Grinning and chuckling, the primarily orange 'Maren replied,

"Hee hee hee. You can't kill Fate, silly."

"So Jackle," the violet being cut in before his sibling could be torn apart by the Almighty Egotistic One, "What did you mean by 'it's here'?" Bringing up his mantle with one hand to conceal more of his non-existent self, Jackle cackled,

"It's a secret." He fell onto his back in the air like a little kid, covering his mouth all the while. Reala would have raised an eyebrow if he had one.

"Is that so?" he said, letting one arm fall to his side and lifting the other into the air, palm face-up. "Then why did you announce that you had something?" Jackle peeked out from his cape, his eyes narrowed. In between fits of manical laughter, he said,

"To keep things interesting." His grin spread wider, his teeth showing as he kept to himself and floated away from the other humanoids. Reala glared and clinched his hands into fists.

"Jackle, just tell us before Reala fights you," NiGHTS interjected, having to shout to be heard over the crazed giggles Jackle was letting out. He slowed his fits – quite a bit after Reala nearly tore his signature mantle off and flipped it over the fortune teller's head – and groaned a bit.

"Awww... Fine." Jackle crossed his arms, one hand grasping a clipboard. He did an aerial backflip, shifting his cape from being over his horns and glared at Reala. "Here it is." Another wide grin appeared in the abyss that was his face. "The results!" He lifted the clipboard above his head, the back of it facing the others. Reala went back to having his arms crossed over his chest.

"On what?" he inquired, tilting his head back. NiGHTS snapped his fingers.

"Oh!" he said, his eyes brightening. "I remember now! Wasn't there an auction today?" Jackle's body, or a lack thereof, began to shake.

"Hee hee hee. You bet," he said, "and I have the results of two items you may find in-ter-est-ing!" He began to laugh again as if still keeping something from them. NiGHTS clasped his hands together,

"The NiGHTS and Reala UFO Catcher Plush...es?" NiGHTS glanced over at Reala then set his cat-like eyes back on Jackle. Said Nightmaren started to slow his riant. Lowering his arms and head, he scowled and murmured just barely for the two to hear,

"...Yes..."

"What's a plush?" Reala demanded more than asked. The insane one's smirk reappeared as he gave his response,

"It's a cuuuute little, adorable, cotton-filled miniature version of something that Visitors like to crush and cuddle!" He promptly held the clipboard to himself and giggled. "Or burn if they hate it. Ha ha ha!" Reala's eye twitched and he sneered, showing off his own teeth.

"They what?!" he screeched.

"P-plushies are very popular in the - Waking...World..." NiGHTS grew quiet. Reala turned back, a fiery urge to destroy and maim in his eyes. NiGHTS gritted his teeth in knowing. He knew what he had done, and he knew the consequences. Between 'plushes' and 'plushies' only one wouldn't have gotten his legs broken, but the latter had been muttered, and Jackle's near-stifled laughter didn't help.

"Plushies?!" he shouted, "They made a plushie out of me?!"

"Yeppy yep yep!" Jackle chimed in, "And they sold for a lot too! Eeee-hee hee hee!"

"No one pays 'a lot' for something to cuddle once and put away," NiGHTS stated with a smile. Reala snarled and his sibling continued, "Maybe the Visitors just wanted a reminder of someone they liked."

"Awww...but Ree makes a good cuddle bunny!" The armored Nightmaren's eye twitched.

"Grr... I'll make you disappear into the abyss of despair."

"Hee hee hee! Naughty cuddle bunny! Don't kill Mister Fate!" The Second-Level Nightmaren cackled as he flew.

"I'll shred your mantle to pieces!" Reala drill-dashed into Jackle, the maniac strafing to the side, chortling as he did. He nearly halted his crazed manners as Reala reached for his trademark cape, dropping the clipboard. It soon became quite a chase as Jackle weaved all about in the air with his brother close on his heels, NIGHTS just sighing and shaking his head. Threats were hollered and taunts were made as the sanest of the trio floated away from the fountain towards the main gate.

"You're both acting like wandering Visitors without a clue on what to focus on," he said just a tad loudly but completely casual, half-heartedly caring whether or not the two heard him.

"No fun!" called Jackle, "I like this!" He cackled and snorted, "One-twenty-three! One-twenty-three!" Sighing once more, NiGHTS stopped and gazed at the cobblestone path below. On the ground was the plain brown clipboard with a few pages clutched at the top. NiGHTS leaned down and picked it up while the duo continued to 'play.'

"You cretin...!" Ignoring yet another warning from the hunter of the maniacal one, he glided his eyes over the text.

"Huh..." NiGHTS grinned. "Hey, Ree!" The 'Maren in question paused in mid-air and snapped,

"Stop calling me that!" NiGHTS disregarded the tone in the other's voice and started flying upwards several meters.

"You went for..." he looked over the paper once more, "A hundred and twenty three! No one would bid that much for something to cuddle!" Jackle waved his fingers to and fro and sang,

"NiGHTS went for two thirty-seven-oh-six!" Something in the atmosphere broke and the normally-dominate being roared,

"What?!" NiGHTS beamed and put his fists on his hips,

"Face it, Reala, the Visitors like me best. They don't want their dreams to be torn apart!" He pointed at 'Ree' with a spare hand and smirked.

"Ooooohhh... But torn dreams are the best!" the third sibling butted in, "They're always messy and the Dreamers get scared easy!" He spun around in the air, turning upside-down. He jabbered, "Cock-a-doodle-foodle-poodle-noodle-toodle-goodle-cuddle-doodle-doo! Hah ha ha ha ha! Cuddly cuddle Ree! Hahahaha!" Being picked on in such a manner was not going unnoticed. Reala's body began to shake a bit.

"I'll destroy you, you pathetic Second-Level Nightmaren!" he yelled. Jackle interrupted his current fit of laughter and tilted his head to one side. He gave a toothy grin and pointed at the mime.

"Ooohh... Don't get cranky now," he said, "The cards won't like that," he snickered and fully laughed out loud once more, "Cranky bun-buns!" If he hadn't cracked earlier, Reala certainly had right then and there.

"That's it!!" Faster than one could mutter 'idea' the chase was on again, except this time more fighting was involved in the form of thrown cards, more drill-dashing, and even more derisive words. They zoomed throughout the ruins of the island, one threat thrown to have a mock tossed back. Merely observing the entire event, NiGHTS finally gave in and chuckled to himself as Reala continued to chase after their twisted brother.

"Looks like Jackle is the popular one."

"You're next, NiGHTS!" called the Almighty Broken-Egoist. NiGHTS crossed one leg over the other and replied,

"That's funny, I thought I didn't exist."

"There is no NiGHTS!" Jackle cried, quite clearly doing so for show as he rolled backwards through the whirling zephyr he had ended up by. Although he was cleared neglected as Reala had already started after the teasing jester, his sibling lightly laughing as compared to their third, manical family member.

"Race you!" called NiGHTS, giving a half-smile as his pursuer kept on his tail. It mattered not who was more favored by Visitors as they tore through the eternal evening sky. When they were all together, Reala was no doubt the sole being everyone kept on eye on in the end.

Of course that was subject to opinion when one of the siblings tossed a snowy and verdant stuffed hare at a certain someone a day later.

There you go. Wow, first time writing Jackle. Weird since I've never played NiD. Huh... Oh well. Review if you want.