A Nightmare In The Moon

The 'Forbidden Cities'

 Here's a note: Moonlight Sunflame's name switches between Moonlight and Arisha. They are the SAME person. Just wanted to make that VERY clear.

Chapter Six

"Wow." Was the first thing Moonlight's brain could come up with. It was noon in the 'Forbidden Cities' as everyone in the Element continent called it, meaning anyone who managed to get there would be punished severely. The streets were crawling with people. "I don't want to do this." Lily said. "Neither do I," Moonlight whispered. She squeezed her sister's hand. "Good luck, Lily." Lily nodded. "But I can summon you anytime, can't I?" "Of course," Arisha replied. She glanced again at the crowded streets and honking vehicles. "I need to go back," she said after a long moment. "Be careful, will you? Aunt Adira said that Nightmare is also searching for you for revenge. Call on me when you have trouble, promise?" Lily grinned. "Promise." She watched as her sister walked down the street, glancing back at her over her shoulder as she wondered if it was a bad idea to leave her here. Lily was pushed around by the people rushing to get to places. Her view was covered in briefcases and pants and high heels and sneakers. She felt fear bubbling up in her mind, and Nightmare urging her to harm them. No. No no no no no no no! She thought. "Excuse me, pardon me, could you move, sorry!" She said, weaving her way through the bustling streets. She found a seat on a spare bench leaning against the wall of a small instrument store. Suddenly a girl her age propped down beside her. She wore a pair of heavy glasses and was holding a notebook and a device, taking notes with a pen. She barely noticed Lily as she scribbled onto her booklet. Lily watched her benchmate with interest. It was only when the girl sat up and dropped her pen did she notice Lily. Lily smiled and picked up the pen, handing it to her. "Thanks," the girl murmured. She glanced at Lily, then fled down the street, disappearing in the crowd of people. Strange. It wouldn't hurt to enlist her as a suspect. Lily sat up abruptly and squeezed into the crowd once again. When she got to the other side of the street, the girl was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly Lily tripped on a loose stone. A small hand pulled her up. Lily looked up. It was the stranger girl she'd been looking for. "Thanks." The girl nodded silently, then prepared to leave. "Wait," Lily cried. "Um - what is your name? You seem nice. We could be friends." "Ella," the girl replied. "And you?" "Lily." "Nice to meet you, Lily," Ella said. Suddenly her face paled. She turned around, but not fast enough. Her eyes glowed dark blue. Misty black filled her mind. Lily leapt back with a hiss. "Nightmare. I know that's you." Ella blinked, once, twice, thrice. Then she shook her head as if trying to forget something. "Sorry about that. I have a little nausea these days." She started to leave. "Ella, wait! There's something I need to tell you, immediately. You are in danger. Let's find a place to talk." Ella blinked, then nodded. A few moments later they turned into a narrow, less crowded street. They found a bench to sit on. Lily checked to make sure no one was in sight. Then she lowered her voice. "That's not normal nausea," she said. "It's Nightmare. She's controlling you. You have to come with me, so we can cure you." Ella shook her head. "I don't get it. Where do you want me to go?" "Back home. To the Element Continent." Ella tilted her head. "Excuse me? I'm sorry, but there's no Element Continent. If you don't have any other problems, I might as well leave. I still need to go to cello practise." She probably thinks I'm crazy. Lily thought. She's not the only one, Jenifer's voice murmured in her head. Gee, thanks. Glad my family has so much faith in me. Lily retorted. Ella rose up. "Nice meeting you, Lily. Now, if you don't mind. I can't be late, or my teacher will be mad at me, especially if I spend my time with people who pretend they live in imaginary places." "Can't you wait just a little longer?" Lily pleaded. "No, I really need to go." "NO, YOU NEED TO COME WITH ME!" Lily shouted. "WELL, I CAN'T!" "So we're doing it the hard way? Because I'm game." Lily said. "Yeah, I guess we are doing it the hard way." Darkness coiled around Lily. "Two can play that game, friend." She hissed. "But only one can do it best, friend." Ella hissed back. Lily struggled to break free. A rainbow flashed in her eyes as someone called, "I thought you'd need some help!" And Olivia landed. "Thought you might need some light. I think your consciousness decided I would be best for this job, as my power cancels out yours." "Olivia?" Ella asked. Her eyes stopped glowing, then started glowing again. "You. My puppet." Ella hissed in Nightmare's voice. "You can't do this!" Lily cried, still struggling to break free of the coils of darkness binding her. She squeezed her eyes shut. A force field of darkness exploded the vines of darkness. "Ella. Come with me. Like, right. NOW." "I can't!" "Well, you HAVE to! You could do Eve knows what in this world if there's no one to help you stay in check!" "Um, actually, Lily, Eve doesn't know." Olivia murmured. "Not the point." Lily snapped. Ella was bolting down the street. Slowly dark magic enveloped her. She turned around a corner and disappeared. Olivia rushed up to help Lily. "Don't care about me! Catch her!" Lily cried. Olivia sprinted down the street. Lily tried wriggling out of the bonds, but gave up after a while. She tapped on her bracelet three times like how Adira had shown her. There was a flash as Moonlight appeared. "What happened?" She cried as soon as she saw Lily. "Found - Nightmare," Lily gasped. Moonlight rushed up and shot a vine at the shadows. They writhed and disappeared. "Where's Nightmare?" Arisha asked urgently. "Olivia went to catch her," Lily explained, leaping to her feet. "Her name is Ella and she wears glasses." "Do you mean - her?" Lily followed Arisha's gaze toward the roof of a nearby plaza. Two figures were leaping from roof to roof. The one in the lead suddenly turned toward her pursuer. "Is that...Olivia?" "No, I'm right here." Olivia said from behind them. "So then who's...oh my gods it's Jenifer!" Arisha gasped. Jenifer turned to Ella. "You can't have this stone and you know it!" She shouted. "That's mine!" Nightmare's raspy voice screamed. "No, it isn't! THIS IS NOT YOUR ROCK! Finders keepers losers weepers!" Jenifer yelled, and shot up into the sky. She rose up so high she was practically blocking the sun. "What's she holding?" Arisha asked. Moonlily squinted. "I think it's a rock." "You think?" Aurora asked, appearing with a bright flash of light. "I think...that's the emotion stone!" Lily gasped. The sun wobbled with her shock. "The memory what now?" Aurora asked. "The emotion stone. It's a stone that can erase any memory or even fragments of memories, because it controls your emotions and tricks your brain into thinking it needs to forget those memories." Arisha explained. "When the sun sets on the fourth month of a memory being lost, it's gone forever." Olivia added. "Lily, what do you know about Nightmare's style?" Aurora asked. "How am I supposed to know? It's not like I've been possessed!" Lily snapped. "What!? You-" "What do you remember of two months ago?" Olivia interrupted. "I was still banished, and I decided it was a great idea to jump out a window." Lily said, frowning. "That's...not what happened two months ago." Olivia said, glancing at Arisha. "I think Ella must have erased your memories." There was a yelp and Ella tackled Jenifer, knocking her out of the sky. Ella's eyes widened and her eyes stopped glowing as she screamed. Jenifer stared at the sun as they plummeted to the ground. Then she spread her wings and tried to break their fall. But they crashed into the ground and didn't move as the memory stone flew out of Jenifer's hand and landed at Arisha's feet. She picked it up and was about to smash it when Aurora yelled, "DON'T!" "But I have to!" Arisha protested. "You can't. We have to erase her memories of Nightmare. That amount of trauma could shatter her sanity." "I HAVE TO!" Arisha yelled. "Olivia? A boost?" "I can't." Olivia whispered. Arisha raised her arm and brought it down, throwing the stone to the ground. It shattered and a beam of silver light shot out of it and was absorbed by a glowing silver ball on Lily's forehead. It sank into her head and Lily sank to her knees. "Aunt Jenifer. Aunt Jenifer, wake up!" Aurora cried, shaking her. Jenifer groaned, and slowly opened her eyes, rubbing the back of her head. "Ow," She said. "What happened?" "Nothing good. And now you shall PAY!" Nightmare screamed. She appeared: dark blue, wavy hair, dark blue eyes, jet black wings and black clothes. "Yeah, I don't think so." Jenifer said. "FOOL! YOU DO NOT KNOW OF THE FORCES YOU ARE MESSING WITH!" "What did you just say?" Jenifer growled, her voice dangerously quiet. "SERIOUSLY! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST GO BACK TO THE MOON OR DECIDE TO BE NICE FOR ONCE!" "She's right." Lily said, standing up. "I used to be super mean. Then I stopped being mean, but I still wasn't very nice. You can change, too." "I DO NOT NEED TO CHANGE! I AM DARKNESS! I AM ALL! AND I AM YOUR QUEEN!" "NO! I CONTROL THE DARKNESS!" Lily yelled. "Chill out, Lily," Arisha whispered. She picked up a stone and threw it at Ella, who ducked. The Nightmare power vanished for a second. "We need to go to a hidden place," she whispered to Lily. Lily nodded. "Well, Nightmare," she sang as she leapt into the street, "See you next time!" "You're not going anywhere," Nightmare hissed. Accompanied by the power of darkness, Ella was surprisingly agile and fast for a mortal without - or now with - powers. Soon they were on the buildings, leaping from top to top, Ella gaining speed with each leap and Lily slowing down. Then she came to an abrupt stop and Ella had to keep running because she couldn't just stop and there were no buildings left. She tripped over a rock and fell off the building. "I wonder how fast she fell. It's a shame I wasn't there to hear the SPLAT! as she turned into a pancake, or whatever noise possessed kids make when they fall off of buildings." Lily said as they headed home. "At least now we don't have to worry about her. Nightmare will take a long time to choose someone else." Moonlight said. "Um..." Olivia squeaked, pointing in front of them. "You were saying?" Lily asked, crossing her arms and looking bored. Princess Magnolia Sunflame stood in front of her, eyes glowing black. "Found you," Nightmare hissed, lunging at them. Lily ducked and rolled. "Now you know what it feels like to face a maniac-controlled cousin!" Aurora yelled. She pulled out her blades. "Wait - we need to go back through the portal. We can't let mortals see us." Arisha waved her hand and the portal opened. A timer on top of it showed it would close in two minutes. "In, fast!" Lily ducked in, followed by Jenifer, Olivia and Aurora. Nightmare hesitated for a moment before leaping in behind them. The portal closed abruptly. They appeared on the beach overlooking the water kingdom boundary. The sun started to rise, casting a tri-colored glow over the horizon. Waves lapped onto the sand, soaking into Arisha's sandals. They cornered Magnolia, who had black mist pouring out of her ears. "Now let's see where you can run!" Arisha lifted her hands and a gigantic tide loomed over them. Aurora rolled out of the way and threw down her blades. Purple lightning swirled around her finger. Olivia summoned a ball of light and let it hover above her palm. Lily drew her flying-blades and positioned them in her hand. Suddenly Nightmare hissed and attacked, aiming at Olivia. Olivia rolled swiftly to the side, and shot out a flash of light, temporarily blinding the enemy. Nightmare swiveled around and lunged at Aurora, who zapped a lightning bolt in front of her face. Nightmare flinched back and attacked Moonlight. Moonlily flung three blades toward her, but missed. She only managed to cut off a lock of hair. They continued like this for three hours like so, unable to harm the opposite. Suddenly Nightmare shot into the air, attempting to run away on a cyclone of black smoke. Moonlight, who hadn't been able to attack under the protection of the older girls, raised her hands. Nightmare stopped suddenly, as if she were unable to control herself. Moonlight pulled toward the water. Nightmare followed without control. Lily leapt up and shot out three beams of sunlight that bound around Magnolia. She gave an unable cry and fell to the sand. Aurora rushed up, producing a magic rope that tied firmly around the victim. Olivia peered over their shoulders. Magnolia blinked, then shook her head. Her eyes were back to normal. "What - happened? NIGHTMARE!" She shrieked, then wriggled even harder. "There's no Nightmare, silly," Lily laughed. "You were saying?" A voice cackled behind her. Lily turned and gasped. "Oh gods . . . not Arisha!" Moonlight lunged at her. Lily rolled to the side and ducked. Moonlight shot out three blinding flashes of black ice, pinning her sister firmly onto the sand. Then she turned to Olivia and Aurora. Accordingly Aurora shot out a blinding flash of lightning. "No!" Lily cried. Moonlight cackled and shot out another column of black ice that froze the magic. It shattered to the ground. Then she turned on Olivia, who took three steps back upon sending a bolt of light toward her. Moonlight blocked the blow then sent a bolt of black ice that froze Olivia onto a rock. She did the same to Aurora and Magnolia. She cackled something like, "The Element Continent is mine!" And stepped into the boundary, that gave away harmlessly. "First, I will conquer the Water Kingdom!" A moment later she disappeared beneath the waves. Lily tried to break free, but the black ice was too strong. "She's too powerful," Magnolia groaned. "I can't believe Nightmare dared possessing her!" Aurora yelled. "SHE CAN'T DO THAT! IT'S CHEATING!" Lily screamed, struggling to break free even more. She was so angry her eyes practically glowed with rage. The ice didn't melt, like she'd hoped. "Maybe we can try letting it melt under the sun?" "With this kind of ice, it's going to take three years." Magnolia sighed. "Can you try using your magic?" Lily yelled to Aurora. Aurora nodded. A weak glimmer of magic flashed, but nothing happened. "Wait!" Magnolia cried suddenly. "Half of why this magic is so strong is because it's dark magic." "And Lily knows all about it." Olivia added. Lily tried to cross her arms, but the ice prevented her. "I'm done with dark magic." Lily told them. "Wait!" Aurora cried suddenly, attempting to slap her forehead with no use. She shot a glare at the ice. "The power of Nightmare is afraid of nature. Maybe we could use our nature powers?" "I don't have any," Olivia pointed out. "Neither do I," Lily said. "Mother said we could give anyone nature powers with this," Aurora said. She motioned to something in her pocket. "But it's no use." Lily grumbled. "If Aurora can't melt them, some vines aren't going to help." "Not any vines." Magnolia protested. Lily shook her head. "Let me try something." "What?" Lily started muttering to herself, and her eyes glowed a dark purple as the ice shattered. "I have a spell book all about magic," Magnolia offered. "I could try something." "No." Lily shook her head again. "Dark magic isn't meant for some people." "Look! There she is!" Aurora cried as Lily freed her. Lily turned around. Arisha rose from the waves cackling. On her head was a sparkling crown. The crown of the Water Kingdom, with black diamonds on it instead of the sapphires. "Anyone got a bow and arrow? I have the tooth of the most vicious dragon so I can cast a spell to make sure that it can't miss." "So you just carry an tooh with you?" Aurora asked as Olivia gave Lily her bow and arrow. "How about a 'Thanks for carrying a tooth around with you, Lily! You're the best.'" Lily said. Aurora rolled her eyes. "Thanks for carrying a tooth with you." She told Lily. "No problem." Lily said, and pulled out a small purple box and started muttering again. Her eyes glowed purple again and the arrow shimmered. "So what happens when we shoot her?" Aurora asked. "It won't kill her. The poison on the arrow only works on dark spirits." Lily said, aiming. She let her arrow fly. Time seemed to slow down as the arrow soared through the sky, then pierced Moonlight's arm. She shrieked and fell off the wave. A moment later, however, she rose once again. Her eyes were still black. "My goodness!" Lily cursed. "What in the -" "We forgot! Moonlight has healing powers." "Stupid healing powers," Aurora agreed. "So this poison only works on the damage she's done, like the ice blocks?" "Yeah," Lily said. "But it takes a long time even." "Guys," Magnolia whispered. "Um, sorry to disrupt your conversation but -" "You will pay for the defy!" Nightmare bellowed. She sent four bolts of black ice toward them, locking them in once again. She waved her hand. A soldier, shaking, rushed up and bound them to the rock. "Why are you doing this?" Lily hissed in his ear. "She's going to kill the royal family if we don't follow her orders," he replied in a whisper. "She's held them captive." "Wow, that's fast," Lily said. "Yes, fast," Moonlight said, appearing behind them. "You went against my orders," she hissed at the soldier. "Lock him in the dungeon!" She clapped her hands and three shadowy figures emerged behind her, cackling evilly. The soldier was dragged off. "Arisha, stop," Lily yelled. "You aren't thinking straight." "I said the same to you, that day," Moonlight retorted. "But you didn't listen, and neither am I. Don't worry, big sister. I will be a better queen than you are. I will conquer the entire continent!" She waved her hand and her snow leopard, Snowy, stalked up to them. Snowy had obviously turned dark too. Her spotted back was black instead of snowy white. She bared her fangs and hissed. "Snowy," Lily purred. "It's me, Lily. Did you forget? We used to play games in the -" "She's Night now," Moonlight hissed. She climbed onto Night's back. "When I was Nightmare, I didn't turn my animals dark." Lily pointed out. "I am a different Nightmare than you were! I am a better Nightmare, a smarter one, and I will not fall to any gems! I have destroyed them all, and cast them into the darkest pits of the earth." "Olivia?" "Yup. I've got it." Olivia said, pulling out a book and opening it. She read:

The five gems, eleven elements, represent Unity

Earth: Strength, Bravery

Water: Loyalty, Cleverness, Patience

Spells: Magic, Kindness

Moon: Trust, Change, Honesty

Love: Harmony, Laughter."

"Oh, yes. You reminded me." Moonlight said. She waved to one of the shadows. "Take away their gems." "What?!" "No!" "Of course, your darkness." The shadow floated toward Magnolia, who screamed. A moment later an emerald gem was passed into Moonlight's hands, then an amethyst. The shadow reached toward Lily's neck. "Don't you touch my gem!" She yelled, but she was bound too hard to struggle. Soon the opal gem was gone, too. "Very good." Moonlight took the gems and pressed them. When she opened her hands again, they had all turned to blocks of black diamond. There was a giant crash. "Mother?" Magnolia asked. "We may not have our magic, but we aren't completely helpless." Eve told them, weilding a sword. "Well, I wasn't helpless at all, since I don't need a gem, so Nightmare decided it was a great idea to eat my magic, which, by the way, I did not appreciate." Adira added. Everyone glared at her. "Silence!" Moonlight ordered. "I am the rightful heir of the Water throne, if you haven't heard. No one said I couldn't rule a few years earlier." "Just go and you know, save the world." Olive said. Someone yanked their ropes away. "I have a new . . . plan," Moonlight continued. "And you seem like the perfect puppets for my experiment." "I! AM! NOT! A! PUPPET!" Lily screamed. Moonlight waved her hand boredly. "Silence, big sister. Now I am the queen, and you will all follow my orders." One of the shadow servants brought up a crown. It was made of metal and resembled something more like a bucket of steel. On the center of it was a black diamond gem that contained endless dark power. Moonlight walked up to Lily. Lily bit at her. Snowy - Night - leapt up and hissed. Lily hissed back. "Perhaps you'd like to try my new invention - the consumer of knowledge. Of course," she added to Magnolia's horrified expression, "all your knowledge won't be really consumed - instead, transported here." She pointed at her head triumphantly. "You can't do this!" Lily yelled. "Stealing other people's knowledge to become smarter - this is not what the real Moonlight would do!" "Call me a mad scientist," Moonlight hissed in her ear. "Now, I suppose you'd like to try it on first?" "Stop!" Olivia yelled suddenly. "What do you have to say, big sister?" Moonlight hissed. "I - I will do it. Don't touch Lily." "No! Olivia, what are you thinking?" Olivia hung her head. "Lily, you have to keep your knowledge. You are the one that knows Nightmare's powers the best. We need you." "No," Lily cried. "No one is getting their knowledge sucked up." "Very good," Moonlight cackled at Olivia. "You will have it first, as you wish." "No!" Lily screamed, shaking tears out of her eyes. "You can't do this, Olivia!" "I'll do it, in her place!" Aurora cried. "No, I'll do it!" Magnolia whimpered. "Very good," Moonlight laughed. "You will all get a turn, then. Now, Olivia - prepare to get brainwashed! Mwa ha ha!" She fitted the contraption over Olivia's head. There was a blinding zap. Lily screamed. When the light died down, Olivia was staring stupidly at the sky. Her mouth hung open and she seemed not to hear Lily's shouts. "Mmm. I can already feel myself becoming more and more clever! I can't wait to suck up everybody's knowledge. Who's next?" Moonlight turned to Aurora. "NO!" Adira yelled somewhere behind them. "Silence, Aunt Adira," Moonlight hissed. She waved her hand. Three more shadow devils appeared, dragging them off to the dungeon. "Now, Aurora, prepare to meet your doom!" ZAP. "Magnolia, your turn! Mwa ha ha!" ZAP. Finally Moonlight turned on Lily. "Don't come near me!" Lily yelled. "Oh, I won't suck up your knowledge. You will be a useful assistant. Besides, I still have plenty of experiments to work on you." "Assistant? What do you mean?" Moonlight came up to her, and pressed a hand on Lily's forehead. It was hard to believe she was only nine years old. "From now on, I will turn Moonlily Sunflame evil during the night, and good during the day, so she can work for me and be obedient and entertaining too. Moonlily, become evil and set the sun! We will conquer the entire continent!" Lily screamed.