Nextgen Kids: Legend of the Nine Newborn

The Dreamverse, Night 1: The Nightmare Awakens

It's time to begin a brand new story, gang! I don't really plan to get too complex with this story, just make it a nice, simple adventure that takes place in the Dream World. Probably be somewhere between 10 and 20 chapters. The "gameplay" for this story is heavily inspired from the original Rayman game; in fact, the remake Rayman Redemption was released this year, and that was the primary motivation to make this story! The main protagonist of this story will be Yume Nikki's Madotsuki... of course, I'll try to keep Seven Lights Saga spoilers to a minimum. The thing is, with these new stories, I don't like spoiling events of previous stories unless it's actually relevant, because you never know who might be reading out of order. XD That being said, there will be certain plot elements from Madotsuki's arc that'll come into play. Just as well, this story heavily draws on from the plot of The Horrorverse.

Night 1: The Nightmare Awakens

Good evening, my children. I am Polokus. For a time, I was the Spirit of the Dream World. I was given my position by the gods who created this world, to fight the evil Nightmares who plagued it. This Dream Realm was to be a haven for the mortals of the universe. A place to escape in their subconscious.

The illusions of five deities cast twinkling rays of energy over the realm, resembling constellations. One was pink and had two tails. One was white and catlike. One was yellow with a star head, but fast asleep. One was blue and resembled a crescent-winged bird. The last one was purple and resembled a ghostly cloak. Polokus named them as they appeared.

Feelings... Imagination... Wishes... Peace... and Fear. These were the five forces that birthed our Dream World. The powers of these five gods were combined to create the Great Protoon, the very core of this world. But Fear was the most dangerous of them all. It corrupted the hearts of the mortals and birthed powerful Nightmares. That is why I, the Bubble Dreamer, was assigned to stop them.

A constellation of an impish, but long-armed and tall-hatted being brought a wand down. He softly blew bubbles from the wand, and those bubbles captured the dark, sharp-toothed monsters.

By my power, the Nightmares fell to sleep, and the mortals could enjoy their dreams in peace. But I knew... my time in this universe was limited. I could not fight the Nightmares forever. And so, I cast my power onto the children.

Polokus waved his long-fingered arm as stardust sprinkled the moonlit earth. Amongst the billions of slumbering children, certain ones began to rise in their slumber.

I chose special children to carry my power and fight the Nightmares in my place. Today, I only exist in the hearts of these Bubble Dreamers. And tonight, one such Bubble Dreamer will begin her adventure.

Polokus's constellation turned into a single light. It swirled down onto the earth below and entered the heart of a slumbering, brown-haired girl.

Madotsuki was a poor young girl plagued with terrible nightmares. Nightmares too horrific for the common person. But that past is no more. Now, a new destiny awaits her...

Madotsuki had always enjoyed the warm embrace of slumber. She lived the life of an ordinary girl, adopted by her family, but the struggles of daily life tired the 13-year-old. She would always look forward to a warm night's sleep, her dim lit room quiet and undisturbed.

...

Her sweet red eyes opened. She calmly pushed off her covers and climbed out of bed. Wearing a pink sweater with a window design, purple skirt, and soft red socks, she viewed around her room, lit only by the crescent moon through her window and a snowman nightlight. Her small TV and game console were turned off. Madotsuki approached the door and slipped on her red boots before stepping out.