Chapter Four
Everyone turned to look at Baby-Wets-A-Lot. The voice definitely came from there. The doll looked the same, sitting on Gabby’s lap. Haley looked close, to see if it moved. At first, it didn't. Then, the doll moved its eyes. She jumped back a little when it happened.
“Jilly, does Baby-Wets-A-Lot move her eyes?” she asked. She had seen dolls do that before.
Jillian still stood at the top of the stairs. “No. She just cries. My other doll moves her eyes.”
“I’m a doll?” Uncle Johnny asked. He sounded quite confused. No one could blame him. They all felt that way.
Everyone was surprised. The doll talked and moved its mouth. Now they knew for sure something crazy had happened. First Haley leaped, then Braden moved things with his mind. Now, their Uncle talked through a doll that went wee-wee. What was next?
“First the doll flies, and now it talks?” Jack asked.
"Someone want to explain that?"
“It didn’t fly. I made it fly,” Braden reminded him.
“Right. Either way, this is weird.”
“Not as weird as me being stuck in a doll,” Uncle Johnny said. “But, I am a cool doll, right? G.I. Joe, or like an action figure or something?”
“Um, you’re a Ba—“ Braden started to say.
Haley covered Braden’s mouth. She didn't think Uncle Johnny would be happy to hear what doll he was stuck in. “You’re an okay doll, Uncle Johnny. It’s a baby, but it’s normal looking.”
“Yeah, and when you drink water you—“
“Aren’t thirsty anymore,” Haley interrupted, putting a finger to her lips to tell Braden to keep his mouth shut.
“You’re just a normal doll.”
"A baby? I am a baby? All these years I spent growing up, working hard and now I am stuck as a baby?” Tears started to fall from the doll’s face. “A baby?” Uncle Johnny cried uncontrollably. Baby-Wets-A-Lot did that often and it seemed it took over Uncle Johnny as well. They had never seen him cry before.
“It’s okay,” Haley said, patting the doll on its head and feeling a little stupid doing so. It wasn't like she could calm the doll down and she didn't know if Uncle Johnny could even feel it.
“I’m, I’m, crying?” Uncle Johnny was losing it, Haley noticed. They needed him, so she tried to calm him down.
“Yes, the doll you are in can cry and do a whole lot of other cool things.” Haley didn't believe for a second Uncle Johnny would find any of that cool. Still, she had to lie.
“I’m a girly doll, aren’t I?” Uncle Johnny said through tears. “A silly, girly doll.”
“Baby-Wets-A-Lot is not a silly doll,” Jillian said.
“What? Baby who?”
“Baby-Works-A lot,” Haley said, looking around at her cousins and making a face that told them to keep quiet. “You’re a doll that helps Mommy work around the house.”
“Then why am I in a dress?”
“Jillian put that on the doll. We can change it if you want.”
“Yeah, I think I’d like that. Being a baby is one thing, but having to wear a dress, that’s just too much. Know what I mean?” The tears stopped a little. Uncle Johnny got a hold of himself again.
“I think so. Do you know what’s happening?”
“Of course I do.”
“What?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, tell us,” Braden said.
“Where is everyone? Our parents?” Jillian asked, finally coming down the stairs.
“Well, it’s kind of complicated, where everyone is. I’d first have to tell you where you are.”
“Where did you come from?” Jack asked. “Was everyone else there with you?”
“I really don’t know. I was sleeping when Jillian called for me and brought me here.”
“How did she do that?” Braden asked.
“Yeah, how did I do that? I know that I thought of you, but how did I bring you here?”
“It’s your Dream Power. If you think of something you can make it appear.”
“So, I can make my Mommy and Daddy appear right now too?”
“Sorry, that you can’t do. You can only call on one person to help you, and you called me. Good thing, though, because I'm the one who was supposed to help you. Even if you called your parents in, they wouldn't be much help with this.”
“Did you say that was her Dream Power?” Braden asked. “Like we are in a dream right now?”
“Well, sort of a dream and sort of not. This isn’t the real real world, but things that happen here are just as important. Think of it like another world.”
“Like an alternate reality?” Jack asked, “I saw that on a cartoon. I think it was Jimmy Neutron.”
“Exactly like that. That’s why you feel like you are awake. But in this world, you can do things that you couldn’t do in the other one. Every one of you has a Dream Power. You all have more than one. There are all sorts of powers. For example, someone who can’t walk in the other world can in this one.”
“Does everyone have them?” Jillian asked.
“Well, everyone could have them, but most never learn about it. You guys are different, special. But I'll get into that part later.”
“But this is a dream,” Haley said.
“Like I said, sort of. Sort of like the dream you had the other night.”
Haley looked the other way. “What dream?”
“You know, the one where someone told you not to tell anyone about it. The one where you felt like you were being pulled into something. That something was this world. Someone was trying to show you but you weren’t ready.”
“That was you?”
“No, that was someone else. Did you recognize the voice?” Uncle Johnny asked.
“Not really. It sounded familiar, but I wasn’t sure. Who was the boy with the long blonde hair?”
“We’ll talk about him at another time. What’s important now is that you guys identify your Dream Powers and learn how to use them.”
"Why?"
"We'll talk about that later too. You've been chosen, long before you were born, to do things in this Dream World. Now, the time has come." That last phrase sounded familiar to Haley. She'd heard it on the basketball court. But what time was it?
"Chosen? For what?" Jillian asked.
"First things first. You need to discover your Dream Powers and train to use them," Uncle Johnny said. Haley didn't think any of this made sense. Maybe she just had another crazy dream and would wake up like before. Still, it all felt so real, unlike any dream she'd had before.
“What’s your Dream Power?” Jack asked.
“I have many powers because I have been training for a long time. Right now, I don’t think I have any real powers because I am in this doll. My powers don't transfer to objects like this. But, you did say this is a cool doll, so I am sure I will be able to do something.”
Jack and Braden laughed and Haley kicked Jack in the leg to get him to stop. The kick hurt and Jack said so, but Haley didn’t even look at him. He should have known that Uncle Johnny wouldn’t want to know that he was stuck in a baby that went wee-wee.
“You probably will find out soon,” Haley said. She actually had to hold back from laughing herself. It was pretty funny.
“Have you guys noticed anything strange other than what Jillian can do?”
“I can move things with my mind,” Braden said.
“That’s called Telekinesis, and it is a very special power. You have to be careful with it. You can’t just move anything, or everything would be going in different directions. You have to concentrate, and you have to relax. Most important, and this goes for all of your powers, you can’t doubt yourself. You have to believe you can do the things you do or they won’t work at all.”
“Okay,” all the kids answered. They really weren’t sure what to think of all of this, but they knew Uncle Johnny wouldn’t lie to them. They needed to trust someone right then. They all felt a little scared, and Uncle Johnny was the only adult a
round. Maybe he could help them find their parents and make sense out of everything.
“With that power, Braden, you can move objects big and small. Don’t worry about the size. But there are a few other rules.”
“Rules?” Braden asked. Every time something cool came along, there were always rules. He hoped Uncle Johnny wouldn't say he had to share it with Jillian, like his parents said he had to do with just about everything else cool.
“Yes, rules. Like, rule number one, you can’t doubt yourself. That goes for all of you.” The doll moved its head a little and Gabby got scared. She knocked it off her, sending it toward the floor. Haley raced over in one leap and grabbed it before it landed.
“Thanks,” Uncle Johnny said. He turned his head and looked over at Gabby. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Gabby just laughed.
“You were saying about rules,” Braden said, and it was obvious he didn’t like the word ‘rules’. What kid does?
“Yes. For your power, you have two other rules. One is that you can’t move a living thing, not yet at least. Anything that has its own mind cannot be moved through basic telekinesis. Got it?”
“Like animals?”
“Yes,” Uncle Johnny said.
“What about trees? They don’t have a mind, do they?”
“Yes, they kind of do, Braden. A tree can search for water with its roots in the toughest places. It can sense water. They can break through big metal pipes just to get to the water in them. They also can lean one direction or another to get more light. Also, if a tree is sick, you can rip off part of its bark and it will fight to live. So, you can't move trees either.”
“They didn’t teach us that in school,” Jack said.
“No, they haven’t gotten to that stuff yet I guess. I have a feeling you are going to learn a lot of things today that you were never taught and probably never will be taught in school.”
“Right, like telekinesis,” Braden said.
“Exactly. Your second rule, for now at least, is that you can only move things for a short period of time. After that you’ll get really tired, so don’t push it, okay?”
“Got it.”
“What about Haley?” Jack asked. “She moved before like a superhero or something.”
“I saw that when she caught me. Haley, you have the ability to soar through the air. It’s not super speed, like someone else here has, but instead, you can make yourself light and jump really high.”
“Very cool,” Haley said, “but how do I control it?”
“You really don’t have to. You just have to believe, and you can jump to the top of a house if you want to,” Uncle Johnny said. Jack felt funny talking to a doll, and he figured everyone else did too. Every time Uncle Johnny spoke, Jack wanted to laugh.
“That’s it? No other rules?”
“Well, you can’t jump too high into the air because you can hurt yourself when you come back down. You’ll have to test it out and see what the limits are. Also, like Braden, you can’t use your power too much or it will tire you out, especially if you are new at it.” “Okay, that seems easy enough.” “What about me?” Jack asked.
“Well, you were the one I was talking about when I mentioned super speed. You can run faster than any car, and with training, even faster than that. You can go long distances in seconds. And, even though your power really doesn’t have any rules, there are a few things you should know.”
“Like what?” Jack asked. He had a really big grin on his face, Haley noticed, like when he knew they were going to get pizza. Jack loved pizza.
“Well, if you can go that fast, you have to be careful not to run into anything, right?”
“I guess so.”
“Also, you have to be careful not to get lost. And, most of all, remember that you have to plan your stop in advance so you don't overshoot your target. Got it?”
“Yup," Jack said, already sounding a little impatient, like he wanted to start running right then. Haley wondered, with the stairs blocked, where he thought he was going to run to. Jack didn't always think too far ahead, she noticed.
“And if you stop focusing on running, you’ll slow down. If you get scared, you’ll speed up, but that’s dangerous. So pay attention, okay?”
“Yeah, no problem Uncle Johnny. I can do all that.”
“Good.”
“Uncle Johnny?” Haley asked.
“Yes Haley?”
“What about Gabby, does she have any powers?”
“Of course she does. Jack knows what it is.”
“I do?”
“Yeah. I noticed it before. She made you do something for her, didn’t you?” Uncle Johnny asked.
“Uh-huh. She made me get the Baby-We--, um, the doll for her,” Jack said, remembering Haley kicked him the last time he almost said something about the doll. He wasn't sure why, but decided to keep quiet about it. Girls could be so confusing.
“She’s got the charm power. If you look into her eyes, she can make you do whatever she wants. Be careful, because she is little, and she doesn’t have much control over it. Try not to look directly into her eyes. And if she gets angry, she can drive you nuts, so you need to be careful.”
“Gabby never gets angry,” Jillian said.
“I am sure she does sometimes,” Uncle Johnny answered, “but that’s not important. You all know what your powers are and you are going to need them. Also, you all are stronger in this world than you are in the other one. Again, you are going to need that for what’s coming.”
“What’s coming?” Braden asked as he floated the television remote in the air. He had good control over his power already. Jack wanted to see how his worked but he couldn’t do it in the small basement. He’d end up running into one of the walls.
“I can’t say right now. I just know there is trouble, and we have been expecting it for a while now. We used to have other Dream Fighters to handle this, but we haven’t trained a lot lately and we need new recruits. It’s kind of hard to explain it all to you.”
“Dream Fighters?”
“Yeah, that’s what we call you guys. How do you like the name?”
“I think it is kind of cool,” Braden said.
“Me too,” added Jillian.
“Good, because it’s not like they are going to change it or something. It's been the name for centuries. Anyway, we needed to get some other young people involved because our last team has gotten to the point where it is time for them to retire. When they get older, they stop believing and are not as powerful as they should be.”
“I thought you got stronger when you got older,” Jack said.
“Yes, you can lift heavier things, and maybe run faster and hit a golf ball farther, but your belief gets weaker. You forget to believe actually. It’s sad, but it kind of happens to everyone.”
“Even you?” Jillian asked.
Uncle Johnny laughed. It seemed odd coming from a doll. “Even me, though a lot of people say I don’t act as old as I am. In this case, that’s a good thing.”
“So, what’s coming?” Jack asked. “You said we needed these powers because something is coming.”
“We think it is Sarlak.”
“Who?” Braden asked. “Who’s Sarlak?”
“He’s is leading a group from the planet Gorgon. We are not really sure who he is, but the Gorgons are a race of people seven feet tall. They have been convinced by Sarlak to attack us. We have known this battle was coming for a long time. The only question was when. Now we're sure it's about to happen. They must be stopped to protect the real world." "What do you mean?" Haley asked.
"The events in the dream world can affect the real world. If Sarlak wins here, bad things will happen in the real world."
"How?" Jack asked.
"These two worlds are connected. The dream world and real world sort of control each other. When you become more advanced you'll understand it better. Now, you need to focus on the Gorgons."
"What are they like?"
"They are messy, ugly, and they have really bad breath.”
Everyone laughed.
“It’s not funny. Their breath is bad. Trust me; you don’t want to be stuck in an elevator full of Gorgons. You’ll pass out.”
“Well, I won’t need to use an elevator any more. I’ll just jump to the floor I want to go to,” Haley said.
“And I can run up the stairs superfast,” Jack added.
“If there’s something upstairs I need, I’ll just think about it,” Jillian said.
“And I can use my mind to bring it to me,” said Braden.
“Right, and Gabby will just get one of you guys to do it for her. Still, I’m sorry that your first assignment is with these creatures. It won’t be very easy. The good thing is although they are very strong, they are also not so bright.
We should be able to outsmart them.”
“What do we have to do, kill them?” Braden asked.
“No, probably not. We’re going to try and avoid fighting them.”
"Like in Sly Cooper?"
"Yes, exactly."
Braden wondered if there was a connection between the two. Uncle Johnny had made a point of saying that fighting wasn't always necessary in the game and now they needed to understand that for the dream world too.
“And we have to do it? It's like, our job?”
“Yes. They have decided to bring their army here. It's the reason I pulled you into the dream world now. They detected you and will try to fight you off. Hopefully we can stop Sarlak from coming to Earth.”
“But I thought this wasn’t Earth,” Jack said.
“Well, it is and isn't. We know Sarlak's plan is to try and transfer himself from the dream world to the real world, and we certainly don't want that. I left a trap for the Gorgons. They should be coming here soon. So, practice your skills. Jack, you’ll have to wait, it’s too dangerous for you to practice running down here. All I want you to do is think about how fast you can run. Just keep picturing it in your mind, okay?”
“Okay.”
“The rest of you, start training. We got a big day ahead of us.”