Disclaimer: <Insert standard one here.>
Warnings: Yaoi, violence, death, profanity, angst, alternate universe, lime, sap, maybe fluff and OOC. No lemon, though. I don't write them. Badly written sparring matches, battles, and lime. Just can't do them that well for some reason. There will be a happy ending... eventually. I'm not like those people who kill off everyone and leave them that way.
Pairings: Goku x Vegeta, Goten x Trunks
Ages: Trunks (20), Goten (19), Bra (8)
Misc Information: This fic is in three parts (was just going to be two). First off there's a get-together ficcy (or the extended prologue), then I get into the reason behind the title in part two. Three's the conclusion of two (I consider it the extended epilogue). Since I have a lot of other fics in progress, this might be neglected. If that happens, feel free to encourage me to write again. ^_^
Shameless Plug: I need more people to review Age of the Empire on Fanfiction.net. Won't go into all of the reasons, but let's just say that I've entered new territory with it. So far it's general :( but that'll change.
Additional Note: I have this to say to those who are annoyed by the out-of-character behavior: You were warned. Didn't I, in the very first chapter, state that there may be OOC? Encountering it was a risk you took. Besides, I'm awful at keeping Vegeta in character and thought that it was okay based on the circumstances surrounding said uncharacteristic behavior. To those who haven't been annoyed (and those who are undecided): I appreciate your patronage and look forward to more of it in the future.
Just a Nightmare
(Part II: Enter the Nightmare)
Prelude
Over 3,000 Years Ago...
Flames engulfed the entire west side of the city and its residents were fleeing in panic. Lemnos had been the seventh to succumb since the start of the demon's rampage on Planet Remnar and there seemed to be no one that could stop him.
The demon's black scaled form stood upon the spire of the Temple of Etha, his deep red eyes surveying all that he had ruined. It had been a good day for death... especially since no one had been expecting it. It had been the day of the Summer Festival, a time that was usually filled with merriment and good cheer. Now, it would forever be known as the day death came to Lemnos.
"You will be punished for your crimes, Nightmare!" A female voice cried from the street below. He looked down and eyed the tiny woman who dared to threaten him. She wore the pristine white robes of a Priestess of Etha and carried a staff with two golden rings on both sides of a vertical star. Her amethyst eyes were narrowed in outrage and her hand clutched the staff in a white-knuckled fist.
Nightmare's lips pulled back to bare his pointed teeth in a grin. In a low-pitched voice he told the priestess just how much he didn't believe her words. "Your numbers may be many, but all of you combined do not possess enough power to defeat me." He leapt from the spire and lightly landed before her. "Allow me to show you just how doomed your people are."
His faith in himself was great, but greater was the priestess' faith in her goddess. Etha had come to her in a vision days before and given her the power to forever seal away the chaos demon known as Nightmare. Extending the star staff, she began her prayer.
"Etha, mother of creation, I beg of thee. Please fill your most loyal servant with the power to bind this demon in Hell for all eternity."
For a moment nothing happened. Nightmare smirked at her attempt to stop him and started forward once more. Then the triumphant young woman began to glow in white light that quickly moved up the staff to gather at the tip of the star. As the demon watched in abject horror, the luminescence flowed from the star staff and engulfed him completely. Screaming in rage, Nightmare tried to fight the holy power and could not.
Raising the staff high, the priestess sealed his fate. "Begone from here and trouble us no more!"
"Nothing can hold me for long!" Nightmare shouted as a gaping portal opened below him. He dropped downward and vanished into it. "You will see! You will all see!"
***
Present Day...
For millennia he sat quietly in his cell waiting for day he tasted freedom once again. It was a change of pace from the demon that, for two centuries, paced restlessly and snarled at anyone unfortunate enough to get too close. No matter how docile he seemed to be, however, the dungeon master knew that he would always remain an evil creature and wouldn't trust him not to corrupt an innocent.
Yet the ogres were understaffed due to Enma's budget cuts so he had to station a relatively young ogre beside Nightmare's cell. He had no fear that Ignas wouldn't do his job... as long as the demon remained totally silent.
The young male ogre with the still-bright outlook peered into the gloom that filled the demon's cell. Ignas had heard frightening things from the others about the sole occupant, but never thought he would get the chance to see him in person.
Too bad no one would ever believe it.
Unless... "Um, Mister Nightmare? Can I have your autograph?"
He received nothing but silence for several long moments and Ignas feared that he'd offended him in some way. Then a patch of darkness even deeper than the rest moved and two glowing, blood-red ellipses turned to regard him. Ignas held his breath until the wide mouth bared its white teeth in a semblance of a smile, and by then he was light-headed from a profound lack of oxygen.
"You wish for my signature?" Nightmare asked in a faintly amused tone. "What purpose does it serve?"
Trembling slightly, Ignas marveled at how his facial features seemed to float in an inky sea. "My peers speak of you often... mainly to scare each other."
The creature shifted so that a sliver of light from the single window sliced across his face, illuminating his left eye and nose, but leaving the rest in darkness. "Ah, so my name is still whispered in the night. Good to see that they have not forgotten about me."
"No one could ever forget about the demon who murdered eight million people in one week! You are a legend!" Fear now replaced by captivation, the young ogre all but pressed himself against the cell's steel bars.
"So, you would like to impress your friends? I cannot write, young one, for I am restrained by blessed manacles. Free me and my autograph is yours."
Intelligence warred with want and lost miserably. Ignas pulled a key from his pants pocket and, after looking around to make sure none of the other guards were paying attention, inserted it into the keyhole. With a quiet snick, the cell door opened.
He may not have been smart enough to ignore Nightmare's false gentleness, but he had just enough intelligence to close the door behind him. That would have been enough.... if he hadn't freed the demon.
"Can you make it out to Ignas, your number one fan?" the ogre asked as he unlocked the manacles confining Nightmare's hands. "Better yet, can you call me your best-friend?"
"Oh, I have something quite excellent that I can call you..." The demon stretched for the first time in what seemed like forever. "How about imbecile?"
Ignas frowned. "Hey, that's not very nice."
He flashed a wicked grin. "I'm a demon, Ignas. What else do you expect from me?" Before the ogre could answer (or even blink), a clawed hand shot out and grabbed him around the throat. "I thank you for freeing me, but no one else can find out about what you've done. At least not until after I've had a little fun. Goodbye, Ignas, you've served me considerably well."
As the life faded from his body, the young ogre knew that that he would carry the pain from the demon's betrayal for all eternity. Nightmare, however, would completely forget about the entire incident in just a few hours.
"I will bring absolute terror to the mortal realm once again. Soon, everyone will know the name of Nightmare!" Throwing his head back, the demon let out a full laugh that bounced from the stone walls and caused the other prisoners to quake in fear. A few seconds later, a gateway was created by his hand and the unholy creature was liberated from his millennia-long imprisonment.
A/N: Hai, yet another ogre has screwed everyone over (see DBZ Movie #12: The Rebirth of Fusion: Goku and Vegeta). Will they ever learn? =) I also lied about finishing Little Child Found first. It seems that this story just won't leave me alone.