• At the End of the Dream

    Prologue
    In the Beginning

    I

    In the beginning, the Titans created the planet of Titan. Their goal was to create a planet where war was a constant. The idea was that if war could be contained on a single planet, then it would not spread to other planets. This was not well met by some, but others liked the idea. Animosity amongst the Titans grew quickly, but for them to fight each other was forbidden, so they created two lesser gods, Atma and Apocalypse. Atma and Apocalypse fought across Titan for thousands of years, and neither one could beat the other, so they decided to follow the lead of the Titans that created them, and created two champions. Apocalypse created Kain Deschain, a warrior that wanted nothing more than to become powerful, even at the cost of innocent lives. Atma created Michael Deschain, brother to Kain, a warrior that could both lead and follow, one who could accept others for who they were and would fight for what he believed in to his last breath. Next they created weapons for their warriors. Apocalypse created the Dark Heart, a katana that harnessed the power of pure darkness. Atma created the Hellraizer, a sword that fed off of the wielder’s will to fight. They implanted these two warriors into the world, and the rest is history.

    Chapter I
    Here and Now

    I

    Nightmare sat upon the top of the Old St. Mary’s Church. It was almost midnight, and no one was around. His wife was taken from him a second time, his family was taken from him by his own brother, and the only thing he had left in this world was his apprentice, Sam Sparda. He trained the kid for the past ten years or so, keeping him along the right path. He didn’t tell him, but the kid was getting stronger by the day, and at this rate, would surpass even himself. He looked to the sky, towards Titan, his home planet. He let his mind wander back to his life before, back when he was King Michael, The Kind and Powerful, and his wife was Queen Tanya, The Strong and Beautiful. He smiled, remembering those times fondly, until he realized that he would never see his wife again. She had cheated death once by using the life force of the planet Titan to heal her wounds, but when Nightmare lost control and let the darkness consume him on Earth, the planet didn’t have nearly enough life force to spare to bring her back. He was awakened from his memories by the ringing of the church bell striking 12. After the twelfth ring, he heard a voice behind him. “I thought you old ******** were in bed by eight on the weekdays.”
    Nightmare, without missing a beat, replied, “And I thought you kids had to be in bed by ten on school nights.”
    Sam took a seat next to him atop the church. “Anything?” Sam asked, the boredom rising in his voice.
    “Nothing, you?”
    “Same.”
    The demons had been quiet lately, not just in Detroit, but all across the planet. It was enough to make Nightmare uneasy. He had been on this planet for over 4000 years, and never, that he could remember, had it ever been this quiet. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m ******** hungry.” Sam said as he stood up. “Pizza sound good?”
    “Sure. The usual?”
    “What else?”
    “I’ll even give you a head start.”
    “You’re just itching to lose, old man.”
    Sam jumped off the church, landed on his feet, and began running east along the road. Nightmare laughed, waited until he was out of earshot, and “Jumped” to the usual pizza shop, arriving just as Sam was within view. Nightmare walked in and began the order. Just as Sam walked in, he finished with “And the kid is paying for it again.”
    “Damnit old man, you cheated.”
    “It’s all within the limits of the game. I tried to teach you how to ‘jump’ but you wouldn’t sit still long enough.”
    “It’s still cheating.”

    Chapter II
    Uninvited Guests

    I

    Sam was on patrol, like he was every other night, but this night was different. Even with the recent downturn of demonic activity, he still always managed to find at least one or two demons out at night. But tonight, there was nothing, not even a purse snatching. He would kill to have anything to kill the boredom, and he quickly regretted that wish.

    II

    The False King stood on the bridge of his ship. So, this is Earth, he thought, I would have thought Michael would have chosen a more powerful planet. He laughed. “Sir!” One of the men watching the screens yelled. “I’ve located a power level. It’s higher than the last recorded power level of the subject.”
    “Lock onto it,” Ordered the False King. “Bring us in.”

    III

    Nightmare woke from his sleep by a rumble that seemed to shake the whole city, if not the planet. He looked out the window of the Old St. Mary’s Church and saw the Titan POW ship above them. He quickly grabbed his phone and called Sam.

    IV

    Sam felt his phone and answered. “Sam!” yelled the voice on the other end.
    “Nightmare!” he answered back. “Aliens are real!”
    “Sam, I’m an alien on this planet.”
    “Right, so what the hell is that thing?”
    “It’s a Titan prisoner of war ship. They’re usually sent to conquered planets to transport the prisoners back to Titan. Where are you?”
    “The Opera House, but what do you mean ‘conquered planets.’ There was never a war here between us and them.”
    Sam jumped at the loud crack behind him, and Nightmare walked next to him. “That’s what makes it weird.”
    “So, what do they want?”
    “Don’t know, but I’m going to go find out.”
    “You’re going on board!?”
    “Yeah, right to the brig. See if the prisoners know anything.”
    “Why the prisoners? Why not the bridge, I thought you used to be King of Titan?”
    “I used to be, but when I ‘died,’ a new regime took over, and they don’t want me back in the picture.”
    “Alright, you do that, but you get your a** back here soon.”
    “You worried, kid?” Nightmare said, meaning it as a joke.
    “Yeah, I am.”
    “Don’t be. Remember your training and you should be fine.”
    “You just get your a** back in one piece, old man.”
    With these words, Nightmare “Jumped” onto the prison hold of the ship.

    Chapter III
    Lost Causes

    I

    Sam stood on top of the opera house, still mesmerized by the POW ship above him. If this was a prisoner transport, he didn’t want to know what the war ships looked like. “Strange,” a new voice behind him said. Sam spun around and grabbed his sword, Prodigy. He saw a man dressed in ornate, black robes. Sam couldn’t get a good read on his power level. It ranged from that of a low class demon to one that could only be matched by Nightmare. “I was expecting Michael here.”
    “Well, I’m his replacement.” Sam pulled his sword off his back and pointed it at the newcomer. “Sam Sparda, at your service. How can I help you this evening?”
    “Well, someone with a power level such as yours must be an apprentice of his.”
    “I could be, but at the same time, I could not.”
    “It matters not. Your power level makes you a suitable subject for what I need.”
    “Then come and take it.”
    With these words, Sam charged towards the man in black, his sword drawn.

    II

    Nightmare looked around waited for the guards to come at the sound of his “Jump”, but nothing happened. He looked around, and noticed something very odd. There were no prisoners in this cell block. He “Jumped” to the next cell block and found the same thing, “Will you quit making that infernal noise!” came a voice two cell blocks down.
    Nightmare “Jumped” to the source of the noise and found an old man, sitting alone in a cell, looking like he had not been cared for in days. “My god.” The old man said, and went to his knees at the door to his cell. “King Michael. I never thought I would see the day you returned.”
    “Rise, sir, I am no longer your king.”
    “But you are, my lord. The False King has taken over. The people want their rightful king back. The False King is here for you. He plans to take you back to Titan and publicly execute you.”
    “He can try and he will fail. So he brought a single POW ship to try and take me. Any of our warships with him?”
    “Not that I know of, but he said that he would take you in by holding someone you care about hostage.”
    “But I have no one left, no one but…SAM”
    Nightmare “Jumped” back to the opera house.

    III

    Nightmare arrived, but too late. The False King stood at the other end of the roof, holding Sam in a headlock, one of his own guns held against his head. “Michael, or is it ‘Nightmare’ now? No matter, I have your apprentice, and I need you to come with me.”
    Nightmare pulled out his guns, Heaven and Hell, and pointed them at the False King. “Let him go, now, and you can return to Titan, and tell the people that you killed me and burned my body on Earth.”
    “I don’t think so. I need to kill you on Titan, publicly, to show them who the most powerful between us is. Try to shoot me, and I kill your apprentice. Put the guns down, and I will let him go. All you have to do is come with me.”
    Nightmare weighed his options. On one hand, he could try and fight the False King, but he had no idea how strong he was, and they could end up destroying the planet, and Nightmare had put too much work into it for that. Nightmare looked to Sam. “Don’t do it.” He said, his voice straining. “Don’t worry about me.”
    Nightmare, cold as he may be in some cases, could never let a life be taken in place of his own, especially not one that could potentially save thousands more. Nightmare looked to Sam, then the False King, and lowered his guns.
    “NO!” Sam yelled as the False King laughed.
    Nightmare sighed as the POW ship sent down the particle beam around him. “Take the boy too.” were the last words Nightmare heard as he was being lifted to the POW ship.

    Chapter IV
    Never Lose Hope

    I

    Nightmare sat in his cell. The technology on Titan had improved greatly since he left. So much so that even he couldn’t break out of these bars, at least not yet. His plan had been to wait until he had gotten to Titan, breath the air enough until his powers multiplied by the air of his home planet, and then break out. But now that Sam was here, that through a wrench into the works. Now, not only was he meant to be publicly executed, but until he could get back to Earth with Sam, she was without a protector. He hoped that it would take the demons a few days to figure out that they were gone, but he knew that as soon as the ship left the solar system, the demons on Earth rejoiced, and there were mass murders going on right now. He listened close to the cell next to him where Sam lie unconscious and waited for him to wake up. He looked up and saw that the old man in the cell across from him. “So,” Nightmare began, “How long have you been here?”
    “Not long, only a few months.”
    “What’s been happening on Titan in my absence?”
    “Well, the False King has taken over the entire kingdom.”
    “What about the Royal Knights?”
    “Gone. Every last one. Either killed or in hiding.”
    “How?”
    “The False King ordered them burned at the stake for treason.”
    At this point, Sam stirred in his cell. “Where the hell am I?”
    “POW ship, Sam, on our way to Titan.” Nightmare responded.
    “So we’re prisoners now, huh?”
    “Yeah.”
    They sat in silence for what seemed an eternity. It was Nightmare that finally spoke. “Sam?”
    “Yeah, old man?”
    “I’m sorry you got dragged into this.”
    “It’s alright. I’ve always wanted to see Titan anyway. I’ve always wondered what it looks like for there to be five moons at night.”
    “It’s beautiful. And you’ll see them, don’t worry about that, but I’m going to get you back to Earth somehow.”

    II

    The ship finally reached Titan’s atmosphere and docked at the prison that was used only for the most valuable POWs. Nightmare and Sam were unloaded and were taken to different wings of the prison. Nightmare was thrown in his cell, had his shackles removed, and was locked in. Ever since they had arrived, and he had taken his first breath of Titan air, he was more powerful than they could imagine. If he wanted to, he could easily break out, free Sam, and get them both back to Earth, but he had other things to worry about now, like his people.

    Chapter V
    Your King has Returned

    I

    Nightmare looked around his new cell. There was a sink, a toilet, and a bed, nothing else. No, there was something else. On the bed lay a package wrapped in brown paper, with a note on top that read:

    Your people should see you at your best

    The handwriting looked familiar, but he could not place it. He placed the note aside and tore open the paper. Inside were his kingly vestments, freshly bleached. In an instant, it came back to him whose handwriting it was on the note, and he felt ashamed that he had forgotten. The handwriting was that of his deceased wife. He guessed that the False King had found that note and, considering that it had been put on his vestments back when he had been king, decided to taunt him with it. “Big mistake.” Nightmare said to his cell.

    II

    Sam was shoved into his cell much like Nightmare. He looked around and found the same things that Nightmare found, minus the package on the bed. Sam looked out the window and saw a scaffold in the middle of the town center. He lie on his bed and waited, for what, he didn’t know. He slept for what he thought to be two hours, and then three demons, one wearing a white lab coat, came to his cell. “Sam Sparda?” They asked.
    “Who’s asking?” He replied.
    “You’re needed at the lab.”
    “Damn, I didn’t study for the chemistry test though.”
    “Smart a** kid.” The demon in the coat turned to the other two. “Take him.”
    The two without coats unlocked Sam’s cell and walked in. The first one grabbed his wrist, by which Sam reacted with a quick punch to that demons face, followed up by a knee to the other ones chest. “******** idiots.” The one in the coat said as he pulled out a tranquilizer gun and fired two shots into Sam.
    “Sorry boss.” Said the demon with a newly broken nose.
    “I don’t have time for your apologies. Now get him to the lab before the tranquilizers wear off.”