Chapter Three: The Lord of Nightmares
Gohan finally woke up again - this time, several days later. His head hurt much worse than before, and his body was practically paralyzed from the pain that ran through it. He thought about what had happened before he has passed out. Somehow, Trunks had shown up, and helped Gohan defeat his Demon assassin. Gohan had been incredibly weak at the time, and transforming into a Super Saiyan must have tired him out completely. And then, there was that doctor. . .
"Ah!" cried Gohan, "Trunks!" The teenaged Saiyan rushed to his side.
"You're awake, Gohan!" he said happily, "What's wrong?"
"The doctor!" yelled Gohan, "He let that Demon into the hospital without a fight!"
"What?" asked Trunks. He shook his head, "Gohan, you must still be delirious from passing out. I didn't see any doctor when I showed up to save you."
"He must have left!" said Gohan, "I heard him say that he. . ." Suddenly, Gohan's strength left him again. He had gotten too excited, and he had lost all of his energy. Just then, the door opened loudly. The two Saiyans turned to see the doctor enter the room.
"You!" said Gohan.
"Ah, hello Gohan," said the doctor, "Feeling better?" Gohan was about to respond, but Trunks, seeing that he didn't have enough energy to do so, did so for him.
"Did you let that Demon in," he asked bluntly. The doctor seemed surprised by his question.
"What? No of course not!" he responded.
"Can you prove that?" asked Trunks.
"Well, I can't even remember what happened that night," replied the doctor, "I was treating Gohan, and then I left to go home. The next morning I was here again. It was very weird." Gohan thought for a moment, then said,
"Could you excuse us please?" asked Gohan to the doctor. He nodded and left the room again.
"What's up Gohan?" asked Trunks.
"You heard about what happened at the ruins, right?" asked Gohan.
"Yeah, go on. . ."
"Well before we fought, the Demon there said something about looking into people's minds. Maybe they can control people, and that's why the doctor can't remember what happened!" Trunks considered that for a minute.
"You could be right," he said, "Listen, I'm going up to Korin's Tower to get you a Senzu Bean. We can talk later."
"Wait," said Gohan, "What about the doctor? What if he tries to let another Demon in?"
"Don't worry," replied Trunks, "I won't be long, and even if that doctor is under the Demon's control, he won't try anything just yet because we suspect something!" Gohan nodded. Trunks left the room, and Bulma entered moments later.
"Oh, hey again, Bulma," said Gohan.
"Hey, Gohan! How are you today?" she asked.
"I'm tired, but I'm okay otherwise. Tell me, how did it go with Vegeta?" Bulma's face went grim.
"Well, that could take me a few minutes, it's a long story," she said. Gohan looked at the bed and the bandages he was in.
"I've got time." She smiled.
"Okay, well I finally got a hold of Vegeta, but unfortunately he was. . . less than helpful," explained Bulma, "But then, my father had an idea. As everyone but Vegeta knows, Trunks is much stronger than him, not to mention he'd be willing to offer his help. Unfortunately, he had already returned to the future, so my dad suggested we send him a message. We tried, but couldn't find out how to send a message across time."
"So what did you do?" asked Gohan. "Well I carved a message in the wall of Trunks' room. That way, when he grows up he would be able to read it and come help! I said Trunks, when you return from helping Goku and the others defeat the androids, you have to come back to our time and help out with a problem we've been having. I knew he would be confused, but when he showed up, I explained everything that you told me."
"Wow! Bulma that is so smart!" cried Gohan. Bulma smiled proudly. "You're a genius!"
"Well, I knew that!" said Bulma.
"Mom, you sure are modest," said a voice sarcastically. Trunks walked into the room carrying a small leather pouch. He opened it and pulled out a small, green bean. He placed it in Gohan's mouth. He chewed it, and immediately felt better.
"You work fast," he said between chews.
"Well Gohan, I've been training some in the future, so I'm a lot faster now!" replied Trunks. Gohan smiled happily. A few seconds after he swallowed his bean, he felt good as new. He leapt up from the bed and ripped off all his bandages before stretching widely.
"Wow, you look a lot better!" said Bulma.
"Hey, Bulma," said Gohan, "We're going to go find the other Demons now, okay?"
"Well, sure Gohan, but what are you going to say to your mom?" asked Bulma. Trunks was already outside the window, and Gohan was climbing out the window when he replied,
"Well I'm not going to tell her anything! You are!" he smiled smugly and took to the air, leaving Bulma in the room all alone.
"Hey! Gohan! Wait!" cried Bulma. But it was too late; Gohan was long gone.
*****
Gohan and Trunks flew through the air, high above the clouds, while searching for the strongest Ki they could find. Unfortunately, theirs was the only ones in the area.
"Maybe the Demon can hide their power levels like we can," suggested Trunks.
"That's possible," replied Gohan, "Because when I was down in the ruins, I couldn't sense the Demon until I saw him!"
"That sure does complicated things," said Trunks. Gohan nodded and continued searching for the powers they were looking for.
*****
The black figure approached the sphinx in the desert and was immediately joined by a dozen others. The leader raised his arm and concentrated on the stone statue before him. Yes, he could defiantly feel the presence of something of his master inside. He motioned to the others and they proceed to enter.
Once inside, the figures navigated a series of maze-like passageways that seemed to lead ever downward. They followed the passageways until they emerged into a huge chamber with many hieroglyphics and symbols lining all the walls and pillars of the room. The room was empty except for a stone boulder in the center of the floor.
The lead figure moved to the boulder, and slowly pushed it aside to reveal a small hole in the floor. It then withdrew a few steps and began to concentrate on the hole. The other figures did the same. Their power was just enough to awaken the one who was imprisoned there. A huge black shadow flew up from the hole and landed before the figures.
Slowly, the shadow began to take form. Limbs began to form, and a head and body appeared. Then the shadow disappeared, and in its place was a Demon much more terrifying than those that had awakened it. It was about the same size with long limbs and massive muscles. Huge robes appeared to cover the body, and a hood covered the head. The Demon raised its arm and a staff appeared in its hand.
The Demon moved passed the other Demons, not pausing for a second. Then it turned and said in a low, raspy voice,
"I am the Lord of Nightmares! And I vow to have complete control over the world by the time the sun rises and falls thrice! Go now, my Demon followers and do my bidding!" With many screeches, the Demons all lifted their wings and flew from the sphinx with blinding speed - their leader laughing wildly behind them.
*****
"Oh, man! Gohan, did you feel that surge of power!?" asked Trunks.
"Yeah," replied Gohan, "It was far away, but that was defiantly one of the Demons."
"I don't know," said Trunks, "It seemed a lot stronger than the Demon I fought."
"It must have been their leader!" realized Gohan, "It's such a huge power!"
"I know," replied Trunks, "I don't know if I can handle it. Can you?" Gohan shook his head.
"We're gonna have a heck of a fight on our hands here, Trunks. If only my dad were here. . ." They turned to fly west, hoping to find the Demons before they lost them again.
*****
Several hours later, they finally reached Egypt. The power they had been sensing had steadily becoming stronger as they got closer and could pick it up better. The two Saiyans landed in the sandy terrain that was the desert and looked around, trying to located the exact location of the power.
"There!" said Trunks suddenly. Gohan turned. His companion was pointing at the Great Pyramid that was just visible in the distance.
"Let's go," said Gohan, somewhat reluctantly. They took off again and rushed toward the Demon that they intended to challenge.
*****
The Lord of Nightmares stood alone at the top of the Great Pyramid. He had sent his Demons off to destroy anything that crossed their paths. He would have joined them, but he was not at full power yet. Suddenly he felt a spike of power from somewhere to his left. Expecting to be greeted by one of his Demons, he turned to greet it. But it wasn't a Demon. It was Gohan and Trunks.
"Greetings," he growled. Trunks merely nodded, but Gohan stepped forward.
"Tell me," he said, "Are you the leader of the Demons?" The Demon looked at him for a moment before responding.
"Are you the ones who killed two of my Demon followers?" he hissed. They stayed silent, so he went on, "And now you wish to challenge me, is that right? Ha! You don't stand a chance! I will destroy you both and then the world!" He then began to laugh, "I am the strongest person in the universe! You won't even prove to be a challenge!"
Trunks laughed and knelt down to whisper in Gohan's ear,
"Have you ever noticed that all the bad guys let us power all the way up just for a challenge? And then they always loose!" They both laughed hard, and Gohan even fell onto the ground.
"What's so funny!?" yelled the Lord of Nightmares.
"N. . . nothing!" replied Gohan, still laughing, "Just give us a second, and we'll be ready to fight you!" The Demon became very annoyed then. Without waiting for them to stop laughing, he charged down the side of the pyramid and attacked. Gohan and Trunks recovered from laughing quickly and both managed to avoid the attack.
The Demon was very strong and fast however, and was not surprised by their sudden movement. He feigned an attack on Trunks, then turned the other way and punched Gohan square in the stomach. The young Saiyan went down on all fours.
"Too easy!" cried the Demon and he raised a booted foot to bring down on Gohan's skull. But just as the foot came down, he rolled to one side, and the Demon's foot became buried into the ground. It growled, and lunged at Gohan. He came much faster this time, but suddenly stopped as Trunks grabbed his arm. He turned his head to look at Trunks, giving Gohan the opportunity to chop into the back on his neck.
The Lord of Nightmares fell to the ground with a thud, and stopped moving. The two Saiyans moved closer to him, and that was when the Demon attacked. Summoning tremendous amounts of power, he made a magical red shield around himself which he extended outward. The shield slammed into Trunks and Gohan and threw them away.
"You didn't think I would be defeated that easily, did you?" laughed the Demon. He powered up quickly. Red flames erupted from all around him. With blinding speed he attacked Trunks. He uppercut the still recovering teen with all of his strength, then slammed his heel into his chest. When Trunks didn't get up, he extended his arms and gathered a huge amount of energy, which he then blasted into Trunks' chest, firing him deep into a huge crater.
Gohan leapt at him with a flying kick, but the Demon stepped back and grabbed his foot. He lifted Gohan up as if he were made of paper. Then he threw him with amazing might into the ground beside Trunks. The Demon laughed loudly, then turned to leave. Behind him, the two fighters got back up to their feet.
"Oh!" said the Demon, "You're still alive. I'm impressed that you have such courage and determination, but you can never defeat me."
"Is that so?" asked Trunks mockingly.
"YES!!" the Demon snapped back.
"Maybe you should let us show you our true power!" suggested Trunks.
"Oh, you are stronger than this?" asked the Lord of Nightmares. The Saiyans nodded. "Then show me," said the Demon. The two Saiyans braced themselves into the ground with their legs, then pulled their hands into fists and their arms closer to their bodies.
Gohan was the first to scream. His cry pierced the night air and suddenly huge amounts of yellow light burst forth from all around him. Trunks cried out next. His muscle size increased, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Sand flew from the bases of their feet in all directions, and strong winds whipped around the Demon's face. Clouds began to gather above, and lighting lanced downward, striking the two fighters. Instead of electrocuting them, it merely added to the incredible amounts of power flowing from them. Then, with a blinding flash, the yells stopped and the Demon was forced to look away.
When the light had faded, he looked back to the Saiyans. Both were standing in the same place, but their hair was pushed up and was yellow, and they were both covered in yellow flames. Trunks' eyes had returned to normal, and they were both staring at him with hard-fixed eyes. Blue lightning leapt from all around their fists and bodies.
"Trunks! I didn't know you could reach the level of Super Saiyan 2!" exclaimed Gohan. Trunks looked down at him.
"Well, I told you I did some training when I had returned to my time!" he replied. Gohan smiled and turned back to the Lord of Nightmares.
"It's time for round two, Demon!" the two Saiyans cried at the same time.
Author's Note: Okay, I received a single positive review, but it was just enough to convince me to write the next chapter. I hope everyone was surprised at Trunks' new power. I like Gohan better, but they'll need all the power they can get for. . . what will happen next! =) Please R/R if you haven't already done so, or if you want to again! Peace!
Gohan finally woke up again - this time, several days later. His head hurt much worse than before, and his body was practically paralyzed from the pain that ran through it. He thought about what had happened before he has passed out. Somehow, Trunks had shown up, and helped Gohan defeat his Demon assassin. Gohan had been incredibly weak at the time, and transforming into a Super Saiyan must have tired him out completely. And then, there was that doctor. . .
"Ah!" cried Gohan, "Trunks!" The teenaged Saiyan rushed to his side.
"You're awake, Gohan!" he said happily, "What's wrong?"
"The doctor!" yelled Gohan, "He let that Demon into the hospital without a fight!"
"What?" asked Trunks. He shook his head, "Gohan, you must still be delirious from passing out. I didn't see any doctor when I showed up to save you."
"He must have left!" said Gohan, "I heard him say that he. . ." Suddenly, Gohan's strength left him again. He had gotten too excited, and he had lost all of his energy. Just then, the door opened loudly. The two Saiyans turned to see the doctor enter the room.
"You!" said Gohan.
"Ah, hello Gohan," said the doctor, "Feeling better?" Gohan was about to respond, but Trunks, seeing that he didn't have enough energy to do so, did so for him.
"Did you let that Demon in," he asked bluntly. The doctor seemed surprised by his question.
"What? No of course not!" he responded.
"Can you prove that?" asked Trunks.
"Well, I can't even remember what happened that night," replied the doctor, "I was treating Gohan, and then I left to go home. The next morning I was here again. It was very weird." Gohan thought for a moment, then said,
"Could you excuse us please?" asked Gohan to the doctor. He nodded and left the room again.
"What's up Gohan?" asked Trunks.
"You heard about what happened at the ruins, right?" asked Gohan.
"Yeah, go on. . ."
"Well before we fought, the Demon there said something about looking into people's minds. Maybe they can control people, and that's why the doctor can't remember what happened!" Trunks considered that for a minute.
"You could be right," he said, "Listen, I'm going up to Korin's Tower to get you a Senzu Bean. We can talk later."
"Wait," said Gohan, "What about the doctor? What if he tries to let another Demon in?"
"Don't worry," replied Trunks, "I won't be long, and even if that doctor is under the Demon's control, he won't try anything just yet because we suspect something!" Gohan nodded. Trunks left the room, and Bulma entered moments later.
"Oh, hey again, Bulma," said Gohan.
"Hey, Gohan! How are you today?" she asked.
"I'm tired, but I'm okay otherwise. Tell me, how did it go with Vegeta?" Bulma's face went grim.
"Well, that could take me a few minutes, it's a long story," she said. Gohan looked at the bed and the bandages he was in.
"I've got time." She smiled.
"Okay, well I finally got a hold of Vegeta, but unfortunately he was. . . less than helpful," explained Bulma, "But then, my father had an idea. As everyone but Vegeta knows, Trunks is much stronger than him, not to mention he'd be willing to offer his help. Unfortunately, he had already returned to the future, so my dad suggested we send him a message. We tried, but couldn't find out how to send a message across time."
"So what did you do?" asked Gohan. "Well I carved a message in the wall of Trunks' room. That way, when he grows up he would be able to read it and come help! I said Trunks, when you return from helping Goku and the others defeat the androids, you have to come back to our time and help out with a problem we've been having. I knew he would be confused, but when he showed up, I explained everything that you told me."
"Wow! Bulma that is so smart!" cried Gohan. Bulma smiled proudly. "You're a genius!"
"Well, I knew that!" said Bulma.
"Mom, you sure are modest," said a voice sarcastically. Trunks walked into the room carrying a small leather pouch. He opened it and pulled out a small, green bean. He placed it in Gohan's mouth. He chewed it, and immediately felt better.
"You work fast," he said between chews.
"Well Gohan, I've been training some in the future, so I'm a lot faster now!" replied Trunks. Gohan smiled happily. A few seconds after he swallowed his bean, he felt good as new. He leapt up from the bed and ripped off all his bandages before stretching widely.
"Wow, you look a lot better!" said Bulma.
"Hey, Bulma," said Gohan, "We're going to go find the other Demons now, okay?"
"Well, sure Gohan, but what are you going to say to your mom?" asked Bulma. Trunks was already outside the window, and Gohan was climbing out the window when he replied,
"Well I'm not going to tell her anything! You are!" he smiled smugly and took to the air, leaving Bulma in the room all alone.
"Hey! Gohan! Wait!" cried Bulma. But it was too late; Gohan was long gone.
*****
Gohan and Trunks flew through the air, high above the clouds, while searching for the strongest Ki they could find. Unfortunately, theirs was the only ones in the area.
"Maybe the Demon can hide their power levels like we can," suggested Trunks.
"That's possible," replied Gohan, "Because when I was down in the ruins, I couldn't sense the Demon until I saw him!"
"That sure does complicated things," said Trunks. Gohan nodded and continued searching for the powers they were looking for.
*****
The black figure approached the sphinx in the desert and was immediately joined by a dozen others. The leader raised his arm and concentrated on the stone statue before him. Yes, he could defiantly feel the presence of something of his master inside. He motioned to the others and they proceed to enter.
Once inside, the figures navigated a series of maze-like passageways that seemed to lead ever downward. They followed the passageways until they emerged into a huge chamber with many hieroglyphics and symbols lining all the walls and pillars of the room. The room was empty except for a stone boulder in the center of the floor.
The lead figure moved to the boulder, and slowly pushed it aside to reveal a small hole in the floor. It then withdrew a few steps and began to concentrate on the hole. The other figures did the same. Their power was just enough to awaken the one who was imprisoned there. A huge black shadow flew up from the hole and landed before the figures.
Slowly, the shadow began to take form. Limbs began to form, and a head and body appeared. Then the shadow disappeared, and in its place was a Demon much more terrifying than those that had awakened it. It was about the same size with long limbs and massive muscles. Huge robes appeared to cover the body, and a hood covered the head. The Demon raised its arm and a staff appeared in its hand.
The Demon moved passed the other Demons, not pausing for a second. Then it turned and said in a low, raspy voice,
"I am the Lord of Nightmares! And I vow to have complete control over the world by the time the sun rises and falls thrice! Go now, my Demon followers and do my bidding!" With many screeches, the Demons all lifted their wings and flew from the sphinx with blinding speed - their leader laughing wildly behind them.
*****
"Oh, man! Gohan, did you feel that surge of power!?" asked Trunks.
"Yeah," replied Gohan, "It was far away, but that was defiantly one of the Demons."
"I don't know," said Trunks, "It seemed a lot stronger than the Demon I fought."
"It must have been their leader!" realized Gohan, "It's such a huge power!"
"I know," replied Trunks, "I don't know if I can handle it. Can you?" Gohan shook his head.
"We're gonna have a heck of a fight on our hands here, Trunks. If only my dad were here. . ." They turned to fly west, hoping to find the Demons before they lost them again.
*****
Several hours later, they finally reached Egypt. The power they had been sensing had steadily becoming stronger as they got closer and could pick it up better. The two Saiyans landed in the sandy terrain that was the desert and looked around, trying to located the exact location of the power.
"There!" said Trunks suddenly. Gohan turned. His companion was pointing at the Great Pyramid that was just visible in the distance.
"Let's go," said Gohan, somewhat reluctantly. They took off again and rushed toward the Demon that they intended to challenge.
*****
The Lord of Nightmares stood alone at the top of the Great Pyramid. He had sent his Demons off to destroy anything that crossed their paths. He would have joined them, but he was not at full power yet. Suddenly he felt a spike of power from somewhere to his left. Expecting to be greeted by one of his Demons, he turned to greet it. But it wasn't a Demon. It was Gohan and Trunks.
"Greetings," he growled. Trunks merely nodded, but Gohan stepped forward.
"Tell me," he said, "Are you the leader of the Demons?" The Demon looked at him for a moment before responding.
"Are you the ones who killed two of my Demon followers?" he hissed. They stayed silent, so he went on, "And now you wish to challenge me, is that right? Ha! You don't stand a chance! I will destroy you both and then the world!" He then began to laugh, "I am the strongest person in the universe! You won't even prove to be a challenge!"
Trunks laughed and knelt down to whisper in Gohan's ear,
"Have you ever noticed that all the bad guys let us power all the way up just for a challenge? And then they always loose!" They both laughed hard, and Gohan even fell onto the ground.
"What's so funny!?" yelled the Lord of Nightmares.
"N. . . nothing!" replied Gohan, still laughing, "Just give us a second, and we'll be ready to fight you!" The Demon became very annoyed then. Without waiting for them to stop laughing, he charged down the side of the pyramid and attacked. Gohan and Trunks recovered from laughing quickly and both managed to avoid the attack.
The Demon was very strong and fast however, and was not surprised by their sudden movement. He feigned an attack on Trunks, then turned the other way and punched Gohan square in the stomach. The young Saiyan went down on all fours.
"Too easy!" cried the Demon and he raised a booted foot to bring down on Gohan's skull. But just as the foot came down, he rolled to one side, and the Demon's foot became buried into the ground. It growled, and lunged at Gohan. He came much faster this time, but suddenly stopped as Trunks grabbed his arm. He turned his head to look at Trunks, giving Gohan the opportunity to chop into the back on his neck.
The Lord of Nightmares fell to the ground with a thud, and stopped moving. The two Saiyans moved closer to him, and that was when the Demon attacked. Summoning tremendous amounts of power, he made a magical red shield around himself which he extended outward. The shield slammed into Trunks and Gohan and threw them away.
"You didn't think I would be defeated that easily, did you?" laughed the Demon. He powered up quickly. Red flames erupted from all around him. With blinding speed he attacked Trunks. He uppercut the still recovering teen with all of his strength, then slammed his heel into his chest. When Trunks didn't get up, he extended his arms and gathered a huge amount of energy, which he then blasted into Trunks' chest, firing him deep into a huge crater.
Gohan leapt at him with a flying kick, but the Demon stepped back and grabbed his foot. He lifted Gohan up as if he were made of paper. Then he threw him with amazing might into the ground beside Trunks. The Demon laughed loudly, then turned to leave. Behind him, the two fighters got back up to their feet.
"Oh!" said the Demon, "You're still alive. I'm impressed that you have such courage and determination, but you can never defeat me."
"Is that so?" asked Trunks mockingly.
"YES!!" the Demon snapped back.
"Maybe you should let us show you our true power!" suggested Trunks.
"Oh, you are stronger than this?" asked the Lord of Nightmares. The Saiyans nodded. "Then show me," said the Demon. The two Saiyans braced themselves into the ground with their legs, then pulled their hands into fists and their arms closer to their bodies.
Gohan was the first to scream. His cry pierced the night air and suddenly huge amounts of yellow light burst forth from all around him. Trunks cried out next. His muscle size increased, and his eyes rolled back into his head. Sand flew from the bases of their feet in all directions, and strong winds whipped around the Demon's face. Clouds began to gather above, and lighting lanced downward, striking the two fighters. Instead of electrocuting them, it merely added to the incredible amounts of power flowing from them. Then, with a blinding flash, the yells stopped and the Demon was forced to look away.
When the light had faded, he looked back to the Saiyans. Both were standing in the same place, but their hair was pushed up and was yellow, and they were both covered in yellow flames. Trunks' eyes had returned to normal, and they were both staring at him with hard-fixed eyes. Blue lightning leapt from all around their fists and bodies.
"Trunks! I didn't know you could reach the level of Super Saiyan 2!" exclaimed Gohan. Trunks looked down at him.
"Well, I told you I did some training when I had returned to my time!" he replied. Gohan smiled and turned back to the Lord of Nightmares.
"It's time for round two, Demon!" the two Saiyans cried at the same time.
Author's Note: Okay, I received a single positive review, but it was just enough to convince me to write the next chapter. I hope everyone was surprised at Trunks' new power. I like Gohan better, but they'll need all the power they can get for. . . what will happen next! =) Please R/R if you haven't already done so, or if you want to again! Peace!