Rating: R for violence
Disclaimer: All Marvel characters belong to Marvel. All non-Marvel characters belong to the authors of this story. No money is being made off of this story.
Archiver's Note: This chapter got a lot more violent, so the story is going to remain rated R.
Cara and Jamar sat hand in hand amidst the gathering of dragons. The noise in the background had long since drained away. Thoughts and feelings from the beings around them came and went like the crashing of waves on a rocky shore.
In Jamar's mind it was hard to latch onto a single thought in the whirlwind. He could feel Cara's shields cracking against the torrents of emotions. All because Sinister had to play with the lives of countless families. Using them as his own personal science project.
Cara's eyes took on a dark gleam. Her blood began to boil. For too long, she'd controlled her anger, her emotions. She'd stood idly by while those who meant the most to her were caused the worst agony of their lives. And still, she waited. Well, no longer would she wait, the time to wait was over. Now was the time for action.
Ebony tendrils snake up Cara's arms making the host of dragons step back. She had never thought to use her empathic abilities like this before for fear it might burn her up as sure as it would her enemies. Her body is white hot as the ebony lightning coils down her body and into her fingertips. Her once red eyes now boil like living shadows.
Jamar watches his wife burn bright with the emotions around her. She smiles at him as he takes her hand and kisses her. His body feeding off of the dark emotions around him. A lopsided smirk crosses his face. His hands raise up like talons, coming down rapidly, striking only air. Before him a void appears as if reality itself has been ripped apart.
The dragons step back further only to stop at Jamar's gaze. He speaks softly to the host of dragons before him. "THE BATTLE MUST BE JOINED AND THE ENEMY DESTROYED."
Several dragons step forward to join Jamar heeding his summons. Some continue to fight it, only to succumb after almost having their minds turned inside out. Their commander declines stepping forward to attack, only to be ripped asunder by 'Lightning Rage' unleashed by Cara.
The dragon drops to the ground severely wounded.
"If you go to them soon, Hope and Ymela will be able to heal you right up. When you get there I want you to deliver a message to the others..."
In a bright flash the dragon disappears, only to be replaced by Eric. His eyes and body seem to mirror that of Cara's. Jamar's robes ripple around him as the winds from the void thrash the chamber. Some debris flies towards Cara, only to burn up as it collides with her. Ashes fly towards Eric who stands clad in what looks like a black version of Magneto's armor.
Minutes later they all step through the void at the behest of the dragon horde.
Hope and Ymela tend to the injured dragon as the others gather round.
"Speak brave, Deathsbane." Ymela says to the dragon.
"The one known to you as Jamar, or Chaos as he now calls himself, sent me to convey this message. 'Lightning Rage, Replica, the dragons and I are going to END this. DO NOT GET IN OUR WAY!"
Chaos and Rainfall
Amanda found herself back in the isolated chamber of the Dream Realm Castle. She was furious at Athena for sending her back, and at the same time, she was very worried. Dischord was strong, very strong. How could Athena possibly defeat her alone? Amanda was just about to transport herself back to the Cavern, when she was stopped by the mysterious voices.
"Chosen One. You must allow the Child Born of Harmony to follow her own quest. She is the only one who can defeat Dischord, and bring Lady Omus back from her Eternal Slumber." said the first voice.
"But she isn't strong enough, she will fail!" Amanda cried.
"She must find her inner strengths herself, or all is lost." the second voice stated.
"You have your own quest to prepare for and follow... for the prophecy is now at hand." stated the third voice.
"What is the prophecy? What is the quest? What am I to do?" asked Amanda.
"You were the one chosen to defeat the nightmare." Said the first voice.
"But it cannot be defeated by any means of violence." said the second voice.
"To defeat it, you must defeat yourself." spoke the third voice.
"Defeat myself? What do you mean? How?" Amanda asked again.
The voices began speaking again, one after the other, their echoes overlapping one another, reverberating throughout the chamber.
"Call upon the strengths inside, search your heart to every hidden depth." spoke the first voice.
"Find the strength which you never knew existed." spoke the second voice.
"Find every darkness and banish it." spoke the third voice.
"Find every source of light and feed it, strengthen it." spoke the first voice.
"Call upon the bonds of friendship and love which you've denied yourself." spoke the second voice.
"With the strength from your friends and loved ones, you can defeat yourself, your darker side." spoke third voice.
"You must go on this quest alone." Spoke the first voice.
"No dragon or human can help you where you go." Spoke the third voice.
"The others will be needed elsewhere." Spoke the third voice.
"But is she strong enough for this quest, Sisters?" asked the first voice of the other two.
"She has to be," spoke the second voice.
"There is no more time," spoke the third voice.
"Only by defeating yourself, may you defeat the nightmare. If you cannot succeed on this quest, you will perish. You must succeed. Remember this, and be on your way." All three voices spoke at once.
Amanda was suddenly caught up in a ball of bright light, and whisked off to another time and place, far away from anything and anyone she knew. Her quest for peace or destruction had now begun.
Rainfall
Charles sudden stop in mid-conversation and stared blankly into space. Magneto was concerned until Charles' eyes began to refocus again. When he turned towards the door, Magneto was concerned until he saw Bobby come in alone. Then he began to panic.
"Where's Amanda, Professor? I need her to send me back so I can help Athena. Athena is in danger. Another one of Sinister's psychos is after her." demanded Bobby.
"I don't know where she is! The voices sent her away. I can't locate her anywhere." stated Charles.
"I want answers. This has gone far enough. What is going on?" questioned Magneto.
/The answers will be revealed soon. Both young women have to face their destinies by themselves. Believe in them./ stated the second voice.
"Where is Amanda?" asked Charles.
/She must face the one called Anon alone without help. To defeat Anon, she must defeat herself./ stated first voice.
"What does that mean?" asked Cyclops.
/All will be explained. Follow the light./ stated the second voice.
A.C.
A sound like the ripping of sheets is heard as a gaping hole appears, spouting gouts of black flames and crisscrossing lightning.
Dragon fire strafed the the grounds as they exited the tear. The three mutants walk towards the castle through a wall of flames.
**Sammi where are you? Jonas? If any harm has come to you I will make Sinister view death as a pleasure before I'm through.**
Cara begins calling out to Jonas, but there is no reply. /If you are dead, brother, then all of heaven shall burn before Sinister is allowed the privilege of death./ This thought is echoed by her twin.
In Asgard, Sammi and Jonas grab their heads and hearts. In the Crystal Castle, Maggie grabs at her heart. It's as if the universe is trying to wrench their hearts from their chests.
The dragons bombard it from the sky as a plague of nightmare creatures boil from it's insides like rats from a sinking ship. As they approach, the first wave falls prey to Lightning Rage. The empty husks of what once were living creatures litter the ground.
"Replica, get started on that gateway."
Eric rushes over, his hands outstretched against the door as it burns bright and explodes. Shrapnel bisects several creatures on the other side.
Wolverine walks into the main chamber, supporting a weakened Maggie. Hope rushes to her side to help while the others watch the carnage unfolding in the Nightmare Realm. An image flickers across the crystal sphere.
"This is all wrong." Ymela says. "You can't defeat evil by giving into your hate. They may win, but the darkness will take hold and they will become the nightmares."
Logan and Maggie look over at the sphere to see Eric, Cara, and Jamar enter the castle followed by the dragons. Logan watches and fear creeps up his spine.
Chaos
Dischord looked at Athena and smirked. Suddenly she ran down a corridor. Athena followed Dischord. The corridor widened into a long cavern. All along this cavern were tunnels leading to separate caves. Dischord sat down against the wall and waved for Athena to enter the first cave.
"In order to wake your mother, you must face obstacles in each of these caves. Only then will you succeed." Dischord said.
Athena looked at the first tunnel and said, "Well, I suppose it's best to start at the begining." She disappeared into the first tunnel.
Snowbaby
Leilee walked down the hallway, carrying the twins in her arms. They were both acting very shy and cranky, especially since it was now 11:00 at night. The boys squirmed as they tried to escape her grasp.
"I don't wanna go to bed!"
"I'm not sleepy!!"
"I WANT MOMMY!!!!!!"
Leilee looked at them both. "Guys, I know that you want your mom. And I'm going to try to talk to Thor and see if we can go home. But I need you guys to sleep right now. In the morning we'll start working on getting you guys home."
Leilee laid them down on the big bed, and pulled the covers over them. "Now. Go to sleep."
Robbie looked up. "I love you Aunt Leilee." Mac nodded as well. "Me too."
Leilee smiled. "I love you guys too. Goodnight."
She walked out through the connecting door and into her room. As she lay down, she rubbed her stomach absentmindedly. She had to get home soon as well, but for differant reasons all together.
Leilee
Anon stood beside Sinister, gazing out the open throne room window, watching the battle unfold below them. Anon smiled a cruel smile. She lived for chaos, thrived upon it. Every death made her stronger.
~That's right, children...attack...feed every darkness within you, and by doing so, feed me. Soon, you will belong here, you will be the new nightmares. No one will be able to stand in your way. You will have no choice but to join us. Come children, come to me.~ Thought Anon, her eyes glowing behind her mask.
Lightning Rage, Replica and Chaos unleashed another devastating attack upon the next wave of nightmare soldiers as they poured out of the castle. Then Lightning Rage became even angrier. No matter how many of the creatures they destroyed, they couldn't get any closer to the castle. The nightmare creatures had them at a standstill.
"ENOUGH!!!" shouted Lightning Rage. Her eyes began to glow darkly, as her face took on a frightning, deadly expression. She concentrated, and poured out her dark energy into the fray before them.
"I grow tired of this rediculous battle. There is a more important battle to be fought and won, we will not waste anymore time on this... therefore, Fight amongst yourselves..." she ordered the nightmares.
The nightmares had no choice but to contend with one another... leaving Chaos, Lightning Rage, Replica and the host of dragons free to move into the castle.
Rainfall
They watch as the battle turns once again. Blood and gore rain down from the sky. The glowing crystal sphere is hazy as it tints reddish-black with the essence of the dead and dying.
All shudder as the last wave of creatures stop pursuing the group and begin to battle amongst themselves.
Sinister's forces join the squad of demons heading to intercept Cara and the others.
"TIME TO DIE, MORTALS!" The first demon screams as he launches himself over the group, landing behind Replica. The Demon thrusts the spear at him only to have it melt from the intense energy surrounding him. Replica reaches for the demon's throat, grabbing him tight, and flings him against a wall where it explodes into flames.
"Don't you just hate the way they go to pieces?" He says, giving Chaos a look of pure pleasure.
The three mutants dive straight into the throng of demons. Shadow blades pierce Jamar's shoulder. Eyes flare like pools of death and the demon explodes as tk rips it apart.
"Are you alright, my love?" Cara asks as she takes his hand.
"Whenever I'm with you, luv." He replies as they once more share a kiss among the death around them. The hate and death feeding them like gas to flame. "Brother join us." Eric takes their offered hands.
A plume of living flame bursts through the corridor leaving nothing alive besides the dragons and the mutant warriors.
In the throne room, another explosion rocks the castle. A nightmare creature enters, kneeling before Sinister.
"Report!"
"Sire, they have moved up another level... but they will not survive."
In the Crystal Castle, Wolverine and Maggie speak up silencing the group. "We're going over there, so Hope, make with the magic."
"You're not going in alone." Cyke says as he begins issuing orders. "Storm. You, Multiple Man, Rogue and Warren will go with Logan. Everyone else who's going, stick close with me."
A demon kneels before Chaos and the others.
"Tell yer master that we shall savor his death." Cara says before Jamar rips his arm off and shoves him through the vortex the demon had opened earlier.
Chaos
While the others were raiding Sinister's castle, Amanda was on her own trying to figure out what the voices had told her. She was worried for her friends and hoped that they were all alright. She hoped that they would be able to handle the danger that was destined to face them. She only prayed that they would not let hate and rage blind them to the truth. She also prayed that Athena was safe, and could succeed in her quest.
When this is over, we're having a slumber party or something, she thought, it is getting way to serious. Amanda laughed softly to herself at the thought of the X-men gathered around in their pajamas, gossiping.
~You should not lose focus, especially when I'm around.~ stated a dark familar voice.
Amanda tried to scan the area, but knew in her gut that she wasn't going to find anything. HE was there, and she was alone. Her thoughts drifted to their last encounter, and she truly didn't think that she could beat him. She needed her friends, and they were nowhere around.
As if on cue, the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise. As if in a dream she slowly turned around. Second by second he began to fill her vision. His armor had become more twisted and warped. He was the product of the darkest nightmares she had ever had.
~Well, mother, it looks like your final battle will be with me. You will die here all alone, and the only one who will know where your body remains is me. Welcome to your nightmare.~
A.C.
Suddenly, a flash of light shone brightly in the room, and Robbie and Mac were gone. When the light dimmed, Robbie looked around and saw Bobby.
"Daddy, Daddy!" he shouted.
He had never been so happy to see his father. Robbie limped to Bobby and tackled him around his legs, only to find that Mac had beaten him there. Robbie was a little slow thanks to his injured leg. Bobby picked the two little boys up and hugged them close.
"Are you two ok? I've been so worried about you!" Bobby said between hugs. Anger flashed in his eyes and the cave cooled a few degrees when he saw the boys battered faces and Robbie's bandaged leg.
"Where are we, Daddy?" Mac asked, his voice muffled in Bobby's shirt.
"I don't know. One minute I was in the castle and the next I was here. Then you showed up. I don't know where we are or who brought us here, but I'm glad we're together." Bobby hugged his boys again.
Snowbaby
As Amanda watched the Nightmare advance towards her, the prophecy which the voices had told her began to flood back into her mind.
//In the days of flashing lights and moving pictures, in the time when music fills the air from no visible source, A new nightmare will come forth. Born of dark dreams and fears... set free by mystical means, this nightmare is the personification of all that is evil. Stronger than the heros of the time, lacking in mercy and all that is good. Only one will be strong enough to stop it's deadly wrath. The chosen one.
Born of fire and light, with a heart of pure flame... She will find the source of the Nightmare's true power. By defeating the source, she will ultimately defeat the Nightmare. But, be warned, chosen one. The defeat of this Nightmare will come at a great cost to both you, and all you hold dear. But do not fear, for fear will only increase Nightmare's power. Look beyond your mortality to the true strength within. There, you will find the key to win.//
When Amanda had first heard the prophecy, she had thought the nightmare to be the one known as Anon. Now she knew she was mistaken. This was the nightmare. With Anon, Amanda had felt that she had a chance of winning the battle. She did not fear Anon. But this creature which stood before her represented all of her darkest fears and nightmares. Here she was, about to face him alone. How could she defeat him, how could she win? Yet, she must... If she didn't defeat him, all would be lost.
Dark energy surrounded the Nightmare, electrifying the air. He smiled a gruesome smile, his eyes glinting with dark pleasure; he could taste Amanda's fear.
"I know you are afraid of me. There is no way you can win. Your friends might have had a chance of rescuing you and beating me, but they have abandoned you. They never truly cared for you. You have lost, Mother." Nightmare said, as he charged dark energy into his hands, ready to shoot it out at Amanda.
Just then, Amanda had a vision. In it she saw Cara, the old Cara, smiling at her.
"Hey, fearless leader. Just remember, you're not alone. We are all here for you... we all love you." Cara said.
The vision switched, and Jamar's smiling face appeared.
"Remember, Fearless one, you are not alone. We all are connected. Look inside yourself, and find the connection. Draw upon our strength. We are there, ready and willing to help you." Jamar said.
Through the vision, Amanda saw the faces of each of her beloved teammates, each telling her that they were connected to her, and that she should draw upon their strength and love to help her. The storm of negative emotions brewing inside Amanda began to ease... she finally understood.
She may be alone in the physical sense, but her teammates were there with her, both in spirit and mind. They would never abandon her, she was not alone.
Rainfall
Logan's group appears on the northern side of the castle amidst a wasteland of scorched earth. Blackened trees stand on either side of the group of mutants and small cadre of dragons Ymela sent with them.
The bodies of nightmare creatures such as goblins, were-creatures, and some unrecognizable creatures litter the ground beside fallen dragons.
"Stay frosty, people." Wolverine says in a gruff voice. "Creed. You, me, and Mags on point. The rest, spread out. If ya pick up anything, toast it."
"Gotcha, runt." Creed says. The way he says that is not like the millions of times before when he was out for his blood. It's more like the times before when they served together.
Wolverine smiles back at him and replies, "Alright, Slick."
Mirage watches this with amusement before taking on a more predatory form. Her body covered from head to toe in techno-org armor. The landscape around her shifts from regular vision to infrared in a split second. She marches on, coming up beside Creed.
"Stay close, frail, things are gonna get real hot real soon."
"I know, honey." She says as she stabs her claws through a tree, skewering a chameleon like creature. "You might wanna stay close to me."
Cyke's group touches down in the third ring of hell, literally. The southern portion is covered in a marsh. Flames spout from the swamps every other second.
The only light source are dangerous gouts of lethal flames accentuating acid-like swamps. Cyke reflects on their earlier experience when Sonique dropped a canteen into it. It lasted one second before melting away. They'd finally found a way across it. Sonique was now creating a sound cushion which they were using as a bridge over to the castle wall.
"Skin. You and Skinblade think you can repell up this wall?"
"No sweat, Cyke." Skinblade says as she and Skin extend up the wall, pulling some of the others up with them.
Replica begins to speak. "Sinny knows we are here and coming for him... why are we wasting time playing with his little toys?"
"I agree, brother." Lightning Rage says. "Luv, let's say we take our messages directly to his ear."
"Let's go."
Lightning Rage's eyes glow, and dark lightning blasts through the upper levels. "I borrowed this move from Storm's bag o' tricks." She laughs as the debris rains down, bouncing off of Chaos's tk shield.
They all begin to rise up through the ceiling to the top level.
"YUCK!" Mirage says as she reforms, letting the blood and gore fall away from her.
"Is that all of 'em, gang?" Wolverine asks.
Across from him Rogue and Storm land, taking in their blood soaked compatriots. Storms eyes flash and it begins to rain. Through the rain, the others see a bright flash. It shakes the castle and ground around them.
"I think you over did it, Storm."
"That was not me, Logan."
They all rush in and see the large hole to the upper level.
Chaos
Amanda was drenched in blood, all her own. She had managed to deflect most of Nightmare's blows, but the last couple had hit hard. The first had knocked her off balance. The last few had inflicted damage. She felt her lungs start to fill with her own blood. She was close to death and they both knew it.
~I would have expected more from you, mother. Aren't you supposed to be the leader of your team? What would they think of you now? You are dying.~
Amanda summond her energy and delivered a psychic pulse that sent Nightmare flying. Slowly, as if the weight on the universe was on her shoulders, she got up. Her ribs ached and her head was pounding. She knew at any moment she would faint and it would be the end, but she still got up.
"All my life I have been a quitter. I always run away from things when they start getting tough. I leave my friends and family when they get too close because I'm afraid that I'll disappoint them. Well, for once in my life I'm not giving up."
Nightmare laughed and replied, ~You are so close to death that anything you try is useless, chosen one.~
"I may die after this is over, but I'll make sure that you go down with me."
The air was electrified as both opponents rallied all their power. The sky grew dark and the earth began to rumble. This was the fight Amanda had been born to face. All her experiences with the X-Men and her team had prepared her for this. She didn't know if she would see her friends again, but she knew that no matter what happened, Nightmare would be destroyed.
She sent a message to her friends and prayed that they would hear it.
//I love all of you, and I'll always be with you in spirit.//
A.C.