A/N: So I have a confession to make to you guys. I said that William Afton would show up in this chapter, but that turned out to be false. He'll be showing up in the next one, when shit REALLY hits the fan.
Before you guys pick up the torches and pitchforks, allow me to explain. I tried to write up what William Afton's arrival on Earth would be like, along with his personality and initial invasion of Mike's house, but the details kept eluding me. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue and I would dwell on ironing everything out throughout the course of this week and the next…except for the fact that next week is finals week. And med school finals are exactly as painful and attention-consuming as they sound. If I kept going through with my initial plan, I'd either have a rushed and crappy introduction to William Afton's arrival by the end of this week or I'd have to make you wait THREE weeks before the next chapter, and neither solution was acceptable for me.
So instead of trying to force my way through my temporary Writer's Block, I decided to try and circumvent it through a different approach – the Civil War in Hell - and buy myself more time to properly write out William Afton's arc once finals were out of the way while keeping with my update schedule as best as possible. And once I started writing on that plot point instead, the details and story just kept flowing out through my fingers, and before I knew it I had a full chapter dedicated to the war and Nightmare's vengeance written out before me.
Even though I couldn't deliver on my promise to feature William Afton in this chapter, I hope that what I have written instead will satisfy you instead. And I promise that the next chapter won't beat around the bullshit anymore. William Afton WILL come, and the long-awaited confrontation will finally come to pass…along with so much more that I have planned.
Chapter 73 – The War in Hell
Under a burning, blood-red sky, legions of shrieking demons clashed against each other as hapless damned souls desperately tried to flee from the battle that raged in the lower deeps of Hell. Vucarik and his allies had unleashed their army moments after Vucarik had attacked the Nightmare children and set William Afton loose. The demon lords who had not supported him, whether they were loyalists to Lucifer or neutrals who had seen Vucarik's power grab for what it was, were at first taken completely off guard and were too slow to mobilize their forces to prevent Vucarik's coalition from seizing many of their territories. But they had quickly gotten over their surprise and joined forces to counteract Vucarik's onslaught in turn, and the would-be usurper's advance had slowed to a standstill. For the next few hours, neither side was able to break the stalemate, even though the warriors of both sides slaughtered each other without even the slightest restraint.
And then the lesser Nightmares had arrived, unleashing their full power and dark glory upon their foes. They had spent years cloaked in lesser forms, an expression of self-assured supremacy and mockery that they could crush their enemies even in a weakened state. The other demon lords of Hell had almost forgotten that in their true forms, the Nightmares were powers and horrors in their own right, the weakest of their fully-fledged warriors able to match a demon lord of the upper levels of Hell in raw power.
Today, they would remember why the Nightmares could securely rule a domain in the lower deeps with only seven in the number, when other demon lords needed entire armies to accomplish the same.
The Nightmares charged past the rest of the demons allied against Vucarik, and unleashed utter havoc and mayhem upon those who would dare to serve the one who had insulted their family's honor. Having been refreshed in the art of battle, the Nightmares wasted little time in slaughtering their foes in a similar manner to their earlier "practice session" on a much larger scale. In the form of a twisted Freddy Fazbear animatronic, any one of them could kill a hundred demons in mere seconds. With their full power unleashed, they could massacre a thousand in the same amount of time.
With their timely arrival, the Nightmares had completely destroyed any momentum that Vucarik had won for himself with the element of surprise. The demon lords who had opposed Vucarik had been just as surprised as those who supported him at the reinforcements provided by the Nightmares given their overall neutrality in the affairs of Hell, but they quickly took full advantage of the opportunity presented by their unexpected allies. They mentally sent commands to their subjects with a mere thought, ordering them to fully support the Nightmares in seizing the tide of the battle back in their favor. The lesser Nightmares were by no means invincible, and by themselves they would have eventually been overwhelmed and defeated due to sheer numbers. But they had an entire army at their back to support them, and even through their savage nature their allies understood that keeping the Nightmares healthy and uninjured was in their best interest. The legions of the Lucifer loyalists and status-quo supporters advanced alongside the Nightmares, butchering all in their path. They positioned themselves to make sure that none of the Nightmares could be flanked and attacked from anywhere except for the front, allowing the unstoppable juggernauts to easily identify and destroy any foe that crossed their path.
As the corpses of Vucarik's armies began to pile onto the ground and dissolve into ash and the usurper's forces were slowly forced to give back the ground they had stolen, the demons that had until recently been Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne arrived amongst the demon lords who had joined forces to put the usurper in his place. "WELL MET, FRIENDS AND ALLIES," Nightmarionne greeted them cheerfully. "WAR RAGES THROUGHOUT ALL HELL, THE GREATEST BATTLE IN THE INFERNO SINCE THE HARROWING ALL THOSE CENTURIES AGO. THERE ARE FEW THINGS TRULY AS JOYOUS AS THE THRILL OF BATTLE AND BLOODTHIRST, ARE THERE NOT?"
"WELL MET, NIGHTMARES," Malacoda, tormenter of deceivers, welcomed them. "I MUST ADMIT, I WAS NOT EXPECTING YOU TO JOIN US IN THIS CONFLICT. IF I RECALL, THE NIGHTMARES HAVE LONG STAYED OUT OF THE DAILY AFFAIRS OF THE INFERNO AS A WHOLE."
"VUCARIK HAS COMMITTED A GRIEVOUS INSULT AGAINST US THAT WE WILL NOT ALLOW TO REMAIN UNANSWERED," Nightmare Fredbear explained with a snarl. "THERE IS NOTHING THAT I WOULD LOVE MORE THAN TO SEE HIM CRUSHED AND BROKEN AT THIS MOMENT."
"IF I MAY ASK," another demon lord spoke up, making sure to phrase his question as politely as possible – it would be beyond foolish to insult the demon lords who had swung the battle in their favor, after all. "WHERE IS NIGHTMARE? I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT HE WOULD BE THE FIRST AMONG YOU TO ARRIVE, IF THE INSULT IS AS GRIEVOUS AS YOU CLAIM. AND DO YOU NOT HAVE A FOURTH MEMBER, A FEMALE, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY?"
To the silent relief of the other demon lords, neither Nightmare seemed at all insulted by the question. "BOTH OF THEM ARE DEALING WITH BUSINESS RELATED TO THE…OFFENSE…THAT VUCARIK COMMITTED AGAINST US," Nightmare Fredbear replied curtly. "AND WHILE OUR SISTER WILL BE UNLIKELY TO JOIN US, OUR LORD WILL BE HERE SOON."
Malacoda stroked his chin thoughtfully with a claw covered in a black metal gauntlet. "WITH HOW MUCH YOUR BRETHREN HAVE TURNED THE TIDE OF THIS BATTLE, I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF THE DEMON LORDS SUPPORTING VUCARIK JOIN THIS BATTLE PERSONALLY TO EVEN THE ODDS. ASSUMING, OF COURSE, THAT THEY DO NOT FLEE THE FIELD ENTIRELY LIKE THE COWARDS THEY ARE. YOU WILL, I ASSUME, BE JOINING US WHEN WE RESPOND IN KIND?"
"BUT OF COURSE, MALACODA, BUT…" Nightmarionne suddenly stopped and tilted his head. All around them, the demon lords could suddenly feel a black oppressive, presence that seemed to crush the atmosphere around them, affecting even them if only faintly. Nightmarionne suddenly threw back his head and howled with laughter. "WELL, WELL, WELL…IT APPEARS THAT OUR INTERVENTION MAY NOT BE NECESSARY AFTER ALL. THIS WAR IS ABOUT TO REACH ITS CONCLUSION." Both he and Nightmare Fredbear's mouths twisted into unholy grins. "HE COMES…"
/
Outside, the effects became much more prominent. As Malacoda had predicted, the demon lords supporting Vucarik had arrived behind their armies, and had been advancing to counteract the threat posed by the lesser Nightmares. They had made it halfway through their hordes of demons when all of them suddenly felt the same presence that the demon lords opposing Vucarik had sensed inside their command base. Both allies and enemies slowed their fight to a halt and watched with incomprehension and growing nervousness as the skies suddenly darkened, the raging fire of the sky suddenly transformed into the blackest night as the battlefield became covered with shadow. But although entire battlefield had been consumed by this darkness, it affected the two sides very differently. Those fighting against Vucarik suddenly felt their fear vanish into nothing, replaced instead with a feeling of vicious triumph and a dark inspiration to crush their enemies more brutally and thoroughly then ever before. But those fighting for Vucarik instead felt a crushing despair begin to weigh on their hearts, malicious whispers echoing in their hearts and minds about the hopelessness of their situation and the promise of a cruel and violent death that awaited them.
And as the battlefield became shrouded in night, the Nightmares began to laugh as one, their howls of triumphant mockery echoing through every corner of the war-torn ground.
"OUR LORD IS HERE!" Nightmare Bonnie roared.
"YOUR DOOM HAS COME!" Nightmare Freddy growled.
"NOTHING CAN YOU SAVE NOW!" Nightmare Foxy taunted.
And as both armies watched, they felt just as much as they saw Nightmare enter the battlefield. His entire body was shrouded in darkness, with only the faintest outlines of his true form. But even those traces were enough to reveal a hideous abomination wearing pitch black armor, the connections between its various segments shaped in the form of mouths with razor-sharp fangs, two black wings that seemed large enough to envelop entire mountains, and two titanic arms that ended with hands that could raze entire buildings with but a single sweep. The only features that could be clearly seen of Nightmare's true form were his scarlet eyes, burning with an unholy cruelty as he callously surveyed the battle before him, and a black crown surrounded by blazing orange flames that marked his status as one of Hell's most powerful demon lords in both sheer might and authority. Even the lesser Nightmares were mere shadows compared to his full glory.
For a second, Nightmare stared at the two armies in silence. Then, he opened his mouth, and his words rumbled across the battlefield and seemed to tear into the ears, minds, and souls of all the demons present.
"̨͔̣̕S̡͎͇̕O͇̙̻̘ ͈͙̬̫̟M̪͕͎̤͜A̛̬̩̤͙̯N̛̙̙̻̻̤̤̺͟ͅY̰̼͚̫̩̘͜͝ ͈̱͈́T̨̰͎̫̕O͓͙͕̜̫͞͝Ỳ̡̩̤̯͖̹̠̕S̲̺̺̯͔̫̖̪ ̵̪̗͉̫̣̻͈͚͘TǪ̶̼̙̻̜͔̝̤͝ͅ ̸̨̣̝̻͜P̡̞͔̖͘Ḻ̡̖͞A͇Y̢͈̱̠̕ ̣̭̼̙͢Ẃ̶͚̫̝͠I̢̜̮T͞͏̥̰̼͍̰̳͢ͅH̵͖̖͙̫̣̬̺̼.͏̞͇͍̲͉̰.͖͙͙̦̰̯̻͚͝.̢̲̭̙̼̥̜̼A̧̤̜͜Ń̷̜̻̖͔D̮̯̦̘ ̨̘̪͉̤̀S̵̭̩͕̝Ơ̴̜͕͎̝̬̰ͅ ͏̤̦̘͉̮͍̻͘LI̵̵̡̝̞͎̖͍̮͙͖T̸̶̺̮̘͓͉͉̮̩̥T̤̼L̰̰̮̠͚̟͟͠É̸͇̳̯ ̢͎̳T̢͖̮͎́I͓̹Ṃ̡̺̯̼͍̭̭̙̳Ę̢̢͎͈.̨̤̜͕"̶̼
(SO MANY TOYS TO PLAY WITH...AND SO LITTLE TIME.)
He had pondered how to destroy Vucarik's armies, wondering if he should simply follow the lead of his lesser kin and unleash his physical might upon them. But while it would certainly be fun to tear these weaklings limb to limb and the mere sight of him going on a rampage would certainly frighten the other demon lords present, physical brutality (no matter how extreme) was nothing new in Hell. He needed to make a statement about the consequences of making an enemy of him or his kin, and for that he needed darker and crueler methods of toying with his prey before he went in for the kill.
So Nightmare abandoned the idea of getting up close and personal with his vengeance. Instead, with a cold sneer, Nightmare raised a claw and held it out towards the enemy army. The darkness that pulsed around his feet suddenly rose around him like a pillar of shadows, before it returned to the ground and flared outward, covering the land in tainted, unholy energy that seemed even blacker than the sky that he had obscured only seconds before. The demon warriors in front of him stared nervously as they saw the bloody ground underneath their feet disappear. The darkness didn't stop spreading until the entire battlefield had been consumed. For one intense second that seemed to stretch on forever and yet also pass by in the blink of an eye, nothing happened.
Then, Nightmare clenched his fist, and what happened next would be a sight that no demon who bore witness to it would ever forget.
Unholy energy suddenly erupted from the abyss that he had created, taking the form of screaming skulls and spirits as it flowed up and struck at the armies from below. The demons supporting Vucarik suddenly felt their very essences sicken and wither away, a physical corruption that tore away at their bodies as though they had been drowned in corrosive poison. But that was just the beginning of the horror Nightmare had unleashed. The demons that had already been wounded throughout the course of the battle succumbed to death at last, but death would be no release for them this time. As their bodies dissolved into ash, the shades of the fallen warriors were forcibly ripped from their ruined bodies, tortured wraiths that howled in terror upon realizing that they were not being allowed the temporary respite that all demons who were killed in the Inferno experienced before eventually respawning. Demons on both sides watched in undisguised dread as Nightmare's spell forced the demonic specters to attack their former allies with ghostly claws and fangs, and many of the survivors were either forced to fight back and destroy the wraiths or were overwhelmed and killed, adding to the ranks of the enslaved spirits upon their deaths.
The demons fighting against Vucarik flinched away from what they were witnessing, dreading that in his thirst to destroy his enemies, Nightmare would callously inflict the same fate upon even those who fought by his side. But quite the opposite happened. Instead of feeling the same corruption tear away at their bodies, the wounded demons fighting against Vucarik's coalition felt their wounds heal, their vitality and energy returned to them instead of being stripped away. They were too stunned to do anything but stare at their restored bodies with incomprehension, the only ones making any move being the lesser Nightmares who took advantage of the distraction to slaughter more of their enemies and bind their wraiths to their master's service in the process.
After a seeming eternity that in reality lasted only a few seconds, the black void vanished, and the spirits that Nightmare had enslaved sighed in relief as they felt the shackles break and they disappeared into Hell's reincarnation cycle (a comparative mercy compared to what they had just been subjected to). Vucarik's army had not been entirely wiped out by Nightmare's power, but huge sections of it and almost the entire front line had been destroyed thanks to Nightmare's spell. And just as importantly, the demons serving the Nightmares' allies had been completely or near completely healed, restoring them back to prime fighting potential. Realizing that they had absolutely no chance of winning now, the demons started to turn tail and flee, their fear of Nightmare overriding even their fear of punishment and torture at their masters' hands for their failure.
Unfortunately for them, Nightmare had no intention of allowing his enemies to leave the battlefield alive. He bared his teeth into a sickening grin and cast another foul incantation. This time, a blood red sigil appeared over the center of Vucarik's army, surrounded by black flames with a crimson core. The flames converged into the center of the sigil, at which point it unleashed a ring of scarlet light that pulsed outward, stopping just short of hitting Nightmare's side of the field before both ring and sigil vanished.
Unlike Nightmare's last spell, this one didn't seem to directly harm his enemies, causing many to wonder what game the demon lord was playing. The answer came seconds later, as Vucarik's warriors suddenly began to howl and froth with a berserk rage, a mindless bloodlust that overrode even the fear that had seeped into their hearts only seconds earlier. With shrieks of feral rage, the demon warriors afflicted with Nightmare's curse started viciously attacking each other with anything available to them, whether it be with weapons or bare claws and fangs.
Nightmare laughed as he witnessed the fruits of his malice, and even through the shadows the demons surrounding him could see the horrific grin on his face. With the berserk rage driving Vucarik's forces at each other's throats and indirectly pinning them and preventing from retreating in the process, they were easy prey for slaughter.
"͚͚C̫̘͎Ḽ̳̀̕͠ͅA̸̦̯̤̺̻͖̯̹͡I̮̳̗͙̪̕͡M̶̷̺͎̟͚̭͠ ̢͍͔̪̦̟̙̻̀Y̬̖̫͔O̤̬̪̭̩͜U̼̳͜R̶̯̱͡͞ ̢̨̭̪̻͡P̧̺͎̕͡ͅO̶̯̩̲̺͢U̡҉̠͍̙ͅN͢҉̨̜͖͙̳D̜̙̪̮̥̰̯͟͝͞ ͙̜̪͇͖̳̕Ǫ̩͎̪͝F̧̺͚͔̟͠ ̶͇̞FL̛҉̳̹̪̜̩̫͇̲È͖̗̬̤̤͜͝ͅS̨̼̥͈͍̮̕H͏͎̠̱̤̻̹̫ ͟͢҉̬̬͖F͏̲̘̞̫̘͈̼͉͝ͅR̴̷̘̭̫O͙̺͕̗͜͝M̶̱̲͖͈͍̖̲͘ ̧̮̩̱̳̰̠͢ͅT͔̦͝͝H̛͔̩͍̥̦̝̬̖͟͜E͓̝͖̠̞͙̹̖M̺͈͈ ̨̠̪̬̮̮̹̕N͖̫͘O̵̧̡̭̝̺͚͉͈W̙̪͞,҉̘̞̭̬͡ͅ"͏͙͔̪̗̂͘ he commanded his allies, "̵̳̱̞̭̟̗͕͝FO̴̠̞̤̣͢͠R͔̫͔͍͖͔ ͎̱͘͟S̘̖͓̕O̢҉̥Ǫ̵̣̱̫̪͚N̛̛͓̺̱͖͓̲̬̳̮ ҉̟I̖̥̠̜̻͕̼͢͝ ̹̘̠̹̱̘Ś͖̪̪͎̣̹͖̱Ḫ̶̷͔̻̤̺̯͖A̧̛̟͈̹̯͖͍͘ͅL̼͇͚̣͔͈̕ͅL C̵̩̩͙͝L͕͖͚͞A̲̙͞IM̵͍̳̤͍̖̕ ̸͖̯̫̖͙̳IT͍͓̥̘̭̗̲͉̘͡͠ ̵̨̡̠̭̲͙̟̗A͏̰͖͔́ͅL̨͏̵͖̟̙̖̟̣̜̜L̞̱̣ͅ.̜̮"̪̝̰͠
(CLAIM YOUR POUND OF FLESH FROM THEM NOW, FOR SOON I SHALL CLAIM IT ALL.)
Without any further invitation, they lunged at their enemies, tearing them apart even as they frenziedly hacked at each other without care for their surroundings. A few of Vucarik's soldiers were able to either break free from the red haze or coincidentally attack their proper enemies even while consumed with bloodthirst. But with Nightmare's earlier spells empowering them and healing their wounds, Nightmare's allies could carve through their squabbling foes like tissue paper. With no meaningful resistance to stop them, they began to reap a bloody toll of thousands with each second that passed, in no small part thanks to the Nightmares, who seemed to fight with an even greater ferocity now that their lord and master had arrived.
Even Vucarik's demon lord allies, who had taken to the field to counteract the threat presented by the lesser Nightmares earlier on, were not immune to Nightmare's curse. Though they did not simply dissolve into mindless frothing rage like their subjects, the malice within the demon lord's power destroyed any sense of camaraderie that they might have had towards each other. Now, they saw each other only as rivals and threats to power, and began to charge at each other to claim the glory that could only come from killing another demon lord. Seeing the opportunity to claim that same glory and revenge for what was essentially free, the demon lords opposing Vucarik quickly joined in the violence, Nightmarionne and Nightmare Fredbear among them. It was with no small amount of satisfaction that Nightmare Fredbear watched two of his hated enemies tear each other apart until one was a broken corpse and the other was suffering from gaping wounds that were large enough to each destroy a regular demon, and he wasted no time in pouncing upon the survivor, ripping his wings off, and impaling the tips straight into his skull.
Away from the frontlines, Vucarik could only watch in disbelief and dread as the armies and allies he had so carefully gathered for his attempted coup crumbled before him. How? How was Nightmare able to take to the field so quickly? He was so certain that his enemy would have been forced to deal with the damned soul he had set loose, and yet here he was, single-handedly bringing his plans to ruination. And wielding such vast power…he had long dismissed the rumors of Nightmare's true might as merely exaggerations, especially with the frankly ridiculous form that he had chosen in the past few years. But if anything, the rumors had been understating the depths of both Nightmare's power and his cruelty. He needed to react quickly, salvage what was left of his armies before it was too late. With his allies all but destroyed and his enemies at full strength, he needed as many pawns as possible to throw between him and his vengeful foes…
And that was when Nightmare himself began to advance, shaking the ground with every step he took. Wherever he walked, the demons that were not consumed with bloodlust moved away as quickly as possible to avoid being stomped on. Nightmare marched past his allies and deep into enemy lines, completely ignoring the attacks that Vucarik's warriors tried to inflict upon him. Soon, he was in the center of the enemy, and Vucarik couldn't help but wonder why Nightmare was being so arrogant to surround himself on all sides with enemies.
But it was not arrogance. It was Nightmare's patience and generosity running its course. He had given his allies enough time to shed enough blood to fill oceans, and it was time to destroy his enemies once and for all. He began to chant in an unholy tongue that had no place being spoken anywhere outside of the Abyss, and orange rings of pure infernal power began to flow into him. The few demons who realized what was about to happen desperately tried to attack Nightmare, to do anything they could to stop what was to come. But most were too slow, and the ones that did reach him were too weak to even scratch his armor. Nightmare roared his might into the darkened skies of Hell, and unleashed the infernal power he had massed in a series of devastating shockwaves that blasted through and ravaged the entire battlefield.
[[For a visual representation of this spell, look up the Youtube video "BFME2: The 1.09 Patch – Isengard Has Been Unleashed!" by Ruuddevil and go to 36:10]]
Any enemy hit was obliterated instantly by the sheer devastation of Nightmare's unleashed explosion, their bodies sent flying backwards and demolished into ashes before they could even hit the ground. The only ones powerful enough to not be instantly obliterated by Nightmare's final spell were the demon lords who had managed to avoid getting too consumed by the chaos that Nightmare had incited earlier, and even they were left crippled and easy prey for vengeful enemies. Even Nightmare's allies were not completely impervious this time around; although the explosion that Nightmare unleashed did not outright harm them directly, the sheer force from the blast was enough to overwhelm their senses and force many of them to their knees.
And as soon as it began, it was over. The alliance that had been gathered against Vucarik looked over to where their enemies had been…and found nothing but Nightmare, surrounded by piles of ash, devastated corpses, and broken armor. With just three spells, the demon lord had annihilated an army that had numbered over a million.
And as Vucarik watched the obliteration of his armies, he knew that he was doomed. Not just because of the many enemies he had made, not just because Nightmare would come for him next, but also because he had dared to raise himself against Lucifer. He had no one to help him now, and he had no choice but to flee and try to stave off the inevitable for as long as possible. He turned around to depart…
…only to stare into the face of Nightmarionne.
Leaving no time for him to cry out, let alone make any sort of defense, Nightmarionne plunged his claws deep into Vucarik's stomach, grinning as the demon lord howled in agony. Vucarik raised a serrated razor-sharp blade, ready to hack at Nightmarionne for daring to attack him; he was still a demon lord and would be able to best him in a fair fight. But then Nightmare Fredbear lunged at him from seemingly out of nowhere, having taken advantage of the distraction caused by Nightmare's final spell to hunt down the one who had dared to attack their family. Nightmare Fredbear swatted the sword out of Vucarik's hand and grabbed both of his wings, crushing them in his iron grip as he chomped down on the errant demon's lord head with his jaw. Vucarik screamed as he felt Nightmare Fredbear's fangs tear into his head, but instead of finishing the execution, the greater Nightmare released the bite and instead grabbed Vucarik by the neck. Nightmarionne grabbed one of Vucarik's shoulders with his other hand, the two of them making sure that there was no chance of him escaping. Together, they dragged him out of the base that he had hidden away in like a coward while others fought and died for his cause, and brought him out onto the battlefield in front of Nightmare. The demon soldiers began to roar in triumph and call for blood, but their masters quickly demanded their silence. As the true victor of the battle, it was only fair that Nightmare get first claim to whatever vengeance he wished to unleash upon his broken foe.
Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne shoved Vucarik onto the ground. Nightmare bent down onto one knee, extended three claws from his right hand, and shoved them deep into Vucarik's throat before forcing the demon lord's head upward to meet his triumphant and hate-filled gaze.
"͔̺̺̙̖Y͖͙͔͙̕͘͜OU͘͏̶̖̥̫ ͙̩̣͈͇̕W̵̶̵͔̝̰E̡҉̢̯̜R̴̛͚̼̗̀ͅE̲̬̳ ̻͚̱̬̱̗ͅS҉̲̲͍͍̱͖̼̱̀O̶̘͉̯̙̭̖͙̼̬͜ ̣̝̼̕C̤̱̙̖̲̣̀Ò̙̻̺̥̺͈̜͕N̪͔͉̩̫͉F̠̥͙I̞͎̰D̸̝E̢̠͔̲̣͚N̞̬T̕҉̱͢ ̨̠̪̙̭I̙̥̰̼͙̺̯̮N͉͈̩̗̰͜ͅ ̡̺ͅÝ͕͙͚̬O̧̙̟͇͉̝͖U̧̟̯͚̮͖̙̟͜͞R̨̪͚̣̳͔̬̗̱̀͢ ̶͙̝͔̣̥͓̩̙A̦̘̣͎̗̯͝Ŕ̪͖̫̭͓͞M̴̖̩̳͓͖͙͢Y̤̘̜̤͜͜,̩̼̬̹͓̪͍̖̭͘"̧̨̛̠̥̤̳̥̥͓͚̥̘̪ͯ̈͌̅̅͒͋͒ Nightmare hissed with contempt dripping from every word he spoke. "̦͕̤̪̀͜ͅYO̵̹̬͉͚͖Ṷ̫͔͟͟ ̮̮̗̞̝̳ͅA̕͏̳̯̬̳̩̮CŢ̡͉̘̩̟͖̮̱͞ͅṲ̻̗͓̬͜A̰̮̳̻̬͓̖͉L͉̲̹̰̳̘̪͍͞Ĺ̢̥̠͖̫̝̰̖̹̳Y̵͙͕̥͈͍̙̘̜ ̯̪̩͈̯͢T̮̩̕H̴̢̱̣͍̬̖̥O̴̘̱Ų̵͙͎̟̩̞͢G̛͍̯̺̣̯͚͜͡H̲͍̲̩̗̻̙͎̗̀T̴̺̣͕̤͜ ̰̯̬̝̪̮̖̝Ỳ̹͓̻̞͙O͍̱͉̞̬͢͟U̠̮̙͢R̘̩̜̪ͅS̞͕̣͚̀͘EL̵̳̯͈̝̳̝̫F҉͕̦̤͉͎ͅͅ ͖͚́W͖͉̫̕͝O̷̡̻̘̹̪̞͍͇RT̡̳͇̩̪̬̝̟̙Ḫ̪͓͓̣̞͓͓̘͘͡Y̸̡̞̯̯͎̜̣͓͇ ̷̪T͈̟̱͉̮̹̰̼̼̀͡O̷̪̼̱̼͟ ͏̖͔̲̬̟͔̀R̵̷̨̲͙͓̰̘͈͎͚Ų̩̹̟́Ĺ̸̸̰̬E̡͕̭̻̯̝͖͜ ̴͏̙͓̠̯̘͚̠̫O̧̺̮̱̺̥V͎̥̬̮̳͎͝ͅE̟͚̭͈̹̙͓R͏̳̟ ̛̖̞̪͚͚̕̕A̲̩̜̬Ĺ̹̪L̞ ̨͇͖̘H͇͎͔E̴̳͕̭͢LL̵̛̹̝̙̲͔̼̮ͅ?͖͈͚̣͍̘͡ ̷̛͖̰̺͙͇͚S̢̬̱͡U͉͟ͅC̴̖͈͚̫̦̰͡H͍͕̝̼̣͍̝̮̭̀ ̧͔̟͜A̳̖͇͕͈̹̩̥R̵̨̙̠̞̀Ŕ̖̫̱Ò̗̠̫̪̞̪͞G̶̩̱̬͉̫̬̤̬A̴͓NC̷̼͇͓̠̀E̪͎̗͘.̧̩͚͈͙͈͙͚̣"͚͘
(YOU WERE SO CONFIDENT IN YOUR ARMY. YOU ACTUALLY THOUGHT YOURSELF WORTHY TO RULE OVER ALL HELL? SUCH ARROGANCE.)
All around him, his allies and their warriors laughed uproariously, knowing that there was nothing Vucarik could do to avenge himself against such humiliation.
"̢̠̯͕͎̳̰͚̞̕̕Y̼̪̱̰̝̕͢O̼͕̟̙̠͢U͇̗ ̸ͅH̤͈̻̗̭̮̳̺̕͜A̵̶̧͚̯̯D̞͎̖̀̕ ̗̼̙̼͙Ǫ̴̷͈̹͎V̴̫͎͇E͈̪̘̠̯̯̙̮͞R̸̷͓̼̟͢ ͏̤͈͚͇̲̘Á̶̸͇̰̬̪̺̰̝ ̢̮̬̬̦͢M͎I҉̷̨̯͚̼̤̹L̨̥̰̝͕͔̘͜ͅL̨͏̼͙̜͔̣͉I̶̡̪̗̩͘O̳͝N̟̱̬͈̼̱҉͖̙̱ ̯̘̝̞͇͞Ą̨̰͓̟̩͠ͅT̡҉̢̺̯ ̡̙̳͘Ý̫̞̣̀O͚̤̻̟͔͉̤͚͔U̡͚̝̱̻͉R̸̨͓̮̲͙̥̺̲̥̙͍̕ ̞̗̖̞̮C̸̹͎̗͘OḾ̸̞̰̥͇̪̖͜M̪̮͎͢͝A̜͍͖͓N̯͙͙̖̼̫̺D̨̨͕̼̬̪̭̝,̸̱̠͎̖̰̗̗͎͘͢"̴̘̘̬̪̘͚ ͣͯ͢ͅNightmare sneered. "̖̯̮̰̗͉̹͎̕Á͔̠̘̮̙̣̥̥N̮͈̻͝D͉̜̘̱̰̝̱̹ N̛̲̠̺͓̼͍̙͝͠Ǫ͎͍͈̟W̘̬̙͕ͅ ̵̠͚̠̜̭̼̮Y̳̲̳͇̰͓̮̱͙O͡҉̞̰̲̹̥̩̙Ú̸̥̪̙̠͉̞̫ ̢̮̠̪͈͖̩̣̗H͍̤̜͇̭̼̀A̧͓͉V̢͔͖̰̙̼͕̼̖̥E̷̡͖͔̟̙̪̘͍͢ ̸̵̙̹̘̗̲́Ǹ̶̘̟̠̯̞̼O̮̺Ṱ̵̥͖͉̲̘̠Ḩ͓̖͕̟̮̤̭͚I̶̸̜͕̭̼̤͚͡Ņ̷̧̙̩G҉̩͙͕͍͉͕̯ͅ.̸͍̠̰͎͈̥͉"̶̣̤̠͎͚̰͞
(YOU HAD OVER A MILLION AT YOUR COMMAND. AND NOW YOU HAVE NOTHING.)
He lifted Vucarik into the sky, high enough for all of his allies to see. Then with a mighty roar, smashed Vucarik's body upon his knee, smashing the demon lord's spine. Vucarik screamed as the audience roared with laughter. The demons watched as Nightmare stomped on Vucarik's body again and again, breaking first his spine into even more pieces, and then each of his arms, legs, and tail in turn. Nightmare picked up the broken body of his enemy and hurled it towards the demon lords who had marshalled their forces against the would-be usurper.
"͔͚̤̪̖̖͝D̙̗O͏͏͖͚͉̙͖͍͙͇ ͏̤͕̞̭̮͙̱W̶̜͙̱̥̻̱͟I̞̭̳̬̬͕͕͘͟T̝͙̮̪H̷̶̶͚̗̰͇̥̣̼ ͏̟H̞̳̻̞I̴͘҉̳M̷̜͙͙͚̀ͅ ̴̪͙̳̀AŞ̠̰̦̝͘ ̵̸̞͚̣͇̲͜Y̪͚͔͍͓̜͉̕OU̵͙̥ ̖̜̻͍̯̀͢͡W̵̧̝̼IL̜̝͙͙͖͕͘L̴̝͉̪̦͔̠̼̮,̱̖͎̮͎̻́͞͞"̴̢͎̫̬̭̗̥̘͕̈́̉̿́͊́͐ͬ̓̔̒̀̕͢͢ ̛̰͕̳̻͕̮͐ͮ̽̏he hissed at his allies. "̺̙̲̞̲͇ͅI̧̩̗̪̳͖͙̥̺ ̷̝̥̕͞D͎̞̼̬̬̰̬͟͞O̯̟͇̯̕͠͠ ̲̩͉͚̺̺̟͞͡N҉̹̗̮͝Ó̡͔͓̙T͏̝͕̯ ̨͍̩Ẁ͉̫̜̖͎̝I̟̯͜͝S̷̡͇̫̻̭̕H҉̗̮̻͍̺͔͕̭̀͜ ̶̠̝͜T̺̹͔̝͉̞͟͞O̵̭͙ ̲̭͡W̢͈̳̜͈͈̩͇̕Ḁ̟̙̤̬̣ͅŞ̛̹̰̫̝̩͎̻́T̴̖̤̤̺Ẹ̷̸̵̹ ̸̧͏̮̝̜̠A̸͇͓̬͔̗̻̭̪̗͞Ṋ̹͙̱̭Ỳ̨̫̲̳͎͙̩̟̘͡ ̸͔̗̮̬̤̖͟͞M̵̢̠͔̯̖͜O̵͎̟͈̮̫̻͍̖͙R̢͙̰̞͕̫̦͟E̷̹̲̙̞̯͈͙̫͙̩̤̟̕ ̶̭̪̪͉̫̯̩̀͢ͅT̷̯̮͎̩I͢͏̠M̟͙͎͖̥̘͇̩͘È̻͙͈̪̝̱͞ ̸͈O̧̘̼̙̘̥͞N̴̴̛̻̠̣̬͇̫̲ͅ ͔̰̗̘͍̮̠T̼̼̻̀H̷͏̩̤̭̜̻I̡̝̹̗̹͙̝͎͘S̖͚͓̯̠̬ ̣̯͔͍̗̯͖̮͢W̮͠Ơ̺̰̳̰̖̠ͅR̭̤̞̠̲̥̀͡T̷̮̤͓͉͓̳̩̳̩͝H҉̯͎͞L͟͞͏̰͕̪E̢̥̪̖͖̟̲̰̮͠Ś̥̬̜̥ͅS̴̛̛̜͉̫̲͈̜̪ ̟̟͉͚̮̫ͅẂ̶̴͕͇̳̫̺̙̜͈O̲̭͈̳͙ͅŔ̫̥̰̥͚M̶͕͈͔̯͍̱̫̕.̶̢̱͕"̵҉̬͈͕̱̱̝̂̂ͨ̽͘͜ͅͅ
(DO WITH HIM AS YOU WILL. I DO NOT WISH TO WASTE ANY MORE TIME ON THIS WORTHLESS WORM.)
The other demon lords were surprised and more than a little bewildered by Nightmare's generosity, but they most certainly weren't going to question it. They began to discuss how to best carry out their revenge against Vucarik even as he lay twitching and broken at their feet. Ideas were being tossed around, such as gouging out his eyes and cutting out his tongue, crucifying him upside down to a flaming cross, and perhaps the most amusing, shoving various weapons up the demon lord's ass.
Interesting ideas, Nightmare mused. Perhaps once William Afton was back under his clutches where he belonged, he would replicate some of those suggestions on Vucarik's collaborator. But such ideas were best considered another time. With an unspoken command to Nightmare Fredbear and Nightmarionne, the three greater demon lords returned to their Freddy Fazbear animatronic forms even as their lesser kin joined the other demon lords in the celebration of Vucarik's future tortures. A few demons gave them odd looks, but none of them dared to comment on the change in appearance – after the display of power Nightmare had demonstrated today, nobody would ever mistake the Nightmares as vulnerable ever again.
Once they were out of sight, Nightmare turned to face his seconds-in-command. "I HAVE AN OATH TO KEEP, AND I WILL NEED YOU TO ACCOMPANY ME TO EARTH," he began. "THOUGH VUCARIK DID NOT COUNT ON MY ALLIANCE WITH MIKE SCHMIDT, HE IS CORRECT IN CLAIMING THAT HEAVEN MAY HOLD ME ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE WILLIAM AFTON CAUSES WHILE ON EARTH. AND EVEN THOUGH I CAN EASILY SHIFT THE BLAME TO WHERE IT TRULY BELONGS, I WOULD RATHER NOT DEAL WITH THE TEDIUM OF CELESTIAL BUREACRACY TO BEGIN WITH. I KNOW WHERE WILLIAM AFTON IS HEADING, AND IT WILL BE YOUR TASK TO ENSURE THAT HE DOES NOT ESCAPE CAPTIVITY. IN EXCHANGE, I GIVE YOU MY WORD THAT YOU WILL BE THE FIRST AMONG OUR KIN TO UNLEASH YOUR TORMENTS ON HIM UPON HIS RETURN."
"VERY WELL," Nightmare Fredbear agreed. "THOUGH I CONFESS THAT I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO ATTACK VUCARIK FURTHER, BEING ABLE TO CAPTURE THE MONGREL IS ENOUGH TO SATISFY ME AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING."
"YOU SEEM RATHER CONFIDENT IN THAT MORTAL, MIKE SCHMIDT," Nightmarionne mused. "BUT HE IS MERELY A MORTAL AGAINST A DAMNED SOUL INFUSED WITH DEMONIC POWER. HOW CAN YOU EXPECT HIM TO PREVAIL?"
"IT IS SIMPLE," Nightmare explained. "IT IS MY BELIEF THAT WILLIAM AFTON WILL INVADE SCHMIDT'S MIND, HOPING TO DIRECTLY ATTACK HIS SOUL AS REVENGE FOR BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORSENING OF HIS TORMENTS. AND IT WILL FALL TO SCHMIDT TO MANIPULATE CIRCUMSTANCES SO THAT THIS IS WHAT WILL COME TO PASS. WHAT THAT FOOL AFTON DOESN'T REALIZE IS THAT MIKE SCHMIDT IS A LUCID DREAMER WITH THE ABILITY TO BEND REALITY TO HIS WILL, AND HE HAS THE STRENGTH OF WILL TO FIGHT WILLIAM AFTON UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES."
"AH…" Nightmarionne realized. "SO INSTEAD OF A SLAUGHTER, THE CONFRONTATION BETWEEN THEM WILL BE AN EVEN BATTLE WHERE YOU BELIEVE SCHMIDT MAY EMERGE THE VICTOR."
"INDEED," Nightmare confirmed, before his mouth stretched into a menacing grin. "BUT THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN WHAT I HAVE TOLD SCHMIDT. IT IS NOT MERELY THE POWER WITHIN MIKE SCHMIDT THAT INTRIGUES ME. I HAVE SENSED DARKNESS WITHIN HIS SPIRIT, AND THAT DARKNESS IS NOTHING SHORT OF IMPRESSIVE FOR SOMEONE SO FIRMLY ALIGNED TO THE SIDE OF GOOD. I AM CERTAIN THAT SCHMIDT CONQUERED HIS INNER DEMONS AND BROUGHT THEM TO HEEL, ELSE HE WOULD HAVE FALLEN TO EITHER EVIL OR DESPAIR LONG AGO. HE HAS MADE NO SECRET OF HIS HATRED OF WILLIAM AFTON, AND I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF SCHMIDT UNLEASHES HIS INNER DARKNESS UPON THE MONGREL IN A WORLD WHERE REALITY ITSELF IS HIS TO COMMAND…AND WHAT THE RESULTS WILL BE."
He turned to his two brothers and, with a sweep of his claw, sliced open a portal that lead to the surface world. "IF EVENTS PLAY OUT IN THE WAY I BELIEVE THEY WILL, I BELIEVE THAT WE ARE IN FOR QUITE THE SHOW. HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH…HEH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
/
A/N: Consider that last bit of foreshadowing a second apology for delaying William Afton's arrival until the next chapter 😊 Nightmare might have told the truth to Mike and has every intention of honoring his oath…but even with his redeeming qualities, he has an ulterior motive behind the scenes like any proper demon…
Ladies and gentlemen, we have here our first occurrence of Z̶̙͚͈̦͙̤̙̭͆̈ͯͨ̕A̧̳̫͈̱̯͂̾̅̉̂̆ͅL͙̭̙̪̙͚ͥGͬ̉͂ͮͯ҉͇̩̱̞̮̬̰̬̹͠O̢͇ͥ̐͐̅́̑̄͘ text! When capital bold just isn't good enough to really demonstrate the sheer amount of power and levels of "don't fuck with me" that a character has, there can be no better text to utilize. Sorry if it's difficult to read for some of you, though. Just in case you can't read the Zalgo text, I have added translations in regular bold in parentheses underneath.
As for the inspiration for Nightmare's spells, I actually play a game in my spare time called Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II. It's basically a Lord of the Rings version of Starcraft that's hella fun for an LOTR fan like me, and one of the things that makes BFME2 so great are the powers that you can use. Some of them are for specific heroes (eg Aragorn, Witch-King, etc.) while others are for factions as a whole, and they are freaking awesome to use (especially the late-game ones, which include things like summoning a Balrog or the Army of the Dead and are every bit as OP and game-winning as you would expect.)
So, in the style of BFME2, here are a list of the powers and abilities Nightmare used!
Lord of Nightmares (passive): All Nightmares on the battlefield gain +100% armor, +100% damage, and +100% magic resistance. Nightmare is completely immune to any status effects and instant death.
Ancient Horror (passive): All units cower in fear, whether friend or foe, whenever Nightmare casts a spell.
Blackest Night: Nightmare blackens the sky and covers the entire battlefield in darkness. All non-hero allies gain +100% armor and +100% damage. Enemies lose -50% armor and -50% damage.
Devouring Darkness: Nightmare calls upon ancient, forbidden magic to drown the entire battlefield in a malicious abyss of shadows. All enemies caught within the unholy corruption take significant damage over time, and if they are killed they become tortured wraiths that are forced to attack their former allies for a few seconds. All allies within the abyss are healed.
Frenzied Malice: Nightmare curses a large portion of the battlefield, driving targeted enemies into a berserk rage that causes them to start attacking anything in close proximity whether friend or foe.
Word of Damnation: Nightmare unleashes a devastating shockwave that instantly kills all surrounding enemies. Enemy hero units resist instant death but take significant damage.
I think the selection of spells that Nightmare used in this battle really summarizes his character quite well. He will be as brutal and horrifying to his enemies as much as he fucking pleases, but if you are fighting on his side or have earned his respect then he can be a valuable ally.
Anyways, I think I got carried away a bit with the roleplay here. Hope you guys enjoyed!