Over a dark, twisted forest, inside of a luminescent cave, hung the eerie Castle of Illusions: A maze-like citadel of horror, and lair of the spirit of the Dark Power. "What is the Dark Power?", you may ask? It is a force said to be where nightmares originate from, yet no one can say for sure. As an Agent of Darkness, the spirit spreads terror and misery to children of other worlds across the known Multiverse.
Speak of the Devil, a trail of shadows traveled in the form of a colony of bats into the throne room of the castle. They were then absorbed by a magic scepter that had a vampiric style: A black bat atop a tarantula, whose head stretched to the floor. The creature holding the mystic object had a human-esque figure that could almost pass-off as someone in their late teens, if not for the shining pale skin, fangs, and pitch-black eyes; Except for his left eye, which had a purple swirl that traveled from there to his left arm, coating it in the same color.
His attire was a hybridization of that of a standard magician and the macabre-styling of a vampire; A blood red top hat with a dark magenta stripe sat upon the man's head, his raven-colored hair tied to a slick down ponytail, a bowtie in the shape of a bat, and a cape that was dark as tar.
This was the spirit of the Dark Power, or at least his current vessel. Having brought fear to many for so long, the spirit had inhabited multiple hosts. As strange as it was, there were those that also worshipped the Dark Power and its mysterious ways - Providing a suitable number of candidates to grant his power to.
Placing the tip of his staff over his left palm, a yellow stream of glowing liquid oozed from the bat effigy and a handful of same-colored orbs were made from the odd substance. He wasted no time in inhaling the essence of fear his colony had brought to him. No matter which form he was in, the nightmarish ghoul fed off the fear of those he terrorizes to increase his power.
Yet, even with the filling meal, the spirit of the Dark Power still could not shake the past failures from previous nights. His bats create images of him to appear and strike fear in the hearts of many, but somehow - every damn night - It ends the same for two small brats: Lola and Lana Loud.
He had no issues terrorizing them before; He even recalled their fear being the most delectable out of any child. They even had the "honor" of him making an appearance in their daydreams. It was that just damn good!
But upon the fifth night...
Another nightmare was in progress as both twins were having a similar dream of a large Metropolis. A giant twin-headed sewer serpent comprised of dark sludge (The spirit's current form) coiled around the two, his veins gleaming yellow from the fear being drained from them.
"HEEELLLP!" both girls shrieked at the top of their lungs. All the while, the beast was ready to strike as he bared his fangs. "Bon appetite, DAR!" both heads then proceeded to lash at their captive snacks.
*VROOOMMM*
The creature's movement was halted as the sound of a running engine echoed in the streets. Out of the smog that clouded the roads, a pink car with the appearance of a bunny shot out, driven by someone in a blue sheep costume. The real eye catcher, however, was the person in the back seat - a boy dressed in a rabbit-themed superhero suit.
The young hero leaped out of the car in a pink blur. With his quick speed, he slashed away a portion of the serpent, freeing both girls. The beast recoiled in pain, howling. "DAAAARRR! What is the meaning of this; Who do you think you are, DAR!?"
Landing with Lola and Lana in his arms, he placed them on the ground. He then turned to address the monster. "The cries of the people, lovesick and forlorn - I hear them. The wails of the people suffering in evil's grip - I hear them. For a bunny's ears are LONG! The envoy of love and justice, Bunny-Eared Mask, has arrived!" he finished as he stood in a heroic pose.
The sewer beast morphed it body to that of a bull to charge at the small hero. However, a powerful stream of water shot at it, causing the attacker to lose his form. The twins faced the shooter to find the sheep boy from earlier. "Sheep Mask as well, at your service," he gave a thumbs-up and a wink as he held a water gun in his hand (or more accurately, a water bazooka).
Pulling himself together, the nightmare maker snarled at the small rabbit boy. "This changes nothing! Their fear belongs to me, DAR!"
To save on time, lets just say what followed after was a great battle that only ended poorly for the spirit of the Dark Power. Both of the shadow bats that were created to infiltrate the twins' dreams were destroyed by the boy. And it only continued, night after night.
During this time, the vampire on the throne pondered this unusual predicament. "How is a human boy even able to interfere in your nightmare-making?" he asked his shadow on the wall - The spirit himself. Though, he seemed to be preoccupied with something. "Vat's the matter, my friend? Still cranky from the lack of essence from those young lasses?"
But, instead of receiving a lightning zap to the face, the shadowy spirit merely chuckled. "Perhaps I no longer need them, DAR!"
"And vill you like to fill me in on vhy that is?"
"I've been thinking about that boy; How he is able to prevent me from hording those brats' fear, DAR."
The vampire took a minute to ponder "his shadow's" words. His eyes then widen as a sudden realization hit him. "You don't think he's..."
"He must be, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get in my way, DAR!"
A smile crept on the macabre magician, as he raised his scepter and opened a small purple vortex in the throne room. "If that's the case, then ve'll be needing some assistance."
From the portal came out two stuffed animals, alongside a few random Halloween decorations. "Alright! Who's the wise guy?!" a small rabbit stumbled out of the pile, a pumpkin on her head blocking her view of anything. She was picked up by the vampire, stopping her before she can continue ranting of her current situation.
"Calm yourself, Kuromi, it's only me," he told the little lagomorph as he removed the gourd, revealing her black-hooded head.
Kuromi was a white rabbit, though it was hard to tell from the black jester's hat with a pink skull on the front and the black devil's tail she had; Giving her more of an imp-like appearance. Setting her eyes on her holder, Kuromi's rage quickly diminished as hearts filled her eyes. All from looking at her most recent crush - Who called himself Mr. Dark. "Hiya, Mr. D!" the rabbit said dreamily, "How can I help ya today?!"
"Kuromi, my dear, I need your and Baku's help finishing a little pet project ve've been vurking on. Can I count on your cooperation?" Mr. Dark sported a sincere smile, well aware of the bunny's lust for him. He, of course, did not feel the same, but it her crush made it easier to give her orders.
The lil' imp giggled. "Of course, silly~! We can handle anythin', right, Baku?"
...
"BAKU!" she shouted at the pile she come from, yet still no answer. "Ya gotta be kiddin' me," Kuromi mumbled as she pinched the bridge of her nose and hopped off, marching towards the pile of decorations. "Come on out, ya idiot!" she dived into the mess and pulled out some sort-of living eggplant to someone, but in reality, it was her faithful sidekick Baku.
"Zonaaa..." who was still groggy from the impact of all the debris falling on him. Baku was a purple tapir with the ability to fly; A trait tapir's had in this world.
Stretching out his right ear, Kuromi took a deep breath and shouted: "WAKE UP, IDIOT!" causing the purple creature to yell out "Zona!" in pain.
"What was that for, ~zona?" the poor thing stroked his throbbing ear, trying to ease the pain. Of course, he never got his answer as Kuromi returned her attention to Mr. Dark. "Anyway~! What 'cha want, boss!"
"We need you two to bring a human boy to us by sundown, DAR!" the Spirit bellowed at the small animals.
Kuromi gave the shadow a salute. "Whatever you say, 'Dar'!"
"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT CALLING ME THAT, DAR?!" "Dar" lashed at the impish bunny, who only snickered at spirit's rage.
Baku, however, bared a skeptical look. "Kuromi, I thought we was gonna plan for our candy heist this Hallo-MMPH!" the purple tapir was cut off as the imp shoved his head in the pumpkin she was stuck in earlier.
"We can do that LATER!" she passive-aggressively pushed the tapir to the side, keeping the smile on her face. "We won't fail ya, Mr. D!"
"I know you von't," the magician paused as Dar took off his top hat and pulled out a gold bell with markings depicting a girl performing different dances.
As he finally removed the obstructing gourd from his head, Baku took notice of the object the spirit was holding. "What's that, ~zona?"
"Some extra help for you two, DAR," Dar chuckled wickedly as he rang the bell.
A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen! I present to thee the new and improved Nightmare in Mari Land! Starting things off I decided to change up the main villain, Mr. Dark, and give him more of a Vampire feel with the spirit of the Dark Power communicating with him as his shadow. I got the idea from how the Ducktales reboot has Magica De Spell talking to *SPOILERS*. I also decided to have this take place not on Halloween but in the middle of October, so this may have more of a Halloween-ish feel.
-The King has spoken!