Chapter 1: Entrapment

Within the headquarters of the Holy Nightmare Corporation, a television screen flashed online, illuminating a large, dark room. On the television screen displayed the limp form of Zoroark lying unconscious inside one of the dark holding chambers of the corporation after being successfully captured and contained.

The dark, towering form of Nightmare stood before the television screen, gazing up at the sight of Zoroark now in the possession of the Holy Nightmare Corporation. A dark grin slowly stretched on his face.

"Yes... This is the Master of Illusions, Zoroark." rumbled Nightmare, pleased at the sight of Zoroark. He glances down to the jester-like demon beast who brought Zoroark from her universe and was now standing beside the entity, "You have done well, Marx Soul..."

The jester-like demon beast, now called Marx Soul, bowed to Nightmare, almost cackling at his own accomplishment, "It was my pleasure, lord Nightmare. The little one was easy to catch, and the Master of Illusions gave herself in to my orders in exchange for his safety." He then asks intently, "What shall we do with the little one, my lord? Feed him to one of the other demon beasts?"

Nightmare pondered silently, before a cruel smile was plastered on his face, "No. Zoroark may look for him, and I think it wouldn't be wise to separate a mother from her child permanently. He may prove useful to us...Send him back to Zoroark."

"Yes, lord Nightmare." Marx Soul replied, before taking flight and soared out of Nightmare's chamber with a toothy grin, cackling evilly in anticipation...

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Zoroark drifted in and out of consciousness as she began to rouse from her slumber. Her eyes slowly opened up as a soft, raspy groan escaped her throat, and she saw only dark blurs everywhere. As her vision sharpened, the Illusion Fox noticed that she was lying on cold metal floor and moaned softly, lifing herself from the floor and glanced about wearily. She stood slowly on her hind legs, shaking her head free from the cobwebs that blurred her visions. When the blurs around her sharpened, Zoroark found herself in darkness, but her keen vision allowed her to see that she was within some kind of chamber.

The Illusion Fox looked aound, not recognizing anything around her. She knew that she wasn't in Lostlorn Forest anymore. But where? Her eyes widened when she recalled getting captured and taken into a strange, storm cloud by a monster. And Zorua was...

Zorua!

Zoroark quickly reached back into her red mane, feeling around for her son, but to her panic, she didn't feel any signs of him. The Illusion Fox pulled her paw out of her mane, and looked about frantically in the chamber. "Zorua?" She cried out, her eyes darting in the darkness and she ran around briefly in her search, "Zorua!"

Suddenly, a loud clanking sound pierced the cold air. Zoroark shot up and turned her head towards the source of the sound, seeing a door that lied beside her rising itself up, allowing light to flood the chamber. As the door fully opened, Marx Soul floated on the other side of the door, and to Zoroark's shock, she noticed that the demon beast was holding a struggling Zorua by the neck.

Zoroark hissed aggressively, her rage began to steadily grow as she recognized Marx Soul for harming her child. She seethed in rage as Marx Soul hovered forward into the chamber while still holding Zorua. With a flick of his hand, Marx Soul heartlessly threw Zorua, sending him hurtling through the air towards Zoroark. The small Tricky Fox squealed with fright, soaring aimlessly until the form of Zoroark leapt forward and caught Zorua in her arms before he could hit the floor. As Zoroark landed back on the floor, she looked down to Zorua with concern, seeing her son rubbing against her chest, having longed to be with her again.

"Meema..." Zorua whimpered softly.

Enraged by the Marx Soul's cruel treatment to her child for a second time, Zoroark looked back over to the demon beast and scowled viciously at him; a deep, threatening snarl escaping her clenched jaws.

Marx Soul responded with a wicked sneer, "Ehehehe, be grateful that lord Nightmare allowed your little fox friend to live." With another evil snicker, the demon beast turned around and flew away, allowing the door to close back down and seal Zoroark and Zorua in total darkness.

The ferocious gleam that raged in Zoroark's eyes soon melted away, replaced with a twinkle of tenderness when the Illusion Fox looked down at the trembling form of Zorua she cradled in her arms. She sensed the fear and nervousness emenating from her son, and she responded by holding him close to comfort him.

"Zorua, are you alright?" Zoroark asked worriedly.

Zorua shook his body free from a sudden cold sensation and slowly looked up at Zoroark, nodding to her, "Yes, Meema..."

Zoroark sighed, relieved, as she began stroking Zorua caringly, "Good... Whoever those monsters are, they're not here now."

"Those monsters...that dark man call them demon beasts." Zorua responded, lowering his head.

Zoroark echoed, a bit curious and concerned, "...Dark man?" The word 'man' caught her attention. Was the person Zorua is talking about, a human?

"Yeah..." Zorua nodded, trembling slightly, "The dark man looked like the leader, and the monster that caught me said something about this place being a...Nightmare Cor...Corporation, for the demon monsters." He shivered for a reason, almost shaking at the sound of Holy Nightmare, "And I heard from him... that they took us away from our...universe."

Upon hearing this, Zoroark widened her eyes, her ears flicking up. Were they taken from their universe, far from their home, by some...demon beasts? She didn't like the sound of this. The Illusion Fox tensed slightly. She and Zorua were taken captive in a strange place, with strange monsters far from home, or possible very very far from it.

Whimpering softly, Zorua leapt onto Zoroark's shoulder and crawled into the warm comforts of her red mane, wanting to recover from his terrifying experience. Zoroark sighed softly; she knew her son had been through a tough time, and that he would need his rest in case something else bad happens. The Illusion Fox slowly bent down and curled up comfortably on the floor, still looking about quietly and keeping a sharp eye out for anything. Zoroark was soon convinced that there was nothing in her prison and she closes her eyes to rest, her tension slowly dissipated when she knew Zorua was there with her, safe and sound...

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Author's Note: I'm sure some of you Kirby fans remember Marx Soul. He was second form of Marx, the villain of Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Ultra Star. I decided to have him as a demon beast in this story. :3