A/N: I originally was going to post this on "The Storyteller's Scrapbook" (seeing as that collection has somehow become the haven for my darker one-shots), but I think it has earned its place here ^^. I'm quite proud of this little piece.

BTW, this is an AU where Jack never joined the Guardians.

Disclaimer: Don't own!

"The Sandman is coming in his train of cars, with moonbeam windows and wheels of stars. So hush you little ones, and have no fear. The man in the moon, he is the engineer."-Nursery rhyme from Alice: Madness Returns, the sequel to American McGee's Alice

Power always corrupts. No matter how pure a person may be, if they are gifted with enormous power, they will inevitably turn out the worse for it.

The Man in the Moon was no exception. And he, just like the others, soon turned into a fiend.

Oh, it wasn't visible at first, no. Just a few subtle things here and there. Little things, like creating a spirit only to leave it on its own for centuries, or causing minor chaos in some war-tired places, or messing around with his lackeys, the Guardians. Petty things, stupid things, things that everyone easily ignored.

It wasn't long before it started getting worse.

Minor chaos soon turned into living nightmares of death and destruction. Innocent spirits were mutilated or killed by the Guardians, simply because of some erroneous signs from the Man in the Moon. Guiltless blood was shed uselessly, and all because of the Man in the Moon.

Still, it was ignored. Spirits are, by nature, somewhat self-centered and callous beings, and they cared little about the troubles of their fellows. As long as it did not directly threaten them, they reasoned, there was no cause for panic.

For a few years, it remained this way. Every once in a while, one or two would be killed off someway or another. There would be a little stir, and then nothing.

Then, things abruptly went to hell.

A winter spirit, his name largely unknown to the spirit community, suddenly lost his mind. He froze entire cities, created wild blizzards, and killed hundreds of people, seemingly for no reason at all. And, like other spirits that had gone down the path of madness, he was swiftly and efficiently destroyed by Mother Nature herself.

That did not mean that the story was over, however. Mother Nature was called the Keeper of Balance for a reason. That one of her own nature spirits would so blatantly try to ruin the balance troubled her.

The cause was soon found: the offending spirit was no spirit of Mother Nature's, but one created directly by the Man in the Moon. For some reason, the Moon simply abandoned the spirit after creation, and left him to travel the world alone for centuries. The strain of loneliness proved to be too much for the winter spirit, and insanity was the end result.

But what was most troubling was that the spirit was merely a child. The very thing that the Moon and his lackeys swore to protect. The very thing they had failed to protect.

Clearly, something was very, very wrong.

Terror struck the hearts of the spirits. How many others of their ilk were wandering around, abandoned by their creator? How many had turned bitter and cruel, ready to lash out at all who dared cross their path? How many were a danger to the spirit and human worlds?

Quite a hell of a lot, as it turned out afterwards.

It was like the death of the frost spirit had opened the floodgates. Countless nameless, maniacal spirits turned up in various places, their pain igniting into the blazing fires of insanity and destruction before they were rapidly quashed by the Keeper of Balance.

But even Mother Nature had a limit to her endurance, and eventually, the pressure became too much for her to bear. With a final, blood-chilling screech, balance was lost to the world, and its Keeper with it.

The spirit world was now in a frenzy of panic. Worldwide, hundreds asked, nay, begged the Moon to help. Soundless cries echoed from all corners of the world as they were slaughtered by the Mad Ones.

But their cries for help were all in vain. For the Man in the Moon simply gazed down on them unblinkingly, and said not a word.

Silver-gold eyes scrutinized the land, the black lips beneath them twisted in a savage smirk. Today was the day, when fear would consume the world.

The irony of this situation was not lost on the Nightmare King. To think that his worst enemy, Tsar Lunar himself, would suddenly give him a fear-poisoned world on a silver platter? The very idea was laughable.

But the Boogeyman was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Especially where an unending supply of fear was concerned.

He glanced back at his new army of Nightmares, grinning as the terrifying beasts pawed at the ground eagerly. It had been ridiculously easy to reform his army, what with the sheer amount of terror present throughout the planet and restoring his power. Now, both he and his forces were ready to overtake the world, and shroud it in darkness for good.

With a silent command from their master, the Nightmares swooped down on the land, swarming like bees around a flowerbed.

And as he watched them, Pitch Black smiled.

The dream was over, it was time for fear to rule the world.

A/N: Because who doesn't love some dark!Manny with a splash of dark!Jack thrown in.

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