A Nightmare Rides My Bus!
By: The Talking Absol
Prelude: The History of the Nightmares
A very long time ago, there was a tremendous war in the Cartoon Worlds that, while it only killed a handful of Cartoons, ended up in having a planet thrown out of the solar system. A planet that had been close in its proximity and population style began showing signs of going down the same road, but in a slightly different way- little kids were drinking, people were fighting each other, and basically behaving in a way that the One Above Fate did not like or appreciate. Instead of letting the One's wrath take the planet, Fate's Creature offered a different approach- vigilantes, only with a good head upon their shoulders.
This "Nightmare system" went like this: An innocent soul was taken in, most of them dead because of being falsely accused of a crime, and asked to become a Nightmare. If they said yes (which they did a lot of the time), then they trained vigorously for one year before being given their first Haunt. In that year of training, they improved their fighting skills, and worked upon their own special abilities, such as telekinesis or predicting fears and using them against their Haunts. Every Nightmare had an individual power that they could use and perfect, but there were also some common elements, such as teleportation, heightened senses, Nightmare Mode, and True Form.
FC found a soul that was innocent and gave it life again, training him and teaching him the things he would need. FC made this soul into something more than what it had been…something most people could only dream up in their worst nightmares. This Nightmare became known as the Boogeyman, a being that scared people into doing good and right. However begrudgingly he admitted it, he was a black knight for Good.
The Boogeyman was given commissions, or people that Fate knew had done wrong or were going to become even worse as time went on. Unquestioningly, the Boogeyman went out and used people's worst fears against them, teaching them lessons about good and bad. This trick worked for many years, and slowly the population began to get under control.
As the years passed, and FC employed more souls, including the infamous Bloody Mary, the White Lady, and even the Headless Horseman. During that time, they fought to gain control on the ever-lasting rise of true evil in their world. Finally, sometime in the 1800's, things began to calm down. And then, tragedy struck.
A person, only known to the outside world as Jack the Ripper, was killing innocent women in the streets of London. Upset by this, FC was stuck on what to do with him until he stumbled across a thought that would revolutionize the Nightmare system forever.
He sent his Nightmares to kill Jack the Ripper.
Since they were innocent before they died, none of the Nightmares had the heart (though they were enraged by this man's actions) to actually kill him. They feared for their own untainted souls, though FC reassured them that they would be fine, as Jack's death had been decreed by Fate. Finally, they worked up the courage together and killed Jack with his own tricks.
So was the First Kill. As the actions of the people the Nightmares didn't haunt grew worse, Fate found it necessary to deploy more Nightmares to kill people. None of them enjoyed it, but they knew it was for the better.
And that's when another light shone through. One day, the Boogeyman returned to the Nightmare Society, the home and training area of all Nightmares, beaten and bruised, claiming one of the girls he'd tried to kill had been innocent and turned upon him, and beaten him. When FC went to see who she was, he was surprised to find that she had changed herself for the better because of the scare. And thus began the idea of the Last Girl Standings, or Survivor Girls. Though their meaning and purpose has changed since that point, they were still necessary in order to spread rumors of the Nightmares and keep people at a respectable level of Good.
However, not all Survivor girls learned, and they grew hurt and vengeful upon the Nightmares that had killed their friends or relatives. Many times, the Nightmares would encounter Survivor Girls more than once and face them again, only to lose because they were still innocent. Sometimes, the Survivor Girls only added insult to injury because they were the Nightmare's relatives.
Many years passed, ones which included the employment of more Nightmares, their population swelling to fifty, while the crime and bad rate stood at a standstill that the Nightmares could handle. Every year the Nightmares got a group (most commonly teens) to hunt and kill in their own fashion, and Survivor girls swelled, though a good chunk of them went insane. And then, another tragedy hit the Nightmare World.
The planet that had been banned long ago came back via several "students", and began to invade the Cartoon Worlds. After only ¾ of a year, they finally hit the Nightmare World, leaving behind a trial of dead worlds and Cartoons. They invaded slowly, crawling up from the roots of humanity itself. The Nightmares, desperate to protect their home, fought and killed in near free-range, FC leading them on in their makeshift army. Finally, FC took to his True Form and, with a flap of his mighty wings, blew the invaders back to their home planet.
However, a bad seed brought partially upon by the war took root in the Nightmare's home, growing in its own anger and vengeful thoughts. While the Nightmares relaxed and went back to their usual business, the thoughts took the form of a plan; a plan that would bring down the very pedestal they stood upon.
Gathering the vengeful Survivor Girls, the people the Nightmare's had haunted but hadn't learned, and relatives of the people the Nightmares had killed, he started an underground agency to fight the Nightmares, "seeing through" their guise of righteousness. Thus began the Nightmare Hunters.
Knowing that they were very powerful and had the potential to do devastating amounts of damage, FC called his Nightmares together and then separated them into groups, playing upon each other's weaknesses and strengths to make strategic teams to combat the Nightmare Hunters. They were then separated into various spots across the world to try and hide from the nightmare Hunters until FC "could take care of the problem." The Nightmares, as typical of their style and attitude today, did not like the idea but knew it was probably for the best. And so, saying their goodbyes to each other, they teleported off and made themselves comfortable in their new homes.
FC sent a certain group to a specific area without them knowing, foreseeing that something would take place and be the first in a series of events that would change the Cartoon Worlds forever. One person would arise and help the Nightmares remember their true purpose, and would help them save the Cartoon Worlds from a threat that made the Nightmare Hunters look like little toys. An enemy from the very depths of Evil itself was arising, stirring in his own darkness. He didn't want revenge; only power. And the only figures standing in his way…were the Nightmares.
Enter, and behold the story of the Nightmares.
Pay attention unto this-
a riddle for your tender ears.
Where does good and evil come from?
Is it acquired over many years?
Can a child have a black heart?
Can you tell when you see its face?
Is a newborn always pure,
or can it begin from a darker place?
Little Demons…
Remember, their world was our planet's sister. Not exactly the same, but similar.
It would help if you went over to my dA account (same username) and read the Theory of Logic and Magic, but for those of you unable-
The "banished" planet was us; our planet, Earth 1. Logic is what happens when you question Magic; try to explain it, which kills Magic. Which is why Magic doesn't exist on our planet. Ummm. And then, after a long, long time, Logic came back to their worlds and tried to take them over, but failed (not completely, but that's for later) because the Nightmares and FC were able to stop it.
Well, jeez, it was certainly DUE for a remake. .
The Nightmare theory/Logic and Magic theory belong to me! The Boogeyman and all of the characters I'm borrowing do not. Other than Fate's Creature and the guy I mentioned at the end.
If you have questions, feel free to ask! I don't bite.