Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, nor the Guardians of Childhood books.
Nightmare
by Sirenfox
Chapter I
Nightlight - the very first Guardian, Guard of the Man in the Moon, and Protector of Katherine and her Library - was retired.
He loved his current calling, but he missed his old friends dearly.
Katherine would often find him sitting in a window staring wistfully into the night, the moonbeam in his diamond dagger a gentle comforting glow in his otherwise dark room.
Katherine smiled fondly at the boy when she found him, crossing the room to sit by his side, her heart fluttered like the wings of a butterfly under his welcoming smile. "I know how much you miss them. I do too. I can't leave the Library, you know that. But you can."
Nightlight's expression shifted from warm to hard in an instant. Katherine knew exactly what he was thinking, years of friendship having gifted her with that insight, she reached out and rested a small hand on his knee, "It's alright. Nothing bad will happen if you take a small vacation. I'll be fine by myself, and I've got Kailash to keep me company." She told him gently, "Besides, there's that new Guardian now, aren't you a bit curious about him? I know I am."
The eternal youth perked up at the reminder. Yes. He was very curious about this 'Jack Frost'. He had heard a lot about the boy, and none of it was flattering, so how had someone like that become a Guardian? It was baffling.
Katherine beamed, "See, you go visit our friends, then come back and tell me everything."
Nightlight shot the woman a knowing look, to which she just shrugged. Could she help it if she was always looking for new stories? Jack's tale sounded extremely interesting.
Nightlight's smile turned soft and he caught her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he leaned in and bestowed a chaste kiss upon her lips.
Her smile grew and a blush stole over her cheeks at the show of affection, watching as he pushed the window open and darted out into the night. She stood there as his silhouette slowly faded into the night until not even the glow of his dagger could be seen.
Once he was gone she carefully closed the window and went to find Mr. Qwerty to finished the book they were currently working on, hoping she could stave off the loneliness clinging to her heart with her dearest friend away.
***rotg***
Nightlight was not afflicted with the harsh worry or unnatural fear most adults have over what he considered to be silly things. He had no sense of foreboding for a moonless night, and no fear of the dark and what might be lurking in the shadows.
He zipped through the night towards North's workshop with no worries, slowing only when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't see anything in the darkness and he blinked in confusion, glancing upwards.
His confusion turned to alarm as he took in the empty space where his oldest friend, Mim, usually resided. His eyes snapped back at the now shifting shadows, his eyes hardened into shards of diamonds and he took a defensive stance, his dagger-tipped staff held forwards, but the little moonbeam could do nothing to illuminate the teeming darkness.
Something glinted, sharp and stark white against the shadows, spreading into a cruel jagged smile that floated in the black impenetrable abyss.
Nightlight's heart stopped, before skipping back to life and beating a stuttering race in his chest as more dangerous grins took shape, fangs gleamed wetly in the dim light from the single, trapped moonbeam.
The young man stood perfectly still, staring, stunned at the hoard of hungry creatures slowly prowling towards him.
One of the formless shapes lunged at him and Nightlight stumbled back, turning and fleeing with nary a thought. A wailing howl rent the air behind him, sending chills down his spine, urging him to move faster.
The sound cut off abruptly, but Nightlight didn't dare look. He knew, instinctively, that the creatures were in pursuit. He could feel them following him; see their malicious grins gleaming in the shadows all around him.
Fear slowly began to seep into him, such a foreign feeling, one he hadn't felt in decades upon centuries. Not since his departure from the Guardians. It crawled along his veins, digging sharp claws into his heart and scorching his bones.
Bright eyes darted from one demented smile to the next, trying desperately to get ahead of them. Just a little more. He could feel the chill in the air, although the crunch of snow under his feet was swallowed up by the shadows when he wasn't outright flying.
He was almost there.
But blackness swam faster, surrounding him and devouring the snow encased earth below him, leaving only a gaping black hole where the ground should be.
But Nightlight didn't give up, he raced against the ever-growing shadows, desperate to reach safety - to reach North. Before he could break free, though, something solid materialized from the darkness and Nightlight slammed right into it, falling to the cold hard ground he couldn't see.
His weapon slipped from his grasp and clattered to the ground a short distance away, the glow from the moonbeam trembled delicately. Nightlight scrambled after it as the writhing darkness circled ever closer, glowing yellow eyes joining the razor-sharp grins.
The young man's fingers brushed his staff only to freeze when a dark booted foot stepped into his view, followed by a swath of black fabric.
A bone white hand with long spindly fingers reminiscent of spiders legs reached down and plucked Nightlight's staff from the ground. A low, chilling chuckle crooned in his ear causing him to flinch.
"And where do you think you are going? Surely you weren't headed to the North Pole. You left them, remember? Why would they ever want to see you again? Your not a Guardian, Nightlight. Not anymore." Nightlights heart clenched at the words, watching helplessly as Pitch pointed his own dagger back in his face, "They don't need you, in fact, I do believe they've replaced you." Pitch purred, amusement and glee prominent in his tone.
Nightlight felt as if Pitch had plunged that dagger into his heart and he gasped at the pain.
It wasn't true.
It wasn't.
But Pitch was far from through with him. He grinned that familiar sharp smile that was immediately mirrored by the shadowy beings boxing him in, "But fear not, little Nightlight. The Guardians might not need you, but there is something you can do to help me."
Nightlight snarled, surging forwards, intent on making Pitch stop talking but something grabbed him from behind and yanked him back down locking him in place. Thick black tendrils leeched out from the ground and latched themselves around his wrists, neck and waist. He struggled, tugging and straining against the bonds to no avail, only causing them to tighten painfully.
He blinked and Pitch's face loomed over him, so close could feel the man's cold, dead breath gust over his face.
"No one will even realize you are gone. And as a last parting gift, you have given me the means to rid myself of the Guardians. Or, one of them at least." As he said this he drew himself back to his full height and traced the diamond edge of Nightlight's dagger, the little moonbeam inside trembled at the touch as if disgusted or afraid.
Then in a move so fast Nightlight only saw a blur of light, Pitch lunged towards him with the spear. Nightlight had no way to escape and no time to brace himself.
"Light's out." He heard Pitch purr before his world exploded in light.
Okay, so anyone who's ever read my work will probably know this isn't my usual genre, but I thought with Halloween on the rise I had to do something. So this is my attempt at a creepy-pasta...or at least a mildly creepy Halloween story. We'll see how it goes.
This story will be roughly 13 chapters. Please feel free to review, I love to hear all your thoughts and feelings and I would adore your input and guesses as to what's going to happen next.
I'd also like to thank my lovely beta, FandomAffairs, please if you have a minute, go check her out.