It was hours before I could face the Guardians again. Pacing around North's creative office, I fought to control myself. The emotions I had bottled for so long surged through me, and my mind cycled through anger, sorrow, and despair helplessly. After watching North's creations sluggishly float about the air for a while, it seemed as if the worst of my breakdown was over. I took a deep breath and regained my composure, or what little was left, and steeled myself for the upcoming encounter. I rejoined the Guardians, whose concerned faces almost sent me to tears once again.
"Dawn, are you okay?" Jack asked, his silvery white hair flashing as he leapt down from his perch to greet me. I sniffed and nodded my head gently, giving a weak smile.
"You don't seem so great," Bunny noted.
It's okay, Dawn, Sandy signed as he tugged on my hand, we're all here for you. You can talk to us. Aware that my words would be controversial, I decided to say what was on my mind regardless, encouraged by Sandy's reassurance.
"It's been so long since I've seen him. I miss him. Not...not this evil side, not this sickness that has taken over his mind. I miss the old Pitch, when he was gentle, and considerate...when we could laugh and sing and bathe in the warmth of joy from the children we cared about so much. When he called my name...did you hear his voice? He's still in there...the Pitch I once knew is still locked away inside."
A stillness fell across the room. It was Bunny who ended up breaking the silence.
"After everything he's done, we can't just take ya word for it, mate," he said with a heavy sigh, approaching me with a grim look on his face.
"I never expected you to," I conceded. "You were created after Pitch was overtaken. You've only ever known him as evil and cruel, vicious and hateful." I looked at them, all with varying degrees of concern on their faces. I needed them to trust me, to trust that Pitch was not always evil. It was growing increasingly difficult to convince even myself of that, though. "Pitch and I have been alive for thousands upon thousands of years; however, we have not always been the sunrise and sunset. Before the first children were born, the Moon controlled night and day. But when the first child opened its eyes and looked up at his gentle glow, face filled with wonder and curiosity and joy, the Moon knew he had to look after them, to defend the beauty within their wishes and dreams.
"The Moon watched over the young children as they grew, protecting them as best he could. But one day, a group of his little ones became lost and were attacked by wolves. He was helpless to defend them, and watched in horror as they struggled to escape the predators. The two oldest children in the group led the younger ones to safety, fending off the wolves with splintering spears. They never gave up on protecting the others, and it was not until the last of the children had reached safety that they gave in to their grievous injuries. Both had given their lives to protect the little ones around them, and the Moon knew it was those two selfless children who were to become the first protectors of all children across the world. Dawn Eventide and Pitch Black. That is how we were created. I know not of my life before the event that led to my creation, but I know of this story, told to me by the Moon himself. Pitch and I were born of bravery and selflessness, and he never lost that quality even as the spirit of the night. This sickness that has overtaken his mind is not him. And I will do everything in my power to drive it away. To banish it and bring my true Pitch back to life."
My voice had grown more powerful as the story continued, and the Guardians looked to each other tentatively. Despite the fact that North and Sandy were my closest friends, neither of them had heard the story of my creation. It had not mattered until now.
"But what can we do? How can you drive such a sickness out of him?" Tooth asked, flitting about in confusion.
"That is where I have become so hopelessly lost. I have tried everything in my power to bring him back, but the sickness continually kept me at bay. Too many times it has threatened to invade my mind as well. I'm beginning to lose hope. I'm scared I've lost him forever."
"No! Do not give up. There is way somewhere. We just have to find it. We want sickness gone as much as you," North said, rising from his seat. Sandy nodded beside him, giving me a smile. North and Sandy were always on my side, and I knew that even if they doubted me, they would support me.
"I don't know mate. He still seems pretty evil to me." Bunnymund admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"And how do we know he'll ever be able to go back to being good?" Jack added.
I hung my head solemnly. "I didn't expect you to believe me immediately. And I do not blame you for still being hesitant. But Pitch will continue to come back, will continue to threaten you until the disease inside him is cured."
As if to prove my point, nightmare sand began to billow out from between cracks in the floor, through the windows, and poured down upon us from the ceiling. The Guardians immediately assumed attack mode, the unmistakeable shiiing of North's swords ringing in my ears. I pulled my bow from my back, drawing an arrow from the quiver. I readied myself to dissipate any nightmares that crossed my path.
There was faint laughter, and my sensitive ears quickly picked up the feminine tone underneath. Feminine? I stilled, watching for nightmares that scurried up the walls and flew above our heads. Bats. Spiders. Prowling cats. Why did the atmosphere feel so different?
In the back of my consciousness, I knew this was not Pitch. The assailant was silent, attacking without warning and in full force. The Guardians relentlessly battled the onslaught of nightmares, many of which were not recognizable as Pitch's. There was not a single Nightmare. No horses. These followed no commands. The scene was one of utter chaos.
What is happening?
A low growl emanated around the room, and the Guardians looked towards each other with apprehension in their eyes. Suddenly the roof collapsed in, and through the swirling mist of dust and debris we could see a great black dragon. The beast landed upon the globe, its long tail curling around and smothering the golden lights of the children.
"A dragon?!" I heard Jack cry through my disbelief.
Bunnymund and Tooth were quick to strike, but their attacks simply bounced off the hardened scales of nightmare sand. The dragon glared at us with deep red eyes, letting out a deafening roar. This was not one of Pitch's creations. No, this beast was too powerful, too unique, too large for Pitch's diminished powers to conceive. The creature opened its maw and I saw an ominous glow emanate from the back of its throat.
"JACK!" I cried, before the dragon released a stream of bright orange flames that seared the wood around us. Jack quickly shot a beam of ice toward the dragon's maw, but the blaze quickly overtook him. He jumped back as the fire scorched the floor beneath him. Fire.
Sandy raised a whip and struck the dragon on the nose, causing it to abruptly stop its onslaught of flames. A ripple of golden sand worked its way outwards from the contact, but the dragon neither dissipated nor transformed. It grew even more enraged, and swept its tail across the room, catching Sandy and North and slamming them back across the far wall. Fury boiled in my blood, and I quickly flew up to eye level with the beast, taken aback by the unfamiliarity. Pitch was not present behind its eyes.
It lifted a claw and swiped at me, clipping my wing and smashing through a pillar, causing splinters and heavy beams of wood to rain down upon the Guardians. Channeling all my anger and emotion into my bow, I nocked an arrow and aimed straight for the top of its neck, knowing my arrows could not pierce its heavy scales. The creature let out another roar, and I released the arrow, which sailed deep into its open throat.
The dragon recoiled, its tail writhing and head whipping about in pain. The other nightmares nearby dissipated or fled the scene, as the dragon cried with ear-shattering magnitude. I noticed the slow progression of shimmering blue working its way outward from the origin of my arrow, turning the aggressive beast into nothing more than a pleasant dream.
As the nightmare was finally overtaken by the dream, it gave one final cry and shattered, spreading golden-blue dreamsand about the room. I held out my hand as the glimmering sand settled in my palm and into my hair, my mind trying to decipher the most recent events. I looked about the chamber, discouraged by the heavy damage and concerned by the loss of lights upon the cracked globe. From the bottom of my heart, I knew the attack was not Pitch's doing. No, a new threat was on the horizon. One more powerful than even Pitch himself.