As they walked down the halls, Sage explained to Lea on how the house got its haunted reputation and how they had all come to be there.
"Wow. You and your family sure know how to keep high alert when protecting yourselves and your home," Lea replied, very impressed. "I can actually relate to that."
"Well, when you have both native and non-native people attacking, being on guard is a must," Sage said, as they entered the pool area.
"That's understandable," Lea agreed already walking on the edge.
Just then, Lea saw something that brought her attention. She noticed the exact same black bird she witnessed in the streets of New York around morning that was now outside a window near the pool, sitting on a branch. Lea was able to see the bird with glowing golden eyes looking straight at her. Besides its cold gaze, Lea noticed the bird's odd coat shining in black velvet colored. Instead of feathers, it was covered with what looked like…sand. Thin line trails of it were flowing parts of the bird's entire body.
This nearly reminded her of the Guardian of Dream's sand work. Only his was bright gold and pleasant than that creature. Whatever that bird was, it gave Lea a little chill up her spine.
Sage followed her gaze and gave a growl, before barking loudly and sending the bird flying.
"That wasn't a normal raven," Sage growled.
"No...And what's freakier is that I saw that thing earlier this morning before I got to the bookstore back home," Lea replied, looking at Sage. "You don't think it somehow followed me, do you?"
Sage's hackles raised. "Maybe, but best we can do is get the house defenses up. Come on, I'll show you to the lab."
Lea hurried while keeping her eyes outside for any sign of that weird bird again. "I'll get my hockey stick and Nightlight on the way."
Sage nodded but stopped, looking out the window. "I'm going to call the kids in."
"You mean they're outside with who knows what's out there?!" Lea questioned after stopping with Sage, seriously growing concerned. "Go, then! If something happens, I'll be sure to hurry and help," she directed, before leaving opposite to where Sage was heading.
Sage stepped out onto the front porch and gave a loud howl. The kids turned from where they were playing and raced inside.
Meanwhile, Lea hurried to find her childhood companion.
"Nightlight!? Where are you, buddy?! We got a situation!" Lea exclaimed, seeing her backpack and hockey stick in the living room but no Nightlight.
Suddenly, Lea heard some growling behind her.
"Sage? Is that you or your uncles?" Lea called out, slowly looking behind her.
Abruptly, a dark shadow stepped into her vision. It was a wolf of dark desire!
Stepping back, Lea saw that it had gold eyes and sand-like skin exactly similar to the bird. Realizing this was not Sage nor one of his family members, she slowly moved towards her bag while not leaving her eyes off the wolf.
When the Nightmare Wolf growled and tried to pounce on her, Lea quickly ducked and slide towards her backpack to snatch out her hockey stick and hockey pucks.
She saw the wolf turning around, swiftly lunging towards the blonde teen again. Holding a tight grip, Lea stood up, tossed one puck in the air, and smacked it with her stick that made a direct hit on the shadow.
The black creature dispersed into a black substance, causing Lea to get closer to study it.
"What kind of creature was that? And where are these creepy sand things coming from?" Lea questioned herself in confusement while crouching down. She wasn't sure on whether to touch it or not.
Soon, another snarl came to her ear, as another sand wolf stalked her from behind.
"LEA, DOWN!" Sage shouted, as leapt at the same time the sand wolf did and smashed into it with full force.
Hearing her friend's voice, Lea immediately ducked herself into the ground.
Sage snarled as he and the other wolf tussled. Eventually, Sage leapt back and released a massive howl that brought the wind to his aid, smashing the sand wolf away to a wall.
"Lea, you alright?" Sage asked, panting.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay," Lea assured, slowly getting up. "What about you? Are the kids safe?"
Sage nodded, nudging into her hands. "We got them into the safe room. Some of the adults are with them," he said, shaking the sand from his fur.
"Any chance you saw Nightlight in there with the kids to calm them down for comfort?" Lea questioned in slight worry.
Sage shook his head. "No. The kids all had their relaxing items, but I didn't see Nightlight."
"Oh, boy," Lea muttered. "Nightlight would never leave his position unless something was wrong. I can't leave without him."
"Okay, let's not panic. He might have gone looking for you. Let's just go and–".
Just then, Sage was interrupted when maniacal laughter echoed all over the room.
"The cute little girl missing her toy. Is she worried that she'll have...nightmares?" a sinister voice hissed.
Lea stood still, not liking the sound of that.
"Sage...Please tell me you heard that," Lea replied, keeping a firm grip on her hockey stick.
Sage growled, as he circled protectively around Lea.
"One little girl all alone. No magic of friendship, hope, love, fun, or wonder to protect her," the voice continued, making fun of Lea being helpless.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Lea demanded, keeping her hockey stick close in a defense stance. "What have you done with Nightlight!?"
"Nightlight? Oh, do you mean this?" Abruptly, out of the shadows, a hand appeared with Nightlight clutched tight within its grasp.
The little toy was struggling to get out of this evil creature's grasp with no success.
"Nightlight!" Lea gasped, her eyes turning from alarmed to angry. "Let him go!"
"Oh, I don't think so..." the hand disappeared with Nightlight.
Sage snarled, releasing a large howl that sent wind into a massive tornado.
"Oh, huff and puff all you like. It won't work on me," the voice remarked, as that tornado slowly diminished.
"Who are you!? Why are you doing this?! Quit hiding like a coward and show your cruel face already!" Lea demanded, having enough of this and just wants her sweet Nightlight back.
She didn't matter who or what she was up against. Lea hated bullies like this creep trying to torment her and the Grant Mansion family.
Sage growled before a thought came to him, making his eyes narrow.
"You think we're afraid of you, Pitch Black? Or should I say, Boogie Man!" Sage snarled.
Suddenly, a mound of sand appeared from the middle of the room, morphing into a tall spider-like man.
Pitch Black appeared tall, lithe, and dark. He had silver-golden yellow eyes, dull pale-gray skin, and glossy black hair styled to come out as slick, sharp spikes from the back of his head. He wore a long, black robe with a v-neck line and shadows running down his arms, obscuring his body-like a shadow. The bottom half appeared to be just more black sand in the form of a spider's body to support his scary demeanor.
In his right hand, he had Nightlight in his grasp. The toy was still struggling with his feet moving around, trying to kick The Nightmare King.
"Well done. You got my name right," Pitch Black chuckled darkly.
"You're Pitch Black!?" Lea questioned, personally surprised in meeting the Boogie Man right now. "But how?! The Guardians defeated you from spreading fear all over the world!"
"Well, they'll always be fear. Always be shadow. Always be darkness," Pitch Black said, as he began to circle Lea and Sage.
"What are you even doing here? This isn't even your dimensional world," Lea pointed out, not leaving her glaring gaze at the creepy shadow-like spider being.
Sage growled. "You certainly aren't welcomed in this house."
"How impolite. I was just visiting," Pitch Black said, still circling while lifting up Nightlight. "I also found a remarkable little toy."
"Nightlight doesn't belong to you! He belongs to me!" Lea remarked. "Give him back right now or else!"
"Awww, is the little girl throwing a tantrum? Poor baby," Pitch Black sneered, mocking the blonde teen.
Sage stood still, watching Pitch carefully. Not yet. Not yet, Sage thought to himself.
"Why are you even doing this? How could you be such a bully? Acting all tough yet actually just a coward?" Lea replied, seriously getting annoyed.
"Oh, I'm no coward. I just know how to have fun," Pitch Black said with a smirk as he soon stopped back where he started and faced his two opponents.
Sage lowered himself a little more slowly, as he readied for the right moment.
"Scaring people and threatening them with what they care about is considered fun to you!? That's just low," Lea glared, tightening her grab on the hockey stick. "The only one who knows the definition and true meaning of fun is Jack Frost."
"Jack Frost? The little nobody who couldn't even remember who he was? Ha! Yes, what an amazing Guardian he is. Tempted by his own past and giving up a chance to defeat me," Pitch said, remembering very well of his encounter with the Winter Spirit.
"Because you tried to trick and manipulate him! At least he made the right choice in not joining you," Lea remarked.
That struck a nerve on the Boogie Man. It was one reminder that he did not like to hear from anyone. Pitch tried to convince Jack Frost in being his ally so they could spread fear together and make kids believe in them. But Jack refused, for having kids fear him was something he didn't want.
"You, little girl, need to learn some manners," Pitch growled with a glare, stalking forward and getting into Lea's face to reveal his silver-golden yellow eyes resembling an eclipse.
NOW! Sage snarled, lunging at Pitch's right hand to rescue Nightlight, only to come up empty when Pitch jumped back.
Following her wolf friend's lead, Lea went for the same hand by grabbing and tossing another hockey puck up before hitting it with her stick towards that spooky hand.
When that happened, Nightlight was freed from Pitch's hard grip. He slid down the evil spider-like sand creature and hurried by Lea's side.
"Nightlight!" Lea exclaimed happily, going down and picking him up lovingly with a hug. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay. Did he hurt you?"
Nightlight shook his head, grinning and hugging back.
From that moment, Lea's crystal bracelet and Nightlight glowed brightly than ever. It was so strong, that it caused Pitch to hiss in pain. The light from those two seemed to slowly make his sand smoke and disintegrate. Similar to a vampire being exposed to light...Or, in Sage's opinion, his Vladat father or an evil Ectonurite having that same reaction with sunlight.
Sage snarled. "Go back to your shadows and loneliness, Pitch. You are not welcomed here."
Pitch stared at the three, for a moment, before smiling. "As you wish," The Nightmare King said, before disappearing back into the shadows without a single trace.
Once he disappeared, so did Lea and Nightlight's glowing ability.
"Sage, are you okay?" Lea asked in concern.
Sage growled, as his body shook angrily. "No...no, I'm not."
"Because of Pitch? I'm really sorry, Sage," Lea apologized, walking over towards her upset wolf friend. "This is all my fault."
Sage growled. "Don't do that...Don't blame yourself for this when it's not your fault."
"But it is. I was the one who led the Boogie Man here and invade your home. If I didn't find that stupid snow globe, your family would have been safe right now," Lea admitted sadly, seriously feeling guilty.
Sage sighed, before pouncing on Lea and forcing her to the ground where he took her hockey stick and threw it out of reach.
"No, it isn't. Evil always tries to take away the light. Don't give Pitch that satisfaction. Say you won't or I won't get off you," Sage said, sternly.
Sighing, Lea nodded her head. "Okay, I won't."
"Swear it," Sage said, barking.
"I swear I won't let Pitch get the best of me!" Lea promised, nearly shouting in irritation.
Sage nodded. "Good. Now, let's go check on my family," he said, getting off.
"Right behind you," Lea called out, already getting her things and placing Nightlight on her left shoulder.
Although she promised, Lea still couldn't help but feel responsible for bringing Pitch Black to an innocent home full of aliens and humans just to torment them with fear in becoming stronger.
Nightlight noticed and gave a comforting pat on the back of her neck, telling her not to think like that.
"I know, Nightlight. I'm aware of my promise. But my heart still aches in pain of that horrible monster trying to hurt this family because of me," Lea explained, letting out a sad sigh while walking. "As soon as we check on everyone, we'll find Alien X and leave...Probably forever."
Unbeknownst to her, Sage had heard everything.
Looks like someone needs the Grant Mansion special, Sage thought to himself.
Lea eventually caught up to Sage, trying give her best smile. "Sorry for the long wait. Had to double check I had everything. I'm ready now,"
Sage smiled, as he led the way down into the To'Kustar part of the Mansion.
"Um, Sage? Where are we going?" Lea asked, scanning around the place.
Sage stopped, looking back at Lea. "The safe room is one of my Uncles' bedrooms underneath the Mansion. It's the safest place and largest place," He said, moving to a nearby desk and pushing the button on the wall.
"Remind me again, how many uncles do you have? Also, which one has such a big room?" Lea questioned.
Sage stepped back, as the office chair moved back, revealing a slide in the floor.
"Well, let me put it this way. We have a massive wedding coming up and have over sixty couples getting wedded on the same day," Sage said, as he moved to the slide's entrance.
"Over sixty-couples?! Wow. That is a lot," Lea replied, seriously amazed. "Well, then again, it is supposed to be a huge family."
"Yeah. Anyway, the safe room is down here. Come on," Sage said, sitting down.
Lea nodded her head before looking at Nightlight. "Better hold on tight. This could be a fast and bumpy ride," she advised her childhood companion.
Nightlight, understanding Lea's concern, jumped inside her backpack and was sticking half of his lower body inside so he can watch while being secured.
Sage pushed off, disappearing down the dark slide.
"Ready?" Lea asked Nightlight, whom nodded his head. "Okay. Here we go!"
In less than a second, Lea sat down and pushed her weight forward to go down the slide.
"WOOHOOOOO!" Lea screamed and laughed, seriously having some fun.
Sage landed lightly on his feet on the padded bed before moving out of the way, as Lea came tumbling down and landing a heavily on the soft quilt.
"You good?" Sage asked.
"I'm okay," Lea assured, getting herself up to find that this wasn't solid ground. "Uh, Sage? What is this?"
"Well, this is my uncle's bed," Sage said calmly.
"Bed?!" Lea gasped when looking at her surroundings better. She was on top of a bed. A GIGANTIC bed! "You mean...your uncle is a...a giant?!"
"Sage? Is that you?" a deep voice called.
Sage wagged his tail. "Yeah, Way Big! It's me and a friend! The house is secure!"
"Yeah, Sage and I took care of the problem. It's safe now," Lea called out, looking around for the giant alien called Way Big. She even signaled Nightlight to go back inside the bag, just in case. Although reluctant, the little toy did just that and closed the zipper on top of him.
Soon, heavy walking shook the room as a tall, white and red alien with a red head crest walked in, looking immensely relieved.
In Lea's point of view, Way Big was a white colossal humanoid creature with a large fin on his head that was red in the front and black on the back. He had green eyes along with metallic one eyes on his cheeks, three red lines on his black neck, red blade-like growths on his shoulders and spikes on his waist. He even had white arms with red fins coming out of them along with two black stripes on each arm, four fingers on each of his fingerless gloved hands, and boot-like feet that were red and white with black soles.
"What attacked?" Way Big asked, going down on one knee to see them better.
"Pitch Black," Sage growled.
Lea would be able to say something on Sage's account, if she wasn't completely stunned on Way Big's appearance. Her eyes were nearly wide as her gaped shocked mouth.
Way Big sighed. "Well, at least the danger passed. Everyone is having some soup and tea to calm down. The kids are having warm milk."
Sage nodded. "Good."
"Uhhh..." Lea managed to say, still shocked out of her mind. "Y-y-your Sage's uncle, Way Big?"
Way Big smiled. "Yes, and you must be Lea. Alien X has said a lot about you."
Lea finally shook out of her paralyzed state from that. "He has? Like what?" She questioned, not sure if it's good things about her or not.
"Just how beautiful, strong, and courageous you are," Way Big said, offering his hand to Sage, who shifted to human form and climbed on.
"Oh. That's...very flattering. Thanks," Lea sheepishly said, rubbing the back of her neck while climbing up Way Big's hand.
"Come and have something to eat. Your parents have been worried, Sage. And you certainly need to relax after what happened, Lea," Way Big said, already moving.
"Okay. But I'll probably not stay too long. I need to find Alien X and ask him to take me home," Lea replied gently.
Sage looked at Lea worriedly. "What about Pitch? He could go after you again."
"I can handle him. I know a few friends back home who could look after me and help defeat this Nightmare King, like last time," Lea assured, already getting off when Way Big stopped and lowered his hand down on the ground. "Besides, you and your family wouldn't be in this mess if I hadn't messed with that stupid snow globe and dropped here for Pitch to find you all."
Sage glared at the blonde teen. "Lea, you promised," he said in a warning tone.
"I know what I promised!" Lea nearly shouted, surprising Sage and Way Big, whom decided to let them sort this on their own and walked away. "But it doesn't change anything! Pitch already knows where you live, and he'll probably come back to hurt you and everyone in here! I don't deserve being in your hospitality any longer, after what happened! Just take me to Alien X and send me home already, okay!?"
"I'm afraid that will be slightly more difficult now, Lea," Alien X said, appearing into the room.
"What do you mean?" Lea asked, not liking the tone in his voice.
"The snow globe...it's gone." Alien X answered.
"What?!" the blonde teen exclaimed.
"Pitch must have snatched it while you were helping get everyone to safety," Sage supplied.
Alien X nodded. "I'm sorry, Lea. I truly am."
"It wasn't your fault, Alien X," Lea assured. "You were just trying to protect the family. I never should have been here for Pitch to invade your home,"
Sage growled again, becoming angry that Lea kept repeating what she promised not to believe.
"Look, I don't need the snow globe. You said it yourself that you're the most powerful alien in this family. You can just take me home right now and I'll be on my way to find the Guardians so I can warn them and get that snow globe back or something like that," Lea explained.
Sage discreetly moved away, heading for the stairs quickly and quietly. He decided that he would deal with Pitch.
"Yes, I can take you home," Alien X said. "However, are you sure that the globe won't be a problem for us?"
"...I'm not entirely sure. What I am sure is that I already made enough trouble here. The least I can do is try to fix it," Lea reasoned. "You all are such a good family. I can't risk putting anyone else in danger,"
Alien X nodded. "You should at least say goodbye."
Lea sighed. "Okay...I'll do that. Starting with-" she was cut short when seeing that her wolf friend was nowhere in sight. "Wait, where's Sage?!"
Alien X looked around before closing his eyes and concentrating. A moment later, they opened.
"He's heading towards darkness,"
Lea's eyes went wide, realizing what Alien X meant by that.
"Pitch Black," she deduced, fearing the worst. "No, no, no! Alien X, you have to take me to Sage! Please! He won't survive by himself with the Boogie Man!"
"Hold onto my hand," Alien X instructed, bringing out his left hand.
Not hesitating, Lea let out her right hand and held on to Alien X's. In less than second before she could react, Lea and Alien X vanished from where they were standing.
