Belief

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own this. I really wish I did, though.

Author's Notes: Welcome to the second part of Autophobia! Thank you, everyone, for reviewing, and I hope you'll stay with me until the end. I really have some big plans for this story, and man, I can't wait to get to the juicy bits of it.

Updates will be a little slow. I'm splitting time between this fanfic, and my super-duper long one in the ThunderCats world. I know, I am a nerd, but ah well. As long as I can write fanfics, I'll be happy.

Anyway, updates will also be slow in regards to: THIS IS MY LEST SEMESTER OF UNIVERSITY! I am so happy. I get to walk in May! I only have about two months left before I enroll myself in a 6-day course, get another certificate behind my name, and start pursuing my career.

With this in mind, and please know, I am an English major, my professors are dishing out 6 - 10 page research papers left and right. I have four - FOUR - alone due this week. I balance precious, precious time between doing my homework and my job.

Excuses outta the way, here's the next chapter.

Poor, poor Sophie.

Gather your courage, girl.

It's all up to you, now.


Autophobia

"Fear cuts deeper than a sword does."
-George R.R Martin


It was just too much for her to take in.

Sophie sat there and cried, sobbing her heart out. They were deep, gut-wrenching things, hardly a pretty cry at all. Already, she could feel her stomach and her throat aching from the pain, and in her chest, she swore she could feel her heart wrenching in two. Her fingers gripped tightly into her body, knuckles going white from the strain.

Why?

What did I do to deserve this?

Mom and Jamie were gone, taken by. . . By something. Fear pierced her heart as a hazy image of the Shadowman danced in her head. What if he had taken them? He would have hanged them already, and she could see them, struggling to breathe, to find air, hands clawing desperately, eyes wide as they searched for her, begging for her to save them-

Sophie sobbed harder, the pain refreshing itself.

Absently, she heard a small jingle, and a hand touched her shoulder gently. She peered up to see Nightlight standing over her, looking concerned. She stared up at him, hiccuping, thoughts and emotions buzzing in her head. His hand began to lightly massage the shoulder he was touching, just running it up and down over her arm, trying to comfort her.

What the Shadowman had done, however. . .

In her pocket, she could still feel the piece of rope that Nightlight had given her. It weighed like a heavy stone against her skin, reminding her that she had a way of warding them off. Mom and Jamie hadn't even known. . .

Inexplicably, rage boiled in her chest. Mom and Jamie were dead, and it was that monster's fault. She was going to kill him, to rip his shadowy body into a thousand pieces and extract her revenge. In a flash, Sophie found the strength to stand, and she did, almost knocking Nightlight down. The glowing boy peered at her curiously, concern rising, but Sophie ignored him. Instead, she strode out of the room, still crying, and jammed her hand into her back pocket, grabbing the rope.

Behind her, Sophie could hear Nightlight jingling, his way of crying out in fear, and his hand latched onto her arm. She shook him aside roughly, and continued on her way, fury setting her blood to a hot boil. Taking out the piece of rope, Sophie shoved the backdoor open and shouldered her way outside, ignoring Nightlight's frantic noises behind her.

She stepped out onto the street, and found the object of her search standing just a few tens of feet away, in the shade of a grove of trees. Sophie stood there, letting her anger build, seething. Her knuckles turned white as she held the rope in her hands, the thick, coarse material biting into her skin.

Let it. It's nothing compared to what Mom and Jamie felt.

She could still picture it, so vividly and clear, in her mind's eye. The way they struggled, the sound of their voices crying out in fear-

With a cry born of rage and sorrow, Sophie sprinted forward, clutching the rope tightly in her hands. The Shadowman drew one of his swords, the sound of blackened metal rasping in the air, but Sophie pressed forward. She had to. She needed to. She had to destroy this creature - for Mom. For Jamie.

The Shadowman reared back, holding his sword artistically in the air behind him, preparing to swing at her. When she got in range, he did, but Sophie somehow, impossibly, ducked under it. She didn't know any martial arts or self-defense techniques, but she had a piece of rope, and by god, she was going to use it. Sophie saw the second sword in his hand, prepping to impale her, but she opened her palm and smacked the Shadowman with it, pressing the rope against his chest.

Time stopped.

A dark blade sat inches from her stomach, threatening to pierce into her and end her life.

But the hand holding that blade began to shake, and with staggering steps, the Shadowman stepped away, swords dropping onto the ground. Sophie felt the rope elongating in her hand, darkened braids stretching it out and becoming a noose.

It was the Shadowman's greatest fear.

I'm going to hang you again. I swear I will!

Sophie lunged forward, fully intent on wrapping the noose around his shadowed head and hang him from a nearby tree. Before she could, however, he dropped to his knees, and let loose a terrible, nasty scream. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and made Sophie stagger, wincing at the sheer volume of it. A harsh gust of wind picked up, and in a climatic crescendo, he dissipated, falling to the ground in a pile of ash.

She heaved as she stared down at him, parts of the rope disintegrating in her hands. The Shadowman had lengthened it, his greatest fear playing in front of him, and now that he was gone, so too, was his power. Numbly, Sophie's hands dropped to her sides as she stared down at the piles of ashes, blowing away in the wind. Warmth slid down her cheeks, and with a start, she realized she was still crying. She hadn't stopped.

She'd failed. The Shadowman had escaped before she could kill him, and Mom and Jamie were still very much dead.

She just stood there and cried, didn't even hear when Nightlight's bells jingled next to her.

She jumped when he laid hands on her, fingers probing for injuries, but he found none. The battle - if one could call it that - had been short. Too short. Sophie kept crying as Nightlight wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her away. He guided her back across the street and into her house, where he sat her down on the couch.

Sophie let him push her down, and she simply laid there, letting the numb feeling overtake her body. She didn't want to feel anymore. She just wanted to stop living. What was the point in living if Mom and Jamie weren't there for her? Even though it was daylight outside, and only the afternoon, she felt a soft blanket drop on top of her, courtesy of Nightlight.

She glanced down, and blearily realized it was from her mother's bedroom. Without thinking, she buried her face in it, inhaling the scent of her. she closed her eyes as she wrapped herself up in it, not willing to separate from the last remainder of her mother. Nightlight's hand brushed over her forehead, as if urging her to sleep.

She wanted to open her mouth and beg for him not to leave her, to stay by her side, but she was just. . . too tired. Sophie closed her eyes, the sound of Nightlight's bells lulling her into a black, dreamless sleep.


She didn't dream like she normally did. There were no vibrant bursts of colors, or strange, humanoid faces begging her to draw and color them. No, there was only the darkness, and Sophie was okay with it.

She sat in it and she cried, enveloped wholly and completely by her grief.

She didn't want color. She didn't want to live in a world were Mom and Jamie weren't there to look at her with exasperated smiles on their faces and ask when she was going to grow up. She wanted to be with them. If they were dead, then she wanted to be dead, too. It wasn't fair to expect her to live on her own without a family to live beside her.

Yeah, she and Jamie might have fought, but he was still her brother, and blood was something you never turned your back on. Mom and told her that, for years and years.

"We're all we have," She'd said, running her fingers through a young Sophie's messy hair, "We take care of each other. No matter how far away we are, or if we're in trouble, you always have to help each other."

The memory made Sophie tense, and bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. She didn't want to remember her mother's tender, overworked hands, or the way she'd smelled - beautiful, and fragrant, like a flower. She didn't want to recall Jamie's slightly overprotective ways, or the times he'd driven her down to get an ice cream cone and walk her through the park.

She just wanted the numbness to be a part of her, for the darkness to completely engulf her.

A small piece of light, a little burst of color, drew her attention, and she looked up, tears running down her cheeks. In the air, she could see a tiny hummingbird, flitting to and fro in front of her, made entirely with splashes of color. The little bird zipped and dashed around in circles, and dove in close, brushing against her hands. Sophie buried her face in the haven of her arms again.

"Go 'way." She mumbled.

The humming bird made an angry little "dee dee dee" noise, and fluttered into place before her head, poking her.

Poke.

Poke poke.

Pokepokepokepoke-

"Enough!" Sophie exploded, jumping up, "Leave me alone! I want to be alone! I don't want anyone here!"

The hummingbird looked at her, flickering a delicate shade of melancholy blue, before slowly rising up to Sophie's eyes. If she looked hard enough, Sophie could swear that she could see a tiny face, and little, delicate hands. She blinked as the hummingbird drew closer, and instinctively, Sophie cupped her hands, providing a place for the small thing to rest on.

"Why can't you see that I want to be alone?" Sophie asked, brokenly, her voice cracking. "I'm sad."

The bird alighted on her skin, and making that strange little "dee dee dee" noise again, somehow pointed up.

Sophie looked, just to humor the thing, and noticed a muted ray of blue light. It was a beacon in the darkness, silently beckoning her to draw closer and enter it. She peered down at the hummingbird in her hand, who, yes, did have little hands, that tugged on her thumb, pulling her forward. It wanted her to go into the light.

Sophie peered at it, and the more she stared, the more entranced she was by it. It whispered to her, called her out of the darkness. The light promised her peace, told her it would ease her pain and suffering. Like a moth drawn to the flame, she began walking forward, the tiny hummingbird chirping happily in her hands. She she drew closer, the darkness began to ebb, overtaken with bright, luminescent splashes of color. The pain in her chest began to ease, and she breathed, happy to have the weight of her sorrow gone.

As she stepped into the light, it began to grow brighter and brighter, blinding her.

But Sophie wasn't afraid.

She opened her eyes, finding herself still laying on the couch, wrapped in her mother's blanket. The couch had been placed directly in front of a window, and through the glass panes, those beautiful, soothing rays of blue light splayed out over her. Sophie stood, shedding her mother's blanket. She had to go.

The light was calling her.

From the darkness, she heard Nightlight's jingling, and almost immediately, he was at her side. He smiled, and Sophie smiled back, but they had no time to waste. She began to walk, following the patches of the blue light. It was almost human, the way it touched her, as it would grace her skin, and a little more of her sadness would be wiped away by it.

Nightlight walked beside her as the light guided her outside, and into the forest.

She wasn't afraid. The light told her that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Where the light existed, the Shadowman could not. There was no way the darkness could harm her here. Nightlight kept up beside her, and together, the two of them made it deeper and deeper into the forest, the light guiding them through the trees and the trails. Idly, Sophie wondered if they were going back to Nightlight's cave, but the light continued pulling them, pulling them deeper into the forest.

Basked in the muted brightness, it shepherded them to. . . Burgess Pond?

It was a small place, just on the lip of town, crowded by trees, and out of sight. Only the neighborhood kids knew about it, as it was a popular place to swim in the summer, and a fun escape in the winter to skate on. Sophie hadn't been to it in ages, had been too busy. But the light pulled them to the shoreline, and above them, Sophie could see a beautiful, luminous full moon beaming down on them.

"Wow." She whispered.

Nightlight chuckled.

Surprise jolted through her, shaking off her trance-like state. "Nightlight! Y-You made a noise!"

"I did." He replied, amused smile on his face.

"And you spoke!"

"I did!"

His voice, Sophie reflected, was just like he was. Ethereal, and a strange combination between a boy and a man's. But it was pleasant to the ear, much like his bells, and she liked it. It suited him. Nightlight grinned at her, and touched her arm.

"I can speak when MIM is here. And he's here. To talk to you."

"Mimm?" She repeated, looking at him curiously. "Who's Mimm?"

The light moved, as if responding to her words, and tracked away from them, coming to rest on the water, where it gradually increased in strength.

"The Man in the Moon," Nightlight replied. "He's Earth's Guardian."

Sophie gasped as the light bounced off of Burgess Pond and began to project things into the air, filling the whole clearing with a wide myriad of images and colors. She was utterly lost to the beauty of it all, because everywhere she looked, she could see a new shape, a new color somebody had yet to discover - a thousand different things she'd swore she'd only seen in her dreams.

"This is incredible." She breathed, awestruck.

Nightlight nodded his head, proud smile pulling at his lips.

"MIM has grown so much since I've seen him last."

He craned his neck back, looking at the moon, and Sophie echoed the motion. A man on the moon?

"There's a man on the moon?" She repeated. It didn't make sense to her. None of it did.

Nightlight nodded again. "MIM is a special person. He protects Earth from Pitch."

"Pitch?"

Nightlight laughed, a tinkling sound that was both childish and manly at the same time. "I think it might be best if we start off at the beginning. It'll answer any questions you have. MIM?" Nightlight looked back up at the moon again, and the beams of light casting down from it changed.

From the pond, a strange, alien cross between a spaceship and a pirateship emerged. It zoomed in, and inside, Sophie could see a mother and a father, proudly looking down into a baby carriage. A happy, rotund little baby wiggled back and smiled at them.

"MIM was born to a dying world. So we set out to find a new one. He was a special little baby, Sophie. When he dreamed, he dreamed only good things. He did not have nightmares. King and Queen Aurelia made me to protect him, to make sure he had no bad dreams, but I was hardly needed."

The scene changed, showing Nightlight, glowing with an inner radiance of his own. He sang a song to the little baby, lulling the child to sleep. At her side, Nightlight smiled, but it was pained.

"What happened?" Sophie asked quietly, looking back at the beautiful projection.

"Pitch." Nightlight responded. "He sailed forth, hearing there was a child who had never had a nightmare. He was - is - the King of Nightmares, but humans know him better as the Boogeyman."

As he spoke, the projections showed a battle. Pitch stood on the bow of his ship, dressed in armor and a cape. Malicious yellow eyes stared at the innocent little baby that Nightlight held fearfully to his chest. In moments, the two projections had collided, and displayed a frantic rushing of Nightlight as he bundled the little baby into what looked like an escape pod.

"Queen Aurelia begged me to keep MIM safe. So, as Pitch battled the King and Queen, we fled. They lost, and Pitch chased us. During the fight, his ship was damaged, and he landed here, on Earth. MIM landed on the moon, and sent me down here, to keep Pitch contained. . . It didn't last."

Sophie watched as Pitch landed in something metallic and cold - a sphere of the world, it looked like, constructed entirely out of metal. Nightlight landed in front of it, and with a look of determination to his eye, leaned forward, dissipating. Within moments, he surrounded the metallic globe, each metal bar gleaming with a strong light as it kept the shadows inside at bay.

"You kept this. . . Pitch prisoner?" Sophie asked, looking at Nightlight.

"I did. For centuries." He replied.

Sophie was aghast. She could hardly imagine keeping someone - something - jailed for a day. A week. A month. But Nightlight had done it for hundreds of years. Sophie reached out and touched his arm, lightly, offering him just a little bit of comfort. It was the least she could do, for everything he'd done for her these past two days.

Nightlight smiled. "I still have to tell you the rest of the story."

"Okay."

He gestured to the projection, and as Sophie guessed, the light on the bars began to fade away. Eventually, the shadows inside sprang free, breaking out of the prison. Nightlight appeared, dazed and weak. Pitch loomed over him, but Nightlight battled back, grabbing his staff and waging war.

"Our battle didn't last long. But Pitch was strong, and I fell. MIM helped me recuperate, aided me in gaining back the strength I'd lost. Without his prison, Pitch descended on the world like a plague. But you see, Sophie, MIM knew this would happen. So he enlisted the Guardians to help protect the people - the children - of Earth."

The Guardians. . . That sounded familiar.

Her pictures danced in her head for just a moment as she watched the projection on the water split into five separate beams, and from the water, shapes formed, creating-

Sophie gasped again as she watched the objects of her drawings come to life in front of her.

"Oh my god!" she said, breathlessly, "That's the Easter Bunny! And Santa! The Tooth Fairy, too?! I drew all of these! Jamie said they were stupid stories, but I knew they were real!"

Nightlight chuckled.

"You don't remember, do you?" He asked.

"Remember what?"

He gestured to the water, and Sophie leaned over, watching as the surface clouded, and then came to life with color. She saw herself as a small child, running through a forest. . . no, that wasn't quite right. It was more like a jungle. She ran through a jungle, messy with glitter and colors, giggling, straight into the arms of. . .

"No way." She said, awestruck again. "No way!"

Nightlight only smiled.

"I knew the Easter Bunny? I can't. . . That's just incredible."

"Your brother believed in the Guardians, too. But when one of them failed to overcome Pitch, the Guardians fell, one by one. You see, Sophie, the belief from children is what makes them so strong. And when they grew weak, the belief of children waned. Without that strength, Pitch overpowered them."

In a way, it made sense. But it was like somebody telling Sophie she was adopted - it was a lot to take in, and she wasn't sure if she could process it all. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, trying to make sense of it in her mind. Thoughts, questions, and emotions buzzed around in her brain, threatening to spill forth.

"Why. . . Why me?" She finally asked. "I don't understand."

"Because you're the only child who refused to stop believing. Even when everyone told you to stop believing, to grow up - you refused. That kind of power is dangerous, Sophie. You almost made other children start believing, too."

She remembered that day in the park, the egg hunt, when the children had looked at her with bright, excited faces. With just a few words, she'd almost gotten them to believe in the Easter Bunny. She would have told them about Santa, about the Tooth Fairy, regaled them with tales about the Sandman. . .

"But they didn't. So I don't. . . Pitch. He's doing this, isn't he?"

Nightlight's eyes grew flinty and hard.

"Yes. Belief is a dangerous thing, as it might prompt the Guardians to rise again. Pitch seeks to stop you. That is why he raised your town's legend of the. . . the Shadowman?"

That night, when Jamie yelled at me. . .

It was all beginning to click into place now, like a puzzle she hadn't noticed before. She chewed over it silently, wanting to resist what she'd learned. . . but she knew it was right. It was the only explanation. Plus, she could just feel it, down in her bones. It was the truth, and she knew it in her heart.

"But Pitch got what he wanted. He got. . ." She said, trying to say the words, but just the mere thought of Mom or Jamie made her throat close up and tears mist her vision.

"No. Pitch hasn't killed them."

"What?" She said, heart thundering in her chest.

Nightlight moved in close to her, laying both of his hands over her shoulders.

"I know Pitch, Sophie. I spent centuries listening to him mumble and talk to himself. The King of Nightmares wouldn't kill them. He'd want you to suffer. He's keeping them captive somewhere. I don't know where, but somewhere."

"I have to go and get them." She said. She felt anxious and fidgety, like she wanted to run to where they were and free them on the spot. Nightlight's fingers curled into her arms, holding her in place.

"You can't. To go there, Sophie, he'd kill you. That's what he plans on doing - killing the last piece of belief left in this world-"

"I can't stand around and do nothing!" She cried out, trying to dislodge herself from Nightlight. He let her, if only understanding that she needed her space.

Nightlight held up his hands, quelling her arguments, and looked at her seriously.

"I know. And I'm not. But if you want them back, Sophie, you can't go as you are. You need help."

The boy turned back to the lake, where the five projections stood again, and Sophie looked at them. She was a quick thinker, and the pieces clicked into place again.

"I have to find the Guardians? That'll take too long! Mom and Jamie could be dead or he could be torturing them-"

At that, Nightlight shook his head.

"Pitch likes theatrical displays. Trust me, Sophie. I spent hundreds of years with him. He'll want to do it, in front of you. And the Guardians are your only hope, Sophie. You're a human. He is the King of Nightmares. As you are, you stand little chance against him. But with their help. . ."

Sophie cycled through her emotions, one at a time. Rage. Impatience. Fear. She breathed in deeply as she examined the images of each of the Guardians, trying to put it all in its rightful place. The light from the moon washed over her, offering comfort. She was grateful for MIM, who had helped strip away her cocoon of grief.

But now she had a decision to make.

"Alright," She said, "I'll do it. If it's to save Jamie and Mom, I'll do it. When do I start?"

Nightlight smiled.

Sophie felt determination and courage pulsing through her. But she'd stood up to the Shadowman, so really, how different would it be to fight against Pitch?

Mom, Jamie, hold on a little longer, okay?

I swear, I'm coming for you.