Pitch's Fear and Sadness looked at each other.
"We'd just get in the way-"
"That's what we always do."
"Are you kidding? Sadness is the most important emotion, along with the lead emotion! No wonder Pitch is the way he is! He's missing you two."
They winced, but nodded. Joy sighed in relief. The next couple of hours was figuring out a plan. It was risky, and dangerous, but it could work. After a while, they decided to take a break. Joy looked up at the sky, which was streaming with those strange creatures. She was itching to get back into Riley's mind... to see what had happened.
Riley had looked up at Pitch as a smile had spread across his face.
"The moonbeam is mine! The world will fall to me!"
He moved towards the center of his lair and regarded it with disdain.
"This place is my prison. But you just freed me. You should be grateful that you're about to become the Fearling Princess. I'll be able to teach you how to control the shadows themselves... unlock powers you couldn't even dream of. And one day, when you're ready, I might even step down from the throne and you could become the Nightmare Queen."
Riley growled a bit, but didn't say anything. Maybe he was right, being a princess couldn't be that bad.
"Leave her alone, Pitch," a voice called out.
The two looked up to see that Jack was searching around the lair. Pitch turned to Riley with a small chuckle.
"You're about to receive your first lesson about the shadows."
Before Riley could protest, he slid away. The sudden truth hit her. He was ambushing Jack... she had to warn him! She called out, but he was too far away to hear. She scrambled up some chipped stairs and waved her arms frantically. Jack noticed her and his muscles relaxed. Then they tensed, him gazing around wildly. Riley knew he was thinking about Pitch. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Jack shrugged. He leaped into the air lightly and allowed his staff to guide him to Riley. He was so close that Riley could almost reach out and touch him... when a shadow grabbed his ankle. He yelped in surprise and shot ice from his staff. Almost immediately, more shadows swarmed around him.
"Jack!"
Riley launched herself at him. It was just a hunch... and Jack caught her. The shadows paused in confusion, pacing the pair like lions. Riley buried her face into Jack's hoodie and shivered. Jack stared at the shadows in confusion.
"They're not attacking?"
"Pitch wants to make me the Fearling Princess. He won't risk hurting me."
Jack nodded slowly and tried side-stepping away from them. They might not have been attacking, but they weren't letting him leave either. The shadows matched Jack's footing and continued searching for an opening. Riley's nails dug into Jack, making him wince in pain. But she didn't let go, both of them were at stake. The shadows straightened as Pitch rose up. He stared at them and snorted.
"Of course. You know Riley, I don't have to spare you. I could always find another worthy of the title Princess."
"But you don't want to find another, do you? This is some kind of personal vendetta against Katherine."
The winter spirit narrowed his eyes.
"Come on, Pitch. You know I can beat you easily."
The Nightmare King smiled.
"Maybe in your hope-filled world. But you made a mistake, Frost. You came to me. I have the memory of the moonbeam, so what other use could I possibly have for you two? Destroy them."
Riley gasped as he disappeared, and the shadows started advancing. They shot themselves at the two. Jack swung his staff and froze them, but Riley was turning out to be an anchor. He struggled to stay in the air as the shadows bit and clawed at him. A scream ripped through her throat as she was torn away from the spirit.
"Riley!"
With her off of him, he maneuvered more easily. Ice covered the shadows holding the girl. Frost spread quickly on the other shadows. More poured in from the walls, a blinding force of speed. Ice crack from Jack's body, spreading out across the entire lair. Snow filled the ground, burying some of the Nightmares. Screeches rose up from the mob as they were frozen in mid-air, falling and shattering to a million pieces. He stumbled, but tried to shake it off. Riley was laying unconscious next to him, a small layer of frost covering her. He knew he had to get her out of there before she froze, but tiredness tugged at him. After what felt like forever, he pulled her out of Pitch's lair into the sun. It was summer wherever they were, and Jack could already feel the effects. Setting her down gently, he returned into the Boogeyman's hole and soared back to the North Pole. If he stayed with Riley, he would overheat and melt.
In Riley's head, the emotions were regaining consciousness. They pressed a few buttons and sat back as Riley woke up. She glanced around her to see that she was in a hospital bed. A nurse was at the end, going over a chart. Riley groaned, making the nurse look up.
"Well, well, looks like our little Jane Doe is awake."
"How did I get here?"
"Some hikers found you unconscious. They called 911, and here you are. The weirdest thing, you had frostbite on your fingers. In the middle of July! Mind explaining how that happened?"
Riley blinked and shrugged. The woman smiled kindly and left. In her mind, Riley's Fear was chewing his nails.
"Jack just left us!"
"He never cared about us, that's sad," Sadness commented.
"How could he just leave us with that creep loose on the world?" Anger roared.
Disgust scowled and crossed her arms, "what a low-life slime!"
The emotions shook their heads as they threw levers and handles. Riley began feeling hurt and betrayed. How could he do this to her? How could Jack just leave?
