The cave looked normal upon entering; perhaps a little dark, but nothing out of the ordinary.
"Tooth!" The ice sprite called into the blackness as he softly landed on the stony floor. He felt a thump as North and bunny landed alongside him. Sandy hovered on his cloud close by.

"Tooth!" It was the Russian tinted voice that called next, yet this was also met with silence.

"I don't like this." Bunnymund held his boomerangs at the ready, eyes darting about. The silence wasn't right. It was eerie; their words seemed to be swallowed by the blackness rather than echo through the cavern.

Cautiously North stepped forward, drawing his swords. "You are right. I feel it too."

It was then that the laughing started, loud and sinister throughout the room. But more importantly; they knew that laughter. Jack looked nervously around but could see nothing but shadows; what had he done?

"PITCH." North bellowed, stepping forward as he raised his weapons. "Show yourself! How did you escape!?"

"Hello, North…Guardians…" All of them raised their weapons when the man melded out of the darkness before them, dressed once again in his regular black robe. Jack frowned; he should never have dropped those keys. He silently prayed the Nightmare King wouldn't let that secret slip.

"Was it so hard to drop your little act?" Bunny hopped forward angrily, ears perked towards the shadowy man. "Now where is Tooth!?"

"Oh, she's safe….for now." The voice was like liquid; smooth yet eerie. "I'll let her go when I get what I want."

"And what is it that you want?" Jack's blue eyes bore into Pitch's but his question was only met with silence. Why…..why did he trust this man….

The Nightmare King disappeared into the shadows. The voice that spoke was quiet now, making it all the more creepy. "Are you sure it was an act?" The guardians exchanged glances before huddling closer, watching each other's backs. "Now go on…save your friend….if you can."

"North…" Jack's voice was solemn as he addressed his friend. "What are those?"

The creatures forming out of the darkness were like nothing the frost sprite had ever seen. They were large, bodies shaped like dogs yet lithe like cats. Their red ember eyes glowed, the long dark teeth bared in a lethal grin. Just looking at them made his breath hitch; threads of terror drawing through him.
North's reaction was similar. "Those…I believe…are fearings…" The Russian didn't even chance a glance at his friend, instead keeping his attention on the dark creatures now surrounding them.

"How are there so many of 'em?" The rabbit's heart was racing, the fear he was feeling was not something he could control, but something hard wired into his being. "I thought they were supposed to be gone."

With cackling laughter the creatures charged, their dark forms moving quickly through the dim light. Jack raised his staff, letting loose a bolt of ice as the fearling neared him. To the boy's dismay the blow only slowed the creature, the shadowy darkness of the things body knitting back together almost as soon as it was hit.

Taking to the air, he tried again, and again but to no avail. His attacks were useless. Chancing a glace down he saw that his friends were fairing no better. North's swords barely damaged the creatures as he dodged each one, swinging his blades uselessly. Bunny's boomerangs had even less effect as they passed right through the darkness.

Sandy was the only one having any margin of success. The dream sand he wielded was able to keep the fearlings at bay, but not kill them.

Jack dodged attack after attack; swinging his staff and sending bolts of ice flying. This was useless. There was no way to kill them and while the guardians tired, the creature showed no signed of slowing. They were going to die…

The frost spirit flew over, landing ungracefully beside the Russian as the rest of the guardians regrouped as well, all breathing hard. But they were not the only ones with the idea. Even before their eyes the fearlings merged together, creating larger and more formidable creatures.

Jack braced himself as the first of them sprung forward, his friends beside him doing the same; waiting for the impact…..but it never came. The fearling that was two feet from swallowing them melted away into shadows, its head separated from its body.

Golden armor glinted in even the dim light as the general landed before them, scythe in hand. He stayed in his crouching position; weapon still raised and his back turned. He eyed down the fealings that were now pulling back into the darkness as he spoke. "I tried to warn you."

Finally when the last creature pulled into the shadows did he stand, spin around and step forward to address the stunned guardians. Thank the heavens he had arrived when he had.His voice was stern but relieved. "Please listen carefully to me because this will mean the difference between life and death."

Bunny opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a golden eyed gaze. "A fearling and a NightMare are similar in many ways, but where a Nightmares body consists or corrupted dream sand a fearling is created from fear itself. Over time enough fear solidified the darkness into something tangible and unfortunately very dangerous and intelligent."

"How do we stop them?" Jack's voice was quiet. What was going on? Was this another trick? Who was the real Pitch, this man or the one earlier?

The general glanced at the young guardian when he spoke, giving him a small nod before answering. "There was a reason why at the end of the golden war someone had to stand guard at the prison, because that was the only way to stop them. They had to be captured which is something we are unprepared for." He spoke faster, feeling the time before their next attack running out. "Behead them, it slows them down but only for about half a minute. Our goal today is not to win a battle, but to rescue Toothiana."

North stepped forward, transferring both swords to one hand so he could hold out the empty one. "I should not have doubted you." The general took it, giving it a firm shake. "It is good thing you were able to escape."

"Indeed it was." He let his gaze fall on Jack for a second who only smiled sheepishly at him.

"…General…"

The whispered word caused the general to spin, scythe raised, to face the darkness.

"…Give up…"
"….give…"
"Give us…."

The general narrowed his eyes, knuckles turning white as he tightened his hold on his weapon.

"…you."

"Take me then!" The general raised both arms, sending out a silent call for backup. Turning to sandy he spoke quietly. "If we survive this battle, I promise you can take them back."

The golden man's expression held confusion until the first whinnies could be heard. From the shadows around them the NightMares merged, hooves clopping on the stone until they stood shoulder to shoulder with their previous enemies. Heads bobbing they waited for the signal to charge.

The general turned to the guardians one last time. "Be careful." With that he swung himself onto the back of a NightMare, charging into the darkness followed closely by both the guardians and his horses.

Pitchiner cleanly beheaded two fearlings as the dark horse carried him towards the entrance to the next room, deftly avoiding the slashing claws of enemies. With a swing of his scythe he cleared the doorway of its shadowy guard before his steed bounded though. The sounds of the battle raging on around him drowned out his call. "Tooth!"

A sudden blow from behind sent him skidding across the floor. Grimacing in pain, the general looked up just in time to roll away and narrowly miss the claws of the fearling slashing down at him. Standing quickly, he swung his scythe missing narrowly as it dodged. With a gasp of effort he stepped forward on his bad leg, maneuvering the weapon expertly and succeeding in beheading it.

His golden eyes quickly surveyed the cavern. "Tooth!" He yelled so loudly his voice cracked at the word.
…

Toothiana opened her eyes when she first heard the battle begin. Could it be Kozmotis!? He jumped up, the cage swaying slightly as she placed her hands on the bars.

Violet eyes wide, she watched the entrance of the cavern. When the general rode through it she was at a loss for words. He looked everything she imagined him to and more, the golden armor shining in the dim light; every bit the valiant general.

As she was about to call out a fearling leapt from the darkness, knocking the man from his steed. She watched in fear as he fought off the creature, heart fluttering when he finally defeated it and called for her.

"Kozmotis." She had meant for the word to be loud but it came out a whisper. Trying again, her voice rang true through the shadows. "Kozmotis! Here!"

The general's head shot up, his eyes falling immediately to the fairy trapped within the cage. Ignoring the pain in his leg, he leapt onto the back of a passing NightMare, riding it upward. "Stand back." With a powerful swing of his weapon the door was knocked almost completely off its hinges.

He smiled at her, taking a deep breath in relief as she stepped forward. She was okay… "Tooth, I-" Catching him off guard, a smaller sized fearling slammed straight into his chest. The blow, once again, knocked him from his mount as the both of them hurtled to the ground. He cried out in pain when the teeth sunk into his arm, finding one of the few places unprotected by armor.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to use the darkness to slow their decent; only marginally succeeding as they hit the ground. The force at least jarred the fearling loose, the jaws leaving his arm. Groaning, he flipped over, the world still slightly spinning from the impact, blood pouring down his arm, sleeve soaked in red.

With a gasp he pushed himself off the ground only to be brought back down, arms pinned to the floor by the massive black clawed hands of a fearling. The creature grinned at him, the noseless face twisting in both humor and malice. Pitchiner struggled against the creatures grasp but stilled, squeezing his eyes shut when it dug its claws into his already injured arm.

Kozmotis opened his eyes just in time to see the creatures head separate from its body, the pressure leaving as it melted into shadows to show the form of Tootiana. The fairy hovered above him, the broken steel from the cage door gripped in her small hands. "Are you okay…?"

"Yes….But we need to get out of here, now…" The general slowly got to his feet, rematerializing his scythe with a pained expression.

Tooth stared at him wide eyed with concern but only nodded, brandishing the steel bars before her.

Together they exited into the original cavern. Kozmotis could feel the grip on his weapon slick with blood but ignored it, the adrenaline racing through him as more enemies rushed them. His weapon sliced up through two fearlings, narrowly missing a third which Tooth deftly dispatched with the steel bars.

Jack landed beside them as they battled towards the entrance. "It's nice to-" The wooden staff cut through one shadowy creature before loosing a bolt of ice at a second. "-see you're ok."

"Pull together!" The general's voice rang through the cavern as they fought their way toward the shaft of light; the way out.

The fairy shot a quick smile to her friends as the three joined them.

"Guys….problem." It was Jack's voice who spoke first, his eyes wide as he stared into the darkness. In the shadows blocking their escape route grew a monster. This fearling was massive, as big as a five story house.

Tooth took the general's arm absentmindedly as they both stared up at the thing. Before their very eyes more fearling merged with it, giving more mass to its body.

"How do we kill that…?" The fairy whispered.

Kozmotis stared up, his golden eyes wide as the hundreds of different scenarios shot through his head. They wouldn't be able to defeat this one. Even in the past with an army at his command he had difficulties taking down a fearling that large.

A wave of realization fell upon him which was then accompanied by a wave of calmness. Taking a breath he stopped to feel the moment; the soft tug of the fairies hands on his arm, her breath tickling the back of his ear as she looked past him; the soft beat of her wings; the hard won allies standing around him. Every scenario running through his ended with their failure….expect those that ended with only his own downfall.

The general's heart clenched as the resignation washed over to him. He turned slightly, golden eyes sad as he glanced at the guardians. When his attention focused on Tooth the moment seems to slow to a crawl. "You can't kill fear." The words were soft.

The fairy looked down at him, violet eyes full of fear; not only at the massive creature that still grew in front of them, sucking in the last of the fearlings, but at what Kozmotis meant.

"There's no way to defeat it. You can't defeat fearlings." His shoulders slumped as he turned his back on his companions. "But you candefeat me. You've done it before."

"What!" The words rang out in a chorus among his allies. "There has to be another way!" Jack stepped forward, his voice shrill.

The fairies spun the general around, both panic and sorrow in her expression. "No! You can't….we can get through this! Don't do this…." She felt her bottom lip quiver as she stared into the sad golden eyes.

"There's no other way…." He shook her head, breaking eye contact to glance at the ground. "I wasn't being realistic…I was never meant for this life…Somehow I always knew…" He lifted his hand, softly laying it on the fairies face, unintentionally leaving a smear of blood. "The fearlings….they will never stop…Not until they get what they want."

"No…" The word barely squeaked out as she felt the tears pool in her eyes before breaking free to run down her face.

The general shot a last look at the Guardians spurring Bunnymund to speak. The rabbit nodded to him, a hint of shame in the voice. "You're a good man. I'm sorry I doubted ya…" North only stared at the ground in silence, expression solemn; Sandy's expression almost mimicking the Russians. Jack stared at him, brow furrowed to the point of painful.

"Tell my daughter I love her...And…" He shut his eyes. "I only wish things could have been different in the end, Toothiana…" The general pulled away from the fairy, turning to walk towards the colossal fearling that was now watching, listening to the conversation greedily. Somehow it knew what was coming and settled to wait patiently.

"Kozmotis…" The whispered word caused him to turn back slightly and he quickly found himself pulled into a kiss. The fairies lips were soft and warm, the hands now resting on his neck comforting. He allowed himself to sink into the passion for only a moment before he pulled away, walking briskly towards his fate; head down. Only then did he allow the tears to spill, unseen by the eyes of the guardians.

He stopped about ten feet away, back still turned and called the NightMares to convene around his allies. "Take your dream sand back, Sandy….I don't want to be able to use it against you." With sad eyes and an almost hesitant movement the golden man nodded, reaching his hand into the black sand and turning it gold once more.

The general stepped forward, the circle of light from the entrance acting like a spotlight. Craning his neck up he stared into the burning eyes of the creature, ignoring the sneer is gave him. Shutting his eyes he allowed the scythe to fall from his hand, disappearing into smoke before it even hit the ground.

"Take me."

With the whispered word the creature burst into shadows, spiralling towards the general and quickly overtaking him. When he disappeared into the blackness Tooth fell to her knees, sobs wracking through her body. Jack stepped forward to kneel beside her, placing comforting hands on her shoulders.

The rest of the guardians stared at the roiling darkness, expressions akin to those you would see at a funeral.

After a minute the darkness dissipated, leaving only the lone man kneeling in the spot of light. All any of the guardians felt at that instance was regret….sadness….pain. But to anyone else the cavern would have felt brighter; the sense of dread that accompanied the darkness gone. The world itself seemed to breathe a sigh of relief is it was rid of the fearsome creatures of old.

After a few minutes of silence the armored man stood, looking around wildly before turning and training his eyes on the intruders to his lair. "You!" Pitch took a step forward only to have his leg give out, the previous injury causing him to fall quite ungracefully to his hands and knees. With a gasp of pain the silver eyes once again landed on the guardians "Why…."

Violet eyes still wet with tears, the fairy stood putting on a brave face as she watched the Nightmare King struggle. None of the guardians said a word, solemnly mourning the loss of their new found ally.

"What…what are you doing here…" Finally Pitch staggered to his feet, limping forward. "What…" He stopped, taken aback. "Why are you looking at me like that…"

Completely and utterly bewildered the man looked down at himself, trying to put two and two together. "This….this is some trick…." He smiled unsure, laughing nervously. "What do you want from me?" He sent out a call to his NightMares not liking where this was going but was met with silence. What….how…

Still the guardians offered him no explanation, only expressions of pity and mourning. The entire situation was unnerving him. "Fine….if you're not going to explain your little trick…" He frowned, silver eyes darkening. "I'll be seeing you around." Stepping backwards he melted into the shadows, leaving no trace of ever existing other than the guardians, safe and alive.

"I'm going…" Toothiana said no other words before flitting up and out of the cavern, escaping into the light. Her friends only exchanged solemn glances before doing the same.

In the end….he had been just as great a man as any.

AUTHORS NOTE:
Sorry about the delay in releasing this. Had some stuff.
Concerning the content of this chapter though...I'm sorry I'm a horrible awful person and please don't hate me! But really...I know it's emotional chapter when I have to write it through my own tears. UURGGG. Don't hate me ._.

Anyway...don't fret. This is not the last chapter, there is one left to go...possibly two depending. I'm not sure when they'll be released, there may be a bit of a delay on them.

One other note. I've been told that his daughters name is Seraphina? I've actually heard is one as well...But then someone messaged me who's read the books saying her name has yet to be released SO. I don't know what to think. Either way, regardless of when her name IS released, I'm not gonna change it now. You're gonna just have to suffer through Katarina.

A BIG MASSIVE THANK YOU TO MY REVIEWERS YOU MAKE ME SO HAPPY

Well...I'm going to go sob in the corner now. Until next time!

edit: Someone asked for my youtube account...oh god. There are...old things on there. Here, I'll let my secret slip. I'm originally a cosplayer, meaning I got dressed up with friends and took stupid videos and then posted them (still do). If I give you my account you guys have to promise not to think I'm a weirdo, ok? It's dragonwarrioroffire. If you search general Pitchiner on youtube you should come up with a video that is by me.