I would like to mention that this is my most favoritest chapter EVER (towards the end). That cake was delicious, by the way.
Pitch was alone in consciousness. Olivia, Jamie, and the other kids were snoozing away. With one last glance at the High General, Pitch stood and summonned an assortment of his dark, shadowy followers. Nightmares, Fearlings, Nightmare Men, and Dream Pirates slunk from the shadows and intwined with Pitch and each other. However, the man took less pleasure in their company than usual.
The Nightmare King searched his mind for a place to begin. Or even what to say.
"So, even after all this time, I still cling to hope. Hope for goodness. For freedom... to be rid of YOU."
The creatures watched the man with blank faces. A Dream Pirate stepped foreward, saying, "Are you saying, my lord, that you wish to be without us?" A hint of confused challenge rang in his tone.
"Yes..." Pitch agreed, his voice rising, until his spurt of energy left him. He sat down. "... and no."
Pitch's nightmare servants watched their king and exchanged glances with one another. "If I may offer you advice, I say abondon these worthless humans and leave for the Darklands," the same pirate advised. "And kill the girl."
Pitch's head shot up to stare at the pirate. "The girl?"
"She is weakness."
"... A weakness is a strength I can't live without," Pitch murmurred.
"You can," a Nightmare Man hissed. "You can!"
"Leave me alone!" Pitch pleaded. "Leave. Me. Alone!"
Olivia stirred, and she sat up. "What is it? Who's the-" The girl's eyes exploded. "Dream Pirates!" The High General scrambled out of her sleeping bag. Letting loose a crazed screech of, "Wither in the light of the day star!" Olivia charged after the nightmarish companions of the Nightmare King. She shrieked in her hatred for the creatures and lept at them.
"Kill her!" One of the Dream Pirates roared.
Olivia thrashed, kicked, clawed... whatever she could do to inflict a wound on the creatures. A nightmare nipped the back of her shirt and dragged her to Pitch. The Boogeyman placed his hands on her shoulders to hold her down and to calm her. As the High General shouted, "Let me go!" the children, who had been woken in varying degrees, bolted up. They clambered over to check out the scene.
"Calm down. Caaaalm down. Easy... Eeeeasy." Olivia stared into the eyes of Pitch.
"They are evil. I want to kill them. But I don't want to anyone to be robbed of their right to live. But neither should you lack freedom. What should I do?" The girl said.
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," the Nightmare King hushed her, taking Olivia in his arms. "You are safe."
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeew! That's gross!" Monty exclaimed. Cupcake slapped her palm over his mouth. "Don't ruin the moment."
"The great Pitch rises again," a Fearling sneered. "But how can you protect these children?"
"Can I just say," Olivia remarked. "You are the most idiotic... thing I have ever had the displeasure to meet. Do you know who you're fighting? A General of the Golden Age armies, kids with kick-butt nightmare fighting powers of belief, and the deranged authoress. Do you really want to go there?"
The nightmare creatures watched in silence as Olivia pulled away from Pitch, took up a sword, and advanced up to face them. "I really don't want to hurt someone. But I will if I need to."
As a pirate growled at her, the High General poked his nose, sending him crumbling into shimmering, golden Dreamsand. "I believe that one's called The Jamie." Olivia glanced back at her companions. "Am I right?" She prompted.
"Um, yeah!" Jamie responded after a moment of ponderment.
"What are you going to do, then, Authoress?" A Dream Pirate challenged.
"Oh, nothing. Just invite you to banish yourselves to frolick in a meadow with unicorns and butterflies," Olivia replied.
"Pitch," the High General continued, turning to the Boogeyman. "Do you know how the sunlight will affect them?"
"Destroys them," the Nightmare King blurted.
"Oh, good," Olivia reciprocated. "Then we let them feel the dawn on their skins and see how ferocious they feel."
The girl returned to her spot, settling in on her sleeping bag. Olivia glared at the creatures while she instructed the kids and Pitch to go back to sleep.
"I don't sleep," the Boogeyman reminded her.
"Maybe that's why you're so grumpy," Olivia mumbled. "I'll keep watch. I'll wake you if I need to."
"Are you forgetting what I just told you?" Pitch said. "I. Don't. Sleep!"
"Rock-a-bye, Pitchy, in the tree top," Olivia sang softly with a smirk on her face. "When the wind blows, the cradle will rock."
"Oh, why do I even bother?"
"'Night, Pitchy Poo. Sweet dreams."
Olivia squeezed the dark chocolate icing onto the three tier, dark chocolate cake. After a final flourish, the girl placed the pastry pipe tip in her mouth to suck out the last of the sugary, delicious icing. She, Pitch, and the kids had returned to Sparkletopia, where the High General was concocting a scheme... and a cake...
"Hey, Jack, will you help me move this cake into the dining hall?" The High General broached.
"Yeah!" The Winter Spirit, who had been raiding the mixing bowl for leftover icing, agreed. The two hoisted the cake into the air and carried it down the hall, into the dining area. After placing it on the table and offering her thanks to Jack, Olivia cut a slice off the cake and skipped off with an accompanying plate and fork. Pitch nearly rammed into the girl as he made his way to the dining hall.
"Oh, hey, Pitchy Poo!" Olivia chirped. "I was looking for you." The High General lifted the plate of confectionary bakery goods to the Nightmare King's face. The Boogeyman drew back in surprise and slight distaste. "I made you a cake!"
"Oh, well, um, thank you, my dear..."
Those were the last words he ever said.
Olivia smashed the cake in his face.
Pitch clawed the icing and cake off of his face, demanding, "What was that for!?"
Olivia awkwardly handed him the plate and fork, speeding off in the direction of the great hall. Pitch flung the utinsles to the side as he sprinted after her. After grouning to a halt, Pitch slipped into the shadows and raced along to the closed off dining hall. Olivia was perched on the table beside the cake. Pitch rose out of the shadows, arms raised at the elbows. "What are you going to do, now?"
Olivia acquired a mock thinking stance. "Hm, well, you know, I never really thought this far."
"Really?" Pitch taunted, drawing closer in a painfully slow pace. "Well, now you have nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and no one to come save you. Boo hoo." He rubbed his imaginary tears in his eyes. "And now, I'm going to destroy this cake."
"And then what?"
"Make you clean up the mess!"
"Sounds terrifying."
Pitch looked as if for a moment he was going to fuss at her about that, but the annoyance and anger dripped back off his face.
"Hey, guys," Olivia shouted over her shoulder while she grabbed a fistful of cake. "FOOD FIGHT!"
Pitch only had a precious few seconds to be confused and then terrified. Olivia hurled the clump of sugary food at the Nightmare King while Ana, Jack, Pippa, Claude, Caleb, Jamie, Cupcake, Sandy, Sophie, North, and Tooth scrambled out of their hiding spots to pelt Pitch with the cakes they had with them. Bunnymund stood in a corner, leaning against the wall, under a banister (of Olivia's design) labeled 'Party Poopers,' rolling his eyes and observing the chaos. However, he did laugh at the sight until Jack dragged him over into the mess, where he joined in pummeling his enemy with cake.
Pitch kneeled with an arm raised to block the attack. "No fair!" He wailed.
"Agreed," Olivia said, extending a hunk of cake to Tooth's face. "Kids against adults!"
The kids (Jamie and Co.) turned to the nearest Guardian (except Jack) and flung cake at them.
Ana raced up to Pitch and mashed her whole cake (what was left) into the Boogeyman's face. "And that was for the aliens!"
"Your fear of aliens isn't my fault!" The Nightmare King protested, spewing chocolate cake from his mouth. Pitch bent down, scooped up some cake from the ground, slipped up to Olivia, and hurled it at the High General. With a yelp, the girl spun around to face the smirking Pitch. Olivia lept up onto the table, where she ripped a hunk off the dessert item and licked part of the icing.
"Are you going to eat it or play with it?" Pitch inquired, circling the edge of the furniture. He paused. "Wait,-" He glanced at the ground. "-that did not sound right..."
Olivia laughed and tossed the cake at the man. After taking another chunk, Olivia hopped down from the table and approached her food fight enemy. "You never got to try my cake."
Before Pitch could say a word of protest or agreement, Olivia stuffed it in his mouth. The Boogeyman hacked out most of the dessert, but swallowed a bit.
"I regret to say that it was delicious," Pitch coughed, wiping his mouth on his arm. Olivia was grinning at him. "What?" He demanded.
"N-nothing."
Splat! A spattering of cake rained down on Pitch from above. The man whirled around to see Jack wave to him with icing-covered hands. Olivia flashed him the thumbs up.
Pitch laughed!
His laughed wasn't his usual rumbling cackle or a mocking, scorn-filled bark. It was clear. It was beautiful. And full of happiness. More or less.
The whole hall stopped to watch the Nightmare King laugh. After a moment, he fell into silence, too. "What?" He glanced in confusion. "Am I not allowed to laugh!?"
"YOU LAUGHED A REAL LAUGH!" Olivia ejaculated, jumping up to wrap her arms around his neck. Pitch laughed again, smushing cake into her hair.
"Group hug!" Ana exclaimed, rushing up to cling to the pair. "Hey, guys, join in!"
"Um, you two okay there?" Jack stuttered.
"Group hug. Now, Jack!" Ana ordered.
Jack's eyes widened, and he shook his head in exasperation. "Okay," the Guardian consented, jogging over to the congregation.
"Now, everybody else," Olivia added.
"Um..." Pitch began. "I-I don't think-"
But North came over, leading the other Guardians to the hug attack. The children, coaxed by Tooth, joined in.
"Good thing we all smell like cake," Olivia said.