Daubt, the Shadow King of the Darklands, sat on his nightmare, a recreation of Pitch's. To his right another, supporting Jack, stood. Marissa was on his left. The dark trio stood at the tip of a large, grassy hill overlooking the kingdom of Sugaria. Behind them, an army of twisting shadows, a scattered smattering of Dream Pirates, and a clump of twisted, writhing masses of darkness that held bare resemblance to a living animal that seemed to suck the light out of the air growled and rustled, impatient to attack.
"The bright, happy, sparkly, bubbly lands of Sparkletopia disturb me," Daubt told Marissa and Jack. "Let us fix this problem."
The king spurred his knock-off nightmare into the night.
Pitch slipped into Olivia's room in the dead of the night. Weapon poised to fly, the Boogeyman waited for the attackers to arrive. The man glanced at the girl and decided to wake her.
Anger flared in Olivia's stomach. The girl emerged from the realm of dreams to open her eyes to the sight of Pitch brandishing his scythe.
"What the Dark Forest are you doing here?" Olivia yelled.
"Shh!" Pitch hissed. "Daubt is coming with his forces."
"Why didn't you wake me sooner?!" The High General ranted, throwing and kicking the covers off of herself. Olivia sprinted to her closet for a bright red hoodie and dark, form fitting jeans. The girl ducked into the closet, cracked the door, and changed. She popped out, and pulled on a pair of socks and her boots.
"Alright, assemble the others, Pitch," the High General instructed. "I'll get Sparkletopia's forces."
Olivia ran down the pathways of the Sparkletopian palace. Knocking on the doors of the others' rooms, as Pitch awoke the other kids, Guardians, and Ana. Next, the High General alerted the many guards to round up other soldiers and prepare for battle with Daubt's forces.
The many troops assembled themselves, while Tooth and Sandy volunteered to guard the children. The two Guardians barricaded the group in a centric room in the top palace floor. Two more Sparkletopian guards were stationed outside.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Ana gathered the others outside the gates. They stood on a hill overlooking the valley that separated them from the forces of Daubt. Their hair, however, was not flowing majestically in the wind like it should have been. Instead, it blew from behind them.
"Jack," Ana said. "Daubt's hair hair is flowing majestically through the wind. I don't like it. Mess it up!"
Jack yelled, "Hey, Wind, blow this way!"
The mild gale swishing through the air changed directions and blew the hair of Sparkletopia's forces back (majestically, of course) and caused Daubt's legions to have to spit out hair.
"Attack!" Screeched the Shadow King. Daubt's shadows and such swarmed foreward. Ana gave a similar, less crazed command, launching Sparkletopia's forces onward. The two armies collided, soldier on soldier. The various attackers used their unique skills and weapons to bring down enemies. Ana travelled on her polar bear, chopping down shadows with ease. Olivia moved through the enemies' lines on Thunder, sparkling any foes that met her wrath.
Jack Frost came upon Jack the Shadow.
"Hey," Frost greeted him coolly, grinning and shooting him a gun finger. The shadow glared back.
"Now, about MY name..." Frost trailed off, freezing the shadow Jack in a hunk of ice.
"Take that, name thief!" Jack whooped, twirling his staff.
Pitch was frozen. His eyes scanned the masses of flitting bodies for Daubt. The Nightmare King landed his sight on the young Shadow King. One stride, and the Boogeyman was behind him, hand holding Daubt at the shoulder and a nightmare sand knife pressed to his throat. Holding up the hand he had placed on Daubt's shoulder, Pitch reigned in and established control over all of the shadows on the battle field.
"Now!" The man shouted, so as to send his message across to everyone. "I have control! Dare to defy me, and I will let you be consumed by darkness!"
Olivia fought her way through the crowds to yell back, "What the Dark Forest do you think you're doing?!"
Pitch watched the girl with a smile on his face. "Ah, Olivia. The girl I was going to ask for! Come with me! Together, we'll do great things! I have the armies I need. We can win this war, and you will be at my side!"
"What!?" The High General screeched. "Are you crazy!? You want to remove one evil and replace it with another!?"
"No!" Pitch retorted. "While the Ghardians are stuck here, WE can take over Earth!"
"Sounds tempting, but no thanks. I don't like fear and neither does anyone else, so can you please stop?"
"Stop?" the Nightmare King echoed. "Stop!? You want me to stop!?"
"Calm down," Olivia ordered. "Only I'm allowed to be the spazz here!"
"I thought you loved me!"
"Really!? Are you kidding me!? I DO! But I don't want to be all dark and evil!
"I will ascend to warp your reality!"
"Do it! Do it, and see how happy you are!"
Olivia ran over to Boogeyman in the hopes of subduing him. Ana smacked Pitch in the back of the head with a rock. The Nightmare King crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The Queen of Sparkletopia had snuck up behind the distracted man with a large stone.
"Pitch is going to therapy. Daubt... uh, you too. The rest of the shadows and Dream Pirates-"
But the shadows faded into nothing, retreating to the shadows with the capture of their master.
"Nevermind," Ana continued. "Can someone help take these two back? Uh, and maybe Olivia, too?"
The High General and Queen's best friend looked in shock at the fallen Nightmare King.
Several Sparkletopian guards and North shuffled foreward to hoist the two Kings of Darkness up to return to the palace. Jack came up to Olivia to nudge her along.
"Are you okay?" The Guardian asked.
"Yeah," Olivia replied. "I just thought that was crazy, even for him."
Jack laughed. "Nothing is too crazy for him."
"No, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't make cupcakes or marry a tomatoe or start a snowball fight," The High General retorted.
"That's true," The Winter Sprite agreed. "He probabaly wouldn't do anything fun." He exchanged a thoughtful expression for a grin. "Or start a cake fight!"
"Only I would think to force Pitch into a cake fight. Or Ana. Or quite possibly you!"
"Yeah."
"Are you, you know, gonna to join him?"
"No. If I didn't then, I probably won't ever."
"Good. I don't think you are... like him."
"Well, thanks... I guess..."
They all arrived at the palace with the casualties and wounded. Not another word was exchanged among the group as they shuffled into their fortress.
Pitch awoke to find Olivia, Ana, and Jack's faces peering over him. The Boogeyman yelped in surprise and grabbed ahold of the rim of the bed. "Who are you, youthful scoundrels, who disturb my slumber?"
"What the heck? How hard did you hit his head, Ana?" Olivia blurted, turning to her friend. "Hit him again!"
"Hit my head? Have I been taken prisoner? Are you the Dream Pirates' Commanding Officers?" The loopy man inquired.
"Yes, we are," The High General answered sarcastically. Pitch lunged toward her throat. Jack screamed, "Stop! We arn't Dream Pirates or their officers!"
The Nightmare King pinned Olivia down on the ground while the two other teens attempted to pry him off.
"You are a liar! The maid here said so herself!" Pitch growled.
"GET OFF ME YOU NIGHTMARE FODDER!" Olivia snarled, thrashing about.
"Nightmare?" The Boogeyman crowed. "I am Kozmotis Pitchiner, Lord High General of the Golden Age Armies! You, Nightmare Maid, shall face charges of the highest degree for your crimes against the Constellations. Might I suggest to come quietly and I shall do what I can to ease your burdens?"
"We. Are. NOT. In. The. GOLDEN AGE, you blithering idiot! Queen Ana, remember her? She hit you with a rock. You are experiencing amnesia. NOW GET YO' SORRY BUTT OFFA ME BEFORE I KICK IT TO NEW YORK!"
Jack and Ana dragged Pitch, who allowed them to do so, off of Olivia. The villain rose to his feet, brushing off his clothes. "Ah ha! Here is proof I call you true, a liar, Nightmare Maid:-" he gestured to his robes. "-you have cloaked me in your nightmarish attire."
Olivia facepalmed herself. "Oh, great. Pitch is reliving his glory days of fighting Dream Pirates and mimicking Shakespeare," she groaned.
"Only my crew refers to me as Lord Pitch," the man said. "You can call me Kozmotis or Pitchiner."
"I'm sticking with Captain Sparkle Butt, thank you," the girl reciprocated.
"Captain Sparkle Butt?" Pitch echoed. "How dare you refer to me in that tone of manner? Have you no respect?"
"I'll explain it to you later," Olivia muttered.
The amnesiac man snatched the girl's arm. "What do you plan to do to me?"
"Let you stay here until you get back your memories or we figure out someone else," The High General replied.
"You must understand," he continued, almost desperately. "I must return to my family."
Olivia gave the man a mournful look, turned away, and dragged Ana and Jack after her. The group shuffled into the corner and began a hushed conversatiion.
"I think this is good," Olivia began.
"How?" Jack asked, chewing the word carefully in his mouth.
"If he's all noble intentions and good deeds, we can help him realize who he really is! Maybe we can keep nightmares from ever being powerful again and right some old wrongs!" Olivia insisted.
"I don't know, Olivia, he might just try to tackle you again..." Ana whispered. "If you really want to... I mean, I thought you already had, but now... I just don't know! You can try, but if he ever hurts you or does something bad, I'm locking him up for good."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Pitch screamed, his hands clenched on his head as if he had a blistering migraine ripping through his skull.
"Are you okay?!" The High General screamed, rushing over to hug Pitch. "Shh! It's okay! It's okay!" Olivia continued to calm the man down by holding onto him and murmuring "It's okay."
Pitch wimpered. "Why are there Fearlings' voices in my head?"
"You became evil, Kozmotis. Fearlings possessed you," the girl explained.
"You... you lie, Nightmare Maid!" The Nightmare King yelled, shoving Olivia off of himself. He scrambled around for a weapon. "I shall slay you, now!"
"Olivia!" Jack exclaimed, yanking the girl back towards Ana and himself. The Guardian brandished his staff towards Pitch. "Calm down, Pitch. You don't understand what's going on."
"I knew you were all Nightmares!" The ex-General hissed. "I will send you all to He-"
Olivia ripped herself free and approached the Boogeyman with palms up. "I'm not evil, nor am I a Nightmare Maid. You can search me for signs of evil."
"You seek to deceive my senses! Plague me no more, or I shall cut your head off."
Olivia sensed that in order to get his trust, she needed to establish an understandable character for his mind. That meant proving her allegiance to good and using his style of language (It has been proven by scientific research that mimicking others speech and mannerisms forms bonds). "I do not seek the council of evil, nor do align myself with any nightmarish being, for I am in allegiance with Tsar Lunanoff's cause."
"Does not the clever little maid clense the sense of deceit? I have a fair mind to give you what you desire: my trust," Pitch laughed.
"Wow, I didn't know you could talk like that," Jack breathed.
Olivia turned her head to him. "The REAL reason for English class," she whispered.
"So, are you truly a fighter for the cause of the Constellations?" Pitch (or Kozmotis, whichever you prefer) interrogated.
"I am," Olivia agreed. "Nor am I a Nightmare Maid. I seek to rid the worlds of evils and give everyone a chance to fly."
"I do not know who you are, but I know I have seen your face before. Perhaps, in a dream?" Pitch said.
"Sure," Olivia agreed, giving him her unconvinced face.
"I am sorry, I must mistake you for another."
"Nah, it's okay."
The High General walked back to Jack and Ana. "You know, I like this. Let's video tape him doing something Pitch would die over if he saw," the girl suggested.
"I like this idea," Jack muttered to the side of his mouth to Olivia.
"What are we going to video tape him doing?" Ana inquired.
"Hmmmmmmmm..." Olivia mused. "Hey, er, Kozmotis, do you participate in the activity of reciting poetry?"
"No," he answered.
"What of baking?"
"Baking?" The man chuckled. "What man of trade do you take me for?"
"We were jus- simply accessing what activities you participate in. You see, we are attempting to aid you in your quest to regain your missing memories," Olivia half-lied.
"I see," Pitch said. "But how would this help me?"
"I believe if you are exposed to something you do on a regular basis, you may begin to remember," Olivia said.
"Well, I, of course, fight Dream Pirates, but I also dance. Ballroom dances and such."
"Ballroom-?" Jack began to laugh as Olivia clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Anything else?"
"Well, I play with my daughter."
"Jack, get Sophie."
Sophie, Pitch, Olivia, Jack, and Ana colored, painted, and glittered giganormous, long rolls of paper unfurled out on Pitch's room-cell. The walls, floors, and ceiling were white so the prisoners could paint or decorate the walls of the fungeon.
Ana was doodling out a scene from the cake fight, using everyone as living models. Jack was designing a snowflake pattern. Sophie scribbled all over her portion (and a bit on the others') of the paper. Olivia crafted a sketch of kids running around in a game of tag using rainbows and glitter. Pitch drew a picture of his family.
Next, the man began a potrait of Sophie and brought it to the girl's attention. A camcorder stood on a tripod across the room, filming the 'Memory Reconstruction Session: Trial One.'
"Look, Sophie, it's you," Kozmotis said. "Want to color it?"
"Color! Color! Color!" Sophie chanted, giggling. Her marker began to scribble across the paper again. Kozmotis smiled down at the little girl.
The ex-General glanced up. "What memories did I loose?"
"You..." Ana trailed off, not wanting to hurt the man. Ana whispered to Olivia. "Olivia, can we not tell him since he's nice? Just for a while? Then, when we can trust him, we can tell him the truth."
"Okay."
Time passed, and Olivia and Ana allowed Kozmotis to wander the grounds of the palace and the streets of Sugaria. The amnesiac loved to play with the children, gaze at the artwork on the palace walls, and enjoyed listening about Sparkletopia and the fights with Daubt. Eventually, evening settled in, and night draped its cloak across the world. Pitch had been relocated to his first room.
"This is lovely... much better than the one I awoke in!" The man exclaimed. "Thank you for caring for my needs while I recover. I do not wish to return home and find my daughter has aged several years from when I last seemed to remember."
Ana's eyes drifted over to Olivia's. Uh oh...
The Queen of Sparkletopia approached Kozmotis, nudged him to his bed, and sat him and herself down. Olivia followed and settled next to Ana on the other side of the piece of furniture.
Kozmotis glanced uneasily from one girl to the other. "Um, is something amiss, Olivia, Ana?"
"We have to tell you something," Ana began. "About your memories and... who you are... Pit- er, Kozmotis, you, after, um, defeated all the Dream Pirates and Fearlings, became evil. They possessed you."
"But... what of my family?" Pitch asked, his voice a panicked, weak whisper.
"They... You were called out to fight some Dream Pirates and you went out and they weren't where they told you, they went... Olivia you can finish. Excuse me." Ana slid off the bed and exited the room, leaving her High Genera, to finish. Tears began to prick her eyes.
"Your family was attacked, but only your wife was killed. She died protecting your daughter. Instead of letting them get her, she jumped out of a window with a doll, making it look like she took your daughter with her. Your daughter escaped on her schooner."
"She is alive?" Kozmotis whispered, his melancholy demeanor subsiding. "Do you know where she is?!"
"She is on Earth. Many centuries have passed since this time. You became King of Nightmares and destroyed the Golden Age."
"No," Kozmotis breathed. "I- no. I couldn't have!"
"You, now on Earth, are known as the Boogeyman, and you fight the Guardians. You try to destroy the dreams of innocent children. You want to plunge the world into a second Dark Ages."
"Olivia, please, stop this madness. Do not scare me. I do not wish to experience this nightmare. Do not spotlight yourself as truly a Nightmare Maid! Do you not... not..."
Olivia held out a hand for him. "Put the past behind you. Fight the darkness! You are more than this."
"But my daughter..." Kozmotis murmured.
"You left her alone. I know you did try to find her, but when she appeared to you, you didn't even try to establish a reconnection with her."
Kozmotis's expression betrayed his hurts, and Olivia could sense he might start to cry. He looked to her for explanation. "How could I?"
"Fearlings."
Queen Ana returned after this response, tapping the door to alert the others she was entering. "I'm better now. Did... you tell him?"
"Yes," the High General answered.
Ana gasped, causing Olivia to turn in surprise. A tear streamed down Kozmotis Pitchiner's face, and he buried his face in his hands. The queen raced over and embraced Pitch, who began to sob. Olivia took his face in her hands. "Please don't cry. You have a chance to make this better."
"How?" Kozmotis wimpered. "I destroyed everything."
"Your daughter is still alive. She misses the man you were: the man you are now," Olivia said. "Go find her and make things right!"
"Uh, Olivia, you're forgetting a few things. How can he get back his memories and how can he get back?" Ana said.
"I don't know," Olivia admitted. "For now, why don't you take your mind off of things and get some sleep?"
"There are- are voices in my head!" Kozmotis seemed to insist as if the girls would not believe him. "Don't leave yet!"
"Uh, I, uh..." Ana stuttered.
Olivia turned to her friend. "We can stay and watch you until you fall asleep. I'll go get some milk; that'll help you settle down."
Olivia speed out for a drink.
Ana looked to Kozmotis, shifting uncomfortably without her protector. "Are you okay?"
The amnesiac shook his head. "It is killing me. I do not know whether to believe this as real or not. I hope not. However, I-I just need to... rest." The ex-General fell back onto the pillows.
Olivia sprinted back in with a few large mugs. "Here, Kozmotis!" The High General handed one to him full of milk, another to Ana with cocoa, and kept the last, with cocoa, for herself. The trio sipped (and at one point, slurped (Olivia)) their beverages.
"So," Ana broached. "Do you feel sleepy, yet?"
"No," he answered.
"Well, whenever I go to sleep, it's because I'm settled down with the lights off and I'm still. So, you do that-" Olivia stood up. "- and we'll sit over by the window if you need us." The Queen and High General ambled over to the window seat, where enough room to use as a small bed for a mediumish person could sleep exsisted. The two friends sat, finishing off their drinks and watching over the disheveled Kozmotis Pitchiner.
"Now, I kinda wish we had waited a while to tell him," Ana whispered.
"Yeah, and maybe in chunks," Olivia agreed. She turned to Kozmotis. "Are you okay?" The High General whispered.
"Yes, I believe so." The man clicked off the lamp beside the bed, sending them into semi-darkness.
The golden rays of the sun streamed in through the window, springing from brightly hued clouds that drifted through the sky in colors like mellow oranges, pale purples, and rosy pinks. The sky's blue had not ripened to its fullest, darkest blue (pastel blue) and was a milky shade of its true color. A light breeze danced among the tall, fresh green grass. Olivia had been pulled out sleep as the first beam of sunlight slunk onto her face. The High General blinked, irregularly, the dreams from her vision. Olivia examined the situation. Ana was snoozing away with her head buried in her arms and the window wall. Olivia had slipped half way into the floor (in an unusually comfortable position) and had snuggled up against the window itself. Kozmotis was wide awake, studying her with wide eyes. "I hope you don't mind I let you sleep. I couldn't seem to become tired. I could hear voices in my head all night."
"Don't listen to them. Effectively learn to zone them out and ignore them," Olivia instructed,MN habit setting in. "And, in only this instance, I forgive you for letting us fall asleep."
"Only this-?" He muttered. "Have I done this before?"
"Once."
"I knew you?"
"You know me. Until you forgot."
"Ah, I see. This explains many things."
"Like what?"
"This revelation informs me why I am here, in Sparkletopia. It also explains why you have an unexplained interest in my well being." Pitch smiled. "I do not know you anymore. Remind me. Maybe I shall regain some of my missing memories."
"Uh, well," Olivia began, searching for a place to explain. "Ana and I were in study hall at school. We wanted to go on an adventure. So, using the power of the sticky notes, I transported all of us- the Guardians, Ana, you, the kids, and I- to Sparkletopia. We ended up here, in Sugaria, and discovered Ana was the queen, and I was the High General. Through the fear of one Sir Gingerbread-Gumdrop, you discovered a land called the Darklands. Upon coming here, everyone had lost their powers and weapons, so you decided going to the Darklands was the best option for reclaiming your abilities- to wield darkness and shadows. Queen Ana required that I go with you to ensure you didn't destroy anything. Over the course of the adventure, I was able to form a friendship, through my powers of sarcasm and annoying goofiness. Next, we reached the Darklands. There, the Shadow King, Daubt, tried to persuade you to be evil (and I had to force you to dance and be nicer). And you eventually got your powers. You became nicer, a little more caring. You faced the Fearlings and Dream Pirates. We returned to Sparkletopia (twice, since you were kidnapped). We even had a cake fight with everyone we had brought here! Until Daubt attacked, and you took control of his forces. You wanted me to help you take over the world. So, Ana hit you in the head with a rock! Now, we're here."
"Sounds like quite the adventure," he laughed. "And I suppose we are friends?"
"Well, yes, but you don't have to worry about that for now, okay? I just want you to focus on getting back your memories and your happiness."
Ana groaned, and the queen sat up. "What happened?"
"I let you two rest. I could not settle into dreaming."
"Yeah... okay," Ana mumbled, still half asleep. With coaxing from Olivia, she and Ana stood and began going towards the door. "We're going to breakfast. See ya, Pitch!" The queen said as farewell.
Kozmotis scrambled to his feet, tossing the covers off himself almost violently. "Might I join you?" His brow furrowed in slight worry.
"Yeah, c'mon! You'll love the rainbows and glitter!" Olivia urged him.
"Glitter?" He echoed, following behind them. "Olivia, are you saying we shall be ingesting sparkly goop?!"
"It's liquid, ingestable glitter to drink," the High General explained.
"Are there anything other beverages, such as juice or champagne?" the ex-General of the Golden Age armies inquired.
"There's glitter champagne and glitter juice," Olivia offered.
As the trio strided down the hall ways to the dining hall, Kozmotis's expression fell into annoyance. "What in God's name is the point of having liquid... glitter... BEVERAGES!?
"It's Sparkletopia. Get over it," Queen Ana snapped.
"This is ridiculous. I MUST be in a delusional fantasy, or, perhaps, a nightmare. A simple, yet effective, trick of those ruthless Fearlings and Dream Pirates. Or... the pretty Nightmare Maid!" Kozmotis half-muttered under his breath, almost triumphantly.
"Pitch, stop flirting with me," Olivia snapped, without glancing back at the Nightmare King.
"Why, you little-! I would never! I have a wife!" He protested, shrieking
"Please, Ana, kill me now!" the girl groaned to her friend. "This got so awkward fast."
"Um, yeah..." Ana agreed, shuffling away from Pitch and Olivia.
The trio sauntered down the furnished and decorated hallways to the dining room, which had become a regular hotspot for finding the travellers from our world. A few of the kids and Tooth sat perched on chairs, munching on sugary pancakes drenched in syrup and piles of frost-thin glitter dust. Pitchers of glittery beverages scattered the table.
"Hi!" Tooth chirped. "Come sit down!" The fairy patted the empty chair beside her.
"Hi, Olivia!" Most of the other kids greeted the High General. "Hi, um, Queen Ana!"
"Hey, guys, what's up?" Olivia greeted them, tossing her hands into the air at the elbow. "You've met Ana, right?"
"Yep!" Jamie agreed.
"And Kozmotis?"
"Who's that?"
"Pitch, before he became evil."
"He was... good at one point?"
Kozmotis stepped foreward. "I was," he confirmed. "I was the Lord High General of the Golden Age armies!"
Olivia joked, "He was also Lord High General of the Rings."
A few children chuckled. The ex-General shot her a confused look.
"As I was saying, I fought the... things that now... have control over me." Kozmotis shuddered. His face twitched. Olivia thought his nose wiggled, as if he sniffed the air. Kozmotis's face curled in a nasty grin. "Children," he hissed.
"Quick, Ana, jump on him! Hit him with a rock!" Olivia yelled. Tooth fluttered up, unsure whether to attack or defend, or even if any of that was all neccessary. Ana protested in confusion. "Wha-?"
Kozmotis's expression of fear fought through the Fearlings' spell. "Nightmare Maid, this is your doing! You have tricked to me to keep me here as your slave! Burden me no more!"
"Pitch, you are under the spell of Fearlings, in confusion and distress, and in the proximity of young, innocent children. If you are possessed by Fearlings, wouldn't you think they would want you to eventually hurt them?" The High General said, almost soothingly. "Just calm down."
"But how do I calm down?"
"Uh..." Olivia's mind thrashed in wild thought. "Close your eyes." Pitch clamped his eyes closed. "Think about something you do as a hobby... And now sing 'The Music of the Night."
Kozmotis's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I do not know this song. How does it go?"
It had been a joke at first, but the High General saw it as a method to ensuring peace now. She began singing, "Uh... softly, gently, night unfurls its splendor...?"
"Hold on, it starts 'nighttime, heightens, sharpens each sensation!'" Pitch corrected her, and then frowned. "How do I know that?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing," Olivia told him, shrugging. "Probably you like theater is my guess."
"Olivia!" Ana exclaimed. "You were right!"
"Well, OF COURSE I was right, Ana!" Olivia returned in a mock matter-of-fact manner. "I'm always right!"
"And modest," Pitch, who didn't exactly get the 'mock' part of the statement snorted, and then his face froze. His eyes bulged, until... a smile crept onto his face.
"Photosynthesisssssssss," he hissed, a sly look at Olivia.
Everyone, including Olivia (although slightly less so), wore faces of worried confusion. The High General took a step back.
Pitch advanced on the girl, a nasty grin distorting his features. He yanked her collar up towards his face.
"Boo!" The Nightmare King whispered. Dropping Olivia, Pitch unleashed a mad cackle, terrifying everyone in the room (yet still only managing to confuse, weird out, and leave Olivia wondering why he though SHE was the idiot here).
"Olivia! Olivia!" Pitch howled, laughter spewing from his lips. "How much I love your stupidity would leave the most intelligent bewildered!" The Boogeyman let out another few laughs, yerked up Olivia like a rag doll, and kissed her cheek like an adoring father.
"Ew, gross," was all the High General could manage to say in a slight monotone while Pitch continued to abuse her with his self-restoration celebration.
"You have returned me! Yipee!"
"Did you just say, 'Yipee?'" Olivia inquired, descending further into being weirded out, pointing at Pitch while she dangled in a hug.
Pitch held the High General out, beaming at her, and placed her back- stumbling- onto the ground. The Nightmare King held her gaze. "I do believe I offered you to come with me."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I thought you might remember what I sai-" the girl began protesting.
"No, no, no," the man interrupted, shaking his upturned palms. "I meant something else. I do want you to come with me. Not to take over the world, rest assured."
"Wait, what?!" Olivia yelped.
"Come with me," Pitch insisted, kneeling at Olivia's eye level. The girl watched his eerie, silvery golden eyes bore into her's. "Together, we can do wonders!"
Olivia gulped, crumpling into the Nightmare King's arms. She had fainted.
Olivia peeked open her eyes, savoring the warmth of the fuzzy white blanket that cacooned her body and the fluffy white comforter that lay on top of her. She nestled into her squishy pillow, curling up tighter. Cozy.
"Awake yet?" Pitch's voice filled Olivia's ears, startling her awake. "I assume you needed some time to think, considering you fainted into my arms."
The High General grimanced, embarrassed by her display of weakness. "Um," she managed to call out. "Yeah, I need some time to, you know, make a decision that affects my path in life forever and stuff."
"Of course," the Boogeyman agreed. "I do not want you to take this lightly... heh, heh, witty..."
Olivia buried herself further into the covers, trying to block out distractions. What in the world was Pitch thinking? Go with him?! Honestly, what was he expecting her to do? Be his therapist? His sidekick? His assistant? His replacement daughter?! Olivia was not one to want to hurt his feelings, but the idea did not appeal. As much as helping the Nightmare King meant to the High General of Sparkletopia, Olivia still enjoyed her own life too. Yes, she wanted to live with in this paradise forever with all of the characters, but there comes a certain time when a hero must return home and remember why going on an adventure is so much better than math class (as well as see friends and family). But this was agreeing to (possibly, an eternity of) being with Pitch doing who knows what nonsense! All the Boogeyman did was wrong- spreading fear, terror, and nightmares to children, ignoring the important people in his life, and destroying goodness and light wherever he found them. Olivia might have well just convinced herself her favorite color was black.
Scrambling to surface from her cacoon of blankets, Olivia peeked out at Pitch, who was smiling at her. Oh, no... his fragile, over inflated ego is gonna burst...!
"Um, Pitch, you know I can't join you," the girl said. "I'm sorry."
The man's face betrayed a look of horror as he recoiled from her words.
"No, no, no-"
"It's fine."
"No, it's not. I can see it in your face."
"No, you can't! I know you can't... come with me..."
Olivia stepped up to Pitch before he moved away, towards the door. With a click he was gone.
Olivia threw off her covers, sprinting after the man. Liv away! The High General shoot out of the room after the Boogeyman, straining to figure out where he fled to. Stretches of empty halls and throngs of all the wrong people met her. Finally, retreating to his room for one last effort, she gave up. No sign was to be found in his quarters, either.
"I ask you to cease your search for me," the British voice of the Nightmare King rang out from everywhere around the girl. "I am not inclined to listen to you at the moment."
"I know this isn't going to make you feel better, but I'm getting the impression you are a very possessive man," the High General said.
"Olivia, I have already stated that I do not wish to hear your encouragement if all you will do is leave me hanging," Pitch sighed.
"Exactly," Olivia agreed, yet to another comment. "You act like, since I want to help you, I have to spend MY LIFE doing so! I want to be your friend, but not if I have to become your replacement daughter/princess/whatever!"
"I thought, perhaps, you might want to stay with me..."
"I would LOVE to come visit you... and you can always visit me, you know... but I would miss my family and friends. Besides, what if you don't like me always under your feet. I'm energetic and like attention... I'm annoying... I'm an absolute bucket of sunshine, glitter, and rainbows! Wouldn't I be better off always bothering the Guardians?"
"A remarkable question!" Pitch commented, emerging from the shadows and solidifying into his usual shape. "I thought that, yes, but, I have seen you can be kind, somewhat... intelligent-"
"Whoa, whoa... did you just call me intelligent?!"
"Yes, my dear, now, listen... I know you are all those, but I have seen your appreciation for something less flowery than what the Guardians have to offer, not to mention your keen interest in my freedom. What do you say?"
Olivia embraced Pitch in the deepest of hugs.
"Shutupshutupshutupshutup!" The girl murmured. "Stop manipulating my feelings, you horrible, terrible person!"
Pitch bounced in silent laughter. "Alright," he consented. "I will try my best."