Hey guys…. How's it going….?
Long time no see…
I DO NOT own Rise of the Guardians.
Chapter 10 – Awake and Mad
Pitch sat on his dark throne that was constructed with his very own nightmare sand. Despite being the Nightmare King, he was so content with everything that has happened. His very own nightmare for that damn Jack Frost finally became a reality! It's real…! Celebrating in his chair by doing a little dance once again, he eventually smacked his hands down on the stone table in front of him with a satisfying sound echoing off into his caves. His eyes began to glint with an evil spark as he smiled a terrifying grin.
It was time to get to business, and it was time to get revenge.
Oh no no no no no! Jack could not believe it. No, he would not believe it. Scattered around his bedroom was the very same babies and toddlers he had seen in his dream. No, he is not accepting this. "I'm still dreaming, of course!" Jack chuckled nervously as he wapped himself in the head, trying to get himself out of it. "I just need to wake up! Yes Jack, go back to bed, close your eyes, and everything will disappear. North will come by your room, remind you of the meeting taking place today, and leave fully intact of his normal body…" And so he did what he just said, and crashed his head back on his pillow. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The crying did not stop.
With a frustrated groan, he took the sides of his pillow and pressed it against his ears. Maybe it'll go away after a while?
But he was wrong. It did not stop, it just kept on getting louder and louder, even if Jack had something to block his ears with.
He shot up in bed. Beginning to panic as denial began to seep in, he started to pinch himself. Is this really a dream? Ow. How can this be real? Ow. No no, is Father Time messing with him or something? Ow. He knew he froze his clocks three times, ow, but it was just a joke! Ow. That old man needs some fun his long life. Ow. Or is it… ow.
A nightmare?
Nightmares…
Pitch.
With an angered yell, Jack practically jumped out of his bed. Forgetting he still had young children to deal with, he landed on the floor firmly with his two feet, making a resounding thud on the floor. The four young Guardians began to cry even louder. They were frightened. Finally getting through his head why they began to sob even more, the frost spirit began to scoop them up one by one and began to rock them in his arms, nervously singing lullabies at a hurried pace. To Jack's surprise, even when he had rushed-rocked them to sleep in hopes of getting them to quiet down, they all fell asleep quite quickly. Maybe they were all just exhausted from screaming and howling with tears rushing down their faces.
Jack smiled as he looked at what he had done. Jack 1, Pitch 0.And so, he began to pack the kids into random bags he had found around North's amazing toy workshop and put two in each, as the bags were gigantic. Making sure their heads were still sticking out so they could breathe, he opened the window and bolted out, calling for the wind to support him (and four other children). He had to find Jamie. He was in his dream, right? So there was a small chance the he kind of knew what was going on.
A curious yeti, who had heard all the commotion, poked his head in, concerned at what was going on in the frost spirit's bedroom. But when he finally popped his head through the door, the creature was surprised to find nothing there. Was he simply imagining things? They yeti grumbled as he walked back to his usual station of the workshop. He was going to tell all of his partners about this one!
Jamie laid in his bed, his eyes half lidded. He had just woken up from a terrifying dream. Sophie was in it, Jack was in it, the Guardians as kids were in it… He's just glad that it is all over now, and he can return to being the normal kid that he was; one that didn't have to babysit four toddlers at a time alongside a three hundred and eighteen year old frost spirit. His face split into a faint smile. It was over, and everything was calm and quiet.
Until there was tapping on the window. Huh, who could that be? Jamie waved off the scary thought of Jack with four children waiting for him at the window. That was only a dream, right? No way could that have come back in the real world to haunt him!
But still, Jamie stood in awe with his mouth agape as he finally approached the window and saw what he dreaded to see. Jack stared back, an embarrassed smile gracing his features as he gently timidly waved to the boy.
Nope, not today. If Jamie owned curtains, he would have just swiped it in front of Jack's face and left for his bed, but since he didn't have any, he simply turned straight around on his heel and threw himself onto his safe pillow. "Hey!" said a voice, protesting from outside. Jamie began to do the same things Jack did when he woke up this morning. He took his pillow and put it over his face. He will go away, for sure.
But after a few minutes (and after Jamie lifted the pillow away to suck in some air), the older boy was still at the window, tapping against the plastic glass and calling Jamie's name. The younger boy groaned, as he finally gave up and sat up in his bed. When he did though, he noticed a frost bunny sitting perched on one of his legs, looking ready to pounce on his face to wake him up. But as the bunny leapt with its strong legs, Jamie had already quickly dodged it my swerving to his side and falling off his bed. With a yelp, he felt his side spruce up with pain as he looked towards his window again.
It was Jack, still with the kids, looking unamused at Jamie. Then the younger boy noticed the window. It had become frosted, with a bunny outline drawn on it. Oh, that's how it got in. He rolled his eyes. "Fine Jack, you win! Just don't be loud, okay?" Jamie spoke as he directed his voice through the window. A bright smile replaced Jack's previous scowl as he nodded excitedly.
Just as Jamie opened the window a crack, Jack had dashed through the window, forcing the window open, almost effectively knocking the boy down a second time if it weren't for him catching himself before falling again. Now it was Jamie's turn to scowl as he closed the window up again. When he turned around, Jack had already laid out the children on the human boy's bed, two bags tossed on the floor. And as Jamie observed, it was indeed the four Guardians from his dream. "Oh no…" groaned the boy. Jack nodded in agreement. "Oh, so you did have the same dream as me, that's cool." Then a sly smile began to grow. "…and that's why I'm putting you in charge of them!" It was only early morning; Jamie wasn't ready for such a surprise. "What!?" Jack instantly shushed him down with a finger on his lips and an urgent look in his eyes as they looked towards the bedroom door. "Okay, yeah, I know that you had a rough time with me last night in our dreams trying just to get the four of them to settle down, but you've got to help me here!" Jamie still stood, but crossed his arms as he looked unconvinced. The older boy sighed. "I'm convinced that Pitch is the one behind all of this, and that he might be planning something either really bad or really stupid, because he apparently can't think of anything better than turning the Guardians into children."
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure though? Because I don't want to be left here alone with no one except for the possible unhelpful help from Sophie. You don't know how many disasters could go by while you're gone."
"I'm not completely sure, but I still have to check. It's the first step towards finally ending this seemingly very nightmare-like dream."
"Are you sure I can't come with you?"
Jack's eyes nearly popped out of its sockets because of how wide his eyes became. "What!? Of course not! Do you know how dangerous Pitch is!?"
"But I helped the last time you guys fought Pitch! You guys were in peril, and I helped!"
"Yeah, but that was with his nightmare sand. Do you see any nightmare sand around?"
"Well, no, but there could be some in the future."
"No, Jamie. I need someone to take care of the Guardians first. That is the first priority here. I'll take my chances, okay? He might not even know I'm coming!"
"Jack, you know that's wishful thinking."
"Doesn't matter; you take care of kids, I go fight bad guy. So… Bye!" And with that, Jack dashed out the window he just came in from a few minutes ago. Jamie ran to the window and yelled after Jack's shrinking figure in the sky, "If someone dies in here while you're gone, it's your fault!" He could hear the frost spirit's faraway laughter in the distance. And then, he was gone.
With a sigh, Jamie turned around to face his own little nightmares from the night before, who were still surprisingly slumbering peacefully on his bed. "Well, this can't be as bad as last night, can it?" As if someone had heard him and decided to completely ruin his day, he heard thumping down the hallways between his room and Sophie's. Was it Sophie? Please don't be Sophie…
The door to his bedroom burst open, and as expected, a little blonde girl came crashing in, looking excitedly around the room? "Jamie? Noise!" Sophie said, probably indicating that she heard something. But before her brother could reply, she spotted something small and fuzzy on his bed. Her eyes were transfixed on this little puff ball as she cautiously walked over to the toddler Guardians. And then she saw clearly what it was. "Bunny…" she whispered, almost like she didn't want to wake any of them up. Jamie breathed a sigh of relief as he watched his sister spectate the small critter. Maybe Sophie wouldn't be so bad after all.
The little gray puffball of Bunny was so cute! He was curled up, his adorable little rabbit ears pressed gently against his little head and his eyes closed in a peaceful matter. Sophie couldn't contain herself. "BUNNY!" The older boy in the room nearly had a heart attack, and apparently so did everyone else in the room. There was a lingering moment of shock as all of the children were roughly awoken from their slumber. North was the first to whimper.
"Nononononono…" Jamie said as he coaxed his arms around the little North, rubbing his back in attempt to sooth him. "Shhhh, it's okay, everything's okay…" Out of the corner of his eye, he could spot his troublesome sister again. "Sophie! You have to be quieter than that!" He said in a loud half whisper. But all she did was giggle cutely, and began to reach out to the now terrified Bunny. "No, Sophie! Nonononono…!"
It was too late, Jamie realized, as now all four of them burst out crying at the same time little Bunny did when he felt the hand touch his soft fur. The boy could feel his whole being begin to sag as he felt himself cripple underneath the weight of this responsibility. This was going to be a looooong day.
Jack flew overhead the forest, his keen eyes searching for that abandoned bed frame… Aha! There it was. The frost spirit carefully lowered himself down on the ground and quietly thanked the wind under his breath. Walking cautiously towards the broken bed frame, he began to think to himself. He knew that a hard battle might begin right after he jumps into the hole underneath the wood. He could hurt himself badly, heck, he might even die if weren't careful enough (because everything must come to an end someday), but he knew it was a risk he had to take. Otherwise, he would have to be stuck as Guardian babysitter forever. Just the mere thought of that sent shivers down his spine.
Don't get him wrong, Jack loves kids. He loves the smiles they have and the joy they bring him whenever they laugh, but having to constantly look over four kids while he has other duties on the line (as well as now four other duties on the line because the young Guardians are unable to do it themselves), it was simply just too much. He was a mere youngster compared to all the other immortals in the world; he couldn't handle such a responsibility at such a "young" age. This ends now, Pitch. Jack thought as jumped down the hole, bracing himself of the possible hard battle ahead.
The Boogeyman heard a soft little thud somewhere in his lair, and then the sound of feet walking down his concrete floors. He grinned to himself, his sharp teeth glinting in whatever light he had in the big cave. Yes, he knew that the boy would come chase him down. After all, he was sure he was smart enough to know that only Pitch had the power to create nightmares. And boy, was the nightmare he produced a doozy! Of course, Pitch smiled to himself, this wasn't the typical nightmare he conjured. Normally, there would be more blood or gore, or whatever it was that made a human's heart race. This time, he decided to make frustration the center of his dream. The Nightmare King gave himself a pat on the back for being so creative. It was a new twist in his dreams, and he actually quite liked it. So, he put a mental note down in his mind to do it again some time once this was all over.
The sound of footsteps towards the room that Pitch was in made the man jump back to reality. Yes, it was almost time. Pitch gleefully recounted the plan that he had in his mind once more to relinquish himself in its perfection.
First, he would be ominously standing there, with his back towards the little boy. The boy would be confused but remain cautious anyway. Then, Pitch would speak with an eerie silk to his voice, "So you've come…" which would then entice the boy to come closer. Of course, the boy would try to say heroic things to make the Nightmare King feel intimidated, as all heroes tended to do, but he would wave them off with a hand and continue to stare at the wall with a content smile on his face. Once he could feel the presence close enough (and this was Pitch's favourite part), he would say "I hoped you enjoyed your stay." And whiz around with a terrifying look in his eyes. "Now die!" A horde of nightmares would come zooming out of nowhere, all going for the same target: Jack Frost. The frost spirit would scream in terror, and attempt to fight off one thousand of his army, but it would of no use. The boy would be terribly outnumbered. While the battle rages on, Pitch would be in the background, cackling into the darkness, being the last thing the boy hears before his inevitable collapse.
It was brilliant, the Nightmare King had to say. It was almost the pure definition of evil! Giddily, he smiled to his army of Nightmares, who were hidden in the shadows, waiting for their cue. It would finally be time for fear to reign over this wretched planet once more! The world would be in his hands and he would crush every living soul who dares to live on it with his revenge.
It would finally be like it used to, and Pitch could not wait.
He could hear the footsteps coming closer and closer to the room until finally, it stopped at the doorway. A few seconds of silence passed, until finally, Pitch felt it was right to finally say his opening words. "So you've come…" He said the words just like he rehearsed, and the boy reacted had was exactly like he thought it would. "Pitch, you have to stop this. This nightmare can't continue any longer." The Boogeyman chuckled darkly. "Oh, but it can. And it's about to get ten times worse."
"What?"
Jack stepped forward a couple steps, thinking of how he could attack. He could always just wap the older man in the head and make a run for it. Or sock him on the side. Wow, this is too easy! Jack thought to himself. "I hoped you enjoyed your stay…" The boy snapped up his head again to look at the elder. "Huh?"
Suddenly, Pitch whizzed around with a terrifying face; his eyes were bulging out as his sharp teeth showed itself proudly to the boy. Jack couldn't hide it, he was so surprised he had yelled out in terror. They were all blood covered and his face looked as if it was going to fall off, that is until…
"Wait, what!?" Now it was Pitch's turn to be surprised. He suddenly felt strange. His head felt life as he felt something… shrinking? His face back to normal, Pitch looked down at his gray and pale hands. They normally had long and bony fingers poking out of an equally bony palm, but what he saw was more even more terrifying than anything he had ever seen before. They were getting smaller, and chubbier, his boniness receding behind the piles of fat he never knew he had. Next, he felt himself grow shorter. He then surprisingly had to look up at the frostling, who was watching him with wide icy eyes, looking as if he were trying to process what was happening to Pitch as well.
Pitch began to panic. "NO! This cannot be happening to me…!" He would have continued if he hadn't noticed his voice going higher and higher, until all of his words were meaningless babbles.
Jack began to have his own little panic attack as well, with Pitch now underneath the large fabric that was once his robe. He was supposed to have a big epic fight with the Nightmare King, but he can't do that now with him looking like that.
And then, the inevitable came.
The little form began to wail as it struggled against the robe. And as it continued to fight its way through, Jack could feel his own tears prickle into his eyes as well.
Haha, remember last chapter how I said I would be updating slower? Haha, didn't expect it to be this slow, now did you?
Okay, first of all, yes. I am not dead.
Second of all, I know this chapter is crappy. You don't know how long I haven't written, and so my writing is hella rusty.
And finally, third, I AM SO SORRY! I know people probably don't care anymore about these fics, as this movie has already had its probably third or fourth anniversary already (kind of old) and the ROTG fandom had died down a lot since its first hype, but I for some reason is still continuing this fic. Why? Because I felt like everything needed to be completed.
I know you guys all probably hate me for laying all of my works for about two years now, and I really don't blame you. Actually, none of you guys probably care all that much since you probably already left the fandom, but still, I am going to offer my sincerest apologies for leaving you all hanging like that.
Anyway, I had grown a bunch since I had first started these stories. And yes, I am probably also growing out of this fandom too. BUT, I am still going to attempt to finish all of the fanfics that I made. I want them to be complete; I need them to be complete. Otherwise there would always be a constant nagging hole in my heart that will forever be demanding me to finish this. And so, I made a promise to myself to get at least one story done by the end of this year.
Why else am I continuing these, you ask? Well, because I was going through my email one day, and I suddenly had a burst of emails from FanFiction, telling me that people were favourating and following my works again. It was weird, and it made my heart swell that people still liked my stuff, despite how old they may be. I would like to thank one person in particular, lilyblaney, for all of a sudden deciding to do those things. It really inspired me for some reason to start writing and finishing all of these damn stories. Thank you.
On another note, I realize just how OOC I made Pitch out to be. I don't know why, but ever since the last time I made him jump around happily, it seems to have stuck with me, so now I'm just making Pitch really derpy. It's really funny to me for some reason, for such a terrifying figure to have such a happy and giddy moment. And so, much apologies if you don't like him this way!
I just realized how long this author's note is. Oh well.
I guess I'll just sign off for now, as this seems like a good place to finish. Expect another update soon, alright? Either from this story or other stories. :)
And as always, thank you for all of your support, follows, favourites, and reviews! They mean a whole lot to me and always make me smile. :) . Room for improvement anywhere? I want to be better! Thanks! And please leave any suggestions in the reviews too! Who knows? Maybe I might just use them in the story! Also giving you credit, of course. Please review, favourite, and/or follow!
And again, I am super mega ultra sorry for delaying this for so long!
Thank you for reading and have a nice day!
Someone136
