Holy Water Cannot Help you Now

XIII

Pitch screams as the shadow hands slither up his body, reaches for Jack as they pull him under, struggles to grasp Jack's winter white fingers, yet his hand slips right through like the shadows pulling him down, (but did you really expect different? After all, you are one of them). Tears gleam in his eye unbidden as they choke off his breath, drag him into the depths of unconscious. Soon, all Pitch knows is the fading white expanses as he falls into the dark.

When he wakes, it's in the smothering darkness of caverns he knows as home; however, the underground corridors don't feel like home any longer. There are no bodies protecting his under quilts, nor hands offering sweets drenched in sugars of green and red and expressive beetle-black eyes and lilting apple red lips that warm him from the chest out are nowhere to be found. Sitting up, he unknowingly scrape his nails across the brick floors amid alerts the shadows to his awakening. The shadows churn, the sweep in, surround pitch-guiding him-in a direction of their choosing. Pitch tries to break away once, but with prodding edges they force him back; Pitch scowls and decides to let them take him where they want (he's too scared to try a second time). They lead him down the winding halls, the few torches lining the walls casting orange on his pallid skin, the shadows shrink back then and again, he wishes he had a way to reach the lights. It-unfortunately-is not feasible, they take a sharp turn and Pitch's chest begins to hammer.

He remembers this place, remembers what lurks, bides its time, The Monkey King. Pitch stops, but the shadows lift him from his feet; hoist him into the dismal pit he gave the creature centuries ago. He falls in with a choked back scream and when he lifts his head from the stone floor he looks into a plethora of twisted faces. Pitch scrambles to his feet and tries to back up, but there are more behind him. A screeching holler echoes against the stone walls, and some of the monkeys clear away for the largest of them to come through. He smiles at Pitch (it makes him shiver, whatever The Monkey King has planned for him will not be pleasant), Pitch turns, tries to throw himself the brutes, but they grab him with thick fingers and chide him with the brute force of their hairy knuckles. Pitch flinches as they force him to stare at the primate king. With heavy hand, the king stretches his gangly arm out and pats Pitch's thin cheek.

"No longer a king I see," he rumbles, "Not even a prince!" He chuckles then, "No, you're nothing." It sneers and Pitch shrinks into himself, hoping that The Monkey King will just slit his throat and be done with him. "But," He interjects, "But...you might have use yet" He purs tracing his fingers along Pitch's sharp contours. "Yes, yes useful still..." He finishes back away a dazed look filling his face.

Pitch thrashes when the primates' king pulls his sword from his belt raising it in the air to glint menacing in the ember glows. "No!" He screams struggling to get away, he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die!

A awkward fist swings at him, subduing him with a spray of light behind his eyes. "Shut up!" The Monkey King Howls, "You dumb, useless, child!" The kings' subjects shrieks their laughter, woof their praise and pound their fist on the floor. Pitch curls into a ball and vaguely realizes the beasts have released him. His head hurts. He can't see clearly. In the faint light, he sees the sword glimmer for moment before he's screaming as the sword slices into his arm, he cries silver tears and begs for the king to stop, but he doesn't not until his arms dribbling a steady stream of blood. The primate backs away leaving Pitch to protect his injured arm and head, his sensitive ears pick up the rustle of paper and suddenly, his arms ripped from his chest and squeezed, causing even more pain to his heightened nerves as blood is forced out.

"Stop!" He wails yanking his arm back with all his might, all he's rewarded with is another rattling hit to the head before his limp arm's tossed back at him.

"Good, good..." The Monkey King murmurs, "Once they see this, they'll have to come, meet my demands..." He's talking to himself, it's all fuzzy to Pitch, what could his demands be? What could the beast possibly want that he doesn't already have? It nonetheless riles unease in him.

"...W-What demands...?" Pitch whispers, the beast's eyes are drawn to him and it gives him a smirk that's all teeth.

Reaching down, he picks Pitch's unresisting body up in his arms and cradles him like he's a treasure. "Why, to turn us human once more, of course," The Monkey King coos at the little Nightmare King.

Pitch struggles for clarity in his bogged down mind. "Human? I said I'd find you a way..."

The primate's blunt fingers constrict Pitch's chest causing him to squeak discomfort. "You've abandoned us and our plight to the outer reaches of your lair, you never had interest in fixing us! You just wanted us at your beck and call!" He roars in his face, drenching him in spittle and fowl smells.

"I was working on it! I was..." Pitch exclaims.

"Really?" The king sneers, "Where is your proof?"

Pitch wriggles in the ever stronger hold as the pain of his injuries fight to pull him into dreamless sleep. "It wasn't easy-"

"excuses!" The Monkey King belows and his subjects match him with anguished and enraged calls. "You will be my bribery and there's no way you will convince me otherwise!" The beast hisses at Pitch and the child shudders in the kings hold as the pain finally drags him under. There's nothing he can possibly do to persuade the monkey at this point, hopefully, the Gaurdians' will know to give up on a lost cause like him...

Woah! It's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that guys, but life totally pulls you all over the place...On a different note, what did you guys all think? Good? Bad? Thanks to readers and reviewers of last chapter, I totally wouldn't continue this if I didn't know people are enjoying this. So, thanks Breezyfeather, Nicki K, Keyanna, Bloodysword99, 3Shadowprincess, Nightmre13 and Dplover13 for your comments and feedback! Thanks for reading everyone and I hope you'll drop a review! :)

P.S. The Monkey King is totally not a OC, if any of you want the quickest explanation about him, I suggest you hit the Rise of the Gaurdians Wiki.