Music: "Be Prepared" by Jim Cummings (The Lion King)
Epilogue: Be Prepared
Endless shouting echoed and bounced off of the stone walls of the cavern, the Nightmare's pranced and stalked back and forth with nervous excitement, and people Gothel really had hoped would be dead moved about the shadowed lair comfortably. As if they never left.
Gothel was glaring down at the cauldron, the image of happy children boarding the bright red train after another successful year at school. Four little brats in particular laughed and smiled as they slowly made their way towards the train station, dragging their trunks behind them.
A monkey shriek made Gothel's scowl deepen, and she rounded on the crowd behind her.
"Would you all shut up!" She snapped, ready to pull out her hair if these imbeciles didn't stop arguing this instant.
"Don't act so high and mighty, Gothel. You're just as lost and angry as the rest of us." A large ape-like creature who wore a cape and crown growled back at her, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword that was attached at his hip as he glared at her from his hunched position.
"The Monkey King is right. He tells you as much as he tells us, which is nothing." A deep, silk-smooth voice came from behind Gothel and the witch rolled her eyes as she turned to face the other woman. "If those children are the Prophecy then why aren't they dead yet?"
"Why don't you ask Pitch? He's the one who brought you all back here, not me!" Gothel hissed at the dark-haired ocean witch who only smirked in response.
Before any more arguing could be done, laughter arose from the dark throne at the head of the room. Deep, uncontrollable laughter that chilled even the dark beings gathered in that cavern to the very bone.
Pitch's laugh echoed around the lair as he rose from his seat, walking down from the dais to approach the cauldron at the center of the room. His gathered men gave him a wide birth, spreading out to avoid the Sorcerer's close proximity.
"Oh, how could I have not noticed this before!" Pitch exclaimed, still chuckling merrily. "It's all so obvious and clear, and yet no one would ever know unless they were told. Oh, what a clever little creature." Pitch cooed, running his middle finger along the edge of the cauldron as he peered at the image inside with an adoring smile.
"My Glorious King," Discord, the dark-haired witch, said passionately, making Gothel's stomach curl. "What is it you are planning? Surly you can tell us something. Or, perhaps, me... As your second, of course."
"I am his second! You are nothing more than simple general!" Gothel snarled, bristling as she realized Discord was still intent on stealing her position in Pitch's Army.
Discord frowned. "A powerful ruler should have a strong second, not some witch obsessed with her youth!"
"I am strong enough to rid this world of you, Sea Crone!" Gothel yowled, drawing her wand as Discord straightened to a fighting position, but both froze immediately at Pitch's words.
"Neither of you are my second." He told them simply, folding his hands behind his back as he walked away from them and the cauldron. Gothel and Discord gaped speechlessly at him.
"Wha -What do you mean?" Gothel gasped incredulously. "A leader must have a second!"
"And I will." Pitch told them, smiling giddily as he let out a bark of laughter. "I am going to take an apprentice. I will train him, and together we will take over this world!"
"An apprentice?" Discord sniffed, looking as sour as Gothel.
"With the distraction from the Scottish Royals, I was able to sneak into Hogwarts castle." Pitch told them, ignoring Discord. "I have read the Prophecy for myself, and I now know why North has kept it hidden away for so long. Here we were, lead to believe that these four would be our downfall, but after all this time I now understand that they will be the key to our glorious return!"
"How can you be sure?" The Monkey King demanded.
"Because..." Pitch's voice was deep and malicious as his fingers reached out, curling upward to call the image from the cauldron, so that the image of the four children would float above it for all to see. "We are going to tear the Guardians apart from the inside out."
The children stood by the train, but one seemed to realize he'd forgotten something in the carriages because he ran back to them... And the image followed him.
"We're going to kill the Guardians, and Jack Frost, too." Pitch declared, his eyes fixed on the boy. "The Fourth belongs to me. The Guardians know it, and will try to stop it, but he belongs to me, and with him by my side, we will end the Guardians and rule this world!"
The shadows cheered, growing excited as they thought about Pitch's plan and heard his certainty towards it.
"Our teeth and ambitions are bared, and the Guardians are hopeless to stop us from taking what is rightfully ours!" Pitch spoke loudly, addressing the army gathered before him as he pointed at the image. "Be Prepared for the chance of a lifetime! Be Prepared for when we are finally strong enough to take down the Guardians! Be Prepared for the coup of the century! Be Prepared!"
Pitch Black laughed hysterically as the image showed a young boy running to a stop beside his friends as they boarded the train. His face was bright and innocent, his forest green eyes shining, and freckles dusting every inch.
The Fourth Child of Prophecy.
Jack, Merida, Hiccup, and Rapunzel will return in:
Dragons In Shadows - November 24th, 2016