(warning note - one swear word and violence in this chapter)

"AHHHH!" a scream of anger echoed through the cave making Pitch's Nightmares melt back into the darkness in fear.

There was a loud echoing clang as Pandora threw a rock at the Globe, with the sparkling lights glinting at them tauntingly.

"Pandora it's no good taking your temper out on the décor" Pitch placated her patronisingly, forgetting himself for the briefest of moments.

She turned to him with her eyes glowing wild and green, a snarl of madness on her face. Then she seemed to calm and she smoothed down her dress and hair that had been flying wildy around her.

Maybe she didn't wish to be seen as anything but utterly in control, but whatever the reason, Pitch was just glad she hadn't taken to slicing his Nightmares into pieces as she would often do for fun. It took a lot of effort to make those things!

"My apologies Pitch" she crooned, narrowing her eyes at him in a predatory manner. "After you have been such a gracious host, the last thing I'd want to do is upset you"

As she spoke in hushed tones she sauntered over to him until she was standing uncomfortably close. She placed a finger underneath his chin and brought him forward, before giving him a quick yet gentle kiss on the lips.

She moved away a fraction of an inch so he could still feel her breath upon his face.

"And I'm sure you don't want me to be upset either do you?" she whispered.

He shook his head ever so slightly, feeling like he was being eyed by a hungry lioness – every nerve in his body was screaming danger.

"Then WHY" he felt her hand squeeze around his neck "do those idiotic spirits already have three of MY Gems?!"

She shoved him away from her and spun on her heel to walk back over to the globe, glaring at the North Pole.

Regaining his balance, pitch rubbed his neck and glared at her. Powerful and dangerous she may be, but he was the King of Nightmares and he would be damned if he let her win this battle between them for the upper hand.

He allowed himself a pointed-tooth grin. He admitted that he rather enjoyed their spats, even if she was completely insane; not that he would tell her that. She would kill him on the spot.

"The Guardian Tests were too tightly guarded Pandora, you know that! Sandy's test is the one place I can access, but for that to happen I need to be in the Nightmare realm and listening closely for when they open the door from their side. That will show me which part of the Nightmare realm they are in so I can find them and take the Gem."

He moved over towards her, still continuing to grumble.

"I tried to break into the one at Tooth Palace but it wouldn't budge an inch, and there wasn't enough time to try anything else before those infernal Season's showed up. And you were the one who had wanted to bring them there in the first place need I remind you."

"I know" she spat "and for good reason. You'll be glad enough of it when the time comes trust me. Hmmm." She tapped her fingers thoughtfully on the globe, before running her nails down it. It emitted a high pitched shrieking sound that set Pitch's teeth on edge and left four sharp lines engraved into the metal.

"Well no matter. In fact, why not let them collect the Gems for us?" She twirled to face him, an excited gleam in her eye.

"In fact I have just thought of the perfect moment to use that item I gave you. Change of plans Pitch darling" she clapped her hands excitedly before a thoughtful look fell over her features.

"Unfortunately this means I'm going to have to get my hands dirty" she pouted.

"But Pandora, I didn't think you could get into the Guardian's test?

She smiled.

Merida's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she took in Sandy's castle. This place was AMAZING!

Situated in the middle of the Sahara desert and surrounded by an oasis that was invisible to most, was the Sand Castle.

Made entirely from golden sand, its every surface glittered and shimmered in a mesmerising manner. Turrets towered above them the closer they got, with a drawbridge and golden flags waving in the wind.

Merida originally took the architecture to be of western medieval design in its appearance but as she studied it closer she noticed that the walls and towers would shift and change, revealing influences from all over the world.

Asian styled rooftops and bridges linking the towers, columns from ancient Greece would shoot up to frame the draw bridge, Italian renaissance domed ceilings….The whole place was an ever-shifting mish mash of world-wide buildings.

Tooth had tried to describe it to her before they had left, but had struggled to find the words – now Merida could see why.

All she had said in the end was "Why do you think one of the first things children all over the world build when they find themselves on a beach or in a sandpit is a castle? Because that is what they see in their dreams – Sandy never even means to show it to them, but that place is so engrained within him they can not help but see it and it lights up their imagination!"

Sandy's sand cloud that carried them both gently lowered them in front of the entrance, and with a bow he welcomed her to his home.

Now they had arrived, Merida began frantically running the plan through her head, desperate to make the most of the time the others were going to give her. She remembered how Hiccup had taken her to one side before they had parted. He had looked so serious and she remembered the way he had brushed a curl away from her face before speaking.

"Remember to wait until the sun is at its highest – that is when Pitch is weakest and you have the most strength"

She had nodded, unable to speak and he had smiled at her encouragingly. "Merida" he paused before starting again. "Merida, I would tell you good luck but I know you don't need it. You are the bravest of us all and I know you're far too stubborn to let anything happen to you." He grinned as she let out a noise of protest.

"But just so you know – if you even THINK about not coming back, I WILL be coming in there to get you." She had looked at him stunned as he gazed at her with a blush on his face, but there was a look in his eyes that told her he was deadly serious. Then North had called her to say it was time to go and he had turned away.

She glanced up at the sky one final time before stepping through the archway to the Sand Castle. It was nearly time.

Hiccup gulped as he glanced up at the sky; Merida should be at the Sand Castle by now. He would do anything it took to make sure she got out of there safely, even if it meant…

Placing a hand on Toothless for encouragement, he exchanged thoughts with the dragon. "Here we go then. You better go first bud, I could do without breaking another pair of ribs."

Toothless jumped down into the dark hole that led to Pitch's lair and with one last look at the sky Hiccup followed.

Sandy led Merida further into the castle, through corridors with thousands upon thousands of doors of different shapes and designs, stretching every which way for what seemed like miles.

"What's in them?" Merida asked.

An image of clouds and floating Z's appeared above his head. Dreams.

After many a twisting and turning corridor, they found themselves in a circular courtyard. It was beautiful – warm sandstone tiles paved the floor and golden lanterns were hung around the walls. A gentle waterfall was washing down one of the inner walls and disappearing into a peaceful pond with pink water lilies floating upon it. Merida imagined it must be simply stunning at night time when the stars and moon would be shining in.

At the moment however it was midday and the sun shone down on them from the clear blue sky, its rays glinted off a golden statue that was placed right in the centre of the space before them.

The statue depicted a giant bed with a golden child sleeping upon it. The height of the bed from the floor to the top of the headboard was about the size of a man and it stretched out to roughly eight feet in length.

Beckoning Merida to follow him, he led her round the statue until they were standing behind the headboard. She noticed a swirling 'S' was engraved upon it, just low enough for Sandy to reach.

Placing his hands either side of the letter Sandy closed his eyes and a slight frown appeared on his face as if he were concentrating. Before her eyes the S seemed to shimmer and disappear, before changing its form.

As she watched, a series of images appeared on the bed. A shell bursting into particles of sand, an image of a small boy who grew into a man; then the man shifted into the image of a cloud and floating Z's. A silhouette of Sandy came and gathered up the cloud and Z's, holding them in his arms protectively. One final swirl of sand and a picture of the Sand Castle appeared before bursting into sparkling dust.

The dust gathered in the shape of a keyhole and Sandy took his hands off the bed. Conjuring a key out of his dream sand he turned to Merida with a querying eyebrow raised.

Merida nodded. "Yes Sandy, I'm ready."

He patted her arm encouragingly and proceeded to turn the key in the lock. A door appeared in the headboard and swung inwards into blackness.

Hiccups footsteps echoed as he ventured further into Pitch's cave, and yet they seemed strangely muffled - like the shadows were physically filling up the empty space and swallowing his movements. The grey tinged light coming from the scattered lanterns was not enough to disperse them.

His hand remained resting just behind Toothless' head, partly for courage and partly just to take comfort in each others presence.

"Well…isn't this a surprise?"

Hiccup and Toothless jerked their heads up and they spotted Pitch leering down at them from one of the higher platforms. Hiccup applied pressure on Toothless' neck to stop him from growling.

"I must apologise that Pandora is unable to greet you. She's out on an – errand." Pitch bared his teeth in a vicious grin.

He turned and walked away from the edge, disappearing from view.

"So to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Dragon and rider whirled around to see Pitch emerge from the shadows behind them.

Hiccup registered the stray thought that went through his mind; he wished that Pitch would stop doing that – it was going to give him whiplash.

Taking a deep breath Hiccup stepped forward with confidence.

"I've come to make a deal with you."

Pitch went still, his expression fixed in surprise. "Oh? And what sort of deal would that be?"

"I'll give you the Gems we have so far if – and only if – you promise not to hurt my friends."

"Oooo no can do little man. You realise that once I unlock the box this world is going to full of delicious chaos – I can't guarantee the safety of a whole group of spirits; especially ones who have such an annoying habit of poking their noses into things."

"Well how about just one then?"

"One? Why Hiccup I'd never have thought you to be the selfish one. I'm quite delighted!"

"Not me" Hiccup shook his head. "Merida."

"Merida? You mean the archer?" Pitch pouted slightly in disappointment.

"Yes. I'll convince her to stay out of it I know I can." Hiccup lowered his eyes to the floor, adopting a meek look.

"You and Pandora are so powerful, there's no way we can win. I just want her safe…"

Pitch's eyes narrowed as he scrutinised him carefully. "Why would you give up so easily just for the safety of one girl?"

Hiccup's breath hitched and he decided to take a gamble. He raised his head and strode towards Pitch, Toothless following close behind. "You're the King of Nightmares and Fear Pitch; you know what I'm scared most of. Why don't you tell me?"

Pitch looked curiously at the boy who was staring up at him. He placed his hands together in an almost praying position and rested them against his lips thoughtfully.

"You know, I would be putting some serious thought into accepting your proposal…"

Suddenly Pitch's hand shot out to the side disappearing into the shadows. When he drew it back, clutched in his fist and squeaking desperately was – one of Tooth's fairies!

"IF I didn't know that you were LYING to me this whole time. Tut tut Hiccip. And I was just starting to like you…"

The entire place was completely dark. It felt suffocating and claustrophobic. After a few moments of trying to feel her way forwards with her hands Merida realised she wasn't going to get anywhere quickly unless she found some light.

Wait a minute! What was she thinking? Of course she had access to light! She smiled in relief and a little in embarrassment as she remembered that she could simply light her hair on fire to emit some light.

As the first flickers appeared she had a moment of joy as they revealed a dusty grey floor beneath her feet. No wait, not dust – sand. Grey sand with the odd rock littered here and there.

She forced her hair to burn brighter, harder, trying to extend the small circle of light she had managed. But though she extended her flames to their highest height and had them burn with their greatest ferocity, she could manage no more than a tiny circle around her. The shadows were just too thick and the light was swallowed by the darkness. She sighed and willed her hair to reduce its powerful flames.

But nothing happened. She tried again, but they would not shrink – if anything the flames were growing bigger and wilder! In a panic she tried to put them out completely, even if it would plunge her back into darkness - but to no avail.

To her horror the flames, for the first time ever, began to feel hot. They got brighter and brighter, the fire almost deafening her with its roar. Her scalp was burning!

She clutched at her hair in a panic trying to tear it out, but pulled back her hands with a cry as they were burnt. Falling to her knees she screamed, flashes of the last time she had burnt to death flickering before her eyes.

Just when she began to think she couldn't take it any more, she would either die or go mad, the burning abruptly stopped.

As if suddenly smothered, her hair dulled down back to its normal manageable flicker and resumed its regular comforting warmth.

She remained kneeling on the floor, panting, eyes still wide in terror. She hesitantly lifted one hand to feel her hair. She tapped her curls gently, ready to pull her hand back if it burnt, but everything was back to normal.

Her breathing began to revert to its ordinary state and her racing heartbeat slowed.

Then she heard a growl behind her.

Realising their cover was blown Hiccup burst into action.

"NOW!" he yelled, ducking.

Leaping over his head and transforming to her normal size, Rapunzel (who had been hiding in Hiccup's saddle bag) whipped out her hair. Catching Pitch by surprise, she managed to tie his arms to his sides, using her hair as rope. Tooth's fairy pecked Pitch's hand so he would release her and flew out of the way.

A hole opened up just behind them and Bunny, Jack and North leaped into the cave to join the fight. They rushed forward to quickly defeat the trapped King of Nightmares.

Pitch smirked. "You didn't think I was here alone did you?"

A wave of Nightmares rushed forward from the shadows behind him, charging at the spirits. Rapunzel shrieked and ducked as they washed past her, but she kept a tight hold onto her hair, making sure it remained taut.

Jack managed to nimbly duck past the oncoming tide of Nightmares, trusting in his friends to keep them occupied as he flew forward to help Rapunzel.

Slashing his staff through a stray Nightmare and reducing it to black dust, he then twirled it and held it firmly pointed at Pitch. Feeling the frost build up beneath his fingers, he glared at Pitch; trying to convey the hatred he felt for him in a single look. It crossed his mind for a split second that something was odd but he couldn't put his finger on it-

Suddenly, in the split second that Jack was distracted, Pitch managed to work his arm free. He reached forward and grabbed the Rapunzel's hair, wrenching her towards him.

As she fell in front of Jack's aim, his eyes widened in shock and he managed to re-direct his staff at the last second to shoot the ceiling above them. As dust and debris rained down upon them, Pitch used the moment to work his other hand free and grabbed Rapunzel from behind.

One arm looped round her neck like a vice; leaving her choking as she struggled against him, whilst his other arm snaked its way up to her face. His hand melted into a black mist and transformed into a polished ebony knife which he proceeded to hold against her cheek.

The moment she felt the sharp blade against her skin she froze, her eyes going wide as she struggled to breathe.

Jack was frozen with indecision. He could not take his eyes off Rapunzel's as they widened in fear. But what could he do fast enough to stop Pitch hurting her first?

"Oh dear, you're in quite the pickle aren't you Jack?" Pitch mocked, rocking the knife against Rapunzel's cheek in a taunting manner.

"What to do, what to do? Should I kill her perhaps? Or maybe just maim her? Would you still like her Jack if I cut her pretty face?" Pitch crooned in a sing song voice.

Jack felt sick to his stomach. Then he noticed Rapunzel gazing at him earnestly as if trying to get his attention. She looked down at her hands which were still grasping Pitch's arm, trying to pull it away from her throat. He followed her gaze. She had three fingers held up.

"I still believe we could be great friends you and I, Jack. Think of all the fun you could have without rules. Think of the glorious chaos!"

Two.

"You know it's rude to ignore someone when they're speaking to you, especially if they have a knife at your girlfriend's throat." Pitch drawled in a bored manner.

One.

Rapunzel simultaneously trod on Pitch's foot and thrust her elbow into his stomach with all the force she could muster. In his shock he let go and she rushed forwards out of his reach, but not before he sliced open her cheek with his knife.

Making the most of the moment Jack re-aimed his staff but Pitch threw a ball of shadow at Rapunzel's retreating back. It knocked her into Jack and sent them both tumbling to the floor as Pitch faded back into the darkness.

The growl came again, but louder.

Standing slowly, Merida turned, steeling herself for something that, in her heart of hearts, she had expected to see the moment she had stepped into the test.

"Mordu…." She breathed as the face of the grizzled, scarred bear emerged from the shadows.

She fired an arrow at his face which merely bounced off the beast's toughened skin. A part of her had known it would be useless, but god dammit she had to try something!

Turning swiftly she began to run in the opposite direction. Only being able to see a slight way in front of her she kept her eyes focused on the floor, barely managing to avoid the rocks that littered her path and loomed in front of her at the last second.

The spared a glance over her shoulder; she could no longer see him, but the growls were coming from everywhere. Where was he? Which way should she go?!

She twisted and turned, hoping against hope that she wouldn't end up just running straight into him.

A paw flashed out at her, catching her arm. She screamed, tumbling to the floor. Clutching her bleeding wound she scrambled to her feet and took off again, not daring to stay still even for a moment.

Suddenly another noise was added to the echoing growls, this one far more terrifying and she felt a pain lance through her heart.

It was her brothers. And they were screaming.

HAMISH? HARRIS? HUBERT?

Her father roared in pain. Her mother shrieked in terror.

Oh god, what could she do? WHAT COULD SHE DO?!

It was as if her mind was stuck on a loop, nearly frozen in fear.

Her foot caught on one of the treacherous rocks and she went flying to the floor. Stunned with shock she lay there for a few moments, before spinning her body round to lie on her back and look at the monster that was slowly emerging from the darkness.

But it wasn't Mordu. It was her mother. She was in bear form, just like when Merida had accidentally cast the spell upon her, but as Merida looked into her eyes she knew that this did not make her safe.

They were eyes with no thought or love behind them. They were the black eyes of wildness, instinct – and hunger.

"Mum? Mum please…" Merida begged, but her pleas fell on deaf ears as the creature moved towards her, teeth bared and drooling.

She screwed her eyes closed – she could not bear to see her mother like this, she refused to acknowledge that her death would come this way.

She could still hear her brothers screaming though. The only time she had ever heard them cry out like that had been in the fire. But she had saved them then – she had saved them!

She remembered re-living it all and talking about it with Rapunzel.

"I saved him, and no one can ever take tha' away from me…I didnae want to be a Season until I got me memories back. Then, even though they brought heart ache and pain too, they reminded me who I truly was and gave me back me purpose. Courage isn't about not being scared, it's about facing yer fears despitethem."

Her eyes flew open. That's it! My centre!

She crawled up to her knees and held out her hands to the approaching bear.

"I'll admit it, I'm scared. Yer haunting me with what I fear most; losing my family and hurting them. But I won't let fear stop me. I made the mistake of letting you overwhelm me, but not any more. Because yer know why? My centre is COURAGE and courage is admitting when you are wrong and moving forward."

The bear was much closer now, but slowing in its approach. She could see herself reflected in its hungry eyes.

"Yes, I was the one who cast that spell on me mum, but I also saved her, and we were closer for it. I stood up to tradition so I and the other clan first-borns could have the chance of finding real love!" she exclaimed passionately.

"Because…because…what I truly fear….is that no one will love me…for just being me…" she drifted off in realisation.

The bear had halted mere inches away from Merida's face, its breath hot on her skin. They gazed into each others eyes for a few moments.

Then, slowly but surely, its black eyes turned back into the understanding ones of her mother. It whined gently and tenderly licked her cheek before slowly backing away.

Looking at her with a gaze to convey the importance of its actions, the bear lowered its head to place something on the floor with its mouth and then melted into shadow.

"Bye mum…" Merida whispered, blinking away the sudden tears that threatened to run down her cheeks.

Looking at the object the bear had put on the floor, her breath hitched. It was the Gem! Scrambling forward on her hands and knees she reached out to take it.

Her fingers curled around it firmly. Then something grabbed her wrist.

The sounds of battle echoed around them. North's battle cries, Hiccup and Bunny's shouts and the roar of Toothless as he fired plasma blasts into the crowd of Nightmares. It was a desperate attempt to keep them from being overwhelmed, one that was quickly becoming obsolete.

Jack quickly rolled himself and Rapunzel to the side to avoid another rock that came crashing down on the spot they had just vacated. Though they had tried to move further away from their comrades, Hiccup and Toothless' fighting style led to a lot of damaged structures and falling rubble that nearly hit their friends.

Another plasma blast hit a wall near them but Rapunzel and Jack didn't have time to worry about it – a Nightmare was thundering towards them, its hooves bearing down on them at an incredible rate.

"Fuck!" Jack realised there was no way they were going to be able to move in time. He moved his body over Rapunzel to try and shield her from most of the damage when a blur of green and blue flew past him.

"Take that!" He heard Tooth scream as her razor sharp wings cut through the Nightmare like it was tissue paper.

"Welcome to the party!" Jack called over to her, jumping to his feet and pulling Rapunzel with him.

"Jack!" Rapunzel screamed pulling him out of the way. Toothless and Hiccup came shooting past them, knocked out of flight by something on the other side of the cave, and crashed into the wall.

Though Rapunzel's quick reaction had saved him from being crushed by the dragon, one of Toothless's claws had accidentally caught Jack's arm on the way past and torn three ragged scratch marks into his skin.

Ignoring the pain, Jack grabbed Rapunzel's hand and they ran over to check on Hiccup who was climbing off Toothless groaning and checking that the dragon was ok.

Hiccup winced as he tried to stand on his own, spitting blood into the floor. Bruised and worse for wear the other Guardians came to gather around them. Jack surveyed their group.

North and Bunny were both bruised and battered. Bunny appeared to have been caught by a falling rock from the look of the wound on his leg, whilst North was sporting a black eye and torn coat. Tooth, having joined the fight relatively late was doing a lot better than most, but he could see patches of blood where feathers had been torn out by the gnashing teeth of Nightmares. All in all, they were in pretty bad shape.

"I don't understand it…" Jack whispered in confusion. "I knew they would be strong, but not this strong! Pandora isn't even here, why are we having so much trouble defeating him? Sandy and Merida are missing but with Hiccup, Toothless and Rapunzel, surely this should be making a difference?" His voice ended on a note of desperation.

"There's something different about the Nightmares" Bunny panted, catching his breath and keeping a wary eye on the ones that had begun to surround them.

"They're not just made from nightmare sand any more – I bet Pandora has added something else to the blighters."

"Very perceptive Bunny. And here I thought you were all brawn and no brain" The Nightmares in front of them parted to reveal Pitch, smiling at them in inanely.

He stepped forward, petting one of the Nightmares as he did so. "Do you like our little creation? Nightmare sand is all well and good, but in the end it is only a manifestation of fear and the desire to create more fear on top of that.

To create something truly wonderful, you need to add a little madness and the desire to cause pain. After all…" he eyed the red blood dripping from Rapunzel's cheek and Jack's arm, the purple bruising around North's eye and Hiccup's face and the scattered tufts of Bunny's fur and Tooth's feathers littering the floor "there is such beauty and colour in pain don't you think?"

"Oh I've had enough of this" Bunny said in frustration and launched his boomerang into the air with a powerful throw.

Pitch flinched but then realised the boomerang had gone past him, missing him by quite some distance.

"Is that the best you can do Bunny? That was no where near me; you must be losing your touch." He taunted.

"What makes you think I was aiming for you?" Bunny smirked. Pitch's eyes went wide as the reason for Tooth's earlier absence became clear. All around the cave, she and her fairies had been laying out Bunny's exploding eggs in a specific circle – right in the pathway of his now spinning boomerang!

As it hit each egg they exploded, destroying any of the Nightmares near them and sending the others into a panic. As the remaining Nightmares stampeded, they accidentally ran into Pitch who screamed in fury.

"Rapunzel is it nearly ready?" Hiccup murmured to her.

"Nearly" she answered, staring at a spot on the ceiling.

"Idiot creatures!" Pitch screamed, clawing at the Nightmares with her hands.

Wait – her?

The group watched in shock and horror as before their eyes the image of Pitch appeared to melt and flicker. For a split second they saw the real person who had been taunting and baiting them, and that person was not Pitch Black.

Spotting their looks of astonishment and noticing that her robes were flickering between black and purple, Pandora laughed and removed the disguise completely.

"Ooops. I guess the cat's out of the bag" she narrowed her eyes at them.

"Your eyes! I knew there was something off about you – your eyes are green!" Jack shouted, furious with himself for being too distracted to notice earlier.

"Rapunzel?" Hiccup asked, an urgent question in his voice.

"Yes – now!"

Suddenly an almighty crack was heard above them. Everyone looked up to see a shard of sunlight burst through the ceiling, slicing through the shadows. Tearing open the roof of the cave, several green vines were working their way through, pushing and tearing open the earth above them to let the light through.

Sweat ran down Rapunzel's face mixing with the blood on her cheek as she focused on making the plants move such a great deal of earth.

"Jack, go!" Hiccup ordered.

Swinging his staff in front of them, Jack conjured a clear block of glittering, faceted ice right in the pathway of the beam of light.

As the light made contact with it, it shone through and bounced off the different reflective surfaces to shoot off in different directions to every corner of the cave.

Hiccup heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was working – the magnified rays of light pierced and destroyed any Nightmare it came in contact with, providing the perfect distraction.

"Time to get going" North boomed, and threw one of his portals, calling for the North Pole. As they all bundled through Jack made sure Rapunzel went ahead of him and spared a glance back at the chaos they had left.

He was unnerved to see that Pandora was merely standing calmly in the midst of the Nightmares screaming and stampeding, watching them with an eerie smile and making no attempt to stop their escape.

Catching his eye she winked and blew him a kiss. The portal closed.

They had escaped in tact – mostly. But if that had been Pandora the whole time – where on earth was Pitch?!

Merida tugged her arm, desperately trying to wrench it free from the shadow that gripped it. Then a voice whispered in her ear that sent her blood running cold.

"Hello Merida. You didn't think you could come and play in my shadows without me knowing did you?" Pitch smirked.

She doubled her struggles to get away, but his shadows wrapped around her body, holding her fast.

"I'm sure you think I'm here to relieve you of that little Gem there, but as much as I would love to I'm afraid it will only raise suspicion if it goes missing…still, they will all be in our hands soon enough. Instead, I have a gift for you from a dear lady friend of mine."

He placed a necklace round her neck with a dark crystal hanging from it. "Do take good care of it wont you?" he smirked as her eyes went blank.

He released his hold on her and allowed her to fade from his shadowy realm of nightmares back to Sandy's castle. His eyes gleamed in triumph. It had caused him a great deal of trouble finding a crystal powerful enough to hold Pandora's spell, but if it worked…

He bared his sharp teeth in a vicious grin.

Sandy sighed in relief when he saw the sand begin to pour out of the keyhole in the now-sealed door.

As the sand piled up on the floor it began to shift, and slowly transformed into the image of Merida kneeling on the floor. As the sand fell away, she slowly lifted her head and blinked.

Sand rushed over to her and helped pull her up to her feet. He gazed at her torn arm in concern, a question mark appearing over his head.

Looking down at him calmly Merida said "I'm fine Sandy. Everything went to plan." She smiled reassuringly and held out the Gem.

He beamed at her and gave her two thumbs up, before conjuring the image of a compass and pointing to the North.

"Yes we'd better go meet the others at the Pole; they should be finished at the cave by now." She agreed, and followed him out of the courtyard.

The necklace hanging from her neck glittered threateningly.

Author's Note – Phew this is my longest chapter yet! I would have cut it down into separate chapters but I felt that everything in here needed to go together.

I also have a confession. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to fight scenes! This was so hard! I feel quite happy with what I ended up with though; I tried my hardest to make the fight interesting and varied, but apologies if it's clumsy or not exciting enough.

And I just wanted to say a thank you to those of you who have stayed with the story so far, especially those who have left such wonderful messages of encouragement and support. Some special names to mention in particular for leaving me regular messages or taking the time to give me in-depth reviews –

From deviantart – FictionLover987, Ask-TheBig-Four, Freaky-Adorabeezle, LadyofEyes, PopLottie

From – Eva Maverx, Lilly Sunkiss, FrozenLanterns, sappheiros, FloraIrmaTylee, bug349,

From tumblr – thestoryofmylife3, daydreamerssmile, random-scraps-of-paper20, programmedthisway

Even if you aren't mentioned above I just want you all to know that I read through and treasure each and every message you send, and they honestly make my day. I know I am probably repeating myself when I tell you how much of a buzz it gives me reading your comments, but I feel that I don't want to just ignore them, and I can't think of any other way to thank you for taking the time to leave a message than blurt out my gratitude! Anyway, sorry for the rambling!

I'd say we are probably past the half way point of the story now (though this thing keeps getting away from me and growing longer every time I sit down to write it lol).