Disclaimer: I do not own ROTG, it rightfully belongs to DreamWorks. I also do not own the Avengers, they belong to Marvel. I only own the OCs and the plot.
Hey there...
So, first thing's first, this chapter is probably the only one you'll get for the next five weeks, as I have exams. Sorry about that...
So, after the last two cliffhangers, I figured I probably ought to tell you what happens next, so... here it is. The Final Battle - this is where it all ends, for better or for worse. So strap in!
Anyway, thank you to LeaDenise, Yankeegirl01, booklvr007, blackwolfaligashia, MargaretMacDonald123 and u for following the story, thank you to Yankeegirl01, Idalia, GinryuFox, booklvr007, blackwolfaligashia, MargaretMacDonald123 and u for favouriting it, and thank you to Yankeegirl01 and blackwolfaligashia for following and favouriting me. Also, thank you to the following people who reviewed:
Kentario:Well, I've had another, much smaller, writing spree, which is what resulted in this chapter - I hope you like it as much as the previous ones! I hope your friend likes the story, if they get round to reading it...
TheShapeshifter100:About the necklace, you are veeeeeeeerrryyy close ;) Also, it didn't come across as rude at all, so don't worry about it - there's no need to apologize. And as for the wings... well you'll see soon enough ;)
rachealninja10:Thanks for the info on Clue(do)! I'm guessing you've seen through my pretense of being able to kill off main characters (I say 'pretense', because I really can't bring myself to actually do it). And thank you so much!
LeaDenise:Thank you! Here's the next chapter - sorry I'm going to make you wait for the next one :( I'm afraid I've got 21 GCSE exams left to do, so it can't be helped...
fantasyinfinity:CORRECT! Your guesses are all correct, as you're about to see... :D
Froster:Personally, I think once Eros discovers the fact that Tara didn't actually die, he's going to keep his head down for a good, looooong time :) As for the centers... I haven't really thought of any for them. I really ought to, since I'm writing a story about the five of them, but I just can't work it out... I know what sort of thing I want their centers to be (mostly), but I just can't figure out what it should actually be, and how to make it fit... Gah, just thinking about it gives me a headache!
Guest (the first one):As I believe I said at the time, I felt I simply had to include that piece, as it was sitting in the cinema waiting to watch ROTG when I first heard the piece :)
Guest (the second one):Here's the next chapter - hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 38 - The Final Battle
Jack's POV
I closed my eyes and turned away, preparing myself for the end. I expected to feel pain, to feel my life slipping away.
I never expected what actually happened. I never expected a flash of bright light to sear through my eyelids, and I never expected to hear the clash of metal on metal.
Once the light had subsided, I turned my head back towards where Pitch stood, and opened my eyes.
Stood before me was what could only be described as an angel. Her white, feathered wings were outstretched; protectively cutting off anything that might try to attack me from the side. She had her back to me, as she stood strong and tall, her sword held inches from her face, holding Pitch's sword in place.
Pitch's face was priceless. His amber eyes were wide in shock and surprise, his mouth forming an 'O' of disbelief.
He quickly regained his composure, and backed away a few steps, his expression now a hateful snarl. "Impossible! You should be dead!"
The angel, who was unmistakably Tara, lowered her sword. I could almost hear the triumphant smirk that she was undoubtedly wearing, in her voice.
"Oh, my dear father." The last word was mocking, and I realized, with a jolt of surprise, that it was the first time I'd heard Tara call him that. "You should have learnt by now that I'm hard to kill. I just keep coming back."
"That you do. But I'll soon put an end to that."
"Now if I got a dollar for every time you've said something along those lines, I would be rich..."
Pitch's eyes narrowed. "Laugh all you want, Tara Lumen, but I'll have the last laugh. I'll destroy everything you care about - starting with them."
He gestured towards Jamie and Christopher, who were backed against a wall and surrounded by Nightmares. Jamie stood protectively in front of his son, and they both looked terrified. The Nightmares lunged.
"Jamie!" Tara and I both cried at the same time.
I attempted to leap into the sky and fly to his aid, before realizing that I didn't have my staff.
Tara unfurled her wings, both of us wondering if they could be used for flying.
But neither of us needed to worry. Before the Nightmare could touch Jamie, a golden whip lashed out and turned it to golden sand. The whip was followed by the familiar and welcome sight of our golden friend, Sandy. He floated down to stand - or hover - between Jamie and the Nightmares.
The Nightmares closed in, but Sandy was ready for them. Whips lashing left, right and centre, he was able to keep the Nightmares away from Jamie and his son.
Tara turned back to Pitch, who looked furious. Clearly, things weren't going anything like how he planned them.
Just to add insult to his injury, North chose that moment to land the sleigh. Nightmares scuttled out the way to avoid being crushed.
As soon as it landed, our friends poured out in their various ways - two ravens, two bats and a crow flew out and over to Sandy, Jamie and Christopher. The ravens transformed into Nocturne and Jack O'Lantern, the crow transformed into April, one of the bats transformed into Samhain, and the other bat transformed to become a large, fierce looking, panther-like creature. It was black, with slight tabby patterns on its fur. It had one white paw, blue eyes, and teeth and claws sharper than knives.
"Looks like Gobbolino got a makeover," Tara commented.
"Who?" I asked.
"The cat," she replied. "His name is Gobbolino."
Meanwhile, Daniel had materialized beside Tara and I, and the other Guardians had climbed out the sleigh.
I looked around, then asked my two friends, "Can either of you see my staff?"
All three of us looked around. Daniel spotted it and twisted the shadows to pick it up and hand it to me.
"Thanks," I told him, standing beside the two of them, holding the staff ready to fight any Nightmares that came close.
"No problem." He turned to Tara. "It's good to see you alive. I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to delivering your soul."
Tara didn't seem to know how to reply to that - I knew I wouldn't, if I were in her position. It occurred to me how hard Daniel's job must be.
"Shall we join the others?" I suggested, changing the subject.
In reply, Daniel dematerialized, then materialized next to his sister.
I looked to Tara, who experimentally moved her wings. She bent her knees, wearing an expression that said 'please work', and leapt into the air, pushing down, hard, with her wings. She then continued to flap them, and managed to stay airborne.
I leapt into the air beside her. "Well done - you've made your first step in learning to fly!"
She smiled, a little apprehensively. "Just as long as I don't crash into anything..."
I laughed. "You know I won't let that happen."
We looked around to see who needed our help. North, Tooth and Bunny seemed to be holding their own by the sleigh very well; Sandy, Nocturne, Daniel, Samhain, April and Jack O'Lantern were doing a very good job of protecting Jamie and Christopher.
But then I spotted another group. Melody, Cassandra, Sophie and a man who I assumed was Sophie's fiancé were struggling against a great number of Nightmares.
I was about to jump in and help, but a boomerang beat me to it, dispatching several Nightmares that were all about to attack Sophie at once in an attempt to overwhelm her. The boomerang was swiftly followed by none other than the Easter Bunny himself.
"All right there, ankle-biter?" he asked with a grin, though his concern was still evident in his voice.
Her face broke into a smile at the sight of her childhood friend. "Never better," she replied.
Her fiancé raised an eyebrow. "'Ankle-biter'?"
She laughed. "I'll explain later."
Bunny was quickly followed by Tooth and North, and together they seemed to be all right defending our mortal friends.
Tara lightly touched my arm to gain my attention. She pointed. "Look."
I followed her gesture and saw that Pitch was casually making his way to the group of immortals defending Jamie and Christopher. It seemed that he had regained his composure and confidence, and was ready to play his next move.
The two of us flew to stand by our friends, in an unspoken agreement that that was where we were needed. We landed next to April, who was currently fighting off Nightmares with her bare hands.
"Nice wings," she said to Tara.
"Thanks." Tara gave them a look out of the corner of her eye to check that April hadn't done anything to them. I briefly wondered if Tara had heard the story about the time April turned Bunnymund's fur hot pink.
"Don't you use a weapon?" I asked April, as the Nightmares kept coming at us.
She shrugged between hits. "Depends how I'm feeling." She then got a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Like right now... I feel like using this!"
She pulled out a large, heavy, metal hammer from her tool belt (how it fit in the belt, I'll never know), and swung it at the nearest Nightmare with a cackle of glee.
Nocturne turned to see what was happening with a frown of concern. When she saw the hammer, her lips pursed in a thin line, and I got the feeling she was resisting the urge to laugh.
"Really April?" she asked, exasperated. "Thor's hammer? You've been watching too much Marvel."
"Too much? There's no such thing!" April objected.
"Perhaps a more... Ah... sensible weapon would be better?"
"'You want me to put the hammer down?!'" April quoted in a loud, deep voice.
Tara, April, Nocturne and I burst out laughing. Even I, who had never watched whatever it was the hammer was from, found April's overly exaggerated (or at least I hoped it was exaggerated) impersonation of the character funny.
At the sound of our laughter, the Nightmares parted, allowing Pitch to materialize before us. He looked furious.
"You dare laugh in my presence?!" he spat.
"Yep!" April replied, cheerfully.
She vanished into thin air, before reappearing right in front of Pitch. She swung the hammer at him and he was sent flying over the mass of Nightmares.
"That's for hurting my friends!" she yelled after him. "I hope you've learnt your lesson!"
He materialized behind her. He must have gained an awful lot more strength than we anticipated, for he didn't even seem hurt - instead, he was even angrier than before.
"I'll show you a lesson," he hissed.
April turned in surprise, just as he reached out and clamped his hand around her throat.
Her surprise melted, turning into something else entirely. I realized that, for the first time since I'd met her, she looked truly terrified. The hammer in her hand dissolved into nothing as Pitch lifted her into the air by her throat. She choked and tried to draw panicked gasps of breath, but to no avail. Her fingers clawed desperately at the hand around her throat, trying in vain to free herself.
Pitch grinned, sadistically. "I know what it is that you fear most of all," he hissed, his eyes glinting with a gleeful malice. "Such a simple thing, really. Not so tough now, are you, April Fool?"
I made forward to attack him, to help my friend. Tara and Nocturne did the same, but we halted in our tracks when the Nightmares swarmed forward, cutting us off from April.
"Why doesn't she just dematerialize away from him?" Tara asked, worried. "She can do that, can't she?"
"Normally, she can." Nocturne's face showed an array of emotions. She was scared for her friend, angry at Pitch, sickened by what he was doing to April...
"But why can't she right now?" I asked.
"April's powers short circuit when she's scared. It's not normally a problem - she's barely afraid of anything. There's just one thing... trust Pitch to be sadistic enough to use it against her like this..."
Nocturne was now trembling with rage; her jaw was clenched, her eyes seeming to be even darker than usual.
"The bastard!" she spat.
Her form twisted and contorted until she was back in her raven form. She shot up into the air, and then flew, faster than an arrow, straight for Pitch's face. She slashed at his eyes with her claws.
Pitch howled in pain and released April, who fell limply to the ground. April drew in great gulps of air and scrambled away backwards from Pitch, only to meet the closing ranks of the Nightmares.
She turned, still afraid and very weak from oxygen deprivation. She gazed up at the nearest Nightmare's towering form as it prepared to strike.
But it never got the chance. The great cat that Tara had told me was called Gobbolino pounced on the Nightmare, sinking his fangs into the Nightmare's neck. The Nightmare burst apart, and Gobbolino stood protectively over April, snarling at the Nightmares as though to say 'if you want to hurt her, you'll have to go through me first!'
Meanwhile, things seemed to be going well for Nocturne. Still in raven form, she flew around Pitch's head; dive bombing him, faster than lightning, with vicious attacks then pulling out, just as quickly, before Pitch had a chance to hurt her.
That was, until Pitch got lucky. On one of her attacks, he turned to face her and managed to grab her by one of her wings.
He held her at arm's length as she thrashed and squirmed in his grip. He then tightened his grip to form a tight fist around the bird's wing.
She stopped struggling and let out an agonized screech as the fragile bones snapped and splintered.
Pitch grinned, cruelly, clearly enjoying himself. The sight made me feel sick, and I wanted to do something about it, but I couldn't - my path was barred by too many Nightmares.
To my relief, the horrible smirk was swiftly wiped from Pitch's face. Daniel materialized before him and threw a hard punch at Pitch's face.
"Don't you dare hurt my sister, you bastard!" His eyes flashed dangerously, his hand gripped his scythe more tightly than ever. I had never before seen him so angry.
Pitch, to spite him, flung the raven's limp form away. She hit a wall and slid to the ground, her form twisting back into her human form. She attempted to get up, only to fall back down again. She let out a cry of pain as she landed on her arm, which was quite clearly as mangled as her wing had been in her raven form.
The Nightmares closed in on her, only to be dispatched by the flaming lash of a fiery whip. My gaze followed the whip to its wielder. Jack O'Lantern.
He transformed into his own raven form and flew to Nocturne. He transformed back into a human, and stood protectively between her and the Nightmares, now holding a flaming sword.
Meanwhile, Daniel and Pitch were locked in a deadly battle. Blows and parries were exchanged so fast it looked almost as though they were locked in a deadly dance, not a fight.
The two of them seemed completely unaware of their surroundings, each of them concentrating completely on keeping themself alive. The fight slowly took them away from us, as they backed away from each other to avoid blows, and then moved back in again to deliver blows of their own.
A sudden, unexpected strike from a Nightmare brought my attention back to my own fight. I blasted ice at it, and it burst apart, but more kept coming. Continuously fighting them off was beginning to get rather tiring, but they didn't seem to notice or care, for they kept coming anyway.
My attention was swiftly taken back to the other fights around us, when I heard Nocturne cry out, "No!"
I turned my gaze to her. She and Jack seemed okay, but the pair of them were frozen in fear, gazing at a scene across the battlefield.
"Danny!" Nocturne screamed in despair.
I followed their gaze back to the fight between Pitch and Daniel, only to find that it was no longer a fight. Daniel's scythe was nowhere to be seen, and he was backing away from Pitch, who was advancing on him with his sword raised, ready for the kill.
I didn't understand why Daniel didn't just melt into the shadows and get away from Pitch. But then I remembered the way Daniel always kept a hold on his scythe, how he never let it out of his sight - he was much like I was with my staff. I realized that his scythe was like my staff - it was the source of Daniel's power, therefore he was powerless without it.
Daniel backed away from Pitch, only to back straight into a line of Nightmares. He looked up at Pitch, trying, and failing, to hide his fear.
Pitch smirked. "I promised you I would kill you. Didn't I, Daniel? And I told you I'd do it soon. But you didn't listen."
He raised the sword, and prepared to bring it down, but then something unexpected happened.
A small blur of sandy-colored hair and pastel-pink pajamas threw itself at Pitch's legs, overbalancing him.
The two of them fell over, but Pitch was the first to regain his composure. He reached out and grabbed a fistful of pink pajamas, stopping his attacker, who I could see now was Melody, from getting away.
He grabbed his sword, and was about to strike when Daniel intervened. Daniel firmly, but gently, put an arm round Melody's waist as he pried Pitch's hand off of her pajamas, and pulled her away from Pitch.
He backed away, protectively holding Melody close to him. His eyes darted about, scanning the situation and searching for his scythe.
Nightmares were closing in, forming a ring around Daniel, Melody and Pitch. Melody was trembling with fear, and, at the sight of the hateful glare Pitch was sending her, she shrank closer to Daniel.
Daniel shared a brief look with Nocturne, who looked at him worriedly, before turning to share a look with Samhain and April. I got the feeling that they were having some kind of conversation using their telepathic link.
Pitch, however, did not notice. He advanced on Daniel and Melody, completely oblivious to what was going on around him.
"So, this is how you want to do things." Daniel kept his eyes on Pitch, pretending that nothing else was happening. I realized that he was trying to distract Pitch, to keep Pitch's attention away from Nocturne and the others.
Samhain transformed into a bat and flew to April, before transforming back into his human form. April was no longer afraid, it seemed - she was fighting again.
"Killing two people when they're unarmed and defenseless," Daniel continued. "Very brave of you."
Jack O'Lantern sent a blast of fire at the Nightmares, clearing a path straight to April and Samhain. He put an arm protectively around Nocturne and they ran, Jack sending smaller blasts at any Nightmares that tried to stop them.
"Of course, it doesn't matter what you do, you're still going to lose," Daniel told Pitch, even as Pitch prepared to strike him down.
"Is that so?" Pitch asked with a sneer.
Daniel swallowed, trying to suppress his fear. His eyes darted around, searching for a possible way to escape, but finding none. He held Melody closer to him, protectively.
"The Guardians will defeat you," Daniel replied. "They always have, and they always will."
Pitch seemed to find this funny. "There are five of them, against my vast army of Nightmares!"
This time, it was Daniel who laughed. "This lot?" He gestured around at the swarm. "The Guardians will finish these off easily."
"You think so? Well then, we can't have that - I think it's time to call in all of my forces, from all over the world."
As if on cue, a great wave of Nightmares appeared, washing over buildings, cars, streets... They all came and joined the already large swarm. Looking around, I realized that there was no way we could fight them all.
Pitch grinned, mockingly, at Daniel. "You so sure the Guardians will beat me?"
"Actually, that's exactly what we needed."
Pitch turned, frowning to see who had spoken, and saw Samhain, standing with Nocturne, April and Jack O'Lantern.
"What are you talking about?" Pitch snarled.
"We did a bit of research," Nocturne informed him. "We know why you were so desperate to get Tara on your side?"
"Oh really?" Pitch looked intrigued. "Do tell."
"The telepathic link you shared," Jack explained. "Whilst draining her of power would make you more powerful than ever, if the two of you were to work together and connect your minds to become one, single force, the two of you together would be more powerful than you could ever be as two individuals."
"Oh, you've figured it out, ooh I'm so scared, whatever shall I do?" Pitch said, mockingly in a falsetto voice. His expression turned back to his usual glare. "In case you hadn't noticed, I've given up on that plan, and there's no longer a link between myself and Tara anyway."
"You don't get it, do you?" April laughed. "Don't you know who we are? We've been fighting your Nightmares for years!"
"Can't say I've heard of you," Pitch said, casually.
"Well, that's your loss then," Nocturne stated, "because I'm guessing that also means that you don't know what we can do. You're not the only one with power over Nightmares, Pitch. We all have that power."
Pitch laughed. "Oh, now I get it. You think that you can undermine my power and dispatch my Nightmares? Ha! You don't have the power - I'm more powerful than all of you!"
"You clearly don't know as much about telepathic links as you pretend," Daniel told him.
Pitch turned back to him. "What are you talking about?"
"Telepathic links form between immortals who are similar in some way," Daniel explained. "Similar genes, maybe, or similar personalities, or similar powers..."
"You may be more powerful than us individually," Nocturne told Pitch, as he turned to them in alarm, "but as a single entity? I think we have more power than you."
She, April, Samhain and Jack turned to face each other. They joined hands - though Nocturne winced as Jack gingerly took her injured one - and shut their eyes in concentration.
"Stop them!" Pitch ordered his Nightmares.
The Nightmares charged, but then slowed as they got closer to the group, looking as though they were trying to run through syrup. The Nightmares attacking the other Guardians and I soon left to try and reach the group themselves, but also to the same effect. Any Nightmare that got within a few feet of the group froze completely.
Pitch's eyes narrowed. "So you think you can beat me? You may be more powerful than me as a group, but you are trying to force them against their nature - I am merely directing them in what they want to do, which is a lot easier."
This continued, and to the observer, it was unclear who had the upper hand.
That was, until the Nightmares nearest the group started to move again.
The four of them were clearly struggling. They were so tense they could have been statues, and even from where I was standing, I could see that they were sweating from the strain of the amount of power they were using.
"Come on," I murmured. "Come on guys, you can do it."
But I wasn't so sure. Pitch was clearly winning, and judging by the smirk he was wearing, I'd say that he knew it.
But then Daniel appeared by Nocturne. He had taken Mel back to Sophie, Michael and Cassie, and had found his scythe.
He placed his hand on his twin's shoulder, and the Nightmares froze under the sudden surge of power. But just as quickly, they began to move again, albeit slower than before. Even with Daniel's power, it wasn't enough.
Pitch smiled as their power started to falter, the Nightmares becoming freer.
"Fools," he spat. "Did you really think you could beat me?"
They didn't answer. I wasn't even sure they'd heard.
Daniel looked up, desperately, at the sky, where the moon was shining brightly. He cried out in a language that I didn't recognize or understand.
Pitch laughed, clearly understanding the words. "You think your father will help you? He never-"
But he was cut short by the sight of what happened next. The moon shone brighter, and a beam of moonlight fell upon the two children of the Man in the Moon.
In a great shock wave of power, the Nightmares disintegrated, one by one, until there were none left.
The five immortals stood in the centre of it all visibly relaxed. They were all clearly tired and exhausted from the effort, but they were triumphant.
That was until Nocturne crumpled to the ground.
"Nocturne!" Tara cried in alarm, and the two of us ran to her. I was vaguely aware of the rest of our friends doing the same.
By the time we reached her, Jack O'Lantern was already on his knees beside her, checking her pulse and her breathing.
"It's all right," Daniel informed everyone. "It's just all the power that went through her - she just acted as a conductor for my power and our father's power - it was just a bit much for her, that's all. She'll be fine."
We let out a collective breath. Tooth made her way to Nocturne's side with some medical supplies she'd left in the sleigh.
"We need to sort out that arm of hers though," Tooth said. "Jamie, would you mind giving me a hand?"
"Not at all," the doctor replied, making his way forward.
Suddenly, we heard a cry of alarm.
We turned to see Pitch holding his sword to Sophie's throat. Sophie was struggling, but he had her arms pinned to her sides and there wasn't much she could do.
Michael and Bunny made to attack Pitch, but stopped when Pitch pressed the blade to her throat hard enough to draw a drop of blood. Sophie stopped struggling, and went very still, not daring to move.
"Not. Another. Step." Pitch was furious, and I didn't doubt that he would kill Sophie.
Michael didn't move, but instead spoke. "Get your filthy hands off of my fiancé, you son of a-"
"You think insulting me is going to make a difference?" Pitch cut him off. "Foolish mortal."
"Let her go, Pitch," I pleaded.
"Why should I?" Pitch sneered.
I opened my mouth to say something along the lines of 'she has nothing to do with this', but Tara beat me to it.
"Because this is between you and me."
Everyone turned to her in astonishment, besides Pitch, who merely regarded her with a raised eyebrow. She still held her sword, and her expression gave nothing away.
"As much as I hate you, Tara Lumen, it's the Guardians I'm here to fight," Pitch stated.
"But you can't defeat them without your army, and you know it," Tara pointed out. "It'll be five against one - and that's only if the rest of us let them fight alone, which we won't. But me? You've got a shot of getting revenge on me, or whatever it is you want, if we fight this out, just you and me."
Pitch thought about it for a second, before letting go of Sophie and pushing her away.
Michael caught her, and checked her over. After she assured him that she was fine, he gave her a clean handkerchief to press against the shallow cut on her throat.
Pitch took a step towards Tara. "So be it. A fight, just the two of us. If I win, I kill you and go free to rebuild my army. If you win... well we'll get to that in the unlikely event that it happens."
"Tara, think about this, you don't have to do this," I pleaded.
"I'm sorry Jack, but... I do have to do this. Deep down, you know it's true." She gave me a reassuring smile. "Besides, I'll be fine. I was taught by the best, after all."
I looked to North. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Tara's shoulder. "Remember everything I taught you, and remember - he won't play fair, so don't be afraid to use all you have."
She nodded. "Thanks."
"If you've all finished saying your goodbyes, I'd like to get started," Pitch growled, impatiently.
Tara turned away from us and faced Pitch. I wanted nothing more than to stop her from doing this - I didn't want to lose her, and if she lost this fight...
North put a hand on my shoulder. "Come on," he said. "She'll stand a better chance of winning if she doesn't have to worry about where we are."
It was then that I realized that everyone else had moved to the sides of the street, to clear a space for the fight. I let North lead me to where Tooth had just finished applying a salve to Nocturne's wounded arm.
I watched as Tara and Pitch stood apart, facing each other, watching each other. They then started circling each other, so that neither got any closer to the other, yet neither was stood still. Pitch wore an arrogant grin, while Tara's expression was neutral. She was studying him, I realized, watching to see if he would make a move, and what move he'd make.
"So, Tara," Pitch said. "Are you ready to die?"
"Are you ready to have your ass kicked all the way back to whatever hellhole you crawled out of?" Tara replied.
I couldn't help but smile slightly at her words, but the smile was soon wiped from my face as Pitch lunged at her. I needn't have worried, as she sidestepped it easily, and they went back to circling.
"You should have joined me," Pitch told her. "We would have made a great team."
"You think so?" Tara asked, lunging at him.
"I know so," he replied, blocking and then delivering his own blow. "You're my daughter, my blood runs in your veins. We're more alike than you realize.
"Oh really?" Tara blocked his attack, before unleashing a series of blows that forced him back each time as he tried to block. "In what ways am I anything like you?"
Pitch didn't answer.
"You don't know do you? That's because I'm nothing like you - I'm your complete opposite. Why do you think my mother named me 'starlight'? She knew - she knew what I would become."
"She couldn't have known, she couldn't have seen the future!"
"She couldn't, but the Man in the Moon could. Why do you think that, every time you try to kill me, I keep coming back? You are the darkness, I am the light - and wherever you are, there will always be some light. You can't get rid of me, Pitch. That's why you keep failing to kill me."
"I'd like to test that," Pitch spat, fighting back with renewed force. "You see, there are other aspects of you that can be destroyed by aspects of me. For example, fear trumps loyalty."
"But you're forgetting something," Tara reminded him, blocking his blows. "Loyalty isn't my centre."
"Then what is?"
"Friendship."
"And you think that's any different?" Pitch laughed. "People will betray friends out of fear."
"But friends are what help us to overcome fear," Tara pointed out. "And true friends will stand by each other, no matter what."
Pitch didn't have an answer to that, so he instead changed the subject. "It doesn't matter - you can't beat me. Only a Guardian can - why do you think the Man in the Moon created them?"
Tara seemed to find this amusing, but what she said next was lost in the noise from the fight.
Pitch seemed to be the only one to have heard. "You're lying!" he spat.
"I'm not," she told him. "That's your thing, remember?"
Suddenly, Pitch pressed her even harder, his blows becoming so forceful she had to back away fast each time she blocked. He backed her against a wall.
"Tara!" I cried and made forward to help her.
North out his hand on my arm to stop me. "Wait," he said, quietly.
Pitch slashed upwards at her, and she blocked. She then pushed down on the sword, using it to push herself up so that her feet were no longer on the ground. She pushed off from the wall, wings unfurling as she did so, flipping straight over Pitch's head and landing behind him. She reached out, grabbed his shoulder, spun him around and kicked him hard in the chest, slamming him against the wall. The impact forced him to drop his sword, and before he could react, she had him pinned to the wall with her sword at his throat.
Everyone stared, stunned, at the scene before us. The move she had just pulled was pretty impressive, but we were even more shocked by the fact that she'd done it - she had the Boogeyman at her mercy.
"What are you waiting for," Pitch hissed. "Kill me - just get it over with."
There was a pause, and then Tara's muscles relaxed.
"No," she told him, letting her sword drop away from his throat, releasing him, and backing away.
"What?" he spat.
"I'm not like you," she told him. "I won't kill in cold blood. Just... Take this as a warning - the next time you try to hurt my friends, I won't hesitate."
She backed away a few steps, and then just... stopped. She stood there, with her back to all of use, staring at Pitch, frozen in shock.
I pulled away from North, and said her name. She didn't make any sign that she'd heard, didn't even turn to face me.
I went over to her and stood in front of her. "Hey," I said, gently. I placed a hand on her shoulder, and looked into her wide eyes, trying to get a response from her.
"I... I can't believe it," she said. "It's finally over."
I gave her a smile. "All thanks to you. I can't tell you happy I am that you're alive."
She looked slightly confused. "As in, you're happy I healed and got to the fight, or you're happy I survived the fight with Pitch."
"Both," I answered, leaning in to kiss her.
The kiss was tender, short and sweet, and when we pulled away, we were both smiling, happily.
But the happiness was short-lived.
I heard someone cry out a warning, several people call my name, and saw the happiness in Tara's eyes turn to fear.
It all happened in a split second, and the next thing I knew, Tara had pushed me to one side and behind her.
I regained my balance and turned to see Pitch's sword slashing towards Tara, aiming for her chest. But she wasn't making any move to block it.
"No!" I cried.
Then, suddenly, Pitch froze. The sword clattered from his hand, and he looked down at his chest. Tara's sword was buried in it, to the hilt.
He then looked at Tara, as though not quite believing that she'd actually done it.
Tara didn't seem to be able to believe it either, but she simply said, "I warned you."
With a backwards jerk, she pulled the sword out of his chest, and he burst apart, in a blast of black shadow that swept us both off of our feet.
Okay, so that's that chapter done. At last - I've been planning it for what seems like forever... but I guess it's only really been a year...
Anyway, first things first, I'd just like to say that this chapter really reminds me of a song I kind of know (I haven't got round to buying it yet, but I still know it quite well) - the song is 'This is war' by Thirty seconds to Mars, and the chapter makes me think of it because everyone has come together to fight Pitch in the last battle, and win the war that Pitch started :) The link is down below in the usual manner (type in the YouTube address then copy and paste what I've put afterwards)
Okay, so... what do you think will happen next? What did you think of the chapter? Why do you think April freaked out so badly when Pitch tried to strangle her (if you really can't wait for me to reveal it in the story, I believe I wrote the story of how she died in her character profile on my profile)? Review and tell me all your thoughts!
This is War by Thirty Seconds to Mars:
/watch?v=hMAVLXk9QWA