So everyone really likes this little Pitch arc where everyone ends up watching a play of some sort with the Boogeyman, and so I thought to bring in yet another newcomer and just keep adding on. Three guesses to whom is joining their next outing!
Spring, it had been almost five months since the trip to see Phantom of the Opera, and Easter had come and gone. Pitch was relieved to have had the break as he had been worried that his attitude may have caused the two Guardians to think him congenial and try to encourage more little outings with him. The Boogeyman was many things, but he was most certainly not on friendly terms with…ugh…Guardians. But luck it seemed was on his side, for neither the boy nor the rabbit had bothered him in the past weeks since the Phantom of the Opera, and Pitch hoped to keep it that way. A content smile lit the dark specter's face as he lifted his arms above his head, a happy sigh slipping out, life was good. He was the Nightmare King, he was being left alone, and there were no annoying Guardians in sight.
Walking around the bend of his lair, his hands clasped behind his back, Pitch fought off the inane urge to hum happily when he stopped his eyes widening in shock and his jaw dropping. "No…" he murmured "Nononononono…"
There sat an egg, and not just any egg, but a painted egg with stubby legs stood in the middle of one of his many tunnels. The Boogeyman bent down, his eyebrow twitching as his fingers closed around the delicate item, and brought it up to eye level inspecting the paint. It was done tastefully, and Pitch swallowed a gag when he felt impressed awe invade his mind at the way the blacks, grays, and whites had been combined to form a modern looking design that surprisingly had a touch of darkness that only made the art stand out more. But the worst part was what the geometric designs created, they made a message, and the words caused Pitch to groan in aggravation.
"Not again," the man moaned.
….
Bunny smiled as he finished up the last touches on a winter themed egg that he had written a special message on meant for Jack. He had been surfing on the internet on his laptop the other day, bored out of his mind with the post Easter lull, and for fun he decided to see what the Opera house in Chicago was putting on for the weekend. What he had discovered made his skin tingle with excitement, and his whiskers twitch in expectation. He had already delivered Pitch's egg, knowing Jack would want to invite the man, and all he had to do was get this egg to Burgess. Blowing on the paint to speed its drying, he then gently placed it within his pouch, patting it with one paw ensuring its safety.
"Whatcha doin?"
Bunny jumped almost over a foot in the air as he turned around with a gasp "Tooth!" he burst "Ya scared me about half ta death, what are ya doin' sneakin' up behind me?!"
"I wasn't sneaking," Tooth pouted "but you were on the internet in the living room when all of a sudden you freaked out and started painting eggs." Her face suddenly turned devilish as she leaned in close and grinned in Aster's face "Easter is over, and you shouldn't be painting eggs…so…Whatcha doin' Bunny?"
Aster sighed, knowing that the only way out of this was to tell the truth, so in pained tones he gave the fairy the whole story from Jack finding Pitch at Les Miserables, to following said winter sprite all the way to Phantom of the Opera. Tooth listened carefully her eyes growing wider and wider as she processed the tale. Finally the story was over, and Bunny sighed dragging a paw down his face, unable to look Tooth in the face.
"So," Bunny said softly "what do ya think."
Tooth's lips stammered as she struggled to find the right words before shrieking "You guys did WHAT?!"
….
Jack landed gracefully on the street outside the theatre, his eyes bright and a large smile on his face when he saw the familiar outline of the Boogeyman leaning against the building "Heya Pitch!"
"Jack," the specter nodded apathetically "before you start jabbering, I need to know why, of all people, did the rabbit call me out here…with an encrypted egg."
"I don't know," Jack shrugged "I got the same thing, just an egg with a secret message hid amongst the snowflakes telling me to head to the Chicago theatre asap."
Pitch pursed his lips thoughtfully, his brain working as he considered why the Easter Bunny would call them here, except for the fact that they might be watching another show. If the latter, then Pitch hoped that it wasn't something too ridiculous. As he contemplated this, Bunny wandered around the corner from the alley, his face a nervous smile as he wrung his hands anxiously. Giving a small wave, the Pooka cleared his throat.
"H-Hey," he gave a strangled squeak.
"Was'sup," Jack smiled.
"Rabbit," Pitch growled "why am I here, and why are you acting like a nervous…well, rabbit."
"We're here ta watch a show I found on the internet," Bunny replied and then gave a heavy gulp "and I'm not actin' nervous…at all."
"Uh-huh," Pitch smirked "then why are you wringing your paws to the bone, and refusing to look me in the eye?"
"I'm not wringing my paws," Aster growled "and I'm not lookin' at ya because yer a creepy guy."
Jack cracked up "As funny as that was Kangaroo, I have to agree with Pitch. You're acting like you have really bad news."
"Welllll…." Aster laughed nervously.
"Hey guys!"
Pitch and Jack both looked up to see a flurry of multicolored feathers. Their eyes bugged out, and both spirits let out a shriek of shock as they jumped back and fell on the ground. Tooth landed on the sidewalk, her face lit by a bright smile.
"So Bunny told me about your little trips," she chirped "and I decided that they sounded fun and I wanted to join you on the latest one."
"BUNNY!" both spirits yelled their faces taut with anger.
"WHAT?!" Aster yelled back as he spread his paws out helplessly "she snuck up behind me and asked what I was doin', what was I supposed ta do, LIE?!"
"Yes!" Pitch spat before he sighed and sneered at the rabbit "Oh I forgot, you're a Guardian, you are incapable of lying."
"Hey!" the boy squawked "I can lie, how do you think I pull off all those pranks?!"
"You're new," Pitch smirked "you have yet to be corrupted."
"Guys, guys," Tooth soothed "its ok! I think this is a great idea, and I just wanted to have fun too, unless you want to keep this an all guy thing."
Pitch sighed and massaged his temples while Jack shrugged his shoulders, and Bunny smiled sheepishly at Tooth. Finally they had all muttered their consent, and Tooth was bubbling her thanks at giving her permission to join their guy club.
"So," Jack said turning to the Pooka "what show do you want us to watch?"
"Oh right!" Bunny burst out "I found out this theatre is doing a live production of the play The Secret Garden!"
"Count on a rabbit to want to watch a show about a garden," Pitch smirked.
"It sounds boring," Jack whined.
"It isn't boring!" Bunny defended "It is a very inspiring play that has interesting characters and plot."
Jack pursed his lips unconvinced and Pitch raised an incredulous eyebrow before they both heaved a sigh. "Fine," Jack groaned "I'll give it a chance, but if it's boring I'm dying your fur pink!"
"And I'm helping," Pitch sneered.
"Alright, no more fighting!" Tooth burst as she fought against the giggles causing her shoulders to jerk and convulse "Let's just go find our seats, and watch the show!"
"Agreed," Bunny grumbled as the group marched into the building.
Eventually the former trio made it up to their usual balcony seat, but stopped to see the unwelcome sight of two teenagers sitting in their seats, thoroughly involved in kissing each other ardently. Jack's face morphed into a look of supreme disgust, while Bunny face palmed and Toothiana blushed looking away into some other corner of the theatre. Pitch looked furious, his hands balled into fists as a grumpy pout pursed his lips.
"It is one thing to have to deal with the impropriety if humans in parks, alleyways, and parking lots," he snarled "but not in MY FAVORITE SEAT!"
Jack and Bunny exchanged looks of amusement before sidling closer to the dark man "So what ya wanna do?" Bunny asked in a hushed whisper.
"Yeah," Jack giggled "wanna scare them away?"
If Pitch's eyebrow went any higher it would have floated off his face, but he could not suppress the grin of maniacal glee at the thought of having two Guardians assist him in a shenanigan. "Well," he purred "we could use their belief against them…I seem to remember a certain prank the two of you pulled at an amusement park which should do the trick."
Aster chuckled evilly and Jack fell on the floor clutching his sides in helpless giggles before straightening up again "Sounds awesome," he smirked before making an 'ick' face at the slurping going on behind them "we better work fast before they suck each other's faces off."
"Can I help?" Tooth grinned "I can be evil too!"
The boys shared looks of tolerant skepticism and Bunny puffed his chest smirking at the fairy "Let the boys work," he grunted "we've got it under control."
Toothiana crossed her arms with an angry huff, her wings buzzing behind her irritably, but the male spirits were already working on their plan to scare off the teenaged couple.
Walking over, Pitch scrutinized the couple before smirking at the two Guardians "We seem to be in luck," he whispered "the boy is addicted to horror movies, and surprisingly the girl has been raised on stories about the Boogeyman. They both still hold enough childlike belief for the Guardians and should be able to hear your voice at the very least."
"Good," Bunny grinned before turning to the winter spirit "Jack, go do yer stuff."
"Right!" the sprite saluted Bunny before flying over to the couple.
Sitting on the back rests of the chairs between them, the boy focused his power to create one area in the theatre extremely cold, specifically that spot. The two teenagers broke apart, completely unaware of the grinning and giggling spirit currently sitting between their heads. The young girl cast scared eyes around before they landed once again on her boyfriend, softly exhaling, she gasped at the way her breath crystallized into fog in front of her. The boy also experimented with his breath, jerking a hand to his mouth to discover his lips were covered in frost. Both let out nervous laughs, their gaze becoming shaky and paranoid.
"It's probably just the air conditioning vent up here going wacky from the remodeling being done," the boy shrugged.
"Y-Yeah," the girl chattered as she rubbed her arms.
"I'll go get a coat from my car," the boy stood up and walked a couple feet away before pausing "Weird," he muttered.
"What?" the teen girl asked quietly.
"It's, like, really warm over here." The kid chuckled nervously.
"Wait," the girl panicked "it's warm…over there?"
"Yeah, you try it to your side."
The girl jumped up and found it warmer outside of the area of the seats "Oh no," she whimpered "I know what this is…I've seen it on Ghost Hunters…we're sitting in a COLD SPOT!"
The boy's eyes widened before he shrugged it off and gave another anxious giggle that cracked at the end "Come on Stacy, you know ghosts don't exist!"
"Yeah they do Brandon," Stacy whispered "my mom used to tell me about the Boogeyman and how he used to steal bad children!"
"That's stupid!" Brandon scoffed.
"No it's not!" Stacy scoffed "don't you know the ghost stories about the third balcony in this theatre?"
"…No…" Brandon answered slowly.
"They say," Stacy began in a low scary voice "that back in 1903 this theatre caught on fire, and no one could escape from the flames. They say that this balcony is haunted because the stairway was on fire, and people jumped over the railing, and fell to their deaths…and even now, you can still hear their screams and that's why this balcony is never open to the public."
Tooth pursed her lips, then smiled evilly, walking behind the two, she drew in a deep breath, and let out a high pitched shriek. Bunny, Pitch, and Jack all jumped but the teenagers froze their eyes becoming wide as they began to tremble violently. Aster winked at the fairy, and then joined her, their voices mingling as they gave their own performance of death screams. Jack intensified the cold, and Pitch manipulated the atmosphere making an illusion around them of flames licking the walls. Stacy leapt into Brandon's arms, her breath coming in short shallow gasps as she began to hyperventilate in fear. Pitch smirked before disappearing and then changing his appearance. The teens gasped when they saw the transparent form of a man slowly burning to death begin to climb up the railing from beyond the balcony. One charred hand reached out to them, as an agonized face moaned in pain.
"Join us," he groaned "this place is cursed, all who come here will eventually…BURN!"
Finally the couple couldn't take it anymore, and letting out a shriek of pure terror, ran from the building and down the street, their mouths agape as they screamed. Pitch dropped the illusion around the building and himself, only to hang over the railing laughing himself silly. Bunny was sitting on the floor back to back with Toothiana, the fairy fanning herself as the two giggled and snorted. Jack was sitting in the theatre seat, his legs slung over the arms as he cackled gleefully. Reaching over the winter spirit got a high five from Bunny, their eyes bright in triumph.
"That," Jack giggled "Was. AWESOME!"
"I have to admit," Tooth laughed breathlessly "that was a lot of fun!"
"Yeah," Aster nodded "and good on the scream by the way, perfect idea ta add ta our little prank."
"Why thank you," the fairy accepted graciously "I couldn't just sit by and let YOU guys have all the fun!"
Pitch was still beside himself with laughter, his face becoming a dark gray as he ran out of oxygen "T-That," he gasped "was…indescribable! I can't believe they fell for it!"
"You're burning man was fantastic!" Jack bounced in his chair "I didn't know you could do that!"
The group once again melted into a round of laughter, wiping tears of mirth from their eyes before falling silent. Pitch finally crawled off the railing, and marched to his seat, a large grin of victory lighting his features. "Once their story gets out," he purred "then this seat will well and truly be mine."
"See, now ya just sound like the Phantom," Aster laughed as he changed his voice to sound spooky "'Box five must always be empty!'"
"I'll take that as a compliment," Pitch sniffed as he sat down and snuggled into his favorite chair.
"Ok!" Tooth grinned with a punch to the air "though I doubt anything will be entertaining after that little show, let's watch The Secret Garden!"
"Bunny, do you promise this won't be boring?" Jack pleaded.
"Jack…" the rabbit sighed "you sat through Les Miserables…"
"He slept through Les Miserables," Pitch muttered earning a glare from Jack.
"…and you watched Phantom of the Opera…" Bunny continued.
"He would have fallen asleep during that one too," Pitch cut in again getting a swat from the offended winter sprite "if it weren't for the fact that he had two people keeping him awake that time."
Aster swallowed the chuckle that was threatening to overwhelm him "…If ya can handle those, I think ya won't mind this show here."
"Fine," Jack grumped still glaring at the smirking Boogeyman "but I mean what I said before, if it's boring I'm dying your fur pink."
"A'right," Bunny nodded before winking at Pitch "but if ya fall asleep, Pitch, Tooth, and I get ta give ya a makeover."
"Wait…WHAT?!"
Oh that's a good idea!" Tooth gushed "there is one particular look I've been dying to try, but I need a guinea pig first before I can make a decision."
"…No…"
"I agree," the dark man chuckled evilly "I'm sure we could come up with something very…interesting."
"…No…!"
"And I have new colors that I want ta see how they look when dry," Bunny added in "I bet your hair would look great with a touch of fuschia."
"…NO!..."
"So is it a deal?" the three asked as they leaned in menacingly with the shadows playing across their faces giving them a macabre appearance.
"I don't care," Jack pouted "because I'm NOT going to fall asleep!"
"We'll see," Pitch cackled as he rubbed his hands together in excitement "we'll see."
"Oh this is gonna be fun," Bunny grinned.
"I'm so excited!" Tooth buzzed happily "I need to think about clothes, and shoes, and accessories…OH! And we should totally dress up Rex too!"
"Leave my dog outta this!" Jack snapped.
"Too late kid," Bunny guffawed "yer stuck."
Jack opened his mouth to retort, but the lights dimmed and the show began, leaving the boy fuming in his seat. With a sigh Jack leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms unhappily, this play better be good, otherwise he was going to make Bunny pay. Regardless of who won…or lost. As the orchestra began, and the host came out to do the opening introduction to the production, Jack suddenly began thinking about what kind of makeover would be wrought by the combined works of Pitch, Tooth and Bunny. It was lucky that none of the humans heard him, otherwise they would have been frightened by a very high pitched scream loaded with terror.
Don't worry, I WILL write them actually watching the show, and will eventually bring all the Guardians in to their little "secret", but I thought this sounded like a fun idea.
Read, REVIEW, and enjoy!
MyHeartsDesire, you won the latest 100th reviewer games prompt! Give me your request and I will get to it as soon as I can!
Please NOTE: I am currently in New Mexico on a Navajo Indian reservation for the week. I may not have a lot of time to write, so if my updates become sporadic, I apologize but it cannot be avoided as I have a very important job to do here.
THANKS!
