Chapter 54: Final Cackle
"Yaah!" Bunny lobbed his twin boomerangs at the Sweet Serpent. They spun through the frigid air like arrows, heading straight for their target.
The masked girl merely smiled, "Kssh."
Then, she crouched down like a leopard, waiting for the boomerangs to come. As fast as lightning, she leaped into the sky; the boomerangs hit the tree behind her instead, leaving a deep 'X' carved in the frozen bark.
The Sweet Serpent examined the 'X' with glazed, totally unaffected eyes. Then, she turned to Pitch and helped him to his feet. The Boogeyman nearly lost his footing again when he stood up, but he regained his balance. He smiled at the girl and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Good job, my dear. And thank you."
Underneath the yellowed, cracked serpent skull, the girl smiled at her adoptive father. But this time, it didn't have her signature 'Kssh' noise; it was a soft, kind smile.
Lucy's smile.
Pitch continued to stare tenderly at the girl, but something bright caught his eye. Without even thinking about it, he shoved Melinda aside. She tumbled in a heap on the hard ice.
A sand-whip slammed into Pitch, sending him spinning through the air like a broken toy. He crashed on the lake's frozen surface, gasping and groaning in pain.
"Father!" Melinda screeched. Ignoring the dull ache vibrating in her limbs, she scrambled to her feet and raced towards the scene.
Sandman's whips grew spikes; they lashed out at the Boogeyman like angry cobras. Black blood spilled out, staining the otherwise perfect pale blue ice. Pitch gripped his injuries as Sandman pelted him with attacks, not giving him time to heal.
Pitch knew his time was running out. He was already feeling dizzy from the lack of blood, and the pain was far too strong to ignore. He could barely defend himself, never mind fight back.
As if on cue, a spiked whip curled around the Nightmare King and sent him slamming into a frozen tree. Pitch howled with pain and tried to free himself, but when he did, he felt fire sink into his flesh. The Boogeyman stopped struggling as realization finally sizzled in: the whip was still around him.
Fear rippled through him, making his heart do somersaults in his rib cage.
A shadow loomed over him, blocking out the moonlight. Pitch looked up to see Sandman glaring at him. With absolutely lifeless gold eyes, the small man raised his fist.
A gold knife formed within it.
Pitch's blood froze in his veins.
"GYAAAH!" A high-pitched girl's voice filled the air like nails on a chalkboard.
In a flash of black and gray, the Sweet Serpent was on Sandman's back like a rabid animal. Pitch watched with amazement as the whips around him disappeared; as his wounds began to seal themselves up, he stared at the fight in front of him. Melinda's gloved, clawed hands reached for Sandman's throat and squeezed as hard as they could.
Under the mask, the girl's face was set in a cruel snarl. But the tears rolling down her chin gleamed in the moonlight like opal stones.
As Sandman's eyes bulged, he tried desperately to pry the girl off, but it was futile; she was stuck to him like a leech.
Finally, the lack of oxygen took its toll. Sandman's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed in an unconscious heap on the ice.
Melinda crawled off him and rushed to the Boogeyman. "Dad!" She crouched down before him. In the skull's empty sockets, her gold eyes were wide and glassy with concern. Her gloved hands moved anxiously, as if unsure whether to touch his wounds or not. Even though they were healing, the Boogeyman was far from hunky-dorey. Melinda noticed this as well; her hand covered her mouth as she stared at the gashes. "Oh, God..."
Pitch shook his head, "No, I'm fine." Now, it was his turn to take in the girl's wounds. They were almost as bad as his: her gray bodysuit was soaked black with blood, and patches of cloth had been ripped off her arms and legs, exposing deep cuts. One gash in her thigh was deep enough for the bone to be visible. Even her skull mask was specked with blood.
Had she really endured all this...for him?
He could only say his daughter's name. "Melinda..."
Footsteps. Melinda, still hunched over, put herself in front of Pitch and hissed angrily.
Bunny, streaked with bright red blood, panted as he walked towards the pair of dark creatures. He might have looked angry, but his emerald-green eyes were shiny with unshed tears.
"Why?" He asked the girl, "Why're you workin' with him?"
Melinda growled, not rising from her crouched pose. "He was there for me when my world went dark. You were only there when my life was full of light."
North looked flabbergasted, "Vhat are you talking about?"
"My parents are dead!" Melinda screamed, startling the two remaining guardians. "You guys claim to protect the children of the world. You fill their lives with," She made mocking motions, "Candy eggs, happy memories, sweet dreams, and toys!" She lowered her hands, "But where are you when kids really need you? Where were you the day my parents drowned? WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU HELP?!"
The two guardians glanced at each other, unable to answer. Melinda nodded, bitterly satisfied, "You weren't around because you didn't care. You're all immortal, so why would you worry about two measly humans? Especially if they didn't believe in you anymore?"
North opened his mouth to protest, but Melinda wasn't listening. She was only listening to one thing: her own familiar, searing hatred.
"But..." She turned to Pitch, who'd managed to stand up on his own. Her eyes softened. "He was there for me. He took me in, taught me, protected me, and he..." Tears brimmed in her eyes, "He saved me from myself." She slowly stood up, wincing at the pain it caused. "That's why..."
A dagger appeared in her fist. Bunny and North took a frightened step back.
Melinda held up the dagger. "...I'LL PROTECT MY FATHER UNTIL THE BITTER END!"
Pitch gawked at the girl in front of him, so willing to shield him. Even though she was already beaten up and bleeding...she was still ready to fight to safeguard him. Even if she ended up losing an arm or a leg, she still wouldn't back down.
His brow wrinkled, and before he realized it, warm tears were gliding down his cheeks.
North bowed his head, hiding his face. The two dark creatures stared at the guardians of wonder and hope, their guards up. Neither of them noticed Sandman regain consciousness and slip away.
Finally, the Russian man looked up. Something died in those sapphire orbs. All life and warmth had left them; now, they were as cold as frozen stones. "Eef you truly vish to protect him..."
His remaining arm pulled out a blade as sharp and gleaming as a half-moon. Bunny whipped out his boomerangs.
"...Vee vill gladly fight you."
The Sweet Serpent's eyes went a little wild. The dagger in her hands grew until it was the same size as North's. But before she could charge, a hand clamped on her shoulder. Melinda blinked and looked up to meet golden eyes of her father. Keeping one bloodied hand on the girl's shoulder, Pitch held out the other. His scythe came about in his hand.
He stared at her for a second. Then, he uttered one word: "Together."
Melinda blinked, then nodded in reply. "Together."
With that, the two turned to Bunnymund and North, who were ready to fight.
Melinda's eyes glimmered with madness. The wind sent her long hair into untamed dances, and the black sand seeping from her cloak transformed into snakes. She leapt in the air, a black silhouette against the ivory moon.
Her grin gleamed in the darkness.
"Kssh."
"Gnnnmm...n-no...no..." Jack squirmed helplessly in the vines of black sand. They were tied around him like some pulsing, living cocoon. Only his sweating face remained uncovered, white against the writhing sea of black.
Black Ice sat cross-legged next to his counterpart, a giant smile on his face. "And here I thought you were gonna put up a fight." He played with his staff of rotten wood, "I can't believe we're two sides of the same coin." He stopped playing with it and pointed the end at the whimpering spirit, "You're trash! Just like all those fairies I killed!"
Jack, of course, could not answer. And even if he could, he wouldn't know what to say. As pathetic as it might have sounded, he couldn't disagree with his counterpart. He felt like trash, and not just because he couldn't escape.
Try as he might, Jack couldn't rid himself of those awful feelings of guilt. He couldn't stop thinking of what he'd seen, or of what he'd heard.
One sentence sank its claws into his mind and refused to let go.
"All this time, you've been killing her on the inside."
Tears trickled down the boy's face.
That's right. Melinda...no, Lucy was in pain. He'd been the one to cause it. And now, after all these years, he had to fix it.
SLASH!
"Huh?" Black Ice spun around; he caught sight of something gold at the corner of his eye, but that was it.
But when he looked back at his victim, he was so shocked he actually gasped.
All the black chains that'd been snaked around Jack were sliced in half.
Gold sand was sprinkled on the broken ends.
Black Ice felt his heartbeat quicken until it almost ached. "Shit." He jumped to his feet, holding his staff close to his body. He knew who it was, and he actually felt scared. Nightmare Sand was merely corrupted Dream Sand, so no matter how powerful he, Melinda, or Pitch became, Sandman would always have an advantage over them.
And the guardian of dreams was anything but in a good mood.
His spiralling thoughts of fear were cut off by a horrible burning in his back. "Yaah!" He cantered out of the way, one hand automatically touching the damage. He winced; a deep cut was now in his back, and the skin felt like it'd been dipped in boiling oil. "Fuck..." He glared at the Sandman, who was calmly walking towards him.
"How the hell did you find me?" Black Ice growled.
Sandman smiled coolly and held his small palm up. When Black Ice realized what it was, he felt his stomach drop.
Nightmare Sand. A small pile of it was resting in the guardian's gold palm.
Black Ice had been leaving a trail without even realizing it.
But that didn't mean he'd lost.
He yelled and swung his staff. Ebony shards flew towards the Sandman, but the golden man pulled out his whips and waved them about. They cut through the shards like butter.
Then, Sandman sent a wave of Dream Sand at Black Ice. The dark spirit's eyes widened, but when he tried to fight it off, the dark ice shattered once it touched the gold wave.
Black Ice only had time to shield his face before the wave crashed down on him.
His scream of utter pain echoed through the abandoned house as the windows glowed gold. When the sand receded, the Fearling was hunched up in a ball on the floorboards, trembling like a leaf. His black armor was melting off his body like pudding, and so was the pale skin underneath. The muscles underneath were a grayish skin rather than the deep red of a human.
His eyes were bloodshot and his face was contorted in agony.
That suffering quickly morphed into fury. "DAMN!" He forced himself up, even when the bones in his arm audibly snapped. "IS THAT ALL YOU GOT?!" He bolted towards Sandman; a black knife appeared in each hand, ready to kill.
But once again, Sandman attacked before Black Ice could even try. Sandman snapped his fingers, and gold sand shot into the Fearling's eyes. They lit up like candles, then exploded like dynamite sticks.
"AAAAAAAAAGH!" Black Ice crashed in a burning heap at Sandman's feet. His hands were pressed against his eyes. He shuddered uncontrollably, "Oh, God...my eyes! It burns!" His shouts were reduced to pained gasps, but Sandman wasn't done yet. With a snap of his fingers, he sent a fresh torrent of Dream Sand in Black Ice's direction. The Fearling hollered in torment as the burns swallowed him whole.
As the Fearling lay there crying and screaming, Sandman turned his attention to Jack, who'd just managed to push himself up. The white-haired boy glanced at his counterpart writhing in anguish; just for a second, he felt pity worm its way into his heart. Then, he remembered that Black Ice had been doing something worse: he'd tortured him mentally and emotionally rather than physically. Just like that, Jack's pity vanished.
He shook his head to clear away the dizziness and turned to Sandman. He smiled tiredly. "Thanks, Sandy." Sandman smiled and shot him a thumbs-up. Jack ran a hand through his hair and glimpsed at the sky. Even from the distance, he could see flying boomerangs and jets of Nightmare Sand flying in the night.
He jaw tightened. "Let's go."
"Aaaaargh!" Melinda slammed against a stone, shuddering with affliction. Her arm was growing back right now, but the pain had been exactly the same. Now that she was really testing out her immortality, Melinda understood how it worked: if you get injured enough, you die, just as anyone would. But then, you heal and are ready to go a few minutes later.
But you had to experience the agony of death over and over again.
Ah, her arm had grown back for the fifth time. Melinda tested it out as she forced herself up. Yep, good as new.
But how much longer could she keep this up? She felt beaten down and exhausted, she felt disoriented from all the blood she'd lost, and her arms and legs felt like lead.
"I..." She whispered to herself, "I don't know...how...much longer..."
A shadow towered over her. Melinda gasped and spun around just in time to see a sword come down on her.
"NO!" Pitch was in front before she could blink, his scythe intertwined with North's sword. Melinda watched with wide eyes as her father fended off the large man, the surprise paralyzing her.
"Melinda!" Pitch snapped through gritted teeth, "Get out of here!"
"What?!" Melinda shouted, "I'm not leaving you here!"
Pitch yelled in exasperation and kicked North in the face. The Russian crashed on his back, giving the Boogeyman the time that he needed. Pitch turned around and placed his hands on Melinda's shoulders. "Melinda, please. They are only two guardians and they are both injured and weak. I can take care of them. You need to head home."
"But-"
"Please." Pitch cut her off pleadingly, "I can't lose you again."
Melinda stopped, staring into the golden eyes so much like hers. All she could see within them was genuine concern and care for her life. For the first time, Melinda understood that Pitch had suffered more during her 'death' than she'd initially thought.
Tears brimmed in her eyes. Just like a child, she wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug. Then, she stood up and wiped the blood off her chin. She knew she had to hurry, before North could get up. The girl had time for one last phrase; those four little words would stay with Pitch for the rest of his existence:
"I love you, Father."
Then, she flew into the air, slicing through the night like a bullet. Pitch stood there, shell-shocked at the girl's words.
But the shock quickly evaporated, and he felt a new strength surge within him. It was greater than any strength he'd ever felt before, even in the Dark Ages.
Because now, he had someone worth fighting for.
North got up, and he was greeted by a scythe flying his way.
Sandman helped Jack limp out of the house. Even from ten meters away, Black Ice's howls of agony were still within earshot. Each scream sent a tiny spasm of pain in Jack's heart, but he gritted his teeth against it and walked on. His legs were asleep, and he felt like he'd been drained by a vampire.
He needed his staff, and fast.
Sandman started communicating with him via images above his head. After nearly a decade of knowing Sandman, Jack was able to understand everything:
'We have to hurry. That monster might attack soon.'
Jack shook his head, "Lucy's...not a monster. She...needs help."
Sandman frowned quizzically at him, but he did not have time to answer; Jack caught sight of his staff, sitting right next to his pond. Black Ice had clearly put it there for safe-keeping.
Well, his loss was Jack's gain.
The winter spirit let go of Sandman and ran as quickly as he could to his staff. He wasn't what one would call fast, but he was there soon enough anyway. Determination was fuelling his muscles and bones, willing them to move despite their flawed condition. He finally knew what had to be done, thanks to what he'd seen.
He knelt down and reached for his staff. He was about to touch it...
...when hisses filled the air. Jack looked up to see an army of Nightmare Snakes slither towards him from everywhere: the pond, the snow, and the shadows. Sandman held up his sand-whips, and Jack made a wild grab for his staff.
But he only grabbed empty air; the staff flew into the sky like a rocket. Jack's icy-blue eyes followed it, wide with disbelief.
A bloody, clawed glove caught it.
That glove belonged to a figure floating in the air just above the horde of serpents. Its skull-like mask obscured her face, but the wicked smirk was impossible to miss. As she held the staff, the frost on the wood vanished; now, it looked like an ordinary stick.
Melinda's grin widened, "Kssh."
Then, the staff turned entirely black.
The pain that followed was worse than anything Jack could recall. He felt like he'd been ripped open like a trout. A horrible torn feeling overcame him, and he hunched over in a desperate attempt to smother it.
"And with that..." Melinda purred, "...Your weapon against us is gone."
She waved her new staff, and a storm's worth of Nightmare Snakes emerged from it. They rushed towards the pair in a hissing mass of hatred, and Sandman did the only thing he could: he grabbed Jack and formed a shield around them. But Jack barely paid attention: he could only see the girl he used to know retreat.
"Lu..." Tears spilled down his cheeks.
He bellowed out the name with all his might.
"LUCY!"
Melinda threw her head back and cackled. It was a horrible noise, a jangle of pure hatred and malevolence. It vibrated through the night like an earthquake, leaving fear and dread in its wake.
Lucy had taken a back seat. The Sweet Serpent was firmly in control.
She grinned at her former friend and yelled something before vanishing. Those words struck Jack to his core.
"C'mon, Jack! Let's play!"
