Note: there are many grammar mistakes. I'm probably going to read it over after finishing this whole thing and then clear away the note section too and make things more consistent. But slowly, this story is coming to close. Then maybe I can focus on the other ones. Cheers.
Chapter 25
Only in the darkness can we see stars.
-Martin Luther King Jr
They rushed down the basement hall until they stopped below the basement door. Above, there were sounds of wood expanding and contracting against the weight that had no form.
"We don't have much time if we want the moment of surprise to work," Pitch said. Pitch glanced upward and he cautiously opened it. "Two Dream Pirates at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. I can take the one on the left. Someone take the right. Follow my lead"
"Wait! This is happening too fast." Tooth said hesitantly as she exchanged glances with Sandy and Jack. Tooth closed her eyes adamantly and then opened her mouth to say what they were all thinking of, but Pitch shushed her with a smirk.
"Don't worry," Pitch said casually. Then he quickly reached into his cloaked and equipped two dual-wielding daggers where he dipped the tips into the jars. Then, he rushed out slippery as a shadow into the open with a malicious smile.
"No, wait! Damn it!" Jack cried after him and quickly saw Pitch slither behind the Dream Pirates like a skilled assassin and slit its throat while clutching its formless mouth closed. It struggled as it let out a groan. Then, with a shudder, it dissipated into the thin air. The other alerted Dream Pirates realizing the demise of its companion, let out a grotesque shriek and launched itself to Pitch. Abruptly, it halted, stumbled forward a couple of steps and fell to the ground without a sound with icicle pierced in its chest. Then, it too dissipated into thin air in forms of black ash.
"I told you to wait!" Jack yelled. Behind Jack, Tooth and Sandy flew out, ready to defend any oncoming attacks.
Pitch rolled his eyes. "And I told you we needed to hurry up." Pitch narrowed his eyes as the ship began to wake up from its deep sleep. It began to creak and groan under the pressure of the shadow. Pitch tsked. "That shriek must have woken some up and some additional Dream Pirates because of you."
Just as Pitch finished his sentence, the ship roared at the escaping prisoners in gathering a storm of black wind. The railings rattled, the ropes stretched tightly and masts flapped wildly in the suffocating air. A tornado of nightmare creatures in combined mass launched up in the air and then came crashing down to the ground at astounding speed. When the dust settled, they were surrounded by swarms of Dream pirates like an endless night without a single light from the star.
"This is why I said it's happening too fast! Now there's too many of them for us to handle alone!" Tooth shouted. She touched the ground and brandished her ruffled feathers like a startled cat, filled with tension and anxiety.
Sandy looked around worryingly in surrounding darkness while they were backed against each other with enemies surrounded. It was the same as before. Yet, Sandy brandished his whip proudly. He will not go down without a fight. Not this time.
"Did you expect me to execute this plan without a backup?" Pitch said with oozing confidence. In a flash, he took out two dual-wield swords and a staff. He smashed the jar on the ground away from himself and toward the advancing Dream Pirates. Quickly, Dream Pirates retreated in hissing fits, reluctant to touch the very liquid that would erase their existence. Pitch knew it would buy them some time, but he needed to act quickly. Carefully, Pitch dipped swords and the staff amongst the puddle and threw the dual wields swords to Tooth and the staff to Jack. Tooth caught swords in the mid-air and brandished them with confidence with her translucent wings stretched wide behind her sturdy back. A comfortable staff settled back in Jack's hand and Jack felt a rush of confidence from his old friend.
A natural smile stretched on Jack's face. "Now, you are talking! It's time to have fun."
"Indeed." Pitch agreed. "But I recommend freezing the liquid before they dissipate into the air or have it hit me."
Sandy gingerly dipped his whip into the puddle happily. Giddy, he swung the whip toward the amassing darkness and it shrank back, showing some semblance of light from stars peeking in until it was once more, absorbed by the darkness. Beside him, Pitch hissed sharply. "Watch it!"
With a gesture of his hand, Jack frosted the liquid on their weapons.
Dream Pirates were reluctant to launch themselves to their demise, yet, one began to cackle and slowly, cruel harsh laughter swelled from the black emptiness. Out of the darkness, Molten sauntered elegantly on top of his pet spider. Witha grand entrance, he watched them with keen eyes from above to down below.
"Well, well, well, what have we here? Oh, what a surprise." Molten said coldly. Molten's gaze snaked across Jack to Pitch. "Your hindrance interrupted my beauty sleep. I gave you a chance to betray me. I didn't think you would fall for it so honestly and this quickly. How typical."
"We both knew how it was going to end. We have our own self-interest after all" Pitch replied with a touch of sarcasm. "Don't tell me you are vexed."
"No, I am simply-" Molten launched himself onto Pitch with sharpened claws with a feral leer, " disappointed."
Pitch blocked Molten's attack with his two daggers, forming a cross. Swiftly, they exchanged instantaneous attacks that were too quick for others, each dodging, counter-attacking and parrying in furries of combat.
Rapidly, the giant spider aimed and fired its silk toward Pitch. However, Tooth dived in and caught the silk with her swords and shredded them into pieces that fell harmlessly onto the ship floor. "Oh no, you are mine." Tooth said as her eyes glinted with fury. Then, she dived into her battle dance where she twisted and twirled, shooting her sharpened feather wide and far, yet with deadening accuracy into spider's four eyes. The spider screeched in pain and wildly begun to slash the air with its legs. Taking the chance, Tooth clashed the exoskeleton of the spider's back with dual wield swords, raised it high up in the air and smashed it down. She felt two swords pierce the hard armour into the soft flesh and she was finally satisfied. The spider cried one final loud piercing sound and fell to the floor exhausted. Later, it did not rise once more.
Dream Pirates tentatively stepped forward and it dawned them that the liquid has been soaked up by the rotten wood of the ship. They howled in mad joy and lept forward, only to be met by Sandy's whip that slashed their skins that slowly ate away the emptiness. They shrieked and struck back with raving rage. Like a circus master to the wild animal that needed to be tamed, Sandy whip flung around in circle leaving behind gold and sliver magic in its wake.
Jack covered for any holes in their defence. Using the soaked wooden floor, he glossed it over with frost and watched some Dream Pirates sleep and tumble to the ground where they shattered their forms into small black shards that did not move. Jack laughed and evaded many outstretching hands, piercing each of them accurately with his whizzing icicles.
Slowly and surely, they were holding their ground.
Molten leaped backward and joined back with the crowd of Dream Pirates. He stared at his spider that has lost its battle without any expression and without a second thought, he gestured Dream Pirates to devour it. They dived in ferocious hunger and before long, there were no remnants of the spider left.
"You made me lose one of my toys," Molten said darkly. His voice was no longer sing-song sickly sweet that had false sincerity. Now, it was dripping with venomous anger. "Enough games." From the darkness emerged pale cocooned child.
"Jamie!" Jack exclaimed.
"A toy for a toy," Molten said simply with a smile that was filled with dark insanity. Before anyone could stop him, Molten chucked unconscious Jamie into the crowd of Dream Pirates to be devoured.
Jack and Tooth flew to stop Molten but Jack was stopped by Sandy's whip that wrapped around his leg while Tooth was stopped by Pitch's shadow that clung to her.
"What are you doing? We need to save Jamie!" Tooth said. She collapsed onto the ground with tears in her eyes and Jack froze in shock. The shredding sound of shirts and tearing of cocoon resounded. "We can-we can still save him!"
Molten laughed at Jack's frozen aguish expression and Tooth's desperation devilishly. He licked his lip in anticipation of what others would also show him. Yet, he was just met with Pitch Black playing with black sand in his hand calmly. Sandy shooked his head and then pointed the Dream Pirates. Dream Pirates began to gag and spat out what appeared to be black sand.
"Like the taste of sand? I wonder if they taste like defeat." Pitch teased with a wicked grin. Molten's face turned into furious red.
"How? When?"
"It wasn't difficult. After all, all minds think alike. You had them separate from the adults and away from the Dream Pirates. After all, children's fear was the best fear to feast on. I knew you would keep them as part of your private collection of food. From there, it wasn't hard to find them just stashed away amongst the kitchen crates, still in the red sack."
Mortified, Molten commanded the Dream Pirates. "What are you doing? Tear them apart, piece by piece!"
Dream Pirates swelled in sizes and approached them in a circle slowly.
Cornered once more and back to back, Jack looked at Pitch. "So anymore surprises?"
Pitch shoved his hands inside his cloak for the final time and produce a transmitter that glowed green in embalmed darkness. The green light reflected off on Pitch's pale skin that was stretched into a prompted grin.
"Yes."
On a cue, the entire ship shook and the darkness swirled around out of control. On the horizon, Mary Sliverwick stood shining amongst the stars and it sailed proudly right into the darkness.
"Ahoy! We have come to the rescue!" North shouted out loud and let out a deep belly chuckle.
"What are you doing! You just crashed our ship into their ship!" Mick yelled. Pick began to fly around above shrieking.
"I couldn't help it!" Bunny yelled back.
"You should have just let me take control of it then!" Mick said. Bunny narrowed his eyes and stabbed his finger in the air. "I don't trust you! A second I let you have a handle on this wheel, I'm sure you will just run away!"
"I wasn't going to run away!" Mick said and suddenly finding collapsed Tooth, he stretched out his hand to her. "My lady! Are you all alright? I have bravely come to rescue you all!" Mick glanced at frantic Pick. "We decided to change our mind and come to the rescue instead. Who knew such villainy existed kidnapping children and adults alike?"
Tooth ignored his hands and stood back up from the ground, ready to fight once more. "I'm more than fine actually. But thank you for the offering." She shot a smile.
With a sudden creation of a hole, and the dark ship shuddered as the air changed to recuperate the damages done. Suddenly, feeling the change of the tide in the battle, Dream Pirates huddled closer to Molten.
Molten looked at them in confusion. "What are you doing? I commanded you to attack them!" Dream Pirates with yellow and read gleaming in their eyes stared on until all at once, they flee into the nothingness of the space they were born from and just like that, they were gone. Molten stood in his place, alone.