Chapter Three: Special Deliveries
Tooth, North, and Sandy flew across the star dotted sky. The night was tranquill and peaceful and Pitch was nowhere in sight. North landed the sleigh at the first stop and Bunny popped out of one of his tunnels, still carrying the basket of eggs in his paw.
"So, are we doin' this or what?" he asked with a smile on his face. The Guardians grinned and each took a couple of gifts from the back of the sleigh. Tooth flew into a child's room and placed the brightly wrapped gift on the child's side table and watched as one of her fairies flew in to collect the tooth that was hidden under the child's pillow. Tooth squealed quietly as the small fairy proudly held up a white lateral incisor. The tooth fairy then sprinkled some dreamsand over the child's head and flew out the window. Tooth ran her hand through the little girl's hair and wished her a goodnight before flying out to deliver more presents.
Bunny had already left several of the colored eggs in children's rooms, and even hid some around their houses for them to have a little bit of a scavenger hunt. Bunny popped into a little boy's room just as North appeared through one of his snow globes. North was holding a Christmas present. The two had a stare down.
"Don't worry, mate. I'm already leavin' these here," said Bunny.
"Iz fine, Bunny. I vill just place Christmas present and then we can leave," North said. Bunny's eyes narrowed.
"I'm sure this anke-biter is a fan of eggs," Bunny said. "Besides, Christmas is a couple of months away. You can drop it off then."
North frowned. "But vhat if child is allergic to eggs? And chocolate?"
Bunny scoffed. "What if he's allergic ta red?"
"You cannot be allergic to red!"
"Ya don't know that for sure, mate."
"Yes I do!"
Sandy suddenly poked his head through the window and created an x over his head and shushed the two. Before North and Bunny could respond, the Sandman took the basket of eggs and Christmas present and laid them next to the little boy's bedside. Sandy tossed some dreamsand over the child's head and turned to the two, crossing his arms with an impatient look on his face. North and Bunny looked at each other.
"He started it," they said simultaneously. Sandy face palmed and led them out the door.
…
The Guardians continued their journey all over the world, leaving presents, gifts, and good dreams for the children. Many children would wake up to find gifts sitting in a corner, a basket of chocolate eggs neatly placed in a basket, or wake up feeling refreshed from a good rest thanks to the pleasant dreams that Sandy had given them through his dreamsand. It was a night full of fun for the Guardians, knowing that the children would wake up happy and less fearful of the Boogeman.
Speaking of whom, Pitch was nowhere to be found as the Guardians continued their escapade around the world, spreading dreams and leaving gifts in children's rooms. The Guardians kept their guard up in case if the Nightmare King tried anything, but so far, there was no sign of Pitch. Not one child that the Guardians encountered had been plagued by a nightmare. And no fearlings weaved through the shadows. The Guardians didn't know whether to feel relieved that Pitch was keeping his distance or worried that he hadn't struck yet. Who knew what the Boogeyman was plotting within the shadows? And another question that struck the Guardians was why he hadn't made a move yet.
Still, the Guardians managed to leave the worried feeling in the back of their heads and continued their mission to raise the children's spirits. It was an extremely long night (Sandy had already fallen asleep ten times during the trips in between villages and continents), but it was still an enjoyable one nonetheless. After hours and hours of running on rooftops, leaving gifts in children's bedrooms, and keeping watch for Pitch Black, the Guardians only had one more stop: A small village called Burgess.
North landed the sleigh and Tooth and Sandy hopped out and immediately got to work. A few minutes later, Bunny hopped out of one of his tunnels and North smirked at him.
"You know, sleigh is much faster than running through planet," said North.
Bunny narrowed his eyes at him. "And risk fallin' out of that flying death trap? Not on yer nelly, mate."
North shrugged and the two joined Tooth and Sandy as they went from house to house, leaving a small pile of presents in the corner and blessing the children with good dreams for the night. There was only one more house to visit, but Sandy felt that something was different about this house than the others.
"What is it, Sandy?" asked Tooth, a slight hint of worry in her voice.
Bunny pulled out a boomerang. "Is it Pitch?"
North drew his swords and the trio stood in a defensive circle. Sandy shook his head at their overreacting and put up the image of a child who was wide awake.
"Yer sayin' that the kids in here are awake?" asked Bunny. Sandy nodded.
"The fairies can check inside before we go in," said Tooth. "If the child isn't in their room, then we should be fine." She turned to her small group of fairies and chirped. The extensions of Tooth nodded and flew through the window. The Guardians waited patiently as the fairies did their quick examination of the interior. The little group then flew back out and gestured for the Guardians to come in.
"Okay, we're good. Let's make this quick," said Bunny. The group nodded and Bunny slammed his foot against the ground, creating a tunnel that led into the child's room. The Guardians tumbled out and held back cries of surprise when they hit the ground, well, except for Bunny of course, who was used to going through his tunnels.
The room wasn't very big, but it couldn't be considers as small either. It was rather cozy and a rocking chair sat in the corner. There was a smaller bed against one all and a slightly larger bed pressed up against the wall. The covers were carelessly tossed off and the bed remained undone. A small box of toys sat next to the rocking chair, and voices could be heard from the other side of the closed bedroom door.
"Okay, we better hurry," said Tooth. "We don't know how long we'll go unnoticed."
The Guardians quickly got to work. Bunny left a basket of eggs on top of the bed and North placed his gifts next to it. Tooth rumaged her hand under the pillow and found that there was no tooth under it, which disappointed her only slightly. Sandy sprinkled some dreamsand on the two pillows so when the children were tucked into bed, they would fall asleep when they hit the pillow and get whisked away into the world of dreams.
As the Guardians were about to leave, the door behind them creaked open. They all froze, standing in plan sight. A young boy who looked about twelve stared at the four figures standing in front of him. He laughed and ran a hand through his chocolate brown hair.
"Whoa. Aren't you...aren't you guys…" he breathed. "You're the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and Sant Claus, aren't you?"
"Uhh...no," said Bunny. "Yer dreaming, mate."
Tooth shook her head. "There's no use for making excuses now, Bunny. He can see us."
"This is so cool!" the boy exclaimed. "You guys are in my room! Well, mine and my sister's room." The boy then paused and looked up the Guardians. "Why are you guys here, anyway?"
"It's kind of a long story," said Tooth as she brushed her feathers awkwardly. She turned to her friends, a hesitant look in her eyes. "Should we tell him?"
The boy shrugged. "If you guys don't wanna say anything, that's fine. What you do is probably super secret." The young boy spotted the gifts sitting on top of the bed and smiled. "Are those for me?"
"And the other ankle-biter who lives here," said Bunny as he nodded toward the crib in the corner.
"Mary is not gonna believe this," said the boy as he rumaged through the gifts. He gasped. "Chocolate?! No way! We haven't had chocolate in forever!"
The Guardians smiled warmly at the boy's reaction, but their looks quickly turned into alarmed ones as something dark and ominous flashed by the window. Bunny peered outside and said, "We should get going. I have a feelin' that Pitch is about to pull something."
Tooth nodded and her wings began to beat furiously. "I can feel it too." As a Sister of Flight, Tooth had an ability to quickly sense danger. "We need to go."
The brown-haired boy looked to the Guardians. "Wait, you're leaving? Don't you want to stay for a little while? Maybe for dinner or something?"
Tooth ruffled his hair. "Sorry, sweetie. We have duties to take care of."
The boy sighed. "That's understandable, I guess." he looked up and grinned. "Thanks for the gifts."
"You're welcome, Jack," said North.
Jack blinked in surprise. "How did you…?"
"I am Santa. I know every child," North said knowingly. Then, he added with a smile."And you're on Nice List too."
Jack smiled happily. "Wow. First I meet the childhood legends and I'm on the Nice List. This night couldn't get any better."
The Guardians smiled but then quickly turned to the window. The night was becoming darker and more ominous. More fearlings streaked across the sky as if someone were painting them across it with a paint brush coated in thick, black paint. Jack noticed their solemn expressions.
"Is something wrong?" asked Jack.
"Pitch," Bunny respond.
"Pitch?" asked Jack. "Who's that?"
Jack didn't know that that was the Boogeyman's real name. Children in his village called him the Boogeyman and that was the only name they ever used for him. Jack peered out the window and spotted the commotion that was going on outside.
"What are those things?" Jack asked. "They not look very nice."
"Those are fearlings, mate," said Bunny as he pulled out a boomerang and readied to slam his foot against the ground. "They're helpers of the Boogeyman."
"The Boogeyman?" said Jack. "But he isn't real...right?"
Tooth bit her lip. "Sadly, he is. But we're going to stop him before he hurts you or any of the other children."
Jack nodded. He trusted these people. Even if they did technically break into his shared room. But they probably had a pass for this sort of thing.
"I wanna help," he said. "It's the least I can do for giving this stuff to me and my sister."
"Jack, we can't let you help us," said Tooth as she laid a hand on the boy's slender shoulder. "This is something that we have to handle by ourselves."
"Tooth iz right," said North. "Iz too dangerous."
"But what can I do to help you guys?" asked Jack. The fearlings were now flooding the sky and were turning the once elegant shade of dark blue into—ironically—an almost pitch black. The wind howled and shrieked and Jack jumped when a rock suddenly bounced off of his window.
"Just stay inside," said Bunny. The Pooka patted Jack's head. "And keep believin'. We'll protect ya, mate."
Jack gulped but nodded. He trusted—-believed—-this odd group of people who he had grown up to know as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman. If there was anyone who he knew would be able to defeat the Boogeyman, it was them.
"Okay," said Jack. He picked up the gifts and walked up to the door to head to what the Guardians guessed was the main room of the house. Jack turned around and said, "Be careful."
"Ve vill," said North. Jack gave the Guardians one last smile and then walked out of his room. Bunny stomped his foot against the ground and a tunnel appeared, swallowing the Guardians and spitting them out outside of Jack's house. The sky was full of fearlings and other creatures that the Guardians had never seen before. They took the shape of a horse, but were much more violent and extremely unpredictable.
"What are those things?" asked Bunny.
"Things that don't belong here," said Tooth as she clenched her fists. The Tooth Fairy wished she had brought her swords, but she could still fight well without them.
North nodded and looked up at the darkened sky. Riding on top of what seemed to be hundreds of fearlings merged into one was none other than Pitch Black, the Nightmare King. The Boogeyman glared down at North, animosity flashing in his amber eyes. North glared back and then turned to the others.
"Looks like we've got a lot to fight off," said Bunny as he flipped a boomerang in his paw.
"Nothing ve can't handle," said North as he readied his swords.
Tooth nodded, determination in her amethyst eyes. "So what's the plan?"
"Fly up there and kick Pitch's behind," Bunny replied.
North blinked. "Fly? So does that mean…"
Bunny rolled his eyes. "Let's just get ta the bloody sleigh and get up there and knock Pitch off that cloud of his."
The Guardians nodded and quickly hurried to the sleigh, which was still well hidden from the village, and hopped in. They shot into the sky and towards Pitch Black, who was waiting for them from above. The Nightmare King smiled, his sharp teeth glittering inauspiciously.
The first battle between Pitch and the Guardians was just beginning.
…
"How much farther?" shouted Bunny from the back as he kicked a fearling. The ghost like figer screeched in horror and disappeared when Bunny's furry foot made contact with it.
"Not very far!" North replied as he snapped the reigns again. Fearlings and nightmares were coming from all directions, pelting at the Guardians as they fly through the air. The constant attack from the shadowy monsters made it difficult to stay on track, and North nearly lost control of the sleigh when a fearling wrapped itself around his face. Luckily, Tooth was able to rip it of and toss it off the edge of the sleigh before things spiraled out of control. Literally.
"We need to get these things out of the way!" said Tooth. Her wings sliced through several fearlings and nightmares as she flew beside the sleigh. The Sister of Flight turned to North and added, "We can't attack Pitch with these guys getting in the way!"
"Shelia's right North!" Bunny said from behind. The Pooka threw his boomerangs and they hit their targets. The fearlings exploded into nothingness and the two brown boomerangs flew back into Bunny's paws as if they were attracted by a magnet hidden in his paws. "We need to take care of these fearlin's first!"
North nodded and shoved the reigns into Sandy's hands. The Sandman was surprised for a fleeting moment, but managed to take control of the large sleigh and keep it steady. North took out his swords and sliced them at every fearling and nightmare that came his way. Tooth did the same as she flew beside the sled. Bunny hurled his boomerangs at any shadow that approached, and the Guardians managed to clear out half of the fearlings that fly across the sky.
North took the reigns from Sandy's hands, giving him a quick thank you and then steered the large sleigh toward Pitch. The Boogeyman waited on top of the cloud of black, watching as the Guardians approached.
The first battle between Pitch and the Guardians was just beginning.
Author's Note: I had to sneak human Jack into this story. =) I have no idea if he was alive when the Guardians of Childhood first started *shrugs* But, hey, it's Jack. He's got to appear somewhere in this story, right? XD
Until the next chapter!
-BeyondTheMoon1203