Chapter Four: The King of Nightmares
Being partially made of shadows proved to be very useful to Pitch. Right when the Guardians were about to crash into the giant cloud of fearlings, Pitch disappeared. The Guardians were confounded for just a moment, but North quickly changed their route to the forest of Tanglewood when he saw a glimpse of Pitch's shadowy form lurking through the trees.
The Guardians landed and quickly jumped out. The sky was less streaked with fearlings after they had sliced and destroyed a vast majority of them. There were still some lingering in the sky, but the dark marauders had changed their target from the children to the Guardians. Every single fearling let out blood curling screeches as they made their way toward the Guardians of Childhood. But North, Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny were ready. In only just a couple of swift movements, the fearlings were gone. The only thing that remained were thick shadows splattered against the ground.
"Nasty," commented Bunny as twirled his boomerang in his paw.
Tooth kicked the remains of a fearling to the side. "I can't believe Pitch is giving nightmares to children with these."
North nodded. "Which is vhy ve need to stop him." The Guardians began to make their way through the thick, dark forest. The Moon wasn't able to give much light due to the clouds that were blowing through the sky. Sandy created a lantern out of his dreamsand, which gave the Guardians more light and made it easier to see. The soft, golden glow of Sandy's lantern lit the way as the Guardians walked on the dirt path. Bunny sniffed the air and then held his paw up, signaling for the others to stop.
"Pitch is that way," Bunny said as he pointed off the trail.
North shook his head. "I have feeling that Pitch iz this way. Besides, who steps off path?"
Tooth laid a hand on North's shoulder before the two could start arguing like two-year-olds again. "Let's check anyway just to make sure."
The Guardians stepped off the trail and made their way deeper and deeper into the forest. No wonder Tanglewood was called Tanglewood. Tree branches were low and tightly wrapped against each other. Roots stuck out of the ground, which made Bunny and North trip a couple of times. One could easily get lost in this forest, especially at night, which was why Sandy left a trail of dreamsand behind them so they could find their way back.
It wasn't long until the Guardians stumbled upon a cave. The mouth was lined with stalactites and stalagmites stuck out from the ground. Dark, ominous figures weaved across the sharp stone formations. The Guardians immediately knew that they were fearlings.
Sandy shot four bullets of dreamsand that each hit their mark. The fearlings dissipated into thin air. The Guardians then stood at the mouth of the cave, peering inside.
"This could be trap. Cave iz perfect place for ambush," said North as he gripped his swords.
Tooth nodded. "But it's clear that he's in there, and we need to do something instead of letting him hurt the kids."
"Ve need plan," said North. He turned to his comrades. "Any ideas?"
Sandy put up the image of a cage falling down on Pitch and the Guardians holding the key. "We could set up a cage and drop it on him."
"That's a good idea," said Tooth. "But we have no idea how the place is set up."
"Cage can go anywhere as long as Pitch stands under it," said North.
Bunny crossed his arms. "But we need ta be careful. Who knows what's in there. Hoards of fearlings, nightmares, shadows…"
"Okay, ve get it, Bunny," North said. "Vhy are rabbits always so nervous?"
Bunny scoffed, offended. "I'm not nervous! I'm bein' cautious."
"Cautiously nervous," North said.
Bunny frowned and Tooth quickly fluttered in between them.
"I have an idea, but we all need to work together," the Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies said. "We all need to be on the same page, which means no arguing, okay?"
North and Bunny glared at each other. "Fine." they both said at the same time.
Tooth smiled. "Good. Now here's the plan."
…
The plan was simple but intricate. Sandy would create a cage of dreamsand, ready to drop on Pitch at any moment while Tooth, North, and Bunny would distract the Boogeyman in a fight, slowly leading him toward the hidden cage. Sandy would drop the cage with a snap of his fingers and tie Pitch up with a tight cord of dreamsand. Then, the Guardians would be able to talk things out with Pitch (if talking things out would work that is).
Still, Tooth couldn't help but feel as if something would go wrong. The Sister of Flight ignored the feeling in her gut and followed North, Bunny, and Sandy as they made their way into the dark cave. Fearlings and nightmare men weave in an out of the shadows, and Bunny constantly had to stop to bat one away from his ear. The whispers of the umbral figures were incredibly irritating to listen to. They would rise to the point where it sounded as if they were screaming, then lower once again to a low, sinister tone.
"This is terrible," whispered Tooth. She sliced a fearling in half with her sharp wings and fluttered closer to her friends. Even though the Guardians weren't close quiet yet (and they still considered each other as acquaintances), it was good to be in each others company. It made the Guardians feel less fearful of what was to come knowing that they would be together. No one would be able to make it through the dark cave alone by themselves, especially with the large amount of fearlings that seemed to be growing bigger as the Guardians pressed on.
The whispers soon came to a stop and the Guardians were relieved to not have to listen to the awful, low sounds of the fearlings. North could feel that they were getting close to their destination, but new that they would have to stay stealthy in order to catch Pitch by surprise.
"Ve put on fearlings and then proceed," said North. The Guardians stared at him with surprise.
Bunny batted his large foot against his ear and then stood up. "Sorry mate, I must have had somethin' in my ear because I thought I just heard you say to put on a bloody fearling."
"Iz what I say," said North. "Ve need to be disguised so Pitch doesn't see anything coming."
Sandy nodded in agreement. The little golden man was practically made of light, and he guessed that his golden glow was what attracted all of the fearlings that they had encountered as they entered the cave.
Tooth seemed just as shocked as Bunny, but draped a fearling over herself like a hood anyway. The Tooth Fairy shuddered. The fearling felt uncomfortable against Tooth's feathers.
"We better hurry, because I am not keeping this thing on for long," said Tooth. The guardians quickly draped themselves with fearlings that had flown into Sandy's dreamsand and fallen asleep and continued their way through the dark tunnel.
After sometime, the Guardians arrived at a wide area that had a stone pillar of black sitting in the middle. It glowed faintly, but with not the comforting glow of a nightlight or dreamsand. It was an unpromising glow. An inauspicious glow. And the Guardians knew that something was about to happen.
From the center of the large pillar rose Pitch. The Guardians realized that they were standing in the middle of a crowd of fearlings and nightmare men. The dark figures bowed reverently to their leader, and Pitch spread his arms out toward the crowd, a crooked smile on his face.
"My friends," said Pitch. "Today is the day we fight for what's ours. That blasted Man in the Moon thinks that he can take everything away from us. But what he doesn't know is that we have an army. An army of shadows, nightmare men, and fearlings at ready. Those Guardians won't stand a chance against us."
Bunny growled and placed his paw on his boomerang, ready to propel it at Pitch but North stopped him.
"You'll blow our cover," the ex-Cossack. Bunny frowned and dropped his arm to his side, huffing as he did so.
"The Guardians should be here soon. When you see them, attack at full force. DO NOT hesitate to strike! If we're lucky, we'll be finished with them by the time the sun begins to rise," Pitch threw his head back and laughed madly, sending shivers down the Guardians' spines. "And once the Guardians are through, we can usher in a new Age of Darkness, one that's even darker than the last."
The nightmarish creatures in the crowd shrieked and screamed gleefully. The Guardians couldn't believe what they had just heard. Pitch was going to usher in a new Age of Darkness! The children were at risk! They needed to stop him.
"Wait," whispered Tooth. "Pitch doesn't know who the Guardians are yet, right?"
"We don't know that for sure, Shelia," said Bunny. "Pitch is craftier than a fox. He coulda placed spies in Santoff Claussen for all we know."
Sandy nodded in agreement and then pointed to the place above Pitch. It was clear what the Sandman was saying. The golden cage would hang over the giant pillar that Pitch was standing on top of. The Guardians nodded.
"That's a perfect spot, Sandy," Tooth said. She turned to North and Bunny. "We need to distract Pitch. I think it's about time we dropped our disguises. Except for Sandy, of course. He needs to set up the cage."
North and Bunny nodded, but before they ripped off their fearling disguises, Tooth added, "And work together, guys. Teamwork is key here. No arguing."
Bunny rolled his eyes. "We're not five, Shelia."
"Your right," said Tooth. "When you argue, you act like you're two."
Bunny and North squawked, offended, but before they could make a quick comeback, quickly flew up and hid behind a stalactite, dreamsand sparkling in his hands as he slowly created a cage. If Sandy went to fast, the sand would glow and then his and the other Guardians' cover would be blown too soon.
"Okay, it's time," said Tooth. She turned to North and Bunny. "Are you two ready?"
The Pooka and Russian nodded affirmingly and Tooth flashed them a smile and then tossed the fearling covering off. North and Bunny did the same and Bunny shouted, "Oi, Pitch! Ya lookin' fer us?!"
Pitch turned in the trio's direction and the Guardians took pleasure in the look of surprise that flashed in Pitch's amber eyes. The Boogeyman quickly collected himself, and a mocking smirk crossed his face.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here. E. Aster Bunnymund, Queen Toothiana, and Nicholas St. North. What a surprise," the Nightmare King said. "So you're the ones the Man in the Moon chose to become Guardians?" Pitch chuckled. "He must have lost his mind."
"The only lost mind ehre is yours, Pitch!" yelled Bunny, gesticulating at the Boogeyman with his boomerang. "You ought ta get some help because a new Age of Darkness is absolutely preposterous!"
Pitch folded his hands behind his back. "So, you were here to hear my little plan? Actually, I shouldn't be surprised. You're ears are rather oversized anyway, Bunnymund."
"Enough small talk," said Tooth. She fluttered upward and balled her fists. "Leave the children alone, Pitch!"
"And why should I?" asked Pitch. "Besides, why would the Man in the Moon suddenly want to stop me after centuries of plaguing your precious children with nightmares?"
The Guardians didn't have a quick retort, but Pitch continued as if they did.
"Here's what I'll propose," said Pitch. "Let me do what I want for forty-eight hours. No Easter eggs being hidden in the bushes, no Christmas presents being left for a child in their room, no fairies coming in the night to collect teeth, and no good dreams. Then I'll see if I'm up to talking to you."
Let Pitch plague the children with nightmares for two days straight? No way! The Guardians stood up straight and North said, "Ve vill not let you go through with this."
Pitch clicked his tongue. "Very well then. I guess I'll just have to stop you here and now before you try and interfere with my work."
But before Pitch could even blink, a gold whip wrapped around him, tying his arms around his back. Pitch struggled against the grip, and became even more shocked when a golden cage suddenly fell on top of him. Sandy slapped his hands together and smiled victoriously.
"And the Sandman?" asked Pitch, surprise decorating the edges of his voice. "At least he's a worthy opponent."
"This ends now, Pitch," said North seriously. "Ve won't ask you again. Leave the children alone."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," said Pitch.
Bunny scoffed. "Why not?"
"Have you forgotten that I'm fear itself?" said Pitch as if he were talking to a small, uneducated child. "The children fear me. They're terrified by me. I'm powered by their fear. And since they fear me greatly, I continue to do what I do." Pitch smiled evilly, and the Guardians didn't notice that the Boogeyman was furtively corrupting the golden ties and turned them into nightmare sand. "You can't stop me and nor can you get rid of me." The ties snapped off and the golden cage faded away as the nightmare sand made contact with it. Pitch sunk into the shadows, but his voice echoed off of the walls. "There will always be fear."
The fearlings and nightmare men turned to the Guardians, malevolence flashing in their eyes. The Guardians stood back to back in a defensive circle, looking around at the approaching fearlings and nightmare men with worry in their eyes.
"Can we take them all on?" asked Tooth.
"Nyet. Even I know this iz fight ve cannot win," said North.
The Guardians turned to the exit but to their dismay, it was blocked by nightmare men. The shadow creatures slowly began to circle the Guardians, and for the first time during their adventure, they actually felt a little scared.
"Guys, we need a new plan," said Tooth, her wings beating furiously. "We're going to be nightmare lunch if we don't come up with something."
Suddenly, Bunny had an idea. "Okay, mates. Brace yerselves."
"Vhy?" asked North, confounded. But didn't have time to even finish the last syllable because Bunny stomped his large, furry foot against the ground, creating a tunnel that swallowed the Guardians in one gulp. And before the fearlings and nightmare men could get inside of it, the hole closed up just as quickly as it opened, leaving a bright pink flower in its place.
Pitch rose from the shadows and stared at the flower with disdain. The Guardians had escaped! And they didn't even give much of a fight! Pitch waved his hands a herd of fearlings flew over. The Boogeyman turned to them and said, "Go out there and do your worst."
The fearlings shrieked as they excited out of the tunnel and flew toward all of the corners of the world. Pitch glared at the pink flower and stomped it like an elephant stamps a flee. And the Nightmare King was hoping that he'd be able to stomp out all of childhood innocence by the end of his forty-eight hours of freedom to do whatever he pleased.