Chapter Nine: Enter Nightmares

The tension was as tight as a stretched-out rubber band. Tooth, North, and Bunny waited in the bushes for Sandy to lure out the Fearlings and Nightmare Men. Sandy was an expert in both dreams and nightmares, so it did make sense as to why he volunteered to lure the nightmare creatures out. If there was anyone who knew the world of dreams best, it was Sandy.

"When Sandy lures the Fearlings and Nightmare Men out here, we're going to have to be ready," Tooth whispered. The Tooth Fairy pulled out two blades that were supposedly attached to her waist. North and Bunny were shocked. Toothiana had swords?

"Tooth, I did not know that you were swordswomen," North remarked.

Tooth weighed her swords in her hands. "Yeah. It's been a while since I've used these. I wasn't well armed last time we fought Pitch, so I decided to bring them."

"How long has it been since ya touched them?" Bunny asked.

Tooth bobbed her head side to side. "Hm...I think about a century or two."

Bunny and North were about to cry out in surprise, but Tooth shushed them just in time. They couldn't risk drawing unwanted attention. Pitch could have spies lurking in the woods, and the Guardians didn't want to deal with any extra Fearlings and Nightmare Men. The group of four needed to first take out the shadows that were inside of the cave with Pitch, then they could move on to the ones lurking in the forest.

Tooth, North, and Bunny turned back to Sandy. It was time to initiate the plan. Sandy waved his hands around and sent out brightly glowing streams of dreamsand. They swirled and danced around in the air, and the other Guardians would have labeled it as a glorious sight if it weren't for the current situation that they were in. Still, the Pooka, ex-Cossack, and the Tooth Fairy couldn't help but stare in awe at the charming sight of the yellow dreamsand floating elegantly through the air.

Sandy continued to send out his dreamsand, and it wasn't long until the Guardians heard the faint screeches of Fearlings and rumbling footsteps of Nightmare Men. Sandy had done his part of the plan, now it was the other's turn.

North, Bunny, Tooth, and the army of eggs crawled out of their hiding places and stood with Sandy, weapons in hand. The egg army stood in front of them, holding out their large array of weapons. Some had swords, some had bows (egg-tipped, of course), some had daggers, and some had clubs. The other Guardians didn't know that Bunny had such a vast variety of weapons, and North wondered if Bunny ever used any other weapon than his usual boomerangs.

Shadows were approaching fast, and the dreamsand immediately disappeared. The atmosphere grew dark, and the wind began to blow violently. Pitch had to have sent his entire army out. The Nightmare King was already irritated enough with the Guardians' constant meddling. But sending out an entire army did seem a little much. The Guardians looked at each other with worried glances. Would they be able to take down Pitch's army?

Each of them knew that deep down, they were scared, but on the outside, the Guardians wore determined expressions. They were not going down without a fight. If they did, they would not only disappoint themselves, but the children around the world and the Man in the Moon. Even though it seemed that the Guardians were fighting the Boogeyman, they were also fighting for the children. For Tsar Lunar. And, in a way, for themselves.

If the Man in the Moon had never sent that moonbeam with the message to the North Pole, the Guardians knew that they probably would have never even bothered to meet each other. If it weren't for Pitch, the Guardians wouldn't be standing together, ready for battle. They had come a long way from when they first gathered back at Santoff Claussen. All of them had realized how important working together was, and how much they cared for the children. That was why Tsar Lunar chose them. The Guardians of Childhood were no longer acquaintances, but friends. Warriors, fierce and true.

The screeches were getting closer, and the Guardians suddenly found the fear that had been plaguing them since they were flying over disappear, and it was replaced with a feeling of bravery. Determination. Fearless. The Guardians were determined to stop Pitch, no matter what it took as long as the children didn't suffer from his horrific nightmares anymore.

"This is it," said Tooth. She gripped the handles of her swords. "I have a feeling that this just might be our most epic battle yet."

North nodded in agreement and drew his swords. "Ve have to be careful. Pitch may be planning something that ve don't know."

"As far as I can see, Pitch has no idea that the rest of us are here," Bunny said as he pulled out his boomerangs. "He only saw Sandy dreamsand as far as we know."

"Either way, I don't see Pitch anywhere," said Tooth. "But we still need to keep up our guard."

Sandy nodded and produced the image of Pitch popping out of the shadows and secretly making his way toward the dreamsand Guardians. "He could strike at any moment."

"But let us not focus on that," North said. He turned to the trees that were rustling violently. "Ve have Fearlings and Nightmare Men to fight."

The Guardians and the egg army stood in the middle of the dark clearing. The sounds were getting closer. Finally, an entire hoard of Fearlings and Nightmare Men burst from the trees and charged toward the Guardians on sight.

"Get ready!" Bunny shouted. The Guardians braced themselves, and when the Fearlings and Nightmare Men got close enough, the four along with the egg army charged toward the multitude of nightmare creatures with battle cries.

…

Jack sat on his bed, looking pensively out the window. The night seemed more murky than usual, and the Moon was nowhere in sight. The young Overland sighed. He guessed that the sudden dark clouds and shadows had something to do with what the Guardians had told him about.

It was all strange really. Jack knew that kids around his age and younger were suffering from nightmares, way more than normal. Jack had never really believed much in the Boogeyman, but after encountering Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman in his room at his house, Jack's thoughts on the Boogeyman began to change.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of the Boogeyman. He had never seen him and Jack rarely ever got nightmares, but Jack did feel like he had to do something that would help the Guardians stop Pitch from torturing the children with nightmares. Jack looked up into the dark sky and remembered what Bunny had told him to do.

"Well, I don't know how believing is going to help, but," Jack closed his eyes and repeated, over and over again like a mantara, "I believe, I believe, I believe…"

Jack's eyes were closed. But if head opened them, he would have noticed the clouds break just slightly. If he had opened his eyes, he would have noticed the slight change in the dark atmosphere. If he had opened his eyes, he would've noticed the sliver of moonlight that made its way through the dark clouds.

The power of belief was a really powerful thing indeed.

…

Bunny had the first hit. His boomerang sliced through a Fearling with precision, and that was what initiated the giant battle. The Fearlings were well-armored this time around, so it took the Guardians a lot of hits to destroy just one. Since they were a team, that wasn't a hard feat. They just had to work together like a team does.

Tooth proved to be an expert with her swords. The Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies swiped and slashed at every Fearling and Nightmare Man that came her way. North noticed how some of the Fearlings even tried to go easy on here. They were well in for a surprise when Tooth launched her Sister of Flight wrath on them and cut through them after a few hits.

North was equally just as great with his favorite weapon as well. He was one of the best swordsmen back in his day (although he considered himself the greatest). The Russian hacked into the armor of every Fearling, parried with every dagger and sword used by the Nightmare Me, and stabbed his swords through each and every shadowy creature. Tooth was greatly impressed and fleetingly made a mental note to ask North to teach her some of his moves and sword techniques.

While Sandy was usually so quiet and patient and wasn't as prone to fighting, the Sandman did fight with all of his might when it came to the Fearlings and Nightmare Men. The Fearlings and Nightmare Men judged Sandy by his size and went after him first, but after being lashed at by his viper-like whips, their perspectives on the little golden man changed instantaneously.

Bunny was a Pooka, and he was trained in fighting almost since birth. Bunny hurled and chucked his boomerangs at every Fearling and Nightmare Man that came near. The v-shaped objects were much sharper than they appeared to be. They cut through the armor of the Fearlings and Nightmare Men, and while they were still recovering from the boomerang's blows, Bunny would hop in and kick them with his large feet, making the Fearlings and Nightmare Men dissipate into thin air. Even his little golden armored eggs fought with the skill of a well-trained warrior. Egg tipped arrows sliced through the air, piercing through the armor of Fearlings and Nightmare Men, giving the Guardians a chance to finish them off. Some eggs banged Fearlings and Nightmare Men with their clubs, and the ones that held daggers and swords sliced off the legs and arms of the shadows. Even North was impressed.

The Guardians fought valiantly. Heroically. Courageously. And for the first time ever, the Fearlings and Nightmare Men didn't scream to scare, they screamed because they were scared! Scared of the Guardians of Childhood. Left and right Fearlings and Nightmare Men were being cut through as if they were loaves of bread. More and more of the shadowy creatures came to replace the ones that were destroyed, but the Guardians annihilated them before they even had the chance to attack. The Guardians were winning. Pitch had made a big mistake. He had underestimated the Guardians. They were a perfectly potent team now. There were no more barriers between them and they shared a bond of mind and heart.

The Fearlings and Nightmare Men did their best to fight. Their leader would not be pleased to hear that they lost, but the Guardians were too strong for them. The shadows were losing. The Guardians were winning. And it wasn't long until only a handful of Fearlings and Nightmare Men remained. New ones didn't take the place of the ones that were destroyed.

"Looks like ya're outnumbered," said Bunny to the group of Fearlings and Nightmare Men. "Ya might wanna run back ta yer lair and tell Pitch that ya couldn't beat us."

Tooth brandished her swords. "Unless you want to fight some more."

"Ve vould be happy to," North added as he held up his swords.

The Fearlings and Nightmare Men didn't back off. They began to march toward the Guardians but when Sandy snapped his whips at them, they screeched and ran off.

"They made the right decision," Bunny said with a smirk. "They woulda lost anyway."

Tooth laughed and flew in a circle vivaciously. North, Sandy, and Bunny were surprised that the Tooth Fairy still had energy after that battle. "I can't believe we just did that!"

"We fought off an entire armada of Fearlings and Nightmare Men and won," Bunny remarked. "Crikey."

North patted the pooka on the back. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"I wasn't worried," Bunny said blatantly, but even he knew that was a lie.

Sandy looked around. The forest had become uncharacteristically quiet. Even while the Guardians were fighting off the Fearlings and Nightmare Men, one would still be able to hear nature's ambience. The sound of the wind howling by, the sound of crickets chirping, birds calling, and other woodland animal noises. Sandy's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Something wasn't right. Something was wrong.

Something was coming.

Sandy waved his hands over his head to try and get his comrades attention but the Guardians paid no attention to the little yellow man. North, Tooth, and Bunny were talking about what would happen after they defeated Pitch, even though they hadn't even defeated him yet. And now that the former Star Captain sensed something coming from the woods, they needed to keep up their guard.

Sandy floated in between the trio and put up the image of Pitch and pointed to the dark shadows that were slowly crawling across the trees and bushes.

"The fight isn't over yet," said North. Instead of drawing his regular swords, he pulled out the sword that had belonged to the Man in the Moon's father. The orb on the handle blazed with light.

Tooth gripped the ruby box that was tied around her neck. It contained not only her baby teeth, but a baby tooth from Tsar Lunar. The box glowed brightly and Tooth held one sword in her other hand.

Bunny picked up a large stick from nearby and tied the egg relic to the top of it. The Pooka would rather use his boomerangs, but the plan was to use the ancient moon relics, and they were probably the only way that they would be able to defeat Pitch. The egg radiated pure Golden Age light, reminding Bunny of the days where wonder, hope, light, and dreams used to reign. Now he and the other Guardians were bringing that to the children, and that was something that needed to be done.

Sandy's dreamsand swirled around him luminously. The sandy substance looked much more radiant than it usually did, and it made Sandy feel even more powerful. The Sandman had known that his dreamsand was a relic from the start, but he didn't think that he'd ever have to use the more powerful side of it until now.

The four relics that each of the Guardians held glowed with more power when they were held closer together. It was like a team. When teams work together as one, their power is much greater. The ancient moon relics burned with the lustrous brilliance of the Golden Age that no shadow or nightmare could ever penetrate.

Darkness surrounded the Guardians, but the light from the relics made the shadows unable to touch them. Pitch emerged from the black murkiness, a shark-like smile on his face that was anything but friendly.

"I see you have completely ravaged my army," Pitch said acrimoniously. "Did you really think I didn't know that you would come?"

The Guardians didn't respond. They knew better than to respond to Pitch. It was best to let the villain do all the talking and then they could strike.

"No snappy remarks or responses this time?" said Pitch. The Nightmare King chuckled. "Very well then. I guess we'll just have to cut to the chase."

Pitch snapped his fingers and the shadows melded into one single being. The Guardians looked around; Pitch was nowhere to be seen. It was then that the Guardians realized that Pitch wasn't on the ground anymore, but was inside what was looming over them. The Guardians of Childhood looked up, and their eyes widened at what they saw.

There, standing before them was none other than a colossal black spider. Pitch was inside of the giant arachnid and Fearlings and Nightmare Men swirled and weaved in between the many legs of the giant eight-legged shadow creature. Pitch smiled darkly from inside.

"Now this is much better," Pitch said. "I have eight legs that can crush you all in an instant. Isn't that fun?"

And Pitch threw his head back and cackled madly, making the Guardians feel even smaller than ever before.