Chapter Ten: The Light of the Golden Age

If there was one thing that the Guardians could name that made them blaze with rage, it was when Pitch surprised them with something dastardly and wicked. The Guardians could tell that Pitch had been working on this for a while, and Tooth understood why Pitch was so excited to spread appalling nightmares to the children: He would get to spread them in a giant spider, which was faster and scarier than just sending out Fearlings or giving the children nightmares by hand.

Tooth's wings fluttered furiously as she scrutinized the enormous spider that loomed in front of her and her friends. She and the other Guardians would need to play smart. Pitch was right. One hit from one of the incredibly sharp eight legs would definitely take them out. Tooth's ruby box glowed furiously, and Tooth clung to it tightly. She had an idea, but she needed a distraction. Tooth turned to her friends and nodded to the other Guardians. They understood immediately. Queen Toothiana had a plan.

"Well, what do you think about my latest nightmare creation?" Pitch asked the Guardians. He caused the spider to kick a leg toward Bunny, which the Pooka dodged with ease. "It took me quite some time to make it."

"It's...uh...how do I put this...evil," Bunny said with a deadpan expression.

Pitch took that as a compliment. "Why, thank you, Aster. I put a lot of work into this."

Bunny's ears pointed backward and he growled at Pitch. It was taking all of his willpower not to blast the Boogeyman with his egg relic. Bunny continued to fight off the urge while he and the other Guardians tried to keep Pitch busy while Tooth formulated her plan.

Pitch looked down at Sandy. The man of dreams had always gotten on his nerves when he comforted the children with his good dreams. Pitch stomped a spider leg at the Sandman, and Sandy instantly tore off the leg with one quick pull with his dreamsand whip. North, Tooth, and Bunny were both shocked and impressed at the same time. Who knew that Sandy—-quiet, patient Sandy—-could be so fierce when he wanted to be?

Pitch was completely unfazed. He had seven other legs after all, but Pitch wasn't one to get too cocky so quickly. Pitch stared down at the Guardians with a hard glare and asked, "So, which one of you are going to attack me first?"

One of the things that the Guardians realized with their past battles with Pitch was that they always made the first move. The Guardians noticed that at this time around, Pitch expected them to attack first. But now that the Guardians had spent more time together and were beginning to work like a team, they knew that if they were going to win the battle—-if they were going to win the war—-they would have to let Pitch make a move first.

It was risky, but it was the better option compared to the Guardians blasting at Pitch with their Golden Age light with no plan in mind. Pitch loved to brag about his victory, and even though he wasn't quick to get cocky, he still did and the Guardians knew that by the time they were in the middle of the battle, Pitch would start to think that he would win the fight.

We're playin' smart this time, Pitch, thought Bunny as he glared at the Boogeyman with his sharp green eyes. North and Sandy glared at Pitch with the same hardness, the egg army raised their weapons, but didn't attack, and Pitch didn't even notice Tooth sneak behind the group.

"Your little glowing toys won't be able to stop me," Pitch taunted. "You won't be able to stop me."

"Oh, yeah? Because from what I remember, we didn't have any trouble fightin' off yer shadows in the past," Bunny said.

"But you didn't completely defeat me, did you?" said Pitch. "Sure, you've come back, but it won't be long until I permanently defeat you all."

"You don't know if you vill vin or not, Pitch," said North.

"You don't know if you'll win either," Pitch retorted. "Look at you all. Standing there holding pure Golden Age light, thinking that you can restore wonder, hope, light, and dreams to the children with just a wave of your magical toys," Pitch's glare hardened. "But guess what? There will always be fear, no matter how much light is in the world."

"But," said North. "If there is light, there vill be less fear."

"It won't be completely gone, but there won't be a lot of it," Bunny added.

Sandy nodded in agreement, and the relics seemed to glow even brighter in the Guardians' hands. Tooth was hiding behind North, Bunny, and Sandy, holding the ruby box close. She sent out a low trilling sound that only one of her fairies would be able to hear. Then, she sensed them. The Tooth Fairy Armies were coming. The Guardians just had to keep Pitch talking for just a little bit longer, and then the battle could begin.

Pitch was still taunting the Guardians. "Look at all of you. An old Russian thief, a Star Captain who crashed his comet, an overgrown rabbit, and a delicate fairy. You don't even know why Tsar Lunar chose you, and you never even bothered coming together until now."

Pitch loved to use people's worst fears against them. It gave him an advantage in battle. The Boogeyman knew that the Guardians did know of each other's existence and have had brief encounters, but they never stopped to get to know each other, and were dumbfounded when they were told by the Man in the Moon himself that they were chosen to become the Guardians of Childhood. The Guardians didn't know why they were chosen either, and that was something that Pitch used to make the Guardians question themselves.

But there was one thing that Pitch hadn't noticed since his last meeting with the Guardians. The group of four had become increasingly more confident in themselves. They teamed up even though they barely even knew each other and made a great effort to come up with new plans to stop Pitch. They even knew why the Man in the Moon chose them.

"Yer wrong, Pitch," said Bunny. He took a step forward. "While we didn't make any effort ta get ta know each other at first," Bunny shot his friends a remorseful look and then turned back to Pitch. "But we figured out why MiM chose us."

"He chose us because we care," Tooth said. She fluttered next to Bunny. "We may seem like we don't have anything in common, but he chose us because we care for the children."

"He chose us because ve vant to protect the children," North added as he stepped forward as well.

Sandy couldn't talk, but as the dreamsand images of the Guardians, a heart, and a group of children appeared over his head, the Guardians felt as if they could hear the Sandman's voice. "He chose us because we all share a love for the children."

"That's why the Man in the Moon chose us," said Tooth. She narrowed her eyes at Pitch. "We may look like a pretty random choice for Guardians, but we all share a love for the children. And that's why MiM chose us."

It was a heartwarming speech, but Pitch wasn't one to care for anything heartwarming. The Boogeyman slowly clapped his hands together caustically.

"Bravo, bravo," he said. "You've figured out why Tsar Lunar chose you," Pitch's spider shifted, getting ready to attack the Guardians. "Now let's see if he made the right decision."

Suddenly, there was a loud, almost ear-piercing whistle that came from the skies above. Like hail, Tooth's mini fairies rained down from the sky, beaks pointed straight at the Fearlings and Nightmare Men that were on Pitch's spider. The mini fairies pecked and poked at the shadow creatures, and since they weren't armed like the others were, just three fairies were able to destroy one Fearling or Nightmare Man with just a few pokes.

"I would have given them each their own swords," said Tooth. "But I decided that teaching them how to use their unbreakable beaks as weapons would be better...and safer."

North nodded. "They fight well."

Bunny turned his head in North's direction. "Oh, so Tooth's fairies can fight but not my eggs?"

"Bunny, that is entirely different story," said North.

"Oh, whoa, I think the same concept still applies, mate," Bunny said.

Tooth and Sandy looked at each other. Here they were in the middle of a battle that was just beginning and North and Bunny were arguing like they were back at the Santoff Claussen. Tooth flew in between the two and gestured to Pitch's spider, which was currently trying to bat away the thousands of mini fairies away from it.

"We're kind of in the middle of a battle here," Tooth said.

Bunny and North glared at each other. "He started it," they said in unison.

"We don't have time for this!" Tooth exclaimed. Pitch's nightmare spider was beginning to successfully bat the fairies away, and it wouldn't be long until the Nightmare King would refocus his attention on the Guardians once more. "We need to stop that giant spider!"

"Then let's give that bloody thing a blast of Golden Age light," Bunny said determinedly. The Guardians nodded in unison and then ran toward the chaos that was ensuing. Each of the Guardians used their relics to blast away Fearlings or Nightmare Men that rained down from Ptich's spider. The Golden Age relics were extremely effective. One blast of light from them melted Fearlings and Nightmare Men in an instant. The Guardians pushed forward. Bunny and Tooth blasted beams of pure light at the shadows while North and Sandy slashed away at the shadows. Soon, they reached the legs of the Nightmare Spider. They were long and sharp. Tooth's wings would have been torn through one of the spider's legs if Bunny hadn't pulled her out of the way in time.

"Oh, moon. That was close," Tooth said as she brushed herself off. "Thanks, Bunny."

"No problem," Bunny replied. The Pooka turned to North. "What's the plan now, mate?"

"Ve need to take this thing down," North said.

Sandy raised his hand and conjured up the image of the Guardians blasting the legs away with their relics.

"That could work," Bunny said. "But we'll have to be fast."

"And get out of the way in time when this thing comes crashing down," Tooth added. She looked at the seven legs that surrounded her and the Guardians. "Let's get to work."

And so, the Guardians used their relics once again to cut off each and every leg. North slashed two away with his sword and the spider began to lean on one side. Bunny and Tooth blasted three away with their relics, and the spider began to teeter. Sandy used his dreamsand whips the cut through the last two legs, slicing them clean off. The spider hovered in midair for a moment.

And then it. Came. Down.

"Everybody get out of the WAY!" Tooth shouted. The Guardians ran out from under the spider and dived toward an empty area that didn't have any Feelings or Nightmare Men in the area. Tooth's fairies darted away from the arachnid body, and Bunny's egg warriors followed the Guardians to safety. Once everyone was in the clear, they all turned around just in time to see what was left of the spider crash to the ground. The last of the Fearling and Nightmare Men went down with it.

Bunny breathed out. "Did...did we do it?"

Tooth's wings fluttered weakly, but the Tooth Fairy was still able to lift herself a few feet into the air. "I think we did. I don't see Pitch anywhere."

"Neither do I," said North as he looked around. "Maybe he gave up."

Sandy shook his head and created an x symbol. The meaning was clear. "Pitch would never give up this easily."

"You're right, Sandman," came Pitch's voice. The Boogeyman's voice was taut with frustration and rage and the Guardians watched as the remains of the Nightmare Spider turned back into shadows. The black shadows swirled into the air, creating a cloud that Pitch stood on top of. He glared down at the Guardians with pure animosity flashing through his amber eyes.

"This. Ends. Now," the Boogeyman yelled. Then he raised his hands and commanded his shadows to shoot toward the Guardians. The inky blackness swirled around the group of four, and it wasn't long until the shadows engulfed them completely.