Chapter Eleven: A Battle of Light and Dark

Darkness. That was all the Guardians could see. There wasn't a spark of light anywhere, and shadows surrounded the group of four in all directions. The Guardians were standing in the middle of what seemed to be some kind of cyclone. Unfortunately, they weren't in the center of it.

"Are you guys okay?" called out Tooth. The others didn't know where the Tooth Fairy was, but hearing a familiar voice eased their worry.

"I'm fine!" said Bunny. "But things would be better if we weren't surrounded by darkness!"

North nodded. "Ve need to get to center."

"But how?" asked Tooth. "I can barely see you guys."

A stream of yellow dreamsand curled its way through the dark and lit up the area. Tooth could make out Bunny, North, and Sandy. The Sandman held the end of the dreamsand string and was smiling just as bright as the golden dreamsand.

"Good idea, Sandy," North complimented. "That iz much better."

Bunny looked around. Shadows were swirling and meshing into one, giant tornado. The Pooka was surprised that he and the others hadn't gotten lost from each other when the shadows engulfed them. Bunny also noticed that Pitch was nowhere in sight. Bunny's ears twitched, trying to hear for any sign of Pitch but he heard nothing.

"Where's Pitch?" Tooth asked.

"Probably waitin' fer us in the center of this cyclone," Bunny said.

North's grip on his sword handle tightened. "I have a feeling that whatever ve are about to face is going to be big."

Tooth nodded and clung to her ruby box. The relic wasn't glowing as brightly as it was before, but still retained its glow. The other moon relics weren't glowing as radiantly as they previously were either. It was as if all of the shadows and darkness were sucking out the light from the sword, dreamsand, box, and egg. Tooth turned her head and peered into the shadowy darkness. She had an inkling that they were supposed to go in that direction.

"I think we should go that way," said Tooth. She pointed into the darkness. "I have a feeling that's the quickest way to the center."

"Then ve shall go that way," North said. The Guardians then walked deeper into the shadows, hoping that they would finally stop Pitch once and for all.

…

Next to fear, shadows were Pitch's second expertise. He could hide within the darkest of places, which came in handy when he was hiding in the closet or under the bed of a child. He could spend all day hiding under a bed, behind a bookshelf, or inside the deepest part of a closet and wait until night. And once night fell, he would launch his nightmares on the child who slept in the room he was hiding in.

But hiding under beds and closets was something that Pitch didn't do often. It was rather crammed under a child's bed, and closets were always filled with the strangest things. There were the normal things, like clothes, but there were sometimes things from nature like rocks, leaves, and sticks. Some children even stored half eaten food in their closets, which stunk very, very bad.

Pitch hadn't hid under the bed of a child or inside of a closet for a long time. The Boogeyman liked to see the fearful reactions of the children as they went through one of his nightmares. Their screams of terror and cries were almost like a melody to the Nightmare King.

But then the Man in the Moon decided to ruin it all by sending a random group of people to stop his fun. To stop the Dark Ages. Pitch wondered if Tsar Lunar knew what he was doing when he chose Tooth, Sandy, Bunny, and North. Pitch had heard of these four. He had encountered them sometimes too while they were doing their jobs. The four had tried to get him to stop haunting the children with nightmares, but Pitch didn't listen to them. He continued to do what he wanted whenever he wanted to. And then Tsar Lunar declared that they would be the ones to stop him.

Why did the Man in the Moon choose them? A Sister of Flight, a Pooka, an old thief, and a former Star Captain. Why them? And when the Guardians found the answer to the long asked question, Pitch couldn't help but boil with rage. They were becoming confident, less fearful, and more effective at working as a team. And even though the feeling was vague and subtle, Pitch actually felt a little bit...scared.

Pitch scoffed to himself. He, the Nightmare King, master of fear and fear itself, scared? Never! Pitch shook out the vague feeling the best he could, but found that it was hard to get rid of. Yes, the Boogeyman felt the slightest bit worried that the Guardians would actually send him back to the shadows, but he had a plan. A plan that was sure to make the so-called "Guardians of Childhood" run away in fear.

Pitch's eyes narrowed. He knew that the Guardians were coming. He knew that they would find him soon. He could feel it in the shadows and in the deepest part of him. But he wasn't going down without a fight. And if he did, he would bring the Guardians down with him.

…

The Guardians continued to wave their way through the maze of shadows, which actually wasn't as difficult to navigate through if you had a Sister of Flight and Pooka on your side. Tooth used her keen eyes to see through the shadows and spot things that gave a clue to where Pitch was hiding. More shadows ment that Pitch was closer. Less shadows means that they were getting farther away from him.

Bunny used his ears to hear for any changes in the area. He noticed that the low howling of the shadows grew quieter when they were further away from Pitch and louder when they got closer. Bunny's left ear twitched and he pointed to the right. Tooth and Bunny led the way and North and Sandy followed in tow.

It wasn't long until the Guardians reached some kind of break in the shadows that seemed to lead into an almost room-like area. The eye of the cyclone. The Guardians stepped into it. Shadows swirled and twisted around them. Tooth shivered when she saw amber eyes peering down at her and the Guardians from the shadows. The relics glowed brightly, letting the Guardians know that danger was just up ahead.

"Well, it's good to see you all again," came Pitch's voice from above. He was standing on a pillar of Nightmare Rock like he had been back in his cave. His tone sounded anything but welcoming. "It didn't take you long to find me."

North's grip on his sword tightened. "Enough games, Pitch. You need to stop all of this craziness."

"I don't have to if I don't want to," Pitch said.

"This isn't right, Pitch!" Tooth shouted up at him. The Fairy Queen's feathers were bursting. "The children didn't do anything to you! They're afraid of every shadow and you're to blame for that. They don't want to live in fear. They don't need to live in fear!"

Pitch yawned fakely. "Oh, I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You heard her darn well," Bunny growled. "Ya either quit torturing the ankle-biters with nightmares right here and now, or we'er gonna have ta do this the hard way."

"Or, we can do this...my way," Pitch spat. He pointed a finger toward the Guardians and hundreds of shadows came raining down on them. The Guardians raised their weapons and attacked the shadows. North sliced through each of them with his sword, Sandy snapped his dreamsand whips, Tooth used both her sword and her relic, and Bunny blasted the darkness with his egg relic. The shadows dissipated immediately, for Golden Age light can destroy any shadow, which meant that the Guardians had the upper hand.

Pitch, however, was not one to give up so easily. He knew that the relics held great power and could annihilate any shadow, which meant that the Guardians could easily defeat him in a short amount of time. But the Boogeyman had a plan up his sleeve. Pitch sunk into the shadows, but the Guardians didn't notice. They were too busy fighting off the shadow monsters.

"How many are left?!" yelled Tooth as she sliced through a shadow. The dark figure disappeared after the sharp blade sliced through it, and Tooth switched to using her relic for another one. Her fairies did her best to help by flying at the shadows and pecking them with their beaks.

"I can't tell!" Bunny shouted. He kicked at a shadow and then blasted a beam of light at a Fearling that was creeping behind him. The Pooka's army of eggs were attacking as well. Shooting arrows with precision, the eggs that were equipped with bows hit each and every mark. The ones equipped with hand-to-hand combat weapons used them with skill, bashing, slicing, cutting, and slashing at every gloom.

North cut through three shadows and looked around. The ex-Cossack was the first to notice that Pitch had disappeared. He looked around and saw that the shadows had begun to lessen as well. Was Pitch calling his shadows off?

"I'm not the only one noticing this, right?" North said. The Guardians paused mid-fight and turned to North, who was pointed at the shadows. They were splitting, parting, and unwinding from each other, making the cyclone smaller and smaller until it was completely gone. The Guardians stood in the middle of the now empty clearing, shocked. Even Tooth's fairies and Bunny's egg warriors seemed stunned.

"Where did Pitch go?" asked Bunny as he looked around.

"He must have escaped while we weren't looking," Tooth said, frustration decorating the edges of her voice. Pitch had thwarted them. Again.

Dreamsnad smoke puffed out of Sandy's ears and North stomped his foot, equally indignant that Pitch had tricked them, but the Russian was also wondering when Pitch went and why. North's question was soon answered, because a crash from up ahead made the Guardians run into the thick forest.

"What was that?" asked Tooth as she flew toward the direction of the noise with her friends.

"I don't know, but I have feeling that it has something to do with Pitch," North said with a serious expression. And the ex-Cossack was right. When the Guardians breached the forest, the sight before them made them freeze.

Fearlings, shadows, and Nightmare Men lurked all around the small village. Everyone was inside of their houses, but the screams and cries of children waking up from nightmares could be heard. The Guardians faltered. This village was familiar. This had been there before. This was their last stop while they were delivering gifts and presents to the children.

"Isn't this…" Tooth whispered.

"Burgess," Bunny finished for her.

Pitch was attacking the children of Burgess.

…

The Guardians ran through the paths of Burgess. They were grateful to only be seen by those who believed in them. They would have drawn unwanted attention if they could be seen and heard by everyone.

Burgess was in total chaos. None of the adults were able to see the havoc that was ensuing around them, but the children could. Luckily, there were no kids out in the open, but they were still affected by the presence of the Fearlings and Nightmare Men. Many children woke up screaming or crying. Many clung onto their parents, rattling with fear. The fearful expressions, screams, and cries tore at the Guardians hearts. They were enraged. Enraged at Pitch for making the children suffer.

The Boogeyman had to be stopped. And he was going to regret ever messing with the children.

"First things first, we need to get rid of these bloody shadows," Bunny said as he turned to his friends.

Tooth nodded firmly. "We do, but we also need to comfort the children."

"Sandy can handle that," North said. The Sandman nodded and quickly floated off to spread some good dreams to the children who had been affected by the night terrors. Tooth, North, and Bunny focused on getting rid of the Fearlings and Nightmare Men that were streaking through the sky, crawling on the ground, or littering the village.

"My fairies and I will take care of the ones in the air," Tooth said as she drew one of her swords. "You guys can handle the ones on the ground!"

North and Bunny nodded. The two along with the army of eggs charged toward the nearest Fearling or Nightmare Man and attacked. The Pooka and ex-Cossack didn't hold back. They went all out. Fearlings and Nightmare Men screeched and screamed as they were kicked and sliced through. North and Bunny were fueled by the anger that they felt toward Pitch and the strong desire to protect the children from the evil creatures. Tooth and Sandy were fueled by this same thing as well, and both did their best with the jobs that they had taken on.

Tooth flew through the air expertly as she took her sword, slashing and lacerating every Fearling in sight. Her fairies were a great help as well. They used their beaks to peck and poke at the eyes of the Fearlings, distracting them enough so Tooth could slice through them with her sword. Tooth also found that using her relic was effective as well. Her ruby box flashed with light as she used it to blast rays of blinding Golden Age light at the Fearlings that streaked the sky.

Streams of Sandy's dreamsand wove through the windows of many homes, blessing the children with good dreams. Sandy made sure that these grains of dreamsand were packed with the most pleasant and luxurious of dreams possible so that no Fearling could corrupt it. Sandy smiled as he felt children relax under his dreamsand, and the Sandman could feel the nightmares slowly being forgotten. The little man hoped that the dreams would last the rest of the night, and that when the children awoke, that they would remember the delightful dreams that they had had and forget about the horrifying nightmares they previously had.

As the number of Fearlings and Nightmare Men began to lessen, the Guardians grouped back up once again in the center of the village. They could sense that things between them and Pitch weren't over yet, but the Boogeyman never revealed himself.

"I think Pitch is back at his lair," Tooth said. "It's the only place close enough to here that he can escape to, and he's probably waiting for us there now."

"Then ve head to Pitch's lair," said North.

"I don't know, mates," Bunny said. "This feels like a trap."

Sandy nodded and conjured up the image of the Guardians trapped in a cage with Pitch swinging the key. "We don't want to get caught."

"You both are right, but this iz our only chance to stop Pitch once and for all," said North determinedly.

"We can't let him do something like this to any child ever again," Tooth added with a firm nod.

So, the Guardians headed toward the direction of Pitch's lair. They didn't know what lay ahead for them, they didn't know what the Boogeyman had in store, but they weren't scared or frightened. They were determined to stop Pitch from harming any more children. They were fighting for the children. And as they marched toward the hole that served as Pitch's lair, the Guardians each had the same thought.

We are the Guardians of Childhood. And we will protect the children. For they are all that we are, all that we have, and all that we will ever be.