Author's Note: Oh, man. This is the longest chapter in this story. 3,642 freaking words. Wow. =O

I hope you guys enjoy chapter twelve! The story is almost at its end! =D

Chapter Twelve: The Final Battle Begins

The hole which led down to Pitch's lair was as dark as night. The Guardians looked down at it and saw nothing but darkness. It was clear what Pitch was trying to say. Come in, if you dare.

Tooth's mini fairies chriped. Bunny's egg army raised their weapons. THe Guardians looked at each other, knowing that if they went down into the lair of the Boogeyman, there was a high chance that they wouldn't come back out.

But that didn't scare the Guardians. Not one bit. Throughout this entire adventure, they had always come back to fight Pitch. It didn't take them long to recover, and when they did, they were ready to fight once again. The Guardians wouldn't back down, because if they did, thousands of children around the world would suffer from Pitch and his pernicious shenanigans.

All of the Guardians felt that this battle that they were about to fight would be the last. And there could only be one victor. Them or Pitch. The Guardians knew that they would win. They had to. But there was still a possibility that Pitch could surprise them once again. The Guardians blocked out all negative thoughts. Thoughts of Pitch defeating them and hurting the children. Thoughts of them losing the battle. Thoughts of them losing the war. Instead, the thought of what would happen after they defeated Pitch. There was no if, there was only when.

The Guardians peered down the hole once again. Sandy wanted to send a stream of dreamland down it, but the Sandman knew that that would blow their cover. They needed to be stealthy. Extremely stealthy. The Sandman turned to his fellow Guardians and conjured up three images over his head with his dreamland: the picture of Pitch being defeated, the picture of the Guardians celebrating, and an image of the children sleeping soundly. Bunny, Tooth, and Bunny knew what he was saying. We can do this.

"I know we can, Sandy," Tooth said. She turned to the other Guardians. Her friends. If Tooth was told that she would end up being teamed up with Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Sandman on any other day, she would have laughed. Tooth never thought she'd find herself in this position, but instead of feeling fearful or anxious, she felt brave. Bold. Fierce. The Man in the Moon chose the right people, and the Tooth Fairy wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

North nodded. "Ve have no idea vhat to expect down there, but I do now that ve vill vin the day."

"I sure hope so," said Bunny. The Pooka let out a slow breath. "Because Pitch is probably gonna give us his worst."

The Guardians all nodded. Pitch had already shown how upset he was that the Guardians were close to defeating him. They all knew that Pitch would not hesitate to attack them at this point. He probably wanted to destroy them.

"Let's not think about that," said Tooth optimistically. She fluttered her wings and kept a firm grip on her sword. Her ruby box sparkled like her bright, amethyst eyes. "We will stop Pitch. He isn't going to defeat us. Why? Because they were the Guardians of Childhood. And if there's anyone who can stop Pitch, anyone who can stop him from hurting the children, it's us."

"Tooth iz right," North said with a smile. "Ve can do this."

Bunny and Sandy smiled as well and the Guardians turned back to the deep, dark hole that was laying before them. None of them felt scared. None of them felt fearful. Pitch was going to be in for a surprise. After a moment, the Guardians, egg army, and the miniature tooth fairies dived down the black hole.

…

Pitch paced around his throne, seething with nothing but pure rage. The Guardians had destroyed the Fearlings and Nightmare Men that he had sent to attack the children and they had just entered his lair. Pitch was connected to everything in the shadows, and he could sense when something or someone entered his lair, which came in great handy knowing that the Guardians would soon enter his underground base. Pitch folded his hands behind his back and squeezed them tightly. He was running out of ideas. That was something that rarely happened to the Nightmare King.

The Guardians had proved themselves. Pitch now knew that he had underestimated them. When the Man in the Moon first told him that a group of four would usher in a new age of light, hope, and wonder and bring an end to the Dark Ages, Pitch knew that Tsar Lunar wasn't kidding around. But then he found that Tsar Lunar had chosen an overgrown rabbit, an old thief, a sleepy little man, and a feathered fly. What ludicrousness! The Man in the Moon expected this group of weirdos to defeat him? Pitch had laughed then, knowing that it would be impossible for a group as random as the Guardians to defeat him. But then, he was proven wrong.

North was an expert with not only his swords, but with leadership. Pitch could tell that North was the leader just by looking at him. The ex-Cossack had proved that he could lead a team, and he was always open to other ideas from his comrades as well, which made the Guardians even more potent of a team. The Boogeyman hated how North seemed to always bring some kind of jolly mood in the air whenever he was present. It made everyone around him forget about the fear and darkness. Instead, they would stare in complete wonder at the man in red who created toys, lived with yetis and elves in a fabled village called Santoff Claussen.

When Pitch caught a first glimpse of Tooth, he immediately assumed that she was a delicate fairy. She was vivacious, bubbly, and Pitch considered her the most annoying one of the Guardians. But what he failed to notice was that Tooth had a heart of gold and was very valiant. The Tooth Fairy's wings were as sharp as knives and she could dodge almost any projectile thrown at her. She even had swords of her own! Tooth understood the power of memories, and how important those childhood memories would be needed when a child grew into an adult, and Pitch's goal was to make sure children forgot about their childhoods so that when they grew older, they would be more vulnerable for him to give them nightmares.

Bunny was an odd creature. He was a Pooka, a rabbit-like animal that wasn't entirely animal at all. Bunny was smart, and even though he had a strange obsession with eggs and chocolate, he was a Pooka, and Pookas were trained to fight in battle at a young age. Bunny was also not only an expert in chocolates and eggs, but he was also an expert in hope. Hope was a powerful thing and it turned out that it was the hope of bringing light to the children that the Guardians had that kept them going through the battle. Like how Pitch knew everyone's fear, Bunny knew everyone's hope. And Bunny knew that Pitch's hope was to destroy childhood, something that the Pooka profoundly wanted to stop the Boogeyman from doing.

And then there was Sandy. Pitch had known Sandy since the Golden Age. The little golden man was a sleepy fellow, but he was also a Star Captain and piloted stars during those times of light. Sandy was an expert in dreams, and it was those dreams that clashed with Pitch's nightmares. The two were opposites. Sandy gave children good dreams while Pitch gave them bad ones. At first glance, Pitch assumed that the Sandman wouldn't do much in battle, but he was proven wrong when he was lashed multiple times by Sandy's snake-like whips. Sandy was connected to the dreams of all the children, and he knew when they were asleep or awake. This was something that Pitch deeply hated about Sandy. The Sandman knew when a child was having a nightmare, and the Guardians had used this trick of the Sandman's to once again bring children good dreams.

Pitch was fuming. The Guardians were close. He could feel it. The Boogeyman didn't have a plan. Only one thing flashed through his mind: he had to destroy the Guardians once and for all. If he was going to usher in his new Age of Darkness, he would need to give the Guardians all he got. Pitch closed his eyes and called on every shadow, every Fearling, and every Nightmare Man that he had. They all responded to the silent call and snaked into Pitch's lair and swirled around him. Pitch opened his eyes, his smile was as dark as the shadows.

"This will be the battle that the Guardians lose," said Pitch. "This will be the battle where they'll breathe their last."

…

The Guardians landed on the hard, stone floor of the boogeyman's lair and looked around, holding up their weapons. Pitch's lair was as twisted as tree roots. Cages hung from the ceiling and swung back and forth in the ominous wind. A bridge laid in front of the Guardians that led to a dark tunnel. A tunnel that led to Pitch's throne room. Tooth looked over the edge of the bridge. It was a very, very far drop to the bottom.

"This place gives me the creeps," said Bunny.

Tooth nodded. "Me too."

North led the way and the Guardians each crossed the bridge, trying their absolute best to keep quiet. If one of them made a sound, Pitch would know that they were there. The Guardians didn't want to get caught, then the plan would fail.

"Wait, do we have a plan?" asked Bunny as he stopped suddenly.

Tooth's wings fluttered faster. "Um...I don't think so."

"Yes ve do," said North. "I just thought of one. Ve find Pitch, attack, and then defeat him."

The Guardians continued walking, but still were talking to each other. "That isn't a plan, North," said Bunny.

"Yes it iz," said North. "Ve vill attack vhatever stands in the way and then attack Pitch, da?"

"But that's not a plan," Bunny said again. "What we need ta do is think of something that Pitch won't be expectin.'"

"He's probably already expecting us," said Tooth.

"I know that," said Bunny. "But he's gonna expect us ta attack."

"Then vhat do you suggest that ve do, Bunny?" asked North.

The Pooka thought for a moment and then smiled impishly. "I got an idea. It's crazy and insane, but it should work."

Sandy's dreamland swirled into a question mark, silently asking the Pooka what the plan was. North and Tooth were eager to hear Bunny's idea as well.

"Okay, here's the plan," Bunny started. And the Guardians listened intently.

...

The Guardians had gone over the plan several times. Bunny reminded them over and over again that if the plan was not done properly, Pitch would probably capture them all and they would lose the battle. They would lose the war. The Guardians of Childhood couldn't risk losing. Not when they had come so far.

As simple as the plan seemed, it had to be done correctly in order for it to work. Pitch was the easiest one to fool—-the Guardians learned this from experience. And if they wanted to make Pitch think that they were surrendering to him, they would need to feign defeat.

The group of four continued to make their way through Pitch's crooked lair. If one were to go down by themselves, they would easily get lost. Pitch's underground hideout was like a winding maze with no center. Bridges crossed over huge gapes. Stairs ran down and up. Very little light made it through, giving the place an inauspicious look. An ominous look. An evil look.

Despite the scary atmosphere, the Guardians kept on their brave expressions and held up their weapons, ready to attack whatever would come toward them. Their guards were up and their ears were peeled for the slightest sound of movement other than the fluttering of Tooth and her fairies wings, and light sparkling of Sandy's dreamsand as he floated through the air, the thud of North's boots and Bunny's large, furry feet as they hit the stone ground, and the tapping of the metallic legs of the egg army. Bunny sniffed the air and pointed a furry finger straight ahead.

"Pitch is just over there," the Pooka stated. "I can smell him."

North nodded and tightened his grip on his sword. The orb on the handle was glowing a bright red, signaling that danger up ahead. The ex-Cossack turned to his friends and said, "This iz it, everybody. This iz final showdown.

Tooth's wings fluttered at such a rapid pace, that the other Guardians could only see a blur of pink. "I'm a little nervous, but I know that we can stop Pitch."

"We have ta," Bunny said. "For the ankle-biters."

Sandy nodded and produced an image of the Guardians standing together victoriously and Pitch locked up in his lair. The Guardians then threw away the key. Tooth, North, and Bunny laughed lightly.

"Yep, we'll make sure that Pitch doesn't try ta harm the kiddos ever again, Sandy," said Bunny.

Tooth smiled, but then quickly frowned as her feathers stood on end. She looked up ahead and the Tooth Fairy could already hear the low screeches of Fearlings and Nightmare Men. Toothiana could make out Pitch's shadow on the wall. Her grip on her sword tightened. The other Guardians noticed this as well and each held a firm grip on their battle tools.

"Let's go," North said solemnly. "And make sure to follow the plan."

And after a beat, the Guardians entered the throne room.

…

Pitch watched with a deep frown as the Guardians entered. Hate flashed in his amber eyes and the Guardians knew that Pitch wasn't going to play nice this time. They had thwarted his plans again and again, defending and protecting the children from his nightmares and nightmare army successfully. Pitch had had enough of it. Enough of the Guardians. Enough of nearly losing. Enough of all of it. Fearlings weaved in and out of Pitch's feet, ready to attack the Guardians at any moment. Several Nightmare Men stood next to their leader, holding up their weapons, ready to assault the Guardians at command.

"I see that you've come to visit once again," said Pitch, anger and irritation decorated the edges of his voice.

"Yep. We just wanted ta come and visit our favorite Boogeyman once again," said Bunny sarcastically.

Pitch growled. "Very well then. I can see that you were expecting a fight, so why don't I give it to you?" Pitch then raised a hand, ready to unleash all of his nightmares on the Guardians when Tooth suddenly yelled, "Wait!"

Pitch froze, slightly surprised by the sudden outburst from the Tooth Fairy. Tooth fluttered in front of the other Guardians, her grip on her sword laxed. She looked up at Pitch and said, "You win! We give up!"

Pitch snorted. Did they really think he was foolish enough to fall for the old "We give up" trick? "That little trick isn't going to work on me you pathetic fairy."

"Iz true," North said. He even threw his sword off the ledge! "Ve give up."

Bunny dropped his egg relic down, called off his warriors, and crossed his arms, completely unarmed. "We're through, Pitch. Ya win."

Pitch stared in complete and utter shock. This little trick that the Guardians were trying to pull wasn't going to work on him. The Boogeyman shook his head, a laugh emerging from the back of his throat.

"You all are such fools!" Pitch shouted. The Nightmare King actually felt a little upset that the Guardians weren't giving much of a fight. "Do you really think that I'd fall for a trick as petty as this? Pick up your weapons and fight like the so-called "Guardians" you are!"

North shook his head. "Ve realized that ve just can't do this anymore. Vorking together and not even knowing anything about each other…"

"It's uncomfortable," said Tooth. "And we're not going to work like this anymore."

"In fact," Bunny said. He looked at the others. "We're disbanding."

Disbanding? Now this was something that Pitch wasn't expecting. Maybe the Guardians weren't joking after all. They did look like they meant every word that they said.

No, thought Pitch. It's another trick. Any moment now they're going to launch their attack and fire their relics at me. Well, I'm not falling for their little carnival tricks anymore. Not this time.

But while Pitch was contemplating whether the Guardians were deluding him or not, Bunny had sent some of his egg warriors to hide behind Pitch's throne, ready to attack when he gave the order. Tooth also sent along some of her fairies. Their wings were just as sharp as hers and could cut through the Fearlings and Nightmare Men alongside the warrior eggs.

A troupe of eggs marched up behind North, holding up none other than his sword. The Guardians knew that they had to do something to make it look like they had surrendered, and North throwing off something as valuable as his relic was something that would definitely make it look like they were surrendering to Pitch. North smiled at the eggs and furtively picked up his sword by the handle, hiding it behind his coat so Pitch wouldn't see it.

"Your egg warriors are not as bad as they look," whispered North to Bunny.

Bunny's ear twitched, which told North that he had heard him, and the ex-Cossack caught the small smile on the Pooka's face.

Pitch, however, was doing anything but smiling. He was confused by the strange behavior that the Guardians were displaying. Throughout the battle, the Guardians had given a fight. They had come back and fought him again and again with determination. The Guardians wanted to stop Pitch from giving the children nightmares, and it seemed incredibly odd that the Guardians were quitting all of a sudden.

Tsar Lunar chose the wrong people, Pitch thought. The Boogeyman still didn't know what to believe. Were the Guardians trying to dupe him? Or were they really surrendering, just like that?

Pitch growled and shook his head. He raised his hand once again and said, "Fine. If you give up, this will make my job of destroying you much, much easier."

And with that, Pitch dropped his hand, launching what was left of his army of Fearlings and Nightmare Men upon the Guardians. The group of four braced themselves, and the giant tsunami of shadows poured over them. Not a sound came from where the Guardians once stood and Pitch smiled. He had done it. The Guardians were gone.

Or were they?

Suddenly, a bright light broke through the head of shadows and an explosion followed soon afterward. There, standing tall and true were the Guardians of Childhood. North was holding up his sword, Tooth was holding both of her swords, Sandy was holding his dreamsand whips, and Bunny was holding his egg tipped staff. Pitch couldn't believe it. The Guardians had tricked him!

At this point, Pitch was fuming. He created a scythe in his hand and raised it over his head, bringing it down upon the Guardians. The group of four dispersed and each took turns landing a blow on Pitch. Tooth dived toward the Boogeyman and parried with his scythe. She slashed at him with her swords, but Pitch dodged expertly. The sudden blows still caught Pitch off guard, giving Sandy a chance to snap his golden whips at him. Pitch swung his scythe, blocking every snap, but Sandy was determined and he managed to snake one of his streams of dreamsand around his wrist and yank the scythe out of Pitch's hands.

The Nightmare King stumbled backward with no weapon and looked around at the battle that was taking place. Fearlings and Nightmare Men were being attacked by Tooth's mini fairies and Bunny's warrior eggs. The fairies worked together in groups to stab and slice through Fearlings and Nightmare Men, and the egg warriors fought alongside them. They wielded their bows, swords, daggers, and clubs expertly and managed to land several blows on multiple Fearlings and Nightmare Men, causing them to disappear out of existence. Pitch refocused his attention to the Guardians, and was able to conjure up a sword before North sliced at him. Pitch parried with North's blow, but found it difficult to keep up with the Russian. North did look old, but he was as strong as an ox and as swift as the wind when he wielded his sword. North slashed his sword at Pitch several times, and Pitch was growing weary at parrying with his blows over and over again. North was able to knock Pitch to the ground. The Boogeyman sunk into the shadows just in time before Bunny shot a beam of light at him.

"He's gone!" Bunny exclaimed. The Guardians looked around for any sign of Pitch, but there was none. The mini fairies and warrior eggs came to the Guardians sides' as well and looked around, ready for anything.

It wasn't long until Pitch's laugh rang through the entire lair. The Guardians usually didn't feel frightened mid battle when Pitch laughed, but this laugh was different. The Guardians immediately knew that Pitch was planning something. Something dastardly.

"LOOK OUT!" Bunny shouted suddenly. The Guardians looked up just in time to see another wave of Fearlings cascading down toward them, but they didn't have time to react. The Fearlings engulfed the Guardians completely.

And this time, no light broke through.