Chapter Fifteen: Under a Full Moon
The Guardians quickly ducked behind some bushes when the sight became clear. Night was already falling and since the dark clouds overhead blocked out the moonlight, things were extremely difficult to see. Jack could still make out the shape of five nightmares guarding the entrance of the cave, and the winter spirit knew that this meant that they had to be surreptitious.
"Okay, guys. Like Tooth said, we're going to have to be stealthy," said Jack. Then he sighed. "Which would probably be easier said than done if we could actually see well enough to make our way toward the cave..."
"Don't worry, Jack," said Tooth as she laid a comforting hand on his slender shoulder. "We'll find a way in."
"I think I just did," said Bunny. The Guardians gave the Pooka their attention. "Why don't we just send Sandy in?"
The Guardians blinked, surprised. "What?" they said in unison (well, Sandy with his dreamsand).
"What? I'm serious," said Bunny. "We send Sandy in first, he turns the nightmares guardin' the entrance into dreams again, then we proceed." Bunny crossed his arms. "Ya didn't really think I would just force 'im to go in there by 'imself and turn all the nightmares into dreams, did ya?"
The Guardians shrugged and then turned to Sandy.
"Do you think you can do it?" asked Tooth. Sandy gave her a thumbs up.
"Then once Sandy turns the nightmares up front into dreams, we can go into the cave and destroy that seal. Hopefully without any problems," Tooth said.
The Guardians nodded and watched as the Guardian of Dreams made his way to the entrance and swiftly turned the nightmares into dreams. Sandy waved to them and pointed to the cave and the other Guardians crawled out of their hiding spot and ran inside the cave stealthily. So far, they were undetected.
The Guardians of Childhood continued their way through the cave and Jack couldn't help but feel how familiar the place seemed to Pitch Black's lair. The walls were distorted and as the Guardians went in further, it seemed as if the cave grew smaller.
"Is it just me, or is the cave shrinkin'?" asked Bunny.
"Yeah, it's getting a bit cramped in here," said Tooth.
The Guardians continued and eventually came to a dead end.
"What!? A bloody dead end?!" cried Bunny. "Ya got ta be kidding me!"
"No, this can't be it," said Jack in disbelief.
"The nightmares must have set us up," said Tooth. "Which means…"
"It iz trap!" cried North. "Behind you!"
The Guardians turned around and saw hordes of Nightmares marching their way toward them. The Guardians were completely cornered.
"We're going to have to fight them off!" shouted Tooth.
"Then come on and let's kick some nightmare butt!" yelled Jack. He shot an ice shard at a nightmare that lunged for him and dodged when one tried to ram into him. The Guardians fought valiantly. North sliced at nightmares with his swords, Bunny threw his boomerangs with precision, Sandy cracked his whips at multiple nightmare horses, and Tooth sliced through them with her sharp wings.
The fight lasted for a while, and the Guardians were winning. When the nightmares realized they weren't going to defeat them, they turned around and galloped away.
Jack frowned, frustrated. "Clearly, this was to keep us away from the real hiding spot."
"We need to find that seal and fast," said Tooth. She fluttered forward and peered ahead. "I don't see anything!"
"Then let's get outta here before more of them come back," said Bunny. The Guardians ran out of the cave and back into the night and found dozens of nightmare horses waiting outside for them. Their amber eyes glittered with malevolence and they stomped their hooves against the forest ground.
"Oh, crikey," said Bunny.
"That's a lot of nightmares," remarked Jack. He held out his staff, a pale blue light swirled around it, ready to blast a nightmare that had the audacity to step forward.
Tooth beat her wings. "We can't fight them all off at once!"
North brandished his swords. "Ve don't have choice!"
Sandy held out his whips and Bunny held out his boomerangs defensively. The Guardians stood at the mouth of the cave as the nightmares slowly approached.
"What do we do?" whispered Tooth.
"I don't know," said Jack.
The nightmares then began to charge, and the Guardians all let out a battle cry and charged forward. If they were going to lose, they were going to lose bravely. When the nightmares were only an arm's length away, a sudden flash of light caused them to rear up. The Guardians looked confused, but then smiled when they saw the familiar full Moon up in the sky.
"It's MiM!" said Jack happily. "He broke through!"
Moonlight flashed down on the nightmares and they screeched in horror. Several nightmares disappeared as moonlight sliced through them and very few managed to escape. The Guardians cheered as the nightmare retreated.
"Now that that's taken care of, why don't we get back ta finding that seal?" said Bunny.
The Man in the Moon seemed to hear this because a moonbeam flew down and waited at the trees for the Guardians. It was going to show them where to go!
"Vell, vhat are ve waiting for?" said North. "Let's go!"
And the Guardians followed the moonbeam back into the woods.
…
With the moonbeam as a guide, the Guardians found that it was easier to navigate through the forest. The light it gave off was extremely helpful, and the Guardians were able to move faster.
After some time, the Guardians came to a clearing that led to a different cave. This cave was a lot larger than the last and had no nightmares guarding the entrance. It seemed as if the cave was daring the Guardians to come in.
"Thanks, little moonbeam!" said Tooth. The moonbeam glowed brightly as if to say, "You're welcome" and flew back toward the Moon. The Guardians faced the mouth of the cave.
"Are you guys ready for this?" asked Jack.
"Of course! We've defeated them before, we can do it again," said. Bunny.
Jack smiled. The Guardians—even though they didn't have all of their memories back yet—seemed just like their old selves again. Jack drew in a breath and took the lead.
Then the Guardians entered the cave without knowing if they would come back out.
Author's Note: Oh, wow. This story is almost at the end! The Guardians are so close to finding the seal! =D
I hope you enjoyed chapter fifteen! =D
Until the next chapter!
-BeyondTheMoon1203