Chapter Sixteen: Destroying the Seal
This cave was much darker than the last. Jack could feel nightmare sand weave against his bare toes making him shiver. The cave was dark and unpromising. Jack tightened his grip on his staff, ready to freeze whatever stepped forward.
The Guardians of Childhood continued their way through the tense atmosphere. The Guardians could hear something coming from the end of the cave. It had to be Onyx and the other nightmares.
"This is going ta be a doozy," said Bunny.
Jack nodded. "As long as we break that seal and get yours and everyone else's memories back, things should be fine...hopefully."
Sandy brightened up the area with his dreamland, which made it easier for the Guardians to see. When they reached what seemed like an entrance into a large room, the Guardians paused to discuss a plan.
"Please tell me ya have a plan, Frostbite," said Bunny.
"Well, not exactly," said Jack. "We do know that the memory seal is going to be guarded, so we're going to have to get through a lot of nightmares so…"
"Just fight until ve get to seal?" said North.
Jack shrugged. "Pretty much."
"But we don't know how many are in there, so things may not go as smoothly as we would like," said Tooth. "How about a few of us distract the nightmares while Jack breaks the seal?"
Jack was surprised that he had already been nominated to break the memory seal. But the surprise quickly left when he realized that the Guardians would probably be the ones the nightmares would be after first since they were supposed to forget, and Jack was probably the last person the nightmares would attack, but one couldn't be too sure when it came to them.
"We distract the nightmares away from the seal, Jack swoops in and breaks it. Sounds simple enough," said Bunny. Bt he and the other Guardians knew that it wouldn't be so easy.
"Okay then," said Jack. "You guys ready?"
The Guardians smiled and took their positions, ready for battle. Jack smiled back and then turned around to where the seal was being kept.
"Let's do this," said Jack. And the Guardians charged.
...
The Guardians had fought the nightmares before, but this time, the battle felt different. It was strange knowing that the nightmares were being led by one of their own kind and not Pitch Black, so it was difficult to guess their every move since Pitch was usually the one controlling them.
The memory seal was sitting on top of a nightmare sand pedestal. It was an iridescent blue mixed with pink, green, yellow, and red. It was beautiful, and knowing that it contained the memories of the Guardians and believers made it even more precious. Jack's cerulean eyes sparkled at the sight of it and he knew that he had to get to the seal, and fast.
The Guardians fought brilliantly. Tooth not only sliced the nightmares with her wings, but had even brought one of her swords and fought amazingly in the air and on the ground. North slashed multiple nightmares away and Bunnymund kicked away and threw his boomerangs that made nightmares disappear in a burst of sand. Sandy lashed at them with his whips and Jack fought with his staff and froze away nightmares that got too close. The Guardians were winning.
If only they had noticed something happening behind them sooner.
Onyx would not lose this fight. She knew the Guardians would come for the seal and so far, hadn't realized her presence. The Guardians were not going to regain their memories. Not if she had anything to say about it.
Onyx caused nightmare sand to weave over the Guardians. The same nightmare sand that had caused them to forget Jack. The sand fell into their eyes and even though the Guardians rubbed some of it out, the sand had already taken effect.
"Hey! Get away from them!" shouted Jack. He shot a bullet of ice at Onyx but she dodged expertly. The nightmares backed off, letting their leader take on the Guardian of Fun. Onyx clearly wanted him all to herself.
Onyx screeched and tried to stop Jack with her hooves but Jack dodged expertly. The winter spirit had always been light on his feet and had become even lighter after practicing with the Guardians. Onyx sent streams of nightmare sand the grabbed Jack and began to pull him toward Onyx so that she could finish her, but Jack froze it and broke it before he reached her.
Onyx growled furiously, but smiled as she realized the Guardians were no longer fighting, but looked ultimately confused. Jack turned around and realized with horror that the Guardians had forgotten again.
"Oh no…" said Jack. "Guys? Hey! We're kinda in the middle of a battle here!"
"Where are we?" asked Tooth as she fluttered around. "I was in the Tooth Palace a few minutes ago!"
"I am supposed to be in Workshop," said North.
"And why is Jack Frost here?" asked Bunny.
Sandy put multiple question marks over his head, showing how confused he was. Jack faltered. The Guardians had forgotten, now they were vulnerable to the nightmares that were approaching.
"No, NO!" yelled Jack. But he was too late. The nightmares engulfed the Guardians completely leaving Jack completely horrified. He then turned to Onyx, rage flashing in his blue eyes, but then they quickly landed on the seal behind her. Jack flew quickly to the pedestal, Onyx following behind him. The colors inside swirled together and Jack was sure that he could even see the memories that were inside.
Onyx rammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Jack stood up and dodged before Onyx could attack him again. Jack stared at the seal and raised his staff and slammed it against it. A white crack webbed its way across the glowing orb.
Onyx kicked him and Jack cried out in pain as the nightmare's hooves made contact with him. He sat up and shakily leaned on his staff. Onyx stood in front of the seal, malevolence flashing in her eyes.
Jack's eyes narrowed in determination. Ignoring the hot pain in his chest, he called on the Wind and flew toward the nightmare and shot a sharp shard of ice at her. It stabbed Onyx's chest and the nightmare screamed in pain. Now that the nightmare was distracted, Jack took this chance and began slamming his staff into the seal.
One. The white crack grew larger and inched its way across the blue smooth surface. A stream of pale blue glittered out from the crack and Jack knew that the memories were slowly returning as he hacked away at the sphere.
Two. More cracks webbed their way across the seal and a bright light began to emit from it. Jack knew that the last and final hit would destroy the seal and restore everyone's memories. He raised his staff one last time. Onyx was charging toward him.
Three! Jack closed his eyes and slammed his staff into the seal one last time. Onyx rammed into Jack just as the seal exploded into thousands of colors. A bright light engulfed the nightmares, melting them away.
Jack had done it. The seal was destroyed. Everyone had their memories back.
Jack smiled weakly, but then broke into a cough. That last hit from Onyx had knocked the wind out of the winter spirit, and every time he took a breath, his chest would flare with pain. Jack groaned and laid his head on the rocky ground. Unconsciousness whisked him away and the last thing Jack saw before closing his eyes were the concerned, worried faces of the Guardians.