And this, mortals, is the ending. I hope it was well worth the wait and the epilogue should be up too. Enjoy. And thanks so much for all the support even though I'm a horrid writer and I let this go so long without finishing it.
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
The Easter Bunny's voice, thick with Australian accent and fury alike, thundered through the North Pole like the wailing of a banshee, making the shudders rattle and the occupants of the Pole wince.
This time, his anger was directed at Jack and Sandy. They had just gotten back from the Pitchner house, a sleeping Kozmotis in tow. But that hadn't been all they had brought back with them, as Bunny was quickly discovering.
He directed his gaze to the three humans who were sitting beside the unconscious man on the couch. A woman with long, black hair, and two little girls. He recognized the one as his little ankle-biter Sophie, but the other he had never seen before. It was clear by her hair and eyes that she was the woman and Kozmotis's kid. She stared at him coldly, dark eyes half-hidden under lids that denounced she wasn't too happy about being here herself.
"it's not like we had a choice!" Jack defended himself, swinging his cane anxiously. "Sandy knocked Koz out, when he was going to come peacefully, and they saw us! His wife wouldn't let us take him back unless she came too and, well, we couldn't leave the girls!"
Bunny rounded on the winter sprite. "So?!" He demanded. "You could've knocked them all out until we got this bloody mess settled! Now we have to deal with humans as well as that bleedin' Kozmotis."
Kozmotis's wife looked up. "Excuse me," she said coldly, rising to her feet and putting a protective hand on her husband's shoulder. "But he is my husband, and this girl's father! If you have any business with him, you should conduct it with respect and not try to knock him out with sleeping gas so that you can kidnap him and bring him back here for interrogation."
Bunny rolled his eyes. "Look Sheila, this hasn't got anything ta do with ya. Why don't Jackie and Sandy take ya back home?" He gestured to the two Guardians who were still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. "I promise we won't hurt your man. Much." He added under his breath. "We just gotta get a few things straightened out is all."
Sara had heard the much and she raised an eyebrow. "I will not leave him." She told Bunny firmly. "Not for an arrogant marsupial, or any of you! Frankly the only one of you I trust is Jack, and that is only because I cared for him. Now, we can either talk about this like civilized people and wait until my husband wakes up, or you can let us all go home right now. But if you try to force me back to my home you will have a fight on your hands and I promise if I go down I will take at least one of you with me!"
Bunny almost shuddered. "Alright alright sheila, keep yer hair on." He croaked, turning away grouchily. "We aren't gonna force ya to do anything. Just know that this is between yer man and us. Don't get in the way."
Sara sat back down and Bunny moved off to talk to Tooth who was hovering a few feet away. "Can you see how scared she is?" She asked him pointedly. "Your approach was tactless and crude, Aster. I expected more of you!"
Bunny raised his paws defensively. "Look, I don't care what the sheila thinks. All I care about is getting' some bloody answers!" He told Tooth angrily. "An' I'm runnin' outta patience. When's he gonna wake up Sandy?!" This last bit was barked to the dreammaker who was a little on-edge himself.
He jumped about a foot and when he came back down again, he was glaring at Bunny. Sandy drew a few angry pictures but Bunny ignored them. "We haven't got time for pictionary mate, just tell me!"
Sandy humped and wrote, not long. Few minutes.
Bunny swore and threw himself down in the closest chair, earning a dirty look from Sera. The waiting was going to kill him. It was worse than when the bugger had tried to kill him! At least then he had known what to do. Now… He wasn't so sure. Every second they waited left room for self-doubt to start creeping into their thoughts.
Tooth buzzed over to Seraphina and Sara, trying to clear the air a bit between the family and Guardians. "I'm sorry about Bunny," she said, offering a tentative smile. "He's always been a hothead, ever since I could remember."
Sara hmphed, nodded as if she understood but really didn't care about his reasons. "Well, he could stand to be taught some manners, especially since there are children present." She replied, patting her daughter's head self-consciously.
Tooth nodded. "I know, I know. It's just this waiting. It's got us all on eggshells." She sat down and Sophie crawled into her lap. Tooth allowed her to stroke her feathers while she tried to explain their predicament a little clearer than the others had. "You have to understand that we're not just worried for Kozmotis and Jamie. We're worried about North and the other children too. If what Jack told us is right, then there might be a plague of nightmares out there running wild and we have no way of finding and stopping them. If your husband has any link to Pitch, any at all, we need him to tell us so that Manny, when he gets here, can help fix this mess."
Sara wasn't looking at her. She was staring off into the distance. Tooth used this break in concentration to press her point.
"I can promise you that no harm will come to him from Manny, or any of us. We just need something, anything to prove that this isn't just a nightmare and Pitch isn't really..." she trailed off, unable to say the words. While Pitch had indeed been their enemy and a dark shadow over their lives for as long as she could remember, he was still a spirit and the passing of a spirit was a sad thing indeed. She coughed. "That whatever happened really did happen."
"I understand," Sara said, nodding and turning back to face her. "But I'm telling you he doesn't. He didn't even know about any of this before and he didn't know the Boogeyman. I assure you. Whatever you're looking for, you won't find it with my husband. The only memories he has are of our life together. And his life before me. Nothing do to with the Boogeyman or any of this magic nonsense."
Tooth frowned. "Memories…" She repeated, slowly sliding the little girl off her lap and rising to her feet. Sophie protested a little bit but she ignored her. "That's right. He has memories, which means he has teeth!"
Sara frowned. "What?"
But Tooth was already miles away. The seed of idea was starting to grow inside her mind and she shook her hand at the human woman. "Nothing, nothing. It's probably nothing. But I should check it out anyway. I promise you'll be safe here. I'll be back soon!" And with that, Tooth headed off towards the exit. She barely spared a second to tell Bunny and Sandy where she was going before flying out the open window and heading towards her palace.
Half-way there she realized that she could've just grabbed a snowglobe and saved herself thirty minutes of break-neck speed flying, but it didn't really matter to her. She just wanted to get there. Means to an end. And when she actually reached the Palace, all work instantly ceased and her girls flickered around her, having not seen her in many weeks and she had to let out a piercing whistle to actually be heard above the clamour of her girls.
Once they fell silent, she took a deep breath before addressing them. "Hi. Thanks girls, I'm sorry about that but I'm not here for long. I'm just here to find something and then I'll be on my way."
The fairies asked the next set of questions collectively. What are you looking for?
To which Tooth replied, "What else? Teeth."
XXXXXXXXXX
Back at the Pole, Things were getting worse. Kozmotis, whom Jack had put in a room across from Jamie and North, was still fully asleep but had begun to moan and thrash some minutes after Tooth had left. Sandy, who had been on guard-duty, immediately administered a dose of dreamsand to combat the restlessness but that only served to irritate the human further and he was forced to call Yetis in to restrain him but even then, with four of the hulking creatures holding his arms and legs down, his head still whipped from side to side and unearthly screams issued from his lips.
I'd better call the others, Sandy thought, motioning for the yetis to keep ahold of him while he went for help. Sara, of course, was the first person he went to. He didn't even bother using the stairs.
It's quite nerve-wracking to see a little golden man jump from a three-story balcony and plummet at least thirty feet straight down, only to have him screech to a slow, silent halt inches from the ground and be totally fine, and Sara was about to experience this firsthand. Her heart leaped into her mouth upon seeing the falling golden body and, even though she had seen the Sandman fly before, she couldn't help the sigh of relief which escaped her as he hovered safely to the ground.
"Sandy, what was that-"
But the little man ignored her, bolting across the room in a streak of gold and grabbing her hand. It didn't knock her out instantly, but she could feel the sensation of drowsiness settle on her shoulders and eyelids. It feels exactly like a warm summer's day, she thought as he started insistently dragging her forward. Lazy, peaceful and all around excellent.
"Sandy," She protested, stumbling along after the little man. "What's wrong?" Wrong. Something must be wrong! The tiredness evaporated like steam. "Sandy, is Koz alright?!"
"Mommy?"
Sandy stopped and gestured that they needed to hurry.
Sara swung back around to look as Seraphina and Sophie, both of whom were playing on the floor with Jack standing by to watch over them. "I'll be right back Sera. Sandy needs to show me something very important." She'd seen the worry in Sandy's eyes and knew it had to be bad, but it was best not to scare her little girl, or any of them for that matter.
"Is it poppa? Let me come with. I want to see him!" Sera went to stand but her mother raised a hand.
"Just stay here with Jack and Sophie, OK sweety? I promise I'll be right back. Your father is fine-" Please don't make this harder, she pleaded with her daughter. I promise I'll explain everything later just let me go take care of this!
Sera regarded her for a few moments. Her daughter was by no means stupid, she'd known something was wrong from the moment they'd brought him to this...place. But she saw the look in her mother's eyes and gave a resigned sigh, sitting back down. "Ok mom."
Sara wished she could've hugged her but Sandy was still tugging insistently on her arm. "Thank you poppet. I'll be back! Jack," the winter spirit jumped to attention from his seat on the floor.
"Yes ma'me?"
"Keep an eye on them, please?"
He nodded. "They'll be safe with me."
She had no doubts. "OK, Sandy, let's go."
Sandy didn't answer her except to wave in a come on! Motion and she followed him up the stairs to the room they had given Koz. It was full of beeping machinery and large, hairy things all clustered around her husband's bed.
Originally, Sara hadn't wanted Koz moved form their home but both Jack and Sandy had insisted against it. Using Jack as a go-between, Sandy had explained her that since most of the damage had been located towards the Pole and its Guardians and that, if North and Jamie did wake up, they would need Koz to get a few thing straight, the Pole was in fact their best option. Not to mention it was the most heavily fortified structure in the world.
They made it up the stairs and when Sara saw the state her husband was in it almost took her breath away. She sagged against the door-frame, hand on her heart. "Oh goddess...Koz..."
He's still alive, Sandy quickly assured her, grimacing as he wrote in sand-letters. This was no time for pictionary. Still asleep. But something's happening internally and I haven't the faintest clue what.
"What do you want me to do about it?"
Does he have nightmares regularly? Sandy asked, unconsciously creating an image of the sand-horses Pitch had once tamed. Sara stared at it dumbly. What? Is this familiar? Sara speak to me!
She swallowed. "No. Not...really. It's just that..."
Yes? He insisted. Sara any information at this point could be useful!
She swallowed again. "It's just that...that horse looks an awful lot like the one that hit Kozmotis in the stomach, during one of Seraphina's girl scout trips to the horse ranch."
Sandy was decidedly disappointed with that answer. It's a nightmare, Sara. The boogeyman- Pitch, he amended, unable to use the pseudonym for the fallen spirit. Used them in the Nightmare war to attack children.
She let out a soft "Oh."
Yes, oh. Now, back to Kozmotis. Does he have regular nightmares?
She shook her head. "He has a condition. Something in his brain keeps him from dreaming or having nightmares. He told me when we first met,"
Sandy frowned. That might explain it. A mind unable to dream, being invaded with dreamsand. It would be like being drowned in a tsunami from the inside.
Sera noticed the look on his face. "But it's never affected him like this before," she insisted. "It can't be what's making him act like this!"
The mind is a complex thing, Sandy mused, still gazing at Kozmotis's thrashing figure. The sand-letters became slightly wonky as his thoughts, and not his hand, wrote them. Sometimes- very rarely, but sometimes I find a human that just can't dream or have nightmares. Something in them repulses them and the human in question normally doesn't live long as a result. That's not to say Kozmotis is going to die, he added when Sara's face paled. I'm just saying it might be a contributing factor.
"Or a clue?"
Or a clue. He concerned. We can't discount anything at this point.
Sara made to walk over to him, thinking that a familiar touch might help but Sandy held her back. "He's my husband!" She protested.
And he's our charge, Sandy replied just as firmly. Tooth's gone, Bunny's on the warpath, North is out for the count and Jack might be a good boy but he doesn't know the first thing about leading. So that just leaves me to clean up this mess, as per usual.
Sara noticed those last three words were written a little more sharply than the previous and wondered just how many times something like this had happened to this poor, mismatched family. Often enough for Sandy to clearly be fed up with it.
I know you're his wife Sara, Sandy continued. But I can't risk you or Seraphina going near him and getting hurt because he lashes out. I would never forgive myself if harm were to come to an innocent, and I'm pretty sure neither would your husband.
That was as true as anything the Guardians had told her thus-far. Sara glanced once more at her thrashing husband, leather straps and strong, furry monsters holding him down- presumably so that he would hurt himself as he howled and raged."OK, I won't go near him." She promised. "Just...please make sure he's alright. Please Sandman?"
Sandy saluted. He would make sure.
"So," Sara asked as Sandy escorted her out of the room. "Do we have any more theories about what might be happening to him?"
Sandy lowered his head. He reaaally didn't want to have that conversation right now. Too much going on inside his head to even think about anything else but when he looked back up, the hopefulness in Sara's eyes just melted him like the creampuff he was.
Sandy shrugged. Would you like to hear my own personal thoughts on the subject?
Sara nodded.
Well, I think this is all a very complex problem that didn't originate from Pitch or your husband or even the sickness that's seeping through us Guardians.
"Then...what is it due to?"
I don't know. Sandy admitted, hating that he had to lie to her. But this had to play out the way it was 'supposed' to, whatever that meant. I just know that no one person is to blame, and even if they were it would be more our fault than anyone else's.
"Why?"
Our influence, Sandy explained. We're powerful beings, Sara. And with that power comes a very strong inclination to reign and control. You notice how everything is running meticulously here, he waved a hand at the tiny brightly-colored blimps flying around their heads and the yetis lumbering back and forth. Even with North asleep?
Sara looked up and marveled at all the gorgeous lights and colors. "Yes..." she mumbled, already falling under the wondrous spell of North's magic.
Sandy shook her arm. Sara!
It took her a moment but eventually she snapped out of it. "Yes? Sorry, what were you saying?"
Never mind. Sandy smiled, thrilled to be off the subject. Thanks for that North. I wasn't sure where that was going anyway. It wasn't like he could really tell her his thoughts on what was happening.
She looked down her nose at him and, for one brief moment he thought she was going to ask what they were talking about. Then she smiled back. "I think Jack will be just fine here with you lot. You might be a crazy sort of family, even with that foul-mouthed rabbit running around," here she threw a glance at Bunny who had finally come out of his huffy fit and was sitting in a corner, painting an egg. "But you really do care. And I think that's just what he needs."
Sandy shrugged. We're Guardians. It's what we do.
Sera opened her mouth to respond but a sudden set of cries- one a yelp and the other a loud bellow, shook the scaffolding of the balcony where they were standing. "That came from Kozmotis's room!"
And that sounded like Nick, Sandy was already taking off towards the spirit of Christmas's bedroom. Keep an eye on him Sara but don't touch him! I'll be right back!
Sara nodded and raced to the door, throwing it open. There lay her husband, struggling against the straps that bound him to the bed and swearing up a storm at the yetis who were backing slowly away, probably out of fear.
"Kozmotis!"
"Just undo these damn things will you?! I've got to see if Jack-" Koz was cut short when he heard his wife and turned to face her, relief spreading across his fine features. "Sara! Oh thank gods, I thought I was in some sort of European bondage scene!"
Sara laughed. "Only you would think of that love," she murmured, crossing the room to undo the straps. Then she remembered what Sandy had said. "Will one of you please take these off of him?" She asked the yetis politely.
They glanced at one another and, after a few conferred grunts, one stepped forward and started fiddling with the buckles.
"Thank you." She told it. "Sorry about these Koz, you were thrashing around in your sleep a lot and they were afraid you might hurt someone."
Kozmotis sat up as the last restraint was undone, rubbing his wrist. "Thank you," he told the yeti. "Those were quite tight." Before turning to Sara and embracing her before she could do anything about it. "Sara, love I'm so glad to see you! There's so much I need to tell you! I spoke with him!"
"Him?" Sara asked, pulling away. "Him who, God?"
"No," he laughed. "The Boogeyman! I spoke with him and I know what I've got to do now!" He looked so alive, so happy. Sara was very, very scared. Just what had happened to him while he'd been asleep?
"Koz, slow down. You're not making any sense! What do you mean you spoke with the Boogeyman? I thought he was dead."
"He was dead," Koz told her, grinning like a lunatic. "But he's not now! He's sort of hiding in the back of my consciousness, waiting for me to-" he stopped and the smile slipped from his face. "Oh. Oh Sara, I'm so sorry, I almost forgot." It was like his attitude did a complete 180 and he pulled her into another hug, clutching her like life itself while light tears ran down his face. "It's OK Sara, the Man in the Moon lets nothing go to waste. Pitch told me so. You'll get another body soon, and another chance at life. And I'll always keep you in my thoughts, no matter how long I'll live."
"WHAT?!" Sara pushed herself away from him, staring in abject horror. "Kozmotis, what are you saying? What do you mean I'll get another body? What-"
He stood, advancing on her with that horrific expression of ultimate sadness that almost made her heart stop. "Just calm down Sara, it's alright. I don't know when it's going to happen, I think I need to talk to the Man in the Moon first but I will make sure you get a better life than you had with me. Seraphina too. Even if you are just memories." He moved with a deathly calm, backing Sara up against the door-frame.
"K-koz you're scaring me."
Kozmotis stopped, looking down at himself. "Huh." He murmured to himself. "It's starting already." then he looked back up at her and the gentle fatherly smile was back. "Don't be afraid Sara, I'm not going to hurt you. It's still me, your husband. For now."
Her voice was barely above a whisper. "F-for now?"
He nodded. "I don't know if telling you the details will matter, since he said you'll disappear as soon as I take on the job and talk to Lunar, but I suppose I do owe you that much."
He then proceeded to summarize his conversation with Pitch, leaving out only the unimportant details but he made sure to explain who he really was and what she and Seraphina really were. And the whole time Sera didn't speak a word until he finished.
"Well?" Kozmotis asked, watching her face carefully. It was blank but her eyes glittered with fear. "Aren't you going to say something?"
She sniffed back the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks. "So," she said in a quivering voice and Kozmotis's heart ached for her. She sounded so terrified. And who wouldn't be when confronted with your own lack of being? "You're telling me that we...you me and Seraphina, are dreams?"
"Memories." He corrected gently. "I'm the most real out of all of us. You and Sera were just given flesh but he actually made me a human being. A shell of a human being, but a human being non the less." He reached out for her arm and she shirked away. "Sara,"
"How could you say such things?!" She cried, pulling away as he tried to embrace her again. "That I- that you're daughter, are just stupid dreams? How could you-"
"Because it's true," Kozmotis replied flatly, massaging his forehead. He couldn't look her in the eyes. "As much as I hate to admit it, and I'm probably going to spend years lying awake at night for decades to come, re-living this night in my head and wishing I'd said something more comforting," he sighed and lowered his hand. "The fact of the matter is, that's all I really can say. I loved both of you because you were my family, but now that things have been put in perspective..."
He was saved the pain of continuing that sentence when Sandy, accompanied by a slightly groggy North, lumbered down the hall and stopped right outside the doorway. The tinkling of bells alerted both humans to Sandy's presence.
"Sandy, old friend." Kozmotis smiled, completely ignoring his now practically hyperventilating wife. He crossed the room and, brushing her aside, stepped out into the hall. "Glad to see you're still here. I hope Sara hasn't been driving you all mad with worry over me. Is Seraphina behaving?"
Sandy nodded blankly, unsure of what to say. This...hadn't been the same man he'd seen earlier. Or, if he was, he certainly didn't act like it.
"Good. You won't have to worry about them for very much longer." He promised. "I just have to have a quick conversation with Lunar, bring you all up to speed, say my goodbyes to Sara and my daughter and everything should be taken care of." He turned to the big man standing behind Sandy, wearing a red and black outfit with a slightly sweat-stained salt and pepper beard. "And this must be North."
North nodded. "You are de Kozmotis I have been hearing about, yes?"
"I am indeed." Kozmotis replied, nodding in kind before turning back to Sandy. "Sandy, where are the others?"
Sandy shrugged.
"Tooth is at her palace, looking for something," Sara piped up, still looking very unsteady and shaken. Sandy manuvered around Kozmotis who seemed strangely indifferent and took her hand.
Everything alright Sara? He asked.
Sara gulped, looking from what she thought was her husband to Sandy. Kozmotis was still smiling gently, like a counselor who had been talking with a delusional child. "I...don't know." She admitted. "Koz told me some stuff-"
"Sara," Kozmotis interrupted and she jumped a little. Even his voice had shifted just slightly. It was more authoritarian, more commanding. The voice of a general, not a father or a husband. "I'm sorry love, but I would prefer to explain to all the Guardians and the Man in the Moon together on one room. That way nothing gets confused. Maybe you could go take the girls upstairs while we hash this out. I'll call you when I need you."
Both spirits watched as Sara, not meeting his eyes, nodded and scurried down the hall and descended the stairs.
There was a long, silent moment as they all watched her go. Kozmotis still had that knowing smile, tilting just the corner of his lips up and with the slight air of condescension. Sandy looked worried and North, well North just looked like his typical Russian self. The sleepiness had evaporated form his eyes and he was gazing, surprisingly enough, at Kozmotis.
"You know," he said, drawing the others' attentions back from Sara who had all but disappeared. "You should be treating your wife better dan dat, Kozmotis."
Kozmotis quirked an eyebrow. "Pardon me?"
North took a few lumbering steps until he was toe to toe with the tall, thin man. They were almost at even eye-heights but Kozmotis was just a tad shorter. "You are lucky to have such a caring woman," he said, ice-blue eyes narrowed intently at Kozmotis's face. Kozmotis stared deftly back. "Not all are as fortunate."
Kozmotis's expression suddenly went dark. "I'm sure they aren't." He replied coldly and Sandy noticed his fists balled, as well as the fury written in his gaze. "Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to win a backwards war against a broken fear spirit either."
North's eyes widened. "Why you-"
Kozmotis, Sandy intervened before things could get ugly. Why are you acting like this? Sara seems terrified of you and you're treating us like garbage. What's going on?
His gaze switched to the little man and Sandy took a small step back. Those eyes...there was something terrifyingly familiar about those eyes. The light metallic silver tint around the edges...
"I had a talk with someone," Koz answered and even his voice radiated carefully controlled fury. Like a human volcano, ready to erupt. "He told me a few interesting things that I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear. But I can't tell you until you're all here, and that includes Tooth and the Man in the Moon."
"Why not?"
Koz's eyebrow lifted again. "Brusque, aren't we North?"
North folded his arms in answer.
Fine, if they wanted an answer to that... "Truly, I'm just trying to get all this over as fast as possible. Now that I know the truth and what to expect I just want to talk to Lunar, let you lot know the basics and find some nice hold in the ground to carve out while I try to get used to this new sanity."
"Manny." North corrected.
"Pardon me?"
"We call him Manny. No one calls him Lunar."
Except Pitch... Sandy added.
Kozmotis could see the gears working in both their heads and decided to make a swift exit before they could work it out. "Yes yes, whoever. The malevolent spirit that turned Pitch's life into a living hell. Apart from you lot, of course." He added over his shoulder, smirking. He could see North's fists clenching. Good. Where once he might've liked to be this man's friend, now he was nothing but part of a collective cause for this hell of a situation. Him and Sandy both. "I'm going to check on Jamie, then I expect the lot of your downstairs. And do get ahold of that Lunar, however you can. Shout if you have to. Tell him Pitch says hi." He waved, then disappeared down the opposite hall, leaving both Guardians staring dumbly after him.
As Kozmotis strode away, he felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment searing through his body. Pride, joy, and a little bit of relief that, even though Sara didn't understand what he was telling her, he had in fact told her and hadn't just let her fade away without knowing.
As he crossed the hall to Jamie's room he found himself wondering if he wasn't just playing into what Pitch had done originally? Of course he had his reasons for being standoffish, but hadn't he also tried to broach a friendship with the Guardians?
Indeed he had. But they threw him back into the darkness without so much as a by your leave. It was sickening, particularly because he'd seen how caring and compassionate Tooth, Jack and Sandy could be.
"Maybe I can fix all this," he murmured to himself. "I don't know if I could necessarily forgive them, but I could put it down as something they did to him and not me. Maybe that might work..."
When he found Jamie, the room was totally empty but for the boy lying on the bed, his skin not unlike Pitch's gray ashen pallor and when Kozmotis laid a hand on his cheek, he felt icey cold.
"Damn. I'll have to ask Pitch how to fix that." Speaking of which... "Pitch? Can you hear me?" He expected the former Boogeyman's smooth, sarcastic voice curling within his mind but was unpleasantly surprised to hear it manifest in reality, across the bed from him in the nook of shadows cast by the massive machinery.
"Of course I can hear you General. I'm dead, not deaf."
Koz nearly jumped out of his skin as Pitch stepped out of the darkness, shadows rippling off his skin like a heat mirage. He came to rest on the other side of Jamie's cot, staring down at the boy thoughtfully.
"You know... I always thought the children around Burgess had something magical about them." Pitch mused, trailing spider-like fingers over Jamie's forehead. "From the time I set foot in that godsforsaken town. Every child I met had something...different about them. This boy, that rabble that helped Jack in the war...Jack himself..."
"Jack is actually from Burgess?"
"He lived there with his sister for a few years before he was killed." Pitch elaborated, lifting his gaze from Jamie's face but his hand still rested upon the boy. Protectively. "He was born on the edge of the town. I watched him grow up. He couldn't see me of course, not really. His little sister could though." He chuckled darkly. "I used to scare the living daylights out of her when she would wander off from Jack or their mother."
Kozmotis mirrored his dark, reminiscent smile. "It must've been nice to have something new. Not just the typical fear and scared running."
"Nice? It was downright infuriating!" Pitch spat, glaring down his nose at Kozmotis. "Can you imagine having one soul purpose in all the world and then not being able to reach that sense of fulfillment, having done your job, because of one insolent courageous brat?"
Kozmotis shrugged. "I would think of it more as a challenge." He answered, already imaging how he could get children to believe in the boogeyman- no, in him. "Something to chase. A goal to be achieved."
The shadow of his former, former self regarded him for a few minutes, then laughed. "I knew Lunar picked the right man for the job. You've got more fire in you than I ever did. And you're eager. You'll make a great Boogeyman, Kozmotis."
"So you've told me."
"The fact that you look at it as a job, not a chore or an existence," he continued. "Speaks volumes. It means you'll take a long, long time to get tired of it, and that's all I can really ask for form you."
"Even if I'm a little oddball?" Koz teased. "You still think I'll make a good Boogeyman?"
"You're young," he said, waving a dismissive hand and turning away to stare out the window. "Not odd. There was a time when even I enjoyed my job as much as you seem to."
"Before the others beat you down."
"Even before that," Pitch told him. "Even when I was spreading fear and darkness across the realms I reveled in it, felt no pity or compassion." Kozmotis could see him anymore but he could imagine the wistful expression on his face form the tone of his voice as he gazed out at the moonlight on the snow. "I realize now, having morality and a sense of ethics that it was quite a hollow existence but at the time it was the best I'd ever felt."
"Will I feel like that?"
Pitch turned back just a fraction, enough to expose one golden eclipse eye and the corner of a smile. "That is really up to you. You could be the monster I was- I won't really be able to stop you. Others might, but you'll probably be stronger than they are. Or you could join them and be a Guardian of Fear, provided they let you do your job. The world is open to you, Kozmotis. Full of choices. It's up to you to make them."
Kozmotis nodded slowly, recalling something his wife had once said to him, during one of their after-dinner talks about his work. He hadn't wanted to go back after talking to A little boy who had suffered severe domestic violence. But Sara had said, "Every step you take, every move you make, every breath you take, I'll be watching you. And I'm not the only one! The universe sees it and responds accordingly. You can make the decision to change what you want but in the end, if it's what you- not your conscious self wants, but you at your core, you'll still come back to it eventually."
"She stole that line form a song," he muttered, smirking at the memory. How was he just now realizing that?
"Pardon?"
"Nothing," Koz waved his hand. "Nothing. But... how would it be possible for me to be what you were? A monster? Would they let it happen?"
Pitch snorted. "Of course not. They would catch you and put you in a cage."
"Then why-"
"My point, Kozmotis," he interrupted, raising a hand. "Is that you have the potential to help the human race. How you do it is your business, why you do it is your business. But being the Boogeyman, you do have certain responsibilities. You need to protect children using fear, and keep the balance even, even if that means attacking the Guardians form time to time or challenging them. Like I said, all this advice could be null and void if you join up with them and create a truce. I would, in all honesty, love to see that."
"Why?" Koz wondered aloud, utterly thrown by the statement.
"Because it would make things a lot easier on your part." He replied. "I could never do it, they hate me too much and I hate them. But with Manny backing your play as being a totally new spirit, they would have to wipe the slate clean and treat you as nothing less than a new spirit until you give them reason to hurt or distrust you."
Suddenly, all the implications came crashing down upon Kozmotis's shoulders. "This could end..." he realized. "All the fighting..."
"Until they betray you for whatever reason," Pitch added. "Yes. But you're smart. You would probably see it coming."
Koz resisted the urge to chuckle. "Even when suggesting the prospect of the thing you've been searching for, for so long, you're still doubting yourself." He mocked, drawing up beside Pitch. "Why do you do that?"
"I'm not doubting myself," Pitch replied testily. "I'm doubting a fiction that is being portrayed as reality." He turned away from gazing at the moon to look fully at Kozmotis. "Here's my first real piece of advice on being the Boogeyman, Kozmotis. Respect your own interests above all else."
Koz tilted his head to the side, contemplating the words. "Like?"
"Like, if you'd rather join up with the Guardians under the mask of friendship and unity and all that tooth-rotting crap to prolong your existence then please, by all means." Pitch made a shooing motion. "Join them. But never forget why."
"Again, why?"
"Because it's how you choose to live. It's what's best for you, and what's best for your element. The second you become compromised and they aren't letting you do what you need to survive, drop them. Even if you care for them, drop them like stones. Because in the end, it's for their benefit as well as yours."
Kozmotis caught the slight hint of regret in the Boogeyman's tone and knew instantly why he was saying this. "Jack," he whispered. "This isn't about me at all, is it? It's about Jack?"
Pitch nodded slowly. "In part, yes. I got distracted from my job and what I'm meant to do. And because of that, Jack suffered. Then the nightmare war happened and an entire town suffered." The regret was palpable now. No tears welled in his eyes but Kozmotis could see emotion flickering over his less than transparent features.
He took Pitch's hand. "You can rest assured I won't let that happen," he promised. "I'll do right by the title and make sure never to-"
"Shut up." Pitch interrupted, pulling his hand away.
"But-"
Koz tried to protest again but Pitch silenced him. "I said shut up. Don't even bother making a promise like that because we both know it won't keep. You're so young Kozmotis, you don't even know..." Pitch told him, smiling patronizingly. Then he sighed. "I don't want a deceleration of dedication, Kozmotis. We all screw up. There are no exceptions. I just want your assurance that you won't screw up nearly as bad as I did and that no matter the cost, you'll not make the same mistakes I did. Do you understand?"
Kozmotis nodded firmly. "I understand."
"Good." Pitch glanced over his shoulder. Footsteps and voices were echoing down the hall outside the slightly ajar door. "Someone's coming." He didn't sound afraid or worried. Merely tired.
"Oh great. Koz muttered. "They're probably looking for me."
"Yes, you did make quite a splash with North didn't you?" The former Boogeyman drawled, wearing a shit-eating grin.
"He deserved it," the new Boogeyman replied. The footsteps were getting closer. "Wait, how did you know about that?"
Pitch tapped the side of his temple. "Now that you know about me, I've been given more access. I can see pretty much everything and even manifest as a personal banter companion and conscience."
"If you start singing the Jiminy Cricket song I'll never forgive you," Koz warned. Pitch looked puzzled but amused. "It's from a kid's movie," Koz elaborated. "Let your conscience be your guide and all that."
"Basically. Though I do have to warn you, I will not sing. And I'll only be here as long as you need me."
"Kozmotis!"
Koz jumped. North was at the door.
"You've really got to stop doing that," Pitch told him, looking totally unimpressed. "You're going to be the Boogeyman, for darkness's sake and here you are, jumping like a schoolgirl."
"Aren't you going to...I dunno...hide or something?" Koz asked, looking frantically from Pitch to the door which was being opened as he spoke.
Pitch simply smirked and remained where he was, arms folded over his skinny chest.
"Kozmotis, who are you talking to?"
North stepped into the room and, seeing only the man and the boy, frowned. "Is Jamie awake?"
Kozmotis glanced from Pitch, who was grinning like the Cheshire cat, to North. "Can...he see you?" He asked the Nightmare King tentitively.
Pitch shook his head. "Nope. To the rest of the world, I am as dead as a door nail. The only reason you can see me is I'm in your head. Or our head. I'm still not sure how that works." He admitted. "Just, don't talk to me while they're around. They might think you're insane."
Koz snorted. "Yeah that's rich, coming from an anorexic shadow."
"I am not that skinny!" Pitch protested. "Now, stop talking to me. You've got guests." He pointed to North who was looking straight at the spot where he was standing. "Deal with them, go downstairs and deal with Lunar, bid farewell to your former life and I'll direct you from there."
Koz nodded. "Where will you be?"
"In the shadows, watching." Was the vague reply he received as Pitch turned his back and began to walk towards the darkness.
Koz turned back to North, muttering, "Asshole." Then he caught North looking at him. "What?"
North flinched and he guessed his aura as the Boogeyman was getting stronger every minute. "Nothing." He mumbled. "Just, we have talked to Manny and he is coming soon."
"Tooth still MIA?"
He blinked.
"Missing in action."
"No, she is just gone."
Kozmotis resisted the urge to face-palm. "Now I see why he couldn't stand being in the same room as you lot," he grumbled, raking a hand through his hair. "Fine, fine. I'll be right down. Get someone to watch the boy until I can fix this stupid sickness will you? Much as I might like I can't be in two places at once."
Where once North had appeared slightly wary of him, if not downright afraid- and what a nice fear it had been, he realized. The acidic aroma of sour milk and burnt cookies. -now he appeared a tad bolder than before. "This is still my home," he said gruffly, taking a step closer to Kozmotis who glanced up in irritance. "And while I am jolly man, I do not take kindly to being ordered around."
Kozmotis took a deep breath, remembering what Pitch had told him. Best not to start fights now, even though he and Aster had already gotten off on the wrong foot. "You're right North, I apologize." He told the Cossack, putting on his most polite voice and smiling up at the big man. "I am simply stressed. A lot of new things are coming to light for me and it is taking quite a toll on my manners. I also apologize for my earlier conduct and would ask your forgiveness for my rudeness." He held out a hand and North immediately took it, beaming.
"Dah, we bury de hammer. Bygones be bygones. I forgive you Kozmotis."
Kozmotis smiled back, gritting his teeth against the pressure of the man's hand. It wasn't deliberate, of that he was sure. North was just a strong man. And gullible, or so it would seem.
"Kiss-ass."
"Shut up Pitch." He muttered, throwing a dirty look the shadow's way where he could see Pitch's features gleaming, predominantly his teeth.
"Izvinite?"
"Sorry North," Kozmotis swiftly retracted his hand. "I...have a bad habit of talking to myself when I get anxiety. A side-effect of being a counselor, I suppose." He rolled his shoulders in an elegant shrug. "But truly, if you could get someone to watch Jamie I'd be most grateful. Is Phil available?"
"Phil is watching your family."
"Go ahead and ask him to come on here."
North raised an eyebrow.
"Please," he added reluctantly. There was also a great source of pride seeping in with the pleasure of being feared. Another side-effect, he guessed.
"I vas more wondering why you would leave your daughter and vife alone," North admitted. "But dat helps."
"I'll tell you all why as soon as Lunar shows up." Kozmotis promised. "Until then, I won't speak a word about this."
North seemed to respect his stance on the matter and chose not to push him. They left the room after North made sure Phil would keep an eye on the boy while whatever was about to go down went down and, North following Kozmotis, they descended the stairs to find everybody gathered around a massive glowing blue stone that had erupted from the middle of the floor.
"Manny's conduit." North explained when Kozmotis shot him a puzzled look. "He speaks to us through it."
He stopped dead. "Oh no, no. I said I wanted him here, in person! Not a stupid rock telephone!" Kozmotis was so enraged at the thought, after all he- after all Pitch had done to get Manny's attention and he still refused to see him.
"Kozmotis," North warned. "Be careful. Manny is among the strongest of spirits-"
"I don't give a rat's ass what he is!" Kozmotis raged, stomping past the others who looked startled. Jack tried to stop him but Kozmotis shoved him out of the way and walked right up to the stone. "THIS HAS GONE FAR ENOUGH LUNAR, DO YOU HEAR ME?!" He hit the stone, cracking open skin but it sealed with a trickle of darkness. "I AM NOT YOUR PAWN, AND NEITHER WAS HE! SO GET DOWN HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!"
The Guardians were all too shocked to move or speak. No one had ever...no one had dared!
Kozmotis drew back, his chest heaving. Something was starting to broil in his chest, something dark and hot. He spun around to face the Guardians. "Tell me how to get to him!" He snarled, stomping over to North. "I'll settle this thing right here and now!"
They were all silent.
"NOW, North!"
"You can't..."
Kozmotis turned around and saw that, of all people, it was Aster who spoke. "And why not?" He challenged. "I think I've more than earned it, don't you?"
The Easter Bunny blinked, his deer-in-the-headlights expression fading. "Earned it?" He barked, standing and stomping over to Kozmotis. "What have you earned, mate? You're just some human who got lucky enough to meet us and help out Jackie! You are just a bleeding human, don't forget-"
"I AM NO MERE HUMAN," Kozmotis growled, balling his fists. The dark energy was seeping through him now. Stronger. More potent. He could feel it, twisting around the core of his being. And he liked it. "Not anymore."
Aster cocked his head to the side and sneered. "Oh yeah, mate? Then what are you?"
Kozmotis's lips split into a wide smile. So this was why Pitch had been such a drama queen. Because it was fun. "I'm the next Boogeyman," he replied evenly, relishing the look of shock on all the Guardians' faces. "Oh yes, didn't see that coming did you?"
"Impossible," North breathed. "New spirits can't be chosen except by-"
"By Manny, yes I know. Your precious Man in the Moon." He spat it like a curse, recalling all that he'd been told about the being. "The mysterious figure that started it all. He actually did choose me, you know. Or at least he tried to before you lot mucked it up. I was supposed to be Pitch's replacement!" There, he'd said it. There was no going back now. Their expressions were wide and he drank their confusion and fear in like hot coffee, relishing in the attention and grandeur. "They worked out a deal, Pitch and the Man in the Moon. Pitch gets eternal rest in return for teaching me how to do his job so that the world can continue working. But your Lunar went back on his word."
They all looked so stricken it made him want to laugh. Like their whole world was crumbling down. Jack was gripping his staff so tightly it might snap in two, Sandy was sitting on the ground, having fallen over in utter dumbfounded shock, and North and Aster just looked petrified.
"You're lying..." Aster said hollowly.
"No," answered a soft voice from behind them. "He's not."
At least Kozmotis had enough control over himself not to jump this time. Instead, he wheeled around to see a young man, not much older than Jack- probably about in his mid-twenties standing beside the blue stone. Koz looked at him for a moment, taking in the circular glasses with silver framed and the practically luminescent silvery suit.
"I assume you're the Man in the Moon." He said bluntly.
The young man nodded. "Not quite what you were expecting, is it?" He asked in a musical voice that somehow filled the entire room, even though it was soft and barely discernible amongst the clink and clank of working machinery that made the Pole so deafening.
Kozmotis shrugged. "Frankly I don't care much what you look like," he told the young man though he was quite right. He'd been expecting...well...someone older to say the least. Maybe not quite so silvery? "I just want you to tell them the truth and fix this," he gestured at himself. "So that I can get started."
Lunar raised an eyebrow. "So you are going to take on the job then?" He asked carefully. "In spite of all the challenges you will face?"
Koz scoffed. "Provided your minions don't do to me what they did to him."
"They are not my minions," Lunar replied, barely even raising his voice as he stared at Koz with those cool silvery eyes. Like twin pools of moonlight all their own. "They are my Guardians. And you could be too."
"Didn't you already try to play that card?"
"The offer is still on the table."
Kozmotis glanced around, looking for Pitch but he was nowhere to be seen. I guess the choice is really up to me then. He took a deep breath but, before he could answer, Jack spoke up.
"M-manny?"
The young man turned to his protege, smiling. "Jack, how nice to see you. You've grown much in these past few years, my young friend."
Jack gulped, suddenly star-struck. "Um, thank you, sir." He stammered, shifting anxiously from foot to foot.
That's right, he hasn't seen Lunar before. Koz realized, smiling in spite of himself. This would be like meeting God for him.
"Manny," Aster stepped forward, suddenly very quiet and respectful. "Manny, this can't be right."
Manny turned to face him, still smiling. "And why must it not be right, Aster?" He asked as if it were the most innocent question in all the world.
Suddenly he was reduced to so much mumbling and stammering in the face of the one person he couldn't argue with. "I- well...because..." He swallowed audibly. "Because spirits can't die, right? Pitch's still alive somewhere, right?" He seemed to almost be hoping it was true.
Manny sighed regretfully. "Pitch Black was an unfortunate sacrifice." He began and Kozmotis snorted. Manny spared a moment to shoot him an annoyed look before continuing. "He chose his own fate and I respected it. But there has to be a measure of balance in the world, and with Pitch leaving there had to be a new Boogeyman made."
"So it's true..." Jack murmured. "Kozmotis really is the Boogeyman?"
"Not yet," Manny raised a finger. "The Fearlings that once resided within Pitch's body have all but been destroyed over the centuries. Without them, you cannot exist as Pitch once did. I helped make you from-"
Kozmotis nodded impatiently. "Yes yes I know this part." He interrupted, earning some shocked looks from the others. "I was once a General with a family and then the monsters or whatever got free and turned me into Pitch. Old news, Lunar. I'm more concerned with what happens once I turn full spirit. I'm not Pitch Black," he added, looking at each of the Guardians in turn. "So none of you lot can judge me for what he's done. Absolutely none of you."
"And they wouldn't," Manny interjected swiftly. "The only judgment they are allowed to pass is on what you, yourself have done to them."
"Good." Koz nodded, folding his arms across his chest. "Now, what are you going to do about these Fearlings?"
Manny opened his mouth to speak but a cry of triumph echoed through the practically silent room, causing everyone to look towards the window. A bolt of bright feathers was heading straight for them.
"Look everyone, look! I found it!" Tooth somersaulted into the room through the open balcony and skidded to a stumbling halt. She was saved the indignity of tripping over her own feathers by Kozmotis who she had almost barreled into, catching her by the arm.
"Tooth, calm down!" He said, pulling her upright. She was out of breath, as if she had been traveling like this the entire way here. "What did you find?"
Tooth took a deep breath, then grinned and proudly presented him with-
"A golden tube?"
"Take it, open it!" She insisted, pushing it into his hands.
"KOZMOTIS NO!"
Koz looked up and saw Pitch, staring in abject horror at the tube. Manny had the same look on his face and before he knew what was happening, he felt the tube begin to hum in his hand. The diamond-patterning on the flat side had begun to glow and Manny reached forward to rip it out of his hands, but it was too late. The diamonds faded, revealing a single graying tooth nestled among red velvet.
Kozmotis felt his legs buckle at the sight of that singular tooth. Something was phenomenally wrong. Pitch was standing there, inches away, screaming at him to throw the damn thing away but he couldn't hear him. All he heard were the tinkling of bells, the gentle twittering of birds, and a soft, sad voice whispering, "So be it."
And then the floor came rushing up to meet him. He let go of the tooth container, letting it clatter to the ground in a dull clunk upon the stones. Someone was screaming his name- Seraphina?
"Sera..." It was coming from the balcony where she and her mother were racing down the stairs, trying to reach him. As they ran he- and the others, for they were all watching at this point with varying degrees of horror and fascination, -noticed flecks of silver detaching from their bodies at they moved and that in itself seemed slower than possible, like they were moving through water. Everything was slow. The voices of the others, their movements, trying to reach him but they could not.
As Seraphina and her mother reached the landing and began to run towards them, bigger flecks began to break off, eating into their flesh and making them look like abstract paintings. They were yards away, feet, inches. As their arms embraced him his family exploded in a shower of silver sparks, burning his eyes to the point of near-blindness.
He screamed- not sure if it was aloud or in his head and it was echoed by another scream. One that belonged to a woman. It couldn't be Sara, she was gone. Tooth?
This must be it, he realized. I'm becoming a spirit. Pitch said it wouldn't hurt but it really, really does.
But he wasn't becoming a spirit. At least, not in the kind he imagined.
He felt the silver sparks latch onto him, taking hold as if they were made from living, breathing things. Only, they weren't the sparks anymore. They still burned with a ravenous fury, but the light had gone. Replaced by-
"Shadows." The word slipped from his lips as silent as a whisper but it was heard by everyone. I'm going back...to the shadows.
And then the shadows stabbed him. In the heart, directly through the chest, making him double-over and scream in utter agony as he clutched at his chest. "HELP!" He screamed, looking up at his surroundings but all he could see were vague shadows and he could hear the whispering voices telling him that it was going to be alright. There was nothing to fear. Whose voice was that anyway? The Guardians? The slusive fearlings?
No, they whispered, forming together into one coherent voice. One sad, quiet, resigned voice. It's me Kozmotis.
"P-pitch?"
"This is the last you will ever hear of me, see of me. And the last I'll ever see of you." And suddenly he was there, in front of all the Guardians who had miraculously been restored to his sight. The Guardians gaped and hands went to weapons but it all happened too quickly for anyone to do anything. Pitch knelt down and cupped his chin. "You tried," he said softly. "That's better than I could've hoped for. But I've had my break. And it's time to get back to business."
Kozmotis couldn't speak. He tried though. There were a thousand things he wanted to say but he had no words to say them.
"Don't worry," Pitch murmured, laying him gently down on the stony ground. "I'll make sure Manny takes your soul and puts you into a worthwhile human. You'll get the chance to live again, the same chance you gave me."
Frantic thoughts wove through his head. No...no I can't! We made a deal! I can't force you back! "I...made a promise." He rasped, the heat of the darkness burning the inside of his lungs. "I promised you..."
"Quiet..." Pitch ordered. "Just...lie still. It'll be over before you know it."
"But..."
"Consider our agreement null and void. I'm taking the job back from you." He smiled as Kozmotis's eyes widened in terror. "Oh don't worry, I'll have a much better handle on it than I did before. Please don't feel bad," he added when Kozmotis tried to say something else. "I'm actually glad it ended this way. I never wanted you to take the job, but I chose to let you because I was a coward." He looked up at Tooth who had fallen when Kozmotis had and smiled an eerie smile. "Fate, it seems, has other plans in store."
Pitch stood, taking Kozmotis's hand and pulling him upright. "You're starting to feel it?"
Koz nodded. "The fire. It's..." It was more like a smouldering ember now. He could speak and he could move but it was still there.
"Them." Pitch clarified. "Hollowing the body out again so that a spirit can, once again, live in it. It shouldn't be long now." He cast a side-long glance at the Guardians and Lunar who were watching silently. "If you want to tell them anything, this would be the time. You might not exist in a few minutes."
Kozmotis nodded and looked at the room of assembled Guardians. "It's been...interesting knowing you all." He said, looking at each one of them in turn. "I regret that I didn't get the chance to know any of you better. Especially you, North."
North nodded silently and the look on his face could only be described as that of pure wonder.
"Jack," Koz turned to the young boy who was even paler than before. It was a surprise he hadn't fainted. "Take care of yourself. And Sophie and Jamie. They don't have parents so you need to find them a safe place to stay."
Jack nodded. "Yes sir."
"Sandy," the Sandman stood. "You're an odd little fellow, but without you none of this would've been possible. Stay strong, my friend."
Sandy saluted who he now realized to be his former General. A silent promise.
Kozmotis didn't want to even bother saying any heartfelt goodbyes to Aster. The rabbit had been a jackass almost the entire time they'd known one another but when he turned his gaze on the rabbit he found terror in his eyes. "What- what'll happen to you mate?" He asked timidly.
Kozmotis shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever happens to the dead. Just know I'll be happy and hopeful that we'll all meet again. Or course I'll have a different face, so you might not recognize me." He smirked. "Won't that be interesting?" And then he turned his gaze on Tooth. "Toothiana,"
She had tears welling in her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I didn't know what the box would do. I was just trying to help!"
Koz shot a look at Pitch who raised his hands. "You're on your own with this one."
"Thanks for the help," he muttered darkly before kneeling in front of her, taking her hands. The pain was building but strangely, it didn't effect his ability to speak or anything. "Tooth, you didn't do anything wrong. This all worked out the way it was supposed to. I think I know that now."
She hiccuped. "But- but I did this-"
"No," he insisted. "We, Pitch and I, did this. We decided that a choice had to be made and it was. Maybe not the choice we were all- agh! -expecting," he broke off, his hand on his chest again. Its beat was starting to slow. "But I think it's for the best."
"Kozmotis," Pitch tapped an imaginary watch on his gray wrist. "The transformation is almost complete."
Koz nodded, standing up and wincing. His legs could barely support him. "Alright, I'm ready."
Pitch took both his hands. "Close your eyes," he ordered. "It'll be easier this way."
Kozmotis did as he bid and suddenly, everything was black. Not just the world around him or his sight, but everything. Kozmotis could feel black, breath it, taste it on the air. Hell the air itself was black, as black as pitch.
The Guardians and Lunar watched in awe as the body of Kozmotis Pitchner was absorbed into Pitch Black, disintegrating into darkness and leeching through Pitch's skin, making the man appear more solid. Pitch himself had his head thrown back and his eyes shut tight, a slightly euphoric look filling his normally sharp features and, of all things, there was a smile on his face.
Finally, all that was left were not one, but three small balls of silvery light, hovering at Pitch's chest level. Pitch raised his head, inhaling the fresh, bitter scent of fear form all the Guardians present and a slightly richer, older scent that he had not had in since before the birth of time. The Man in the Moon's fear.
He opened his eyes, looking directly at Manny and lifted a hand to the silvery orbs, taking care not to touch them. He contemplated them for a second, spinning them like juggling balls with his long fingers. "I believe these are yours," he said coldly, using the momentum of his hand to toss the orbs, one after another, at Manny who caught them as easily as a child would catch a baseball and cupped them close to his chest, re-absorbing the spiritual energy into his own. "Don't make me a liar Lunar," Pitch warned. "Make sure to bring him back one day, as well as his wife and the girl."
Manny nodded, still staring at his cupped palms. "It wasn't supposed to end this way," he whispered, sounding utterly heartbroken.
Pitch scoffed. "Your pawn is off the board, Lunar. Get used to it. Oh and if you try to take away my choices ever again," Manny looked up with the most fierce and angry gaze any of the Guardians had ever seen on a human face but Pitch continued regardless. "I will fine Aether herself and convince her to destroy everything and start all over again. On that you have my solemn word."
Manny looked like he was about to smite Pitch right then and there- and half the Guardians actually expected him to. But he didn't. He merely watched with that burning hatred searing in his eyes and never said a word.
Pitch turned back to the Guardians. "As for you lot, I'm going back to my home, and I don't expect to be disturbed for a good long time. If you want answers, talk to your leader. You can try to stop me if you like. I haven't been this powerful in years, so I think I would win. Just a thought." And then he turned around and started walking away towards the nearest shadow.
"Wait a minute!" Bunny yelled, finally coming out of his frozen state. He didn't seem angry or even furious. Just...confused. "You're just gonna leave then you rat, without explaining any-"
"Kozmotis?"
Pitch glanced upwards and found a small boy with slightly dirty brown hair leaning against the banister, blinking down at them all. "Kozmotis is dead, Jamie." He told the boy, smiling at the shock on his face. "Your friend Seraphina and her mother were just a weak memory."
Jamie shook his head. "No...no that- that's not possible! I just saw him!" Then he frowned. "If you're not Kozmotis...then who-"
"Boogeyman!" Cried another voice from the other side of the room. Pitch turned around to see little Sophie Bennett tottering out from behind a red chair, her little lop-sided fairy wings dragging against the ground, golden hair falling over her face like a mop. She tottled deftly over to him, looking up at the looming figure with absolutely no fear at all. Only a small smile. "See, I told Jamie you wasn't gone!" She told him proudly. "You not Kozmotis, you Boogeyman!"
Pitch could only smile back at her. "That's right child. I am the Boogeyman."