AN: Hello! I have to say I had tons of fun writing this chapter. I definitely liked Rapunzel's part the best, but Tyira thinks I need to lay off my creepy obsessions. I could have made it much worse though! Any way this is a lot shorter compared to the last chapter I wrote and I'm okay with that. I feel I got my point across. So until next time! Oh also updates will become every two weeks because of school. -.- Hate it but gotta learn stuff! Love you all and enjoy!
"Somewhere all my darkest fears are gathering
It's not enough to save the day
I can't escape my nightmares."
Chameleon Circuit
Confused cobalt, edgy emerald, and hesitant hazel eyes looked skywards, their owners facing several conflicting emotions. The wind breathed a final breath and then went silent. Nothing moved besides the smoke that curled into the now rancid air. Fear radiated from the smoldering remains ahead of the group. Something stirred within the clouds of ash. Any light was viciously sucked away as if being drawn to the dark figure that slowly raised itself from the ground. Darker than the night sky, the beast made Toothless bright as the sun. The group of companions subconsciously moved closer together as a bone-chilling wind swept over them. The two present couples grabbed their loved ones in an attempt for comfort. The full mass of the creature appeared from behind its veil of smoke. Sand. Black sand spilt around obsidian hooves as the beast moved slowly towards the group.
"No way," the oldest brunette whispered as he took in the creature's full appearance.
As if the voice had snapped a line previously holding her back, the red-haired Scot whirled around, pinned her gaze on the man, and spoke. "Does anyone know what that is?" Her voice was snappy but the fear was as evident in it as it was in the tingling running up everyone's spine.
"But it's not possible," he continued to whisper to himself. "I thought they had died out long ago. That creature that's a—"
"A nightmare," the Viking boy voiced. He had only heard about them briefly from Gobber, but it was enough for it to stick with him.
All six eyes shifted back to the beast where it stood. Its anatomy was one of a horse, but most horses aren't composed of shifty black sand. It was as if somebody had taken the legend of the Sandman and put their dark twist on it. The beast was quite literally a mare made of the darkest night where only cold and fear reside. Maybe for those sick in the mind this creation would be fabulous, but in reality its only purpose is to install a crippling fear within everyone. For all its dark glory, though, its eyes remained glowing amber, almost as if there was some good trying to hang on through all the bad. Like a dream turned south. That perhaps was the scariest thing of all.
"B-but if they're all supposed to be dead, why is there one here, Hiccup?" Rapunzel asked.
Silence ensued. The creature paced in place, the clopping of its hooves the only sound in the stifling darkness. No light reached down from the moon and stars overhead. It was only them and the beast. The Nightmare snorted, its amber eyes casting fitful glances back and forth as if deciding what to do. A minute ticked by in what felt like hours, time stretching forever and filled only with the sounds from the creature. The six companions fidgeted nervously, all six eyes portraying fear, but all minds experiencing different types. Finally the Nightmare moved. In a swift movement the beast charged straight at the group. Chaos erupted as the six attempted to dodge. The girls tripped on their skirts and dresses while the guys tripped over the girls. In the end it didn't matter. The beast was upon them. Jade, aqua, and copper all met piercing amber. All six looked into the eyes of the beast. The nightmare barreled through them all, and then like that it was gone. Six bodies lay on the ground barely moving.
The pull of darkness vanished along with the creature. Resplendent droplets of liquid moonlight descended upon the near motionless companions. The first to stir was Jack, who sat up with a hand pressed to his head. Disoriented, he scanned around him looking for answers as to what happened. The young Viking boy sat up next, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Blinking several times, he, too, looked around him. The sixteen-year-old and the seventeen-year-old joined their gazes, but neither had the energy nor will power to be mad at the other for the moment. Shuffling from Jack's left caught his attention. Breaking the eye contact, he watched the Scot rub her head in confusion. Her cerulean eyes traveled around in a circle looking at each body before taking in her own appearance. A bubble popped as she jumped off the ground, trying frantically to clean dirt off her beautiful Celtic dress.
"Oh, no, my mum's going to kill me," she cried in desperation. Her hands worked furiously, rubbing at the dirt like her life depended on it. Now, it very well could depend on it, but at the moment her brain just wanted to take a little break. Merida was still not fully recovered and so in her savage cleaning attempt, she stumbled, falling forward to land on her knees.
"Whoa, slow down there, hot stuff, it's not the end of the world," Jack said, holding his hands up as if he was being threatened.
"My mum sent this all the way from Scotland! Do you know how much shipping costs going between countries?" the girl fumed, her face pinching up in a snarl.
Hiccup rubbed his eyes as the Scottish lass and the ice jerk started a miniature world war over a dress. The Viking sighed and glanced at the three others who were slowly getting to an upright position. Rapunzel yawned cutely as if she had just woken up from a nice catnap, and Eugene slid his arm from around Rapunzel's shoulders in order to stand up. The older man did so but without much difficulty. If Hiccup were to put it nicely, he'd say he looked drunk.
"What happened?" Astrid questioned. The blonde girl was now standing, somehow managing to not look at all affected.
Jack and Merida stopped their petty dispute to look at the teen. Silence once again descended at the words they had all wondered, but not had the courage to speak. Eugene stood with his arm once again around Rapunzel after helping her up, while the remaining three still sat on the ground.
Hiccup pushed himself up and glanced towards the sky. A full moon hung above them, its light shrouding the six in an ethereal glow. Hiccup judged it to be around one o'clock in the morning, and he voiced this.
"Okay, as the only legal adult here, I'm taking executive order and saying we all just head on home, get some rest, and we will all get together later so we can fully understand what happened. Try to avoid talking about this is as much as possible. We don't want any miscommunications. Understand?" Eugene ordered.
Five heads nodded in agreement and together the six moved off the mountainside.
Eira and Leon were waiting in the car when Jack arrived. Surprisingly they weren't bickering, but instead giving Jack disapproving scowls.
"What took you so long?" his mentor questioned.
Jack closed the door behind him, electing to rest his head on the window. "Traded numbers with some people I met. We got to talking and lost track of time," he mumbled into his hand.
"Oh, and what about the smoke we saw from the mountain?" Leon interrogated.
Jack fumbled. Should he tell them what happened? No, Eugene said they should wait until they can get their story straight, and even though Jack didn't like Eugene so much he did respect his decision.
"That Viking boy's companion accidentally lit a tree on fire. We got it put out for the most part. What an idiot, though. Kid can't even control his own companion," Jack lied easily.
"Oh yeah, the boy with the legendary! What a cool creature. I wish I could meet him. I've always wanted to see what they're like," Leon exclaimed.
Eira scoffed as she started the car. "Those creatures are just overgrown lizards. Nothing special about them. Now that girl with the Unicorn, that's another story. I've never seen a unicorn tolerate someone standing on its back like that, even from a companion! What control."
"You know, you're just jealous that you're stuck with frost wolves as your companion creature. The dragons are so much cooler," Leon all but shouted.
The car lurched violently forward as Eira slammed on the gas. "Say that to my face, you bastard!"
Jack tuned out the bickering as even fouler language began to be tossed around the car. There were several points when Jack feared for his life, but finally they made it home, and the brunette fell on to his bed in a deep sleep.
Darkness. He was in a senseless world. Nothing moved against his skin, nothing whistled in his ear, he just floated, unable to comprehend anything. It was cold. He could feel that now, and a creeping chill clambered up his spine. He was scared, but that wasn't right. Jackson Overland didn't get scared. Then, there was light. A florescent light was hanging above his head. He could see again. Jack moved his hands forward. His skin was unnaturally pale in the blue light and the fear grew in him. He flicked his eyes upward. The edges of his vision blurred as if in a dream. It was his school's hallway, except not a soul was in sight. Uncertainly, he moved down the corridor. A nerve-wracking wind picked up, bringing with it a name, whispered as if long forgotten.
"Jack," it said. The voice was high, like a little girl.
The seventeen-year-old stopped dead in his tracks. The lights overhead began to flicker. Clunk. A light turned off. Clunk, clunk. Two more followed. Heavy breathing accompanied the fourth clunk. Eyes wide in fear, Jack turned away from the darkening hallway and ran. His breath came out in short, frosted puffs and he pumped his arms faster than he ever had. Something was after him. The heavy breathing was right on his neck. He rounded a corner. A door leading to the outside presented itself like a holy grail. The dark-haired teen barreled straight into the structure. Light erupted, coating everything in a lush golden hue. Hands on his knees, Jack realized the heavy breathing had been come from him. Laughing, he straightened up. That wasn't like him, getting scared for no reason. He looked around. No wonder there hadn't been anyone in the hall. It was lunch time. Mentally he smacked himself for being such an idiot as to forget the time of day. He scanned the courtyard quickly, looking for his friends. He spotted them lounging beneath a large tree, eating away. He made towards them.
"Hey," he called out to a group of girls that passed by him. They didn't respond, but he brushed it off as not hearing him.
"Hi," he called out to another group. They, too, didn't respond. Perhaps he wasn't speaking loud enough.
"Hey guys," he all but shouted at his friends. They had all stood up and were walking towards him, still chatting idly amongst each other. Strange.
"Where are you guys going?" Jack asked as they walked right by him.
"Hey wait up!" he hollered, running around to block their path. One, two, three, four. They all walked right through him. The frost wolf companion clutched his chest, an empty feeling manifesting. More people continued to walk right through him. Nobody could see him. Nobody knew who he was. All of Jack's greatest nightmares were coming true in a matter of seconds. He shook his head, but instead of brown locks sweeping b,y his hair was a crisp white.
"No," he mumbled, whole body shaking. "No, no, no!"
Jack ran. The school scenery shifted, black spots dominating the space until nothing was left but Jack and the darkness. He felt cold. His skin was like ice.
"Jack," this time an older woman's voice.
What were these voices? Why was he so cold? This shouldn't be possible. He wanted to cry, the fear building up in him. By some unseen force he fell, landing on the ground yet not the ground. The only thing that surrounded him now was black, and the voices.
"Jack? Who's Jack?"
"Jack, Jack!"
"No, no, go away," Jack chanted desperately towards the voices, but they kept coming back. They teased him. Some didn't know him, but three voices seemed worried.
"Jack, I'm scared," the little girl's voice echoed. He recognized it now. "Where are you Jack?"
"Emma, Emma! I'm here!" he whined, his voice cracking.
"Jack, help me!" the older woman screeched.
"…Mom?" he whispered.
"Jackson, save me!"
"Mom where are you? Tell me how to help! Mom!"
"They can't hear you, Jack. You don't exist. Nobody cares about you," a new voice chimed in. Its words were dark and sinister, said to inflict even more fear within him.
"No, you're wrong!" Jack cried.
"Oh, but I'm not. You're just like the tale of Jack Frost now. The man who brings nothing but loneliness, sorrow, and cold. Nobody believes in Jack Frost."
Jack covered his ears with his icy hands. Snow was supposed to be fun. That was all Jack was ever about. He lived to have a good time. "Go away, go away," he chanted.
The voices increased, echoing all around him, and bleeding through it all was a cynical snicker.
It was a beautiful day. Cliché to a fault almost. The sun reflected glorious colors off of Enya's feathers, painting the water into fire. Merida stood beside the phoenix, her bow in hand, quiver around her waist, and smile plastered across her round face. Enya nestled down in the ground turning into a puddle of colors by the Scot's feat. Merida nodded at the signal and bent down, slipping out of her sneakers and hitching her jeans up to her knees. She set her bow down and rolled up the sleeves of her plain white t-shirt before nocking an arrow and moving towards the crystal-clear water. It was Saturday, otherwise known as fishing day for the phoenix and her companion. The redhead took a deep breath, pulled the arrow back and let loose. A gentle plop and the fish floated towards the surface. A smile swept across the girl's face as she reached down to grab the fish. Eyes glowing with triumph, she turned around.
The forest was gone. Merida still stood in the water, but Enya was no longer laying on the soft ground of their forest. The phoenix screeched as a cage clattered around her. Merida's grip slackened, fish forgotten. The brilliant sun from over head disappeared. She knew it had been too good to be true. Enya scrapped at the bars in vain. Fire rippled off her wings but they did nothing to the warped cage.
Merida ran forward, the ground changing from smooth rocks to a rough cave floor. Cages appeared everywhere, but Merida's only focus was freeing her friend. One hand reached out towards her companion, grasping for the bars. Clank. A cage fell around Merida. The phoenix watched with a sorrowful expression as her friend was swept away.
"Enya!" she called out.
Fear froze them both in their tracks. Slowly, Enya's vibrant feathers were shifting. The brilliant flaming hues were over taken by the creeping hues of night. Wicked purples, and sinister blacks spread across the once radiant feathers.
"No, Enya!" she screamed, reaching out, but her cage had moved too far away. Both sets of eyes were filled with horror as the darkness finished its journey. The age-old phoenix Enya was no more. All that remained was a dreadful statue.
"No, please! This can't be happening!" Merida cried.
An inkling of fear crept into her heart and slowly replaced the horror. The bars of her cage were moving. All around her the cage shrunk. Merida froze, her body as solid as Enya's statue. All her freedom was suddenly slipping away. Everything cascaded around her until all that remained was her cage, eerily visible in the darkness. The bars encroached more.
She cried. Watery blue eyes welled up, fear and sadness overflowing by the gallons. The cage suffocated her, like a bird that would never be free again. As he bars finally cut her off, a voice spoke through the darkness.
"Is this not better? Such a fiery spirit, so completely broken, just by hurting her friends and caging her. There is no really freedom in this world. Not anymore. Now, the only freedom you know, will be in serving under me. You are finished," it hissed.
Merida just held her head and sobbed.
Where am I? Rapunzel thought, rubbing her head. Emerald eyes blinked sleepily. My… room…? She scratched her head, mind overwhelmed by dancing thoughts. A smell drifted up from down stairs. Grey light filtered in through a small window. It must be Eugene cooking breakfast, then, she concluded. Moving off the bed, she ran her fingers through short brown hair. A yawn escaped her lips as she made her way down stairs. If her brain had been coherent, however, she would have noticed something off with this house.
Rapunzel sat in a chair and sighed, still exhausted from the previous night. She slouched forward, resting her head on the table.
"Rapunzel, how many times must I tell you not to slouch?" a voice snapped from the kitchen.
She froze. Slowly her head inclined from its place on the table and looked towards the kitchen. Standing in the doorway was her mother. Curly black hair framed her face which was pinched into a scowl as she took in Rapunzel's disheveled appearance.
"Honey, go put some proper clothes on. And don't make mother wait!" Gothel chimed as she moved back into the kitchen.
Rapunzel didn't listen. She was too stunned to even form complete sentences. This wasn't her house. It was the house she had lived in with that monster who dared to call herself a mother. Her head cleared and she followed after the woman.
"How are you here? I thought I was finally rid of you!" Rapunzel accused.
"I don't know what you're talking about, dear," Gothel replied, back towards Rapunzel.
"I'm saying that Eugene saved me from you, so how are you here?"
Gothel gasped. "Why Rapunzel, I'm the one who saved you. That man was no good, along with those other hooligans you call friends. They've all been taken care of and now life can go back to being normal," she shunned. "We will have to do something about that hair, though. Why, it's positively ghastly!"
Gothel's words struck a chord in Rapunzel. "What did you do with my friends?" she snarled, voice low.
"Check the living room. Everything you're looking for is in there."
Gothel continued to cook, flipping what appeared to be sausages. Rapunzel backed away slowly and ran to the living room. The first thing she noticed was the stench. Something had been rotting in here for a very long time. She pushed open the door. Strewn across the room was the bodies of all her friends and family. Most had been butchered beyond recognition. Painted in blood across the walls were the words "Welcome Home, Flower". Rapunzel faced the other way and threw up. Slowly she looked towards the bodies again. People she had only met the night before were there, their faces mutilated to show smiles. A mop of red, a sprinkling of gold, and a mass of copper were all that allowed Rapunzel to recognize them. One particular body caught her eye.
"Eugene," she whispered, voice hoarse and hollow.
She rushed forward and picked up her loved one, cradling him close to her chest. His midsection had been sliced open and all the organs removed. The blood was still new and it stained Rapunzel's dress, along with her tears.
A disapproving noise echoed around the room. "Now, now, dear, there's no need to be crying. Here, have some sausage," Gothel offered. "It's homemade."
Rapunzel looked up, raw red eyes examining the meat in front of her. Slowly her brain made the connection. Gently she sat Eugene's body down. "I will not stay with you. No matter what you try, I will keep fighting you. If you try to stop me from leaving right now, I will show no mercy you sick-sick-"
Gothel sneered, cutting her off. "Why Rapunzel, don't be so foul! I'll fix that no problem. You see it's too late for you to leave."
Cold steel snapped around Rapunzel's wrists. She struggled against the bonds, but Gothel was dragging her full-force towards the basement door. Gothel started to speak, but her voice slowly turned into someone even more wicked. "I will show you the true meaning of fear."
Rapunzel screamed.
Everything was normal. Too normal. Hiccup was walking between his classes at school, everyone completely ignoring his presence. Slowly he walked into his last class of the day, Mr. Agnarson.
Wait, why am I by on Berk? Hiccup thought. Something was off about all of this. This was no memory he was reliving. It was a real day. But hadn't Astrid and he left to be with their mentors in England? Hiccup stared ahead, strange thoughts occupying his mind.
"Mr. Haddock, no daydreaming!" his teacher snapped.
Around him everyone snickered.
"What a loser."
"Total dipwad."
Hiccup's brow furrowed further. Before he had left Berk, he was the hero of the town. He had saved them all from being burnt alive, plus another horrible outcome. Why was everyone acting this way? The day ended and Hiccup rushed out of the school. On the way, he collided with Astrid.
"Watch it, Haddock," she snapped.
Definitely strange. Hiccup wanted answers and he wanted them now. Shrugging to himself, he ran off towards the woods. He pushed through the branches, receiving several scratches along his face. Since when had his path been so overgrown? He pushed hard and faster through the underbrush. Finally he made it to the cove.
"Hey, Toothless," he called out. There was no response. Not even the birds replied. The only thing Hiccup could hear was static silence.
"Toothless, this isn't funny. Come out, bud," he said, searching the clearing. Nothing. Toothless wasn't there. Hiccup gulped a cold chill now climbing, encasing him. It was absolutely silent and there was nobody in sight. Fear washed over Hiccup like a wave. It took him and tumbled him, allowing no escape. He called again and again, hoping for an answer from anything. All he got was silence. Even his own voice began to fade. Suddenly it all made sense. His greatest fear. Nobody respected him, nobody answered him, and Toothless was gone.
"Not so high and mighty now?" a voice snarled. The cove faded and Hiccup fell. His leg was gone, no prosthetic to replace it.
"How does it feel to be without your companion? To be without the respect you deserve?" the voice was everywhere but nowhere. Hiccup curled into himself, a pitiful mass of skin and bone.
"Welcome to my world," the voice sizzled out. Hiccup whimpered. He was in its world. It was a world filled with fear and desperation.
And Hiccup was totally alone.