Chapter XIII

My heart is torn just in knowing. You'll someday see the truth from lies. When the clouds will rage in. Storms will race in. But you will be safe in my arms — Plumb, In My Arms

The vortex of Nightmares close above our heads, seeing Manny as the last source of light before it all fades to black.

"Jack! Jack, what's happening?!" I scream, still holding Sophie, who sobs in my arms.

Jack's voiced was muffled by the sound of

The faces of the monsters emerge from the black sand twister trying to nib and grab us. I do all that I can to protect the innocent child, swinging a backhand and spin kicking them till they disperse.

Sophie screams and she buries her face in my chest.

"I-it's okay, Sophie. I won't let anything happen to you. Do you like music? How about a song?" I talk to Sophie, trying to distract her from the terror around us.

"T-twinkle, twinkle, little star—" A Nightmare lashes out and pulls my hair. I gasp and swing a fist at it. "H-how….I wonder what you are—" Another Nightmare grabs my ankle and I shake it off. "Up above the world so high….like a diamond in the sky," My voice gradually grows louder and louder as I continue to sing the nursey-rhyme.

Then everything around me began to slow down and it grew silent, all that could be heard was the sound of my own voice. An adrenaline rush begins to build in my core, as the blood through my veins begin to tingle. I could almost be sick from the sensation that suddenly takes over. Next thing I know a bright light discharges from my body, shattering the Nightmare vortex, and cracking the ice beneath us. All the strength left my body as I collapsed onto the ice. It felt almost impossible to breathe as if I've been drowning, beads of sweat trickle down the side of my face, not even the ice and snow could cool me down.

What was that?! It was all my mind could think at the moment. That couldn't have been me….could it?

My eyes still slightly open I could see everyone's faces come near, looking at me with shock as if they were thinking the same thing. However there was someone father back, looking me dead in the eyes.

It was Pitch.

Pitch Black stood along the forest line, gradually walking closer and closer as the kids and guardians had no idea. I laid there, trying to warn them and eventually, finding my voice, I croaked. "Behind you!"

All at once everyone spun around to see an applauding Pitch Black wearing a devilish smile.

"This is quite entertaining. I didn't think it would turn out like this." Pitch speaks calmly, but with suspicion in his eyes when he looks at me.

The guardians move in front of me and the children. The kids work together to get me in a sitting position, which for some reason took the breath right out of me.

"Pitch…" North grumbles.

Pitch Black graciously bows. "Hello again. I do say you're all looking well….wish I could say the same to you, old friend…" His faze turns upward into the sky.

"What are you doing here?" North steps forth.

"Oh, you mean you don't know?" He begins to circle us, with his hands behind his back. "I'm here…because of her." His eyes, like daggers pierce me. "Hello, girl."

I gulp.

"Well you not getting anywhere near her." Bunny, hops forward, boomerangs ready.

"Aren't there some eggs you should be painting, rabbit?" Pitch rolls his eyes.

"How do you even know about her?" Jack tightens his grip on his staff

"What, she never told you?" Pitch smirks. "We've met before."

I try to find my voice but all that escapes my lips is a wheeze.

Jack's eyes turn to me, a mix of anger and concern.

Pitch continues. "By the planetarium, when you were all occupied with fighting off my nightmares, she was preparing the sleigh. We had a pleasant chat, didn't we?"

I glare. I didn't know! My voice screams in my head.

"Well, no matter. Ah, yes, I almost forgot, I have a surprise for all of you." Pitch begins twirling his hand in the air as dark sand begins to creep along the ice, gradually coming together and making familiar forms.

When Pitch's hand stopped, so did the sand, and we all had a look of astonishment on our faces. Standing alongside Pitch were the Guardians. North, Tooth, Sandy, Bunny and Jack all made of black sand, with glowing yellow eyes.

"Like them? I call them Shadow Guardians. Took a while, but I had all the time in the world when you sent be back under the bed!" hatred could be heard in his tone as he gave them each a menacing look.

"Shadow Guardians? How original…" The sarcastic words I thought I said in my head managed to slip out loud. I slap a hand over my mouth.

Pitch regained control of the anger bubbling up and cleared his throat. "Don't worry, I won't use them on any of you…but all you have to do is hand over the girl."

The guardians stand their ground, ready for a fight.

The strength that had once left my body has returned and I stood up with the help of the kids.

"You're not going anywhere near her." Jack stands right in front of me, like a shield.

"Shame…" Pitch sighs. "I didn't want to have to do this…but." With a snap of his fingers the Nightmares and Shadow Guardians charged.

North turns to me and shouts. "Go! Run! Sandy go with them" Then attacks his shadow self.

Tooth, Bunny and Jack follow closely behind, attacking there shadow selves as well.

Sandy tugged on my sleeve, telling me to 'Come on'

"But…" I stepped forward.

Jamie then runs ahead, "Jack!"

"Go Jamie!" Jack yells to him.

Apart of me wants to help but then I think to myself. What can I do? I turn back, nodding to Sandy then grabbing Jamie by the hand. "Come on, we can't do anything."

"Yes we can!"

"No you can't! What could we possibly do?!" I snap at him.

Jamie quiets down, with wide eyes.

"Let's go!" I yell at everyone and start running in the opposite way of the fight.

The kids, Sandy and I book it through the forest, up a trail that leads to a quiet neighbourhood. When we think we are far enough away from the battle, Sandy, with many hand gestures and images above his head tells me to take Jamie and Sophie home as he took the rest of the kids.

Jamie, holding onto Sophie's hand led the way back to their house with my following close behind them, constantly looking around in case of Nightmares. Sneaking into the two kid's house as quietly as we can, we tip-toe up their stairs, pausing every time we made a creak. Sophie stays with Jamie in his room, and the two kids lay there in bed and as I'm about to leave Jamie calls out.

"Um…can you stay...just until we fall asleep?" He kindly asks.

Stopping at the doorway, I fidget with my hands. "Oh…s-sure."

It doesn't take long for Sophie to fall asleep with an innocent smile on her face.

Jamie pats her on the head and smiles at me. "Thank you…for saving Sophie."

Looking away, I scratch the back of my head. "Yeah…uh…no problem kid."

Jamie, stares out the window. "Do…do you think they're going to be okay?"

"Of course they are. They're the Guardians." I say as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"We should be out there…helping them."

I sneer. "This again? Listen kid, I told you we can't do anything to help them."

"How do you know?" Jamie sits up.

"Because…you know—" I groan. "We just can't." I sternly say to him.

"You're a guardian aren't you?"

"No, I'm not!"

"You have to be, because I can see you, and I believe in you and so does Sophie!" Jamie stands up on his bed, raising his voice at me.

I stand up and walk over to the window. "You don't even know me, no one does."

"Then what was that you did out there?" He asks, making me look him in the eyes.

I sigh. "I…I don't know what that was or how I did that, okay? Maybe it wasn't me at all, it was just some freak accident, a miracle or one of the guardians did something."

Jamie shakes his head. "No way, that was all you."

I turn away from him again to look out the window into the direction of where the Guardians and Pitch are. "We're getting off topic here, what makes a kid, like you, think that we could help the guardians? What can we do?"

"Well, for starters we need to believe in them." Jamie calmly says.

I slowly turn away from Jamie to look out the window. Those words seem to hit a cord with me, as I think back to when Jack told me to believe in him over ice-skating, and that you need children to believe in you in order to be a true guardian. It was something I still didn't understand, but I couldn't help but feel a small smile spread across my face. "Believe, huh?"