Author's Note: Hi guys! So sorry for this really late reply! I promise to update more frequently now. But thank you so much for all the support, though! We've reached over 2000 views! Amazing! Thank you so much! So this is Chapter Four! Hope you like it and don't forget to review! Thanks!
They were all still in the middle of a celebration when an alarming sound boomed in their ears. They swiveled their heads to look at the globe. Norway—which was just covered in gleaming lights merely minutes ago—was now clouded in darkness that spread over the globe like roots planting themselves in the soil to absorb all the nutrients. Elsa shivered, fear running down her spine. Was this what they would protect the children from?
Before she could ask what was really happening, the darkness now completely covered one side of the globe, then stopped abruptly. The darkness quivers, as if it was forced to stop. A tall, looming figure appeared from behind the globe. A deep voice boomed across the room, malevolent and vicious, it said, "This is only the start."
The voice was very strangely familiar to Elsa. She was trying to make some sort of connection with her thoughts, but before she could piece anything together, the other guardians ran down the far end of the workshop, where North's sled awaited. Elsa rushed to keep up.
The sled was flying high up in the air, the wind pushing back their hair and plastering smiles on most of the guardians' faces. Elsa, though, was unaffected. She was still thinking long and hard about all of this. Why was that man's voice so familiar? Who was he?
In retrospect, she knew fairly well the answer to this question. That man was Pitch Black, the evil spirit Jack was telling her about. He was their enemy. He was the threat. He was what they would be fighting, when the time comes. But why was he so familiar to Elsa? She kept trying to force her mind to remember, but, again, nothing happened. Not even a spark of hope filled her mind.
Below her, the tall buildings scraped the skylines, alongside trees that bear wholesome fruits. Again, something struck Elsa as strangely familiar. Maybe it was the tall mountains that they passed by, with their ice-covered peaks and broad bases. Maybe it was just the whole place, in fact, that widened her eyes and let her believe something was out of the ordinary.
"Hey, you alright?" Jack said, cutting himself in the middle of one of his little fights with Bunny to talk to Elsa. He noticed Elsa's pained expression. He inched closer to her, scanning the area and trying to look for something that screamed wrong. Nothing caught his sight, and he instead faced her in alarming concern.
"I believe so." Elsa replied, flashing him a small smile. She didn't want him to get caught up in all of her peculiar thinking.
Jack opened his mouth once more to respond, but the sled skidded to a stop near some of the houses where North hears a couple of vicious screams. It was already nighttime in Norway, and most of the children had gone to bed. Slowly, carefully, Tooth opened up the window and went in. Sandy followed behind her, and they both gasped at what they saw. Sandy could control dreams even from thousands of miles away, and he has been doing that the whole trip here, but instead of having playful dreams, the children were having malicious nightmares.
"No." North mumbled from behind them. "Not again."
One of Tooth's little fairies was fluttering about the pillow, trying to grab the tooth that was hidden beneath it. The little boy's heavy head pushed the pillow further down the bed, his eyes squirming and closed shut because of fear. His body was shaking violently, slow murmurs coming out from his mouth, his voice rumbling and scared.
"Oh no," Tooth gasped.
Elsa finally snapped out of her state of confusion. Instead, she turned to Jack, who held a look of determination; determination to save the children.
"What are we going to do?" she asked him. He was about to respond when Tooth suddenly flew over to the boy, lifted his pillow softly but strongly, and removed the tooth hidden beneath it. She replaced the tooth with a big golden coin, and the sound of it woke up the little boy. Groggily, he opened his eyes, and then jolted them open once he noticed the guardians all around his room.
He screamed, but Tooth cut him off with a smile. The trail of darkness above him vanished, replaced with one of Sandy's pleasant creations. He made it look as if the little boy was still dreaming, and the boy smiled at each and every one of them—well, most of them.
He smiled at Jack Frost, to which Jack replied, "Hey, kid."
He gleamed at North and the Easter Bunny, eyes widening with every glance.
He grinned at Sandy, who smiled back at him, happy to have helped.
He bore a thankful look at the Tooth Fairy, who nodded her thanks.
But he did not see Elsa.
He saw through her as if she wasn't even there. Elsa looked down, ashamed and sad. Why did it have to be like this? Why won't people believe in her? Even if she was just a new guardian, Elsa felt an overwhelming responsibility towards all the children in the world, and her only wish was that they could believe in her.
Suddenly, the dark figure they saw back at the workshop appeared behind the little boy's bed. He had a pale face, and dark, dark eyes. Everything about him emanated terror. Sandy quickly snapped his fingers, and they boy quickly fell asleep again, still smiling about his dreams. No need for him to see the Boogeyman, or hear any of his notorious words.
"Well, well, well," Pitch Black began. "Look at what we have here; the guardians. I don't suppose you received my message?"
He looked piercingly at Elsa, and that feeling of confusion came over her once more, even more so now that she's seen his face. Why was he so sickeningly familiar?
"Why do you keep doing this, Pitch?" North demanded, taking a step forward.
"Why?" Pitch replied in a mocking tone. "The same reason you guardians wish to protect the children—to be believed in. Do you know what it's like to just be one of the myths parents tell their children? What it's like to only be an expression; just a figure lurking in the back of everybody's minds?" he was raising his voice now, but a profound look of calmness still shadowed over his face.
Jack stared at him defiantly. He knew the feeling he was talking about. He knew it all too well. "Okay, you know what? Just because you're a miserable little soul doesn't mean you get to ruin everybody else's lives just to make yours better." His voice was steely cold, each word desperately digging deep into Pitch's being. Jack was right, of course, but Pitch just couldn't see his point. The people—they deserved to be miserable! Of course they did! For they were the ones who caused his misery in the first place! Was it not fair to give them their misery back the way they caused his?
"Alright, I'm sick and tired of all this nonsense!" the Easter Bunny suddenly announced without giving Pitch the chance to answer back. He flung his boomerang at Pitch. It hit him fairly hard on the chest, and he stumbled back, his hand on top of his torso.
His look, if possible, became even more menacing. He slashed his eyes at each and every one of the guardians, fixing each with a steely glare before saying, "Big mistake."