Chapter Six
Not much of a reaction on the last chapter. Ah, well…R&R!
The Guardians touched down not so lightly at the edge of the Burgess pond. Bunny groaned again as he tripped over a rock and fell face down into the grass. Jack held back a a chuckle as he landed gracefully like a cat once the wind dropped them.
It was as if no time had passed between them being kidnapped and returning to Burgess.
"Thank you for rescuing us," Tooth said, genuine gratitude in her voice as she dusted herself off.
Jack gave her a smile, and Tooth swooned as his pearly whites. "No, thank you for reminding me who I am. When you need help, just whisper into the wind, and I'll be there. So…goodbye for now."
With that, he leapt into the air, and the Guardians watched as the blue speck grew smaller and smaller in the night sky, until it could no longer be seen.
They turned around, and prepared to go back to trick or treating or sharing the fabulous story to youngsters when a shadow shifted. Then another. And another.
The four of them formed a little circle back to back. There was no doubt it was the shadowy horses also known as Nightmares, and they were aching for a fight.
North was experienced with fighting, since he fought on the streets for scraps and bits when he was young. In fact, he had kept two double-bladed sword hidden in his voluminous sleeves, and now he drew them out and prepared to fight.
Bunny wasn't to be outdone as he reached for his boomerangs and his secret explosive eggs, something he invented to stun.
Tooth learned fighting before, and she had been quite ruthless…if you counted knocking down the teacher because his teeth were all yellow ruthless.
Sandy had summoned his sand whips out of nowhere, and by now the rest had learned not to question where they came from. The Nightmares backed away uncertainly.
"Jack," North whispered under his breath. They waited with baited breath as the Nightmares regrouped and started charging.
Nothing happened. Clearly Jack wasn't coming for reasons unknown.
"Bloody Frost," Bunny muttered, whipping his boomerang. It sliced through the ranks of the Nightmares, leaving a brown trail as it returned to his paw.
North slashed and stabbed at the oncoming horses. They either dissipated or turned tail and fled.
Tooth was no more than a green blur and she punched, kicked and dodged whenever she could. It wasn't as efficient as the others' weapons, but it still caused significant damage. Tooth mad a mental note to put a switchblade into her pocket the next time she got her hands on one.
Sandy was literally glowing. He rose from his golden cloud, his long sand whips bearing down on the Nightmares and turning them into the same sand that covered his entire being. The Nightmares shied away from it.
Yet their combined efforts were not enough. The Nightmares were endless, and they were relentless. Soon the Nightmares were winning, slowly overpowering the Guardians. For all their might and strength, they were human.
Tooth fell, staggering from a surprise kick from a Nightmare. The Nightmares swarmed her, covering her before the Guardians could reach them.
"Toothy!" North shouted, in his panic more Nightmares fell as he created a path amongst the sea of black to where his friend was being swarmed. "Toothiana!"
A sudden blue glow emanated from the middle of the swarm. It grew and grew, joined by bursts of red, orange, yellow, green and pink, until the tendrils of light burst from the very core, resulting in a brilliant explosion that rocked Earth.
The Nightmares were destroyed, or turned into the beautiful golden sand of Sandy's. It was a sight to behold.
And from the middle, crouched four figures, radiating warmth and sunlight, breeziness and frost.