Chapter 8

Hello again!~ Now...I know some of you have been keeping up with the Guardians of Childhood books..and I know that my story doesn't really match with what's going on with Jack. This is just my own rendition of the two characters involved! Please don't kill me xD

Jamie heard a loud thud and reacted. He sat up and realized that he had fallen out of bed. He shook his head around a few times and yawned widely. "How long have I been asleep? Feels like….a long time!" Another yawn escaped him. He rubbed his eyes lightly and took a look around his room. Everything seemed to be normal. "What in the world was I dreaming about last night?" He asked himself as he felt a sharp pain fling against his head. His head was pounding, almost like he didn't get a good night's rest at all. This was also the first time, in a long time, he had fallen out of bed. He usually didn't do that unless he was having trouble getting comfortable...or a nightmare. The Sandman usually did a great job keeping the bad dreams at bay. Wait, that would mean that….PITCH.

The child scrambled to his feet but in the process stumbled to the floor. Some dark residue on his hands caught his attention. This was all getting too real too fast! He examined the residue and to his shock it was in fact black sand. Jamie knew that now was not the time to panic….but that's all he could really do. His heart began to race as his thoughts began to revolve around Jack. The Guardian was in greater danger than Jamie would be.

"SOPHIE!" Jamie shouted as he finally got to his feet and raced down the hallway to his sister's room. Maybe she had seen something.

As he approached her door, it was ajar. He took a peek inside and found her sleeping comfortably. Jamie pushed the door open and entered the room cautiously. He went over to her side and leaned over her to examine. There was black sand scattered about her eyes. He reached for her shoulders and shook her gently. "Sophie. Hey Soph! It's time to get up." Jamie's heart skipped several beats as he waited for her to open her eyes. As he held his breath, her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Wha….what is it?" She yawned in response.

Jamie released a heavy sigh of relief. "Kids! Come down and have some lunch!" That was music to Jamie's ears. At least his family was safe….but now his thoughts wandered back to Jack. Jamie hoped that the Guardian would be alright. All he could do was wait or try to get some help.
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The pain grew stronger. Jack was starting to have greater difficulty fighting off the darkness sand. He had resisted for quite a few hours now. His thoughts swirled around but mainly stayed focused on his friends. He only hoped that they would come to his rescue. There was no way he would be used as a tool to harm them.

As he continued to resist, the snake continued to inject sand venom into his body. With each new dose, Jack felt more pain. His throat had gone dry and scratchy from his cries. "Oh Jack, try not to keep resisting. You are only making this harder on yourself." Pitch had entered the room to observe his creature's work. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, however this was taking a lot longer than he had planned. Jack was resisting with every fiber left in his being. If this lasted much longer, the Guardians would probably come out and start looking for the Winter Spirit. That was something that Pitch could not afford yet.

"Think of what we would be able to accomplish together!" Pitch remarked as he made his way over to his victim. He could see that Jack would lose this fight fairly soon. "Yes, give in to the darkness. I bet you are exhausted…." Pitch's words played to Jack's body. His body was ready to give in and rest. The darkness felt so comforting each time Jack swayed. But he also knew that he would give out soon. There was only so much darkness sand he could take. It already had engulfed most of his body. The only area that hadn't been touched was his heart.

Jack's heart pulsed sharply, causing his to scream. As his mouth gaped open, a small light shot out and was hurled far from sight. It had somehow passed Pitch's gaze. As Pitch continued to watch, he knew his work was complete. As soon as the light was released, the darkness engulfed Jack's entire body. There was no more pain, no more images flashing before his eyes….just darkness. And it was oddly….comforting. All of his normal body functions seemed to stand still. His heart froze. His breathing slowed drastically. The perspiration immediately vanished.

The sand snake released the Winter Spirit and dissolved into the cold stone. As it slowly dissipated, Pitch knelt down next to Jack's unmoving body. He rubbed his chin and tilted his head in curiosity. "Most curious. But, I think it's time for you to wake up, Frost." He bared his crooked teeth as his lips curved into a smile. Jack's eyes slowly opened.

Instead of the cheery icy blue eyes softly greeting him, Pitch was met by piercing white, surrounded by black. It looked as though the sand had poisoned the whites of Jack's eyes and sucked the color right out. "I wasn't expecting that, but how delightful! You look simply terrifying." Pitch could hardly contain his glee. Jack's skin also started to change. He was already pale, but he started to turn a soft shade of grey, losing any color he may have had. The black sand that was now coursing through his veins slightly showed through on the surface. It was as if Jack was now a walking corpse.

Pitch now had one last test to see if the darkness sand had actually worked. "Frost, get to your feet. There is much work to be done." As soon as he finished his command, Jack obeyed. He rose to his feet and stared blankly at Pitch, awaiting further instruction. "This couldn't have turned out any better! Finally, I have the upper hand. Wait until the Man in the Moon feels my wrath! And his own Guardian is going to deliver the first blow!" The Nightmare King couldn't have been more pleased. Everything was going according to his plan. It was now time to move and set things in motion. He would hit the Guardians right where it hurt….by putting on a show with his new mindless puppet.

The Nightmare King snapped his fingers. A couple seconds later, a shadow creature entered the room, baring Jack's wooden staff. The creature hobbled over to Jack and reunited the wielder with his weapon. Jack grasped the staff and clenched it tightly in his hand. After a few seconds, the staff began to glow. The black light mixed with a twinge of pulsing red, giving his staff, once used for fun, a terrifying new purpose; to destroy.

"Well done. Well done indeed. I believe it is finally time to pay the Man in the Moon a little visit. Maybe you can finally get the answers to the questions you've been holding on to all these years…." Again, Pitch played to Jack's wishes and desires. Jack's body nodded, however, deep inside, Jack shook his head. "NO. I won't!" Jack was still conscious but he was unable to control his body. All he could do was watch helplessly as Pitch controlled his every move. There had to be a way to break this!

"Everyone! It is finally time to strike!" Pitch's voice boomed throughout his lair. As he started his speech, sand started to trickle from every nook and cranny within the cave. The grains of sand all band together to create various shadow creatures and terrifying monsters. They started to make a low humming sound that bounced off of the stone and echoed through the tunnels. More and more creatures began to join in. "Now, I can finally finish what I had started in the Golden Age! The Man in the Moon and his little Guardians will be wiped from this world….and the shadows will finally be free to roam." His eyes scanned the cavern. He could see that his creatures were just as ready as he was to live in a world of darkness. Pitch's gaze finally came to rest on Jack. "Now, follow me into the night as we permanently wipe out the light of the moon!" A nightmare whinnied as it flew down to Pitch's side. It bowed its head low and waited for its master to climb on. Once properly seated, Pitch raised his hand. "It's time to make the world see that the Nightmare King never loses!" He shouted triumphantly and signaled for his army to move forward.

Jack had followed his new master's orders and was at the head of the army, leading them straight up into the night sky. Inside, Jack was struggling to make himself turn around and put a stop to the attack, but it was no use. Pitch's control was too strong. In his heart, he knew that this new sand was unlike anything the Guardians had fought in the past. To defeat Pitch, it would take a lot more than just the power of believing this time. Since there was nothing he could do, Jack decided that he had to remain calm and come up with a solution. It would prove very difficult since he had a front row seat to see Manny be engulfed by darkness.

Thanks for reading! Working on next chapter right now~