This one is a longer one, and the action starts to pick up here. Might be a bit terrifying a parts but nothing too traumatizing. Just remember this, it will always get harder before it gets easier. Anyways, enjoy.


"We can't use our powers in here," I cried out frustrated. "In fact, we can't even fight these things or even touch them."

"But we have to get out of here," said Jack, trying to hold them back with the end of his staff.

"Don't break it," I said, dodging another nightmare, "You'll need it for later." To dodge another one I detached myself from my legs.

"We need some time in order to think of a strategy." I shrunk my torso in order to evade another nightmare. My legs split apart, and then folded in on themselves.

"Like they're going to give us any time," said Jack, desperately trying to evade them.

"We can't use our powers for offense," I said inflating myself, "but we can use them for defense."

"We've already been trying that," said Jack as he helplessly blasted another nightmare apart and it formed into an ice demon nightmare Jack. I quickly flew over to him, and surrounded us in an invisible barrier.

"Freeze this," I said. Jack did just that. Once we were encased in Ice, we felt ourselves fall to the ground. "This should give us a breather," I said. "We're not attacking, but they can't attack us."

"We can't just sit and do nothing, Ema," said Jack. "We have to get out of here!"

"Don't you think I don't already know that!? Still, this is the best we can do at the moment instead of wearing ourselves out and giving our friends more enemies to fight. Also we have time to think and check on the situation outside…if she hasn't been destroyed. Just keep the ice sphere up while I check."

I focused on my illusion's perception.

"Mini-me, what's going on out there?"

"At least you're not dead."

"If I was, you'd be too, just what's going on?"

"Lots of good news, and lots of bad news."

"Just spill it," I said.

"Shortly after Pitch gloated about the increase of enemies, the guardians showed up."

"That's good, no, great even!"

"What is?" asked Jack.

"The guardians have arrived!"

"Yeah, but I don't know how things are going right now," said Mini-me.

"You didn't go and check on the kids!?"

"I don't exactly know where to have the best perspective at the moment. Do you want to know what Pitch is doing or the kids?"

"Both!"

"Well, I can't be in two places at once."

"Mini-me, I'm giving you the ability to multiply yourself."

"Right, I'll be back with more news in a moment." I felt her consciousness split, so I had to bail before I got a headache.

"I only know that the guardians are here, I just don't know how the kids are faring."

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."

"They're just sand horses, how bad can it be?"

"A bunch of sand horses attacking my ice at once might cause it to break faster."

"Ahh," I said.

"And once we get out of here, we're overwhelmed."

"That is troubling," I said. "Unfortunately I can't transform you, my powers are mainly illusion based."

"What about the imagination based powers?"

"That's just for myself, unless I hid it, then you can use it." That's when I got an idea.

"Jack, I need you to be completely fearless in this next moment if this is going to work."

Jack looked at the ice sphere encasing us. "I'll try.

"No, you must be fearless if I'm going to hide you, we have to disappear!"

"Disappear?" I was pulling a white sheet out of my sleeve, made completely of my courage.

"Remember: no fear. at all. Just let them come." I wrapped it around us. "Stay close to me."

The ice barrier broke, but the nightmares surrounding us looked confused when the broke it. Jack was hugging me tight. "Trust me," I whispered. Jack took a deep breath. The nightmares backed off, bewildered. Once the wall shattered, I floated us up, far away from the nightmares.

"How are things?" Jack whispered.

"I'll check," I whispered back. The first Mini-me was looking at Pitch.

"What do mean they've disappeared?!" He was talking to a nightmare poking out of the tornado.

"They couldn't have escaped, search the entire thing. Don't leave a single spot unchecked!" He then started talking to himself once the nightmare left. "If they don't keep fighting, this fight will end too quickly."

I switched to another Mini-Me. This one was focused on Kayla, and Bunny was with her.

"Mr. Bunny," said Kayla, as she painted up a tree to block a shadow Ema's path. "I have a feeling you're enjoying this a bit too much." The shadow Ema tried climbing over the tree to get to Kayla, fangs barred, daggers out. A boomerang moved through her, and several nightmares surrounding her.

"It's simple enough," he said, between breaths and throwing weapons. He threw an egg bomb into a horde of nightmares approaching. "These aren't my Jack and Ema, and yet I'm frustrated the blighters went and got themselves trapped. So I'm venting my frustration on three buggers at once." He kicked a Jack in the chest, threw his boomerangs some more, and threw some more egg bombs, right in the Emas' faces.

Admittedly I'm nervous to face him later. His giant egg golems were rolling themselves on approaching hordes. Meanwhile Kayla was crafting up booby traps and snares and other obstacles to incapacitate the nightmares.

I switched to another Mini-me, this one had the Elvin warrior and the tooth fairy. She had many little fairies with her. The little fairies were like hornets, attacking with their beaks relentlessly. Tooth herself was slicing through many nightmare horses with her wings. Approached by a nightmare Jack with jagged arms and teeth, she scoffed.

"This is an insult to Jack and Ema, they both have better teeth than the likes of you," she spun around fast cutting up the nightmares coming towards her. "Of course, Jack's are the best, no doubt."

"Miss Tooth fairy," said the warrior, who had crafted herself an impressive sword, and was defending herself from an Ema attacking her with her sword arms. "You might want to focus on the fight." Tooth flew upside down towards her, cutting down the one in front of the warrior and the one sneaking up behind her. "You might need some extra eyes, kid."

"Good idea," said the elf, as quickly cut down a shadow Jack and took out her brush, painting a pair of eyes for the back of her head.

I swapped to another Mini-me, this one was with North and the doctor. The doctor was fighting the nightmares with a giant gun that looked like a needle.

"You haven't had your medicine," she cried, ejecting out a rainbow fluid at the nightmares.

"That's very naughty of you," cried North as he hacked up the nightmares.

"I hope that Jack and Ema are enduring this well enough," said the doctor.

"They'll be fine, very strong, creative too."

"Didn't you say they're trapped? And by my deductions, the longer they're trapped the more enemies we're fighting."

"They smart too, they get out soon."

The yetis were somewhere in the distance, being quite brutal with our doppelgangers. They were being ripped apart, and punched to bits.

I swapped to another Mini-me, watching Sandy, more than watching Sandy. She was in the crow's nest of his dream sand pirate ship.

"Enemies off the port bow, thar she blows!" cried Mini-me. Sandman raised a sand sword to signal the cannons to fire at the giant waves of black sand which were apparently surrounding everyone else.

"What about the bounty we Capitan," cried Mini-me, swinging down by a sand rope, pointing towards the tornado we were trapped in. Sandman looked towards the tornado, and then looked back towards Mini-me. He showed a bunch of images, one of the tornado, some of Jack and I, one of bars, one of the tornado and an arrow pointing to the black sand below, another of the tornado again, he then pointed to himself and Mini-me, and then towards the tornado and then made some images of swords attacking the tornado.

"You think we should attack the tornado," said Mini-me. "Pitch Black may try to stop us, that is the source of his ammunition after all." Sandman raised a fist in determination, and summoned his whips.

"Okay, but I don't have a weapon, Ema didn't give me one." Sandman raised his hand up.

"Alright I'll wait here." The ship started to approach the tornado.

"Yay Sandman," I said out loud. While I was out of it, Jack had to make sure we kept moving so the Nightmares wouldn't find us, but unfortunately his fear was rising too.

"Jack, be fearless and trust me," I said.

"But they're all over the place," he said. Too late, cover blown; the nightmares turned their attention towards us. Okay, now we can be scared.

"Ema, maybe you should make yourself small and hide in my pocket," said Jack as we flew around trying to avoid the nightmares.

"That won't make much of a difference," I said. They were now coming from all sides; we had no choice, we had to fight. At least I gave us a small breather.

I unsheathed my sword and started swinging at the nightmares coming close. Jack was freezing them with his staff. More nightmare Emas and nightmare Jacks appeared.

"Ema," I heard Mini-me say in my mind. "We have a development."

"I know, Sandman's coming," I said batting off more nightmares. "Can you tell him to hurry up?"

"Not that, he's a bit preoccupied."

"By what?" I peeked in. A giant nightmare hand was grasping onto the bow of Sandy's ship, trying to turn it into nightmare sand. He was repeatedly attacking it with his whips, but then more nightmares showed up to the party. An evil Jack and an evil Ema were grinning horribly.

"That's a problem," I said.

"What is?" said Jack, trying to make an ice wall but having them shattered.

"Rescue will be delayed," I said nervously.

"That's not all," said Mini-me.

"What is it," I said. Suddenly, a bunch of spikes appeared out of the walls of the tornado, striking us in the sides. The nightmares started to shift their forms.

"Pitch has decided to change up the roster."


Now how was that for a chapter? I may not have portrayed the guardians completely accurate, well that's why this fanfiction was not really about them. Also Ema may have forgotten how her powers work, but to be fair she's under stress. Anyways, a continuation of this climax will happen if you stay tuned! I'm so good at building things up, you'll be begging for me to finish things. HAHAHAHA!

-Admiringroseblossom11