When will this story ever end? Don't worry, we're nearly there. I just have to find a way to wrap up this climax nicely, or maybe not so nicely...what do I mean by that? You'll have to find out! Read this chapter and you'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

I hopped over building roofs to get back to where Kayla was fighting Pitch. I kept thinking to myself how much longer was this battle going to take? How much longer would we have to keep fighting? If I were Kayla and those other two kids I'd be getting tired. I'd be thinking that this battle would end soon.

That's when I came to realize that the power we needed to stop Pitch was something we had all along. It wasn't imagination, good dreams or even fun; no…it was belief. This fight only continued because we fought there was a chance Pitch Black could win the day, so we fought to stop it. We weren't fighting to stop the fight; we were just fighting to keep him from winning. This entire fight seemed to be us prolonging the inevitable. We were fighting to keep him at bay, not stop him.

We believe he will always come back, and he will. Whenever he comes back he seems so strong that we forget he can be beaten. The fight wasn't over because we hadn't believed we had had won yet. I believed we could win; I believed Pitch was finished.

I jumped on that last roof with so much oomph it shook. I summoned a megaphone, it was a little screechy but it worked.

"Give it up Pitch, you're done! We've defeated you!"

The fight between him and Kayla paused. He chuckled.

"You've defeated nothing!"

"Because you believe that, and that's why you always come back. You never want to be done. Yet you are done for tonight!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes really," I said. I made the megaphone disappear as its scratchiness was getting on my nerves. "The guardians and stupid over there will destroy your sand giant. The groundhog is hindering your nightmares on the ground, and the leprechauns are destroying the rest of your nightmare army. Face it, you've lost. There is only you left."

"Halloween is a terrifying night!"

"The kids have already countered it with my illusions; they've broken your reality and replaced it with theirs."

"The night itself is still terrifying! As long as I have that, you will still be fighting me!"

"It's sad how much you want to win, even though you always lose. Even if you win for a brief moment, you always lose in the end. All we have to do, is stop believing in you."

Kayla smiled realizing what I said was the truth. Pitch looked crestfallen realizing it as well. His face then turned into one of rage. He suddenly threw a bunch of black sand in my direction. I quickly put up a shield to block, which actually worked.

"Hey, I'm getting my strength back." When I looked up, I was shocked. Pitch had grabbed Kayla, and was holding her by the front of her costume. I shouldn't have been scared, as Kayla had the paint brush. When I looked closer, I saw Pitch had taken it from her. Now I was scared.

"What are you doing?" I said.

"If I'm going to "lose like I always do," I need to garner some form of victory from this before then."

"Ema's right," said Kayla. "You're a pathetic bully!"

"Quiet you!"

"Put her down," I said.

"Why? Because we're done here? We're not done until the night is over! We're done when I say we are!"

"Put her down," I said again.

"I don't see how you can make me, Ema. You are just starting to get your strength back."

"It's not a demand, I'm asking," I said. "You want your victory…take me instead."

"No Ema," said Kayla. "The guardians can't lose you! You just started getting believed in! It can't end for you here!"

"No Kayla, it can't end for you here," I said defiantly. "You are proof the guardians won last time; they were able to protect the last believer and save childhood. What happens if Pitch gets his way? That victory would be taken away; despite their win they would lose the previous battle. You are the future, you are hope, you're proof they can bounce back. What about me though? They'll always be able to find a new guardian; there is tons of proof tonight anyone can be in their roster."

"They won't be you, though," said Kayla, nearly crying.

"They'll have to make do."

"You make an excellent point," said Pitch. "Why would taking you be a victory more than Kayla here?"

"You have to things from the other prospective. You can take away their previous victory sure, or you can stop them from gaining any ground. Kayla was right; no one is like me. I'm a boon to any side I join. Take me away, then you take away their power gain and they have to start all over. It'll be just like 25 years ago."

Pitch looked intrigued, I had him. "You can do whatever you want to me, you can make Jack suffer, you can use my power against the guardians. My one request is that Kayla remain unharmed."

"No," said Kayla. "He'll go against his word, don't trust him."

"I won't go against mine; my imagination is strong, so my words have power. Just put her down Pitch, and I'm yours."

Pitch actually started to put her down.

"What to do about this?" he said holding the paintbrush.

"It won't break," I said, "but it should be almost out of power. Just let me say a goodbye to Kayla." Pitch glared at me, like I was hiding something. I put up my hands defensively.

"I'm not lying or else I'd be white. I will go with you."

"Alright, but be quick," said Pitch. I walked over to Kayla who was trying not to cry.

"How can you be so calm about this?"

"I'm a protector," I said, smiling. "I'd do anything for you."

I knelt down to hug her tight; she hugged me back just as tight.

"We can't let him win," she said crying.

"He didn't truly win, this is just a setback," I said. "Tell my story okay?"

"I wish I knew you more so I could tell it well," she sniffed.

"What you know is enough," I said releasing. I clasped my hands around her hands as well as the paint brush and then let go. I dropped a latter down the roof so Alice could get back to the ground, I then approached Pitch. "Alright, let's go."

He gave a wicked grin, grabbed me, and we were off.

DUN DUN DUN! Ema's in danger...again! Of course, she offered herself up! Is this the end!? What's the aftermath of this!? Or will she find a way to get out?! You'll have to stay tuned to find out!