Darkness was the first to laugh. "The world? Seriously? This isn't television, kid. You can't just take over the world!"
The complete anti-climax had her in giggles, and she shook uncontrollably with wasted adrenaline. The stupid child actually thought he was some sort of super-villain, and he wanted to take over the planet. With an army of horses.
Pitch was not so amused. "You stupid child. I made you- I will kill you!"
He started forwards as though to knock the boy from his horse, but a dozen more of Jaxon's Nightmares appeared before him, rearing up. Some part of the King of Fear must have remembered his last encounter with Nightmares, because he stumbled back, a look that promised pain and death on his face. Jaxon stared down at him from his Nightmare, face twisted in anger. "No you won't. You gave me these Nightmares- all of them. And you said I'd be your prince. But now I'm going to be your king- STOP LAUGHING AT ME!"
The last part was a roar directed at Dark, who sobered up immediately as several Nightmares appeared out of thin air in a circle around her, Jamie and Piper, Rebecca on the outside with Jack.
"DON'T YOU DARE LAUGH AT ME!" Jaxon screamed, "NO ONE WILL EVER LAUGH AT ME AGAIN! I AM THE KING OF FEAR! BE AFRAID OF ME!"
"Spoken like a true child," Pitch's voice was low and mocking as he stared at Jaxon with narrowed eyes. "You could never be a King."
Jaxon took a deep breath, and out of the corner of her eye Dark saw Jack glance at North with a look that said, whose side do we take? "I am the new King of Nightmares, and you will kneel."
"But are you burdened with glorious purpose?" Darkness asked, unable to hold her tongue.
"What?" Jaxon snapped, distracted, and she realised just what a pathetic king he would make. Falling for everything- he only thought he was in control because he was powerful. Despite the danger Jaxon was hanging over their heads, Darkness still found the scene amusing, until one of Jaxon's Nightmares lunged at her, forcing her to sidestep into Piper.
"You just can't keep your mouth shut, can you?" Piper murmured, back to back with her and eyeing the Nightmares warily.
"It's a gift," she whispered in reply, before calling out to Jaxon, "I was only joking- can you call your attack horses off now?"
Jaxon glared at her, his dark eyes boring into her from across the room. He doesn't like me very much. "I never liked you, Darkness. You always thought I was a pathetic child."
Dark was about to reply when Piper covered her mouth with his hand. "Don't get me killed..."
Finally North interrupted, moving towards Jaxon. "We had a deal, Jaxon. Leave Pitch with us and we'll leave you alone."
"Don't you dare-" Pitch began, but the Nightmare at his side kicked him in the chest, sending him spinning to the floor, gasping for breath as Jaxon smiled.
"We did have a deal, but first you must kneel."
"He's a poet and he didn't even-" Piper's hand snapped back over Dark's mouth and she fought him, but Jaxon wasn't paying attention to her.
"We are Guardians, trust us. We only want to protect the children of the Earth, just give us Pitch and go." North raised his hands patiently, like someone who had surrendered a long time ago.
"North!" It was Rebecca's turn to call out, and Jack looked at her proudly as she took a step forward. "He's a killer! All of this is because of him, don't protect him. Stop him before he hurts someone else."
"Shut up!" Jaxon screeched at her, and Dark could tell he didn't like the way things were going. "You will all kneel!"
Piper's hand was digging into Dark's arm, having been bitten when he had tried to mute her with it, but she didn't bother to respond. She knew Pitch enough to trust him to speak for her. And so he did. "Never!"
With a swipe, Jaxon sent a stream of Pitch's own black sand to drag the ex-King of Nightmares to Lilith's feet. "NOW!"
Nobody moved, except for Jamie to hug Dark tighter around her waist. Jaxon, growing far too restless, motioned with his hands, and a storm of black sand began to churn over their heads. Dark looked up nervously, knowing it was far too late to fly off to safety. Jaxon's eyes seemed to sparkle in the sudden darkness that filled the room as each light was strangled out, one by one. "I said, now."
And with a terrible sweep, he brought the whole cloud down upon them.
*
The impact pushed Dark to her knees, and she felt herself collapse into Jamie, bringing them both down into hard gravel. Darkness and sand swirled around them in a cyclone, and the air seemed almost filled with fear. She could feel Piper beside her, and one hand wrapped around him for support as the thick wind whipped at her cloak, but left her shadowy hair alone.
There were yells from around her, muffled at first, but as the sand cleared she could see Jack and Rebecca beside her, and on her left was North, and Sandy's stirring form. So he wasn't dead. Dark lifted her head, and her stomach dropped when she saw the solid mass of Nightmares before her, surrounding them. All the yetis lay unconscious on the ground.
A pile of black robes shifted in front of Dark as Pitch sat up weakly, holding his head in a way she'd never before... he looked defeated. Pitch rubbed his eyes before composing himself and glaring over at Jaxon, who hovered at the head of his Nightmares almost cautiously.
Pitch tried to get to his feet but stumbled. falling backwards into Dark, who caught him. He was truly pitiful. The fool had given over every Nightmare, everything that made him who he was to Jaxon. "I'll kill you."
"You can't even stand," Jaxon said with a sneer. "Now kneel before I kill you- all of you."
Most of them hadn't even risen to their feet, but they all looked about, weighing up the odds of surviving the Nightmares against the value of their pride. And, funnily enough, Dark valued her life a lot more than standing.
"Let's get it over with," she muttered, bending to one knee and sinking into an imaginary world where she was ripping out the so called 'king's' throat. Jamie, Jack and Rebecca copied her, and Pitch just fell to the ground with no one to hold him up. Sandy lay there, awake or asleep she couldn't tell. Finally it was only North and Piper standing.
"I told you to kneel."
"Bite me," Piper replied, apparently forgetting his own advice about shutting up. He stuck his chin out with pride, staring at the boy contemptuously. His boots were close to Darkness, and she noticed how scruffy they were, so different from the shiny polish they had when she had first met him.
"I'll kill you." Jaxon looked strained, running solely on the single threat which Piper clearly didn't care about.
"Better men have tried and failed."
Jaxon glared at him, thinking hard and fast. Lilith whinnied beneath him, and he laughed suddenly. "I'll kill your girlfriend."
"I'm single, you ignorant twit."
"What about Darkness?" Jaxon asked, clutching at straws in his desperation to get Piper to kneel. Piper just looked at her and laughed, making her glare at him, feeling slightly offended. Jaxon looked at his Nightmares, then pointed at them. "Kill them all."
Dark twisted instantly to her feet, still glaring at Piper as she drew her shadow sword. "You just had to, didn't you-"
"Nobody's going to be dying today, thanks," a voice called out from behind them. Everybody whirled around to see a small girl with long blonde hair sitting on a bench behind them, legs kicking casually over the side. She had pink, cherubic lips and sparkling blue eyes that focused on Jaxon. "My, you look lovely today, Jaxon."
Jaxon stared, then shifted uncomfortably, very aware that he was in shabby, stained clothes too big for him. The Nightmare beneath him snorted angrily, but he paid it no heed. "Lucy?"
"Who?" Dark asked, hand on her hip, glancing at the broken window above her. It would be so easy just to fly away, to leave Pitch and Jack and Piper, to simply save herself. But this newcomer had given her pause.
The girl's figure flickered for a second, and Dark could have sworn she'd seen a handsome boy, with olive skin and hazel eyes that looked at her playfully as he laughed. Her jaw dropped. "Cupid?"
"What?" Jaxon snapped, and Nightmares began to crowd around the little girl behind them as Jaxon made his way forward on Lilith. The others had gotten to their feet, even exhausted looking Sandy- all except Pitch who remained passed out on the ground.
"No one," Cupid replied, hopping lithely off the bench and onto the ground, a basket containing red confetti in her hands. She shook her curls behind one ear, and Darkness noticed Jaxon's eyes follow her diligently as she made her way towards him. The turn of events was so strange that she was struggling to get her head around it. Cupid better be here to save them. "I haven't seen you in class the last few days. I've missed you."
"You missed me?" Jaxon asked in disbelief, and with a wave of his hands the crowd of Nightmares parted before his crush as she skipped through them, hair bouncing gaily. She was incredibly out of place among the blood stained and weary Guardians as she passed them by, smiling.
"Of course I did, Jaxon. I was very worried." She pouted, which Dark thought was a little over the top, but Jaxon fell for it anyway.
"How are you here?"
The Guardians, Piper, Dark and Jamie were watching the conversation like it was a tennis match, eyes darting between Cupid and the so called 'King'. The circle of Nightmares prevented all but Jack, Dark and Sandy from leaving, which neither of the Guardians would consider while their friends remained.
Cupid shrugged, twisting her hair around one finger as she came to stand before him, smiling sweetly. "I heard you were going to be the king, and I want to be your queen."
Jaxon's eyes were love-struck as he gazed at his childhood crush, while Lilith, his first Nightmare stamped her feet and shook underneath him. Finally he tore his gaze from Cupid's sparkling blue eyes to face Lilith, who whinnied out in distress. When he looked back up his eyes were narrowed. "How did you get here?"
Cupid's smile faltered for a second before she brushed down her dress. "I just-"
"You're not Lucy."
Cupid opened her mouth, the all of a sudden her image flickered to reveal the fat, balding man he naturally was. "Damn."
"Who are you?!" Jaxon demanded angrily, and Cupid unfurled his brilliant white wings.
"I'm love on legs, baby." He grinned, then, as the beautiful boy he was for Dark, he strutted back to the rest of them. "Sorry to disappoint, Jaxon dear, but I really have to go- and I'm taking these lovely people with me."
"No, you can't," Jaxon said angrily, but Cupid had already grabbed a handful of his confetti, tossing the red and pink hearts high into the air above Dark, who stared up as it rained down around her.
"Are you going to stop me?" He smirked happily, before throwing the rest of the basket above their heads with a cry of, "Confetti! It's a parade!"
And as the hearts swirled around them in a storm of colour, Jaxon urged his Nightmares forward, into the seething mass. But they only dashed cleanly out the other side, whinnying in distress as he last of the confetti cleared and Cupid and the others were gone, leaving Jaxon you scream in anger and frustration.
*
This chapter didn't end the way I had expected, or planned. In fact, I have written this chap three times over, but this is the only time I managed to finish it. So, sorry if it's the worst one yet, but some has to be better than none... hopefully. Please tell me if there were any mistakes of any way I could make it less confusing and better.
Cupid is now the Gabriel of RotG.
So vote, comment, and tell me everything you thought. Oh, and what's been your favourite In the Dark moment so far?