Hold me now. I need to feel you. Show me how to make it new again. There's no one I can run to. And nothing I could ever do. I'm nowhere if I'm here without you — Ashes Remain, Without You
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I quietly shut the door behind me as I leave the house. Jaime and Sophie had finally fallen asleep and I knew I had to hurry and get back to the Guardians.
I'm walking down the driveway and on to the street, shoving my hands in my pockets and burying my face beneath my scarf when a chilly breeze rolls through. I stay under the streetlamps as I walk as a brisk pace, constantly looking over my shoulder as an uneasy sensation develops. Stopping abruptly and almost panicking when I notice a slender figure ahead. Realizing that I'm holding my breath, I exhale when I notice that the silhouette belongs to Jack.
I let out a nervous chuckle. "Oh my goodness..." I clear my throat and starting waving my arm. "Jack, over here!" I start to jog to him.
Jack looks around as if looking for something and runs off.
"Hey, wait!" I began to chase after him.
What felt like forever, was actually just a few minutes of me chasing Jack. I ended up losing him once he ran into a shady looking forest. Hearing my panting, the crunching leaves and twigs beneath my feet as I venture further and further through the forest calling out for Jack. It is until I come to a clearing, where a rickety old bed stands in the centre, covering a wide enough hole a human could fall into. I cautiously peek over the bed to look down into the hole, however nothing but darkness could be seen.
It wasn't until I felt cold hands press against my back and with a sudden force I find myself falling down the hole. I scream as loud as my lungs and throat could handle until the ground broke my fall.
A flash of light and I find myself in a sparkling white and gold room, without a ceiling, it was open to the night sky with twinkling stars, but no Manny visible in the sky. When I went to extend my hand up to the sky, my hand begun to glow with light, until I was interrupted by a mob of Shadows.
"It's over" I familiar and menacing voice booms.
"Give up Pitch Black! You will not win!" I found myself saying.
He laughed, evilly, finally revealing himself. "Oh but you see...I already have!"
I got into a fighting stance, prepared for any attack he fired at me. Deep down in my core I felt like I was going to lose, but refused to let Pitch see it on my face.
Pitch's nightmares flew through the skies and slowly, like a large black blanket began to take over the world. I turned to the large globe in the center of the room, as bright lights began to fade away.
"No!" I fired a ball of light toward Pitch that startled him to order his Nightmares to attack.
As I moved around the room, getting rid of every Nightmare that comes near with another ball of light after another, I felt a ping in my chest as I realized there was no way to beat him...not like this. And with Manny who has disappeared and unable to contact him, I was doomed. I couldn't do this alone.
"Ha-ha...yes...be engulfed by the darkness, let your fears run wild." Pitch spoke. "The dark ages will be mine!"
"No!" Another blast of light goes his way and he immediately disappeared into his shadows.
As more lights on the globe had begun to go out, along with the voices of the children that I would hear almost every night, I came to the conclusion to put a stop for this for now.
"You might think you've won Pitch Black, Nightmare King. But whenever there is fear and darkness, there will be light." I vowed, and made myself known to Pitch who scoffs at my words.
When the Nightmares started to gang up and wrap me in nothing but their darkness I used every ounce of my power of light to chase the darkness away, I could feel myself become light as a feather, as my whole body radiated in a bright light, as I started to shatter into little orbs that floated to the sky. Deep down I was terrified, but I had a gentle smile on my face as the last thing I saw was Manny, finally full and well again.
"See you soon, big guy..." My final words before I vanished.
"Ow..." I groan as I slowly stand up. Coughing away the dirt and dust that had been stirred around me.
What was that dream? I rub my temple as I try to remember it.
A sharp pains shoots through my ankle and I press myself against the nearest wall for support. I catch my breath and with a limp I shimmy on through to what looks to be a cave at first. Then I come to an opening where I'm staring at a topsy-turvy interior design. With a dull and almost scary color palette of grays and blacks, with barely any light shining through.
"Jack..." I harshly whisper. "You here?"
"I'm afraid Jack isn't here." A menacing laugh bounces off the walls, coming from all sorts of directions, but no matter where I look I can't find the source. "Well, at least the real Jack isn't, but he is...."
When I look up I see black sand begin to emerge from the shadows and form into Shadow Jack.
"No..." I work up the strength to limp as fast as can to try and find a way out. The pain that pulsates in my ankle is too much for me and I ended up collapsing on a small staircase. My teeth clench together and my hands curl into fists as I swallow a cry.
"And where do you think you're going?" A sigh echoed.
"Stay away from me, just stay away!" I began to crawl away.
I heard the light clacking of footsteps come up from behind me, but I didn't dare look back.
"You see, I find this rather amusing."
"What?" I growled loudly, looking away from what's up ahead of me for a second before feeling my head bump into something. When I looked up I see a hand extended out to me, and Pitch stand there's with a sickly smirk. I smacked his hand away and unsteadily got to my feet, careful not to put too much pressure on my ankle.
"Hmph..." He lowly chuckled, then began to circle, with his hands behind his back, watching me. "You're afraid my dear.
"I'm not afraid of you!"
"Who said anything about being afraid of me?" He reveals a sharp toothy smirk.
My eyes went wide and I could feel myself falling into a black abyss, then landing in a dark room with a single spotlight above me with mirrors surrounding me, like a House of mirrors.
"You're afraid of what they say you are. What you are destined to become. All because the man in the moon chose you!"
"That's not true!" I spun around and around only seeing myself in those mirrors.
"You're afraid of the power you possess. Afraid you'll hurt someone. Or afraid someone will hurt you because you'll believe in them, only to let you down, leave you in the dirt!"
"That's enough!" I yelled as I felt hot tears on my lower eye lids.
"Where are your precious guardians? Where is your man in the moon now?"
I shut my eyes and gritted my teeth, trying to get rid of the echoing voice I hear inside my head.
"But in all...what you are truly afraid of... is yourself."
"Why are you doing this to me?! What have I ever done to you?" I screamed while pounding my fists against the mirrors.
Then silence. Until looking closely in the mirror, Pitch stood behind me. I spun around to see him, angrily staring. There was such hatred in his eyes.
Why?
Suddenly his face softens and he began to start laughing manically. "That look on your face tells me you truly have no idea."
"Stop speaking in riddles! Have no idea about what?!"
He smirks again.
"I swear I'm going to wipe that smirk right off your face—" I went to take a step towards him, frustrated, but the pain in my ankle stopped me. "Ow!"
"What was it that you said? 'What have I ever done to you?'"
I gave my best menacing glower.
Then there it was again, that hatred. "What have you ever done to me?" His voice raised, angrily. "You destroyed me!" The mirrors cracked at his sudden outburst.
"I-I don't understand..."
"But who else to blame but the man in the moon for choosing you to stand alongside him! Then when you disappeared and I returned he created the guardians. I knew it was only a matter of time before you would come back. You and your light." He spat venom from his thin lips. "So I prepared myself! I have stirred up the perfect plan to snuff out the light and have this world be devoured in nothing but darkness and fear!"
I realizes as I was listening I had backed up against one of the cracked mirrors, eyes wide and holding my breath. "I-I don't know what you're talking about..." I slowly exhaled.
Pitch managed to regain his composure. "Of course you don't. It was so, so long ago. And I look at you now...and it's pathetic." He looks me up and down.
I unsettling shiver runs down my spine.
One of Pitch's Nightmares emerge from the shadows behind and huffs and neighs. Pitch smile grows. "Now the rest of my plan will commence and it will all be over soon."
"Wait, what will be over? What have you done?" I asked, but in a state of shock, feeling nothing but bad vibes crawl along my skin.
"But to make sure, you don't get in the way..." Pitch's arms extended from his side as the shadows behind him began to rise. He took slow steps towards me, as shadows begin to dim the only light.
"N-no, what are you doing, get away from me!" I tried to find a way around but I knew there wasn't any way to escape from Pitch or from here.
Pitch grows closer and closer, and I feel a shadow wrap around me.
"Stop it!" I screamed so loudly I could feelmy vocal chords strain. And a pulsating sensation courses through my veins,pins and needle sensation start from my toes to my fingertips and I gasp asanother discharge of a thousand suns is released from my body.