Rise of the Guardians: Fall of the Guardians

Chapter 9- A Truly Pitchy Plan

"So this is the Temple of Time?" Trii asked, staring up at the place in wonder. Pitch stood just a few feet behind him and Ribcage, rolling his eyes at the boy.

"Yes. Yes. It's grand, isn't it?" Pitch lightly began to push Trii towards the entrance. "Remember to only grab the Eternia Glass. Just get in and get out, got it?"

Trii nodded his head. "I understand," he whispered, biting his lower lip.

Pitch quirked a brow at him. "Are you still unnerved by Jack Frost's betrayal? It was hard for all of us. I had really thought that he had seen the light and turned a new leaf, but it appears that I was wrong."

"He just seemed so nice," Trii said, glancing up at Pitch with wide eyes glistening with fresh tears. "How could he have done that to us?"

"It is because we were wrong about Jack the whole time. He was once like us but now that he is a part of the guardians, he doesn't care about his roots." Pitch patted the boy on the back gently. "He has the power, love, and respect that he wanted, so why would he want to waste his time helping out those who he thinks are beneath him?"

Trii nibbled on his lip, being mindful of his sharp teeth as he did so. "I don't know if I can do this, Pitch," he muttered, gesturing towards the Temple. "What if something goes wrong? He could make it so that I was never born."

"Wouldn't that be a shame," Pitch muttered under his breath before forcing a friendly smile upon his face. "Look, Trii, I wouldn't be asking you to do this if there was any other way. The Warriors and I believe in you."

Trii didn't say a thing.

Pitch smirked. "Think about Frost and his betrayal. He crushed all of our hearts just for the sake of helping his fellow Guardians to crush our dreams. He would be stopping you right now, if he were here. If it wasn't for your keen eyes, he may have been here instead of me, telling you not to even bother taking the risk for your future; for all of our futures."

Trii scowled, hopping off of Ribcage. "I'll do it," he promised. "Come on, Ribcage."

"Perhaps that... Ribcage... should wait out here. He would draw too much attention and this calls for a sneaky one-man job."

"I guess." Trii patted Ribcage's bone muzzle. "You stay out here with Pitch and wait for me. I will be right out." Ribcage huffed, blue flames coming out of his nostrils as he showed his distain at the idea of leaving Trii's side like that, but he otherwise did nothing to stop him. "Good boy."

"You better hurry, Trii," Pitch suggested. "Who knows how long we have before the Guardians catch wind of what we are doing and come to stop us."

"I won't let them stop me, especially Jack Frost," Trii promised as he strode towards the entrance of the temple. As quiet as a mouse, he pushed the large ordinate doors open just enough to slip through before shutting it tightly behind him.

Pitch smirked. "Perfect."

*************

Everything was silent instead, save for the ticking of the many clocks. Trii tried his best to stay focused on his mission, but he soon found himself getting distracted by the many different mirrors and clocks scattered about the pace. Though, after catching sight of himself in one of the mirrors, he shied away from them and instead chose to stare at the floor in front of him.

"Get the thing. Then get out. Get the thing. Then get out," he chanted over and over again under his breath as he continued to creep through the halls, peeking through doors tenderly, so as to avoid detection. "Get the thing. Then get out."

Creak.

Trii froze, his entire body tensing at the sound behind him. Slowly turning around he eyed the door at the far end of the hallway he had just passed over as it slowly creaked open.