Guardians Rising

24: "Run and hide, my little Nightmares."

Note: Some descriptions may be rather disturbing.

The soft voices of the conspirators carried well in the large room, and Jack, horrified as he was at his strange discovery, was listening intently. The leather-cloaked man was speaking.

"If your informers are correct - and we can only hope they are - then the children are at Castle DunBroch." 

"Of course my informers are correct, Drago," said Pitch, almost defensively. "You've no idea what a little nightmare can do." He chuckled, and the sound sent shivers of fear down Jack's spine. 

"Maybe," said Drago rather  dubiously, "but if they're wrong, then we lose everything. I won't take a risk like that, not without a good backup plan." 

"We do have a backup, Drago," said Pitch. "My friends have it set up." 

"That's reassuring," said the woman. "But they've -" She was interrupted by a sudden movement of the bear. It stood up straight, yes straight up on its hind legs like a human. Jack tensed. He had never known very much about bears, but this was a huge, and apparently intelligent, demon bear. What if it had somehow sensed him? He tried to keep as calm as possible and slip out the way he had come. 

He turned around to leave. The wall beside him seemed to shift as he did so, catching him off guard and causing a wave of nausea so strong  it almost knocked him off his feet. He crouched down, trying to re-orient himself. 

Then, to Jack's even greater surprise, the bear spoke. Its voice was very deep and very gravelly, reminding Jack somewhat of distant thunder, only much more sinister. He uttered only a single word, but it was enough to make Jack's heart stop.

"Intruders."

- - - - -

When Merida passed though the fake mountainside, it felt like she was pushing her way through muddy water, only she didn't get wet. When she got to the other side of the barrier, she saw an enormous room stretching out before her. It had a low ceiling - barely a foot above her head. The corners of the room were rounded rather than sharp, as if the place had been hollowed out by water, and the walls were of bare, unadorned stone. Passageways led off in every direction, soon leaving her disoriented and somewhat dizzy. A quick glance at her companions told her that they were also feeling the effects of the strange room. 

Hiccup coughed slightly, then said, "There's something," cough, "in the air." Astrid wiped her face with one sleeve, then replied,

"We should hurry. Find Jack as quickly as possible, then get out of here. I don't like this place." All the others nodded in agreement; the air certainly had a sickly smell in it. 

They chose an opening at random and headed slowly into the eerily lit passage. Every few yards, there would be a door on either side, wooden, sometimes bolted shut, but more often open, hanging on its rusty hinges as though it might fall at any moment. A quick peek into one of the rooms showed a rather gruesome scene: a pile of bones in one corner, dark stains on the walls, white gouge marks, and a nauseating stench in the air. 

None of this comforted Merida in the least. She was about to say so when Rapunzel stopped suddenly. "What is it?" Merida whispered softly.

"Shhh!" Rapunzel hissed back. "I hear voices!" The others all looked at her, confused. They could hear nothing but each others' breathing. Then Hiccup remembered something. 

"I believe her," he whispered. He'd remembered his moment of bewilderment when they were on Toothless, and had now come to a conclusion: Rapunzel's transformation had not only restored her original powers, but had also given her some new ones.

"Well then," said Merida, "lead the way, Sunshine." 

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So. I updated. Finally. Sorry about not updating. Hehe. Yeah. Anyway, thanks for being so patient! I love you guys!!!

 :)