The Possession

Chapter 21

I kneeled on the ground for a few moments until I realized I needed help. I flew back to the Warren; I needed to convince the guardians. I saw Bunny outside of his Warren.

"Bunny! I need help!" I said.

"What now? Did Ariel go with Pitch?" Bunny asked.

"Yes she did." I said.

He chuckled before noticing my expression.

"Wow, you look serious." Bunny said.

"Because I am." I said. "Ariel is in trouble and I need all the help I can get."

"Let's do this. Let's take down the bitch once in for all. Oh and of course save Ariel." Bunny said.

"Can you get the others? I'll find Pitch and Ariel." I said.

Bunny nodded and created a tunnel below him. He jumped down and disappeared into the hole, a small flower appeared in the spot where the hole closed. Laughing lightly, I flew off to go and find Ariel and Pitch.

~

I finally came upon the woods. Knowing Pitch, he would want to meet Ariel in the darkness part of the woods. I walked into the woods, searching for Ariel or Pitch.

"Ah!" I suddenly heard a familiar voice say. "I'm glad you decided to join me! For a while, I thought you were going to bail on me."

"Pitch," I muttered.

"If it means that you'll stop messing with my friends and family, then yes."

"Ariel," I gasped quietly, my heart breaking a little as I realized that she had gone with him.

Moving closer to the voices, I saw Pitch and Ariel facing one another.

"So what do you want from me?" Ariel asked.

"I want you to pick up where Jack left off. Helping me make people's lives miserable."

"Never."

"Ah ah ah. If I remember correctly, you told me 'you can do anything you want with me just leave Jack out of it.' And so I am! Jack is no longer apart of the equation. Now it's just you and me, Ariel."

Ariel sighed. She turned away from Pitch, crossing her arms.

"Now," Pitch said while moving behind her. He set his hands on her shoulders making Ariel tense up. "Let's see how much mischief you can make."

I growled lightly and stepped out from my hiding space, my staff glowing a little.

"Pitch," I said.

Pitch and Ariel spun around. Shock spread across Ariel's face while Pitch only looked amused.

"Ah! If it isn't my old friend," Pitch chuckled.

"What are you doing here?" Ariel hissed at me.

"I'm not letting you use Ariel, Pitch," I said. "You've controlled me for too long and I won't let you do the same to her."

I looked at Ariel and gave her a small smile.

"What can you do about it, Jack?" Pitch asked. "There is only one of you."

"Oh come on Pitch. You don't seem to remember how to count."

Looking up, I saw the Guardians arriving on North's sleigh. I smiled as they landed and jumped out.

"Let Ariel go, Pitch," Bunny ordered.

"But you don't get it, Bunnymund. She chose to be here."

Bunny looked at Ariel, who sadly looked away from them.

"This ends here, Pitch," North said, holding up his swords.

"Oh, I agree."

Nightmares suddenly emerged from the trees, charging at us.

~Ariel's POV~

I stared in horror as my friends and family fought off Pitch's Nightmares. Looking at Pitch, I saw him smirking at them. Getting angry, I charged at Pitch with my superspeed. He gasped in shock when I landed a punch to his jaw. He looked at me and growled.

"What's this?" he said. "Is this betrayal, Ariel?"

"No. This is me sticking up for my family."

Running at him again, I managed to land another punch. Pitch got annoyed and started shooting black sand at me. I gasped whenever it hit me in the shoulder. Looking down at where he hit me, I could see black sand slowly starting to cover my shoulder and move down my arm. I was about to run at him again when he shot another stream of black sand at me. The sand hit me with more force this time. I flew back and hit a tree, causing me to cry out in pain and fall to the ground.

~Jack's POV~

I quickly turned around when I heard a cry of pain. My eyes widened when I saw Ariel lying on the ground. I looked over at Bunny to see him already looking at me. He had an angry look in his eyes, and for the first time in years, it wasn't directed at me. We nodded to one another before lunging at Pitch.

The two of us launched attack after attack at Pitch, catching him off guard. It took him several moments to realize what was happening and fight back.

Bunny and I worked together to fight Pitch, keeping him away from Ariel. I tried jumping at Pitch but he knocked me away with his black sand. My staff went flying out of my hand, landing several feet away from me. I groaned as I hit the ground, hitting my head in the process. Dazed, I tried sitting up.

I heard another cry, recognizing it as Bunny. Slowly regaining my sight, I looked up to see Pitch walking towards me. I looked for my staff but knew I wouldn't get it in time. Pitch smirked down at me.

"It's over, Jack," he said. A spear formed in his hand. My eyes widened as he pulled back his arm. "Sweet dreams."

He suddenly sent the spear my way.

"No!"