Rise of the New Guardians (Currently Editing)

Savior or Saint?

    The others finally made it to the room where Bella and Julia were and looked out the window seeing the stallion. Tooth, Jack and Sandy went out after it since they were the only ones who could fly. They grimaced, they didn't want one of their believers to be drowned in fear by the Nightmare King himself. Pitch all the while was deciding whether to bring the blonde back to his lair or let her go. Lilith was close to the stallion when she showed up and reared upward sending her hooves in a massacre of hits. The floating guardians stopped and frowned in amazement but slight worry, Jack frowned and then looked around making sure Bella wasn't around and then focused his attention on the rearing horse.

    Father Time frowned, seeing that Rachel was still on the stallion, but her face had lost its glow and her wide brown doe eyes showed fright in every way. Lilith whinnied loudly and let black tendrils surround the other stallion who snorted and huffed with anger, the black sand like smoke tangled around all of the three and was close to disappearing.

   Julia and Bella banged on the door in desperation, feeling their friend slowly lose her soul. Sandman shot out golden sand and shot bullet-like dust at the oncoming nightmares. The horses neighed in defense as they both blew up into black dust sending them back to the damned lair they came from. Before the guardians could process what was happening Julia and Bella burst out onto the tower and stopped like everyone else seeing their blonde friend in the arms of none other than Mother Nature.

    She towered over them like a beautiful giant, her facial expression mixed of calm and serenity, but also worriedness for the mortal girl in her arms. Pitch cried out in anger and threw his sand everywhere in the kingdom, distress overwhelming his body. He didn't like the feeling he'd felt in a long time but eventually calmed down. His three nightmares still remained dust, until he called back his faithful servant, Lilith back to the lair. He frowned and walked to his newly made thrown, and plopped right in it, tapping his pointer finger on the smooth wood and growled slightly wanting to know why this girl was playing games with him. He smirked knowing he would find out soon.

    Eventually, after everything calmed down, the blonde slowly came to, looking around with her glowing brown eyes and then looked up at Mother Nature. Mother Nature looked down at the girl and smiled softly, "Are you alright little one?". Rachel loved the sound of her voice, it is one of pure motherly love and melodies. The blonde nodded and smiled back, the fear now is gone. Hope engulfed her once again as she stood.

   Father Time smiled his sweet grandfather smile and walked up to Mother nature which in return graciously hugged him and smiled. " Hello, Father Time!". 

    Father let go and smiled softly, he then looked to Rachel and frowned slightly " Are you alright little one ?", she nods once and then smiles "Yes, i think so." Mother Nature soon greeted the others and eyed Julia and Bella warily, she then caught sight of Jack and smiled. "My my, it's been a long time, Frostbite ~" she playfully said. Bella glared slightly hearing the nickname and frowned, her face slightly got red and also her ears trying to calm herself down. Julia giggled slightly and Bunny burst out laughing, Jack on the other hand blushed like a million tomatoes. "I thought I told you not to call me that!!" he growled back slightly and hid under his hoodie. Mother Nature smiled in a playful way and ruffled his hair, which in response Jack let out a cry and backed away putting his hair back into place "HEY!!". Julia ended up hopping onto Bunny's back out of boredom and smiled scratching his ears softly. Bunny grunted and soon was thumping his foot from the feeling and closed his eyes, North and Father soon went to the side and talked about what happened. Mother Nature stayed outside with the rest of the group and talked to Tooth. Rachel stood leaning on the wall and thought about what she had seen.

    Those amber... no gold. Whatever color they were, it was still seemed to pierce into her soul like ice or sunlight.

    Bella and Julia continued to talk together wanting to give her some space and think. Bella was beyond pissed at what Pitch had done or tried to do, whatever his plan was, she was determined to not let anything happen. Jack and Bunny stayed by their girls and comforted them, Sandy soon floated up next to Rachel and frowned.

    The two looked to each other before looking back at the open air and vastness of the Father Time's kingdom. Sandy could tell that the blonde was contemplating a lot of things in her head. He didn't want that to be the case, putting his tiny yellow hand over hers. The action seemed to bring the girl back from her thoughts as she tensed and looked down and shed a single pristine tear. 

    "He seems different in person..." suddenly saying quietly. This was Sandy's turn to go rigid and tense, had he visited this girl before?! How could this be... Nightmares perhaps, but this? He looked to Rachel with a little-shocked expression. She seemed to be shaking now as recalling all the vivid and personal nightmares he had cast her. It seemed so long ago but now that she grew older, they got more recent, and realistic. The others soon left the top of the building and went back inside the castle, leaving the dreamers out in the setting sun.

    Rachel frowns and furrows her brows, not knowing what to do. "He digs so deep," she paused for a moment, and continued, "To find out what my fears are-" she paused and looked to him. "This has been going on for too long Sandy~," She said his name with so much desperation which made the yellow man's heart break into a million pieces now seeing the toll Pitch's Nightmares had taken on her all this time. The girl had shadows under her eyes, and her eyes seemed to hold so many nights of insomnia, and fear of sleeping.

    Sandy took her hands and smiled softly, the blonde closed her eyes and felt the energy and a sense of rest flood into her body. She didn't have time to say anything before falling straight into the smiling man's arms. Sandy looked down to the girl and let her sleep before picking her up and going inside, floating through the castle and laying her down in one of Father Time's many bedrooms. He didn't want to leave the girl, not now ... not ever. Never again will he let Pitch touch this girl or fall into his clutch.

    Rachel slept soundly, her breathing light and swift. She had good dreams, the best ones she had ever had since Pitch started to give her nightmares. Many were about her friends, family, her future, her past, the present, but one that interested Sandy the most was how Pitch was in it. The dust above her body rose to create a picture of it, showing him rising out of the shadows but she didn't do anything, just stood there. Soon the shadow of Pitch came closer, wrapping her into a black ball of nightmare sand. Sandy about to wake the girl stopped, as he saw a spark of white light and watched as the black sand exploded leaving her standing there with Pitch but no... not Pitch.

Kozmotis Pitchiner.