Rise of the Guardians 2: Return of the Nightmare King

Past Life

                                                                                      Pitch's P.O.V.

I clenched the sides of Onyx with my heels and willed her to go faster. I needed to get back to my lair to think. I was going to fill that girl's head with endless nightmares as a punishment for her sneaking out, but I didn't. Something about her seemed oddly familiar. Her wavy black hair, her dark green eyes, her pointed chin. The back of my mind wouldn't stop poking me. I knew I had seen that girl from somewhere, but I couldn't remember.

Onyx whinnied at me, "Sir, we're here." I got off of her back and patted her mane. I'm the only one who can understand my Nightmares. Onyx was my favorite because she was the most loyal. She never made mistakes and always stood by my side. I considered her as a friend, but I would never admit that out loud. I shadow traveled into the entrance of my lair. This was the only place where I could think. This was my happy place.

There was a black throne in the middle of the room, with a globe of the Earth in a far corner of the room. The globe had a few golden lights on it that made the corner of the room shine. Those lights were the only reason the Guardians were still alive. Jamie and a couple of his friends still believed while the rest of the world didn't. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get Jamie to stop believing. I even plagued him with Nightmares every time he tried to sleep, but that wouldn't work either.

I shook my head to clear that thought out of my brain. I needed to focus on that girl. Onyx's hooves clip-clopped against the stone floor. I looked up and watched as she took her place right next to my throne. "Sir, may I have permission to ask you a question?"

"I might know what you're going to ask, but of course." I smiled at her. Onyx looked down at the ground and snorted. "Why did you let the girl go?" I sucked in a breath and rested my fist under my chin. I had to think about that for a moment. Why had I let that girl go without any punishment? Was it her big eyes filled with tears, begging me not to hurt her? Was it her reaction to me kicking her dog? Did it have to do with my past life? I froze; did I even have a past life? Onyx nudged me on the arm with her nuzzle. "Pitch, are you alright?"

She only called me by my first name if it was serious. I opened my mouth to speak, "I don't know. I honestly have no idea. Something about her reminded me of..." I trailed off, what had she reminded me of? I clenched my fists and frowned. I walked over to the globe and glared at it. A sudden bolt of anger rushed through me. I threw back my head and let out an animalistic scream that echoed off the walls and ceiling of my lair. Onyx flinched and trotted towards me. She leaned on me and whinnied. I sighed and scratched her behind the ear. "I need to meet with my prisoners."

I stormed off towards the dungeons. I flung the door open with all my might and snarled. "Lucky for you all, the lights are still on the globe. However, only five children still believe in you. The clock is ticking." I made a black sand figure of a clock and laughed. The Guardians glared at me with anger and hate. Each of them were put in separate cages. There were shackles on their wrists and ankles, so if they tried to escape they wouldn't get far. Bunnymund looked like a normal bunny. Tooth couldn't fly and most of her feathers had fallen off. Sandy couldn't make any more good dreams and was very weak. North had lost color in his cheeks and looked more like an old man than a powerful warrior. Jack was paler than I had ever seen him. His staff was broken in two, so he couldn't even make one snowflake.

They stayed silent but still glared at me with hate. I paced around the room with my hands behind my back. I slunk over to Toothiana's cage and gripped the bars. I saw Jack lift his head and watch me carefully. I smiled at her, "It's a wonder how many children believe in you, Tooth. I mean, you did fail them. I have seen a few children blame you for my rise to power." She glared at me, but I could see the fear and sorrow in her eyes. Her greatest fear had come true, and I loved it.

I grimaced and firmly grabbed her wrist. She grunted in pain and struggled against my hand. I pulled her to me and put my face close to hers. "But even with most of your feathers gone, you are still beautiful." I began to lean closer to her lips, fully intending to kiss her. She tried to pull her hand away, but I was too strong. "Stop it! Let go of me!" She cried and closed her eyes tightly. Her fear spilled from her body, making me laugh hungrily.

"Pitch, leave her alone!" Jack yelled at me and banged the side of his cell with his bare feet. I pushed her back against the cage and threw my head back to laugh. My laugh echoed around the dungeon and made the Guardians wince. Toothiana was on the floor of her cage, crying. Jack stood up on his knees and tried to break free of his chains. I growled and pushed him down. He got up again, but I prevented him from getting back up. He growled at me and looked over at Tooth. I chuckled at him, "Aww, afraid that I might hurt your girlfriend?" I enjoyed making him squirm.

Unfortunately, I didn't see that he had positioned his foot between my legs. He kicked me...hard! I doubled over and fell on my knees. The Guardians couldn't contain their laughter. I bit my lip to keep from screaming and then finally composed myself. My anger took away all my other thoughts of searching for my memories. I formed a dagger behind my back and lunged at the annoying winter spirit. "If lack of belief won't kill you, this certainly will!" I plunged the dagger straight into Jack's stomach. He immediately stopped laughing and froze. He opened his mouth in a silent scream and looked down. His hands hovered over the wound. I grinned madly and pulled the dagger out slowly. That's when he started screaming.

The rest of the Guardians were surprised at my actions, but that didn't stop them from screaming out his name. Jack fell to the floor and curled up into a ball. I made the dagger disappear with one flick of my wrist. "Maybe this will teach you not to misbehave." Then, I whirled around and walked out of the dungeons with a satisfactory smile on my face.