Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Show Me That Glasgow Smile	By : LuciferDragon Category: +M through R > Rise of the Guardians Views: 1540 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Rise of the Guardians stuff, and I make no money from writing this story. Purely for fun.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
11.
I had forgotten how good it felt to change my shape. To let go and have fun with my scares. I forgot how pleasing it was to hear shrieking as our victims ran in fright, fueled on by adrenaline. How had I gone so long without stretching my power’s muscles? I looked to my right as Pitch straightened from the shadows, a pack of children running in terror from what had been his distorted shadow on the wall growling ethereally at them. He cackled to the sky and I smiled.
How long had it been since I had seen him this happy?
When the screeches died away he caught my gaze, his wild grin still present. “Your turn, love.”
We had long ago abandoned gathering fear. We had both overfilled just enough to leave a pleasant tingle running through our systems. My grin lifted, showing my teeth. “Alright, big shot. Remember I’m a little out of practice here. Being a stay at home mom isn’t the most rewarding when it comes to scaring our children.”
“I suppose not. Don’t tell me you’ve run out of ideas already.”
“Not just yet.” I bit my lip and wandered around the corner. Across the street, a faint sound crossed my ears. “How about a wager?”
I looked at him as he immediately seemed intrigued. “A wager, hm? It’s been awhile since you’ve offered. What of?”
I nodded to an old warehouse, empty aboveground. I knew it was a ruse. “Who can end up clearing out the most likely drug-soaked, illegal orgy?”
“Do you have something against them?”
“I don’t like sharing.” I started my pace casually. “Imagine it. Everyone is drunk, drugged up, or just caught up in the moment. They’re all writhing together, so focused on their pleasure they won’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The music is too loud to hear anything besides what they’re doing. The darkness is essential to protect their anonymity, so there will be very little direct light to give away intrusion.”
“You’ve got my attention. What would you propose?”
“A subtle approach. They’re most likely already at their peak. Given the drugs they’ll be on, this might make it a little more difficult.” I turned and faced him. His grin said he loved the idea. “Though I know nothing is too hard for the big bad Boogeyman. I mean, he wouldn’t be intimidated by little old me, would he?”
He clicked his tongue and chuckled. “Trying to butter me up?”
“Is it working?”
“Always.” He crossed his arms. “I accept the wager, but let me sweeten that deal.”
“Oh?”
“Winner gets to relax at home, alone, no kids, only dead silence.”
“What’s the catch?”
“Loser collects fear for the winner and keeps the kids busy for the week.”
Oh he was good. “Alright. Let’s see it then. No holding back.”
“You know I never do, darling.”
A scream of terror resonated in the air, stopping us in our tracks. This wasn’t something I was willing to let go. I turned on my heel, racing towards the source. I didn’t care if he followed me. The scream had been desperate. I felt through the air around me, trying to find the source of the terror. My reach may have been weaker, but I still narrowed down the streets. I adjusted my course down a residential street. The source vanished. I stopped suddenly, my heart racing. Had I been too late?
“This way.” Pitch took up the scent and I followed close by.
“What happened?”
“She blacked out for a moment. You don’t want to know the rest.”
He could read, understand, and use fear. I could only sense a general sort, and an amount. My senses told me the fear was feminine, that it was desperate to live, and she couldn’t breathe due to the weight of the fright. He knew what was going on right now to make her feel all of that. I really didn’t want to know. He stopped us outside an open gate, where I heard muttering. He surprised me by drawing his scythe. It meant whatever it was, it wasn’t mortal. I drew my twin blades, adjusting my grip. We moved silently up the side of the house, keeping to the shadows.
The mortal girl I had heard was backed into a tree, frantically looking around her. “I don’t know how you know him, or how you know me, but I know about your kind.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a canister of salt.
I quirked a brow. Smart girl. It was then I realized where we were. It instantly dawned on me who she was. Before my eyes a spirit formed, next to the girl. A pair of scissors were drawn.
“I will make you more beautiful!”
The next thing I knew I was sprinting forward. I had caught the spirit off guard. I swiped one of my scythes through the weapon wielding arm, and followed up with a blow from the other, aimed right across the throat. Instead of falling, it faded away. After a moment of silence, I dropped my guard.
I looked to the girl, feeling her still shaking with fear. “Are you alright?”
She didn’t seem like she knew what to do. Her face went paler, if it were possible. She looked even worse when Pitch stood beside me.
I frowned at her. “You said you know about her kind. Our kind. Tell me, do you know a boy named Drago?”
Her lips pressed together in a fine line and she nodded.
“Ah, I see.” He had caught on as well. “The human our boy has taken to.”
She still seemed a bit frightened so I smiled. “Don’t worry, whatever Drago has said, we’re not too terrible.” I jerked my thumb to Pitch. “And this one doesn’t eat wayward children.”
“Not that you know of.”
I elbowed his ribs.
“I’m sorry, it’s just…” She gave a nervous laugh, but she at least stepped away from the tree. “It’s not exactly how I wanted to meet you guys. Drago speaks so highly of you.”
“Does he now?” I shook my head. “But more pressing matters, how did that thing find you?”
She shrugged and threw a hand up in the air. “Your guess is as good as mine. I was walking back from a trip to a friend’s when she found me. She said she knew Drago, and that if I wanted to see him again I’d do what she said. I knew there would be an uproar if anything happened to him, so I didn’t believe her. I didn’t realize that seeing him again meant her attempting to put me six feet under.” She looked to both of us. “He is okay, right? He seemed a little off when I saw him last.”
It was still odd to be speaking to his… girlfriend like this. “He was fine when we left him at the lair half a night ago. But I suppose with all this excitement we should head back to check.” I looked around, fighting motherly instinct that welled up to interrogate the girl. “But I also don’t like the fact this spirit knows where to find you.” I didn’t want to get the Guardians more involved. This was an issue that seemed to revolve around us. It was our problem and we could handle it. For now.
“Hana.”
I looked to him and he nodded towards the far side of the yard. I followed his pace. “We could leave a few Nightmares with her.”
“Their mere presence would send her dreams spiraling, you know this.” He stopped once sure out of earshot. “I dislike the idea just as much as you, but we lose either way. We either send for North, or we take her.” He shifted and I was caught unprepared. Amused, but startled. He stood taller and ground his teeth. “I fear what I would have been like had I been able to raise my daughter to this age.”
I stifled a snort with my hand. “Don’t fret. I love the worried dad side of you as well.” I glanced back at the girl. “I dislike it too, but… Hessian is only shadows, not nightmares.”
“Brilliant.” He tilted his head to her. “Should we continue to leave her to squirm, or properly meet her?”
The mom in me wanted to see her squirm a little longer, but given the circumstances, I decided against it. I started back to her. “Sorry we haven’t been properly introduced until now.”
“He speaks of you often,” she replied, almost startled at being addressed again. “Hana Eve and Pitch Black, guardians of the darker side of the spectrum.”
I quirked a brow. “Guardians?” I glanced to Pitch, who looked a little impressed. “He calls us guardians?”
She began to look nervous. “Ah, yeah. He told me about two sides to the guardians when he slowly introduced me to your world.”
“There is only one side,” Pitch corrected. “The Guardians are a band of do-gooders who keep a tight monitor on what we do.”
“He told me something different.”
“Let’s hear her out,” I said, interested in what Drago had to say. As he aged, he did what any typical growing boy would do. He grew distant as he discovered himself, his friends, his life and his gifts. I wanted to know what he thought of our lives. Not many villains got to hear their sides told. “But first, your name.”
She looked between us, cautiously. “My name is Chloe. I’ve known Drago since I was nine. After getting used to his abilities, he told me about his life, what he learned. He told me about the guardians of light, and guardians of dark, and then of the keeper of the balance. It took a while for that, and I was more surprised when I learned it was his half-sister.” She subconsciously moved to a piece of patio furniture and sat down. “He said it was wonderful growing up as a keeper of nightmares. And, when he discovered his talents could be used for good, by visiting the holding cells of humans deserving of them, he found his place.”
After Charon, Drago had decided to use his judging abilities to bring reoccurring nightmares to those deserving of them. They would come on as full hallucinations. Nasty things. It wasn’t supposed to be a pretty ability, but he had made it work to his advantage. And, the balance evened out quite well that way.
“He said he was raised like any other child he had seen on his runs. A good home, a loving family. Things operated smoothly as each side monitored something. He said he knew the Globe of Fear mainly.”
I nodded. “Over a century ago, I built it to monitor the fear in the world, to see what would be setting off a particular area. I’d conform to trends, anything terrifying at the time, and set things loose on Halloween. It worked so well, and it took a lot of time off my hands of searching.”
“And anytime there was an imbalance, you’d react. If there were too many clusters of fear, you’d retract the creatures you had in the field. If it started to waver too much, you’d send notice to someone named Clara.”
I grinned. Clara was the one I entrusted to keep North in check.
“He always said he couldn’t wait to go out and scare on his own. He knew he could help maintain his portion of the balance.”
A shift in the air made me stiffen and look around. No more time. “We have to head back. Chloe, we’re taking you to Italy. Let that sink in while we leave. Whatever you do, do not fall off the horse.” I whistled for Hessian. I helped Chloe into the saddle and got on behind her as I heard Onyx’s call behind me. Without another moment to spare we left through the shadows, entering the Void. I barely heard the start of a screech of frustration as the shadow closed behind us.
“Who the hell did Drago piss off?” I heard Chloe mutter.
I kept my gaze ahead as we traveled the Void towards home. “You’re going to learn a lot of things I wish you kids weren’t involved in.” I kept my hands tight on the reins. “So, first thing’s first…”
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Show Me That Glasgow Smile