ROTG: Wants and Needs 15

Choices

Why…?
Light’s vision blurred as she saw the snow fell with her toward the ground. Just a white swirl loomed above her as the gold sand faded into the darkness. It was all quiet, quiet like the snow. Then, out of the spiraling blizzard she could see face, masked in white, with beady eyes staring down at her with bright lights behind them. Who were these people…?
Then the falling stopped. Just as the darkness closed in on her gaze, she saw Jack’s face looking down at her. He was yelling something… yet his voice was lost to the void of slumber. No… he was going to get hurt again…
“Not as badly as Mim shall be…” the familiar voice permeated the dark abyss.
“Pitch!” Light yelled out. The echo bounced off every surface around her and reverberated painfully in her ears.
“Pitch!” Another voice dropped into the obscurity. It was a strong, familiar voice in her head. She had heard it before, in comforting words.
Suddenly the darkness swirled and collapsed in on itself until her gaze was occupied entirely by the moon in the sky. The feeling of grass against her cheeks brought her body back into its senses, and she lifted herself up. The old field rested in the pale moonlight.
“It’s about time we met, Mim…” Pitch’s voice came from behind her. Light turned to see Pitch staring down a small man across the field. He looked almost like a child standing there, yet he had the voice and face of a man. In his hand he held a staff that overwhelmed his height by a good three feet. Mim… Was that really him? He looked more like Sandy to her…
“Pitch, you can’t stop what’s coming…” Mim warned him
“Watch me.”
SWOOSH!!! Shadowy horses flew past her and charged over Pitch to head for Mim.
“Pitch, no!” Light yelled at him. She thought Pitch was just going to talk sense into Mim, not attack him. How was he controlling all those horses anyway?
Mim hardly moved to dodge the stallions. Rather, with a wave of his staff, he quickly disposed of most of the nightmares. Pitch was already moving to retaliate, generating a scythe of darkness and launching toward Mim. The two of them clashed back and forth with their weapons drawn. How Mim’s thin staff stood against such an intimidating scythe was beyond her.
“Stop it!” Light rushed over to them, not even thinking about how she could keep them from fighting. She had no weapon, no power at her grasp; yet still she charged toward them and leapt toward Pitch. A horse charged into her side before she could reach him, and she went spinning hard into the grass. With a moan, she looked up from the ground. The horses had surrounded her. Soon she’d meet the same fate as Jack before, and she was afraid.
“Jack…” she called out weakly. The word escaped her lips before she even realized what she was doing. She was the one trying to protect him, yet she still expected him to come… why? Was she really so helpless?
“Stand, my comrade.”
The voice coaxed her eyes open. The horses had vanished, and she saw the glowing figure of Mim standing just beside her, offering a hand to help her up. She took it, and got to her feet. She nearly towered over Mim, who looked up at her with large eyes and a sweet smile on his face.
“What happened to Pitch?” Light asked, looking around and finding him behind a veil of gold.
“Over here, love…” Pitch muttered, pacing slowly behind the barrier. He looked unnerved, but still fervent in his dark designs.
“He’s going to spend some time over there,” Mim noted, “While we have a talk that’s been long overdue.”
A talk… there was so much… so much she wanted to ask, wanted to say and yell and beg of him. Nothing would come out though. It wasn’t enough to ask Mim, she had to hear it from him first. Instead of initiating the talk, Light simply nodded and allowed Mim to proceed.
“We must make this quick though,” Mim started, “The barrier won’t keep him at bay for long.”
“Not long at all,” Pitch echoed menacingly, still pacing along the barrier.
Light looked back at Pitch, and then he was gone. The field beneath her had been replaced with concrete, along a sidewalk in the middle of a quiet suburb. She’d been there before… it was the town she’d taken Jack to before the guardians put them to sleep.
“Do you know where we are?” Mim asked.
“No, not really.”
“You used to live here.”
“Hahahaha!” Giggles spread through the air around them, and some girls went running down the street with fake fairy wings strapped to their backs. They spiraled around the sidewalks and lawns in the cul-de-sac and waved around plastic wands in the air.
“I’m the tooth fairy, give me your teeth!” A girl with curly-hair yelled, commanding the attention of the two other girls.
“No! Give me your teeth!” A shorthaired girl stood up to the curly-haired one.
Light looked on with sheer embarrassment. “Is that me?” She asked bashfully.
“Noooo…” Mim said playfully.
“Ow!” one of the girls cried out. Light turned back to the girls on the sidewalk and saw that one had fallen and scraped her knee against the concrete. “Why did you push me!?” she screamed with tears welling in her eyes.
“I’m sorry!!” the shorthaired girl apologized with tears in her eyes as well.
“Are you okay!?” Another voice came from across the street. Light turned to look at a quaint little house. On the porch stood a little girl wearing a white coat that dragged across the floor. The little girl waddled over to the others, a small lunch box with red tape laid out like a cross on the top in her hands. She wore a round, folded newspaper on her head and adjusted it with her free hand as she looked down at the girl lying on the ground.
“That’s you…” Mim piped sweetly and chuckled.
Light looked on with amazement. That was her as a child! She didn’t remember any of this.
The girl knelt down and observed the injury, then looked the girl in the eye and pouted cutely. “Don’t you worry, miss! I’m gonna fix you up quick!” She placed her lunch box on the ground and opened it up clumsily. From the inside, she pulled out a large bandage, peeled off the covers and pressed it against the girl’s knee, pressing it firmly until it was completely attached. “There ya go! Good as new.”
The girl’s continued to talk amongst themselves as Mim addressed her again. “You always loved dressing up as a nurse and fixing kids up. How very sweet.”
Light blushed. How did he know all this?
“Why don’t I remember this then?” Light asked, “What happened to my memories?”
“I borrowed them.” Mim answered.
“Borrowed?”
Mim sighed. “There were things you needed to know before I let you remember how you got here, why I awoke the powers inside you. I’m letting you see a peek of your memories now to let you take a look at your center.”
“What am I supposed to know now? I haven’t really learned anything since I woke up that first night, except maybe to be careful who I trust.”
“Some fault lies with me in that problem. I hadn’t intended for you to get tangled in the affairs of the guardians. Not yet. Then Jack found you, as did Pitch. When Pitch realized I was bringing you to this void as you slept, he took advantage of the fear left behind and took control of your body as a means to reach me here. I easily pushed him out the first time, but now his power has grown almost too much for me to keep at bay. The longer you sleep, the more powerful he gets.”
“Well then… what am I supposed to know now? What am I here for?”
Mim shook his head. “It’s not enough to tell you what must be done. I borrowed your memories in order to prepare you for something I didn’t offer the others: a choice.”
Choice? The choices she’d made so far had only gotten her into trouble. “What is my choice?”
“Do you remember the boy you saw on the lake with his sister?”
“Wasn’t that Jack? As a human?”
“Indeed. Jack died that day in the lake, but I brought him back to serve as a guardian, having seen the merit in his actions. I took his memories away because I did not want him to remember the pain of death and losing his family. Yet he suffered more at not having a past to look back on. And for that I was ashamed. And for this choice now I am even more ashamed.”
As Mim finished speaking, night descended suddenly upon the peaceful street. Trees that once sprinkled the outskirts of the neighborhood were replaced with more houses and shops. The street looked the worse for wear. The sound of giggles roused Light from the transition, and she turned to see a little girl like the others before. She was in her lawn throwing a Frisbee to her small dog.
“Good job, Floodle!” the girl cheered as the dog caught the Frisbee in the air. She looked so precious there playing with her pet. Light felt calm, peaceful. It was the most at peace she’d felt in awhile. She chuckled at the sight, and felt a startle as she heard another chuckle from behind them.
She saw a reflection of herself there. Where did this mirror come from? Wait a minute, that was her standing there on the sidewalk! Light stared at herself in disbelief, as the other her watched the young girl across the street. She had some books in her arms and a backpack fastened along her shoulders. Light looked down at Mim to look for some confirmation from him, but Mim’s smile was gone, replaced with a somber frown.
The other Light continued to watch the girl across the street with a short smile on her face. She looked tired, yet somewhat enlightened by the sight of a child’s innocent fun.
“Oh, you missed it Floodle!” the little girl cried out as the Frisbee went over the dog’s head and skidded into the middle of the street. The dog looked back at the street, and then lazily lied down in the grass instead of bothering to retrieve it himself. “You lazy dog!” the girl pointed at him accusingly. Then she decidedly stomped over the sidewalk and walked into the street.
Light looked to her other self again, who’s smile had drawn back into a look of utter fear. Her mouth opened up wide to yell out, but her body moved before any words manifested. Light turned back to look at the child, who’s body lit up on one side as bright lights zoomed in on her. The sound of a motor caught the girl’s attention, and she turned to see a car speeding toward her.
“LOOK OUT!” The other Light yelled, already halfway into the street. Light knew what came next, but couldn’t pull her eyes away. She had to see it happen. She had to know that this was her fate. Yet it didn’t happen. Mim pulled the image away before the scene played out. He felt it was enough to know, enough to fill in the gaps to know what happened to her before she came to be how she was now.
“So I saved that girl?” Light asked as Mim manipulated the darkness around him.
“Yes, you gave up your life in order to preserve another. A trait so very rare today in humanity, but precious still.”
“Is that why you made me this way? To protect children?”
“Yes and no… There is something of a greater importance to be resolved first.”
“Pitch?” Light asked bluntly.
Mim nodded and walked along with her through the shadows of the void. The darkness ahead of them swirled and shifted until fading outward into a plain overcast with thunderous clouds. The plain was alive with the clamor of yells and clashes of warriors dressed in gold armor. They fought against a giant shadowy beast that occupied almost the entire field.
“What is that!?” Light backed up, intimidated by the sheer size of the beast. Mim stood unphased by the animal before them. Rather he looked on with awe as a lone warrior stood in lead of the others, his armor shimmering bright against the dark sky. The beast was already standing on its last legs.
“This was always one of my favorite memories as a child,” Mim reflected on his nostalgia. Light looked on, surprised my Mim’s enthusiasm in the display. The warrior swung his sword and let down a might clash against the beast’s head, and the monster writhed under the blow. It’s shadowy legs receded slowly into itself, until it shrank down into a small shadow, the size of a man. The warrior grabbed hold of the beast and turned to his men, giving a cry for their victory. The men all cheered along with him and embraced one another in relief.
Light looked to Mim. “What just happened?”
“Long ago, humans reached an era of prosper and success, known as the Golden Age. They felt on top of the world, and pursued complete happiness. Yet one thing kept them tied firmly to the ground: fear. Fear of death, loss, and rejection isolated them. So they attempted to expel their fear. It turned to disaster though, as the fear manifested into the Fearling. It coalesced into a great nightmare and wreaked fear and dread upon the world; until those willing to overwhelm their fear stood up to the Fearling, as we just witnessed.”
“So they destroyed fear? How is that possible?”
“No, they weren’t able to destroy fear. To destroy fear would be to detach humans from their will to survive. The humans understood this well after having expelled it from themselves, yet still suffering in its wake. Instead, the warrior who felled the Fearling took watch over it in its imprisonment. I showed it to you once before.”
Their surroundings morphed again, pulling them into the darkness once more until flickers of light brought a dungeon into sight. She had been here before, in a dream. The cage sat in the middle of the dungeon, and the man she had seen before sat in a chair set just beside the spiraling staircase.  But the man, she could see his face now. It was Pitch sitting there! His skin was a pale white against the gold armor. His eyes were sunken into his head from exhaustion, and he felt at a locket around his neck.
“Pitch got out!” Light cried out. Mim held up his hand to stay her there.
“No, Pitch does not exist yet. Before you sits Kozmostis Pitchener, the hero of the Golden Age. He was the one I modeled the Guardians after.  I looked up to him as a child… Well, technically down, since I lived on the moon. But you get what I mean…”
Pitchener… Pitch must have been short for Pitchener. So what was the difference between this Pitch and the Pitch that was threatening everyone now?
“What happened to him?” Light asked.
“A terrible thing…” Mim replied sadly.
“Papa?” a familiar voice chimed in the dark dungeon. Pitchener looked up at the cage, a revived sense of life sparkling in his eyes.
“Elisa?” Pitchener called back weakly. He arose from the chair and walked toward the cell, still clutching to the locket. Inside the prison, the dark creature Light had assumed would rest there was gone, and only the girl that had haunted her dreams stood there, looking up a Pitchener with fake tears in her eyes.
“Papa… I’m scared…”
“Elisa…” Pitchener’s hollow form trudged over to the door of the cell, and he held himself up with the bars.
“What’s he doing?” Light looked to Mim spastically. “That’s the Fearling, not some girl!”
“That’s his daughter. The Fearling took the form of his only child to trick Kozmostis into releasing him. Then…”
Light turned back to Pitchener who was staring down at a golden key in his hand.
“No!” Light ran to pull him away from the door. Even though she knew this was in the past, she couldn’t help but move to stop him. She didn’t want to see what would happen to him, a father trying to protect his child. It was too late though. The key turned the tumblers and as the lock disengaged, the Fearling burst forth from the cell and devoured Pitchener in a cloud of darkness, which slowly collapsed around him. His arms pushed through the blanketing shadows until they shaped to his figure, forming a veiled robe against his body. The figure that remained had skin dark like the night sky and eyes that shined gold, like a cat. Pitch had been born. And in the darkness he had created, Pitch vanished just as quickly as he had appeared.
“Where did he go?!” Light turned back to Mim.
“To seek his vengeance upon the world that cast him out.”
“We have to help Pitchener!”
“That’s what we’re going to do.”
The dungeon was gone. A bright white room housed them now. It smelled like burning antiseptic that reminded her of death. She could see a window looking down onto a small set of trees behind the building.
“What are we doing here? I thought we were going to help Pi…” Light turned to look for Mim, but stopped short when she saw the bed sitting in the middle of the room. Mim stood next to the woman staring down at the girl lying in the bed. Upon approach, Light recognized her shattered body lying there in convalescence. The beeps along the monitor matched with her heartbeat. She was still alive! That car hadn’t killed her! But if she were lying there still alive, then how was she here with Mim now? Mim stepped away from the woman and approached Light again.
“I’m… alive…” Light muttered past her disbelief.
“It’s time to know your choice, Halie.”
Halie… that was her name. How could she have forgotten it… how the kids at school used to call her “Hay” for short. It all started coming back to her. The early mornings waking up for school. Feeling happy when she got to recess. Feeling ecstatic when she received her letter of acceptance for nursing school. How her mother cried at her graduation. It was overwhelming how much she had forgotten.
“You can go back to all of that.” Mim said softly.
Light simply looked at him, trying to pull away from the summer days relaxing on campus… Mim sighed sadly and looked back at the girl lying in the bed.
“Since  you woke up that day in the woods, I have been maintaining your presence in the void between life and death. Your will to live has kept you alive thus far, but it has been long, and that will is fading. I can put you back here, in your human form, if that is what you wish.”
“But what about the other guardians? What about Pitch?”
“That is the other option in your choice today. If you decide to aid me in freeing Pitch, I shall deem you as a Guardian, and you shall serve to protect the children of this world.”
“But I can’t be human again?”
“No. Once I close the void, you’ll have to be on one side or the other. Once on that side, you cannot return to the other.”
“So you’re making me choose between my own life and Pitch’s? Why me!?” Light was yelling at him now. So much anger welled up inside her. “What’s so great about me that I can save him?!”
“I don’t know…” Mim admitted. Light just glared at him. Was he playing with her? “I don’t know why, but I feel that you’re the one I’ve been looking for. The one that can reach Pitchener through the darkness. I can feel it… in my belly, as North would say.”
“Why do you even offer me this choice then!? If you trusted so much in my ability, you would know my choice already. What kind of torture are you putting me through?”
“I will not take a life in order to save another. As long as you’re still holding onto your life here in humanity, I cannot force you to be a guardian. This is something you have to choose.”
Light sighed with frustration and stomped over to the window. She was so angry. She wasn’t angry at Mim… She was angry at herself, for knowing exactly what she would choose already. It didn’t even require any second thought. All that dragged her down were the regrets of leaving the people she cared about here without letting them know why. Especially her mother, who was lying there next to her as she slowly died. It can’t end like that.
“Mim,” Light broke the silence of her brood.
“Yes?”
“I’ll help you. But you have to give me a last few minutes with my mother before I return to the Guardians. Can you do that?”
Mim pondered over the condition, weighing his ability to her request. “I should be able to manage it. Is this your final decision?”
“Yes…” Light said without hesitation.
“It’s about time!” Pitch’s voice permeated the room like a clap of thunder. The walls began to peel away around them. The bed and her mother disappeared in the clutter. The tile popped up with grass and trees emerged from the soil. The field from before welcomed them once again, and Pitch stared them down through the cracks in the golden barrier. “It’s about time you got back. You would not believe the show you’ve missed outside. The Guardians hardly stand a chance against you,” Pitch teased Light at a distance.
“What did you do?!” Light ran up to the barrier and glared at him.
“I think the question is,” Pitch got up close to the barrier, where without it they would have been just an inch apart, “what are you doing, right now? While you’re in here strolling down memory lane with Mim, you’re also out there beating the living daylights out of your precious Guardians. Jack’s just barely keeping you and the Guardians from killing each other. He’ll probably be the first to fall.”
“No!” Light pushed herself away from the barrier and left Pitch there to feast on her fear. “Mim, can’t we do something?”
“As long as you remain asleep among the Guardians, Pitch will keep controlling you and using your fear to spawn more nightmares. Once you wake up, it’ll cut him off.”
“Can you help them until I get back?”
Mim looked over at Pitch, who smiled devilishly at them as the barrier took another crack. “I can take a hit at it, but that means less time for you back with your mother.”
“I understand. Just please help them.”
Mim nodded, “You got it, Halie.”
“No,” Light cut him off, “That’s Light to you. Only my mother can call me Halie.”
Pitch chuckled, “Good luck with that, Halie…”