"And then, when we thought we were too late, there was Jack with Jamie! He'd come back! And he got the kids to believe again!"
Sandy clapped silently in excitement as Tooth recounted what had happened while he'd been out of commission. Everyone laughed and smiled as she told the tale; North was lounging in his big red armchair, Bunny was leaning against the wall with a sly grin, Tooth hovered in the air animatedly while Sandy sat on the floor looking up at her and listening like a child would to a bedtime story.
Jack was not grinning.
Jack was not laughing.
He was sitting on the window sill, as far away from the roaring fireplace as he could manage while still being in the large sitting room of Santoff Claussen. He had his arms crossed and he was frowning.
When Tooth stopped talking, Sandy got up off the floor and gracefully hovered up to Tooth's level. He created sand pictures above his head of a closing book and then a question mark.
"Yep, that's the whole story. That's when you came back, Sandy," said Tooth, "You know what happened from there. Now you know everything."
Sandy frowned and shook his head.
"Nah, mate, Sheila's right," said Bunny, "She covered everything."
"Da," North agreed, "Zhat is all of it, right Jack?"
Jack didn't answer.
"Jack?" The four Guardians seemed to realize that Jack was actually nowhere near them, and it was Bunny who saw the Winter Spirit first.
"You all right, Frostbite?" he inquired, taking in Jack's melancholy expression.
"Yeah, that's everything," said Jack sarcastically. "You guys pretty much covered it all."
"Jack, what's wrong?" asked Tooth, her smile fading.
"Nothing," Jack sighed. "See you guys later."
"Frostbite, what are ye–Oi, where're ye goin'? Come on, Frostbite! Jack!" Bunny tried to call the Winter Spirit back, but Jack was already out the window.
"I don't understand what's wrong," Tooth said anxiously as she stared out the window with worry. "Do you think we should go after him, North?"
Sandy created sand pictures of a cracked egg, a snowflake, and a map with a question mark on it.
"We told you, Sandy, Jack went after his memories and lost Baby Tooth in the process," said Bunny, frowning at the reminder that his Warren had been practically destroyed. "He could have easily helped us destroy Pitch's nightmares in the tunnels, but he wasn't there."
Sandy made a picture of a mouth, a snowflake, and a book.
"What do ye mean, what was Jack's side of the story?" Bunny asked, irritated. "We know what happened; he went after his bloody memories, that's what happened!" He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "But I've forgiven him for it, because he came back an' he helped us defeat Pitch."
Sandy looked furious now; pictures flit above his head so fast that none of them even had a chance to decipher what was being said.
"Sandy–Sandy–Ve don't know vhat you're saying, Sandy!" said North, taken aback.
Sandy pointed furiously at Bunny, then made a question mark above his head, then pointed out the window that Jack had recently just left through.
"What do ye bloody mean? I didn't do anythin'! I was angry, so I yelled at 'im a bit, but–"
Sandy was the one who felt like yelling now; but being the Sandman, he had to settle with second best. He conjured up a load of dream sand and hurled it at all three of the remaining Guardians in the room. He did not bother to slow their decent to North's hardwood floors.
How could they not have asked for Jack's side of the story? The reason Jack was upset was so obvious to Sandy, but then again, he saw things that others didn't. But that was no excuse. He had to fix this. He knew that Jack would not betray them as Bunny had said… he knew it, but he needed to convince the others, and he couldn't do that without knowing what happened.
Tooth Palace, he considered, the place of memories. He walked over to North who had golden sand reindeer floating around his head. He reached into the big man's pocket and pulled out one of his snow globes.
xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx
Jack flew out of Santoff Claussen fuming at the words of his fellow Guardians. They told all of those lies to Sandy, the one who he might have been able to get to believe him, but the other Guardians had gotten to him first. Jack had wanted to talk to Sandy alone, to ask him for his advice and to explain himself, but Tooth got so carried away with the story that he never got the chance.
He flew at top speed, not paying attention to where he was going, just trying to let the brutally cold wind wipe his thoughts away…
He shouldn't have been surprised to find himself back in Burgess. He landed on his pond and found himself unable to sit still. He was so restless, and so tired; he was so, so very tired of everything. He was tired of being accused, ignored, and yelled at. It was just like last time, just like the Blizzard of '68. Nobody cared to listen to his point of view, because everything he does has to be on purpose, he screws everything up, on purpose.
What did they think he was, a selfish idiot? Jack had been so scared that night of 68… Then there was Bunny, and Jack had been so happy, so relieved to finally have somebody there for him–but Bunny had not come with the comforting words and the hope that he was so well known for. He'd come with anger and accusations.
Jack shook his head. Bunny wasn't really like that. If Bunny knew the real story, he would have acted differently. Jack was sure of this, because he knew Bunny now, and he liked Bunny. He genuinely and legitimately enjoyed the Kangaroo's company.
If Bunny knew the real story… but Bunny would never know the real story, because Bunny never listened to Jack.
Nobody ever listened to Jack.
"Oh, this is just divine."
Jack felt a chill run down his back and he stiffened. This was not possible… how could this be possible…
"It has yet to be a full day since you became a Guardian, and already the emotions rolling off of you are strong enough to summon my presence. Tell me, are the Guardians not treating you well?"
Jack turned around, a death grip on his staff, "What do you want, Pitch?"
xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx
It took Sandy longer than he would have hoped, but he finally found the room of Immortals in Tooth's palace. It was small and unbecoming, it had to be, because nobody but the Guardians were supposed to know about it. Every immortal had a box. They varied in size and form, but they were all there. Sandy searched for a box with Jack's face on it and was surprised at what he found; it was small, no bigger than a shoe box, but it weighed a lot, more than it should, as if the memories inside were so heavy to carry. Suddenly Sandy doubted his stroke of brilliance; Jack would not want anybody poking into his memories.
There was a moan from outside the door. Making up his mind, Sandy took the box outside.
Tooth was the first to wake, and she looked around in confusion at her home. "What? Why're we… Sandy, what are you doing with that?" she asked, eyes wide.
Sandy just looked at her sternly, a picture of a snowflake appearing above his head.
"Is that Jack's box?" she asked quietly, looking paler than usual.
Sandy nodded.
"This is a huge invasion of privacy," she said slowly.
Sandy shook his head and held up a finger. He made a picture first of a cracked egg, then an equal sign, then the outline of a nightmare. He made a picture of a snowflake with a large X over it.
"I know it wasn't Jack's fault, Sandy," Tooth said miserably. "You're right, it was Pitch, but Jack still made a mistake, he shouldn't have left for his memories–"
Sandy pictured a stop sign and Tooth shut up.
It was then that North and Bunny both began to regain consciousness. Like Tooth, their eyes were immediately drawn to the box. Bunny sighed and North frowned, but the expression on Sandy's face was not one that could be argued with.
"Those are Jacks?" asked North cautiously, and Sandy nodded.
"I don't think this is a good idea, mate," said Bunny cautiously. "He's really not going ta appreciate this if he finds out. What's the point, anyway? We already know what happened."
Sandy pictured a boy with a growing nose.
"What, you think we don't know what happened?" he asked, affronted. "You weren't even there, mate!"
Sandy pointed at the box.
Bunny sighed, "Fine."
Sandy lifted the lid.
xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx
"What do I want?" Pitch repeated calmly. He was in bad shape, Jack noted, but surely he should be a bit worse, considering the nightmares that had dragged him away. "Oh, I want so many things, Jack."
Jack stared, body tense. "How are you here?"
Pitch laughed, a loud booming sound, and he seemed genuinely amused. "What, did you think my nightmares would destroy me? Rough me up a bit? Did you think that, after our fight yesterday, I would be so weak that I could not leave my hole? So naïve."
Jack bristled.
Pitch laughed again, subtly moving closer. "You and your precious Guardians destroyed my forces of nightmares, yes. You beat me in a fight, yes. You even managed to restore belief to the children of Burgess." Pitch loomed over him. "But Burgess is such a small town," he said quietly, "and the world is a very big place. Sandy's dream sand didn't fix everything. I still have believers elsewhere, and the Guardians, while not nearly as helpless as I would like them to be, are not yet returned to full strength."
"But… your nightmares," said Jack. "You were afraid. How–? Why didn't they–"
"It was a moment of weakness," he said bitterly. "I found myself horribly outmatched, and there were so few of my nightmares left that I couldn't hope to stand a chance against you and the Guardians. Oh, don't worry, they were… horribly punished for their moments of disloyalty."
Jack took a step back.
Pitch grinned as the waves of emotions rolled off of Jack, empowering him, making him stronger. "You asked me what I want, Jack. Would you believe that all I want from you is a simple piece of revenge?"
Jack's eyes widened in panic and fear as tendrils of nightmare sand attacked from behind. His staff was ripped out of his hands as a strand of the black sand snaked its way around his neck, lifting him off of the ground even as he struggled to breathe.
Pitch laughed again, and Jack was terrified.
xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx
The four Guardians waited as their surroundings turned white. Soon enough, they heard a voice and the white fog around them began to dissipate, slowly revealing their surroundings.
Jack was flying in the night with Baby Tooth at his side when–
"Jack!" the voice was soft, like an echo.
Jack looked around, startled, a strange expression coming onto his face. "That voice… I know that voice…" The Guardians watched as Jack flew off after the sound and a very worried looking Baby Tooth followed.
Jack landed on the roof of a house, looking around frantically, almost as if it was out of his control.
Realization came upon Tooth in a wave. "Oh no," she whispered. "No, no, no, no…"
"What?" asked Bunny. "What is it?"
"Oh, I feel like such an idiot. Jack never went looking for his memories. His memories are looking for him."
Jack took off of the roof like a rocket as the voice pierced the air again. "Jack!"
Bunny's brow furrowed, "You mean… those are his memories calling him?"
Tooth nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "He never meant to… He never would have meant to…"
"Jack?" the voice called again as Jack raced through the forest and found an abandoned bed on the ground.
"Is that what I think it is?" asked Bunny faintly, recognizing Pitch's lair.
"This wasn't Jack's fault at all," whispered Tooth in horror. "Pitch must have lured him away so his nightmares could attack the Warren."
"But," said Bunny, "that means he had no idea, so when I yelled at 'im…" Bunny was suddenly swelling with an impossible amount of guilt. "Oh God, I yelled at 'im, Tooth. I practically blamed it all on 'im. An' I scared 'im away. I was... I scared 'im..."
They watched as an infatuated Jack approached the bed, waving a scared Baby Tooth away with a "Don't worry, there's still time."
"Don't let him go in there, Baby Tooth," Tooth whished quietly. "Stop him."
Jack stood over the bed, looking down the hole beneath it. He broke away jagged pieces of wood blocking the hole with the end of his staff.
"Ve are 'orrible Guardians," North said in a sad tone. "Ve can't even protect von of our own."
"Jack?" said the voice, clearly emanating from the hole. Baby Tooth looked positively terrified, but Jack was in a sort of trans. Without thinking twice, Jack descended.
"Is he a bloody idiot?" Bunny asked, concern lacing his tone. "Doesn't he know that this is where Pitch–"
"No," said Tooth sadly. "He'd never met Pitch before, remember?"
"Baby Tooth, come on!" said Jack, sounding annoyed. "I have to find out what that is!"
Then they saw all of the cages hanging, filled with little fairies. A strangled sort of noise escaped the back of Tooth's throat when she saw them. They began chirping as they saw Jack approach.
"Keep it down," Jack pleaded, "I'm gonna get you outta here just as soon as–"
"Jack?" the voice called again.
"He was going to help them," said Tooth.
Sandy watched on alert, growing nervous. This was Pitch's lair, so where was Pitch?
"Jack!" called the voice.
"I can…" Jack finished his earlier sentence, flying away from the cages in a daze, towards the disembodied voice.
The teeth canisters were all piled in a heap of gold on the floor. Jack rummaged through them with panic in his eyes, his want to know, his need to find out who he once was nearly overpowering him.
"Aw, look at 'im," said Bunny brokenly.
"Looking for something?"
"Pitch!" Tooth squealed as Jack immediately shot a bout of frost with almost no thought on his part. "Jack was alone with Pitch. Why didn't he tell us–"
Bunny's ears drooped back on his head. "Why would he, after all the horrible things I said to 'im?"
Pitch had easily dodged Jack's frost attack and disappeared into the shadows. They watched holding their breath as Jack searched for Pitch, who was laughing quietly in the shadows.
"Don't be afraid, Jack," said Pitch. "I'm not gonna hurt you."
"Afraid?" Jack asked, "I'm not afraid of you," he said as he spotted Pitch and slowly walked toward him with his staff raised in front of him.
"Maybe not," Pitch admitted. "But you are afraid of something."
"You think so, huh?" asked Jack doubtfully as he moved even closer.
"I know so," said Pitch incredulously, "It's the one thing I always know, people's greatest fears." Pitch then looked directly at Jack and mocked, "Yours is that no one will ever believe in you." He started moving forward, and Jack, uncertain, moved back. Pitch enveloped him in shadow, and Jack cried out in fear as he was suddenly plunging downward. He landed on the ground, quickly scrambling to find his staff in the dark. When his hands finally curled around the familiar wood, he shot to his feet and spun around, searching for a sign of the Boogieman who was once again out of sight. "And worst of all, you're afraid you'll never know why."
The Guardians drew in a breath as one, terrified out of their minds as they watched their youngest member's terror grow.
"Why you? Why were you chosen to be like this?"
Jack was backed against a wall, looking around in frantic motions as he breathed heavily. Pitch materialized out of the shadows in front of him, and Jack pressed himself back against the wall, his eyes wide.
"Well, fear not, for the answer to that, is right here," and Pitch held out Jack's memories.
"It was a trap," whispered Tooth. "Pitch knew Jack could destroy his Nightmares."
"So he got 'im out of the way," said Bunny softly.
Jack stared at the memory container in shock and longing. "Do you want them, Jack?" Pitch asked. "Your memories?"
Jack slowly reached his hand out, but hesitated, and Pitch took the opportunity to retract the memories and disappear again. The conflict on Jack's face was devastating. Pitch laughed, and Jack tried to follow, flying after him.
"Everything you wanted to know… in this little box," taunted Pitch, before laughing again. "Why did you end up like this; unseen, unable to reach out to anyone? You want the answers so badly, you want to grab them and fly off with them, but you're afraid. Afraid of what the Guardians will think. You're afraid of disappointing them." Pitch raised his voice, multiple shadows of himself circling the boy who turned on the spot, trying to find him. "Well let me ease your mind about one thing. They'll never accept you. Not really."
Jack backed away with wide eyes. He clutched his head, as if to block out Pitch's unwanted voice which resonated from everywhere. "Stop it… Stop it, STOP IT!" he cried.
Bunny looked broken as he watched the words take hold of the winter spirit. Tooth was crying silently as North could only look on in shock. Sandy felt an overwhelming sorrow and almost left the memory right then and there to find his newest friend.
"After all, you aren't one of them," said Pitch, showing himself again, walking towards Jack who angrily turned to face him and raised his staff in defense.
"You don't know what I am!" he said angrily.
"Of course I do!" Pitch said indignantly. "You're Jack Frost, you make a mess wherever you go. Why, you're doing it right now," he said before tossing Jack his memories who caught it with a surprised hand.
Realization slowly crept onto Jack's face. "What did you do?"
"You miss the point Jack. What did you do?" he asked with a smile as he backed into the shadows yet again.
Jack let out a cry of rage and leapt after him but was met with a solid door. He looked around, noticing an absence as he cried, "Baby Tooth!"
"Happy Easter, Jack." Pitch's voice resonated as Jack looked down and noticed the trail of broken Easter eggs.
"No…" Jack muttered.
The Guardians watched in a daze as Jack returned to the Warren and got scolded by a very angry Bunny.
The real Bunny, the current Bunny, couldn't stop hearing their own words echoing over and over in his head, 'That's why you weren't here? You were with Pitch?' and 'We never should have trusted you!' He had said that last one…
Sandy watched in growing disappointment as each of the Guardians turned away from Jack.
And Jack flew. He was distraught and scared, and it tore them apart. They could only imagine what he was thinking. He ended up in the frozen wasteland that was Antarctica and ran to the edge of a cliff to heave his memories as far as he could.
Tooth gaped, bringing her hands to her mouth. The memories that teeth held were precious and to be protected, and Jack had wanted them more than anything else. But as determined as he was, he couldn't make himself release the memories. Instead he lowered his head and shut his eyes in defeat.
"I thought this might happen."
Bunny's ears fell flat against his head. What the hell was Pitch doing there? He snarled as he turned to face the Boogeyman, wishing more than anything that he were actually there so he could tear the bastard apart. Each step closer the Boogeyman advanced towards the Guardian of Fun made Bunny's hair bristle.
"They never really believed in you."
Tooth shook her head. "Don't believe him, Jack," she pleaded quietly, even though she knew the broken spirit couldn't hear. "Don't listen."
"I was just trying to show you that."
"He is manipulating him," said North in growing anger and concern.
"But I understand."
Bunny took a nervous step forward as Jack launched himself at Pitch with a furious and somehow desperate yell, "You don't understand anything!"
They flinched with each blow that fell as the two fought furiously. "I don't know what it's like to be cast out?" asked Pitch. "To not be believed in? To long for… a family?"
Jack stopped and relaxed his stance almost against his will as his expression turned to one of shock.
Bunny growled. He hadn't understood what Jack must have been feeling for 300 years alone, not believed in; but after yesterday, when that child ran straight through him... and it had hurt... he thought he had some idea.
"All those years in the shadows and I thought no one else knows what this feels like. But now I see I was wrong. You don't have to be alone Jack. I believe in you. And I know children will too."
Sandy's eyes widened as he realized what Pitch was doing.
"Can you imagine what would've happened if Jack had joined Pitch?" Bunny asked quietly.
"We would have lost," Tooth said in a whisper. "We would have lost everything."
"In me?" The hope and longing in Jack's voice was another eye opener. There was Pitch, offering Jack everything he had ever wanted, and Jack had said no… he must have said no, because Jack had helped them, the Guardians who had cast him aside, instead. His faith in them while they had held none in him was… unexpected. And painful.
"Yes!" Pitch cried. "Look at what we can do? What goes better together than cold and dark? We'll make them believe! We'll give them a world where everything– everything– is–"
"Pitch Black?"
Pitch's smile froze on his face, realizing his mistake. "And Jack Frost too," he said, trying to make it up, "They'll believe in both of us."
"No," said Jack angrily, "They'll fear both of us. And that's not what I want." Jack began walking away. "Now for the last time, leave me alone."
Jack, with his back turned, did not see the scowl creeping onto Pitch's face.
"Crikey," muttered Bunny, knowing that Pitch was about to try something. "Run, Jack. Get out of there."
"Very well. You want to be left alone? Done. But first…" Pitch lifted his arm and held out Baby Tooth, who was squeaking and writhing in Pitch's tight grip.
Tooth screamed the same time as Jack, "Baby Tooth!"
Jack shot forward, readying his staff, wanting to attack, yet unable to with Baby Tooth in such a precarious position.
"The staff, Jack," demanded Pitch.
The Guardians froze. Jack looked dumbfounded.
"You have a bad habit of interfering," Pitch explained. If Jack wouldn't join him, he would take him out of commission. "Now hand it over, and I'll let her go."
"Do you think he'll do it?" Bunny asked, watching warily.
Sandy nodded sadly.
Baby Tooth shook her head frantically, and Tooth managed a small smile.
Jack looked at his staff, furious, before flipping it around and handing it to Pitch. The white frost vanished along with Jack's touch. "Now let her go," he ordered with a glare.
"No."
Bunny winced.
Jack looked shocked, honestly not having expected Pitch to go back on his word.
"You said you wanted to be alone, so be alone!"
Baby Tooth was furious. She stabbed Pitch with as much force as her little body could muster. The Guardians' cheers of appreciation quickly turned to ones of horror as Pitch whipped Baby Tooth with all of his strength into a wall of ice, where she squeaked and fell into the crevice.
"NO!" Jack's scream tore at them, and what happened next shocked them all into the next world.
Pitch brought up his knee and snapped Jack's staff in half.
Jack screamed and grabbed at his chest as he felt a horrible burning pain, as if he were being torn apart from the inside. The Guardians could hardly breathe through their terror.
Before Jack even had a chance to recover, before he could do anything, Pitch sent a wave of black nightmare sand at him, knocking him hard against the ice before he fell down into the gorge. He hit the ground and didn't move for one long horrifying moment.
Bunny seethed as Pitch threw the two broken halves of Jack's staff down after him, laughing, before turning away, potentially leaving Jack to die. There was a strange sensation in his chest, and Bunny didn't know what it was at first, but when he looked at Jack who was moving, thank God he was moving, he knew: he was worried. Him, Bunny, worrying over Jack Frost.
"Did anyone think to check Jack over for injuries?" he asked softly.
Tooth looked up, "No," she said, "I thought, if he were injured, he would have said…"
"I thought so too," said Bunny with a shake of his head. ""I'm startin' ta' think we were wrong."
"Baby Tooth!" Jack cried in worry as he scooped her into his pale hands. "Are you all right?"
Baby Tooth curled into a ball and shivered, and Jack seemed to visibly deflate as he let defeat claim him. "Sorry," he said sadly, "All I can do is keep you cold." Jack slumped back against the ice wall, "Pitch was right…" he said softly, "I make a mess of everything."
"I can't believe it…" Bunny muttered as the memory ended and faded away, returning them to their surroundings of Tooth Palace. "He gave up. Pitch got to 'im, after everything."
A stubborn tear ran down Tooth's face and she clumsily wiped it away with the back of her hand. "We were so horrible to him, North!" she whispered.
North looked down and nodded. "Ve 'vere."
Sandy just stared in shock at the now closed box. How had Jack fixed his staff? Why had he come back to help when he had been cast out? He had so many questions, so many things that he needed to know. He needed to talk to Jack.
"Well you guys were all right," Bunny muttered in self loathing. "I was so terrible to 'im. I yelled at him. Crikey, I almost hit him… I was just–I was so angry–I didn't know what to do with myself–bloody hell, I really screwed up this time. I didn't realize it before; I didn't see how scared he was when he came back to us…Why the hell didn't I see?"
Sandy created a sand snowflake above his head.
They all agreed. They needed to find Jack. Now. They needed to find him, and they needed to apologize.
It was with a sickening feeling that Bunny concluded that maybe Jack had been accused of a lot of things that he didn't do… that for 300 years, nobody would listen to him. We're here now, Jack, he thought desperately as North pulled out a snow globe. We're here now, and you can tell us anything, and I promise that we'll listen this time. I'll listen. I promise.
xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx
The nightmare sand had torn Jack's staff away from him and held him in a deadly grip around his neck as he struggled to breathe. The sand lifted his feet off of the ground, completely cutting off his air. Jack frantically tried to pry the sand away from him as he kicked and thrashed in its hold. Pitch just laughed; Jack's staff now in his possession as he twirled it in his hands.
Jack's terror grew as he clawed at his neck, trying to get in a breath. Pitch inhaled deeply as he felt the fear strengthening him, empowering him. Gradually, Jack's movements began to slow. His eyes drooped, and his arms dropped to his sides.
Pitch didn't want the Winter Spirit dying on him just yet. The sands let go of their suffocating hold on Jack's neck and fluidly split into two strands, each claiming one of Jack's thin wrists. They spread his arms outward, tight to the point that it was painful. His feet were once again planted on the ground. His breaths came in desperate and painful gasps.
"This is a sight I could get used to," said Pitch. "Jack Frost, unarmed and restrained before me. The possibilities are endless."
Jack flinched back as Pitch was suddenly in front of him, lifting his chin and forcing him to look into those cruel, golden eyes.
"You told me once that you weren't afraid of me, Jack," said Pitch softly. "I beg to differ. I feel your fear."
Jack stared back in defiance.
"You can't hide it from me, Jack," Pitch whispered in his ear, making him shiver. "Like I said before; it's the one thing I always know." He backed away and examined Jack's staff. "I do believe I remember breaking this… Odd…"
"No, don't–"
Pitch snapped the staff over his knee.
Jack let out a cry as the pain washed over him. Pitch smirked as Jack panted, sweat appearing on his brow. He swiftly moved forward and placed a hand on Jack's forehead, grinning when he felt not cold, but heat.
"You seem to be getting a bit of a fever, Jack," he mocked. "The Guardians really aren't treating you well."
Jack groaned.
Pitch fisted a clump of Jack's snow-white hair and yanked his head back. "Where are your precious Guardians now?" he asked. "Why aren't they here when you need them?" He let go and took a step back. "Where are they, Jack?"
Jack refused to look at that stupid, smug expression on Pitch's face. He stared determinedly at the ground, lying to himself, telling himself that the Guardians were on their way.
Pitch circled Jack, passing through the nightmare sand that restrained him as if it were air. He tossed the two halves of his staff to the ground. "So many possibilities," he said in delight. He stopped in front of Jack yet again and lifted his hand slowly towards the struggling spirit. His hand wrapped around Jack's neck, applying a slight pressure; not enough to cut off all air, but enough to make breathing more than uncomfortable.
Pitch grinned as he watched Jack struggle. Experimenting, he tightened his grip, making Jack's eyes widen. He savored the radiating fear before letting him go and the boy began gasping again.
He caught Jack looking longingly at the two pieces of his staff that lay on the ground. He reached down and picked the halves back up, grinning to himself as he saw Jack stiffen. "What's the matter Jack?" he asked in mock concern. "Don't want me to do this?"
Pitch snapped both halves again, leaving four quarters.
Jack screamed. He drooped against the nightmare sand holding him up, it now being the only thing keeping him on his feet. He panted, clenching his eyes shut.
Pitch motioned for his sand to release the winter spirit, who dropped to the ground like a stone. He watched as Jack clenched his teeth and curled himself into a ball, clutching at his stomach, trying to ease the agony. He made a motion to get up, but only made it to his hands and knees before he collapsed again with a groan. He turned his head and looked up at Pitch with watery eyes, blinking slowly.
The sight really was pitiful.
Pitch picked Jack up by the front of his hoodie, the sudden movement causing the boy to cry out. "Jack Frost," he said softly. "Forsaken by his friends. All alone. Not believed in. Uncared for. Unwanted. Unloved."
Jack growled, struggling weakly.
"The Guardians don't care about you Jack. They didn't spare you a second glance these past 300 years; why would that change now?"
"You… You're wrong, Pitch," said Jack hoarsely.
"Am I?" he chuckled. "Then why aren't they here?" he paused to let that sink in. "They don't want you."
"The hell we don't!"
xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx
"Vhere could Jack be?" asked North.
"This isn't working; we need ta split up," Bunny suggested.
North frowned, not liking the idea, but agreed. Sandy and Tooth were to search Antarctica, figuring that he may return there. North opted to go back to the North Pole and search there in case Jack had returned. Bunny decided to search in the small town of Burgess.
He tapped his foot twice on the ground, causing a hole to appear out of nowhere. He jumped down and raced through the tunnels. He knew that he was fast, but still he cursed the time that it took for him to reach Burgess.
He searched the town. He even asked Jamie if he had seen Jack. Jamie immediately looked excited and asked if Jack was supposed to stop by, which gave Bunny his answer.
He decided to search the woods before reporting back to North.
As he neared the heart of the woods Bunny felt the temperature steadily grow colder and knew that he was getting close. He sniffed the air, hoping to catch the scent of the winter spirit, but froze when he smelt not only Jack, but fear. He proceeded forward with caution, ears erect and listening for anything out of sorts.
He stiffened when he heard a voice that made his hand instantly twitch towards his boomerang.
"The Guardians don't care about you Jack. They didn't spare you a second glance these past 300 years; why would that change now?"
In all unlikelihood it was Pitch. Pitch was alone with Jack again. Remembering painfully what had transpired the last two times that Jack and Pitch had been alone, Bunny crept forward quickly.
"You… You're wrong, Pitch," said Jack, his voice weak.
Bunny felt his fur stand on end when he finally saw them. Nightmare sand littered the ground around them, and Pitch held a weak and trembling and terrified Jack Frost. Bunny was dumbfounded by the amount of fear that was assaulting his nose, and he could guess that it wasn't Pitch's.
"Am I?" he chuckled. "Then why aren't they here?" he paused to let that sink in. "They don't want you."
"The hell we don't!" Bunny spat angrily, pulling out his boomerang in a swift stroke.
Pitch swung around and narrowed his eyes. "Rabbit," he acknowledged. "How're your eggs doing?"
"Don't play with me, Pitch," Bunny growled threateningly. "Let Jack go."
"I don't think I will, actually," said Pitch with an air of disinterest.
"Pitch," demanded Bunny.
Pitch maneuvered so that Jack was between himself and Bunny, acting as a shield in case the Pooka warrior decided to do anything rash. "I don't understand," said Pitch. "You're ordering me around like you are actually in a position of control." He shook Jack a little for emphasis and spoke on through Jack's cry of pain at the movement, "I believe that I hold all of the cards here, Rabbit. The only card that matters, anyway."
"Jack?" said Bunny in a gentler voice, "Jack, you're gonna be okay. Do ya hear me, ya gumby? I promise, you're gonna be okay."
"A bit late for that, Rabbit," said Pitch in annoyance, "Finders keepers. Don't make promises you can't keep."
"Pitch, ya stinkin' rat-bag, I oughtta–"
"Yes, yes, enough with the empty threats. Truth is you can't do anything; not while I have him."
Bunny stood rigid with fury but didn't dare release the boomerangs that he so longed to let fly. "Let 'im go."
Pitch made a mockingly thoughtful expression, "Hmm, no, I don't think I will. You see, this boy is the real reason I lost yesterday." His voice turned venomous with loathing. "Not you, not the other Guardians, but this boy right here. I think it's about high time that he paid for it."
"Jack hasn't done anythin' to deserve–"
"He has done everything," Pitch spat. "And he deserves every last thing that I am going to do to him."
"You are not gonna lay one more finger on 'im," Bunny growled.
"No? And just what's going to stop me? What's to stop me from, oh, I don't know, breaking his leg? Or his arm? I could, you know. I could do it right now. And there is nothing you can do. Because if you try anything, if you take even one step closer, I'll end him before your boomerang ever even has a chance of reaching me."
"You kill him, it will take more than what's left of your nightmares to scrape what's left of you off the ground."
"You speak as though his death is in any way an acceptable outcome for you," said Pitch with a smirk.
Bunny didn't move, and he didn't speak, he just glared, his arm still raised above his head with his boomerang clutched tightly in his hand.
"You know, I'm in the mood for a little fun right now," said Pitch, and Jack's flinch did not go unnoticed by either them. "So, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to take Jack and have a little- FROST! You've just made things five times worse for yourself, boy!"
Jack had managed to get in a well aimed kick at Pitch as he spoke, and Pitch dropped him as he clutched at his midsection. Jack scrambled backwards on the ground towards Bunny, trying to get himself away from the Nightmare King.
Bunny didn't miss a beat; he let his boomerang fly and dashed forward. The boomerang did not meet its mark, but Pitch did have to dodge clumsily out of the way.
"No you don't," Pitch growled, sending a burst of nightmare sand forward, blasting the rabbit backwards.
"No!" Jack cried out as he watched Bunny's head collide with a rock and his body went limp. Jack painfully and unsteadily forced himself to his feet. He stumbled forward, trying to reach his friend when–
"I don't think so, Frost," a voice growled as he was yanked backwards by his hood.
"No–lemme go! Bunny! Bunny, wake up!" Jack struggled, but Pitch managed to get his hands around the small wrists, effectively stopping him from landing a blow. Jack glared up at the man before him, trying desperately to twist his wrists out of the Boogeyman's grasp. The golden eyes were filled with such hate that Jack couldn't help the spike of fear that sent his heart racing. Judging by the satisfied twitch of Pitch's mouth, he had felt it too. "Bunny," Jack pleaded, even as he was unable to look away from the man before him. "Please."
xXx RISE OF THE GUARDIANS xXx
Bunny woke with a groan and a pounding head. He laid there for a minute, trying to gather himself, when he was struck by sudden clarity. He shot up. He blinked a few times as he listed to the side, trying to ignore the pain in his head as he looked around.
Pitch was gone.
And so was Jack.
All the evidence that remained from the encounter were stray bits of black sand lingering on the ground or in the light breeze and the four shards of wood that were once Jack's staff, a painful reminder of why he had come looking for the kid in the first place.
Bunny felt sick to his stomach.
He had so many questions.
And he had so many apologies.
Jack Frost, the boy that had been a thorn in Bunny's side for almost as long as he had been a spirit. The boy who caused blizzards and miserable cold. The boy who was alone for three hundred years without a soul to talk to. Who, despite their past behavior towards him, had helped them defeat Pitch anyway. Who had, against all likelihood, become his friend. Who was now in the hands of the enemy.
Bunny carefully collected the pieces of the staff. Jack had fixed it before. Bunny didn't know how, but the kid had done it, and he could do it again.
He would do it again.
Just as soon as Bunny got him back.
But first, he had to get the other Guardians.