Hello! Yes, I am a total Pitch x Jack fan but I like Jackie more. Anyway, I hope you like the Guardian of Night.
Summary: Pitch's past life and his post-RotG battle with Jack. When nighttime stops coming, Jack decides that they need a new Guardian: Pitch Black. The only problem is: Jack can't find him anywhere. The Nightmares had hidden him.
Pairings: Main(Pitch x Jack), and Slight!Sophie x Bunny (fluffy, I promise)
Read and Review, people!Chapter 1: The Nightmare King—Hiding In FearWhen he opened his eyes, he saw children laughing and playing. With the Guardians.
"No…" Pitch stumbled to his feet. He had been so close and then…
"You dare have fun in my presence? I am the boogeyman! And you will fear me!"
Jack turned towards Pitch. The Nightmare King looked so crushed. He was defeated, he had lost. The thought only made Pitch's rage grow.
Pitch ran towards Jamie, only to have the boy run through him. "No!" Jack didn't miss the look of pure horror that creased his face. He was scared and finally realized that he was alone. Again.
Looking back at the Guardians, Pitch saw no sympathy. They hated him, they would always hate him. This had been his only chance to rise and have children believe in him and they'd ruined it. No. It wasn't the Guardians' fault,he knew. He had ruined.
"But, wait? Is that. . . Jack Frost? Since when are you all so chummy? . . . Oh. Alright, then I'm going to ignore you but I'm sure that you're used to that by now. . ."
Pitch ran. Ran away from the Guardians, ran away from the children, ran towards the lake, towards his lair, towards his one and only fear.
"Maybe I want what you have: to be believed in!"
His hopes, his dreams, his light, they had all been created by the Guardians. And yet, they'd been his downfall not once but twice.
"Oh, I know what it is you fear most, Jack. You're afraid that no one will ever believe in you. And, even worse, you're afraid that you'll never know why."
This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to lose. He could have relived his glory days: when all was dark and fear was everywhere.
"You think I don't know what it feels like? To long for a—for a family. To be believed in by someone, anyone."
He would be hiding under beds for the rest of his life. Children wouldn't see him, ever. Not when children needed to be afraid, not even when they needed to have nightmares, needed to know the meaning of fear, they wouldn't be able to see him.
"I've lived in the shadows for much too long but now I'm ready. It's your turn, Guardians, to not be believed in! Fear will rule again!"
All those times, he'd been positive; he'd thought he would become the Nightmare King. But it was all an illusion, a game that teased at his heart.
Pitch turned his head back, making sure the Guardians weren't behind him. They weren't.
He hit something (someone) and fell to the ground. He realized too late that they were in front of him.
"Leaving the party so soon?" he heard a familiar voice say. His Russian accent was thick.
Pitch scrambled backwards.
"You didn't even say goodbye," Tooth said, tossing something small and shiny at him. Pitch caught it.
"A quarter?" he asked. He glanced up to see Tooth floating in front of him, her hand pulled back into a fist. She punched him.
A tooth went sliding across the frozen lake. "And that," she said. "is for my fairies."
Pitch felt for the gap in his mouth. That had hurt a lot more than he'd expected. He stood, stuttering, "You can't get rid of me. Not forever! There will always be fear!"
"So what?" North told him, waving a hand. "As long as one child believes, we can protect them from fear."
"Oh, really?" Pitch laughed. "Then what are they doing here?" He gestured to the Nightmares that were standing all around them.
"Don't be afraid, it only riles them up more. They can smell fear, you know."
North chuckled. "They can't be my nightmares. I am not afraid."
Pitch swallowed. No. No, no, no.
Jack took a step forward. "Looks like it's your fear they smell."
Pitch's eyes widened. The Nightmares rushed at him as he ran away, screaming.
The Nightmares swirled around him, making it impossible to escape. He saw Jack, staring at him—worry?—in his eyes. That was the last thing Pitch remembered seeing, and, in an instant, the Nightmares dragged him down into his lair.
Four months later…Pitch awoke with a start. The Nightmares had gone, they'd found another with more fear. But they would come back, he knew. They always came back.
His forehead was wet with perspiration. It was dark and it was cold. And, just like in his dream, he was scared.
It felt as if he couldn't breathe anymore. It felt as if he was drowning, drowning in his own darkness. He sat up, only to fall back down on his side. Everything felt heavy.
With a hand clutched to his chest, he cried out a strangled plea. "Help. Somebody, help me…"
He looked up at the to see the moon looking down on him.
"M-my old friend, what should I do? I need help…"
All the sudden, the moon was blocked by clouds. Looking at the clouds, Pitch realized that that was his answer. He wouldn't get help. He would be left to fend for himself. He would be left with the Nightmares. Man in Moon didn't want to help him and the Guardians never would.
Tears streamed down his face as he fell back into a restless sleep.
1511: Pitch, age 14, Christmas Day
He remembered when he was a child. He had been a lonely and sickly child, never being allowed to play or have fun. The only thing he'd ever wanted was a friend. And after fourteen years, he finally got one.
On Christmas day, his older brother brought him outside for the first time. He was happy to be out in the snow for once and gladly played with it. His older brother was nowhere in sight when he fell. He called and called out for help. He was too weak to get up himself and he couldn't crawl very far. After a few hours of yelling himself hoarse, he realized that he'd been left there. The only reason his brother had brought him outside was to kill him. The thought brought tears to his golden eyes.
He cried but stopped as soon as he'd started because his tears froze to his face.
"Hullo?" a voice behind him said. He turned around to see a girl standing behind him. She had the most beautiful green eyes he'd ever seen. She was probably nine or ten and, judging by her puzzled look, she was trying to figure out how old he was. Personally, he thought he looked like a ten year old even though he was fourteen.
"Hullo," he replied. The tears that had froze to his face were very visible and he tried to wipe them away.
"Boy, what are you doing out here?" she asked.
He didn't know how to respond. "I-I… My brother. He left me out here."
She raised her eye brows. "On Christmas?"
"Yes."
She gave him a sympathetic look. "Why didn't you just get up?"
"I can't. My legs… they, um…"
Without hesitation, the girl stepped closer to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You're coming with me."
"What? I may be light, but you can't carry me! I weigh more than you, no doubt," he protested.
The girl huffed. "I said, you're coming with me."
He smiled at that. The girl was really sweet and determined and he wished he could be like her. He helped her as much as he could as they walked through the snow.
After a short while, he asked, "Where are we going?"
"To my house."
"But won't I be a bother?"
"Absolutely not. My mother wants another baby but she couldn't have one. She loves taking care of me and other children."
"Oh." He sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"I-I was just thinking… About my brother."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I… why did he leave me out there? Was I so troublesome?"
The girl paused. "You aren't troublesome to me. In fact, I like you a lot."
He laughed. Kids were really innocent and pure and full of wonder, hope, light, and dreams. When they arrived, the girl sat him on a bed, telling him, "If you get up, I'll pour tea on your legs! Hot, hot, hot tea!" and then rushing off.
XxXxX
That night, he had nightmares. His brother had left him out in the snow.
He'd died from the cold.
His brother had come back to check on him.
His brother had cried.
He had never been so scared before. He had just always thought that he was troublesome. He didn't think his brother really cared about him. Why had his brother acted so mean?
1525: Pitch, age 28
He'd ended up living with the girl (whose name was Annie) and her mother (whose name was Susan but she insisted that he call her mom). As Annie continued to grow, he began getting sicker and sicker. He could barely move by himself.
Annie had grown up into a fine young woman of twenty three and he had started to notice. So had others. Most of the towns people wanted to court her home all the time, she said. It drives her crazy.
One day, when she came home from the shop, he told her, "Would you be so kind as to sit with me for the day?"
Annie smiled at him, making his heart flutter. "I'd love to. But I need to run back and get something. It's really important. I'll be back!"
He stared at the fruit that she had left on the counter. If only he were stronger, he could help her with things not the other way around. He stared at the groceries, determined to walk over to the counter and put them away. Slowly, he stood, wobbling. He had barely made it to the counter when he fell.
"Ah!" He grabbed his foot. It stung bad and he thought he might have twisted it. Stupid, he thought.
"Annie? Is that you?" he heard Susan call from her room.
"No, mom. It's just me."
"What was that noise just now?"
"Uh, nothing." He stood quickly making himself dizzy. Annie wouldn't have to put the groceries away.
The next day…He cried. He cried because no one else would cry. He was alone again. Annie had run back to get something and on her way back, she was caught in the middle of a mob. And his mother, who could barely take anymore with her old age, died in her sleep that same night.
He cried.
No one went to their funeral. Not even the boy's who'd tried to court Annie home.
He was alone. No one loved him, no one cared about him, no one wanted to get near him. People were scared of him. For whatever reason, he didn't know. He just knew that they were scared.
Since no one was there to help him or take care of him, he died shortly after.
He had fallen into a ditch and hadn't been able to move. It had been freezing cold and he didn't try and fight it. He wanted to be with Annie and his mother. He would never get the chance.
1713:
"You put me here so I could create fear! How am I supposed to do my job if you won't even give me a chance?!" Pitch yelled at the moon.
It was silent.
"You keep bringing others! People with hopes and dreams and wonder and light. Children need to be afraid sometimes, too! I care about the children!"
Still, the moon said nothing.
"You put me here for a reason! Tell me why!" That wasn't Pitch. It was someone else.
Pitch turned his head to face the voice. It was a young boy with white hair leaning on a staff that was glowing blue. Another one?! Pitch wanted to yell.
"What is my purpose? I try and try and try and still… nobody sees me."
The boy glared up at the moon as black clouds filled the sky.
1720:
"Simon, what are you doing? That ice isn't stable!"
"I need to get that key! It's special!"
"No, Simon, you'll fall!"
Pitch watched as two children argued. The smaller one, Simon, was walking on the edge of the lake, trying to figure out what spots he could walk on and what spots he couldn't.
They couldn't see him. Pitch laughed when Simon when on his stomach. He slid across the ice, towards the middle of the lake. When Simon tried to stand up, ice cracked beneath his feet. If he took one step, he'd fall into the water.
Pitch could feel the boy's fear enter him and he wanted more. More energy. More people to scare. More power.
"Simon!" the other boy cried out. "Don't move, Simon; I'll get help!" Then, John ran off.
"No, wait!" Simon called after his friend but the boy was already gone.
Be afraid. Pitch chuckled causing the boy to face him.
"Hey! Help me, please!"
"You can… you can see me?" Pitch asked him.
The boy gave him a puzzled look. "Of course I can see you. Help me!"
Pitch paused, looking the boy over. He was a pudgy boy with night black hair and dark brown eyes. To others, he might not have been the best looking fellow but to Pitch he was perfect.
Simon's eyes widened as Pitch rode through shadows to stand next to Simon. Simon gasped. "Whoa. How'd you do that?" Well, children really did have little concentration. He was standing in the middle of a frozen pond and a stranger that rides on shadows appears and all he says is 'How'd you do that?'.
Pitch grinned at him. "Do you know who I am, Simon?"
Simon shook his head.
"I am Pitch Black. And you shall never forget me."
Simon blinked. The man had just been there a few seconds ago. Where had he gone? Then Simon remembered: he was on a frozen lake. He looked down. There was solid ground and snow beneath his feet.
Simon looked around frantically. He was still by the lake. Somehow he'd gotten off the lake and Simon assumed it was because of that man. What had his name been?
"Pitch, Pitch Black!"
Pitch watched Simon as the boy ran all around calling for him. He would see him later tonight, Pitch mused. Simon would be having nightmares about this incident.
"Are you scared yet, Simon? Are you afraid? Do I scare you?"
XxXxX
Still think there's no such thing as the boogeyman?
Think again.
Okay, so it was mostly about Pitch and his past life and his rising. The next chapter will definitely be about Pitch and his post-RotG battle.