Daahlings, I give you all LEAVING HOME 3! THE RESULT OF THE POLL WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. SAD TO SAY NOT MANY VIEWERS VOTED, BUT ONE WAS ABLE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND I HAVE A BIG BATTLE SCENE TO WRITE. SO ADIOS. X3


Chapter 3: The Darkness

"I think I. love. you."

.

.

.

"So please… don't go."

Argh! Those words repeating in my head, I wanted to bang it against the wall for Moon knows how long until I can forget about them. We were on the sleigh flying over Madagascar, obscured by the clouds. The moon was high tonight, illuminating the sands of the beach with an eerie glow. We passed by civilization a few hours ago, still above the clouds to keep out of sight from any stragglers at this hour. I vaguely wondered what Jamie was doing right now. I stopped thinking about it once I felt an acidic sensation boil my heart and mist my eyes. Damn.

I felt the Wind fly by me. The sleigh was going not too fast, but fast enough for the whispering of the Wind to be a howl in my ear. We were above open water, now. Waves rippled the reflection of the heavens as we skimmed through their reflections. I fired a bolt of ice at random at the water below; making a small patch of ice that I was sure would melt in the morning.

Before we left, Tooth realized that with her telepathy upgraded to the extent of communicating to the other Guardians, her mental connection to her fairies also increased. Now, she's capable of communicating with any and all fairies wherever on the globe.

Right now, Tooth was flying beside the sleigh, her hummingbird wings matching the speed we were on. Her eyes were closed and she was muttering some words under her breath. Sometimes, I would hear some loud exclamations like "Poland!" or "Africa!" or "Rio!" I realized she was issuing commands to her mini-fairies stationed throughout the world, and that she was powerful enough to maintain her speed and her mass telepathy at the same time. I was impressed.

Sandy just finished delivering the children their dreams in the Eastern Hemisphere, and now he was snoozing away on the sleigh, trying to get some shut-eye before the confrontation with the darkness. I probably should get some rest, too. But I couldn't stop thinking about Jamie; his eyes, his voice, that kiss.

I. love. you.

I closed my eyes to the whisper of Jamie's voice, that last kiss.

So please… don't go.


I awoke to Sandy's shivering.

I realized with a jolt that we were now soaring over the Arctic plains. The sky that was once dotted with stars and illuminated by the light of the Moon was now completely covered with an inky roiling haze. We were slightly below it, the reason for the harsh, biting wind that chilled Tooth and Sandy. I reached up and was surprised to feel liquid condense, and immediately freeze, on my hand. Lightning forked the roiling mass above us, and my ears pounded with the crack of thunder that followed.

Up ahead, I could see the dark clouds swirling above the ice. The harsh wind picked up and the sleigh was beginning to rock slightly. With a surge of panic, I thought; 'Where's Tooth?'

"I'm here." she yawned behind me. I whirled around; Tooth rubbed sleep grit put of her eyes and stretched her arms. "I got in a few hours ago," she explained. "I needed to catch up on some tooth work."

I nodded and looked forward. We were nearing the swirling mass of dark clouds, and I realized that the sleigh might not make it. That thing was Wizard of Oz-worthy!

"North! How are we gonna pass that thing?" Tooth shouted over the gale, her voice immediately carried away by the Wind.

"Jack!" he bellowed.

"On it!" I yelled back. I jumped of the sleigh and flew toward the swirling wind mass. I stopped a few feet away when I noticed lightning flash behind me. A resounding crack followed by the crunch of splintering wood and metal rang through my ears as I saw North, Tooth, and Sandy fall.

"NO!" I yelled. I felt disbelief and fear course through me. I remembered Pitch; my staff breaking, Baby Tooth falling through the crevice. The hopelessness, the fear, the anger… I felt it come to me full force as I summoned a gust of Wind from the swirling mass to cushion the fall of my friends.

I won't abandon them. Not again.

Power coursed through me. I closed my eyes as I felt the Moon's blessing included in that powerful flow; the ability to summon bolts of ice through the form of lightning strikes, the granted intangibility of my frozen body to freeze others, the ice flames… I felt everything.

But I also felt something else; it was like a drop of water on a dehydrated man's throat, the fresh mountain air after a cramped room full of sweaty people. It was something you can't get enough of… an addiction.

Thrive on his despair.

I opened my eyes. Someone was calling my name, a loud bellow that was nearly carried away by the heavy gusts.

"Jack!"

It was North. I looked down, he was desperately calling for my attention, waving his hands back and forth while his beard was flying all over his face.

"Calm Wind!" he yelled, his Russian accent coating his tone heavily. "Bunny will come and open hole to eye!"

I nodded. I raised my staff and concentrated. The Wind was my mother, the Wind was my friend. It's not my servant, I have to suggest it and exert influence, not dominance. I asked for it calm, and I felt it heed to my command. I felt the decrease, yet a gale continued to push us back and away from the vortex.

"North! It's not me!" I tried to explain, my voice wasn't being carried away anymore, if possible, it seemed to magnify my voice and make it loud enough to be heard over the dark wind.

"Come down! Bunny's here!"

I nodded and floated down to a rather disheveled Pooka whose ears were rapidly being coated in snow and frost. He glared at me.

"What's the deal, Frostbite?" he yelled, his Australian accent as strong as ever, "Can't ya calm it?"

"It's not his fault," Tooth rapidly replied, eyes glancing over to the black vortex swirling a few feet away. "This Wind isn't his."

"Not hi—?" Bunny was interrupted when a rather loud crack of thunder pealed the sky. I looked to my left, the ice was scorched, and water was sloshing through the large cracks.

"Everybody, in hole! NOW!" North yelled, jumping (and squeezing) through the earthen hole ringed with ice, Tooth and Bunny followed, and so did Sandy. I came last, coating the entrance with ice before Bunny closed it.

We raced down the earthen tunnels, Bunny leading the way, followed by North, Tooth, Sandy, and then me. The Pooka flew down the tunnels, leaving us to follow him. The wind above us continued to howl, but it was muffled by the hidden beneath the layers of ice. Bunny eventually stopped, he tapped his foot once more as we emerged in the eye of the vortex.