Warning: More hallucination-induced gore! :D It's a little worse than last chapter, but my goal is to make you shudder, so... Hope it works! XD
Snow Globes – Chapter 6
Bronze glinted harshly in moonlight, the gentle beam refracted times ten and shot like a bullet into North's eyes. The man whimpered, shifting his body away from the large crowd of shadow creatures gathering around him. The evil demons threatened him, with shafts of moonlight framing their forms, only hurting North more. The Russian turned away, shielding his orb from the harsh illumination. He focused his gaze, too lost in insanity to speak, his attention captured by the metal globe. The browned and golden surface glowed with its own heat, and North reveled in it. It caressed his pained eyes, and set his fearful soul to rest. The scars never faded from behind the irises, though, no matter how hard the moon assaulted his back.
A loud rumbling of earth filled the room, as well as accented shouts from below. Light laughter filled the air, but reached North's ears in shrill bursts. A scratching slither of sand descended from the sky, rattling like nails, and the fluttering of a hummingbird became the claps of a snare drum. The ground seemed to shake under the lost Guardian, and he looked down at his feet in horror. The wood fell away in chips, crumbling into nothingness and clattering through oblivion. The sharp jagged rocks of the descent into Hell smashed against the wood, gnashing their terrible teeth at North's helpless form.
The clamor around North rose to a crescendo, deafening him, intimidating him, and trapping him from all sides. He heard nothing aside from his own heartbeat, pounding unevenly in his chest. He felt the blood rushing through his veins, trapped by the age that kept him down. And from there, North realized his deepest fear, only to trip over one of the devil's horns swarming around his feet.
The laughing echo stopped abruptly, and all noise ceased. The workshop, the Claussen, all froze in time, as if listening to the mood of the icy new arrival. The clapping of the drum stilled, soft fairy feet lighting down on the smooth wooden floor. The sands continued to shift, but with a more gentle rain. Toys obeyed the immediate command, given by the coldest authority in the room. Worry radiated from the winter Pooka, as he stared at the fallen form of North.
Bunny's tunnel closed up next to Jack's with the same grinding nose of scraping metal that killed North's ears. The large man rolled over, struggling to stand up, while clutching onto his bronze heart in his fist. North stumbled to his feet, and the small shadows crowded around his feet, the jangling of bells magnified with their small movements. North shook them off with a shudder, not even able to scream under the blue gaze of Jack.
Bunny broke the near silence, padding forward. "You okay, mate? You sent the signal out."
North looked up fearfully, and Bunny recoiled at the scared insanity he met. North yelled, finally producing noise, lurching to the control panel to escape the monster before him. In North's eyes, he saw the hybrid from his nightmare. The tufts of matted fur marking his body, and the dark, rotted blood from carrion staining his yellowed teeth, jagged in the moonlight. The black-furred figure hunched over, and arms sprouted gruesomely from his back. Black webbings of torn flesh draped across the tanned arms, dark liquid leaking and pus-filled boils spilling over his back. The too-human face gazed to North, snarling his distaste. Emerald green eyes transformed to crimson, staring at North with evil intent.
"Crikey, North, you look as pale as MiM himself," growled the creature in a deep, feral voice.
Another shrill voice chirped, and North covered his ears to hide the loud noise from his mind as it trilled, "Why'd you signal the Aurora. North, you know I have a busy schedule to keep. Is it Pitch again?"
Bile rose in the Russians throat when Tooth entered his vision. No, not Tooth, not the beautiful fairy that occupied her Palace in Asia, North saw a mummy. An empty husk of the woman stood before him, padding over on dead feet, awkward out of the air. Shriveled wings hung weakly from her sides, fluttering only in the wind, fragile enough to crumble at a moment's notice. Her greyed skin flaked off with induced feathers, fluttering to the ground, hanging together only by strands of tar. The tar stretched between every spike on her body, oiling the crown of her balding head. Her face sunk into her head, and her mouth gaped open in a silent scream, words pouring out like sick bees, swarming the room around them with buzzing nonsense. Her nose stretched as the stinger of the hive, and her eyes bored into her skull, black pits of nothingness, all color seeped from her body.
North chocked out through the swelling nausea in his throat, "T-Tooth… What are you?"
The mummy folded her arms, offended. "What are you talking about? You know what? This is a complete waste of time. I have twenty-three bicuspids, twelve incisors, and fifty-seven molars to collect, five of which are from one first-grader girl that tried to prove herself in a fight with a sixth-grade boy. She flosses, and I love her to death, and I need to deliver her coins personally. So if you have nothing else to say, I'll have to bid you goodbye. You with me, Sandy?"
But the small ball of sand escaped North's vision. Instead, he saw a mountain of black shadows towering out of the ground, hesitating before nodding to Tooth. Yellow eyes gleamed down at North from the head of the thin figure. North yelled at the sight of Pitch Black, the evil man smirking down at the Russian, and he backed away, running around the trio of horrors that surrounded him.
"North, what's wrong?" came the only clear voice in the room.
North nearly cried in relief, unable to hold his strength any longer. The snow-white form of Jack emerged from the sea of demons around him, the only shining star to ever penetrate the guards of Hell. The Pooka's ears shot straight up as North barreled towards him, grabbing his hand and tugging him along down the hallway.
"North, what are you doing? Let me go!"
"Jack, you are alright! There – there are demons: rusalkas and likhos! They follow us! Hurry, hurry!" North drew his saber, waving it behind him at the pursuing demons, nearly nipping Jack in the process.
"Hey! Watch where you swing that thing! What is going on? North! North, stop!"
He didn't listen, dragging the boy to the lift. He slammed the metal grate closed, and faced the large Bunny that leapt at the door.
"North, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"
"Back, back demon! Get back, all of you!"
Bunny shook his six claws on the grating, but North pulled the lever, sending him and Jack away. Jack tried to push past the man, but he held him back.
"No, Jack, it's too dangerous!"
"What are you talking about? Let me out!"
Bunny cursed, turning back to Tooth and Sandy. The little golden man cursed silently, and leapt over the edge of the balcony to fly down the workshop floor. Bunny followed suit. Tooth hesitated, her purple and green feathers glinting in the moonlight before she dashed over the edge, scared of what she might find.
North pushed Jack out of the lift roughly, brandishing his sword at the large, hunkering beasts that got in his way.
"North, what are you doing? That's Phil!" Jack shouted as the large yeti barely dodged the metal blade.
"No, that is monster."
They quickly pushed their way to the workshop, and North slammed the door shut behind them both. He immediately crossed to one of his worktables and began to barricade the door. Muffled shouts and pounding answered his shield, but North kept piling more obstacles.
Jack whipped around to face the man. "You have about five seconds to explain what the hell is going on here!"
"We are being attacked," North answered simply, pushing more furniture in front of the door.
Jack stormed to the Russian's side. "Is that why you sent out the Aurora? Who is it, Pitch?"
North shook his head, satisfied with his barricade. He crossed the room to a wall lined with swords, and other assorted weapons. They all glittered dangerously in the light shining through the window.
"Not Pitch. Not just him. Big monster turned Tooth into mummy."
Jack stared at him, unable to form the words, until he managed to grasp with his lips, "A-are you insane? Tooth was just out there! So was Bunny! Until you decided to swing a sword at his head!"
"I did no such thing! That was demon, evil spirit from Hell!"
"What evil spirit! North, you're hallucinating or something! What is the matter with you?" Jack stepped towards the man, continuing, "You're not even thinking straight! It's like you've been possessed by something! Maybe tha–" A light crunch sounded under Jack's foot, and he winced as he felt glass pierce his skin.
He knelt down, wincing, as he studied the floor. The cut was shallow, not very bad, but he searched around carefully. "North, what's this glass? What's…?" he trailed off. Between the floorboards glittered black jewels, small specks of sand. "North, what's this?"
North turned to see the bloodstain from earlier in the evening. "Oh, I cut my foot on glass when demons attacked. I need to find my boots. Sorry about blood."
Jack glanced up curiously at the Russian. "There's no blood here, North. And you're wearing your boots… I'm talking about this black… sand…"
Jack stood, and rushed to the cabinet that housed the globes. He swung open the doors with a bang, mimicking the continued pounding from outside the workshop. He counted: one, two, three, four…
"North, there are more globes missing. Besides the one I used and the one Bunny used. There are three more globes missing." Jack turned to face the man, and said, almost in a whisper, "North, what did you do?"
"What was that?" North asked, turning away from the wall.
"What did you do?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"WHAT DID YOU DO, NORTH?" Jack shouted, launching himself across the room at the big man. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO? Did you use one on yourself? Is that it? Is this whole mess just another test run for one of your STUPID GLOBES?"
Frost began to creep up Jack's face, alighting him with a white glow. The ice curled on his cheeks, and radiated on his fur. The cold began to chill into North's skin where Jack touched him and he pulled away.
"I do not know what you are talking about!"
Jack raised his hackles, and set his ears flat, preparing to leap again. North raised his hands to cover his face, exposing his fist for Jack to see.
"North, what's that?"
"W-what?"
"What's that in your hand? That metal…" Jack leapt forward, and snatched it away before North could stop him. "What's this?" he exclaimed, taking the globe in his hand. "Is this another one of your globes? Why are you doing this to yourself? What did you hope would happen?"
"Give it back!" North cried, reaching after it.
"Oh, no you don't! You have no right to even look at this!"
"Jack, give it back!" North sent a fist flying to Jack's stomach, knocking the breath out of him.
Jack gasped on the floor, struggling to breathe.
North towered over him, a cold look in his eyes. "This is my creation, my work. You will not destroy my–"
The bronze globe clicked, and suddenly burst in North's hand. It launched up his arm, encasing his limbs in metal rope. North cried, struggling to pry the thing off, but it clamped firmly to his flesh, wrapping around his arm. More ropes crawled up his arm, latching around his neck.
"N-North!" Jack gasped, reaching for the man.
North pulled, fighting to breathe. He backed up over the cracked ice on the floor as he battled his mechanical creation. It sank claws into his head, and crushed his chest. North stumbled, and tripped, slamming against the stained-glass window. It shattered, tumbling North out into the Arctic air below.
"NORTH!" Jack screamed, pushing himself up. He grabbed his staff from the floor beside him, and staggered to the window. Without a moment's hesitation, he dived out after him.
The cold wind bit at his face, tearing at his skin as he fell. Jack squinted as flurries of snow dashed into his eyes. He spotted North's form flailing below. The crash through the window short-circuited the chains around his arm, and North now tore at his neck with both hands. Jack shot down, eats flat against his skull, and his legs extended to straighten his fall. The coil choking north suddenly snapped, the bronze remains of the globe flying back up towards Jack. They struck his shoulder.
Jack yelped, whimpering as he fell off course. He held his shoulder in one hand, the wind taking control of his descent. Lightning flashed through the night sky, the Moon's beams wavering in the storm clouds. Jack's ears curled at the boom of thunder following, but he tried to dive faster.
He ground approached like a comet, speeding up at North's flailing body. The man screamed, blood rushing from the puncture wounds in his head. The streams coated Jack's fur as he flew through them. The wind fought against him, not giving him the push he needed. Jack extended his staff, in a final desperate attempt. North's fingers brushed the edge, barely, just barely, not able to get a hold.
A white light exploded from the end of Jack's staff. North's hand froze to the wood, and Jack yanked upward, fishing for life. They shot like a cork, and ascended back to the Claussen.
They lighted down on the wooden floor in a heap. North collapsed on top of Jack, unable to see straight through the blood streaming into his eyes. Jack dragged himself out from under the large man's body, and quickly turned to check on him.
The pounding at the door reached a climax, and suddenly, Jack heard Bunny shout, "JACK!" The pain in his voice caused the winter sprite to freeze, staring at the door, before splintering sounds racked the wood. "Damn," Bunny muttered, "Hang on Jack! We're coming!"
A loud crash sounded, and the door blew open with an explosion of frost. The metal table sailed at Jack, and he ducked as it flew over his head. He yelled as it crashed against the wall of swords, sending the metal weaponry crashing down in sharp piles. The globe cabinet spilled open, sending the glass spheres to the floor. Jack dived, sliding on his stomach to reach them. He caught two of them. The Memories globe carried on another wind, out of Jack's control, whisking away out of the window.
The final globe, a bright one filled with golden sand, bounced and cracked on the hard wood floor. It detonated in midair in between North and Jack. Jack yelled, shielding himself from the sand rushing past his face.
Suddenly, warmth covered Jack, with a tinge of cold underneath.
"It's alright, Frostbite, I've got you."
Jack snapped his head up to look at the worried face of Bunny. His air blew against the force of the sand, the golden jewels outlining it in a haze. His muscled arms wrapped around Jack protectively, pressing him to his chest. He curled around him in a ball, and Jack noticed changes in his skin. White frost spread across his limbs, covering his tattoos with spidery patterns. Jack nearly flinched away, but Bunny only hugged him tighter.
"Stay down!"
The waves of sand receded, and Jack looked over Bunny's shoulder. The Australian pressed him against the wall further, reluctant to let go. But Jack squeezed past running to North's side. He fell to his knees, and looked down at the unconscious man. Blood streamed down his skin, golden flecks caked in it. His eyes remained closed.
"…North… North… wake up…"
Bunny crouched down next to him. Tooth entered the room, gasping, as did Sandy, who looked around in shock.
Bunny checked for a pulse. "It's alright, he's alive." He turned to Tooth and Sandy. "We need to get him to the infirmary, now!"
Sandy nodded, creating a floating gurney out of sand. He slid it under North, pulling the older man on. Tooth fluttered by, checking his other vitals.
Bunny held out a hand to the shocked Jack. "Snowflake, come on."
Jack took a shuddering breath, blinking, distant from the scene. "N-no… It's okay, you go on ahead."
"But – …alright. I'll be back as quick as I can." Bunny paused before adding, "Like a bunny."
Jack smirked, but only to appease the Australian.
After they left, Jack stood silently, looking around at the mess. Pieces of wood hung from the ceiling, cracks in every surface. The shards of glass littered the room, from the window, the broken globes, the ice, everything.
A rage boiled inside the winter sprite's chest, burning his heart, and yet it felt colder than even the most frozen wasteland. It grew, and frost began to form on his skin, the wind rustling in through the open window. It began with the stir of a single piece of paper. Then the tempest tore through the workshop, creating a whirlwind of snow and ice, and debris all flying around Jack's body.
Images from the wreckage whizzed by his face. Blocks of wood, chippings, ice, and even swords all shot past. A larger hammer smashed through North's dollhouse, bringing it down in a tinkling mess of ice. The amusement park fell, crumbling into powder. The ice became part of the storm, never ceasing in its path. Jack released the snow globes from his hands, but they stayed in the air, suspended beside him.
A blueprint soared past, but Jack caught it out of thin air. Black sand swirled around it, as well as glass shards. Jack glanced at the label in the corner of the paper:
Fearlings
Jack yelled, tearing the paper in two. He grabbed it again and again, ripping it to shreds. Frozen tears slid down his face, and he rushed through the tornado, grabbing the other plans as well. He ripped through each one he found, until only scraps floated by, swirling in a storm. Finally, he held the final sheet, labeled All is One. Jack hesitated, his paws crumpling the edge of the paper, ready to tear. Then suddenly, through the fog of debris and ice, the doll emerged. The small doll that with the ripped dress that North fixed up. Her arm remained broken by her side.
Slowly, the storm settled down, the globes, the papers, the wood all landing gently on the floor. Jack collapsed to his knees, clutching the doll in his hands.
The wind pushed one more object to him. A small matryoshka doll rolled to Jack's thigh. Jack picked it up, before feeling the tears pour openly through his fur. He cried, not letting the torrent stop as it froze on his face. He let loose his grief, as he needed to, and felt it never wash away.
"Hey, Snowflake, how're you… doing…"
Bunny sat next to the boy, wrapping his arm around the Pooka's shoulders. He gently opened Jack's fist, removing the doll. He opened it to the smaller one, the one with North's face, twisted into a roar of rage. His eyes shown in the wood design with fearlessness that Jack depended on.
"He – He was never supposed to b-be afraid," Jack choked out through his tears. "He w-was supposed to always protect u-us… Why d-didn't he?"
"Shh…" Bunny whispered, comforting the boy for the second time that night, although he felt the need for comfort as well. "Shh… Snowflake, I know… I know…"
They waited in the workshop until the moon remained directly overhead, about to start the dip towards dawn. Jack's tears stopped eventually, and Bunny held his in. Bunny never stopped petting the boy's head, wishing for something to change. But change never came, not that night, not even when Jack fell asleep in Bunny's arms.
A/N: So, two chapters on consecutive days! Again! :D I want to thank those of you that sent me encouraging messages regarding my writing last chapter. I feel really god about this one, and I hope that you all enjoy. I mean, going by my rule of self-criticism, I still think I really rushed the ending, but... Anyways, thank you for supporting me, and I really appreciated it. :)
The next chapter probably won't be up until the end of this week, just because it's going to be a pain to write. FLUFFY TIMES! (not) AND DRAMA!
Anyways, reviews are appreciated! I hope you enjoy! Any questions regarding my plot or errors, feel free to PM me.
I love you all!
~Renoku
