Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather. Hope no one is mad. :I I really hope no one is too mad about what I did to Jamie. It was either him, or Sophie. I decided Jamie would get me less death threats. So anyway, enjoy the chapter.
And thanks, for the millionth (and this will not be the last) time to my wonderful reviewers. I love you all.
-Wolf
Chapter 8
Jack landed hard when he finally made it to the Tooth Palace. He had been having small jolts of pain randomly shoot through his body since he left Burgess, and he was sure that something was very wrong. He only had a moment to regain his balance before he was knocked clean off his feet in a blur of colorful feathers.
Tooth hugged Jack tight for a minute but hovered over him with a look of concern when she saw his face. "Are you Alright, Jack? You look like you're in pain." Jack opened his mouth to retort when a thought went through his head.
Jack looked Tooth in the eyes, watching her face carefully. "You didn't feel it earlier?" The look of confusion on her face was the only response Jack needed. He got up slowly, his muscles screaming out with every move. He had to lean on his staff for a moment before he could stand completely.
Tooth hovered in circles around Jack, trying to find out what was wrong. Jack put his hand up, silencing her questions. He looked down at the floor when he spoke, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I fell. I was on my way to hang out with Jamie, and suddenly my whole body just hurt too much to stay in the air." The silence seemed to drag on forever, and Jack almost screamed when Tooth started dragging him by his sleeve. He looked up to ask why she seemed so angry, but froze when he saw the look on her face. She looked terrified. Jack couldn't ever remember seeing such an intense look of fear on her face, even during everything that had happened with Pitch.
Tooth's voice was soft, yet firm when she spoke. "We're going to see North. This is getting out of hand if we start literally start dropping off like flies." Jack opened his mouth to retort, to say that he wasn't that weak, but stopped when Tooth looked at him. The look of concern made his heart jump, and he had to look down. He knew she didn't mean anything by it, that she was just worried, but he still felt a little upset at Tooth.
Jack hopped up onto the wind, looking down at Tooth. "Are we going to North's, or are we just going to stay here?" He took off before Tooth could respond. It didn't take long for the older Guardian to catch up with him.
Tooth yanked hard on Jack's sleeve, pulling him to a much lower altitude. Jack opened his mouth to ask why, but Tooth cut him off. "If you fall again you'll get hurt a lot less if we're lower." Jack just rolled his eyes, sighing. Tooth had always struck him as a motherly type, so he knew her concern was just part of her nature.
They were almost to North's workshop when Tooth broke the silence. "What happened, Jack? I know it must have been more than just pain. You looked panicked when you got to the Tooth Palace."
Jack couldn't meet her eyes. "Jamie hurt himself really bad today. It happened just about the time I felt the pain." He was surprised how weak his voice sounded when he spoke. He hadn't realized that he had stopped thinking of what happened to Jamie as a true accident until he heard it come from his mouth. It was true Jamie hadn't meant to fall, but he had known that it would probably happen. Jack sighed when Tooth pulled him into a hug mid-flight. She didn't say anything, but the gesture said it all.
North was waiting for them when they arrived, looking very grim. Jack took a step forwards, but North pulled him into a tight hug before he could even try to speak. Jack could hear Tooth stuttering, and trying to think of how to explain why they were there. North held up his hand, silencing her as he let go of Jack. His face turned grim again. "There are more injured children I assume?"
Jack was so shocked all he could do was nod. There were other children that were hurt? He had been sure it was just Jamie and those around him, but now he thought about it. He jumped hen North's hand landed on his shoulder, leading him through the workshop. Jack's thoughts were swirling around his head too fast to keep up with. How many children had injured themselves? How many were in the hospital like Jamie? Would it just keep getting worse? Jack was so distracted that he didn't even notice when they stopped in the globe room.
Bunny's voice snapped Jack out of his daze, and he turned to face the rabbit who was standing by the fire. "Told ya they'd show up without the signal, mate."
Bunny hopped to where the other three were standing as North looked around. "Where has Sandy gone?" Bunny shrugged, and tugged at his ears. Jack couldn't help but notice how nervous the furry Guardian looked. His fur was a mess, his ears were drooping slightly, and his eyes held panic. Jack's anxiety skyrocketed. Bunny was the guardian of hope, but even he looked hopeless.
Jack finally stepped forward, grabbing Bunny's arm. "How many?" Jack was scared to hear the answer, but he knew he needed to know.
Bunny looked down, his ears drooping more. "I personally know of 346 world-wide that are hospitalized, and more than 600 with smaller injuries." Jack's heart thudded against his chest. That made around 1000 injuries that had been accounted for, and there were probably many more they didn't know about yet.
Jack looked from Bunny to North, who's face looked like it was frozen into a grim frown. It hurt Jack's heart to see the normally jolly man in such a state. North sighed, standing taller. "I am afraid it gets worse." Jack was confused until North stepped aside, revealing the globe. Jack stepped forwards, his pulse thudding in his ears. As he watched he coud see lights flicker, then go out. It wasn't happening very fast, but after a minute of watching Jack realized that the lights were going out just as fast as they had been lighting up before.
Tooth gasped beside him, and Jack knew she realized it too. Jack bit his lip, staring at the globe. "Is it just the new believers? The ones that started believing since Pitch stopped scaring?" The silence from the older Guardians made Jack want to shake them all. Why did they keep avoiding his questions? It was as if they didn't think he could handle the truth, but didn't want to lie to him either.
Bunny patted Jack heavily on the shoulder, almost knocking Jack over. Jack turned to face him, standing as tall as he could. "Well? Answer me." Jack managed to keep his voice level, trying not to show the raging sea of emotions inside of him.
Bunny chewed his lip for a second, looking nervous as he spoke. "No. We're losing our most faithful too." Bunny looked down, mumbling under his breath.
"What was that Cotton Tail?" Jack gritted his teeth, trying to fight the anger from his voice. Children were getting hurt and the others were acting as if nothing could be done.
Bunny looked up, ears pressing flat on his head. "I said that I hadn't expected any of the ones who helped stop Pitch to give up so easily." Jack stepped back at the bitterness in Bunny's voice, but almost grabbed the older guardian again when his words sank in.
"Who stopped believing?" Jack fought the tiny shivers that shot through his body, terrified of the answer. He had been scared of what the pain earlier meant, but now it filled his whole body with dread.
Bunny sighed, and looked at North, who was chewing his bottom lip hard enough that Jack expected him to draw blood any second. It was silent for so long that Jack thought they were going to ignore his question. His mouth went dry when he heard Bunny's voice. It was soft, and much too gentle for Bunny. "Monty, and Cupcake." He looked down, avoiding Jack's eyes. "And Jamie's went out. Only for a minute, but it still went out."
Jack felt like all the wind had been knocked out of him, his vision going spotty for a minute. Jamie had stopped believing? That wasn't possible, was it? Suddenly Jack looked up, staring at the globe. Why were all those lights going out? How could so many children stop believing when they weren't afraid? Suddenly Jack remembered what Pitch had said about the children not needing them anymore. Jack felt Tooth shaking him, but he didn't care.
Jamie had stopped believing. That was all that rattled around in Jack's head. Jack suddenly felt the side of his face explode in pain, and he looked up at Tooth shocked. She had her hand raised to slap him again, but lowered it when she saw he was looking at her. Her face was a mix of worry, and firmness. She sighed and held Jack's shoulders tightly, looking him in the eyes. "This is no time to lose control of yourself. We need to make this right, and we'll need you to do it."
Jack stared at Tooth for a minute, then nodded slowly. He knew she was right, and there was no point in arguing. He only had one more question. He looked up at the other three. "How do we fix this? They're all doing this because they aren't afraid. I thought fear was something that came naturally."
North nodded, rubbing his hand across his face. "Normally, yes, but it seems Pitch is blocking fear."
Jack blinked up at North, confused. "I didn't know he could block fear. I mean he's the Nightmare King. Why would he need to be able to stop it?" Jack looked around, hoping someone would give him an answer this time.
North stood taller, seeming to grow an extra foot. "Jack, you create snow, yes?" Jack nodded, and North continued, his voice level. "But you can also keep it away, correct?" Jack nodded again, vaguely understanding what North was pushing at.
Bunny slapped Jack on the back. "Now why would Jack Frost, Mr. 'snowballs and fun times' want to stop the snow?" Jack could hear the mock curiosity in Bunny's voice, and it frustrated him.
Jack gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on his staff. "Maybe so a certain rabbit can have an Easter where he doesn't have to worry about snow messing up his egg hunts." Bunny took a step back, his ears dropping at the hardly restrained anger in Jack's voice. Bunny opened his mouth to retort, but snapped it shut when the sound of a bell rang through the room.
They all turned to see Sandy hovering near the fireplace, swinging a cowbell over his head. Once he had their attention symbols started flashing over his head. Jack had gotten better at understanding Sandy over the last year, but it was hard to keep up when the small man got excited. Sandy was certainly excited today. His face was panicked, and the symbols over his head flashed so fast that even North, who understood Sandy best, had trouble keeping up.
Bunny held his paws up. "Hold up, mate. Slow down and start again." Sandy huffed, but started from the beginning. He flashed a picture of a small boy, then a snake, then an ambulance, then a gravestone. All of the Guardians stared in horror as the symbols repeated. They all knew what it meant, though none of them could bring themselves to say it out loud.
Jack gripped his staff, small arcs of frost zipping off the end of it. His head shot up, his voice ripping from him before he could stop himself. "What use are we? Really? We don't seem to be able to do anything unless the children are afraid, so what good are we?" He paced across the room and the other Guardians watched, shocked at the look of determination on his face. "We give them comfort, but what's the point of wonder, and hopes, and dreams if there's no fear for them to fight away?"
Jack stopped pacing, looking at the floor. He knew what would have to be done, but he really hated the very idea. He glanced up at North, his voice just above a whisper when he spoke. "Without fear more kids will probably die." He looked up, not quite able to look North in the eyes. "We can't let that happen."
Bunny stepped forward again, agitation clear in his voice and on his face. "How do you expect us to fix it? Go begging Pitch to start scaring those poor kids again?" He scoffed, and Jack had to resist the urge to freeze him solid.
Jack tilted his head, sending a glare as cold as any winter wind in the older Guardian's direction. "Does your own pride really mean more to you than the lives of those children?" Jack swung his staff, motioning at the globe. He hardly held his temper in check as he stepped directly in front of Bunny. "Well if that's it, then I don't think you deserve to be a Guardian!" The room went silent, and Jack almost instantly wished he could take back his words.
Jack went flying across the room as Bunny's furry fist contacted with the side of his head. Everyone stared in shock, even Bunny himself. Jack hovered across the room, holding the side of his head. His head felt like it was exploding, but suddenly his thoughts seemed more clear. He set his feet firmly on the ground, staring straight at the others. "He's right. We can't go begging to Pitch, but we also can't leave things the way they are." Jack looked down at his feet, sighing loudly. "We'll have to do it."
The room went silent except for a shocked gasp from Tooth. She shot forwards, looking at Jack's head. "Did that punch knock you senseless? We can't frighten the children!"
She looked to the others for help, but they were all regarding Jack with a kind of amazement. Bunny stepped forwards after a moment. "He's right, sheila. If we can't find a way to frighten those lil ankle-biters, they'll likely all die from all this craziness." Tooth looked like she wanted to argue, but shook her head. She knew they didn't have a choice either.
All the Guardians turned to Jack, watching him expectantly. Jack shifted nervously. "What are you guys staring at?"
Bunny looked to North, who nodded before stepping forwards. "Your idea, Jack. You're plan." Jack held his hands up when he realized what North meant. They wanted to put him in charge of this whole mess? Did they realize how insane that was? Jack gulped, looking around. He needed time to think. He put up his hands before bolting out of the workshop, and off into the snow. He knew eventually he would have to go back, to face them, but for the moment he just needed to think.
Jack found a hole in the ice, and slid into it, finding it was just big enough for him to fit in with his staff, and still have a bit of extra room. He let his mind wander, drawing absent-mindedly in the frost on the wall. He stayed like that for hours, coming back to reality when his staff toppled over with a loud clatter. Jack reached for his staff, but froze when his eyes fell on what he had been drawing. His face broke out into wide grin when he realized he may have figured out how to solve everyone's problems. He grabbed his staff, and hurried back to the others, hoping they'd feel the same way about his plan.
