Spirit of Summer and Winter

Chapter 10: He's Gone

Jack was in no state to defend himself. He was bed ridden and...sick, if that's what you would call it.

Without thinking, Anna stood in between Jack and Pitch. She was not going to let him touch Jack or make him worse than he already was.

"Anna?" Jack's voice was a whisper, but his concern for her was detected. She bit the corner of her lip. She didn't know how to fight Pitch and last time she saw him, they barely fought.

"How oblivious are you?" Pitch questioned amused. "But I suppose that's what you expect from children." He gestured to both of them. "Blind to reality, living in your own little world, caring about no one but yourselves." He went on.

"You should leave before the rest of the guardians arrive!" Anna said finally finding her voice.

Pitch only chuckled. "I'm not afraid of the guardians and by the time they get here, they'll be too late." He said coldly.

Anna looked at him suspiciously and confused. What was he on about? Whatever he was on about, she wasn't going to let him win. Without hesitation, Anna blasted a sunbeam at him. Mostly she used it to light up the room or warm it up, never really as a mean of attack. Seeing as it could hurt if directed, something she learned when she accidentally hit a wall and left a burn mark once. It should be enough to draw Pitch away.

"I SAID LEAVE!" Anna shouted threateningly.

Surprised, Pitch quickly jumped out of the way before she could hit him. However, part of her beam had caught his hand and for a moment the night black fabric turned green, before being engulfed by nightmare sand and turning it black once more.

She must be more powerful than I thought.

He wasn't here to fight. He was here to make sure he got the job done. Creating a small ball of nightmare sand, Pitch aimed it at what seemed to be Anna.

The girl quickly ducked and her hand soon began to glow a bright yellow. It almost looked like she was holding a small sun in her hand. "You missed." She gritted her teeth.

"Did I?" Pitch smirked.

"Aaarrgghhh!" Jack grunted.

Anna quickly turned around and realized that Pitch was aiming at Jack, not her. The black sand was spreading again and this time, much faster. She fell for his trick and gave way for him to get Jack. Anna mentally slapped herself several times at her stupidity.

"Jack! Fight it!" She cried and abandoned the small glow in her hand as she rushed over to him. "FIGHT IT!" She pleaded desperately as tears came pouring down her cheeks. The only sounds besides her pleas and sobs, were Jack's screams in pain as the darkness engulfed him and Pitch's maniacal laughter in the background.

He had succeeded.

Back in his head, the black sand tsunami was returning and this time surrounding him. Jack looked in every direction for a way out. He couldn't even find his subconscious' Anna.

Finding a small clearing, Jack ran for it. The nightmare sand only brushing against his shirt, as he skid past it.

Standing in the clearing was Anna with her back to him. He felt relieved to see her, even if she wasn't the real deal. She helped him out before and he knew she was a friend.

"Anna!" He called as he ran to her.

Jack laid a hand on her shoulder and immediately she turned around and yelled at him.

"FIGHT IT!" Was what she said. "FIGHT IT FIGHT IT!"

There were tears in her eyes. Sky blue eyes that were staring at him in desperation. Jack then realized this Anna, the one his mind created, was channelling the real Anna's emotions. Anna wanted him to fight. But how?

He didn't have his staff and he was sure no light like she was. Not knowing what to do, Jack pulled Anna into a hug and closed his eyes as the darkness came.

It was no use. Nothing was working. Anna desperately tried to stop the nightmare sand from spreading, but every time she tried, the sand only covered it up. Her tears were falling to his jumper and they were instantly frozen at contact.

A moment later, the sand had stopped. His jumper was black as night now and his skin was covered in webbed sand, making his body look cracked. He was unconscious and not moving. Anna moved closer to his face and let their foreheads touch. Her tears streaming from her eyes as she stared at his eyelids.

"Please." Her voice no more than a whisper. "Please come back." He was breathing, so he wasn't dead, but it was as if he was, because it felt like the Jack she knew was gone. Gone forever.

His eyes suddenly snapped open and Anna quickly pulled herself away and against the wall nearby. Instead of seeing the icy blue eyes she had grown to love, she saw familiar golden eyes. Pitch's eyes, but on Jack.

What had he done to him?

Anna stared at her friend. His look expressionless as he stared back at her. Like he didn't recognize her.

"Jack?" She moved a bit closer. This resulted in an instant reaction from him and he darted out of the bed and retrieved his staff, pointing it straight at her.

She breathed in and out heavily. Was he really going to attack her? She then turned angrily to Pitch.

"What did you do to him!?" She asked, her nose scrunching as she flared.

Pitch chuckled and stepped towards Jack, who didn't flinch. Heck, he didn't even mind that Pitch was so close.

"Lovely isn't it?" He started. "I know have him under my control and he can't do anything about it." He laid a shoulder on Jack.

"You what?" She questioned in disbelief. "How dare you!"

"Ah uh ah." Pitch waved a finger at her. "Your temper dear."

"I don't care if I set this place on fire!" She said. "You went over the line!" Anna was ready to kill him for this. He deprived Jack of his own free will. He deserved to die...no he deserved to suffer. She was ready to blast him, when a blast of ice suddenly came at her hand. Because she was fuming, it melted, but the little ball of light disappeared too.

"I won't let you hurt my master." It was Jack's voice, but it sounded much darker and there was no hint of care in them.

"Jack, it's me." She gestured to herself. "Anna. Your best friend. You have to fight it. Fight Pitch." She begged.

It seemed to have an effect on him, as he placed his hand on his head and shook it. When he looked up, his eyes flashed their normal blue for a second before going back to gold.

If she could, Anna would've smiled. He was fighting inside. Fighting to gain control. But she kept her serious tone.

"Nice try, 'princess'." Pitch said. "I thought you would've made a good ally, but you're just too bright. Darkness can't bring fear when light is present. Which is why you have to go." Anna's eyes widened at his statement. "Frost." The winter boy turned to face his 'master'. "I believe it's time for you to turn off the light." Pitch's dark smile was directed to Anna.

No! He wasn't thinking Jack would be the one to put her out? That would kill him. Oh he was really crossing the line now. Anna stepped back as Jack came closer.

"Please stop." She begged. "You don't want to do this. It's me, Anna. I've always been there for you. Snap out of it!"

None of her words were getting to him. He blasted at her, but she dodge them. All of them were near misses, she didn't have a lot of room in the infirmary.

"Do you really think I ever cared about you?" He finally spoke. "You're the embodiment of summer. I hate the heat, therefore I hate you."

That wasn't him speaking, it was the nightmare sand. Yet, his words were stabbing mental daggers into her heart.

"This isn't you."

"This is who I am now." Jack told her and readied a deadly blast of ice. A blast he knew would kill her in an instant. "I'm finally able to reach my full potential."

Anna shut her eyes tightly and readied for the impact. So this was it? Her best friend was going to end her. She heard the ice forming and crackling. It was coming. Another sound then came, a sound of something spinning through the air. The ice blasted, yet, she was unharmed. Anna opened her eyes and to he surprise, the rest of the Guardians were here. Relief washed over her, but could they really hurt one of their own?

What was she thinking?! Of course they wouldn't. Jack was family to them. Still, in order to protect others, they might just have to.

"Pitch! You dirty rat bag! What have you done to him?!"

"Just thought I'd make sure cold and darkness take over." He then grabbed Jack and disappeared into the shadows. He couldn't take on the guardians now and Jack was able to temporarily break free of his control because of Anna. With all of them present, he may have lost his current ally. They could fight them again soon.

First things first. If he could get Anna away from the guardians then they could destroy the one thing that could stop his plans. Somehow she was able to chase the darkness away. Her powers could clearly do more than simply burn you.

"NO!" Anna ran to where Pitch and Jack were once. They disappeared right into the wall and she banged her fist against it. "No! No! No!" She cried. If he stayed longer, maybe she had a chance to fix him and bring the real Jack back. Her Jack.

Before she had gotten through to him. Jack wasn't completely gone. He was fighting inside. Fighting to gain control.

Anna cried against the wall. They had to find him before it was too late. Before they could lose him forever. She slid down to the floor and felt a hand on her shoulder. The red head looked up and saw a concerned looking Sandy. He wiped her tears away and created a question mark symbol above his head.

Anna sniffed and wiped her nose with her hand. "He's gone."

Everything Jack represented, innocence, fun, it was all gone. But she was determined to bring him back. Set things right and undo her mistake. It was because of her Pitch had gotten to him and now she was going to do whatever it took to fix the problem.

AN: This just became my most reviewed fanfic. It just surpassed my previous taker by two reviews. Wow. Just wow. I didn't realise it would get this much from yous. Thanks for your support and now we're getting into the drama. YAY!

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