Guess who's back~

I know, I know, I suck.

But I come bringing grand news: I shall be continuing this story! I have at least one or two chapters to crank out to tie up some loose ends, and then I'm already working on a one-shot to follow it up.

I hope these make up for my absence.

Let's get this resurrection on the road, shall we?

Chapter 10: Revenge

Jack sat there, holding her body for what seemed like forever. Her eyes were closed, her chest still and unmoving. Her chocolate curls hung limp, swaying gently because of the soft wind that blew. Her blue dress was soiled with blood and Jack's tears.

He felt empty, yet the tears continued to flow down his cheeks. He felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest.

I shouldn't have reacted like that. I should have accepted her. It's because of me that she's dead now.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see North, his face stained with tear tracks. "Jack," he whispered, "go avenge her. The portal is still open. Go destroy Pitch, save Tooth. We will bring Hollow back to the Pole. I shall see if Manny can do something."

Jack looked past him to see Bunny and Sandy, each torn apart in sadness, as they nodded to him as if to tell him to go. He looked back down to Hollow's body, wanting her to be alive.

"North, just... just take good care of her... please," he said, his voice deep and angry. He gently lay her body down, and stood, facing the portal. Rushing forward, he jumped in, feeling as if he were jumping into the ocean.

Looking around, he saw nothing but darkness. Jack ran forward, hoping to see something eventually. A sudden flash of wings caught his attention to the right. He looked and saw Pitch and Decay as they laughed over something. They hadn't seen him yet, so he stood and listened.

"Oh Pitch, you should have seen the look on her face! She was so surprised, I had to hold myself back from laughing so hard," Decay said, fluttering her wings in joy.

Pitch turned to her, a smile on his face, as he said, "I'm sure it was absolutely fabulous. The fact that she fell for the whole fatherly love act made me almost want to vomit. I'm happy I didn't kill her off sooner because this was perfectly timed."

Jack's blood began to boil at their words, their laughter over her death. He began to run towards them, energy running though his veins like blood.

"YOU BASTARD!" he screamed, shooting a lightning quick strand of ice strait at Pitch. He turned and was hit right in the chest, ice creating a beautiful picture over his chest. He fell back, groaning.

Decay looked over to see Jack and her smile grew. "Oh love, I see you decided to join us. Though I must say your introduction was quite unnecessary," she said, opening her arms as if in a friendly gesture.

"You killed her. She was INNOCENT," Jack screamed, staff aimed at Decay. "And you Tooth. You only became this to get me, but all it's doing is pushing me further away."

Her smile vanished. "No. You are supposed to love me now. I got rid of the nuisance they got in our way. Pitch promised me that I would have you all to myself." Her nails grew to sharp points and she charged.

Jack dodged and swayed, her nails whizzing through the air. Her eyes were tear-filled, showing sadness and desperation.

"You are supposed to LOVE ME, Jack! Please! I loved you with all of my being and you pushed me away, only to choose this stupid girl instead of me. She's dead, Jack! She won't be back anytime soon!"

She suddenly swiped, her nail raking down his left cheek. He winced, but pushed her back with a gust of icy wind. She was flung back, landing on the ground. She looked at him, wanting to stand, but suddenly her hands and feet were encased in ice, freezing her to the spot.

Jack knelt down, looking her in the eye. "Tooth, I know you're in there. Listen. We aren't meant to be. My love was Hollow, not you. But there is someone who has loved you and you just brushed them away all the time." When she raised a brow in question, he said one name:

"Bunny."

Her cheeks flushed a light pink. "What... he... Really?"

As Jack gave a nod, he took notice of her feathers as they began to change back to normal. The black slowly changed, turning into the original rainbow of colors. Her eyes began to water, the color fading into the usual pearl pink.

"Tooth, come back to us. Bunny needs you, we all do."

Her last feather became a bright green and she closed her eyes, tears running down her cheeks. A smile adorned her lips as she fell into a slumber. "Okay Jack. I'll be back."

He unfroze her hands and feet and she lay there, sleeping.

"NO!"

A sudden force shoved into Jack from behind, sending him flying. He skidded across the floor, coming to a stop a second later. Looking up, he saw Pitch, his face furious, his eyes bright with anger.

"You ruined my plan, Frost. And that will be the LAST TIME." Pitch brought out an arrow or darkness, aiming it at Jack. He was too weak to move or shoot ice, so he closed his eyes, waiting for death...

...and it didn't come.

As he opened his eyes, he could have sworn that he saw a figure. Blinking the figure became more solid, yet still slightly transparent. The person's feet were barefoot. Long legs as pale as snow followed, meeting a pair of black denim shorts that stretched and worked to contain the person's butt. A wine colored tank top covered the person's upper body. Red hair whipped in a nonexistent wind.

Jack's eyes widened in hope.

"Hailey?"

The person turned and flashed purple eyes, and his question was answered.

"Hey Jack."

He felt like crying, but he remembered Pitch. She stepped aside so he could see. Sitting inside a giant candy wrapper stood Pitch, frozen as if he were the candy itself. He held his throat and gripped at the wrapper, too late to save himself.

Jack rose shakily, turning to Hollow. Her eyes held tears and her lips were turned into a sad smile. He ran to her and picked her up in a hug. He could smell her, sweet as a candy factory, body warm like fresh baked cookies. She gave a light laugh as they spun. Putting her down, he took her face in his hands and smashed his lips to hers. She tasted like caddied apples.

They kissed until they couldn't breath. Pulling apart, he kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. Tears fell from her eyes, but they didn't wet his sweatshirt.

"Hailey, don't leave. Please," he whispered like a child. "I can't go on without you. Please don't leave me."

She pulled back a bit so she could look into his eyes. "Jack, I have to. I only came here to save you and tell you something. Manny can save me."

"That's great!"

"But there is a catch."

He lost his smile and looked at her in worry.

She looked into his eyes and caressed his cheek. "I am going to be turned into a baby. I will remember these times, the good and bad. I will remember everything. But I'm going to be human."

His heart broke. "So you will be alive, but I can't have you forever?"

Tears fell down her face in rivers. "Sadly no. But you can have me for as long as I'm alive."

Her form began to shimmer as she faded slightly. "Jack, I have to go. Please, don't forget about-"

He smashed his lips to hers again, tears running down his cheeks. She kissed him back with vigor, not wanting to leave. When he pulled away, she was practically gone. "I will never forget you, Hailey Windrow." He kissed her gently one last time before she vanished, leaving him heart broken yet happy.

He stood only for a minute when he heard a groan from behind him. He looked to see Tooth waking up.

"Jack? What's wrong?"

He shook his head and helped her up. "Nothing. Just praying for an unfortunate family loss."

So there is the chapter.

I think I'm gonna go strait to the one-shot. I will post a message saying what it's called and all that fun stuff.

Thank you for reading and I know I'm a big disappointment with this story. I had fun with it though. Thank you for sticking with it, because that means that I'm doing something right.

Love you, and goodbye for now.

~Nakir Goldenink