Chapter 11
Jack and Baby followed Nightlight flying as fast as they could, wondering what was going on.
"Nightlight slow down! Where are we going?" Jack said as they left the streets and were now over the dirt path to the forest.
But Nightlight didn't hear him, and continued flying to the woods a bit away from the pond, a rickety old wooden bed frame coming into view.
Now knowing they were going to see Pitch, Jack sped in front of him.
"Nightlight Stop!" Jack said holding his arms out, his cry snapping Nightlight back to himself.
The two took rest on a branch of one of the trees over looking the entrance to the lair of the Nightmare King.
"So why are we here?" Jack asked after a while.
"I heard Nightmares," Nightlight said playing with his staff. "Saying 'Come to us, and we'll help'."
Jack said nothing but looked at the entrance in thought.
"We should... Do you trust them enough for it to be just us that go in there?" Jack asked not really wanting to see the Guardians at the moment.
"These are Nightmares, not Wolves, which mean their from Pitch," Nightlight said but understanding what Jack meant about trust. If you didn't know Pitch's story you might think him a son of Rumpelstiltskin by how tricky he was with his deals.
Baby Tooth had just caught up with the two and saw the bed. Gasping she grabbed Jacks hoodie in her little hands and started tugging telling him they should go.
"Baby Tooth," Jack said gently wafting her away "Please we want to do this," he said making her more worried. "If you that worried, go back to the Pole and tell them whats going on. If were not back by sunrise then you can come find us."
Baby Tooth looked between the boys worry on her face tears in her small eyes, as she hugged Jack squeaking something he took as 'Be careful' and flew as fast as she could back to the North Pole to tell the others what's going on.
Giving Baby a head start, and themselves time to calm down a bit, both boys jumped down and though the hole.
-
*Pole*
Everyone was getting worried now, Emily Jane was still in North's office staring out the window, the Yeti's were slowing down on work their minds on Jack, and the Guardians were in the Globe Room slightly worried that they had just lost Jack's snow-globe.
"How can you lose a tracking device?" Bunny asked annoyed.
"They are not lost Bunny," North said at the panel going though the record of where the device was last noted from. "They were last noted to be in Burgess."
"Oooh, I hope they're alright," Tooth said fly-pacing playing with her fingers. Suddenly her feathers raised up as she turned to the window as Baby Tooth came screaming in to the room panting and flew up to her to say what happened.
"Baby Tooth, Baby Tooth slow down," Tooth said holding her hand out, "Now what's happened to Jack and Nightlight?"
The others stayed quiet as Baby told Tooth what had just happened, fainting with exhaustion when she was done.
"So what she say Tooth?" Bunny asked seeing how worried she looked.
"They... They're seeing Pitch in his lair..." Tooth began. "Nightlight followed a Nightmare to the entrance and Jack told her to tell us, and to tell us 'If they aren't back here before sunrise to look for them."
"Why are they seeing Pitch?" Bunny asked looking around. "How do we know they'll be alright?"
"They can both handle themselves Bunny," North said trying not to show he was just as worried. "And Pitch is still weak from Easter, he can not be that much of a threat or harm to them."
Sandy nodded giving two thumbs up showing he was happy with this, having high hopes for the teenagers.
"Alright," Bunny said backing down slightly, "So, what now?"
"You and Emily Jane, go to Jack's pond to check on those flowers she told us about last night." North said looking at Bunny. "Check that they are in deed Moon-Flowers. But no going to see Pitch. We need to let the boys do what they are doing by themselves."
Nodding Bunny went to get Emily and they were off down one of his tunnels.
"Tooth, Sandy, you go do jobs, I'll stay here and keep watch for Jack and Nightlight." he said in a trusting voice.
"Ok, but can Baby stay here, I think she'll want to make sure Jacks alright," Tooth asked holding a puffed out little Baby Tooth in her hands fast asleep.
Smiling North held out his hand, as Tooth handed the little fairy over kissing her on her forehead, before setting off to collect the children's teeth.
Sandy smiled and after signing 'Good luck' made himself a sand plane and flew out the window to give the children good dreams.
Leaving North and a sleeping Baby Tooth, now on his shoulder, to turn back to the Globe his worry now coming out for Jack and Nightlight.
"Let them be alright Manny," he said.
-
*Pitch's Lair, Underneath Burgess*
The two boys slowly went down the tunnel Nightlight's dagger lighting the way.
They came out into a room which still had thousands of old bird cadges over head, that only a few weeks ago held all but one of Tooth's mini fairy's.
Jack remembered how scared they were as they called out to him when he came here on Easter Sunday, making him clench his teeth and scowl in anger.
"Being angry only makes the situation you're in worse Jack Frost." Pitch's voice said around the room, making the two of them stop.
"Like you care," Jack said back stepping in front of Nightlight so he was addressed first. "I thought you wanted me to be like this. What was it again... Oh yeah, 'What goes better together than cold and dark?'"
"My, my aren't we short on temper today?" Pitch said still hiding "The Guardians leave you out of something? I told you they would. Didn't I?"
"Actually Pitch it was your daughter who left me out this time." Jack said breathing heavily hair now almost completely black but still had wisps of white in it.
"You know Emily then?" Pitch said coming out at last a bit worse for wear. "Pity it took her this long for her to tell you."
"What 'help' do you want to give us Pitch?" Jack said calming down a bit.
"I already said it," Pitch said "'Being angry only makes the situation you're in worse'. Every time you get your temper up, a bit more of you turns dark. Once your hair and eyes have completely changed color, there will be no hope left for you, and you'll become the Darkness's new pawn in his game against the light."
"How... How bad is it now?" Jack asked panic on his face.
"Pretty bad." Pitch said thoughtfully. "I think one more blaze will finish it."
Nightlight thought to what Emily Jane said about her parents and the Moon-Flowers. "Will the Moon-Flowers help?" he asked not making eye contact with the Nightmare King.
"It depends if Jack's still Jack." Pitch said "If the Darkness has complete hold of him, there will be nothing that anyone, not even Manny can do."
"Why did I have to wake up from that pond after saving Emma?" Jack mumbled but, the room being as quiet as it was, was heard perfectly by the others.
"Frost, I know for a fact that North's already told you this," Pitch said sighing slightly "But if Man in Moon chose you to be a Guardian, you must have something very special inside."
"That wasn't the question Pitch," Jack said not caring that he was listening in on that private conversation he and North had when he first told that he was a Guardian.
"Yes well," Pitch said standing tall "I've given you all I'm going to say. So get out." with that Pitch went back into the shadows. "And watch out for Emily, Jack." he said before the room went silent, and the boys started their way back to Burgess.
-
*Pitch's Lair Entrance, Burgess Forest*
It was getting close to midnight when the two boys came back out of the ground.
Jack went straight back to the tree and sat down knees pulled to his chest, head down, staff lying next to him.
"You alright?" Nightlight asked coming to sit next to him.
"I want to say 'I'm fine' Night," Jack said looking up to look at the bed. "But... No. No I'm not alright. What will happen to Jamie, and the rest of the kids, if this Darkness takes me?
"What will He... Use me for? Will... Will I still be me, or someone else." he asked thinking of Pitch turning from a Lord High General, to the Boogeyman.
"Why do you care so much about Jamie?" Nightlight asked carefully looking at Jack.
Jack took a while to answer this, thinking.
"I want to say because he's my first believer," he said "But I started caring for him way before I even knew who he was." Jack said thinking about all those times he watch over Jamie have fun in the snow he created. "Now I have my memories back, he reminds me of Emma some how.
"And now because I care about him so much, I put him and everyone else in danger."
"How..?" Nightlight asked.
"That night we found you, and you saved me from those Wolves," Jack said not able to look at Nightlight in shame. "I was only there to be attacked like that, because I saw Burgess' lights flickering on the Globe at the Pole and set out to see if everything was alright."
"It will be alright," Nightlight said softly, putting his hand on Jack's shoulder. "There's only one more day till the Moon-Flowers. You just have to not get angry between now and tonight."
"Somehow Night, I think that will be easier said then done." Jack said getting up and brushing himself down, before they set off to the Pole together.
