Chapter Eleven

Culmination

The sleigh ride was eerily silent where the only sound was carried by the howl of tundra winds as the reindeer jetted through the prismed light of the snow globe and out the other side. The high rise spires of the Pole's workshop grew from a distance as the guardians dashed onward towards North's sanctuary. The occupants of the sleigh were in varying stages of disbelief as they solemnly digested the events they'd just witnessed and took part in.

Bunnymund had Pitch cradled against his chest where Pitch's legs were draped over one leg, and his back was supported gently against Bunnymund's inner thigh and into the crook of his arm.

Pitch's head sagged limply against the furred chest; he noted absently that the rabbit's heartrate was far more accelerated than he'd ever remembered Jamie's to be. A fast heartrate typically indicated fear, and Pitch normally enjoyed an erratic thrum such as this since it usually indicated a surge of power for him. But, Pitch was finding it difficult to care about anything at the moment having let himself sink into a daze unable to cope with the facts of his current situation.

Everything that had happened served to terrify Pitch into a state of inaction now. Processing his predicament seemed increasingly hard to wrap his mind around as Pitch was uncertain whether he should be thanking the guardians or fighting them. He'd eternally fought them before; they'd always taken his hard won victories from him through the countless years they'd spent opposing one another, but now… now they were taking him away from Jamie.

Jamie had been many things to Pitch; yes, he'd imprisoned him, physically taken him without willing consent (not that Pitch had put up much of an opposition. Pitch had taken this into consideration too deciding that it was because he must have secretly wanted Jamie in this capacity all along. Of course he had, Jamie was the only one who loved him, who could love him; he had been his sole companion, so why wouldn't he want Jamie to give him the love that he wished to express in the manner he wished to express it? It was only a body, and it was hardly much to give over if it meant he could feel loved at all.)

Pitch had been alone for so very long, to have someone give him attention the way Jamie had… the Bennet boy had been fascinated with Pitch from the beginning, had shown it in the way he'd watched him, touched him, and cared for him. Jamie could be rough in the heat of the moment, he'd worn Pitch out with his sexual avarice on many occasions leaving the nightmare lord tender and swollen from the level of stamina youth held to keep going for hours on end, but it was only because Jamie wanted Pitch so badly! How could he be upset with the man for becoming so turned on that he wanted to have him over and over again? Shouldn't it be a compliment to know that Jamie had favored him so?

But then, there was always that longing to be free. It was not unlike many other times in his life where he'd been sealed away Pitch had rationalized. At least in this way, being Jamie's possession, Pitch was not alone, and better still, he was wanted. He'd spent countless years facing the darkness isolated and without anyone thinking about him in any capacity, and that knowledge was just as scary if not more so than to belong to Jamie as a personal toy. The guardians had not thought about him; the fact that they had snatched him from Jamie at all might as well have been for their own self-righteous purposes over any sort of care for him.

The tunnel shifted Pitch's focus to the present as his head jerked to take in the sudden envelopment of shadow. A soft gasp escaped his lips as a tremble coursed through him. How long had it been? Years. It had been a decade in fact since he'd felt the embrace of true darkness folding around him. Jamie had always made sure that he'd had a light shining on Pitch at all times. That first year alone, with the pulsing heat of an ever brightening source of luminosity, was enough to almost drive Pitch mad. As with most things though, he'd become accustomed to it.

After several years, he'd almost forgotten what it had felt like to be one with that side of his nature as the remains of his shadow-made clothing had grown brittle and eventually flaked away due to the constant submersion in the light and the lack of energy never regained. It had affected more than his ability to cloth himself of course, and Pitch was filled with a surge of energy and an awakening of another part of him that he hadn't realized had made him feel whole on some level. It was a penetrating rush and a combination of so many of these feelings then hit him hard and all at once. Overwhelmed by the levity of it, Pitch began to sob anew. His cries started as a soft mewling shutter, but within moments, Pitch felt like his chest would cave in from the intensity of his sorrow as he fully wept realizing then that he'd become a stranger to even himself.

Alarmed Bunnymund's eyes had quickly alerted to the sudden outburst, and he stiffened visibly as he pulled Pitch away from his chest, "Wha? What? What's going on?! I… I didn't do anything!" His head swiveled about his expression stating how out of depth he felt to have Pitch bawling in his arms like this.

North glanced over his shoulder in surprise grimacing before calling out, "Sandy, please…"

Sandy was quick to hover over Pitch and hit him with dose of dreamsand; a little too much it would seem as the dust cloud silenced Pitch with a hitched intake of breath, and the remnants curled up to hit Bunnymund full in the face.

The rabbit slumped backward in the sleigh going limp; Bunnymund's arms also slackened, and Pitch tumbled from his grasp.

Having been aware of what was going on, Tooth was quick to dart down to catch Pitch before his body could hit the floor. She wasn't sure what she'd expected when she'd grabbed him, but she was surprised that he felt almost insubstantial as if he could easily blow away with a stiff breeze. "He's… he's lighter than I imagined," she stated almost as if she were speaking to herself as she looked down at Pitch's now flaccid features.

The Cossack responded dourly as he yanked back on the reindeer's reins to land in the Pole's terminal with a jolting suddenness, "Is depleted; is a wonder he is still in existence at all." He shook his head letting out a deflated sigh, "He was right under our noses this whole time, and we never knew… we never even suspected." His words were filled with a level of regret and bewilderment.

Jack gave the snoring rabbit a yank to his foot with his staff that sent Bunnymund careening to the floor to awaken with a start. He looked about in surprise before realizing the sleigh had landed and everyone was disembarking. He frowned recalling now the events leading up to his sudden cat nap as he shifted a glare over at Sandy, but his expression softened as his sights took in Tooth holding Pitch's unconscious form.

Bunnymund was secretly glad that he was no longer burdened with that responsibility even though he felt slightly guilty for feeling as much. It was a lot to take in for all of them, and the ride back to the Pole had been enough for the Pookan to realize how dire a situation they were now faced with and how awkward it was for both sides having been enemies for so long. Were they still not enemies? Hours ago he'd thought nothing more than about how satisfying it would have been to hurt Pitch for all the countless ills the shade had caused them, but now to look at Pitch and how utterly pathetic and fragile he looked seared his gut with shame for him.

North turned towards Tooth and gently took Pitch in his arms taking the nightmare lord in with a mournful expression as he gave a small assessing nod, "Is good that he can rest now, he will need it. I do not think is good for him to be alone. The state we find him… eh, I fear worst. He is in bad way, and we must be careful not to upset him further."

Jack approached cautiously to look over North's shoulder, "But… we rescued him, why would he be upset?"

Tooth laid a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder as she tried to explain, "Sometimes a person can go through so much trauma that they don't recognize what's good or bad for them anymore. The way Pitch has been reacting to us… to the situation… he might still be a little confused."

Jack seemed just as confused by this logic, but he nodded solemnly trusting the guardian of memories' wisdom, "Uh… okay. Do… what should I do?"

There was a long pause as the guardians all looked back and forth at one another. None of them really had much of a clue what to do in a situation like this, but North was the first to find his voice as he spoke tiredly, "I must do much reading; see if I can find spell to break chains. Let us bring him to guest room and lay him down. We will take shifts watching him, two of us… in case Pitch… reacts poorly. You, Jack, can be part of first watch… Tooth?" North raised a brow to look over at the Tooth fairy not wanting to volunteer her, but out of all the guardians, he knew she was more likely to best handle the state of affairs when Pitch roused alongside Jack where Bunnymund would need Sandy's support similarly without the language barrier getting as much in the way. It was a delicate condition, and the last thing North wanted to do was make things worse for Pitch than he was already experiencing.

Tooth nodded quickly enough more than willing to assist, "Yes, that's fine. My fairies can handle things at the Tooth Palace in my absence."

Bunnymund cleared his throat and announced in a bit of a stammer, "Uh, I can come back in about eight hours ta relieve you two with Sandy if that sounds good to you?"

Sandy shook his head vigorously obviously also very much wanting to help in the efforts.

North seemed reassured that all of his friends seemed on board with his plan as he turned away with Pitch to head towards the elevators with Tooth and Jack hovering in his wake.

Sandy and Bunnymund shared a worried look without saying a word both felt each other's sense of foreboding. This was going to be a bumpy road to traverse that would change them all by the time the journey concluded.