Spirits didn't need to sleep as much as a human and Jack was no exception. Since he became Jack Frost he never slept and if he did, it was just a few hours on a tree branch or in a snow bank.
When Sandy found out about this, the little man almost had a heart attack. Jack passed two long hours watching little drawings about sleep and its importance, especially if you are young and blah, blah, blah...
Jack told him he was ok without sleeping and Sandy threatened him by saying, "If you don't go to sleep in this moment Jackson Frost, I swear I will knock you out, without dreamsand, Tooth will have another box of your pretty little teeth and you will have your sorry frozen butt sleeping until 2072." That was the first time Sandy wrote anything and Jack literally flew to his bed.
When angry, Sandy could be scarier than Pitch.
Since that traumatic moment, Jack slept all night but woke up early, he didn't like it, but he couldn't change it now.
Jack thought he had improved though; he managed to sleep eight hours without waking up or falling from the bed.
He put on his hoodie he had left hanging on the chair and after stretching and hearing his vertebrae crack, he grabbed his staff and went to see North, who probably was in the kitchen.
He walked by Pitch's room, and opening the door slightly, he saw he was still sleeping. I wonder when he will get up. If he is like Sandy, it will be difficult to wake him up, he thought, remembering the time when all the guardians were spending one of those days each month where they all got together and spent quality time as 'family' and Sandy fell asleep.
Everyone tried to wake him up but to no avail, he didn't want to get up just yet so he attacked them with his sand whips and daggers…North almost lost an arm that time, and Bunny was on the floor…crying…
Ah…beautiful memories.
He arrived in the kitchen, where North was making himself a sandwich, a really big one.
"Hi North."
"AH! Good morning Jack! Are you hungry?" he asked, pointing his huge sandwich.
"Uh…no thanks," he replied, sitting down next to him. North rolled his eyes and started to prepare him breakfast anyway, one that included cold chocolate milk.
"No no's, you need to eat."
Jack laughed and started talking with North, with little interruptions from the yetis asking signs to authorize something, to ask about toys, cars or dolls and to know if North received the last letters from the children.
North nodded, and after some minutes, told someone to go get Pitch, Jack was worried about how Pitch would react if a big hairy creature was the first thing he saw in the morning.
Minutes later, the yeti came back with Pitch following him, he had changed his clothes already but he looked tired, the yawning and rubbing of eyes was just too obvious.
"Slept well, Sleeping Beauty?" Jack asked teasingly, laughing at Pitch's 'kill me' face.
Pitch frowned and did the most mature thing he could think of, sticking out his tongue.
North approached him from behind and put his hand on his shoulders. Pitch gave a cry and turned around to see him. North was laughing hard. Do they really think it is funny to scare me every time?
He sat down hesitantly on the chair and received a glass of milk and a sandwich.
"Eat, the guardians will arrive in no time…Jack will stay with you, right?" Jack, who was about to escape to cause mischief somewhere, turned and smiled. "Yeah, sure."
"I will come in a second." North got out with some yetis to see why the yetis were crying and complaining.
"I am not hungry, I want to sleep." Pitch groaned quietly, resting his head on his hands while half his hair fell over his eyes.
"Maybe not, and I am not the most appropriate person to make you eat," Jack said, knowing he ate as much as he slept, and created a little snowflake in his palm to throw it to Pitch, he wanted to start a food battle with him, but the boy just sneezed.
Jack burst out laughing at Pitch´s baby sneeze, he wisely ignored him and bit the sandwich, discovering he was starving and finished it in seconds.
"Aren't you bothered with your hair so long?" Jack asked all of a sudden. "I would be bothered; sure, my hair is a bit long, but not that long."
"No…I don't care?" Pitch said, confused. When the white haired boy started talking about different hairstyles and their meanings throughout history, Pitch frowned even more, not understanding what was he talking about, but a small smile appeared on his sleepy face.
That was when North entered. "Did you finish?" Pitch nodded. "Good, come on, Tooth is already here."
Jack stood up followed by Pitch, and they went to the Globe Room.
Who was Tooth?
Pitch's eyes widened a bit at the sight of the fairy.
Her body was covered in multicolored feathers, most of them were green. She had a bright yellow feather in the middle of her head with pink, blue, and purple feathers behind. She had wings, transparent wings that moved so quickly they didn't seem to be there.
When she turned to look at him, he could see her eyes were pink, with shadows of the same color…she was pretty…
She frowned slightly and approached him, flying in front him.
"Hello," she said seriously.
"…"
"Pitch!" That was Jack. He was staring at her!
Pitch´s cheeks turned red purple and he managed to say a shy "Hi."
Tooth glanced at North asking what to say, but North just shrugged. Thank you for your help, Nick…she thought.
"Do-Do you know who I am?"
A bird? The teen thought, and for a moment, he tried to find a memory of her.
"You…hm...Are…a-a-a fai-fairy of, of teeth?"
"Yes, my name is Toothiana, you can call me Tooth."
Ah…that Tooth…
Pitch nodded and frowned slightly when he heard voices.
-Pitch! You have got thirty seconds to return my fairies!
- Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?
"How old are you Pitch?" she asked him, making him doubt. He didn't know how old he was, he was almost the same height as Jack, who unfortunately was taller, and he had supposed they were the same age. -You are fourteen now-
"Fourteen."
Tooth looked at North quickly and he nodded.
"Do you know what do I do as the Tooth Fairy?"
"You give money for teeth," Pitch said, completely sure of his answer.
"How do I collect them?"
"I don't know, it is your job not mine."
Tooth raised an eyebrow and Jack was trying not to laugh so hard.
"I-I am sorry," he said, raising his hands to placate the possible rage of the Tooth Fairy. "I don't know…please, don't take out my teeth," he pleaded nervously, turning his head.
Tooth was surprised; she wanted to tell him she didn't take out people's teeth. Except him of course just a few years ago, she thought guiltily, but then reminded herself that he had deserved it.
"Why do you say so?"
Pitch lifted his head cautiously and, with his tongue, touched the little gap where his tooth was missing.
"Well…I thought you gave a coin and, and then take out the tooth with a punch."
Tooth flushed with embarrassment. "No dear, I wait for the children to lose their teeth and when they put them under their pillows, my fairies and I collect them."
"Ah…I thought the pillow thing was optional," he said, smiling.
"Can I see your teeth?" For the first time, Tooth had the decency to ask before prying her fingers in someone´s mouth.
"Sure…?"
Tooth smiled and opened his mouth with such a force he almost fell backwards. Baby teeth held the most important memories of childhood, true, but permanent teeth also had memories, some a lot; others, just fragments. Maybe this will help us to know if he isn't faking this…
Ok, hum…Molars, a bit twisted but nothing. Canines, upper ones are a bit big but nothing. Bicuspids, he is missing the first upper bicuspid from the left but there isn't…wait a second…the second lower bicuspid from the right is a baby tooth! I knew he had one!
"Tooth, I think that's enough," North said.
The fairy tried to activate the memories again and again, but she couldn't see anything, it was as if they were blocked. She took her hands from his mouth and Pitch took a mouthful of air, he had been holding his breath.
He heard Jack's guffaws at the background and the boy walked slowly towards him, confused at the feathered woman's behavior.
"Does she always do that?" Pitch whispered to Jack.
"Sometimes, but you get used to it," Jack answered, patting Pitch's tangled hair. The teen threw it out with a movement of his head. "Don't touch my hair."
Jack smiled challengingly and did so.
Meanwhile, Tooth talked with North about her discovery.
"Did you know Pitch has a baby tooth?"
"How?" asked North, confused.
Tooth eyed Pitch, who was trying to take Jack's hand away from his face.
"There are very weird conditions, where a baby tooth never falls."
"Oh! So that means…"
Tooth sighed. "You don't understand, do you?"
"…"
"Okay…Baby teeth contain memories right? I can access them directly if I touch them, but when I touched his, I didn't feel anything."
"What does that mean?"
"There is a possibility that his memories are indeed blocked."
North's eyes widened. Pitch couldn't really remember them? If that's so, what will happen then? "Are you sure?"
Tooth looked down, playing with her fingers. "Weeeelll…Now that I think about it…his memories could have been blocked before he turned to a child so…I-I couldn't know, we are on the same page then…"
North sighed and rolled his eyes when he looked back to the boys. Both were rolling on the floor trying to hit each other, pulling each other's hair and shouting something about 'Don't put your hand on my face!' and 'No one tells me what to do!'
When they noticed the older spirits were looking at them, both pulled apart instantly, pointing at each other.
"He started it!" They said in unison.
North gave Pitch a look that clearly said 'behave' and was about to say something between the lines of 'I don't care who started it, don't fight', when Tooth flew towards Pitch.
Pitch closed his mouth. No way, I am not letting her see my teeth again.
Tooth smiled slightly, Pitch looked so innocent, his eyes shone brightly, and not with that malice from years ago.
A black lock of Pitch's hair fell over his eyes and he blew it off.
Tooth thought for a second before flying away and returning with something in her hand.
"What's that?" He asked.
Tooth moved behind him and she tied up his hair with a yellow hair band, forming a little ponytail.
"Your hair is too long, Pitch. It will be better if you keep it tied up until you can cut it."
Pitch touched the ponytail, wondering for the second time that day why he had his hair so long, but before he could ask, a hole opened in the middle of the room.
"Ha! Finally! I could open my tunnels inside the workshop! You saw that?!" Bunny said, jumping out of the hole.
"Excellent Bunny, so what? Do I applaud?" Jack laughed, without noticing Pitch´s mouth was on the floor.
"You know what? It would be gre-" His answer died when he noticed the other teen standing there, wide eyed.
"…Hi mate…" He said, twisting his boomerang in his paws.
Pitch whimpered in disbelief. Why was he so tall? Rabbits- or is he a kangaroo?- shouldn't be that tall! What is that? Ah! Don't shout, don't shout…
He had to bit his tongue to avoid screaming when the anthropomorphic rabbit put his boomerang on his face. He closed his eyes.
"Open your eyes!"
Reluctantly, he opened them again.
The rabbit had already taken the boomerang away from this face, but he was still holding it in front of him.
Bunny wasn't going to lose time; he was determined to prove everyone that the 'little brat' was lying to them, so he started asking what he thought was important.
"Name."
"Pi-Pitch Black."
"Age."
"…"
"Answer me!"
"Fo-Fourteen."
Bunny wanted to see if he manage to make him angry or make him attack him so he approached him threateningly, his towering figure made the boy recoil in fear. They were moving around the room.
"My name."
"Bu-Bunny," he said, remembering how Jack called him.
"It's Bunnymund for you." Pitch nodded quickly and silently.
"My job." Why do they ask me those kind of questions? Shouldn't they know?
"I-I don't know, sorry." He thought he had seen him before but he couldn't remember, why?!
"Then think."
Pitch eyed North and walked backwards to where he was, followed by Bunny. Pitch searched for North's hand.
He wanted to tell him he didn't want to continue with this, that he was scared, but when he finally grabbed Santa's hand, North took it away.
You see? He hates you…
With his hand as a fist, he looked directly into the Guardian of Hope's green eyes; Bunnymund expected him to know about a job he had no idea of; it was exasperating.
"Answer me!"
He flinched and rapidly examined the rabbit for a something that could give him a clue.
He had a paintbrush, he noticed, in his belt.
-Ah, go suck an egg, rabbit!-
"You paint… eggs…for…the children?" He said, apparently everyone here had something to do with children.
Bunny nodded with a serious expression and Pitch smirked, knowing he had guessed. In your face, rabbit.
Bunny growled, misinterpreting Pitch's smile.
"You think I don't know what you are doing?" Pitch raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet. "You can't trick me, sneaking ratbag. I know you are faking everything but I swear I will prove it and I will personally throw you to the hole they unfortunately took you out of."
With that said, Bunny hit Pitch's shoulder, making him fall. The Guardian of Hope growled and went to talk to North, leaving Pitch confused and hurt, with one thought in his young mind. And what did I do to him?
"North! Don't you see it?! He is acting everything! I don't know how, but he is! He knows very well what he has to say or how to act, and obviously when to act innocent," the Easter Bunny complained with his arms crossed.
North sighed. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince Bunny. He had promised MiM to help Pitch, but he was starting to doubt…was it really necessary? Bunny rolled his eyes when he didn't receive an answer and went to the fireplace.
Pitch was standing where Bunny pushed him, looking at the door intently. Looking between the door and the Guardian of Wonder nervously, he approached North and tapped his shoulder to attract his attention.
"What?!"
He looked down before speaking. "I have met the guardians, can I go now?" He seemed nervous, narrowed eyes pleading to go.
"One guardian is missing, for all I care you can go after that," he answered with a false friendly smile.
"And-and who's missing?" Pitch asked, even though he already knew the answer, the voice told him.
"Sandman."
In that moment, a golden plane flew to the room, piloted by the Dreamweaver, who jumped out of the biplane wearing aviator goggles.
When the plane disintegrated, Pitch started to back off not as discreetly as he thought towards the door.
No, please! Nonononono No! Not him!
Bunny noticed Pitch had a total panicked expression, like the one he had when Sandy came back in the battle years ago. Thinking Pitch was worried that Sandy would discover his 'plan', he yanked him by the collar, making Pitch choke. With the force, Pitch was drawn close to the guardian's furry chest and raised his head just in time to see his fake preoccupied face.
"What happened, mate? Look who's there." With his paw, he turned his head to see Sandy.
Both golden eyes looked intensely, each one with their own feeling.
Sandy looked at Pitch's big eyes and a smile appeared on his face at the sight of the familiar face.
It's him! How didn't I notice? He is-NO! He is not. He thought quickly, crushing his hopes. He died, he is dead. .DEAD.
Sandy sighed deeply, trying to calm down, he knew his expression was one of sadness and loss. When he managed to neutralize his expression, he looked at those full yellow eyes that shouldn't be on that face…were they full of tears?
Pitch squirmed against Bunnymund's iron grip. "Please Bu-Bunnymund! Let me go!" But the rabbit just tightened his grasp every time Pitch fought.
"You're hurting me!" He wasn't going to cry, even though his eyes were full of unshed tears so close to falling. He wasn't going to give them the pleasure of seeing him suffer. He would keep the small amount of dignity he had.
"You know who he is?" asked Bunny, grabbing his hair and lifting his head.
"Ouch!"
Your little game finishes here ratbag.
Pitch started to shout when Sandy approached him. He was the man with the whips! The one from his nightmares!
Jack noticed Pitch's attitude towards Sandy and whispered North. "You told me no one could interfere with each other's questions." It was the first thing that came to his mind. He wanted to tell North Bunny was hurting Pitch, to make him stop…now he was digging his claws in Pitch's arm to impede his movement.
North also noticed it and wanted Bunny to stop, but maybe, it was the only way to know if he wasn't lying as the Guardian of Hope claimed.
Sandy was looking at Pitch and the boy was doing everything to do the opposite, a bit difficult if someone continued to lift your head.
"Who is he?" The rabbit asked challengingly.
"I-I- He-He's-" He passed the lump in his throat, praying that his voice doesn't drop while talking.
"Look at him Pitch!" He started to shudder, why did he treat him so badly?! "He is Sanderson Man-Mansnoozie! His Noc-Nocturnal Magnificence…Sandman the First, Gua-Guardian of Sleep and-and Drea-Dreams…OK! Please! I don't know more! Let me go!"
In shock, Bunny loosened his grip on Pitch, so he took the advantage and slipped away; he started running when something grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him.
"North, do something!" Jack said, too shocked to even move.
"No Jack," North replied with the same shock.
When Pitch looked down, he saw a golden whip holding him by his wrists…like in his dreams… He shouted in fear when Sandy pulled him towards him and asked through his sand. "How do you know that?"
Pitch tried to get free but in his anxiety he didn't have the strength enough. His legs couldn't last longer and he fell to his knees with a thud. "I don't know Sandy, I don't know, I don't know," he said, using between quiet sobs the nickname that kept repeating in his head.
Remember when he said he will preserve his dignity? Well, scratch that! The person who hates him the most was in front of him about to beat him!
Sandy looked at him, hurt, and closed his eyes to suppress a memory. He pulled the whip with force making the child stand up, with a finger, he lifted his chin. "For you, it will be always, ALWAYS SANDERSON!"
"North, do something!"
"No Jack!"
Pitch nodded and the whip disappeared. When he felt that everyone was looking at him, he wiped the tears that clouded his sight, but couldn't do anything about his red eyes and runny nose.
He walked away from Sandy and Bunny, stumbling, the latter was angry because Pitch didn't reveal anything, and he asked North. "Can-Can I go now?" He bit his lip to stop it from trembling and his voice broke a bit. North nodded and without waiting more, he ran as quickly as possible.
The guardians stayed there for a long moment, not knowing what had just happened. Before Bunny could ask: 'Well, when are you throwing him?' Jack reacted.
"How could you do that Bunnymund?!" Jack said angrily.
"Do what, Frostbite?" the Easter Bunny asked using Jack's nickname.
"He doesn't remember! Don't you see it? You didn't see his face when you caught him by the arms and dug your damn claws in! You scared him to death!"
Bunny, being the warrior he was, wasn't going to lose an argument against a 'child' so he said, "How do you know he is not lying?!" From the rage he was feeling, he raised a paw towards Jack, who in reflection, walked backwards, pointing at Bunny with his staff, thinking he was going to hit him. Bunny lowered his paw, admitting what he did, while Jack looked at him angrily because his friend had the intention of hurting him.
Bunny didn't apologize but said with a calmer tone. "Jack, I know you want to believe he had changed, but we are talking about PITCH."
"I know he has changed…the shine in his eyes, his expressions…they aren't from the Pitch we knew…right North?" Jack looked North for support, after all, he saw Pitch since he woke up and was the Guardian of Wonder, he should have noticed something, right?
Wrong.
It was not that North hadn't seen anything, but the Guardian of Christmas hadn't paid much attention to the former Boogeyman.
"Jack…in fact…I haven't seen anything."
Jack's confident look decreased a bit, but it didn't disappear. "Tooth? You saw his teeth, you should have seen something." His voice sounded as if he was begging for her to say he was right…but luck wasn't on his side today.
"Yes…but as I told North…it is possible that what's blocked are his past life's memories not as Pitch Black…I can't do anything…"
His last recourse was asking Sandy, but the golden man's expression told him not to ask.
They believe he is still bad… He thought, depressed, no one supported him…
Anger clouded his mind and before he noticed he was facing up the Guardians for PITCH, he shouted. "I know he has changed! I will help him AND demonstrate it! He is not like he used to be, that's plain obvious. He has changed, I know he has and he hasn't seen anything but hate in you…I won't fail him and if you will…well, what great Guardians of Childhood." The last part was said with such calmness and derision that the guardians stepped back, as if they had been slapped.
Jack flew away to search for Pitch, ignoring the calls of the older guardians.
Sighing resentfully, he said to himself. "Ok…where would a pissed teenager go if he can't fly, use powers of teleportation...or escape through a window?" A mocking voice in his head said, What, like you?
"Shut up, I am not in the mood," he answered, ignoring the fact that he was talking to himself. Search in his room, kid. The little voice suggested nonchalantly. Jack smiled and after thanking his brain, he went towards the bedrooms.
The bedroom's door was slightly opened, and he poked his head in. He noticed Pitch had taken off his jacket to rub his injured arms and was sniffling once in a while.
"Pitch…can I come in?"
"…"
"Ok…I will take that as a 'yes' then", he said, pushing open the door.
When he approached Pitch, the boy just glared at him and turned to hide his face with a pillow.
He wasn't crying, but unshed tears gleamed in his eyes.
After an awkward moment where Jack just looked at Pitch's thin bruised arms, Pitch sighed and turned his head just enough to be heard. "…I am sorry."
"What?" Why was he apologizing?
"I am sorry, really. I make a mess of everything…"
Jack remembered he had said the same when he was with Baby Tooth in Antarctic.
"I-I didn't want to behave like that, I really wanted to please your friends but…I go-got ner-nervous when I saw that-that he-he was there…" Pitch said closing his eyes, shuddering.
"You are scared of Sandy?" Jack asked in disbelief.
Pitch lowered his head even more and nodded almost imperceptibly. "…yeah…and-and the rabbit is-"
"Irritating?" Jack tried with a smile, trying to cheer Pitch up.
"I don't know…bad I suppose, at least he is with me…I haven't done anything to him and he hates me…he told me he is going to throw me to…return me to…" Pitch hugged his knees, remembering the darkness, the solitude, the fear, the pain. "…I don't want to return to them…I am sorry, don't take me there!"
Jack felt his heart clench and sat next to him. He touched his knee to try to comfort him, but he jumped in fear. "Hey…that's not happening, you will stay in the workshop with me and North…it will be fun… and Bunny is not bad." Even though he was angry at them for treating Pitch like that, he had to defend his friend.
"But he-"
"Bunny's real annoying, grumpy, and really full of himself, he thinks he is always right and…for something that happened in the past he doesn't trust you but he is really good and with time he will…it happened with me after all," Jack said shrugging.
"What happened?" The black-haired boy asked, sitting down in a less pathetic position.
"Well, we can say that I had an accident with some spirits and my powers got out of control…ending in disaster," he said, emphasizing with his hands 'disaster'. Before Pitch could ask what, he told him. "Blizzard of '68."
"Ahh…" Pitch said, but asked. "Then how did you befriend him?"
Jack sighed and shifted a bit to be more comfortable. "Five years ago, when I was chosen to be guardian, I didn't want to be one at first, and Bunny even less, he didn't want me to join them, but when you-" He coughed sheepishly and continued. "When we passed through many things together, like collecting teeth, going to his Warren to help with Easter, then bad things happened and after fighting together against someone…dangerous at the time…we got along better." Jack knew better than to say what the bad things were.
'After you tricked me to go to your lair so you can torture me mentally and I couldn't help the guardians, you destroyed all the eggs with your nightmares, then, for some reason, my friends kicked ME out and almost hit me! After that, when everything had gone to hell, you decided to bother me once AGAIN and because I didn't accept your proposal to conquer the world, you broke my staff, which hurt a lot! You threw me to a crevasse with Baby Tooth and after all that, I could finally reconcile with my friends and recover my memories.'
While he was thinking this, Pitch looked at him, smiling cutely.
Jack sighed, seeing that Pitch wasn't sad anymore and stood up. "Well, I am not returning to the meeting, I am going to my room."
Pitch looked surprised. "Oh…ok…" He said, looking down, about to lay down again.
Jack pursed his lips. "Do you want to come? I-I have some new games on Play Station…they look cool…yeah?" He offered.
Almost immediately, Pitch nodded with a big smile. Jack was calling him to play! No one had ever done that!...it's not as if he remembered if someone had, but it felt good anyway.
When he was sat down on a light blue carpet near a big flat black thing, and Jack was moving a smaller black box, a question came to his mind.
"Jack?" He said, to attract the other boy's attention. "What's a 'play station'?"
Jack just laughed and giving him a black control with funny squares, he started to explain him the wonders of the video game consoles.