Memories and Nightmares 11
North was ecstatic when he saw Jack was up and about although that quickly diminished when he saw the same symptoms as Sandy and Bunny. Jack was flushed, sweaty, and shivering as if he had the flu. Instantly he went into action. He had chicken noodle soup made and piled blankets on the boy after giving him a complete examination. Jack objected to the whole treatment, assuring everyone that he as fine but North would have none of it and Sandy was willing to back the big guy up.
"Seriously, guys, I'll just climb in a snow bank and sleep it off," Jack insisted, trying to dig his way out from under all the blankets but North pushed him back against the pillows and shoved a spoonful of soup in his mouth. Jack swallowed it and gave him a glare. He had never had anyone take care of him before and was objective to being confined when he should be outside staying cold. "I've been sick before, it's fine. There's plenty of snow outside. Just give me a few hours and I'll be right as rain."
"Nonsense," North argued as he shoved another spoonful of soup in the boy's mouth. "This isn't flu, this is exhaustion and after effects of whatever Pitch did to you. He said he would not cause nightmares until you recover yet you've been thrashing about for days. He lied therefore pack is void and null."
"You mean null and void," Jack corrected after swallowing once more.
"That what I say." North's brows furrowed. He wasn't used to someone correcting him like Jack often did. Of course English wasn't his first language like it was Jack's but he thought he had a pretty good grasp of it. But Jack's Russian was not strong enough for them to converse in it, the boy only knew enough to get by on when dealing with the odd Russian spirit and to sum that up it was many different ways to curse, apologize or tell someone off but that as it.
Jack gave a small smile and managed to free his arms from the countless blankets and comforters to take the soup from North and feed himself. The large man frowned and tried to take it back. "I'm not a baby, North. I may not be at my A game but I can feed myself," Jack said. He took a spoonful of the soup and went to eat but a sneeze took hold of him and he spilled it all over him.
North smiled fondly at him and took back the bowl before the child could spill any more. "So I see," he said as he placed it on the nightstand. He took a cool damp cloth and wiped Jack's face and the liquid off his neck and upper chest.
Bunny gave a snort of laughter. "Yeah, you're doing real good taking care of yourself, frostbite. Did any of that get in your mouth?"
"Shut up, Cottontail," Jack snapped, looking positively upset by the taunt. "It's not my fault I'm not coordinated when it comes to cutlery. I rarely ate, alright."
The Pooka was taken back but North, who seemed to already know this, only urged the boy to lay back down.
"The past no longer matters, Jack. You're here now and you no longer have to worry about food or going hungry," the Russian said in a fatherly voice.
Jack only shrugged but still looked rather dejected. "I guess."
"No guessing. You hungry, you eat. My kitchen is always open."
"Mine, too," Bunny said quickly.
Sandy nodded as well and gave Jack two thumbs up.
The boy stared at them in disbelief but smiling softly. "Thanks," he murmured.
North patted his knee and went back to feeding the boy. "Now, we must deal with the issue of Pitch. He broke the pack therefore he cannot cause you nightmares."
"Really?" Jack asked in disbelief.
"No," Bunny said, plopping down on the edge of the bed.
Sandy shook his head as well. Images appeared above his head. They weren't nightmares, North. They were memories. Pitch's memories.
Bunny gave a nod. "Somehow the kid accessed the old grump's memories."
"Hey, 'the kid' is sitting right here," Jack snapped at him. He folded his arms across his chest. "You know I was there. I was the one who went through the rollercoaster of his mind."
The Pooka gave a snort. "Well considering he doesn't have much of a conscious to begin with there mustn't have been much to see."
Sandy and Jack gaped at him and much to Bunny's surprise it was the dreamweaver that smacked him across the back of the head as dreamsand weaved into a message that in short called the interstellar rabbit an idiot.
Jack turned to North with large imploring blue eyes. "Can I please go home? I promise to take it easy for a few days. No big snow storms or anything."
North was taken aback. "Home? Oh, I forgot Burgess is your home." The Guardian of Wonder's face fell but he fought to keep a small smile on his lips. "I'd feel better if you stayed here a few more days. You don't look well at all."
Sighing, Jack thumbed the back of his head against the bed's headboard. "Fine," he whined.
"Jack…" North started, still a little put off by Jack wanting to leave. He sent Bunny a glare, tempted to wring his friend's neck for upsetting the child. "Can you tell us what you saw in Pitch's mind?"
For several long seconds Jack said nothing. He just looked at his hands and frowned at them. They were shaking ever so slightly. He tucked them under the blankets and snuggled under them. It was nice and cold under the blankets, his cold body temperature trapped under them. "I found out my sister's name. Emma. She had a wonderful life. She was able to see me…but only near the end of her life. She was beautiful."
North smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. Emma?"
A tiny smile lifted Jack's lips. "Emma Overland. She became Emma Bennett…Bennett. You don't think Jamie and Sophie could be related to her…to me, do you?"
"It's possible," North said thoughtfully. "Now that we know your sister's name I can look into it for you."
The boy's smile grew. "Would you? Please? I mean, I love them even if they aren't but it would be so cool to learn I still have family alive even if there's a 300 year gap."
"It would be my pleasure, Jack. What else did you see?"
The boy became silent and thoughtful. He glanced to Sandy and Bunny then back at North. "I'm not sure really. I saw Pitch as a general. His name was Kozmotis Pitchiner. I saw battles and…" He bit his lower lip, glancing sideways at Bunny. "It was kind of messed up. I saw how he became Pitch. It…it was horrible, North. They tore him to shreds then remade him in their image. I've never seen anything like it before. Then there was nothing but death and destruction and…Kozmotis had no control over any of it. It was like he was locked up in some dark corner and forced to watch as everything he loved was ripped apart until he managed to claw his way out and take control. They warped his mind and…and…" He sighed and hugged himself. "Maybe it was all a lie. He could have been trying to trick me again to gain my sympathy. I don't know. It felt so real and he seemed very fond of…" He glanced at Bunny from the corner of his eye. Yeah, right. There was no way Pitch and Bunny had ever been close, no matter if it was in a past life. Pitch and Sandy maybe, but not Bunny.
"Kozmotis Pitchiner died a long time ago, Jack. There ain't anything left of him but the body Pitch possesses. The Fearlings destroyed everything there was of his human self," Bunny said, waving the whole incident away as if it meant nothing. "He was probably just using old memories to get at you. You can't believe a word that man says. It's all lies."
Sandy didn't look as convinced.
"You're wrong!" Jack yelled at him, surprising everyone. "The emotions he felt for his daughter were real. His protectiveness of you when you were little was real. His love and hate for Sandy was real." He fell silent when he realized what he said. "I…I'm sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut. You're probably right, it was all a lie. I mean if he really cared about any of you he would never have done the things he did, right? He wouldn't have tried killing Sandy."
"Right," Bunny agreed, patting his shoulder. "Just another of his tricks. Forget about it, mate."
Sandy still looked unsure and even North's gaze was questioning. North looked at Bunny, an old question forming on his lips. "You once said…"
"I'll see ya all later," Bunny cut in, thumbing his foot on the floor. "I've got work to catch up on. Good to see ya awake, Frostbite."
"Jack! My name is Jack, you stupid kangaroo!" Jack yelled at him up the Pooka had already dropped into one of his holes and sealed it. The boy's shoulders fell. "He still doesn't like me," he murmured dejectedly. "Guess I can't blame him. I haven't given him a reason to."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jack," North said gently, squeezing his shoulder. "Bunny has a long history with Pitch and has fought hard to try to keep him and Kozmotis separated. It's hard when someone you once saw as your hero becomes your enemy."
"I suppose." The youth snuggled under his blankets more. "But I don't how much of a divide there really is. I think there's more of Kozmotis still in Pitch than Bunny thinks. Probably more than even Pitch himself believes."
"You might be right," North agreed. "He is not nearly the monster he once was and I don't think it has anything to do with Believers, or at least very little. When I first met him he was truly fierce some. He nearly killed me on more than one occasion. He destroyed entire constellations. Entire worlds were wiped out with no remorse. He would change children into Fearlings until his army swelled into the billions. Now he's merely a shadow of his former self and as much as I would like to give all the credit to the Guardians I don't believe we are the cause, not entirely. Without or without us he should have been able to overpower us. Something happened when Nightlight forced him into slumber all those eons ago, something that changed him. At least that's my belief. I think Nightlight gave Kozmotis a way to break free and give Pitch some humanity back. Despite all his threats Pitch has not created one Fearling child since awakening 500 years ago. In fact he has protected far more than he has harmed. It is why Manny once wished him to join us."
"Manny wanted Pitch as a Guardian?" Jack asked in disbelief. He could never picture the shade actually protecting children but in an odd way it sort of made sense. Fear could be used to harm as well as protect and if there really was more of Kozmotis left in Pitch than everyone else believed then maybe, just maybe there was some good left in him too.