Hi everybody, I'm so freaking sorry for the late update! I've had a hectic personal life and I've just moved into a new house, not to mention my major surgery yesterday and helping my friends out on here with their writing- OF WHICH I BLAME NONE OF YOU FOR, just to let you know. Obi, Xion, I blame neither of you for distracting me. In fact, I'm kind of glad you have been asking me for help because it distracts me from the stress of my real life.
That being said, I haven't had nearly as much time to work on this as I would like to have, but I have to post it today. There's a lot of stuff missing and it's full of he said she said bits, but I just had to update today. Make of it what you will.
Thank you to all of my fans and friends for their support and help, love and kindness. I wouldn't be the writer I am today without you.
And thank you in particular to ImGlowing. Your review touched my heart and made me so happy when I read it after my surgery that I started crying. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me that people love my writing and I dedicate this entire chapter to you. Thank you so much.
When Jack and Mother Nature left the inner workings of Big Ben, they lingered on the small balcony that Jack had entered the clock tower through. Mother Nature turned to him as soon as they stepped out on the building. her face was stern and brooked no nonsense "Jack, I want you to tell me everything." she told him. "Everything, alright? And please don't leave anything out."
Jack, who had expected her to ask this, nodded. "It's a bit of a crazy story," he told her, shrugging. "And I don't think we'll be able to talk while flying because of the wind, but-"
Mother simply waved her hand and a whirlwind of air appeared in front of them, flattened out like a pool of rippling water. "Get on." she ordered, interrupting him mid word. Jack complied without question and soon they were hurtling across the sky on a thermo-powered whirlwind.
They settled themselves comfortably in the strange mode of transportation and, as soon as they passed over the last lands before the Atlantic ocean she folded her arms and said, "Now, tell me."
And so Jack told her, starting with the strange human girl that had sent the Guardians a strange email. Then he explained her about the very embarrassing, albeit brief, exchange between Pitch and the Guardians and about Abby talking to all of them at the Pole. And then the story of Tooth going down to Pitch's caves, Pitch being injured, him coming back to consciousness and finally their traveling to the Tooth Palace to get Pitch's memories back.
Of course he omitted certain facts- her father's relationship with the Tooth Fairy for one, and the fact that that was the reason Tooth had dressed his wounds and spent so much time down in his caves. Mother listened intently the entire time, interjecting a laugh here and there and the odd question and it took Jack almost the entire journey to fill Mother Nature in on what had given her father such motivation to change himself and when he was finished, he could see the mountains and trees of south-east Asia passing below them.
"Well," she finally said, smiling. "It seems that I owe this girl a debt of gratitude."
But Jack shook his head. He'd heard Abby's reaction when Pitch and Tooth had thanked her and he knew that she didn't need thanks. "Listen," he said firmly. "I know it would seem that way, but trust me. Don't thank her. She doesn't want thanks."
Mother Nature tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Hmm. Interesting." She stared in his direction for a few awkward seconds, then she blinked and said, "Well, in any case I wish you would tell her. If what you say is true, then she alone is responsible for Pitch's transformation."
Jack nodded. "That's true, she is, but she doesn't care. Her ingenuity is only matched by her utter selflessness."
Mother Nature's smile widened and her green eyes flashed with motherly knowledge. "You admire her." She said it as a matter of fact, not a question, and Jack nodded again.
"To a certain extent." he admitted. "Her plan was quite brilliant. She made it look like she was just trying to drive him nuts, while she really was helping him change back into the man he was. I think that's a pretty good idea." he paused, then smiled. "Plus, her jokes and pranks were first class. I always admire a pranker."
Mother chuckled and looked down through her whirling thermal transportation at the land below. She could see forests and grassland making way for huge mountains and hills. "Ah, the Palace is coming up now." she said, clapping her hands delightedly. "I've never been there myself, but I've heard it's an amazing sight."
Jack bobbed his head in ascent. "It is beautiful." he agreed. "The inside has gold and rainbows-"
"Not exactly your type of place I would think, Jackson." Mother teased.
"You're right, I do prefer the North Pole," Jack said. "But I still appreciate art and architecture. Not only are the towers beautiful, but there's also a river and trees growing inside."
Mother beamed. "Sounds like my kind of place."
She directed the whirlwind through the huge cave opening and Jack told her to set them down on the platform that he had left Pitch, Tooth and Sandy on. They weren't there, surprise surprise. Mother Nature stepped off the whirlwind as soon as it set them down, followed by Jack, and snapped her fingers. The whirlwind broke apart and dissipated, then she turned to Jack. "So, where are they?" she asked, looking around. "I don't see anyone."
"I heard Tooth saying something about taking them down below," Jack said, pointing to the stairs on the far end of the platform. "Probably that way."
"Lead the way then."
Jack led the way. Down down down, past the lower platforms and millions of tooth containers that the housed the current children of the world's teeth, until they reached the ground floor. Mother Nature trailed right behind him, marveling at the intricate detail that covered the entire Palace, but as soon as she touched the earth after stepping off the last stair, Jack knew something was wrong. Her eyes widened and her hair lifted about half an inch into the air, crackling with static electricity.
"The trees!" she cried, running towards the nearest one and touching it's trunk. "Oh, you poor babies!"
Jack, who knew that Mother Nature had a telepathic link- is it telepathic when the object you have a link to is a tree? -to all plants and animals of this earth- "And quite a few others," she would say- didn't find her cooing over the trees odd. She could talk to them like humans could talk to each other, and she could even ask what they had 'seen'.
"The roots of the earth go deep," she would always say happily. "My plants see everything that goes on around them." And Jack had seen enough previous displays of Mother Nature's communication with the plants to believe her.
According to Mother, the roots of said plants felt the vibrations of things happening way up above them on the surface in the earth, and so they could 'see' where everything was and what was happening. A footstep, a hand touching something, and even if a battle had gone on. It was an amazing power and, if you could talk to the trees, they remembered vibrations up to a week old. They could tell you who stepped on their ground last Monday or what acorns fell where. It was amazing.
Jack followed her to the closest tree and asked, "What's wrong?"
Mother stroked the trunk of the tree. "This Cherry is traumatized, poor thing. It's shaking like a-"
Jack couldn't resist cracking a joke. "Leaf?"
Mother Nature gave him a cold look. "Not funny Jackson." she snapped. "Something serious happened here."
Jack instantly sobered up. "What? Did something happen to Pitch? Is he alright?"
Mother turned to the tree and began stroking its trunk again. A slight humming filled the air and when she opened her eyes, they were wide and fearful. "Pitch is alright," she whispered, nodding slowly. "But Tooth-"
Jack felt his chest tighten at those fateful words. Tooth was like a mother to him, and he was fiercely protective of her. "Tooth!" he yelled, rising off the floor in agitation. His heart was beating fast and horrible thoughts of what could have happened to Tooth and the others flashed through his mind. "What is it? What's wrong with Tooth? Where are they?" he asked the questions in rapid succession and he didn't wait for an answer.
Luckily for him, Mother Nature was a patient woman. She closed her eyes again and when she spoke, her voice was soft. "It says that Hover- that's its name for Tooth because she barely ever touches the ground, was connected to Pitch. I can only imagine that she was touching his teeth to access the memories."
Jack nodded. Or kissing, his mind added but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
"They were connected for about fifteen beats- five minutes," she explained when she saw the confused look on Jack's face. "And then the dark man- I can only imagine it was Pitch, sang with the wind."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Sang with the wind?" he repeated, amusement creeping into his voice. "I never pictured Pitch much of a singer. Opera, maybe, but-"
"He was screaming, Jack."
Jack fell silent. Her eyes were dark and her face was grim. Nice way to put your foot in your mouth there Jack. "I'm sorry." he said in a small voice.
She shook her head. "It's alright Jack." She said it comforting voice and immediately Jack felt a bit better. "You didn't know."
He didn't argue. "What happened to them?" he asked.
"Well, as far as this Cherry knows," she replied, looking around uncertainly. "The world exploded."
Jack blinked. "Uhhh... say again?"
"Just what I said the first time. The world exploded." Mother repeated.
Jack blinked again. "Exploded?"
She nodded.
Jack glanced around. "Uhhh-" There were a thousand responses on his tongue, but before any of them could get out of his mouth Mother Nature put the hand that wasn't touching the tree trunk on her temples and began to rub.
"Look, Jack," she said. She was obviously straining to remain calm. "I'm trying to decipher her meaning as fast as I can! It's not easy speaking tree!"
Jack winced. "Sorry, sorry!" he said, waving his hands. he just couldn't say anything right today, could he? "I just-"
"It's OK Jack," Mother said tiredly, waving her free hand. "I get it. You're worried. I am too." She raised her head and smiled. "But I think I just discovered what happened to them, so all is well."
"What?" Jack immediately begged. "What happened?!"
She looked around again, this time scanning the Pavilion and surrounding area. "Well," she began slowly, turning a full three hundred and sixty degrees. "As far as I can tell. . ."
"Come on Mother you're killing me!"
She sighed. "So impatient." she muttered. "Very well, I will spell it out for you: Something happened to Pitch, triggering a massive explosion."
"Which kind?" Jack asked. "Magical or the boom boom kind?"
"Both."
Jack winced. "Yikes."
"Yes. But that's not all." Mother closed her eyes and the humming briefly started up again. "Something strange happened after the explosion. Something that is hard for Cherry to describe."
Jack tried to keep quiet, but his desperation to find out what happened overwhelmed his patience. "What? What is it?"
She opened her eyes. "It's almost like. . ."
"What?!"
She had an absolutely puzzled look on her face and she glanced at the tree before continuing. "Like it fell asleep for a few minutes." Then she shook her head. "But that's impossible. Trees don't sleep."
Jack wasn't so sure. In fact...
"Actually," he said. There was a smile forming on his face. "I think it's telling the truth." And he did. Aside from every other time he'd seen her talking to the plants and their information being pin-point accurate, Jack now realized that the Sandman had been there, and being the Sandman he would be very hard to knock out against his will. And if he was using his powers to keep Pitch in an unconscious state...
"Mother, can you look around and tell me if you see scattered golden sand anywhere around here?" he asked suddenly.
She was surprised. "Uh, sure Jack. Actually, I was going to mention that there was something shiny over there, on the floor of the Pavilion." she pointed and Jack immediately spun around and lunged for the spot she'd indicated. She was right! It was golden Sandy-sand! Jack rubbed his hands together. "I was right!" He said happily. "I was right! It was Sandy!"
Mother Nature's eyes widened. "Uncle Sandy?"
"Yep!" Jack said, smiling. He was getting more and more excited, because now he knew which Guardians was awake he knew where to look for them."He was the one who put the tree to sleep, though he probably did it unintentionally." he added. "It might've been because, when that blast blew them away from Pitch, he let out some extra magic before reigning it in and since his magic is connected with his sand. . ."
"I see!" she said, following him over to the pavilion and bending down to inspect the sand. "So, if Sandy was the one who was awake-"
"Then he's probably taken them both to the Cloud Castle!" Jack finished triumphantly. "Sandy has the means to create a dreamsand plane, so transport shouldn't be an issue."
"When do you think this happened?" Mother asked.
"I don't know, you're the tree whisperer." Jack replied snottily.
She rolled her eyes and headed back to the tree. A bit of humming and some seconds of concentration later. . .
"An hour and a half ago." she reported.
Jack clapped his hands again. "Great! So now we head to Cloud Castle!"
Mother Nature nodded. "Now we head to Cloud Castle."
XXXXXXXXXXX
The ride there wasn't too difficult. It was actually finding the floating castle of clouds that was the Sandman's home which presented them with a bit of a problem. Sandy's home was known to drift away unexpectedly and after all, it was a castle in the sky, so they had took some time tracking it down.
At first they looked on the coast of Hawaii. Sandy liked the little island for various reasons, probably because of the sand, but the floating castle wasn't there. Then they headed- on Mother Nature's whirlwind of course, across the pacific ocean to the section of islands and cities known as middle America. Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica and areas like that, but they couldn't find it there either!
"Jack, I thought you said it would be easy to find them!" Mother griped after they flew over Dominica, sounding almost like the teenager she was with.
"Hey, Sandy moves around totally randomly!" Jack said in his own defense. "I thought that Cloud Castle would be close to the Palace, but apparently I was wrong."
Mother rolled her eyes. "Apparently." she said dryly.
After another twenty minutes of flying however, they found it.
Jack was just sitting there, staring off into space when he saw the first glimmer of gold peeking out out from behind the cloud. He frowned. "Hey, what's that?" he called, pointing and squinting. He could just barely make out it's shape from where they were floating, but as they drifted closer the fuzziness faded and it grew clearer. Mother Nature steered the whirlwind towards the cloud and the closer it got, the more the cloud dissipated until finally they could see the golden castle shining beyond.
"It's Cloud Castle!" She cheered. "We found it!"
It was indeed Cloud Castle.
Modeled after an Norman King's with all the turrets and cloisters that were present in a real castle of the 11th century, the castle was a marvel of architecture in itself, never mind being built entirely out of dreamsand. Yes, everything was dreamsand. Everything. The bricks, the mortar- the stuff that kept the bricks together, and even the glass was melted dreamsand, refined and made in the forges of the cyclopes who- despite being portrayed as huge cannibalistic monsters, were actually very kind creatures and excellent smiths.
The front of the castle was a grand spectral as well. Twin guardtowars that looked like they were from an Irish castle's design with Venetian golden angels sitting atop their battlements and a grand golden gate between them. The whole structure looked like something out of the Arthurian legend and Jack was utterly slack-jawed. Golden steps led from a great golden gate in the front to a small grassy courtyard where flowers grew and there was a small circular pool lined with golden bricks.
Jack wasn't sure how the water was maintained and he really didn't know why the plants' roots were still healthy and growing normally, but he still liked it.
Mother Nature smiled. "I love this place." she said, sighing happily. "It never gets old in my eyes."
"You've been here before?" Jack asked incredulously. She was obviously remembering happy times in this place, but he was still surprised.
She nodded. "Oh sure, I've been here loads of times. Remember? Sandy is my godfather. I spent a lot of time here after my father. . ." She broke off. Jack turned to her and saw a small tear rolling down her cheek. "After he changed." she finished. Her voice had lost about all of it's happiness and her eyes were downcast.
Jack patted her shoulder. "Mother, relax. He'll probably be back to his old self in no time!"
She didn't look up. The whirlwind guided itself around the walls of the Cloud Castle and over the grassy area until it was hovering just over the grassy lawn. "Yes, but will he still love me? Will he even remember me?" she asked, emotion choking her voice. She kept her head down as she stepped off the whirlwind and then dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
Jack sighed as he hopped off the whirlwind before it evaporated into the grass, coating it with dew. "Mother, listen," he said, falling into step with her as they walked over the lawn. "He's with Tooth. She's the Guardian of memories. Odds are, when he wakes up he'll remember everything about who he was."
She didn't respond and they made it up to the first step before he spoke again. Jack could sense that she was seriously down, not just because of the way she talked and her posture, but her general atmosphere. She was in dire need of a dose of fun. "It'll be a bit of an adjustment for him, having all those memories," he said, carefully calculating the amount of humor that would make her happy again. "But I'll help him through it." he promised her.
She raised her head. Apparently her eyes had been closed because when he saw her face, her eyes were just opening. "You?" she asked, giving him a puzzled look.
How the hell does she not stub her toes when she can't see where she's going? Jack wondered briefly, then he dismissed it. I'll ask her later. "Of course!" He laughed. "What are Grandsons for?"
Her frown deepened. "Grandsons? I don't-" she paused, then, "What?"
Jack laughed again. As they ascended the steps he floated a few inches above them, casually tapping them with the end of his staff. "Oh come on," He said, twirling his staff like a baton and flying back and forth behind her. "Don't tell me you haven't thought about it! I'm practically your son, so that makes Pitch my grandfather!"
That made her freeze, half way to the top step. Her eyes were wide with something akin to horror, but Jack continued regardless.
"We were talking about it in his caves and he's totally fine with it." he said, smiling at her utterly shocked expression upon hearing his words. "I know, you didn't expect that, right? But trust me, he's totally cool with it. He even said he'll start celebrating my death day and take me fishing for Piranhas."
Mother's face broke out into a wide smile. "I highly doubt that." she said flatly. "For one, my father never fished a day in his life."
Jack shrugged. "He probably would if it were Piranhas."
"Secondly," Mother Nature said, ignoring his comment. "How do you figure? You may be like a son to me, but Pitch Black is definitely not your grandfather."
"Oh yes he is!" Jack argued. They were both on the top step now. Jack was floating in front of her and had his back to the huge golden gate. "He might be a different man than he was when he was your father, but the man you cared about is still in there and he is my grandfather! He admitted it!"
Mother sighed. "Jack, it doesn't matter which man he is. Kozmotis, Pitch, or whoever. He's still not your grandfather."
"He is!" Jack insisted.
Suddenly Mother Natures eyes, which had been closed in exasperation, snapped open and blazed with angry light. "How can you even view him like that after all the things he did to you in the Nightmare War?" she demanded. Her voice was like steel and Jack actually flinched in the air. Flinched! He'd never been afraid of her before! "After what he did to you!"
Jack floated there silently for a few minutes, trying to work up the courage to speak and when he did it was timidly at first, then his voice began to grow a little stronger with each word. "But Mother," he said, ready to shut up if she yelled at him. "all he did was want to be believed in. All he did to me was break my staff and throw me down that crevice, which was no big deal!"
"All he did," she repeated mockingly. Her tone had gone from angry to downright furious. "All he did! Listen to yourself, Jack! He tried to kill the Guardians and he hurt your first believer!"
Jack frowned. "He didn't hurt Jamie," he said, giving her a confused look. "What are you talking about?"
"He tried to!"
Jack rolled his eyes. "He would never hurt Jamie, mom." he sad, trying to placate the angry spirit.
"Oh really?" she asked, raising a mocking eyebrow. "What was that he said towards the end of the war? There are other ways to snuff out a light?"
"He wouldn't have." Jack said firmly, if a bit tiredly. "Mother, he wouldn't have hurt Jamie."
"How can you tell?" She demanded. Her eyes were bright with anger and even a little sadness. "He's a psychopath! He tried to kill you and he probably would have killed that boy too!"
And just like, Jack snapped. Maybe it was the allegation of Pitch being a psycho, or maybe it was just how pigheaded she was being. Whatever the reason, he decided he'd had enough.
"Yeah well, maybe you didn't realize this mom," he said loudly, the last word drenched with scorn. Anger was building in his brain and he was so confused at this point that he didn't really care what he was saying. Why would she be so set against Pitch being his grandfather? Was it just leftover tension and bitterness from her first years as a spirit and without a father? What was her real problem? "But Jamie was Pitch's first believer in a long time too, not just mine ever!"
Mother actually did look shocked at this, but Jack just kept pressing on. He didn't know what her problem was, but he wanted it to be resolved before they walked through that gate.
"You know what I think this is?" he asked, flying closer to her. "I think it's just the angry tantrum of a little girl who lost her daddy. And that's a well-deserved tantrum, Manny knows! You lost your father as age- how old was it?" he paused, looking uncertainly at her.
"Ten." she replied coldly. "I was ten years old."
"There you go. Ten." Jack replied, folding his arms as if his point was proven. "No one should have to go through something like that at that age. Or ever. But you did. You did and now you're the all-powerful nature spirit that legends are written about. You sacrificed something, well so did I!" Now tears were falling from his face and he had to struggle hard to keep from crying." So did we all! I had a sister and a mother and a father too, ones that I loved! And I got them ripped away from me because it was my purpose to be the spirit of winter, just like it was yours to be the spirit of Nature."
Jack paused and let out a sigh. The foggy anger was fading very quickly from his mind and now he just felt tired. He'd kept all that in for over three hundred years and it felt really good to get it out. "I don't want to argue with you Mother," he said tiredly, looking her straight in the eye. His own eyes were a dull sapphire, not the beautiful glistening lights they normally were. "But you need to let go."
She opened her mouth to argue, but he raised a hand. "You lost your father and mother. I get that. But I lost both my parents and my sister, and I'm not even going to start on my memories!" He took another breath to calm down. "But I am going to say that it happened. It's in the past. You can't hold a grudge against someone who might not even exist now for something they had to control over. Trust me. I held a grudge against Manny for the longest time because he never gave me any answers."
Jack glanced up at the sky above and around them. "But now I see that it was for my own good. That I had to find it all out on my own to become who I am, and it seems you do too."
Mother closed her eyes and Jack thought she was going to cry again, but when she opened them her eyes were dry. "You're right." she said in a husky voice that Jack could barely make out, it was so choked with emotion. "You're right, Jack."
Jack blinked. It had been that easy? "I'm...right?"
"M- my f- father," she said, trying to keep her voice from cracking, which was clearly an effort. "My father didn't have a choice when he was sent to guard the prison. He didn't choose to become Pitch Black, and Pitch Black didn't choose to be the Fearling's puppet."
Jack nodded. "They were there, talking in his head from day one." He said sadly. "Telling him twisted things and messing with his mind, keeping his memories from him. Otherwise he certainly would have found you."
She nodded slowly. "I believe you." she said, her voice still thick with emotions. "And because I believe you, I cannot judge Pitch or my father too harshly. They had to idea and they aren't to blame."
Jack smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. "It anyone's to blame, it's the Fearlings." he said.
"That's right." Mother agreed, her face turning steely. "They took my father away from me and changed him. Now Pitch Black is being haunted by memories he doesn't understand and he's probably scared right now. He never asked for any of this, any more than my father did!"
Jack nodded. He had noticed she was talking about Pitch and Kozmotis like they were too entirely different people and, now that he thought about it, he supposed they kind of were. To her anyway, and probably to anyone who had ever known them both. Pitch was the Boogeyman, and Kozmotis was the embodiment of courage. Two sides of the same coin. Yin and Yang. Dark and Light. Night and Day. It was like this whole thing had been prophesier from the beginning of-
Jack internally smacked himself. Whoa! I'm getting all philosophical! He thought, shaking his head to clear it. That's Abby's job!
Deciding not to mention his little thought-train derailment, Jack decided to say, "I agree whole-heartedly. Pitch, Kozmotis, whoever he is, he's a good person who just wants a family and somewhere to belong. Is that too much to ask?"
She didn't answer for the longest time, during which Jack waited with bated breath. Would she agree? Would she not? It was a fifty-fifty chance, and he had to know now. If she said yes, then she was agreeing to put aside her anger- something that he hadn't been able to do until he'd understood just who and what Pitch Black was- and try to help bring back the man beneath. If not. . . then she would probably just disappear forever and Pitch would drop back into the pit of despair he'd created before Abby had shown up. If his daughter didn't want anything more to do with him, then he might as well kiss any hope of being a good person goodbye.
"-no."
Jack blinked. He'd been so busy thinking and wondering about her answer that he hadn't noticed when she started talking again. "Uh, what?"
"No." She repeated. Her voice wasn't cold anymore, but there was an undertone of steel in it that Jack instantly was aware of.
"No?" He echoed, confusion creeping into his voice and even a little bit of disappointment. "But, you just said that he's lost so much and you said he was a good-"
"No," she said a third time, raising a hand to stop his confused babbling.
Jack felt his heart sink. He'd felt so sure that Mother Nature would feel some compassion for the poor being who had suffered through the years as the cage for the Fearlings, not to mention her father! But here she was, saying-
"That isn't too much to ask."
Jack blinked again. "What?"
Mother's face broke into a sad little smile and she put her tattooed hand on Jack's shoulder. "It's not too much to ask for a family, Jack. You should know this better than anyone."
Jack's eyes widened in realization. "So, you are going to try and help him?" he asked eagerly, his feet already starting to rise a little bit in excitement.
"Yes Jack," She said, her eyes were bright again and this time, there was a passionate and fiery glow instead of a cold, icy look within her eyes. The emerald glowed almost blue in the golden light. "In fact I'll do him one better. I'll help prove to him, whoever he may be, that he really does have a family that loves him."
Jack lat out a triumphant whoop and jumped into the air, flying around and around in circles and waving his hands jubilantly. "YES!" he hollered. "YES YES YES YES!"
"Alright Jack, you can come down now." Mother called after laughing for a few seconds at her 'son's behavior. "Yes I'm going to help Pitch, but we can't very well help him do anything until we get inside and make sure he's actually there."
Jack made one last loop, then he smoothly changed the winds and landed back in front of her. "Right you are!" He said, smiling. Then he turned to the gate and banged on it loudly with his staff, yelling, "Hey Sandy, open up will you?"
Nothing.
"Uh, Jack, I don't think that's going to-" she began, but before the words were completely out of her mouth, there was a grinding sound and the gate slowly, slowly, began to open.
"See?" Jack said, turning half-way and giving her a blood-boiling wink. "I know what I'm doing."
"I'm so sure." she replied, again sounding like the teenager she was with. Though Mother Nature was a very old spirit, no one would agree that she was an entirely mature one.
Once the gate was open and they were able to pass through into the inner courtyard, they did so and were amazed by what they saw.
Eight golden statues lined the edge of a huge plaza with a golden brick path ringing the outside of yet another pool. This one had a small pedestal in the center with a fountain rising up and bubbling water up through unseen pipes, only to flow back down into the pool where, when they walked closer, they could see koi fish swimming in the water. On the other side of the pool was another golden door that presumably led to the inner tower where Sandy was.
"Wow!" Jack said, immediately running over to the first golden statue- a giant golden Chimera that was raised up on its back lion-legs with a ferocious roar frozen on his snout. The other two heads, that of a Goat and that of a snake, were also raised and the snake's mouth was open so viciously and it's eyes were carved in such a way that it looked almost real. "These are so freaking cool!"
Mother Nature sidled over to the giant Phoenix that was sitting beside the Chimera. It had its six foot long wings out and its head raised majestically. She rubbed its head, which had several longer feathers sticking out of the top of the head. "Superior craftsmanship." she murmured. "I wonder if he made these himself."
"Duh, of course he did!" Jack said, running over from the bear to the Phoenix that she was looking at. "Look at the material. Sand!" And those feathers kind of like Tooth's crown, he added mentally, surveying the beautiful statue. No prizes for guessing who he based this off of.
She looked it was indeed a fine grainy substance that reminded her of golden sandstone. "Amazing," she breathed. "I had no idea uncle Sandy was such an artist."
The statues were arranged in order from largest to smallest and as Jack and Mother Nature headed for the door that would take them to Sandy, they walked slowly to admire them.
On the opposite side of the Chimera, the left, there was a huge coiled Chinese Dragon with fine long mustache and fur, rather than scales like the European dragons. It's fur was shining golden and covered its neck like a lion's mane and two coiled horns like that of a make deer's branched out from the top of it's head. The snout that housed the dragon's immense mustache was open and full of needle-sharp teeth that went far back in it's mouth like a shark.
Jack liked that one, but Mother Nature had seen the damage a Yin Lung- that was the breed of Chinese dragon, could do, so she only glanced at it briefly to admire the craftsmanship.
The next to the Dragon was an enormous Hippogryph with the head, legs and golden wings of an eagle, but the body and tail of a horse covered in golden feathers, each intricately drawn with lines to make them look almost real. Jack also liked that one.
"Anything that has to do with flying." He said as they passed the statue. "Anything to do with flying, I like."
The third creature on the right, beside the Phoenix, was a crouching werewolf with the torso of a toned and muscled human with a fine layer of fur and a wild great gray wolf's head, balancing on its curled fists and back legs in a sitting position with it's snout poised skyward, open in a howl.
"Hey, that looks like Bunny!" Jack said, flying up to the Werewolf and mimicking its stance. "OWOOOOOOO!"
Mother smacked Jack's shoulder. "Be nice."
Jack shook off the rebuke and straightened, following her up to the steps that led to the next door. On the way there they passed a Centaur, opposite the Werewolf, and Mother Nature stopped to look at it. Jack didn't. He'd seen enough of those jerks to last him a lifetime. Or several. The head, chest and arms were that of a muscly man and the face was warm and handsome with a wide smile, kind eyes and a narrow nose. It had its right hand extended, as if in friendship, to the creature next to it which was a regal Unicorn with an intricately spiraled horn, flowing mane and a sad look in its cold, lifeless eyes.
"The last of the Unicorns died out some time ago," Mother Nature recalled sadly as she caught up to Jack. "Now only their spirit remains, guiding souls who are lost in the forest to safety."
The last creature of all was a mermaid, sitting on the right beside the werewolf. Her enormous golden tail was laying on a golden rock encrusted with golden seaweed and barnacles and her hair hung down to cover her chest and shoulders. Each scale on her tail was carved to match the others and it was clear that this statue was made with loving hands, not to mention a master's hands.
Jack whistled when they reached the mermaid. "Whoa."
Mother covered his eyes. "Too young Jackson, waaay too young."
Jack ducked away and continued to stare at the mermaid. "I thought these things were ugly!" he said, reaching out to touch the tip of her tail. "Or is Sandy just so fascinated with sea life that he finds it necessary to adjust their looks?"
Mother smacked his arm again. "Jack, knock it off." She told him sternly. "I think that Mermaids are lovely, though none have been seen since that accident a few hundred years ago when Sandy accidentally lost a bag full of starstuff in the Atlantic Ocean."
Jack turned around and looked at her. "Starstuff?"
"I'll tell you later." she promised, steering him up the steps that led to the slightly smaller door than the gate they had just passed through. This one was made of gold that looked like wood and had twin golden knockers- NO, NOT THAT KIND! JEEZ, YOU PEOPLE ARE WEIRD! -fashioned into rings that hung from nails melded with the wood. "But right now-"
"Yes yes," Jack said, waving his hands to propel himself forward and away from her, then he turned in mid-air and hovered there. "I know! So what are we waiting for?" He turned again and flew up the last steps to the door, then he proceeded to bang on the door with his staff, never minding the knockers (Though since he's a boy, you'd think that would be the first thing he would- EW! NO! I'M NOT GOING THERE!). "HEY, SANDY! YOU IN THERE?"
Nothing.
"Oh move aside!" Mother said, pushing the door open with a well-placed kick with her surprisingly sturdy green slipper. The doors flew open and she strode inside, faithfully accompanied by Jack at her shoulder. Well, kind of at her shoulder. The top of his head only reached about an inch away from her shoulder. Well, she was tall! He couldn't help that he was short!
The interior of the room they headed into was totally decked out in gold, just like everything else. The first thing they saw as they walked through the door was a large chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which was slightly lower than they had assumed it would be, and the large spiral staircase that led up through the ceiling at the opposite end of the hall. Aside from that, there wasn't much on this floor.
"Hello?" Jack called. "Sandy?"
"Uncle Sandy it's me!" Mother called, striding straight into the center of the room, across the golden floor and over to the stairs. "Mother Nature! Are you up there?"
Jack followed her and started up the stairs. "Where else would he be?" he asked, flying slowly up the staircase. Mother Nature hesitated, then followed.
Two minutes later, they came to the second landing. This one was a bit more personal and smaller. It still had a chandelier and another staircase leading up, but instead of just a big, empty space it had a couch that were facing away from them and some tables, a chair, a fireplace and, in the far corner, a huge king-sized bed with a canopy, golden bedposts and a thick curtain that wrapped around the entire bed, leaving no side exposed.
Mother Nature frowned. "Sandy?" She called, walking over to the bed and gently moving a piece of curtain back so that she could see into the bed. "Uncle Sandy, are you-" The rest of her sentence was cut short by a horrified gasp that prompted Jack to Leap to her defense. He crossed the room in a single bound and came to a skidding halt beside her with his staff out.
"What is it?" he asked, looking from her to the bed. "What-" And then he saw it. "Oh my," he breathed. "Are they-"
She didn't give him a chance to answer. She ripped back the curtains and, before Jack could put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, flung herself at the figure in the bed. "Oh daddy!" She said, shaking his shoulders. "Father, please, wake up! It's me, Seraphina! Wake up! Please wake up!"
Jack tried to pull her away, "Mother, maybe we should-" But she wrenched her arm away with a determined "NO!" and continued shaking him.
"Father, Pitch, Kozmotis, whoever you are, wake up! Please wake up!"
They won't wake up.
Jack's ears pricked up. "Hey, did you hear that?" He asked, raising his staff and looking around the room.
Seraphina, Jack, I'm over here.
Mother Nature was too busy crying and begging her father to wake up to notice the strange voice that seemed to come from nowhere. It was slight and vaguely gentle, like a glass of warm milk or a soothing lullaby.
Wait a minute, lullaby?
Jack's eyes widened with realization. "SANDY!" he yelled, running over to the couch and leaping over it to land on the other side. There, he found a sad-looking Sandman. "Sandy, what's going on?" he asked, looking over at Mother Nature and Pitch. He was laying there with a blank look on his face, his hands clasped together on his chest. Mother had her head laid on his chest and was crying quietly."What is this? Why is Pitch asleep? Where is Too-"
Quiet.
Jack went quiet.
First of all, Sandy wrote, standing up and rising several inches above the floor. Tooth is there. She's laying beside Pitch and it's only a matter of time before Mother Nature sees her, so you'd better come up with an explanation right quick.
"M-me?" Jack asked, shocked. "But why do I have to explain? Anyway, he said that he wanted to explain it himself!"
Jack, there might not be time for him to explain it himself! Sandy waved his hands to get his point across, then he sighed and brought them down, lacing them together in front of him. I'm sorry, he wrote. I'm just a little tired. I shouldn't be yelling at you, I should be yelling at myself.
Jack frowned. "You?" he asked, puzzled. "Why?"
Because. . . Sandy lowered his head. Because I should've known.
Now Jack was thoroughly confused. "Known what?" he asked.
That it wouldn't be this simple. Sandy replied, wringing his hands together. I'm sorry Jack, I'm so sorry. I should've known!
"Known what?!" Jack demanded. "What is wrong Sandy, what are you hiding?!"
Sandy stood silently for a long time, unmoving. He wouldn't meet Jack's eyes and he looked at the floor, little golden tears falling down his face. Jack had turned away in disgust after the first minute of waiting, but when he heard the gentle plink! of something hitting the golden ground he turned around and saw, to his utter astonishment, that Sandy was crying!
"Sandy!"
I know, I know, Sandy wrote in his dreamsand. His expression was the epitome of down-cast. I shouldn't be such a. . . a creampuff. Pitch was right.
"No no, that's not what I meant!" Jack said, crossing the few feet between them and bending down to look the Sandman in the eye. "Sandy, you're the strongest Guardian ever! You beat the snot out of Pitch in the Nightmare War! We wouldn't have won if it weren't for you!"
You wouldn't have won, he corrected, still keeping his head down. If not for those kids. They did a brave thing, summoning be back from the Nightmare sand. Not to mention extremely risky. Sandy let out a silent sigh. Alright, I'll tell you. But we can't let Sera know, he added, looking quickly at mother Nature, who was still crying on Pitch's chest.
Jack frowned. "Sera?" Then he glanced at Mother Nature and remembered what she'd called herself when she had first seen Pitch laying on the bed. "Oh!" he said, realization dawning on his face. "That's her real name?" he asked Sandy.
Sandy nodded. Seraphina Grace Pitchner. He said, wiping another tear from his eye. I helped pick out her first name, her mother picked out her middle and the last was her father's.
Jack nodded. "I like it. It's pretty."
Sandy finally raised his head and there was a small smile on it. Heh. Yeah, better than Lazarelli. He wrote, chuckling silently to himself.
Jack didn't know what that had to do with anything, but he laughed as well. "That one's pretty bad." he agreed.
Sandy chuckled silently again, then the serious expression that they saw so rarely on the chubby Guardian's face covered it once more and his smile turned into a grim slash. Jack, he wrote, glancing once again at Mother Nature- Seraphina, to make sure she wasn't listening. She wasn't. Jack, he repeated, we have to take Pitch and Tooth to the Pole!
Jack blinked. "Sorry, what?"
The Pole, Jack! Now! Before it's too late!
Jack straightened. "But why?" he asked. "What's happening to them?" His face turned serious. "Sandy, what happened after I left?"
Sandy threw up his hands in frustration. It was infuriating, trying to get the worlds out when he was so used to working with pictures! So many things, Jack! He wrote, now pacing in mid-air. So many things happened!
"Then please," Jack begged. His brain was whirling with scenes of all the terrible things that could have happened to Tooth and Pitch if the process hadn't worked. Would they both be mentally scarred for the rest of their eternal lives? Would they remember him, Sandy, each other? "Please Sandy, don't keep me in the dark! Tell me what happened!"
Sandy sighed. I said I would, didn't I?
Jack nodded. "Yes, you did."
Sandy sighed again. Alright. He wrote. Alright, I'll tell you. Get Sera.
Jack turned and, without hesitation, crossed the room to the bed. "Mother," he said, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Come away."
She didn't answer except to cry, and the sound cut deep into his heart.
He swallowed. "Mother, listen, Sandy's going to explain what happened to Pitch and Tooth."
This seemed to trigger some response because Seraphina stopped crying and sniffed, but didn't say anything.
"Tooth's laying there beside him," Jack continued. "And, uh. . . something happened to them both. Something bad."
"What?" Mother croaked. She didn't raise her head and all her crying had clearly made her throat dry.
"Come on," he said, looping her arm around his and trying to haul her up. "Sandy will explain, but you've got to come over to the couch, alright Mother? Just over to the couch, it's not far."
Sandy appeared on her other side. Come on dear, he wrote gently, picking up her other arm. I know you're distraught and you haven't seen your father in a long time, but this is only short-term, I assure you! Pitch will remember you in no time!
Mother raised her once-beautiful face and looked at him with blotchy red eyes. "Really?" She asked, sniffing.
Jack shot Sandy a look. Sandy returned it with a firm glare which clearly said, I'm giving her hope, not lying to her. Jack nodded, almost imperceptibly, and lowered her onto the couch. Then he sat down beside her. "Of course." he said, patting her shoulder gently. Sandy let go of her arm and flew around to face them.
Alright now, he said, looking sternly at Mother. Sera, sweetie, I need you to be strong for me, alright? I know this is very traumatic and I don't know how much Jack has told you, here he shot Jack a look.
"I told her everything." Jack replied, adding mentally, except about Tooth and her dad. He he.
Good. Sandy turned back to Seraphina. Now, as I was saying: Jack seems to have filled you in on our situation and now it becomes my duty to explain why your father isn't sitting up and talking to you right now and what happened to him.
"Yes."
Both Jack and Sandy jumped. Her voice was flat and hollow, but soft, like an echo. It didn't sound good and her mouth barely opened when she spoke.
"Uh," Jack said, sharing an unsure look with Sandy. "Are you alright Mother?"
"Fine." She said flatly. "Continue."
Sandy nodded. Alright. A cloud of golden sand began to form above his head and then float down until it was bobbing in the space between Sandy and Jack and Seraphina, twisting and molding until it was an intricately-detailed rendering of the stairway that Sandy had walked down just to hours ago with a little sand Tooth, Pitch and Sandy walking down it.
After Jack left, he wrote above his head in the curling dreamsand they had become so use to, we all headed down to the ground-floor and all was well. For a bit. Then. . . he stopped.
"Then?" Jack prompted.
Then, Sandy wrote, a small, sad little ghost of a smile playing around his golden mouth. All hell broke loose.
XXXXXXXXXX
When Sandy put Pitch to sleep. . .
"Thank you Sandy. Thank you so much."
Hey, no big deal.
"It is a big deal, but we could spend a millennium arguing about it, so let's just leave it at that."
Good idea.
Sandy smiled. Pitch is so lucky to have Tooth. He thought as he closed his eyes and,raising his hand with the practiced ease of a professional, dumped a small handful onto Pitch's head. She cares about him so much. She knows it's risky, but she doesn't care. All she wants is for him to be happy and remember who he is. That proves, as if everything else hasn't already, that she loves him. And that's good enough for me.
It only took a second for the golden grains to dissolve into Pitch's mind and for his face to relax somewhat, but by that time Sandy had already delved into the deepest recesses of Pitch's subconscious mind.
At first, it as nothing but a mirage of black on black, Sandy told Seraphina and Jack. The golden sand floating between them took on the shape of a miniature Sandy, moving through the air with his arms waving, as if he were blind. I couldn't see anything. No lights, no sounds, nothing. Like a vast cavern of smoke.
"You were inside my father's brain?" Seraphina asked incredulously. "How? Why didn't you do this sooner?" Her voice began to take on a tone of anger. "If it could've helped him-"
I didn't do this sooner because it wouldn't have worked. Sandy wrote sternly, rubbing his hand with his face. He was so tired. All he wanted to do was sleep! Anyway. . .
For an unknown amount of time Sandy wandered through the black. Not even his own golden glow could illuminate the darkness. It felt like he was drowning in nothingness, cut off from everything and everyone. He kept moving forward, sometimes walking sometimes flying, but he kept moving. Staying stationary wouldn't be very good, he knew.
Darkness, darkness, more darkness. Nothing but shadows, fear, darkness and cold. Sandy felt the shadows affecting him from the minute he transported his consciousness into Pitch's subconscious, but the longer he stayed in this unending blackness the more the feeling of dampness and fear began to coat him until eventually, after an unknown amount of time- really, how could you tell time in someone's head? -he stopped and, with a powerful blast of dreamsand that illuminated the whole area around him, mentally yelled, "THAT'S ENOUGH!"
The shadows immediately receded and the feelings of fear that were trying to lay root in his heart were cast out. Sandy put his hands on his hips. There, that was better. Now he could actually see, not that that was much help.
The brain was a really tricky thing, and Pitch's brain was an even more tricky thing. Where most humans had a conscious side and a dormant side, Pitch had two co-existing consciousnesses. The Fearlings, and his own consciousness. The Fearlings took over while he was asleep and Pitch remained in control the rest of the time. That, in itself, should've been enough to drive him mad, but it hadn't. Instead, he had grown and learned to cope with the creatures hissing and screaming into his ears from the inside.
It couldn't have been easy, Sandy thought as he started walking again. The room around him was nothing more than a narrow stone corridor, now lit up with golden torches each five feet along the way. Poor man. We judged him so harshly for being nothing more than a puppet. Sandy knew he was getting close to the inner sanctum of Pitch's brain. That black fog had been nothing more than the foggy outer crust. The bridge into Pitch's real mind and consciousness.
And thankfully, he was soon proved to be right. Sandy turned a corner and was immediately confronted with a very daunting sight. At least, it would be if Sandy was afraid of the dark. But he wasn't, and that made him suspicious. Darkness doesn't bother me. The Fearlings should know that. Sandy stopped at the thresh-hold of the cavern. Something's seriously not right with this. He waved his hand and instantly the cavern was illuminated by golden dreamsand. What he saw absolutely horrified him.
Cages. Huge, black iron cages with cruel-looking spikes and barely any space inside them hung from the cave-like ceiling among the stalactites. There were about a hundred of them crowded together and they hung close to the ceiling. They looked just like the ones Jack described; the ones that had held the fairies when Pitch had kidnapped them, and they weren't empty.
Sandy's golden Sand took the form of about fifty cages, all like the ones he described. Shifting sands took the place of occupants, all except for one.
What the- At first, Sandy thought it was a trick of the light. Then he remembered that this was Pitch's mind and he should never think anything he saw here was a trick. He rose a few inches to get a better look and immediately froze when he saw what was in those cages.
People.
Human beings, some of them, and some. . . Some didn't even look remotely human.
Sandy's eyes widened and a horrified- but silent -gasp escaped his lips. Oh my gods! WHAT is going on here?! Immediately he flew up to one of the cages and looked inside. It was one of the smaller cages and inside it, huddled on the bottom of the cage with her arms wrapped around her knees, crying, was the body of a little girl.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Sandy's words hung in the air- literally, along with the golden cages- one of which clearly held a little girl, for a full twenty seconds before Jack and Seraphina opened their mouths to speak. And when they did, they both said the exact same thing.
"WHAT?!"
Sandy had to smile. Not only did they sound alike, but they also had mirrored expressions of horror on their faces. You sound as if you're surprised by this, he commented, leaning back and folding his arms impassively. Remember, this is Pitch's brain we're talking about here.
Jack was still gobsmacked, but Seraphina managed to stutter out "Yes but-"
But nothing! Sandy wrote firmly. I knew there was going to be some weird stuff in there, but I didn't-
Before the sand even formed the words Seraphina butted in, "But you didn't know that there would be children in cages?" She didn't mean to sound cynical or nasty, but it sounded that way anyway.
Sandy threw up his hands with an exasperated- and silent- sigh. Hey, judge me if you like! Do I look like I care?
"Oh come on," Jack said, finally coming back from his utterly shocked silence with a shake of his head. "You had to have been a little surprised!"
I was surprised! Sandy wrote, his face clearly agitated. More than that, I was freaked out so much that I wanted to leave and never come back, but I persevered. I knew that Tooth was counting on me to find something about what was happening to Pitch, and I wasn't going to get some crazy mental images of girls in cages get in the way of
"So what did you do?" Jack asked.
Sandy shrugged. I did what anyone would do. I tried to get her out.
The first thing Sandy did was try to get her out.
He didn't try to talk to her- what would've been the point? She was either a figment of Pitch's imagination. . . or something much worse.
The first time he tried to get her out, the second his golden hands touched the bars, an electrical shock ran through the bars and forced him to let go. He staggered back, supported only by the golden cloud of dreamsand that he was hovering on. He stared at his hands, at first in surprise and then in horror.
Tendrils of black smoke were curling from his fingers and the centers of both his palms were blackened and covered in dark sand, like he'd burned then while they were in a kiln or something similar. It was weird and as he dusted off his hands, allowing the golden sand to cover up the marks and healing himself at the same time, he felt a peculiar sensation on his fingertips. He looked down at his hands again, but they looked normal. So he tried to shake the bars again. The same thing happened.
"Did it... shock you?" Seraphina asked, looking down at Sandy's hands- which he had subconsciously started rubbing together.
Kind of. Sandy replied. It was more like a deterrent than an electrical surge. Those cages were made out of the pure magical energy that resides in Pitch's mind. Controlled by the Fearlings, it becomes pure dark magical energy.
"So," Jack said, trying to work it out in his head. "The dark magical energy contrasted with your light magical energy, and that friction resulted in you, the weaker energy, being shocked. Right?"
Sandy looked sideways at Seraphina. You know, he said thoughtfully. For a boy who grew up in the seventeen hundreds, you're pretty smart.
"I made him take online classes." Mother Nature said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Now, tell us what the hell happened to my Father!"
Sandy nodded and the golden sand between them changed into an image of Pitch jumping up with his hands in the air, as if desperately reaching for something. Well, after In tried getting her out another five times, twice with my whips, I realized it wouldn't work and I stopped trying.
Sandy tried all the things he possibly could. He used his hand to make a key, but there was no lock or hole on the door. He tried battering at the cage with sand-hammers, but eventually he got too tired to beat at it and he tried a more sensible approach. He gathered his strength, which had been depleted greatly by his persistence in beating at the door, and sent a trail of dreamsand from the tip of his first finger to the biggest opening in the cage.
Unfortunately, it disintegrated on contact and he was left feeling even more tired and irritable.
What the hell is going on here? He wondered, staring at the bars. His brain was calculating just how much force it would take to break those bars. If he hit in in just the right spot, dead on, with no wavering, he would have to have about the strength of a supernova to break through those bars.
"A supernova?" Jack asked incredulously.
Sandy shrugged again. Either that, or the same amount of force and power of a semi-truck a million times.
"Wow." Seraphina said, looking mildly impressed. "And would you have that kind of power?"
Sandy gave her a duh look. Sweetie, I kicked Pitch's ass, yeah, but let's be honest. He wasn't that powerful.
"Hey!" Seraphina and Jack said at the same time and in similar tones.
Sandy raised an eyebrow. What?He wasn't! I could've kicked his ass ten times if he hadn't cheated!
Jack and Seraphina sighed simultaneously, then shared another look. "OK Uncle Sandy," Seraphina said, clearly just wanting to hear the rest of the story. "You didn't have enough power to do it, so what did you do?"
"Yeah, uh, your little sand/crystal ball-thingy showed Pitch with his hands up, like he was. . . I dunno, playing basketball or something." Jack added, snickering at the mental image. "What's up with that?"
Sandy shot Jack a cold look. You have no idea of what you are speaking, Jack.
"What?" Jack demanded, unsure if it was just the way he said it that ticked the little Guardian off or what.
Sandy closed his eyes and sighed. Jack immediately saw that the little Guardian was trying hard to not yell, so he wisely kept his mouth shut and, after a few seconds of silence Sandy opened his eyes again and, without looking at Jack, continued.
OK, so clearly the supernova thing wasn't going to work. What then?
Go get North? Sandy mused, floating back a few feet from the cage with a thoughtful hand stroking his chin. Make him beat at it until it caves in? He shook his head. No, I can't. North can't travel through minds. And anyway, that would entail actually telling him about Pitch and Tooth and all of this, which would be a huge headache. He smiled. No, there has to be an easier way.
But if there was, Sandy didn't have time to think about it because at that very minute, a familiar scream echoed from the entrance of the cage room and Sandy had just enough time to turn around and dodge before a flying Pitch came hurtling at him, arms out stretched and fear evident in his eyes.
WHOA! Sandy made a yield sign above his head. Pitch, is that you?
Pitch ignored him completely and started leaping up at the cages. "I NEED THEM!" He screamed, scrabbling to get a hold of one of them but it slipped out of his grasp. "PLEASE!" His voice was ragged, like he'd been crying or screaming and Sandy, who didn't have the faintest clue what was going on, flew over to him.
Pitch, he wrote, raising his hand to put it on the man's arm. Snap out of it! What's wrong with- but the golden sand faded halfway to finishing the question as Sandy watched his golden hand pass through Pitch's arm.
"HE-" Jack began in a loud voice that was laced with amazement, suspicion and pity, but Sandy ignored him. The golden sand shifted into the shape of a film reel.
I was horrified. He wrote, pointedly not looking at Jack. This hadn't happened to me, ever. Since I was made in the time of the Golden Age, where people knew me, I was always believed in.
Sandy was absolutely horrified. He'd never experienced this, though he knew it had been almost routine for Jack until he got his believers. He had been created in an age when everyone knew him, and they passed down stories of his exploits down to their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and so on. He'd never not been believed in, until now.
Wait, no, he thought, backing away a bit as Pitch continued to howl and cry and jump for the cages. Maybe that's not the case.
He stopped for a minute to study Pitch. The spirit's body-language clearly showed fear and anger and, now that he still wasn't getting the cages, frustration joined the fray. His hair, normally dignified and combed back, was clearly unwashed and flopping into his eyes. His robe was tattered and dirty, barely hanging off his shoulders, and he gave off a general air of crazed terror, like a trapped animal. Sandy was worried. Extremely worried. What had happened to his old friend? Why was he acting like this?
Pitch! He tried to get Pitch to listen or pay attention to him of just acknowledge him at all, but he just kept going through him. Eventually, he stopped trying and fell back on his dreamsand cloud, a puzzled look on his face. Why won't he talk to me? He wondered, watching his friend leap and scream. It's like he can't see me or even-
Sandy froze, then he slowly looked up at the cages. Realization dawned on his face and his mouth opened in a horrified O.
Oh...my...moon.
"WHAT?" Jack and Seraphina asked together, each leaning in with their hands on their knees, clearly dying with anticipation. Sandy almost smiled. Despite not being related, they acted so alike it wasn't a wonder they were so close. Then he remembered the tragic news he was going to deliver and his face sombered.
He sighed. The cages. He golden sand shifted back to the cage with the little girl in it again. The little girl inside them. I realized what they were- what she was, he amended, glancing at Seraphina. Why Pitch was acting like he was, and what was happening.
"WHAT?!" They demanded again, louder this time.
Sandy took a deep breath, stalling for as long as he could. Then, finally, when he couldn't stall anymore, he looked both Jack and Seraphina straight in the eye. His memories. He replied sadly, looking down at the cage between them that had the little girl, huddled up on the floor in it. Those were it. In those cages.