Chapter 37: Unrest

"Ow!" Molly winced as she climbed out of the sleigh. Jack grimaced, looking at his staff shamefully. Looking at his friend - at the damage he'd caused - was too much for him to handle right now. "How you feeling, M?" He asked, not completely certain he wanted an answer.
"Uh - kinda numb here and there, but I'll be okay." Molly replied, sugarcoating the truth. To be honest with herself, she felt anything but okay. Her insides felt like they'd been sitting in the freezer, and her limbs were like frozen, unfeeling chunks of meat. Considering what she'd seen Jack do to his enemies, though, Molly counted herself lucky. Being a little stiff was rather trifling if you compared it to being smothered in snow. Besides, why should she make her friend feel even worse? He was practically reeking of self-disgust.

Jack sighed and hopped out of the sleigh, "I'd say that was an epic fail. How about you guys?"

"No, Jack." North shook his head as the yetis unhooked the reindeer, "Zis eez ze dawn of our great success. Zee thing ve learned today vill serve us vell in zee future. Now, ve know 'ow much stronger Pitch eez, and zat 'e has zat apprentice to help him. Ve shall not underestimate 'im again."

"Yeah," Molly snorted, "And in the meantime, our believers are shrinking, and so are our powers. By the time we know the magnitude of Pitch's power, our own will be pitiful."

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine." Jack murmured, though he hardly felt more optimistic. The situation looked alarming, and it was getting worse. If they didn't do something to stop Pitch's return, it could very well be the end of them.

As much as they hated to admit it, the guardians depended on the children more than anything else. The more believers a guardian has, the more power and longevity is guarenteed. Sometimes, Jack wondered if his allies were really selfish, deep down. At times, he couldn't help thinking: if their own existence didn't depend on it, would the guardians really be so willing to protect the children of the world?

His thoughts were interrupted by Tooth flying out of the sleigh, her wings beating the air with a melodic hum. She forced a smile, "Don't worry, guys: we beat him once. We'll do it again."
North pointed at her, "That zee spirit."

Sandman grinned and shot everyone a thumbs-up.

Jack cracked a smile at his friends' optimism. After a moment, he found his spirits lifting a bit. Some of the fog lifted from his mood. It may have been hard to stay positive after the day's unfortunate chain of events, but come on! They weren't in bad shape; they still had an abundant amount of power, and they still had their base. All they had to do was crush the Boogeyman before he gained too much power. It was simple logic, no?

His foot brushed against something soft. Frowning, Jack looked down. A black slipper was lying on the icy ground.
He arched a brow and turned to the large Russian man, "Hey, North?" The man looked at the winter sprite, who held up the slipper, "Is this yours?"

North frowned, his black eyebrows meeting in the middle and shaking hands. He shook his head, "No. Zat eez zee pair I gave Lucy..." He trailed off, his bright blue eyes slowly widening. Jack and Molly looked at each other, sharing the same fear. Then, they dashed to the door leading out of the 'garage' and into the freezing tundra. Once Jack opened the door, he felt his heart plummet in his stomach.

There, in the snow illuminated by the moon's glare, was a set of footprints. And they looked fresh.

In the dead silence of the North Pole, a single figure moved among the icy giants. It left only footprints, making muffled crushing noises as its bare feet broke through the snow. The chilly wind blew every so often, sending the looser snowflakes in a wild dance, but the figure hardly noticed. It kept walking in a straight line, never looking sideways or back.

Lucy didn't stop hiking through the frozen horizon, even if her lips and fingertips were going blue from the cold and snowflakes rested on her like a blanket. She kept after the familiar, velvety voice that was always just out of reach.

"Come home...come home..."

Lucy's golden eye shimmered in the moonlight like icy topaz, and the tiniest of smiles graced her cracked lips.

Jack flew over the snow-covered flat-land, panic fuelling his movements. He knew that running would've taken too long, and in all his immortal life, Jack had never felt such a need to hurry. He hadn't even brought the others; they would have just slowed him down. His head was pounding with fear, concern, and anger. Millions of questions appeared before the winter spirit, and not being able to answer them made him that much more jittery.

What was going on? This had to be Pitch's work; no one in their right mind would venture off in the Pole alone, at night! Pitch had to be controlling Lucy somehow. But how had Pitch accomplished this? Molly had that spell protecting the Pole, right? It should've been impossible for him to pull something like this off. And why was the Boogeyman doing this? What was so freaking special about Lucy? He had an apprentice: he and Molly had met the nutcase at Sandy's Palace.

Jack gritted his teeth as he followed the footprints. Whatever the Boogeyman's intentions were, Jack wasn't going to let him hurt Lucy.

Suddenly, as if the tundra had been waiting for him to make that decision, Jack caught sight of his friend. He beamed in relief...but the smile vanished as quickly as it had come.

Why, you ask?

Because Lucy was standing on the edge of a cliff, and she didn't exactly look steady.

"LUCY!" He screamed, darting towards her.

Lucy didn't hear him. Her blank eyes peered down at the foot of the cliff, where inky shadows shifted like the ocean's waters. Standing in the darkness was a tall, lean man with a kneeling Fearling by his side. Well, more accurately, he was sitting in a wheelchair. The Fearling - who was robed in a torn black cape and a serpent's skull for a mask - leered at the girl. "Well," The Fearling purred, "The guest of honor has arrived."
The King of Nightmares ignored his - no, Lucy's - creation and held a hand out to the girl. His gold eyes were locked on hers, and he repeated the words he'd been whispering, "Come home."

"Home..." Lucy started to lean forward, arms spread out like a bird...

Pitch smiled. Melinda was finally coming back to him. Things were back in their proper place, and for once, Tsar hadn't intervened. It seemed too good to be true.

"LUCY! NO!" Jack slammed into the girl, sending them both in the snow. Pitch frowned, his eyes widening in shock and rage. That boy again?! When would he end his meddling?

Jack pinned a grunting Lucy down. He placed her wrists on her back and held them there with one hand while wrapping an arm around her throat. It wasn't easy at all; the girl was fighting like a fish out of water. She was squirming under his body like an eel, trying desperately to get away.
"Lucy? Lu! C'mon, snap out of it! Hey!" He shouted, trying to bring his friend out of whatever trance Pitch had put her under.

"Home...the Realm! The Realm!" Lucy screeched, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Lucy!" Jack moved his hands so he was hugging the girl instead of restraining her. He rested his cheek on her shoulder blade. "That's enough! You can stop! Lucy...please. Stop." His voice broke at the last two words. He didn't understand why, but fear clotted his throat. He was ready to keep her down like this all night if it kept her from jumping to her death. Jack couldn't let her die. She was simply too dear to him.
Amazingly, his words had an effect. Lucy stopped struggling, and after a few seconds, she winced. Even though Jack couldn't see it, the girl's eye changed from gold to chestnut. It took a minute for her to realize where she was; when she did, she gasped and tried to sit up. Jack was so surprised he let go of her. Goosebumps formed on her bare arms, and her fingers felt ready to fall off. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stay warm. Of course, it didn't help much.

"Jack..." She said the name before she could stop herself. Tears of relief filled the guardian's eyes. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, Lu. It was...just a nightmare. It's over."

Lucy nodded as her fear began to fade. She fully returned the embrace, grateful for the winter spirit's presence.

Little did the two know that they were being watched.

Pitch growled lowly in his throat, his cracked face set into a look of hatred. Once again, the guardians had taken something from him. He'd been so close, so terribly close to having his daughter back...and Jack had ruined it.

But the worst part was...even though Pitch knew he couldn't blame Lucy for not remembering, seeing her like this, hugging that walking icicle...with that smile on her face...it made Pitch want to scratch his eyes out.

Lucy was actually happy.

Without him.

For the first time in centuries, a tear rolled down the Nightmare King's cheek.