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(At Latvia Resort)
"Let me go back! My brother needs me!"
Patrick winced as Pitch's yell filled the room again. He sighed in sympathy for his friends plight, the Nightmare King had suddenly been hurled from the shadows and into the infirmary only moments ago. And the second he had regained himself Pitch had tried to return back to the Between, only to be foiled by Iris rushing into the room and ordering Greed to restrain him.
"Pitch just stop and listen to reason!" Iris was desperately trying to get the man to calm down.
"I will not!" Pitch thrashed against the muscled arms that held him tight around the torso, he strained to get his arms free from his side "Terror has Jack and I will not leave him!" the Nightmare King threw his head back trying to hit Greed who had the unfortune of being the one asked to restrain him.
Greed however had been in many a brawl and was ready for the move, with a quick dodge of Pitch's head Greed twisted his captive sideways. The room echoed with a loud thud as he slammed Pitch to the floor, "Just listen for once in your damn life!" Greed wrenched the spirit's wrists behind him, able to hold both of them with one hand.
Pitch thrashed as Greed held his head down with the hand not holding his wrists, "Get off me you Neanderthal!" the spirit gasped suddenly when Greed placed his knee into his back, "I…can't breathe…you oof!"
"Should have thought of that before you started name calling." Greed stated simply, not really caring that the spirit was struggling to intake oxygen as his lungs were crushed.
"Greed please don't kill him, you will be defeating the purpose of keeping him out the Between." Iris sighed as she watched Pitch turn a slight shade of blue.
Greed smirked when the man began to struggle less, "Just give it a moment…" he got to his feet when Pitch went still, "There, I have found that people tend to listen better they are unconscious."
Iris rolled her eyes, "Nath, please check and make sure Greed didn't cause any damage." She then added as the nature spirit and his nurses carried Pitch into the other room, "And please be sure to secure him, the moment Pitch regains himself he will try to go back to the Between."
"I don't see why he can't go back." Darkness spoke quietly, having watched the whole scene play out with a mixture of amusement and sympathy.
Iris glanced at him, "Terror still has claim to Pitch, if he were to go back Terror could use that claim to sense precisely where he is."
Darkness frowned, "So…the curse is more than just a means for Terror to gain power from Pitch? It gives him the ability to locate Pitch within the Between?"
Iris nodded, "Which is why Pitch is not to go after Jack…it would only end up with both of them captive."
Silver flames flickered "But…but we can't just leave Jack there!"Darkness whimpered, "He has to be so scared right now."
A smile came to Iris's face, "Of course we are not going to leave Jack."
Greed nodded, "I agree, I have grown fond of the winter devil. So I will go after him, though I need a guide. Know of anyone?"
Darkness spoke up quickly, "I have traveled the Between thousands of times. I can take you to just about every corner of the place."
Patrick cut his eyes at the puppet, "But can you stay there since you are technically not a spirit?"
Silver flames flickered, "I…hadn't thought of that. The puppet shell is physical, and though it can travel with Ratri it cannot exist in the Between." Darkness slammed his fist into the arm of his chair, "Curse this body!"
"I…can…go."
They all glanced at the obsidian kitten that had just appeared in the doorway, the feline was trembling slightly though he was trying to look confident as he limped into the room.
Greed glanced at the feline as Iris picked him up and into her arms, "Thank you Sam, but I need someone that can find Jack quickly."
"We will ask Francis…"
"No!" Greed and Patrick's synchronized yell filled the room
Iris glared at them, "Look I don't care that you two have 'daddy' issues. We are calling Francis here to help. That man can find anywhere, coupled with Greed's ability to find anyone…we will have Jack out of there in no time."
Greed cringed as he figured out what Iris was getting at, "Iris I am all for going into hells haven to get the boy but please…please don't make me take my father."
"It is not up for discussion Greed."
Patrick cringed at his wife's 'I am not budging' tone, "Might as well get it over with Greed."
"Fine." Greed huffed, "But you are paying for any damage he causes Patty."
"Hey! Why do I have to!" Patrick whined as his brother stomped out of the room, he cut his eyes at Iris who had taken a seat beside his bed, "Iris!"
Iris set Sam in her lap, she gently began scratching the kitten behind his ears. She smiled when the kitten chirped and began to fall asleep, obviously exhausted from his short walk through the hallway, "Come now Patrick, your father doesn't cause that much damage."
Patrick huffed, "Need I remind you of 'every', 'single', 'time' he comes to visit us?" the spirit crossed his arms, "We have to remodel the entire palace when he leaves!"
"Look Patrick, if your father is our best chance at finding Jack. Then I'll buy Greed a brand new casino!"
Both spirits glanced at Darkness whose fists were clenched tight
"No one here realizes how much danger Jack is in right now." Silver flames flickered, "Terror is a horrible soul that hates others with every fiber of his being."
"Why?" Sam chirped from Iris's arms
Darkness shook his head, "Because he has lost his humanity Sam, and he longs to have it back. So much so that he has come to hate any spirit that still has theirs." the spirit shuddered, "We have to get Jack out of there before Terror hurts him... or kills him."
A silence settled over the room, each of the spirit's praying to the gods that they weren't too late already.
(In the Between)
Jack moaned as he slowly opened his eyes, though there wasn't really a difference between the dark of having them closed and the dark that filled his vision. The teen made a face when a dank musty smell assaulted his nose, "Ugh, why'd he have to take my hoodie?" he grumbled as the sensation of hay tickled his bare stomach. Jack turned from his stomach to his side, trying to get his face away from the moldy straw he was currently laying on. The spirit quickly used his elbow to get up, and away from the offensive smell. Jack shuddered as his bare skin touched cold, damp stone as he scooted back against the wall.
The teen glanced around, his eyes straining to make out where he was. Jack sighed when only blackness met his gaze, with no light at all he couldn't see anything. From the stale air and the feeling of stone on his back he knew he was in a cell of some kind. The teen jumped when heavy footsteps resounded above him, the vibrations causing bits of rocks and dirt to rain down on his head.
A scream of rusted hinges made him cringe, the sound bouncing off the stones around him. Jack had to shield his eyes when light burst around him like a spotlight as a hatch was opened above.
"Hello Guardian, did you sleep well?" Terror chuckled, "The oubliette is my finest cell."
"You shouldn't have went through so much trouble for little ole me." Jack glared at the man peering down at him.
Terror chuckled at the spirit's sarcasm, "It was really no trouble at all child. In there your aura is contained so that even the great Moon himself couldn't sense you if he were standing on top of you." The spirit snorted, "Not that he'd care to look for you."
Blue eyes narrowed, "My dad is probably looking for me as we spea…"
"Wait…you are a child of Chand?" Terror interrupted him, "The great warrior, one of the great shapers of the world is your father?"
"Me and my big mouth." Jack cursed himself mentally at the tone of sheer delight that echoed within Terror's voice.
Chimes echoed as Terror tossed his head back and roared, "Oh the gods love me! Here they deliver to me the child of the very man that placed me in my hell."
Jack shivered when Terror turned his attention on him
"And here I thought I would simply drain you of your soul and toss your corpse at Pitch's feet for laughs." Terror's voice was sheer joy as he dropped the hatch door.
The cell vibrated with the force of the iron striking the stone above
"But now, I can use you as a bargaining chip." Terror's yellow orbs flashed with pleasure "As means to get out of this hell and back to the outer world where once again I can continue the mission given to me by my king."
"What are you blabbering about?" Jack glared up at the man
"My king ordered me to slaughter the masses." Terror's voice echoed with coldness, "And I dutifully carried out my king's command. But Chand…" the spirit's voice seemed to spit out the man's name, "he failed to see the brilliance of my king's conquest and set out to stop me." A snarl drifted from under Terror's mask as he clenched his gloved fist, "And before my king could come to my aide your father cut me down and banished me here to rot for eternity!"
"Sounds like my dad did the world a favor." Jack smirked as he crossed his arms
Terror glared down at teen, "You should watch yourself child, I have no qualms about making the son suffer for the father's sins."
Jack grinned, he knew he shouldn't push this spirit but he just couldn't help himself "The only suffering I'm doing is having to listen to your whining."
Silence settled in the air like a weight, then a cruel chuckle broke it.
"We'll have to fix that…won't we."
"Pitch is right, I really should learn to keep my mouth shut." Jack thought as a dark mist drifted from under Terror's mask, the vapor twisting down into the cell like a snake. The teen had nowhere to run as the entire room filled with the suffocating haze. Jack coughed violently as the dark mist permeated his lungs, the boy went to his knees his chest constricting as he gasped for air.
Chimes crashing to the ground brought Jack attention from his lack of air to the man now towering over him.
"Now how about I show what suffering is Guardian."
Jack barely managed to dodge to the side when Terror slammed his fist into the stone, chimes screamed with the motion. Pieces of chipped stone flew into the air and clattered to the floor as Terror retracted his hand from the floor.
The teen pressed himself against the stone wall, panicking slightly at the fact he had nowhere to run. Jack's eyes suddenly darted to the open hatch, in an instant his mind was turning. He had one chance, and one chance only… every muscle in the spirit's body tensed as he prepared himself for what he was about to do.
"You and your brother are so alike." Terror was commenting, unaware of the teen's scheme, "He too didn't know when to cow down and accept who was superior."
Jack smirked, "That's the problem with spirit's like you Terror."
Terror snarled, "Oh, and what is that Guardian?"
"You all have your heads so far up your butt you can't see in front of you."
A loud curse filled the cell as the winter spirit leapt up, planning his feet on Terror's head. With skill honed over centuries Jack propelled himself upwards through the open hatch, he turned and grinned at the man getting to his feet, "Hope you enjoy your best room Terror. I know I did."
"When I get my han…"
Jack slammed the hatch down cutting the spirit's rant short, blue eyes glanced around the dimly lit corridor he had emerged into, "All right Jack…now what?" the teen asked no one in particular as he took off down the hall in search of an exit.
Please review and let me know what you thought. };) I love hearing from you. The next chapter will be 'fun'. Till next time.
