A/N :
Natalie : Hehe, I love cliffhangers! You gotta read and find out. ;)
Xion5 : Pitch just doesn't know when to give up, serves him right.
insanesahdowfangirl : Hope you didn't get stomach ache from that!
sprinkles888 : Awww, that's very nice to hear! That you like my story, of course, not the part with the mini heartattacks. XD
SaiyanPrincess : Thank you, trying my best to keep it realistic. ^^
And a big thanks to PippaFrost, AyameKitsune, Hamato Miwa, Breyannia, frosty's girl, Q-A the Authoress and Firenze Fox for their reviews and everyone who favourited / followed this story! ^_^
Bunnymund hopped through his Warren, checking if the planted beds of flowers were growing fine. Pink and orange blossoms of glowing tulips were already visible as they reached their heads up to the warm sunrays shining down on them. Everything was going according to plan, not that it suprised him, he was a master at gardening after all. Just as he wanted to head back he caught a glimpse of something reflecting the light of the sun from the corner of his eye. Curiously he walked towards it and there, between some pale yellow lilies, lay one of North's snowglobes.
"How did that land here?" he asked out loud and picked the glassy sphere up.
It didn't take much pondering until he came to the conclusion that Jack must have brought it with him when he had visited him five days ago. But why did he travel via the magical portal instead of flying? Of course, using the snowglobe got him here faster but that never seemed to be an issue for him. Why should he take the easiest way of transportation now? Bunny was still slightly miffed about the teen throwing a tantrum and his dramatic departure but he couldn't deny the nagging worry building up at the sight of the snowglobe.
Sighing defeatedly he decided to pay North a visit to bring his property back and take the opportunity to ask him about Jack. Maybe he knew what was going on with the winter spirit.
"I said paint spots on it, not splotches. Is cheetah, not cow!" North reprimanded one of the yetis who had provided two dozen toys with the wrong markings.
It was difficult to determine who of them was more frustrated, the Russian Santa or the furry creature. Both of them looked like they badly needed a break. Suddenly a familiar voice with an unmistakable Australian accent rang through the bustling activity of the prodcution section of the workshop.
"Hey, mate! Sorry ta disturb ya, but I found somethin' that belongs ta ya."
The Guardian of Wonder turned to the 6'1 anthropomorphic rabbit who was hopping towards him and skillfully avoiding to be crushed by any of the yetis.
"Bunny, nice to see you! But what do you mean?" North asked and then glanced at what the pooka held in his paw.
"Where did you-"
"Jack left it at the Warren. He's been there earlier this week but I only discovered it today. Don't have a clue why he traveled via portal this time."
North frowned in confusion and grabbed the snowglobe, staring at it as if it held the answer.
"Me neither..."
"Can we talk somewhere quiet? That might be better." Bunny suggested when the loud grumbles of the yetis began to hurt his sensitive ears.
North nodded and led his friend to his office where he offered him a plate of cookies, but the pooka declined it. He didn't care about food right now.
"Have ya noticed anythin' unusual about Jack lately? He seemed kinda...out of it." Bunny came straight to the point.
The older guardian set the plate aside before leaning against his desk with crossed arms and recalling the boy's behaviour.
"To be honest, he looked a little troubled. Acted unusually clumsy and, like you said, 'out of it'. I asked him if something was wrong but he said everything was fine. But you know how stubborn he can be." North explained.
"Yeah, that'll be the end of him someday." Bunny blurted out and immediately felt his stomach convulse at his own words.
"Where's the lil' bugger now?"
"I don't know. Last time I saw him he wanted to pay you a visit. Thought he might feel better afterwards."
"But that's been almost a week ago, mate! Hasn't he showed up at the Pole since then?" the Spirit of Easter asked with increasing worry.
"No, he hasn't. I assumed he was busy spreading snow somewhere or simply wanted to be alone for a while." North admitted and couldn't help but doubt his decision to let the teen be.
The feeling in his belly and Bunnymund's concern told him something was definitely wrong. Blue eyes glanced at the small snowglobe on his desk.
"What I don't understand is, if Jack used portal to visit you, why did he leave snowglobe behind instead of going back the same way?"
"Erm...I doubt he did it on purpose."
North shot an inquisitive look in direction of his comrade who didn't falter to explain more fully.
"The kid looked awfully tired when he came ta the Warren. After helpin' me with my work he fell asleep and he...seemed ta have a nightmare. Woke him up and he...North, he was scared. But he didn't want ta admit it and it ended with him throwin' a tantrum and stormin' away. I bet he simply forgot about the snowglobe."
"Yes, that makes sense." North agreed, deep in thought as he processed the new information.
"You think he traveled through portal because he was too weak for a flight to the Warren? It's on the other side of the world, after all." he added.
"Could be...I was sure he'd be here at the workshop ta sulk for a while. I dunno, mate, I got a bad feelin' about this." Bunny admitted.
"Me, too. We better summon the others and begin to search for Jack. I know he hates it when we use guardian globe to track him but if he really is in trouble we have to find him."
This couldn't possibly get any worse, at least that's what he thought after he had fled out of the Boogeyman's lair. A week of one night terror after the other had driven him to his breaking point but now, just when he thought he had faced the most horrible kind of fear already, he was proven wrong. Whatever Pitch had done, it made the shadowy creature in his mind even more powerful.
It was dark, no stars, no moon, just a purely black sky above. Grey and dead looking trees surrounded him, the crackling of their withered branches the only sound to be heard.
From miles away he could sense the evil entitiy approaching at agonizingly slow speed. His heart beat in rising panic the closer it got, every pathetic attempt to break free from the invisibly bonds turning out to be fruitless. And then it was there, towering above him and staring at him. For the first time it actually showed its face, making him wish it hadn't. Slitted yellow and pupil-less eyes glared down on him with such intensity that they threatened to burn a hole into his soul. The creature had no nose, no mouth, no ears, just a lifeless mask made of black sand. Its body, or what was supposed to be its body, was a swirling mass of nightmare sand, constantly changing its shape, similar to the dark shadows he had seen before.
It was circling him like a predator its prey, enjoying his anxiety, his cerulean eyes following it wherever it floated. If it was going to attack him he at least didn't want to be caught off-guard. But instead of striking right away it continued to calmly wander around him, came closer only to fly several feet back. And then it was gone. He breathed a silent sigh of relief but just at that moment the shadow jumped out from behind a tree and dashed towards him. By now he knew what a heart-attack must feel like. Barely two inches away from his face it came to a halt and leisurely floated up into the sky, most likely to lull him in a false sense of security. Then it lunged at him again, and again it stopped just in time to not crash on him. What must have been a hilarious game for the night terror was pure mental torture for him. And another thought was contributing to his fear. Why was this not ending? He couldn't recall the other attacks to have lasted that long. Now he wouldn't have been surprised if hours had passed already.
"Please stop, please..."
Suddenly black sand in the shape of hands appeared out of nowhere, grabbing his arms and legs and pinning him down with such force he felt as if he sank into the earthy ground below him. Not that he would have been able to move without those restraints, he was in a paralyzed state as usual. Their sole purpose was to terrify him and while he hated to admit it, they were succeeding.
With eerie grace the night terror finally lowered itself on his chest, taking his breath away the moment it landed and applied an excruciating amount of pressure on him. He let out a choked gasp when he felt his ribcage being about to burst. The creature stared at him as he struggled for air, no distinguishable expression evident on its face, and yet it took without a doubt great pleasure in his suffering. Shivers ran down his spine when he saw a hand forming out of the vortex of nightmare sand and reaching for him. It stroked his cheek with such disturbing gentleness that he got sick to his stomach. Clearly all it aimed to do was totally freaking him out. Long black fingers slowly traveled down to his throat, engulfing it and testing how he would react. He wanted to scream but his voice had left him just like his ability to move anything except for his eyes. After what had seemed like forever the hand slid onto his chest, those gruesome yellow eyes still fixed on him. Whatever it was going to do, he hoped that it would be over quickly. The nightmare being raised its hand a few inches into the air and then slammed it back down on his chest, digging its rough fingers into the fabric of his hoodie. A soundless scream escaped his lungs as his heart was held in a death grip and invaded with so much fear he was sure he would have passed out if he hadn't been unconscious already. There wasn't any space for a single sober thought in his mind anymore, the feeling of panic and sheer horror pushed everything else aside and fully consumed his soul.
A/N : No, I won't stop with these evil cliffhangers. ;)
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