Hey, guys! Welcome back to RFL 2: Into the Dark! Updating this a few hours later than I would've liked, but...hey, it's still Monday in some places! So...we're gonna count this as a semi-success with keeping up with the schedule, heh. Anyway, onto the reviews!

Thanks so much to Rhapsoddity (Aww, thank you so much! I'm glad I could make you happy :), Milly34k (Thank you! And haha, yeah, that was certainly pretty surprising for him XD), and Guest (Thank you :) And yes, I agree, haha!) for reviewing! Means a lot that you guys are still here with me :')

Anyway, without further ado, on with the chapter!

Chapter 22: Filling in the Gaps

"Oi, Frostbite," Aster chuckled, watching the boy as he continued to breathe deeply in the frigid night air. "Guess ya must be feelin' better if ya were able ta pull off that stunt, yeah?" The rabbit smirked. "Bloody showpony."

Jack blinked and glanced over at his companion, then allowed a ghost of a smile to briefly touch his lips. Then, he took another deep breath, still thrilled to be able to stand on the surface once more, rather than having to sacrifice this feeling for the likely magically-fabricated oxygen that existed beneath the sand in New Iskald. Though he would've preferred a snow-blanketed forest to an arid desert in which he couldn't summon any sort of snowfall, Jack still reveled in the fact that he was once again out in the open air, having left his dark, bloody cell behind for good.

Healing completely would still take time, of course, but for these few moments, he felt better than he had in a long time.

Aster chuckled fondly yet again at the youngest Guardian's behavior, saying, "I s'pose I'll take that as a yes. I figured some cold air'd get ya ta perk up...nothin' like a little natural energy boost for a race connected ta nature." Gradually, however, the Pooka's grin faded into a more serious expression. "But ya know...we've still gotta go back down there, kid. Both ya and the rest of us've got a lotta things ta clear up. We've got quite the story ta tell...and I'm guessin' ya do too."

Jack sighed, lowering his head slightly. He had known, of course, that he couldn't stay outside forever. There were too many explanations to be given and questions to be answered, and even if there hadn't been, he still couldn't go off gallivanting through the wilderness on his own with Ebon's threat hanging over Soluna. No...as frustrating as it was, there was still quite a bit of work to be done.

Aster held his paws up in defense. "I know, I know, it ain't fair," he conceded upon seeing the dejected expression on his young colleague's face. "Ya've just been through hell and back again...I'm sure the last thing ya wanna do is recount the story ta us. But we need ya ta help us understand some things...and we need ta fill ya in on what's been happenin' while ya've been outta commission. That alright with ya?"

I don't have much of a choice, I suppose, Jack thought as he reluctantly nodded. He's right...we both need to get each other's side of the story. And as much as I'd prefer to stay out here, I guess it will be nice to sit down again...Moon above, my entire body is still sore…

"Alright then, Frostbite," Aster said, placing a paw carefully on the boy's shoulder. "Let's get goin', shall we?" With that, he began to lead Jack back to the entrance of New Iskald.

However, before they could take more than a few steps, Jack stopped in his tracks.

Aster frowned, glancing down at the young sprite in concern. "Kid…?" he asked slowly. "Er...what's wrong…?"

Jack did not answer, of course, and merely kept staring into the dim, cramped tunnel through which they had just ascended. He now noticed that it was a bit different than the false vision Ebon had forced on him had been; instead of stairs made of ice, the floor was simply steeply inclined and formed from only partially frozen sand (likely so that it would keep its form more reliably), while the ceiling and walls were coated with ice to avoid collapse. This differing detail only served to reassure him that what Ebon had showed him had been fake, but that was not the reason he was so fixated upon the tunnel.

He didn't want to go back down.

Now that he was free, he never wanted to be forced underground again. He wanted to stay up in the soft, silvery moonlight forever, where he could feel the wind on his face and didn't have to settle for the stagnant air of an underground city. He didn't want to go back into the dark.

Jack sighed.

But of course… he thought dejectedly. As established...I have no choice…

The boy took a final deep breath of the night air, then raised his head, steeling himself for the reentry into the city. He shook his head in response to Aster's question, hoping to convey that nothing was wrong, and began to walk towards the tunnel on his own.

Unfortunately, his legs chose that precise moment to suddenly cease holding him up, and Jack suddenly fell to his knees with a gasp, then winced in pain upon impact. Damn it… he thought, grimacing. Seems as though my injuries would like to remind me that they still exist...damn you, Ebon…

In an instant, Aster was at his side, carefully checking him over to make sure that he was alright. "Hm…" he mused, studying the boy's expression of pain. "I'm thinkin' I should carry ya back. Ya ain't strong enough ta walk all that way on yer own yet."

As embarrassed as he felt, Jack was forced to begrudgingly admit that the older Guardian was right. Regardless of his newly-gained energy and clarity, the fact remained that his body was still extremely exhausted from enduring Ebon's torture for so long. Though he was on his way to recovery, he acknowledged that he couldn't rush things along as much as he would have liked.

With a defeated sigh, Jack allowed Aster to pick him up once again, keeping his eyes lowered in shame. However, his slumped positioning didn't last long, as the moment Aster began walking towards the tunnel once again, Jack found himself stiffening in what could only be described as fear. It seemed that, bad memories aside, he had not even fully purged himself of his fear of being underground during his stay in New Iskald.

Though considering the events that had taken place there...he supposed that fact wasn't all that surprising.

"Easy there, Frostbite…" Aster murmured as he kept walking. "Yer gonna be fine, I promise. Nothin' bad's gonna happen ta ya, not if I can help it. Got that?"

Jack had no choice but to quickly nod in response, though his increased heart rate and shaking hands begged to differ with his answer. He had never told any of the other Guardians about this particular fear, and he wasn't exactly in any position to inform them now. Besides...he didn't want to worry them more than he knew he already had.

As such, he forced himself to stay still and silent as Aster carried him back beneath the sand.

()()()()

Upon returning to the room in which they had left Simon, Lily, and the remaining Guardians, Jack and Aster were met with the same stunned silence that had accompanied their departure. It had seemed that they had all trusted Aster enough with Jack to not all go running after them, thankfully, but they still seemed endlessly confused about why the Pooka had seemingly temporarily abducted the young sprite.

For a long few moments, no one spoke.

Then, Simon awkwardly cleared his throat. "Er…" he began slowly, glancing around. "Is, uh...is anyone going to say anything?"

Aster snorted in response as he walked over to Jack's bed, carefully depositing the boy upon it. "I'm wonderin' the same thing, mate," he replied, turning to face the others. "If ya've got questions, go 'head and ask 'em."

This seemed to shake the others out of their trances a bit, as Toothiana quickly nodded and asked, "Right, um...Aster, what were you just doing with Jack just now…?"

The Pooka shrugged. "Just took him outside for a bit," he said. "Got him some air...cleared his head a bit, ya know?"

At this, Lily seemed alarmed. "You took him outside!?" she exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't...isn't that dangerous? What if he had been seen? Then people would know that we're here, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there, sheila," Aster interrupted, holding up his paws in a placating gesture. "We're in the middle of a bloody desert, no one was out there ta see us. And even if there had been, well...I get the feelin' this place is a secret that ain't gonna be kept much longer."

"What do you mean…?" Lily asked nervously, though she seemed to already know the answer to some extent.

North sighed. "People of Soluna City know that Jack had gone missing," he said grimly. "They will want to know where he has been...and who was able to capture a Guardian."

"Not only that," Tooth added with a frown. "But we don't think Ebon will hesitate to show himself to the public, along with the sprites that went with him. We don't know exactly what he's planning, but...I have a feeling that Soluna will find out that Jack was far from the only snow sprite to survive the fires."

Jack's eyes widened slightly as he processed what he had just heard. Wait a moment… he thought uneasily. Did she say…"along with the sprites that went with him"? As in...Ebon's gone...and some sprites joined him…?

He quickly raised his hand to draw attention to himself, then picked up the parchment and quill that still lay on the bed next to him. After a brief dip of the quill into the inkwell, Jack scribbled, Please tell me what the hell happened while I was gone!, then turned the parchment around to show the others.

While Lily and Simon both seemed surprised that his writing had gotten much more coherent than the last time he had attempted to communicate (his arm and hand still ached, but his newfound energy helped him to push through the pain), the Guardians were none the wiser, and instead started to recount their tale.

"Well…" Tooth began with a sigh. "When you never returned after your mission, we searched everywhere we could think of for you, and we asked everyone you had interacted with in Sahran, but no one was sure where you had disappeared to. We first found out what had happened to you when Lily magically contacted us. Needless to say, we were quite shocked...not only had we just been told that a secret society of snow sprites existed beneath the Motorean desert, but we had also found out that you had been captured and tortured by one of said sprites...naturally, we hurried here to find you."

"Unfortunately…" North picked up, frowning. "When we entered city, we were met with quite the...display, by Ebon. He seemed to know that we would come...he had already gathered all sprites in center of city for announcement. He was at first still pretending to be Arios...and he showed everyone that his father had been killed. And...he blamed you, Jack." He sighed. "Some believed him...and some did not. And even when we entered and attempted to defend you...only a few that were on his side changed their minds. He kept painting Guardians as villains, trying to scare the people. Then, after a while...everyone who had sided with him suddenly vanished into shadows."

Jack blinked in surprise, eyebrows raised. Aster nodded gravely.

"Yep," he said, tone grim. "And it was roughly half the people in the city, too. Just up and disappeared. After that, Ebon revealed his true form, eyes goin' yellow and everything. Said his name was Ebon, he was a Fearling possessin' Arios Fletcher, and that we wouldn't be able ta stop his plans...whatever they happened ta be. Didn't let us in on those details...instead, he vanished along with the sprites. No idea where they are now, or what they're plannin' on doin'."

"Which was all very concerning…" Tooth began again. "But you were our number one priority...we got Lily to show us where you were, and we got you out of there. Then, we went and found Simon, who had been locked up in an icy cell for a few days, and brought him here as well. We've all been taking care of you two ever since...except for a few hours ago, when we stepped out to investigate Arios' room."

She then nodded at Sandy, who waved his hands and created a golden sand model of a bedroom in the air. The image was relatively simple for the most part, but one wall was unusually detailed; there appeared to be words written upon it, but no matter how hard Jack looked, he couldn't make out what the tiny lettering said. He glanced at the other Guardians curiously, looking for an explanation.

"We...didn't find much in there…" Tooth said quietly. "For the most part, the room was spotless. But...in the space above the bed, there were words carved into the ice covering the wall...they…" She gulped. "They outlined...what Ebon had done to you, Jack…"

Jack stiffened, then lowered his head. They...know, he thought numbly. Damn it...I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell them everything...granted, I'm glad I don't have to explain it myself, but...I didn't want to...I didn't want to worry them like this…

North heaved a sigh, pulling Jack out of his thoughts. "Jack...I know is difficult for you, but...we need you to tell us your side of story. We need to know what Ebon is planning...we don't know anything right now, but we are certain is very bad. You can take your time for a bit, but...you must tell us."

Jack knew this, of course. He had known that he would need to talk about what Ebon had told him ever since he had first realized that he had been rescued. As such, he wasn't planning on "taking his time" at all. This was the entire reason he had endured Ebon's torture for so long, and he wasn't about to continue to let it wait.

After giving a brief, firm nod in North's direction, he dipped his quill in the inkwell and began to write.

We now know the Guardians' side of the story, but there's still more to be told...hope you guys enjoyed, and don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! I'll see you guys next time!

'Til then, Sapphire316, out.