Hey, guys! Welcome back to RFL 2: Into the Dark! Little later than I would've liked, but here I am, so...onto the reviews!

Thanks so much to Moonumb (I'm glad! Our boy finally gets to sleep :), 10 (He definitely does deserve it, the poor boy. Thanks for the review!), GhostFromGotham (Thank you very much, that's very sweet of you :) Hope you're doing well too!), and Demi clayton for reviewing!

And now, on with the chapter!

Chapter 24: Long-Awaited Reunion

When Jack awoke at last, the first thing he noticed was how alright he felt. Though he was admittedly still subjected to the grogginess and disorientation that often accompanied oversleeping, upon slowly easing his eyes open, the boy realized that he felt calmer than he had in what must have been weeks. The threat of Ebon's plans still brought him a certain degree of anxiety, but his mind's previously rampant madness seemed to have faded away, at least for now. Jack was not sure how he would fare if he were to be placed in another situation that reminded him of his recent torture (he nervously recalled the panic attack he had experienced upon first returning to the remains of his village months ago, and his frustrating fear of being underground that he had also developed since then), but for the time being...he was alright.

The second thing Jack noticed as he glanced around the room was that, save for himself and Simon, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to Jack's, a book open on his lap, there was no one else present. Both the other Guardians and Lily seemed to be elsewhere, and Jack found himself idly wondering how much he had missed while he was asleep. He closed his eyes and lightly exhaled. It seems like all I do lately is try to get caught up on whatever events transpire while I'm out of commission… he thought.

Suddenly, a light clearing of the throat off to his left caused his eyes to snap open once more in surprise, and Jack quickly glanced over in Simon's direction, forcing himself not to let his slight panic show. The archer admittedly looked better than he had when Jack had last seen him, seeing how he was no longer shivering and his color seemed to have returned to him. Even his mood seemed to have mildly improved, as he shot a wry grin in Jack's direction upon making eye contact.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Simon greeted him teasingly, with a slight chuckle. "You know you've been sleeping for about eighteen hours? Kind of impressive...though I suppose you did need it." He arched an eyebrow. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

Almost without thinking, Jack opened his mouth to reply, but his words abruptly became caught in his throat as a new wave of fear washed over him. He quickly closed his mouth, gulped, then averted his eyes in shame as he inwardly cursed himself for his own foolish weakness.

Simon, meanwhile, only sighed, seeming disappointed, but not exactly surprised. "Still not talking, huh…?" he murmured with a worried frown. "Well...that's alright. Just take your time, Jack…"

Jack still did not respond, nor even turn to look at the other man once more.

There was a brief silence, then Simon awkwardly cleared his throat and asked, "Er...do you want your writing supplies? I'd imagine you probably still have some questions about...well, a lot of things…"

You're certainly not wrong about that… Jack mentally acknowledged as he nodded in response to Simon's question. I want to know more about what happened to you, for example...among other things.

When Simon moved to stand up, Jack happened to catch a glimpse of the cover of the book the archer had been reading as he set it aside...Tales of the Guardians: #5.

Jack's expression immediately dulled.

Simon paused momentarily upon noticing the young sprite's face, then slowly followed his gaze to rest on the accursed book's cover. Then, to Jack's chagrin, the man gave a laugh and grinned at him.

"Just flipping through it again out of boredom," he said cheekily. "If nothing else, the illustrations are pleasant to look at." He smirked as he handed Jack his parchment and quill. "Though I'll admit...the best part of the experience is truly your reaction to it all."

With no hesitation, Jack dipped the quill in ink and scribbled down, I hate you.

Simon shook his head in mock sadness. "So cold and blunt...somehow, it hurts worse to see it written out than to hear it spoken. Honestly, Jack...you really do wound me."

Jack rolled his eyes. I believe you'll live, he wrote. Now if you would kindly forget about that damned book...I do have a few questions for you.

"Alright, alright, I'll lay off," the archer chuckled, sitting back down on his bed and pulling his gray cloak a bit tighter around him (due to the floor, ceiling, and walls of the room all being reinforced with ice, the resulting temperature was likely uncomfortable to a human like Simon, Jack realized). "Go on...ask away. I'll answer to the best of my ability."

Jack nodded, then thought for a moment before writing, Here's a question you should be able to answer just fine...what was happening to you while I was gone? I seem to recall overhearing Lily mentioning something about a freezing cell...so then, Ebon got to you to some extent as well…? Are… He frowned, looking up at Simon briefly before looking back down and finishing, ...you okay…?

Upon reading what Jack had written, Simon's lighthearted smile faded in order to be replaced with a deep frown, and he heaved a sigh, running his hand from his forehead down the length of his face. "It's...true, Ebon did have me locked up about a week after you vanished," the archer admitted, nodding gravely. "He put me back in the cell you saw me in when we first began our stay in this damn city...only I'm certain he lowered the temperature even further."

Though Jack moved to write a bit more, Simon shook his head and held up a hand to stop him. "I know what you're thinking, though," he said with a frown. "And no...Ebon didn't torture me like he tortured you. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't exactly comfortable in there…" He grimaced and lightly rubbed the stump that had once been his left arm. "Especially for someone like me...but Ebon seemed to fix things so that I never got permanently hurt from the cold, only...constantly in pain and discomfort. Plus, I did have two guards for company, even if they weren't the best at conversation…"

Simon appeared to be downplaying his experience as much as possible, but Jack didn't believe his nonchalance was real for a second. Frowning worriedly, the boy tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, examining the archer's somewhat strained expression.

Upon noticing what Jack was doing, Simon sighed slightly and assured him, "Really, Jack, I'm fine...I'm not going to lie and say that it wasn't an awful experience, but...it left no lasting effects, I promise. And besides…" He frowned. "...it was nothing compared to what that monster put you through."

Jack's expression shifted from worried to somewhat irritated. Is this going to be a common theme? he wrote without thinking. Bad things happening to others and then being brushed off because they're "not as bad as what Jack went through?" Because I'm telling you right now, I won't stand for it!

The sprite practically thrust the parchment in his friend's direction, then, after letting him read it for a second, crossed his arms and gave him a pointed look. Much to his annoyance, Simon only rolled his eyes and shook his head again.

"Alright, Jack, I get it," the archer said exasperatedly. "But I swear to you...I'm alright. I've been well-taken care of since they got me out of that cell, and I'm only...mildly cold now. Though I suppose in an icy room like this one, that can't be helped."

Jack continued studying him for a few more moments, then finally exhaled and nodded. Fine, he wrote. I believe you. Then, he paused for a moment to think before continuing with a slight smirk, Taken care of...by Lily, I take it?

Now, Simon's eyes narrowed. "...yes, Miss Callia has been extremely helpful in my healing process due to her extensive knowledge of magic," he said stiffly, putting on a false air of professionalism in order to keep his composure, or so Jack figured.

Yes, her magical knowledge...did her very company help with your recovery as well? he wrote with a sly expression on his face, sketching a small heart symbol at the end of his sentence and winking at the archer.

"...I'm not playing these games with you, Jack," Simon deadpanned. "No matter my feelings towards Miss Callia...Lily...I will not let you fluster me over them again!"

Jack rolled his eyes and simply scribbled, Sure.

"Ugh…" Simon rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Just...do you have any more legitimate questions? Or has this now turned into you somehow managing to tease me without even saying a word?"

The boy gave a wry smirk at the archer's words, but then shook his head and wrote down, Actually, I do have one more question. I know the fates of most of the individuals I got to know while staying here...but one person still remains unaccounted for. He frowned. What happened to Cynthia Fletcher…?

Simon's annoyed expression now faded to something of a grim frown, and Jack found himself suddenly growing alarmed, at least until the man finally spoke. "She's still alive, don't worry, and she's still here in the city...but it seems as though Ebon placed some sort of...sleeping curse on her? Essentially the opposite of what he did to you. While you couldn't fall asleep...she appears to not be able to wake."

Jack's frown deepened. Is she going to be alright…? he wrote cautiously, bracing himself for the worst.

However, to his surprise, Simon nodded in response. "Lily says she's going to be fine," he replied. "She's actually by Cynthia's side right now, working to unravel the curse...apparently, it's quite a complicated bit of magic." He shook his head. "Nothing that I understand...I've never tried to look into the art of magic myself, but she claims to be making progress, so there's nothing left to do but trust that she knows what she's doing."

Jack nodded. Yes… he thought privately. Lily does seem to be rather adept in the magical arts...I hope for Cynthia's sake that her expertise proves greater than Ebon's...or Arios', I suppose, if Ebon really is only leeching off of his knowledge… He frowned. And...I also hope that the poor girl is able to cope with her father's fate and what her brother has become...Moon above, we need to do all that we can to help her once she awakens…

Simon cleared his throat awkwardly, and Jack suddenly realized that he had been staring into space for a significant amount of time. "You...alright there, Jack?" the archer asked carefully, looking somewhat confused.

Yes, Jack quickly scrawled, shaking his head briefly as though to clear it. Sorry, I was just...thinking.

"Aha…" Simon nodded slowly, though he still seemed somewhat uncertain. "Anyway...any other questions…?" he asked, head cocked slightly to one side.

Jack moved to write out, No, but then stopped his hand in midair, just before the ink-stained tip of his quill touched the parchment. Now that he thought about it, there actually was one last being that had remained unaccounted for over a much longer period of time than he could justify. Thus, after only a moment's pause, he moved once again, instead writing, No...but I do have a request for you. There's someone I need to reunite with.

Simon raised his eyebrows curiously.

()()()()

Practically the moment Jack hobbled into the stables, being largely supported by Simon, the sound of a familiar whinny reached his elfin ears, followed by the sound of excited, stamping hooves.

Jack allowed himself a slight smile. Zephyr had always been excellent at sensing his presence.

The boy quickly gestured at Simon (his only form of communication at the moment, seeing as he had left his parchment and quill sitting on his bed), motioning for him to lead him down to his horse's stall. The archer complied at once, chuckling lightly as he supported the young sprite along the way.

"Amazing how your horse already knows you're here," he said. "And how you apparently are able to recognize his voice too."

We've been best friends for as long as I can remember, of course we know each other that well, Jack thought to himself, smiling inwardly, though on the outside, he only gave a slight shrug. He knew that such close friendship with a horse wasn't exactly conventional by any means, but when all other living creatures had scorned and rejected him, Zephyr had remained by Jack's side, and that was a debt he knew he could never repay.

When the two made it to Zephyr's stall and entered it, the white stallion almost seemed to bounce with happiness, whinnying and snorting as he moved forward to greet Jack. Jack, meanwhile, with a large grin on his face, pulled away from Simon and hurried forward, stumbling momentarily, but quickly throwing his arms around his horse's neck in order to catch himself before he could fall.

Even once he had steadied himself, though, Jack didn't move, instead continuing to embrace his equine companion's neck tightly, burying his face in Zephyr's mane as the stallion nickered softly and nuzzled the boy as gently as such a powerful animal could manage.

"Well...I believe I'll leave the two of you to it," Simon chuckled, his tone sounding teasing, but the smile on his face genuine. "I think I'm going to go check on Dusk," he added, referring to his own gray mare a few stalls down. "Just come get me if you need anything."

Jack lifted his head and nodded, then began stroking Zephyr gently as Simon walked off. It's been too long since I've seen you, old friend, he thought, closing his eyes contentedly. I can't even remember the last time we were separated for such an extensive period of time...you must have been worried about me…

Suddenly, after a few moments of silence, Zephyr snorted and moved his head to nuzzle Jack once more, a bit quicker than before, and as a result, Jack nearly lost his balance for the second time. Thankfully, he managed to catch himself just like before, though the less than masculine yelp he had let out while in the process of almost falling was admittedly...regrettable.

"E-Easy, there, Zeph…" Jack whispered without even thinking. "I c-could've…" Suddenly, his eyes widened as his mind finally processed what he had just done.

I...I spoke… he thought, utterly bewildered. My voice is barely more than a weak whisper at this point, but...I somehow managed to speak…

The boy slowly looked up into his horse's dark eyes, and Zephyr, of course, offered him no response outside of a light snort. Jack's eyes widened even further.

Of course… he thought, a slow grin forming on his face. If I can't talk in front of people just yet...perhaps I can practice on an animal that can't speak back to me…? It may still take some time for me to become truly comfortable speaking again...but perhaps if I don't tell the others and instead work with Zephyr at my own pace...maybe, just maybe...my voice will fully return.

With a light laugh that, due his throat's soreness and his voice's lack of use, was little more than a soft exhalation of air, Jack gratefully stroked the white stallion's neck as the horse nickered gently.

"Th-Thank you, Zeph…" he rasped quietly. "L-Looks like...w-we've got w-work to do…"

You didn't think I forgot about best horse Zephyr, did you? ;) I could never! Anyway...I hope you all enjoyed, and be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think, it really does help :) I'll see you guys next time!

For now, Sapphire316, out.