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A howl of rage echoed through the hidden tunnels that lay underground, and shadows scattered through cracks of rock quickly, avoiding their master's rage.
Pitch Black snarled at the empty set of chains in front of him, chains that once held the Tooth Fairy tight in their grasp. Now, all that remained was a single, pink feather, torn in the corner of the cell.
The Boogeyman moved over to this feather, picking it up in his long, grey fingers.
"How did you?" He muttered, staring at the remaining piece of his prisoner. "How could've you? There was no possible way out of here…" Pitch looked over to the remains of his loyal nightmare; what once was a colossal bear was now a small pile of black sand. He had been so sure that that creation would never fail him, but now he could see it wasn't enough.
But what about the other guardians, still trapped in their cells? Sure, the Nightmare King had recently visited one of his retreats, checking the amount of nightmares in the area, but he had never checked on the prisoners themselves for a good fifty years- that is, if you didn't count the recent talk with the fairy. Could they have found a way to overcome his power. Impossible. But…
No.
He was sure, confident, that the guardians couldn't have escaped, or found a way to rebel against his nightmares. With the pitiful amount of lights on the globe, it was a wonder how they were still existing.
Though it would've been better if he got rid of all those lights…
Pitch looked at the globe that was partly concealed by the small cell door, and could see a few lights shining on the surface. He glared at them, before turning his attention back to the feather in his hand. It seemed oddly intact, despite the fact that it should've been in a fight with its owner. Though it was torn, it wasn't dirty or plucked off by force, nor was it stained red…
The Nightmare King dropped the feather and watched it float gently to the floor, landing directly on top of the black sand.
It must be something else, then. Something else was helping these guardians- it was simply impossible for them to do it alone. Another spirit, maybe?
Or maybe, one particular spirit…
"No!" Pitch said aloud, snarling. "How?!" He listened to his voice echo across the tunnels, deep in thought.
He had searched everywhere for that spirit, that guardian, and never found him. Not alive.
Not dead, either…a nagging voice pointed out in his head. You never found the body.
But he watched Jack Frost die! He watched as he collapsed to the floor, he watched his blade sink into his stomach and out of his back. There was no way that he could ever survive that, immortal or not. He had assumed, after not finding him alive, the remaining guardians had buried him.
But, for the first time, Pitch felt a small stab of doubt in his mind.
Though he was certain Jack Frost was dead, certain that there was no way out of his prisons, certain that he, Pitch Black, had defeated the guardians- all of them…he felt that he had to check.
"I'll check on the rabbit first…" Pitch muttered, closing his eyes in thought. "Then the old man…then the Sandman…" he glared at the single, pink feather one last time before turning on his heel and exiting the small cell.
There was nothing to doubt, really…just a minor inconvenience to him. Maybe the fairy was a fluke…if not, whoever did this would pay…
The Nightmare King summoned the shadows, sinking into the walls.
Jack Frost was dead. He watched him die.
Jack Frost was dead.
But, the voice nagged, you can't be sure.
—
"So there's nothing I can say to persuade you to stay longer?"
Jack grinned at Tooth fondly, rolling his eyes.
"Nope." He reassured, climbing onto Raven's back.
He was standing outside the Workshop, ready to leave. Tooth was next to him with two snow globes in her hands: one for herself, and one for him.
"Why the South Pole, anyway?" Tooth asked, handing the spirit the smaller snow globe. "What makes you think that Pitch would make a base there?"
Jack looked away, so the fairy couldn't see any conflicting emotions.
"Gut feeling." Jack replied in what he hoped was an offhand tone, lying through his teeth.
He didn't want to tell Tooth, or the other guardians, why he actually wanted to check there. He had been thinking of possible locations throughout the day before, stuck in bed, and the South Pole was the only one he came up with.
A certain place in the South Pole.
Jack noticed that Pitch liked trophies. Like the bed he found in Burgess. And then he remembered the sculpture that he had accidentally made whilst fighting Pitch on his own for the first time.
And if Jack knew Pitch, he would definitely boast about the victory.
But he couldn't say anything about this fight, and hadn't for several years, to the rest of the guardians because…
He didn't know.
Maybe it was the fact that he still felt like it was his fault, or the fact that he was sure the guardians would blame themselves for the event somehow, or maybe just because he wasn't used to telling anybody anything about himself. Whatever it was, it had stopped him from telling the truth. Whenever the guardians asked about it he would smile lazily, replying:
"Just flew around for a while…around the South Pole…"
"Good luck." Tooth beamed up at him, smashing her snow globe to the ground. It made a swirling purple portal beside her, big enough for her to jump through.
Jack grinned and raised a hand to wave.
"You too. Tell Baby Tooth I said hi." He said. The fairy smiled and waved back at him.
"I definitely will…once I manage to say hi to all of my fairies…" she jumped into the portal in front of her, leaving nothing but a medium turquoise feather.
Jack, spotting it lying in the snow, slid off Raven again and picked it up, twisting it in his hand.
"Cool…" he muttered, stroking it gently. Suddenly, he was struck with an idea. "Maybe…" The spirit formed a small, needle-like icicle in his two fingers, stabbing his sword into the snow. Then, he raised the needle to his right ear, hovering it a few inches from the spare skin underneath.
"I hope this looks good…" Jack stabbed the needle through the skin, hissing at the small pain that seemed to burn it.
Is that how humans pierce ears? He wondered, wiping away some blood. No wait…they use big gun things. I prefer my way.
The spirit, being careful not to cause any damage, made a small hoop of ice around the feather's quill, leaving a small gap in between. Smiling, he then gently inserted the hoop into his piercing hole, and finally sealed the rest of the hoop so it wouldn't fall out.
"How do I look?!" Jack asked Raven, spinning around to show the new piercing in his ear. The feather moved with him, brushing against his neck.
Raven Wing snorted, and the spirit swore he rolled his eyes before kneeling down, ready for the spirit to mount.
"Oh- right…sorry, Raven…" he apologised, climbing on his back."Thanks for reminding me...lost track of time…" Jack dropped the small snow globe on the snow beside them, scooping up his sword as he did so. The portal opened, and Raven ran through, Jack giving a small victory whoop.
—
"I knew it…can you see them all, Raven?"
Jack was currently wedges between two ice glaciers with his stallion beside him, watching the nightmares prowl in and out of the shadows. There movements were agitated, however, unlike the ones in Burgess, and they seemed to be twice as many guarding the ice sculpture that stood in the centre of them.
"There's something wrong…" The spirit muttered, staring harder at the horses. "Why are all of them so…on guard?" He turned his attention over to the small cave underneath the sculpture, where two more nightmares walked out.
"Well, it's only going to get worse at night…" he muttered, standing up from his crouch. "Will you wait again?" He asked the stallion next to him. It nodded, nuzzling its master. Jack smiled, taking his fingers through his white locks.
"See you…I hope…" Jack sprang out of the small gap, holding the sword above his head. The feather brushed against his cheek, and it felt like If was reassuring him that, whatever happened, he would be alright in the end.
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