"What if she's not down here?" Jack asked after he and Pitch had been wandering around in the dark for some time.
"She's down here. I can still feel her fear." Pitch snorted. They heard some chattering from further down the tunnel.
"What's that?" Jack asked. Pitch rolled his eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have asked for Jack's help after all.
"I don't know," Pitch said impatiently. Then a group of skeletons appeared down the tunnel. "Those must be what Silver was talking about." Pitch mused, wondering absently if they were going to attack them or not.
"Think they're dangerous?" Jack asked.
"You ask too many questions," Pitch snorted at him. "I think I preferred you before you were a guardian. You were easier to ignore," The skeletons were moving towards them, all chattering and flailing about as if they had trouble walking in the dark.
"Well I think you're better off with Silver around," Jack said in the same tone. Pitch glared at him through the dark.
"What do you know, boy?" Pitch snapped. Jack shrugged then returned his attention to the skeletons that were rather close now. "Where's Silver?" Pitch demanded of the skeletons. The all said something at the same moment and it came out as white noise amidst their chattering. Then the skeletons attacked.
The fighting was loud in the tunnels. The skeletons would scream whenever hit with either Pitch's nightmare sand or Jack's ice. The skeletons just kept coming though, and Pitch and Jack had their hands full for quite some time.
Silver had made it about a foot when she heard chattering from behind her. Silver sighed. Now what? She thought. A herd of little skeleton men came into the room and lifted her from the ground.
"Hey…" Silver said weakly. She still felt as though she hadn't slept in weeks, but some little bit of her strength had come back. "Put," And just like that her energy was gone again. The skeletons carried her gently and Silver watched the ceiling get tall as they took her into the room that held Death and his throne.
"Silver!" Death cooed. The skeleton men set her on a chair that hadn't been there when she first was brought before Death. Silver just watched him as he grinned down at her from his throne while she tried to hold her head up properly. "I have a story to tell you."
"Let…" Silver tried to talk but it was impossibly difficult. "Me." She took a deep breath. "Go."
"I can't. You still have something that's mine. I know I can get your soul from you now, I just need you to let it go." Death smiled at her, his teeth too white against his ash-gray skin. Fresh bone in a dead face.
"Never," Silver managed.
"Wouldn't you rather stay here in the dark with me?" Death purred. Silver did her best to glare at him across the room. Death laughed. "I have something to show you, dear little Silver," Death jumped up from his throne and went to the wall and searched for something. He pulled down a jar with a dark sort of grin on his face. "Here it is!" Death came over to Silver and showed her the jar. "This soul is very special. She was a story teller of sorts, but not only that, she was from a time of wonder called the Golden Age." Silver's eyes must have widened because Death laughed again. "I see you've heard of it."
Silver tried to move away from Death, but he put his arm around her, holding her close to him. Silver's skin crawled. Death just smiled at her. Silver was watching Death, but she couldn't help looking at the jar. Inside was a little metal tinker-toy that looked like a butterfly painted with words. The metal was gold, but the words were stark in black. The butterfly toy began to flutter as Death moved the jar around.
"This little soul here, it can still tell stories. Just like watching a movie," Death opened the jar and the butterfly toy fluttered out onto his hand. Death smiled at it and Silver felt fear creeping into her mind again. Something bad was going to happen and she was powerless to stop it.
"Why," Silver spoke again. She wished she could get her energy back, but she had no power to grant any sort of wish anymore. She had used her last wish for her nightmare. "Am." She had to force the words out. "I weak?"
"That's a side effect of soul removing. Normally it kills people, but because you're a Legendary Figure…" Death shrugged. "You don't die." The butterfly fluttered on his hand and his attention strayed back to it. "Now. The story I want to tell you is an old one." The butterfly fluttered from Death's hand and drifted through the air, hovering like a ghost before Silver's wide, tired eyes.
"Why?" Silver managed, eyes wide.
"Because there are things you need to know." Death said, something like pity in his voice. The butterfly toy landed on Silver's nose. Her eyes crossed as she tried to watch the creature. The butterfly's feet dug painfully into her skin and its wings covered her eyes. Silver's eyes suddenly uncrossed as the wings showed her images from a time long past. A time of great magic and joy that was as beautiful as anything she had ever dreamed. Silver wondered what could have ended such a time. Then the images showed her something dark that prowled the shadows and skies, which laughed with a voice she knew well.
Jack and Pitch managed to fight off the skeletons. The last few that were neither broken nor frozen, chattered and ran off, sometimes making odd calls to each other as if they were trying to regroup. Jack chased after them shooting ice at them as they scuttled off. Jack bound back to Pitch with a comical grin plastered on his face.
"Let's go find Silver, she must be down here if they were trying to fight us off." Jack said. Pitch could only nod, he could feel Silver's fear spiking as something made her worry about him. Somehow she knew something about the past that worried her. While Pitch had never made play that he was a good guy, he didn't flaunt his past to her. Pitch knew she wouldn't approve of some of the things he had done.
"Well, well, well," Death's voice came through the dark. "To what do I owe the honor Mr. Nightmare King? And Jackson Overland Frost! I remember you saved your sister from me. I wasn't pleased with you for that," Pitch growled and flung sand at the voice in the shadows.
"What are you talking about?" Jack demanded, taken aback.
"Ignore him," Pitch said, still glaring at the shadows that concealed his foe. "Death! Come out and face me!" Jack took a step back when Death dissolved from the shadows.
"Are you looking for a fight?" Death mused, leaning casually against the wall of the tunnel, swinging something on a silver chain that attached to his vest. Pitch just glared at him, nose wrinkled and every muscle at attention, ready to strike. "Silver, by the way, tastes wonderful. It's a wonder you didn't devour her whole," Death laughed. Pitch roared as he jumped at Death, attacking with everything he had. Death swung the chain up and a great silver and shadow scythe appeared to defend him.
The tunnel was once again filled with the sounds of battle.
When the 'movie' of the Golden Age faded from Silver's vision, Death came back into view. He looked a little ragged, as if his attention was divided.
"What do you think Silver?" Death tried to purr. His voice came out forced and clipped. Silver wondered absently what had happened while she was watching.
"Pitch…" Silver managed. She still felt paralyzed with weariness. She worried that it would never go away.
"Yes, your dear Pitch wasn't always so…" Death sighed as he grappled for the word. "Tame." Silver watched him with disdain. She knew Death was trying to poison her against Pitch because he wished for her to want him instead of Pitch. But that was one wish that she simply couldn't grant, even if she'd had the strength to.
Death grimaced and motioned for the skeletons to come forward again. Silver looked to them as they chattered and wondered how much longer she would be here like this. She wished she was back home with Pitch in the dark. She wished and wished and wished.
But she was too weak now to make anything happen.
"You think this is all I am?" Death grimaced as he held his ribs, where Pitch had managed to hit him several times.
"I think you're a coward," Pitch growled. Jack stood behind Pitch, staff aimed at Death, waiting for something to happen.
"Do you now?" Death grinned and his teeth, normally the color of bleached bones, were stained with a darkness that must have been the fluid from his veins.
"Tell me what you've done to my Silver," Pitch demanded. Death just nodded and leaned heavily against one wall.
"I don't think your temper could handle it, Kozmotis." Death sneered. "Though I have to give you credit, you have some serious self-control…" Death coughed once. "I seem to have trouble keeping my hands off her." Death chuckled darkly then coughed again. Pitch growled and sent sand at the man against the wall. It bounced harmlessly against the stone, for the apparition of Death was gone. Not even the echo of his laugh remained.
Silver was in the room with her white nightmare again. As the skeletons made to leave, one, who was just a tad bigger than the others near him, looked back at her where she was sitting on the floor. He chattered at two of the other skeletons and those two looked at him and nodded. The group stepped forward and Silver could only watch them approach.
"Eeee." The biggest one said.
"Waaaaa." The one to his left said. The big guy glared at him and hit him with the back of his boney little hand. Silver sat up straighter as best she could. The big skeleton nodded then and this time all three spoke.
"W-e" The first two said in turn. "Sow-ry." The first and third spoke. Silver was surprised. She hadn't realized they could actually speak coherently.
"Help…" Silver said. The big one stepped forward and the two littler ones looked at each other before stepping forward as well. Silver looked at her nightmare and they seemed to understand that she wanted to be nearer to him. It took some maneuvering, but the three managed to drag and pull Silver over to the cage. Her nightmare nickered at her and stuck its nose against the bars, trying to get nearer its master. Silver wondered why it couldn't get through the bars.
"W-e sow-ry." They spoke again, but in a different order. Silver frowned at them.
"Why?" She whispered.
"W-e hur-t y-ou." The skeletons all chattered and the two smaller ones made to run away. The big one grabbed them both and pulled them back. "W-e d-id n-ot wa-n-t t-oo." They spoke again. Silver tried to look at them with sympathy. She knew they were only following orders and that they had no power to do otherwise.
"It's ok," Silver managed to spread her arms out to them as she leaned up against the cage of her nightmare, offering them forgiveness. The skeletons hesitated for a moment before chattering and coming across the room towards her. The two little ones chattered loudly when they were almost within reach and scampered off, but the big one, who Silver thought must have been the skeleton from the caves, stood before her. Silver smiled at him softly and he stepped into her hug. "I forgive you," Silver closed her eyes with her arms around the little odd skeleton. "You and your friends." She told him. He chattered again and jumped away from her. His face looked sad still, but there was something happier about the way he held himself.
"NeeK." He said. "Oooo." He shook his head because he knew she wouldn't understand. Silver looked after him as he scampered out. She thought maybe he was trying to say 'thank you'.
Pitch and Jack made their way deeper into the tunnels. Pitch was getting impatient because he knew Death was up to something that he didn't want interrupted. That's why he had sent his doppelgänger to fight Pitch and Jack rather than fight them himself.
Suddenly a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Pitch and Jack found themselves in a large room with floor to ceiling shelves of jars.
"What do you think these are?" Jack asked hovering to peer into some of the shelves, poking at a jar here and there. "They all have different things in them." He climbed up to the higher shelves to investigate more.
"Those are souls. I'd be careful, they are fragile!" Death's voice shot from the center of the room. Both of the intruders turned to him. Death looked tired as he sat upon his throne. "You certainly are determined, Kozmotis." His lips curled unpleasantly at the name.
"I don't like when people take things that are mine," Pitch growled back, beyond annoyed with Death for all the hassle he had caused for Pitch and Silver alike.
"So what's with him then?" Death nodded towards Jack who had landed on the ground next to Pitch, staff at the ready. Pitch cast a sideways glance at him. "You don't normally have any help."
"I don't like people messing with my friends," Jack said for himself. Pitch motioned to the sprite.
"There, you see?" Pitch smiled darkly. "Now tell me where Silver is."
"She's mine now, you can't have her back!" Death bellowed childishly. "Silver, and her soul, belong to me!" Death stood up to his full height, filling the cave with his body and anger. Pitch took a step back as Death cackled at his foes. "Still want to fight me, little man?" Pitch drew an arrow across his bow and let it fly towards Death's now towering form.
Apparently the answer was yes.
Silver was glad to be leaning against the cage of her nightmare. He gave her a sort of comfort because this way, she wasn't alone. Silver's eyes were closed when the nightmare made a huffing noise as someone approached.
"Silver, how are you feeling?" Death asked limping into the room, all the way back to where Silver leaned against the cage.
"Leave me," Silver groaned. She had gained back enough energy to be angry with Death for what he'd done to her.
Death kneeled down by her and groaned himself. Silver raised an eyebrow at him. He looked awful, as if he'd been through the gauntlet and back. He followed her gaze and laughed humorlessly.
"Like what your Kozmotis did to me?" Death sneered the name. Silver's eyes widened with hope. "Oh, don't look like that. He's dead." Death said simply, as if there could have been no other outcome. He sat down next to her with a heavy sigh. "He put up a good fight, he must've really loved you, Silver." Death closed his eyes as pain radiated through his ribs. Silver was dumbstruck with disbelief.
"No." She said. "He can't…" She would have known, wouldn't she?
"He can't what? Be dead? Sure he can!" Death snapped. He reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out a jar that by no means should have fit in his pocket. It was the size of a mason jar and inside was a little black figure, hunched over against one side of the glass. "See?" Death thrust the jar at her as if it were a dirty and vile thing. She managed to bring it to eye level and saw the little shadow man. Could this really be Pitch's soul?
"But…" Silver tried to object. Death took the jar from her, it vanished into his pocket once more.
"No 'but's, my dear. He's dead and gone. There's nothing you can do to bring him back. After all, 'death is a one way street'." Death sneered her own words back at her.
"He promised…" Silver said. Pitch had promised Death wouldn't hurt him. Silver felt tears come weakly to her eyes. She was so tired, and now she would never see her Pitch again. Something fragile inside her broke into tiny little pieces and Death smiled.
"That's my girl," Death said grasping her chin in his impossibly cold fingers. "Let your spirit break for him. Let your heart give up." Silver barely heard him over the sadness rushing through her. Pitch was dead. He was gone. She was all alone in the dark with no nightmares to comfort her.
Death leaned closer, brought his mouth to hers, and coldness seeped into her chest as he drew the soul he so coveted from its owner. The lamb sat idly in his hand until he produced a jar from his pocket and thrust it inside. The lamb became a brilliant, sharp-edged, silver-blue light that darted around the jar like a frightened butterfly, desperate to get out. Silver knew she should fight for it, fight the feeling that nothing mattered anymore, that she was alone, but she couldn't. There was far too much ice in her chest.
Silver slumped against the cage again, her white nightmare made a low noise in his throat as she closed her eyes. But try as she might, she could not sleep. Instead she remembered the one she had lost.
Her tears fell softly to the stone floor for Death had taken from her not only her soul, but also her heart.