Author's Note: Based on one of my own dreams :| Too much PewDiePie playing horror games…
WORTH IT.
Never before could Jack recall such a peculiar dream.
He couldn't quite remember why he was running, or why his hoodie was gone, or why his body was covered with gashes and bruises; all he knew was that, for reasons unknown, he had to run.
He had to get out.
He was rapidly making his way through a series of long, seemingly endless hallways, some of which were left blank, adding onto the eerie feeling of emptiness that sent shivers down his spine. While these walls were plain, others were doused with blood. Though his pants were torn and his feet were stinging and bleeding, he kept on. He had to run.
He had to get out.
And all of these serpentine hallways, they were lined with mirrors - but every time he turned his head to catch a quick glimpse at himself as he ran, the reflection was altered in some way. First it showed him as he was: white hair, fretful eyes, frightful demeanor, weak stature, battered state. In one of them, his face was pale and blank. A canvas, if you will, to be painted over; blank pages to be filled with a story that was already written out. Or, it was a mask, a fearful look to cover up the pain and the anger. His face was pale and blank, and in other mirror, it was tearstained. Then it was bloodied. Then bruised. Then his hair was brown. Then his eyes were brown. Then his eyes were black.
Jack looked away from the mirrors and looked onward as he tore through the maze of hallways before finally coming upon a dead end. This particular wall had a strange, ornate door. Jack opened up to another door. Said door opened up to another door. Another door still, until he opened up to a door that was about knee high. It had a stern face.
"Password." it demanded.
Jack twisted the knob forcefully, only to have the stern, angry face shoot out of the wooden door and ram him aside.
"No password, no entrance."
A gurgling, dragging sound echoed through the long hallway. Jack turned around to see that just turning the corner not too far away was another him, missing its legs and eyes. Its jaw looked to be dislocated and twisted in a macabre manner, other limbs jutting out here and sinking in there. Black blood spurted from this Jack's loosely stitched mouth as he called for him, crawling towards him rapidly and spreading blood all over the pristine floor. And this Jack, upon seeing this mutilated- twin, sped up immediately, making the other Jack, the real Jack fret and twist the doorknob again.
He now remembered why he had to get out.
"Password." the door demanded.
"I-I don't know!" Jack pleaded. "I don't know the password! Just, please, let me in!"
"No password, no entrance."
"Please!" He urged, his voice quivering. "There's a monster chasing me! Let me in, please!"
"But you are in."
"Then let me out! Please, let me out of here!"
"You must stay."
The other Jack was gaining.
"I can't! It'll kill me, just let me out! Please, please, I beg of you!"
The doors previously angry face looked at him silently for a moment, with at first hint of expectancy and disappointment, then with sadness.
"Why are you running from yourself, Jackson?" it asked solemnly.
The other Jack had caught up all too soon. In one swift moment, it slammed Jack down to the ground and, with bloodstained hands, tore out his twins throat.
Jack woke up with a start. His hands went for his neck, and upon feeling that his throat was still intact, he relaxed… only to tense up again when he realized two strong arms were wrapped around his torso.
The monster, Jack thought to himself as he whimpered and clenched his eyes shut. Why won't I wake up? I'm sick of being surrounded by these sick…
He then realized that monsters don't purr.
"…Bu...nny?" Jack tried to inquire confidently, only to have it come out sounding weak and hoarse. His voice was raw after his standoff with the monsters, it seemed. Jack placed his hands on the arms that clung to him, and upon feeling the soft fur between his shaky fingers, sighed in relief.
Bunny gently ruffled the boys hair and nuzzled into his neck. "How ya feelin, Frostbite?"
"Tired," Even though I just woke up, Jack mentally scolded himself. Before he could ask why Bunny was acting so… - what was the word? Caring? Worried? Clingy? - towards him, a wave of nausea overwhelmed him, and his head began pounding mercilessly against his skull. "Ungh, m-m'head's…what h-happened?"
Bunny sighed. "Its, uh, a bit hard to explain, actually." he admitted. "But you're just fine now,"
Jack spoke quieter now, his headache worsening with every syllable. "…Bunny, there… m-monsters, every-"
"Shh, Jackie," Bunnymund soothed softly, stroking the hair sticking up on his head. "There aren't any monsters here, you're safe. Jus' go ta sleep, okay?"
As if. Jack wanted to say, but found that his throat refused to say anything more. He was forced to speak barely above a whisper. "Bunny?"
"What is it, mate?"
"What's…wrong with me?"
The Pooka hesitated, looking around uncomfortably before answering, snuggling closer to the broken spirit. "It's… complicated, Jack. North said I can't tell ya till it blows ova."
"Please?" Jack asked. Bunny remained silent, contemplating whether or not it would matter at this point in time anyway.
"I…" Jack drew in a breath. "W-want to know, why I'm like this…I don't like being left in the dark…"
Bunny winced at the comment because it was true. They were keeping him in the dark. The Guardians were keeping this from him regardless of the fact that he was the one being most affected by it, and that in and of itself was an understatement. All the poor kid wanted to know was what the heck was happening to him. Besides, it was probably too far along to make much of a difference anyhow.
Jack broke the uneasy silence. "It's… not just my new Guardianship, i-is it?" he asked faintly.
After holding his breath for a moment or two, Bunny sighed. He couldn't keep it form him any longer.
"It's called Disconnection, Jack. Simply put, you're rejecting your center. It's what happens when you question or distance yourself from your purpose or your center's calling."
Jack gnawed on his lower lip. He had a feeling it had something to do with his center. "Wh…"at do I do to make it stop hurting? He wanted to say, only to have the first part come out before the scratchiness of his throat caused him to cut short.
Bunny silently noted how Jack's temperature skyrocketed since he woke up before going on with his explanation. "See, it basically means that your center's trying to break apart from you mate. You're trying to split into two different persons, because as a whole, you…" The dark red lines belonging to Jack's arms invaded his thoughts, and he clenched his eyes shut. He held Jack closer, trying his hardest to keep his voice from quivering. "You shouldn't hate yourself!" he rasped, nuzzling his cool nose into Jack's burning skin. "You bring fun to the children, Jack, an' make it snow in the winter… I can't have spring without ya, ya gumby! What am I gonna do, sprout spring from Autumn?"
Jack let out what was supposed to be a chuckle, but it evolved into a cough that rattled the frail spirit's small frame. "It hurts," he muttered once he caught his breath.
"I know, Frostbite, I know. You're center's breaking you. You're destroying yourself."
"What do…I…" do to make it stop hurting?
"Leave it ta us." Bunny said reassuringly. "We'll pull you through this. You just have to trust us, okay? Whatever we do from here on out, it's for you, to help you get better, okay?" The pooka's paw ruffled Jack's snow white hair. "You'll be just fine, ya lil bugger."
Jack wheezed. "…I'm…sorry for… that Easter in '68, I…"
Bunny shook his head. Usually people only apologized for mistakes of the past when they thought they wouldn't last through the present. It signified hopelessness, and it was unbearable. "Shhh, it's okay Frostbite, that's way behind us. I was a fool to hold a grudge for that long a time anyhow,"
"Do you… forgive me?" Jack asked hopefully, attempting to turn and look at Bunny and ultimately failing, thumping his head back onto the pillow ungracefully.
"All you were doin' was trying to give the children something fun to do. There's nothing to be forgiven for. I was an uptight old grump who didn't understand your intentions at the time. You're just fine."
Something inside of Jack unclenched, and a sense of relief washed over him. Said uncomfortable feeling rekindled when Bunny sat up to shift his position, and Jack mistook it for him getting ready to hop off of the bed and walk out the door. Faster than he thought he was capable of in this state, his hand shot out and grabbed Bunny's arm.
"Don't leave… me alone…" he pleaded.
Bunny had no intention of leaving any time soon.
"Never, Jack." he cradled Jack in his arms. "Never."
"Alrigh', what are we gonna do?" Bunny questioned the group that had gathered around Jack's infirmary bed. Jack was fast asleep, dreaming of dolphins nevertheless thanks to Sandy, and Bunnymund was cuddling him close, as if he were a baby being lulled to sleep. To Tooth and Sandy, it looked pretty adorable. To North and some others no doubt, it looked sorta creepy.
Gripping the bedpost, he recalled the events prior to meeting at the Pole. "Mother Nature said only how to delay aftereffects, not how to rid of them completely."
"Not to mention she didn't even bother to help us find the source," Tooth muttered angrily, clutching Jack's hand tightly.
"Now Tooth," North spoke up. "She did what she could to help us."
"But she could've done more for Jack!" She spat rather loudly. "She's Mother Nature!"
"Oi!" Bunny scolded in a raspy whisper. "Shh! He's sleepin', ya gumby! Bug off!"
Sandy and North exchanged knowing glances, smug grins upon their faces as Tooth gently patted down her frazzled feathers. "I'm just a little angry at how much effort she's putting in to save him." she explained marginally quieter. "Why isn't she trying to help one of her own children?"
The Guardian of wonder pondered this question. "Perhaps because it is up to us to cure him; everything's for a reason, after all…" his eyes lit up. "Wait!… Idea!" he exclaimed, earning another shush from Bunny and a quizzical expression from Sandy. He put a question mark over his head. What is it?
"While we might not know what caused it-"
"We don't, there's no might about it." Bunny quickly corrected, refusing to ease up on his protective grip around the winter spirit.
"Ah, but we know what's wrong with him, yes?"
"Yes, North," he rumbled. "Ya made that quite clear already."
"Tooth!" The Tooth Fairy flinched at his enthusiasm. "Do you still have the boy's memories?"
"Uh, not on me, but I'm sure they won't be hard to track down. What are you thinking, Nicholas?"
Trying his hardest to keep his voice down, he explained to his fellow guardians his train of thought, however outlandish or wild it might have seemed. "He hasn't been like this since before he's seen his memories, correct? I feel it is imperative that we should see his memories too! We find what issue is and what is causing Disconnection, and we will fix it!" he threw his hands up in an excited huzzah motion and swooped a startled Sandy up from the floor, embracing him in the tightest hug of his life and placing a kiss on both of his cheeks. The slight pang of drowsiness afterwards was worth it.
"North, I don't think Jack will appreciate us-" Tooth began tentatively.
"Jack will never have to know!" North cut her off gleefully, already making his way down the hall. "Come! To the globe room!"
Tooth sighed in defeat and fluttered after him. Sandy followed suit.
Bunny didn't move a muscle.
"I told Jack I wouldn't leave him." he said in response to North's expectant stare.
"Not even for a moment?"
"No, mate. Never."
"We will bring him, then. Come!"
The Guardians, each equipped with a renewed hope for their youngest member, took off for the globe room.
Author's Note: Will edit last part later; it was kinda rushed :/
If you have some screwed up dreams such as mwa, say I.
Aaanyways…
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