Jack groaned involuntarily as his eyes slowly opened. His vision was blurred the messy white hair that fell in front of his eyes and his head pounded like a drum was forced through his ears, the ringing from the screeching winds still echoing in his head. The world spun, and with the blur, all the winter spirit could make out in his daze was the dark green and black of the forest's night. He hadn't reached this part of the world yet, the grass he was sprawled in was wet as if it had just rained but there was no snow, just a chill that he knew was there but couldn't feel. He was sore if anything. When he had tried to close his hand into a fist to see if he could move it, it felt like someone had gotten a dart and shoved it right up his bone through the rest of his arm in a wave. He couldn't even tell if Ilia had made it okay, he couldn't tell anything as his confused turquoise eyes lazed around to try and lose the blur in his vision... until they stopped at a smiling figure. All Jack could see was a smear of black on the canvas of the world, but he knew who it was. The only one who could possibly be smiling, the figure of darkness himself. He tried to growl at the man to go away but his mouth refused to obey him, his pale lips sticking together with the dryness of the wind taking their moisture away. Instead he glared, though it was more of a narrow of his eyes as he couldn't even manage to fully do that. Maybe his spine was broken.. he thought in a fear. Guardians cant die, and though they heal faster, if something that damaging had happened to him, a lot of the world wouldn't get winter for at least a year if not two or three for him to heal. There was a chuckle and the carefree voice of the nightmare king stung the already buzzing ears of the winter spirit. "Did you have a nice rest? I let you sleep for a while, look, its almost dawn." Jack's eyes tried to focus on the skies again. Sure enough, the pure blackness of night was tinted with a deep blue, just barely visible as he still couldn't see well enough to make out any other signs of day coming. Still, it angered him. Pitch said it like he was being nice of all things. He laughed at the darker look coming from the winter spirit. "Aw, it seems like your little tumble left the both of you completely speechless. Here I was thinking you would enjoy meeting the wind again. What a shame." Jack growled from the back of his throat, the only sound he could make. So Ilia was there.. he was unsure if she was okay or not, according to what he assumed from Pitch's words, she might've been out cold or just as dazed as he was. He wanted to burst up, grab his staff and rush to attack the evil man, both for beating Ilia like he had before and for mocking him while he was down.. but Jack couldn't move. "Don't worry Jack.. I'll let you go back to your guardian family soon enough. I just need you for.. oh.. maybe till March? Just a few months.." His voice grew into a sadistic coldness, " so that all of the children realize that the snow days and fun of winter won't come." Jack felt his eyes widen involuntarily. So Pitch was up to this again.. before he had fallen he had tried to knock out the belief in Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy. Now he was trying to take away the very few lights Jack had of his own. He tried to raise his head and the force of the drums in his mind slammed him back down with a yelp. Pitch laughed, shaking his head. "You just don't know when to give up! But you don't have to worry.. I'm bringing your new friend as well. Ilia has caused some trouble for me, recently, I'd rather her not be out in the world to do it again. She has quite an affect on one of my allies and it wouldn't be fitting if he left because of her. Its nice to have a stronghold against your followers, is it not?" Jack wanted to reply, to yell back, but his vision suddenly blurred again, eyes squeezing shut at the pain that shot through him. "But you don't seem to want to talk for now.. sleep well, Jack Frost." There was a cold, wicked laugh, and the spirit of winter felt something smooth run over his face like a blanket. Nightmare sand. He started to struggle, ignoring the pain, fighting to rise.. then with a last effort wasted, fell back, the soft damp grass acting as a pillow for his heavy head.
Pitch laughed with his glory. Finally, his efforts were for something! The two he wanted were in his grasps, helpless, without a chance of escape. He pulled his nightmare sand away and looked down at the small and smaller figures on the ground. Their faces were peaceful in their sleep.. he would change that soon, but for now he didn't want them squirming on the way back. The thought got him excited, Jack Frost, the one who had shoved him into his loneliness from his glory yet again, breaking at his own power. Revenge was sweet.. and since the boy was almost always missing for a while, the guardians would't come to search for them for at least another few days. He quickly called back the sand, letting it surround both them and him as they faded from the forest, the only sign they were there at all was the large bird, eyes closed as it laid, heavily breathing, in the dirt.
Ilia's eyes opened weakly and immediately realized something was wrong, the glow in them igniting from her sleepiness as she realized she was back in the dark chambers of the nightmare king's lair. She darted up, yelling and falling back. She had forgotten about her wounds but the crash must've opened them all up. She felt the warm trickle of blood down her chest from the sudden jerk to sitting, the crisp dried brownish flakes still on her skin from earlier. How did they get there...? "Hiwa.." she whispered shakily. Her friend had fallen from the sky, that was it. The wind had attacked them.. she quickly looked around her, making sure to keep herself laying down in safety form reopening the gashes again. Thick black bars were spaced inches from each other. A cage.. she shuddered at the thought. Cages along with other traps were evil in her eyes, you didn't have a chance to run, to hide, to get yourself to safety. Even if you weren't going to attack, they had you trapped with no escape. She had spent so much time running around and freeing the animals around the hunting grounds, her speed being so unmatched that she never got caught herself.. and yet here she was, trapped. She had understood their panic but now she really felt it. Pitch could do anything to her in here, move her, break her.. she remembered the screams that ran involuntarily out of her mouth when Pitch was beating her, his anger fueling her pain. She was afraid of him.. not angry, but definitely afraid. The man was too furious for his own good and it showed in his eyes, eyes the color of the full yellow moon, tainted with anger and a sadistic want for revenge. She finally earned the strength to crawl to the bars, peeking through. Beside her, another cage... "Jack.." she whispered. The white hair of the boy didn't so much as rustle. "Jack..!" she breathed out, slightly louder but trying to keep quiet. He gave a faint grunt, a groan, then went silent yet again. "Don't try to wake him up, dear child, he needs to recover from his fall." She jerked her head to face the voice, whimpering as the dagger of pain rushed up her neck. Pitch was right there, leaning down in front of her cage. Her eyes didn't anger him anymore, oh no, they fueled him. A fire that needed to be burned out, him being like a mass of water. He would kill the light in those eyes, both of their eyes. He didn't care anymore if they were children because they weren't, they were spirits no matter how they looked, they would ALWAYS appear to be children. He smiled, a soft smile that gleamed wickedness. "You look so frightened, Ilia, you really dont think I would hurt you do you?" He gave the laugh of a sadist, pulling himself back to standing. She backed to the side of the black cage as far away from Pitch as she could get. Something was wrong with him, he had never been this evil from all of the times she had found and watched him, she had been there when he was fighting Jack and the other guardians, he was never as cruel as this. Then something moved behind the figure of darkness.. two bright red eyes were fixed on her, the black clothes and blood colored ripped cape giving his identity away immediately. "Grey, help me!" She shouted, crawling back forward in desperation. She felt a choking feeling in the pit of her throat, her eyes heating and starting to run with wet tears. He was her friend.. he had always given a faint smile for her, they had always talked when they met, she had always been nice and he had always been kind back.. so why not now?! "Don't let him do this! Grey!"
"Shut up, Ilia!" Her eyes widened as the usually ominous and quiet voice of the grim was raised, him standing from his seat on the floor and glaring over. It was so unlike him to lash out like that. His look was uncaring but his eyes showed sadness. The sound stopped from her mouth, leaving her sitting there in slight shock, staring back at the man. He looked away in a glare, his fists clenched at his sides. "We're enemies.." he growled out. "If the nightmare king so pleases to hit you then I wont do anything, if he asks me to kill you, then it is my job! You're too young to see it, too naive! So just.. shut up.." He turned away, closing his eyes and bowing his head as he heard the small choking noises of the child trying to hold back the outcry of her sadness. He was born to be on the side of the wrong, she was born to be on the side of the light and that was that. He couldn't help her without being a traitor to himself. No matter what they were before, no matter how much he cared about her like a younger sister, the only family he couldn't help but feel he had, she was an enemy now. But it still hurt him like all hell when she finally lost her control, sobbing quietly into her hands. Pitch even seemed shock at the yell from the master of silence, the look in his eyes then crinkling into a smirk. "So its settled..? I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter to stay or leave. Same for Jack." Pitch had taken Ilia as a last resort blackmail to persuade Death to stay if he decided to switch sides, but it was pretty apparent now that she didn't have a purpose anymore. She had realized this as well, pulling her knees to her chest and openly crying, hiding her face in her small palms. Pitch could kill her if he felt like it, he could use her against Jack if he decided to fight his way out, break her and beat her without a single worry now that the only one who ever cared enough to possibly fight for her was on his side. Grey.. don't leave us here.. her mind echoed repeatedly as Pitch turned, pacing off. She peeked between her fingers and met with blood red eyes, a look first of worry and sadness, then the cold wall he always put up, as Death turned and followed after his new leader.
Sorry if it gets not as good near the end, sort of had a really frustrating break and lost the mood to write :/ hopefully its good enough, I'll probably update again tonight or tomorrow.