Pitch was not done yet. He watched North and Sandy walk away from his vantage point on the floor. He considered setting a nightmare at them while they had their backs to him, then decided against it. He would let them think they won this round. He began to climb painfully to his feet.
oOo
"What did you tell Jack?" North demanded. After the echoes of Bunnymund's bounding footsteps had faded away. Tooth had also zipped out of the room, leaving the three alone together. "What was he talking about?" Sandy bound him tightly with golden ropes.
The sand constrains tightened around Pitch's torso. He felt his ribs press towards each other. He took a shuddering breath. "I was actually quite nice to him." He answered with a flippant smirk. A nightmare sliced through the sand binding him, and he stumbled away from them.
"I like to laugh." Said the Russian man, the statement nearly comical in comparison with his intimidating expression. "But unfortunately for you, your pain ees more funny to me than your jokes. Sandy?" At the command, the vice-like tendrils began to grow thorns, then whipped towards him again. Pitch gasped as one ripped the cloth of his left pant leg then dug with a cruel harshness into his gray skin. He danced further away. "I may have helped him remember some things." he offered. The golden wires lay in wait, but Pitch caught them from behind. A dark stallion reared, its powerful hoofs catching North in the shoulder. The big man lurched forward, then Sandy engulfed the nightmare in gold. The evil disappeared from it easily. A bead of sweat that had been growing on Pitch's brow slipped down his temple.
"Helped him remember." mused North around a gasp. "Elaborate," he said slowly. Pitch glanced at Sandy, wondering how far he could push the fence with this one. The small man had a truly fearsome look on his face. But taking his attention away from North had been a mistake. He yelled as two swords leaped towards his head. They hovered in perilous proximity to his ashen face. He stared down their silvery sharp lengths in shock.
"In a new light!" Pitch added frantically. A gasp broke his next sentence. "I may have helped him... remember in a new light." Inwardly, his mind raced. There had to be a way he could turn this to his favor. He was giving them too much truth. Then, a dark sliver of an idea wedged itself into his mind as he caught sight of the ebony globe in the center of the room.
"What do you mean by 'new light'?" Asked North. Neither the piercing blue eyes or the deadly swords wavered an inch.
"Look, there's really no need for this." He negotiated. Sandy was having none of it. A rope from behind him grabbed him, then slammed him into the wall behind him. He fell forward, all of the air whooshing from his body. "Aaah!" He moaned. "I think you broke my ribs!"
North glanced at Sandy. This was almost seeming too easy. They had expected much more of a fight. Sandy shrugged, watching the dark man on the floor. Both were wary as they eyed the writhing figure.
"What did Jack mean by 'You just wanted to use me?'" North barked, deciding to make the most of the unexpected weakness. He was ready for Pitch to leap at him, order an onslaught of nightmares to attack, to put into play whatever trick he was trying to implement. He was disappointed. Pitch shakily rose to all fours, then collapsed. He moaned as he hit the floor.
"I told him that you were enemies trying to make the most of his memory loss to get his power on your side." Pitch rolled onto his side, looking up at the two guardians. He wondered briefly where Tooth had gone, then put it out of his mind. It wasn't immediately important.
"So Jack believes that we lied to him?" asked North, understanding widening his eyes. Outrage quickly narrowed them again. "What else did you tell him?"
"I told him that we were friends; that I was the one that understood him best."
"Why?"
"The same reason as last time!"
"Last time?"
"Time may have passed since our last battle, but that hardly means that I've given up. Maybe you forgot about me in that time. It would be an easy thing for you to do, seeing as how you're so busy being believed in. Does it even bother you that this is how Jack felt for those three hundred years? Always trying something new to be seen… to be noticed. Always failing. I thought that since I did understand him best, once he gave me a chance with a fresh view he would be all too willing to join my side of the battle."
"Obviously, you thought wrong. Jack ees much stronger person than you. Tell us where he ees now." North was slowly letting his guard down. Pitch didn't seem to be posing any kind of threat at the moment.
"That I actually don't know. Your guess is as good as mine."
"Well, I just have one more question for you then." Pitch nearly rolled his eyes in exasperation, but stopped himself at the last moment. Couldn't they just leave already? The were taking so long with their little interrogation that he had nearly finished planning out his next move. it had been an interesting idea from the start, but now he was darkly eager to put it into play. "Why did Jack believe you? You must have done something else to him in order to change his memories. What was it?"
Pitch paused for a fraction of a second. He wasn't sure he was willing to give up that particular secret just yet. He decided on an alternate answer. "I saw that he was starting to remember some things. While they were still hazy, I told him what I wanted him to think he remembered. It worked surprisingly well."
"We will leave now." Said North. "You are weaker specimen than even I guessed. If you follow us, it ees likely you suffer some more, da?" Sandy nodded. He didn't want to hurt Pitch when he appeared so defenseless, but battle was another matter entirely. The two turned to leave. Pitch showed his teeth to their backs in some strange combination of a smile, and a threat.
oOo
Tooth had left the room minutes after Bunny. She also wanted to find Jack. She looked down at her small hand as she skimmed the surface of a cloud in her flight. It had hurt when Jack shook her off. She didn't know why he had changed so drastically in the time they had been apart, but she knew it had something to do with Pitch. She blinked a tear out of the corner of her eye, then shook her head to clear it a little. Jack was more important. Find him, then worry about Pitch.
At the moment, she was swooping towards Burgess. She didn't know where Bunny had decided to look first, but thought it a good idea to check anyway. Bunny could have missed something, or maybe he hadn't come here at all. Whatever the reason, she felt Burgess was a reasonable place for Jack to be.
First the lake, she thought, then Jamie's house. She quickly rescinded the last thought as she remembered that Jack would have no reason to go to Jamie's. Tooth was largely skeptical after Jack's display a while ago that he actually had his memories back.
She touched down lightly on the bank of the semi frozen water. She would find Jack. She would not let him be alone anymore.
Hours later, twilight streaked through the snowy leaves of the forest. The dying drops of sun glanced off the icy sparkles, refracting the light onto the world in melancholy shades of gray and blue. Tooth leaned against a tree. She knew she was spending to much time here. If she wanted to find Jack, she knew she should have spent an hour here, tops. She just couldn't help being fascinated with her surroundings.
She knew this was the lake where Jack spent his last moments. She had a feeling that he would be here. He had always had an attachment to this lake, only now she knew why. She ruffled her feathers, then smoothed them back down. Did she want to find Jack or not?
As she flew over the quickly darkening town, she spotted Jamie Bennett's house. She hadn't meant to come this way. She stopped moving forward, hovering in the air. The little house below her glowed from the light within. She began a descent, heading towards the upstairs left side window.
Jamie was getting ready for bed. He was already in his pajamas, and had a toothbrush in his mouth. He dug around in his backpack, getting things ready for school the next day, Tooth guessed. She knocked on the window. Jamie jumped, then ran to the window. Tooth gave a little wave.
"Tooth Fairy?" He asked in confusion. His face lit up. "Oh! The Easter Bunny must have talked to you! Did you find Jack? Did Pitch do anything to him?" He opened the window so she could enter.
"Well..." She began reluctantly. Why had she come here? She guessed she had hoped Jamie would know something she didn't. "He's not hurt." Physically, that she could see. "And he's not with Pitch anymore. You helped us so much. We found him because of you."
Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad he's okay."
"We are too." Tooth agreed. She glanced at the toothbrush in his hand, then couldn't refrain from asking.
"You brushed for two minutes? Have you flossed already? You're planning on flossing, right?"
Jamie became aware once more of the toothbrush in his hand. "Oh! Yup. I flossed first. See? All clean." He opened wide for her. Tooth smiled as she inspected his pearly whites.
"Good job." She praised. "But its time for you to get to bed, isn't it? I shouldn't have come so late."
"No, no! It's okay! I'm not even tired. I'd rather keep talking to you than go to sleep."
"I know. But sleep is really important. You need your rest. Sandy would definitely tell you the same thing."
"Probably. But-"
"No buts! Hop in bed, mister."
"Okay." He mumbled in defeat. He trudged over to the door, locked it, then moped his way into bed. Tooth stared at the locked door handle, curious.
"Do you always lock your door before bed?" She inquired. She knew some people were more fond of privacy than others, but had always thought of locking your door while you slept as a very teenager thing to do.
"Yeah." He said, flushing a little. "I have to. I sleep walk sometimes, and if I don't lock my door, I'll go out and fall down the stairs. That's where I got this scar from, see?" He pulled up his right sleeve to reveal a faint x-shaped scar on his elbow.
"Oh, my. I'm sorry." She wondered if she had embarrassed him. It was nothing to be self conscious about, but he seemed a little sheepish.
"S'okay." He replied. He tried not to yawn. Tooth saw his struggle, smiling tenderly at his typical childlike behavior.
"I'll go now. Have good dreams, okay?"
"I'll try." He said, lowering himself to his pillows. He shut off his bedside lamp as she gently closed the window behind her. She hadn't gotten closer to finding Jack, but it had done her good to spend some time with the child. He was so sweet.
Jamie was asleep within minutes of the windows soft click shut. He did not even stir as a dark figure poured from the shadows. A gray hand traced the air around his sleeping face.
A sleep walker, huh? Came the dark thought. As Pitch reveled in his good fortune, he couldn't help letting two words escape. Two of his favorite, words in fact.
"Pavor Nocturnus."
A/N: So, How many of you know what pavor nocturnus is? (without googling it!) I had to rewrite this chapter a couple of times, and a completely new twist came to me somewhere in the middle of the second time through. I was really excited for a minute, then realized this meant fixing over half of the chapter again. I died a little inside at this revelation, but I feel it was worth it. XD
Comments, concerns, or stories from those of you that are sleepwalkers, I want to hear it all! Thanks for sticking with me, you guys. Your comments, follows and support are what motivate me to keep writing. I love you all!
One more thing. EASTER is coming up real soon, so how would you feel about interrupting the story for an Easter special? I have a short story collection for stuff like this, but if you guys want it posted here too, I'll share the love. Let me know in a review, majority rules.
Love, Mariah.