"This is hopeless, isn't it?" I mumbled, kicking furiously at a stone at my foot. Mund and I had pulled to the back of the group. Bunnymund must have noticed I wasn't exactly feeling up to this. All I could think about was Jack and what he must be going through. Were they torturing him? Why would they ever want to hurt him? Jack's so innocent and sweet and caring. Who in their right mind would want to do him any harm? Well, actually, there was a list: Pitch Black... Evil, himself.. And now probably a much greater force that I couldn't even imagine. I gulped back the lump in my throat.

"It's not hopeless," Mund replied, placing a paw on my shoulder in comfort. "Jack wouldn't give up on us, and I know I'm not giving up on him. So, you shouldn't either."

"I'm not giving up on him," I said defensively. "I just... Feel as though we've already lost him to the dark side." I shrugged my shoulders miserably. "Why do they always try to hurt the guardians?"

"Because we signify good," Mund answered. "And there's always evil to rise up against the good in the world. Good mostly always wins, even in dark, meek times."

"Deep," I muttered. I sighed and we continued to walk in silence. Mund walked ahead of me to talk to North.

Mund was right. Jack wouldn't give up on any of us and I was certainly not going to give up hope that he's okay. He had to be. He meant everything to me– he was my best friend. Sure, he was my boyfriend too, but I knew that I could always count on him as being my friend, even when things seem bad. But now I was without him. It just couldn't be too late to save him. Jack was strong... He could pull through this. I hope. I hated feeling so negative, but I couldn't help it.

A strong gust of wind knocked me off of my feet. The air in my lungs was knocked out of me as I slammed into an oak tree. I gasped for breath as I sat up groggily. I blinked, dazed by the sudden impact. A cold hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. I could see the group, walking ahead, not noticing that I had been pulled away.

Panic surged through my body like an aftershock. The little adrenaline that coursed through my body made me whip around and try to shove the person away... But I froze.

"Jack?" I gaped at the white haired boy before me. He was different. His eyes were no longer blue and I couldn't look directly into the blackness that was now there. He didn't seem to hear me, but continued to pull me along. The panic built up as did the adrenaline. I kicked Jack in the shins. He gasped and released my hand. "Jack... Oh, my god. Jack." My throat felt tight with emotion. Jack was here, but he wasn't. This wasn't my Jack. Where was his beautiful blue, sparkling, icy eyes? "What have they done to you?"

"They certainly haven't been kicking me in the shins, that's for sure," he snapped, rubbing where I kicked him. I inhaled sharply at the sound of his voice. It sounded like it always did; nothing but his eyes, and more than likely his personality, has changed.

"Where were you trying to take me?" I asked him quietly.

"Just places," he replied flatly, standing up tall again. "There's no need to be so difficult, sweetie." There was a threat to his voice that I didn't like at all. "We can do this the hard way, or the easy way." He cocked a brow up, allowing me time to consider my options. I was not going to chose either of those. I looked at him a second longer before kicking off of the ground. I flew as fast as I could back to my friends. But jack was fast. It didn't take long for him to comprehend what was happening, and to catch up with me. He latched onto my ankle and I kicked furiously as his hand with my free leg, trying to escape his grip.

"You're being difficult," he said through gritted teeth.

"And you're being a right pain in the neck at the moment," I snarled, spotting the group. They were looking anxiously around the place– for me, of course. I noticed Scathach perched atop a branch, gazing out in all directions. "Now. Get. Off. Of. Me!" I closed my eyes as my foot made contact with his face. He yelped and let go of my ankle. Guilt plopped itself into the pit of my stomach making me queasy. I didn't look back to see if he was okay, which made me feel more guilty for kicking him. But it was just a survival instinct and who knows what he would have done to me, or where he would have taken me if I hadn't fought back.

My eyes felt damp as I landed on the ground beside Nightlight. "I found Jack," I wept. I looked up to the sky where I had left him. He was still there, glaring down at us. He shook his head angrily before disappearing into the sky.

"Is he... Changed a lot?" Tooth asked me, her voice filled with worry and concern.

"Yeah." I nodded my head slowly, my mind going blank. What did they do to him? "He tried to take me somewhere," I explained, sniffling and wiping my eyes. "His eyes are all black." I closed my eyes trying hard to get the image out of my head. I remembered his blue eyes. The ones that always had me mesmerised over and over again. "What if we can't-"

"We'll be able to help him," Nightlight promised, placing his hand on my back and rubbing it a few times as though to comfort me. "He seems bad now, but somewhere he must have the memories of being good and we just have to help them resurface."

I gave a meek smile in his direction. Maybe he was right. Maybe there's a small chance that we would be able to help him come back to the good side. First, though, we would need to find whoever his master is. At least that would be a start to ending all of this.

"So, we can stand around here and discuss things, our we could make our way to the direction he flew?" Scathach said, hopping down from her perch on the branch. "Gods know I want to be out finding ancient creatures at the moment." She shrugged her shoulders. "And possibly hanging out with friends." She gave a side glance to Alvern who blushed, but smiled at her addition. I felt tormented. Jack was there... He was right there. He held my wrist and yet, for once, it felt so distant. My poor Jack. Who could have done this to him?

I felt a desperate pain in the pit of my stomach. Why didn't things ever go right for good people? Why did evil always have to lurk around every corner for us? I sighed deeply. Things would get better eventually... I hope.

"You lot–" Scathach indicated to Alvern, Tooth, Nightlight and I "–can fly." We all nodded at her realisation. "Well... We can scope the grounds easily, so why not fly above in the direction Jack went to find him?"

We looked to one another– Scathach was right. That was an obvious thing to do. I sighed. Scathach was wrong about one thing. Something I wish she wasn't wrong. I knew that if it did come to it, I would be able to fight against Jack. The thought made me feel cold, right to the marrow of my bones. I loved him so much, and yet I would be able, I was able, to hurt him. I probably broke his nose with the force of the kick I give him. I frowned at the thought, my throat tightening once again. I needed to stop getting so emotional. I needed to be strong– no one would see me cry ever again. Not until Jack was safe. I needed to be the shelter, I needed to keep this group safe. I felt a responsibility which made me feel as though I was much older than seventeen. I wasn't sure how to feel about that just yet. I never wanted to feel older than I was. But so much has taken away any sort of normal teen life for me.

"Good idea, Scathach," Alvern agreed, not looking very enthusiastic about it. "Come on you three! We'll search above while you lot search below." Alvern rested his eyes on me. "We will find Jack," he promised me. "And we will fix him."

"I have a bad feeling about this," I heard Tooth mutter as she flew high above the trees. I gave the others a nod before I followed Tooth's actions. Nightlight and Alvern followed close behind me. "I hope my fairies are all right..." Tooth sighed deeply, thinking about the little fairies that helped her collect teeth.

"Speaking of your fairies, Tooth," I began, flying up next to her. Nightlight and Alvern pulled up closer, gaining interest in our conversation. "I was thinking that if Jack has become..." I trailed off, but Tooth nodded as though she understood what I was trying hard to say, but couldn't. "Then we could probably get Baby Tooth to help bring him back. It, um, makes sense seeing as how Baby Tooth was there for Jack through a lot..." And that I probably wasn't enough to bring him back. He saw me, but nothing seemed to flicker inside of him. I seemed to be a stranger to him now. Not completely... He knew me enough to want to capture me for some reason I never wanted to know.

"If it might help," Tooth replied, shrugging with uncertainty. "Jack..." Her lower lipped wobbled and I felt my stomach twist. Tooth is so strong and brave that I sometimes forget how sensitive she could get, and that things might become too much for her. She coughed awkwardly. "He... He's like a brother to me. I don't know what I'd do if we lost him. We just can't..."

"We're not going to..." Nightlight began, but stopped himself when he saw the look I gave him. We've already lost some of him to the dark side. "We'll save him, Tooth. Don't worry." I could hear the determination in Nightlight's voice and it made me somewhat emotional. It was nice to know that these people, and the ones below us, we're behind me in this. They would do everything to protect one another. They were family.

I smiled, recalling a movie I watched when I was little. Lilo and stitch...

'Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind... Or forgotten'.

... So much hope in one little sentence. It would be my spark of hope as we searched for Jack. He will never be left behind to serve the evil. No matter what, no matter how, I would save Jack.

so... Hey. It's been a while. :3 Sorry about that.. But I've had exams, and now it's summer!? Well... I've already been a week off, but whatever. :) I really hope people will still click onto this.. It's been a very long while :P :)

Please do review. It would mean the world. :) Sorry for the boring chapter. Writers block is a nuisance. :P