Author's Note: So, I think I may have found a way to update my own stories more frequently (still working on the collab stories getting up faster). Since I tend to get my muse most during school, I'm prolly going to have to write the majority of the chapters there. But that way I'll hopefully be able to update more often. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter guys! Let me know of your thoughts! Sorry if any of the characters are OOC. D:
The Sandman had only just gotten to North's factory before he was barraged by his own comrades. Tooth couldn't help but try to calm her nerves down by flying around the place in a constant motion, and though Bunny tried not to seem nervous, in all actuality he was hopping at the seams. North was troubled; he wore a similar look to the one he had displayed so distinctly when Pitch had first returned. But now the pain in those usually curious eyes seemed doubled. He was the first to ask, just as Tooth had planned to open her mouth and speak.
"Has anyone seen Jack?"
Bunnymund brushed off the Winter spirit's absence and scratched one of his ears to quell his oncoming irritation. "He's 'prolly just having too much fun. Or causing trouble. Or both." The rabbit frowned in distaste. Though he and Jack had gotten along much more smoothly as of late, there were still a few ole' blizzards he needed payback for. So he pretended - as usual - that he could care less when it came to Frost's antics.
Tooth frowned, though hers was one of worry and concern rather than annoyance. "I don't know... he's usually never this late..."
North. "I'm afraid I have to side with Toothiana on this one. Jack may have a tendency for mischief, but he knows when to handle responsibilities."
"I wouldn't be so certain, mate," replied Bunny, and though he meant to add something right afterwards, he was stopped by the sight of Sandy. The Easter spirit tilted his head in befuddlement before hopping towards him. "What's up, Sandy?"
The Sandman had been trying to gather their attention ever since he had gotten here. He was glad that someone had finally noticed him - being a mute tended to have both its advantages and disadvantages - but he feared the delay may mean wasted time to save Jack. Whatever had happened to him, it couldn't be good. It wasn't like him to disappear in the face of an emergency. Not without telling anyone. And Sandy had searched all over for him, but he was no where to be found. He tried to convey this in symbols, but Bunny wasn't able to understand them due to the rapid shift of their shapes. "Hold on, hold on. Slow down, mate. We can't understand ya' one bit."
North and Tooth now directed their full attentions to the little golden man as well, intent on discovering his message. The sandman breathed deeply - silently - and tried again. First, he showed a unique symbol that looked remarkably similar to Jack's shepherd's crook - the staff that held all his power within its core. The trio understood that much. "What about Jack, Sandy? What happened?" asked Tooth, afraid of what might be the answer.
Sandy wasn't sure how to tell them. But it turned out he didn't have to.
Just then, a rumbling noise resounded throughout the outer walls of North's home. The usually jolly fellow felt his eyebrows furrowing in dismay at the sound. Bunny immediately prepared himself for a fight, not entirely sure what was coming but removing his boomerang from its sheath regardless. Tooth wasn't sure exactly what to do, but she set her face firm and made sure to be ready for the worst. Baby Tooth was flittering beside her, appearing just as keen.
The rumbling became a tremor, and soon enough the tremor felt like an earthquake. The entire building seemed to be unhinging itself, and though that was not necessarily the case, the feeling was terrifying all the same. North was tempted to shout and ask who was there, but he dared not give whatever oppressor they were facing that advantage.
Sandy held an expression of devastation as the weight of his suspicions suddenly all pressed down at once. His look of dread went unnoticed until North turned back to speak to them. The Christmas spirit cut his own words off before he had even truly begun a sentence. He could see the look in Sandy's eyes, and he was sure that whatever the Sandman was thinking could not be a good thing. He dared not ask, as the tremor took its course and grew in strength. Shards of glass reined down from the windows and began to disintegrate. Sandy looked defeated, and they hadn't even begun the fight. North knew now, as his eyes locked with the silent man's own.
"Pitch..." North murmured with anger. Bunny rounded on the larger man. "Wait, woah. What did you just say?"
North grimaced, replying, "It is what Sandy has been trying to tell us. I don't think he knew exactly until now, but..." The Russian accented words died as he turned to face the glass, which unmistakably morphed into sand. It's transformation ended when the color became a dark, bleak black. And then they were all aware. Their fight with Pitch from the very beginning had been far from over. But Bunny wasn't willing to quit just yet. "Oh c'mon, guys. We beat the knucklehead before. He's weaker now than he was. Who's to say we won't put him down again?"
"Me," replied a shockingly familiar voice. All four pairs of guardian eyes suddenly turned to face the source, and the separate reactions that surfaced had one thing in common: fear.
Tooth and Baby Tooth had looks of devastation in their eyes, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing but were forced to anyways - like a child whose dreams were crushed too soon. Bunny's features betrayed his facade. He was shocked. And he refused to believe in the sight. And he was angry. He felt betrayed. The mixed emotions began churning within him. North's face fell severely. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he didn't like it. His eyebrows knotted in conviction, as he realized what must happen in the future. And Sandy... Sandy saw that future. And he was wrecked by it. Because it was his fault for not paying attention.
Who could stand before them other than Jack Frost? His eyes seemed paler; the icy blue that held so much mischief replaced with an even icier hue that regarded his former friends as simply blocks in the road. Means to an end. Nothings who needed to be dealt with. His jacket, always covered with sheets of ice and frost, seemed colder now. Bleaker. Blacker. As if his heart had shut itself off, releasing its freedom to the remorseless tendencies of a black hole. "Nice to see you all," he remarked with a malicious smirk. "Though I'm afraid our reunion won't last long."
It was obvious that something was wrong. Bunnymund had thought at first that the good for nothing Frost had turned against them. But he immediately took in the teenager's appearance and felt himself deflating. How could he ever think like that? What kind of friend did that make him? Regardless, though, something was wrong. Why were Jack's eyes paler? How come his staff seem even more crooked?
As near to an answer they would get appeared next to the Winter spirit. As Pitch came out of the shadows, his grin seemed to glitter so egotistically that it made the guardians - Bunny and Sandy in particular - want to knock the guy's teeth out.
"Pitch, what have you done?" North seethed in a dangerously calm tone. Pitch couldn't help but allow himself a chuckle in response. "What should have been done long ago." He looked towards the pane which held edges of shattered glass - where the window used to be.
"It isn't as though I've changed anything. Simply... enhanced him." Pitch put a creeping hand over Jack's shoulder, to which the Winter spirit did not even react towards. The guardians' hearts - Tooth and Sandy especially - plummeted.
"Enhanced? What the hell do you mean, enhanced?" Bunny countered angrily.
Sandy stepped up to Pitch in a violent protest. He may have not been there to stop this from happening - whatever had really happened in the first place - but he was here to make it stop. Pitch was going to make things right and go back into the shadows whether he liked it or not. And the Sandman would make sure of it. Even if it killed him... again.
Fumes escaped the Sandy's ears in the form of sand as he reached Pitch, who did seem a bit concerned but only so slightly that you would have to really study his features to notice it. Sandy did, even if the others could not see. He shook his head as a warning, but Pitch simply laughed in a torrent, responding chillingly, "Do your worst, little man."
That did it. Tooth immediately flew forwards to help, as North and Bunny came to fight also. The Sandman was grateful, but he couldn't thank them just now. He turned towards Pitch and prepared his whips made of sand, which materialized within his palms. Pitch just stood there, a bit behind Jack and grinned. It was enough to make Bunnymund go first. He leaped in the air and released his boomerang. Tooth and North came full force behind Bunny, Pitch was ready for them.
With a nod of the head from Pitch, Jack's expression became rock solid. His glimmering white hair which once was so bright seemed only to chill a looker on to the bone. He raised his staff and moved forwards, sending a sheet of ice barreling towards Bunny and the rest.
It hit the Easter spirit like a train, throwing him backwards and crashing into a shelf against the opposite wall. Tooth and North were taken care of in the same instance, landing just under Bunny. North groaned as the pain hit him. Tooth yelped upon initial impact, and Bunny rubbed his head for a few moments before shakily standing again.
Jack smirked now in satisfaction, turning his attention to the Sandman. He didn't speak; he didn't have to. Pitch spoke instead, saying, "You see... Jack is no longer a guardian. He's mine now. And his darkness shall consume him." As if to prove the shadowy figure's point, Jack leaped towards Sandy, gritting his teeth in order to stand firm. He grinned uncharacteristically. Whereas usually he smiled in a mischievous or excited way, this time it held a whole new meaning; he was excited to knock down his former comrades. And he wasn't even sure why.
Jack's soul was in conflict. He was desperately fighting on the inside between the blackness that now engulfed him and the white light that he had always held. Though he'd always been a bit of a troublemaker, somehow it never occurred to him that he could ever be evil. But, indeed, everyone held an evil about them, and of all five guardians, finding the evil within Jack and Sandy was by far the most dangerous. Pitch knew Sandy was far too wise and far too strong to ever be compelled by him. But Jack? 300 years old and yet still he was in the form of a teenager, with the mind of a teenager. Forever. And he had held a want to get back at the Man on the Moon for so long of that time that he was perfect for the picking.
"If his darkness doesn't consume him," added Pitch. "It shall surely - inevitably - destroy him."
And with a final, cackling laughter, the darkness in Jack Frost won another struggle, and the Winter spirit lunged towards the Sandman he once called a friend. North, Tooth, and Bunny could only watch. And though Sandy meant to fight back, to bring Jack back from the brink, somehow it felt as if it was already too late.