HELLO EVERYONE! I'M BACK! :D:D:D

Gosh guys! I'm soooooo sorry I've been away for so long!
Over two weeks! TWO FREAKING WEEKS! Why? Why do you put up with me?
Now for the list of excuses: I'm really sorry, I had writer's block and schoolwork didn't help either. It was really annoying not being able to get this stuff down. I'd tell myself WRITE WRITE WRITE, but everytime I tried to structure it, it would be horrible and I would delete it. So, I'M SO SORRY! But I have good news! I've been able to have time to write the next couple of chapters! So, the next one will probably be out by Wednesday or Thursday! :D YAY!

But anyway, ON WITH THE STORY! :D

Disclaimer: As many of you know (since I've had to repeat it 12 times now...) I DO NOT own Rise of The Guardians!

Chapter 11 – Truths and Mistakes

(Jack's POV)

One thing was certain…Sophie had a tight grip.

Atheia laughed the whole way to Burgess as I struggled with the little toddler. Baby Tooth sat on my shoulder, trying to loosen Sophie's arms that were wrapped around my neck in a death grip. Instead, the toddler let out a yawn and snuggled into the crook of my neck, tightening her grip. I let out un-manly squeak as her little arms slowly and painfully squeezed the life out of me. I immediately stopped to float in the air as I turned behind me to grab Atheia's attention.

"I could use a hand here," I squeaked out towards The Nature Goddess, who took another glance my way and hunched over in a fit of giggles as she floated in the air next to me.

I huffed, or at least attempted to as Sophie's arms tightened. Baby Tooth even seemed to be laughing as she fluttered over to the back of my neck, attempting to pry the hands apart. Atheia let out a couple more giggles, before floating closer to me and bending down slightly to Sophie's ear. She blew in it, causing the toddler to squirm and reposition herself in my arms. She removed her arms from my neck and curled up in my arms, grabbing onto the front of my hoodie and snuggling her face into the cloth of it. I let in a big gasp of crisp air as Atheia backed away from me, a smirk visible on her face.

"You may now thank me," Atheia said, mocking a bow my way.

"In your dreams," I said, rolling my eyes and flying off towards Burgess.

I distantly heard her laughter from behind me as she flew to catch up.

After flying around in the cold winds for about another half and hour, I eventually spotted the Bennett house. Atheia, Baby Tooth and I flew through one of the open windows on the second floor, quietly landing on the carpeted floor of the toddler's room. I gently placed Sophie on the single bed as Atheia went to grab a blanket from the other side of the room.

I turned to the window before I heard a thump. I whipped my head back round to see Sophie slumped on the floor, her lips apart as she let out quiet snores. Atheia glared at me as she held a flowery blanket in her hand, and Baby Tooth let out a couple of squeaks of apology. We all jerked up as a woman's voice called out from the hall.

"Sophie? Is that you?"

Atheia looked from the blanket in her hand to the toddler on the floor. As the woman's shadow came closer, she threw the quilt quickly over the girl and rushed over to the open window. I spotted a plushie on the ground, and threw that next to her as well, before jumping out the window next to Atheia, shutting it quietly behind me.

"We should get back," I said sheepishly, as Atheia gave me a relieved grin.

'Jack!' My head jerked up as I heard a young girl's laughter echo throughout the city of Burgess. I squinted as I scanned the empty streets, looking for any sort of movement. Nothing. 'Did I just imagine it?' I turned towards Atheia to see her face scrunched up in a confused glance as she looked towards the streets of the quiet town of Burgess, whereas Baby Tooth just chirped in puzzlement. I turned and went to fly off in the direction of the Warren when I heard it again.

'Jack!' My eyes widened as I whipped my head around to look at Atheia.

"Do you hear that?" I asked her, and she vigorously nodded.

The voice called out again; louder this time, and Atheia and I took off in the direction of the cheerful sound. We flew slowly, looking down towards the streets and straining our ears out for the voice. After a bit of futile searching, we hovered in the air, glancing around.

'Jack!' Both our heads turned towards the sound of the voice. We looked up to the hills where a few houses stood. The wind rustled softly, pulling autumn-coloured leaves along with it. I took off in the direction, not waiting for Atheia.

I floated towards the ground, and half walked, half flew around the forest of leaf-less trees. 'Jack?' I turned my head to an open clearing. Hesitating for a second, I slowly walked around the last couple of trees towards the field, ignoring Baby Tooth's tugs on my hoodie. A half-broken, bed structure stood alone on the grassy field, covering a dark hole. I peered down, only seeing darkness. Bringing my staff up, I stuck it down on the structure, breaking some pieces off the bed. They fell down through the hole, and I heard them clatter at the bottom. Before I could jump through, I felt the wind around me swirl, and I heard a pair of feet land softly on the grass.

"Jack?" I turned towards Atheia, who had a slight fearful look in her eye. "We should get back; they'll be waiting for us."

I went to reply, but the voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned back to the hole, and without giving a glance back, I jumped through.

"Jack!" Atheia's voice echoed from behind me, but I ignored it as I padded through the dark hole, the light from my staff only enabling me to see just in front of me. I crouched low, holding my staff out defensively as I made my way through the tunnel. I heard Atheia shout after me again, and I was vaguely aware of Baby Tooth's chirps and tugs on my hoodie. "Jack!" Atheia's hand clamped over my shoulder, forcing me to half-turn towards her.

'Relax, we have time!" I hissed to her, shrugging off her hand.

I heard her growl from behind me, and she grabbed my shoulder again, turning me fully around. In the light of both our staffs, I saw her narrow her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something when a voice interrupted her.

'Atheia!' Atheia's eyes visibly widened as she looked over my shoulder, towards the sound of the voice. It wasn't the same as the one I heard though. It was a male's voice, and it held a tinge of teasing and laughter as it shouted the name.

I felt Atheia's hand fall from my shoulder as she walked towards the opening of the tunnel. I followed slightly behind her as the end of the tunnel became closer; ignoring Baby Tooth as she repeatedly kept tugging on my hoodie.

Atheia and I gaped at the surroundings of the dimly lit cave as we stood on the cliff-like end of the tunnel opening. Crumbling buildings and pillars braced against partial dirt walls as sunlight seeped in through the minority of thin cracks in the soil. Pathways of solid black concrete lined the sides of the cave, branching out into different archways that led to who knows where. Dangling from the ceiling on rusting chains were hundreds of black, jagged bird-like cages. Squinting closer, my eyes widened as I recognized the billions of winged sprites chirping out to me and Atheia.

I floated up, jumping from cage to cage, attempting to quiet down the excited fairies. "Shh! Shh!" I murmured, cringing as they chirped louder at my presence. "I'm gonna get you out as soon as I –"

'Jack? Jack!' I trailed off as I looked down to the billions of golden teeth cases, glinting off reflections in the light. They piled up golden mountains, and I gazed down at them in disbelief as I felt my fingers lose grip on one of the cages of mini fairies.

"…as I can…"

I groaned as I landed in the closest mountain pile of teeth containers, scrambling to the top as I sifted through the golden boxes. I grabbed onto the closest memory case, grumbling and flinging it away when it obviously wasn't mine. Each box had an accurately painted picture of the child and their name neatly written under it. Throwing each and everyone away to the other piles, I jerked up when I heard a deep voice echoing throughout the cave.

"Looking for something?"

I cried out in anger as I gripped onto my staff and flung around, shooting a ball of frost at the shadow of the Boogeyman. His chuckles bounced off the walls of the cave as I leapt off the mountain of memory cases, landing swiftly on the cold marble staircase as I bolted after the shadow. I jumped onto the railing and slowly walked across it, looking around as I held my staff out.

"Don't be afraid, Jack…" The voice taunted, erupting into another chuckle. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Spotting the King of Nightmares, I leapt off nearby pillars, gracefully landing onto a shadow-drenched bridge. He had his back faced to me as he walked along the pathway, his footsteps echoing as they made contact with the floor.

"Afraid?" I laughed, taking a couple steps closer to Pitch. "I'm not afraid of you."

"Maybe not…" Pitch agreed, taking a couple of steps forward, not even glancing my way. "But you are afraid of something…"

"You think so huh?" I asked, glaring at his back as I walked closer to the Nightmare King, holding out my staff defensively.

"I know so!" Pitch looked over his shoulder, giving me a smirk as his voice echoed off the walls. "It's the one thing I always know…people's greatest fear." He turned slightly towards me, his hands clamped behind his back as his smirk grew wider. "Your's is that no one will ever believe in you."

My face fell slightly as the truth of his words hit me. I was about to throw a retort back at him when the floor beneath me gave way. I cried out as I tumbled through darkness, crashing into brick walls as Pitch's voice echoed around me.

"And worst of all, you're afraid you'll never know why."

My shoulder slammed painfully into the smooth marble floor. I gave a small groan before scrambling up onto my knees. Running my hands along the floor, I gave a sigh of relief as I gripped onto the smooth wood of my staff. Lifting myself up, I bolted into an archway, trying to follow the amused laughter as it rang in my ears. Fumbling through the darkness, my hands ran against a grainy, crumbling, brick wall. I cried out in shock when the laughter appeared from behind me, and I whipped around, backing up into the wall as I glared at the golden eyes that melted into the outline of Pitch's form in the shadows.

"Well fear not," The smooth, persuading voice said, as if it was actually trying to reassure me. "For the answer to all you questions…is right here."

A grey hand stuck out from the shadows, clutching a memory box. My face fell into a look of curiosity as I gazed at the picture of a little boy with chocolate brown hair and matching coloured eyes. His lips were upturned into his signature smirk and his eyes held a mischievous look in them. Scribbled on the bottom, in fancy, golden writing were the words: Jackson Overland.

"Do you want them Jack?" Pitch said, his face appearing in the dim sunlight. "Your memories?"

My eyes were glued to the golden case gripped in his hands. I slowly reached out for it, wincing and hesitating as thoughts of duty and responsibility somehow crawled into my head. Pitch saw the pause and laughed, melting back into the shadows. Shaking away the thoughts, I flew to the other side of the room, bouncing off pillars and walking down the marble stairs, following the taunting voice of the Boogeyman.

"Everything you wanted to know, in this little box…" The cruel voice laughed again as I bolted down the stairs after it. "Why did you end up like this? Unseen, unable to reach out to anyone…"

I glanced fearfully behind me as his shadow melted with the walls around him, causing me to defensively point my staff at the moving shadows.

"You want the answers so badly; you want to grab them and fly off with them, but you're afraid, of what the guardians will think. Afraid, you'll disappoint them."

My eyes stung as Pitch kept talking. I would be lying if I said they weren't true, but lying is what I was good at. I gritted my teeth, leaping through the shadows to follow his echoing voice.

"Well, let me ease your mind about one thing, they'll never accept you, not really…"

Thoughts of doubt entered my mind. 'What if he's right? They never talked to you before, why would they now? They only came to get you because they needed you! You're only a toy to them, and once they're bored with you, they'll fling you away just like everyone else…'

I gripped my hair, pulling at it as if it would ease the painful thoughts in my mind. "Stop it! Stop it!" I shouted, urging for the echoing in my head to stop.

"After all," I jerked up as Pitch's voice lingered in front of me. "You're not really one of them," The Nightmare King emerged from the shadows, and at his sight, I pointed the crooked end of my staff at him, only inches from connecting with his chest.

"You don't know who I am!"

"Of course I do!" Pitch exclaimed. "You're Jack Frost! You make a mess wherever you go, why, you're doing it right now…"

The rattling sound of metal caught my attention, and my free hand shot in front of me, wrapping around the smooth case of the memory box. My eyes landed on the swirling design of the golden container, before widening in realization.

"What did you do?" I asked, looking up to glare at Pitch as he started to back away into the shadows.

"Not the point Jack, what did you do?" Pitch let out a chuckle, before completely dissolving into the darkness.

I let out a cry of rage and ran after him through the archway. I stumbled through the darkness, my staff letting off a bright, blue light. Halting to a stop when Pitch didn't appear in front of me, I turned, slamming my shoulder into a rock wall. I took a couple of steps back in confusion, before ramming back into it again.

"Baby Tooth!" I cried, slamming my hands onto the intricate designs of the rock wall.

I glanced around the walls in fear, before my eyes caught the signs of colour.

'Happy Easter, Jack…' Pitch's voice echoed though the tunnel, just as light poured through. Broken multi-coloured eggshells littered the ground, expanding through out the tunnel. Before I could explore more of the tunnel, another voice echoed in my mind.

'Jack? Where are you? Why did you leave me?' My eyes widened as I turned back to the stone wall that cut me off from Pitch's cave.

"No…" I ran my hands along the rock, searching from hidden handles or grooves in the stone. "No!" I cried, slamming my fists against the jagged stone repeatedly until the sides of my hands bled. "Atheia!"

Muhahahahahaha! I'm SO evil! ;D But you can't kill me, otherwise I can't get the next chapter up.
I'll just say this...some of you guys have given me a couple of evil ideas...;D HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I can't stress this enough guys; PLEASE REVIEW! I need to know if I'm doing a good job! I'll give you a cookie...? (::)
As for my frequent reviews, YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! Please, review again! ;) On with the responses!

Review Responses:

grapejuice101: I updated! Yay! Sorry it took so long though :( So, you say you have a bad feeling Pitch will kidnap her...? Heh heh...surprise? I WON'T GIVE ANYTHING AWAY! HAHAHAHAHA! You'll just have to keep reading! ;) Aren't I lovely?

storygirl99210: Yes...yes they are... ;) But it won't be how you think! At least...I hope...I'm not predictable am I? Gosh, I hope not...thanks for reviewing! :D

booklover1598:Yes, it was cute, wasn't it? But, I think you might have found this to be less cute...heh heh...whoops? Sorry, but you'll have to expect some darker chapters...yay...(note the sarcasm).

JustPlainOldMe: *evil grin* I'm NOT telling...hahahahahaha! Glad you liked the chapter! As for this one, I hoped you liked it as well! Sorry it's more along the storyline, but next chapter we'll see Atheia! Wondering what that's gonna be like? Only I know! Hahahaha! Gosh, I'm so mean...but don't worry! You'll only have to wait a couple of days! :D Thanks for reviewing!

Well, that about does it. Again, please review guys! You don't know how much just a small comment means to me!If you're new to this story, follow, review and favourite if you like it so far!
Updates are coming soon, and I only own what you don't recognize in the movie!

*inserts farewell*

CrystalxRose

(P.S HOLY POPPING BUBBLEGUM! I JUST REALIZED THIS STORY IS EXACTLY 2 MONTHS OLD! THAT IS SO COOL! THANKS GUYS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!)