Sorry for the long wait. Jeez this story must be getting boring ^^; But I'm going to finish it anyway. Badly written and in need of some real proof-reading by the looks of things. I need to get on with fixing up my other stuff but recently this month and the past month my brain decided it was going to be tired and run-down :(
But, I ended up finishing this chapter. Hopefully everything will come together in the next. We're almost to the end of this series it seems; the main one anyway. Hope your enjoying it, whoever is still reading :)
Chapter 18: Truth of the Fear
Alecvander remembered the place where his brother died.
People could be very dark in their thoughts back in those ages; where fear reined supreme in everything they did. Fear of the dark, of disease, of damnation and of difference. It would have been so easy for him to give into a hatred for all mankind just for those reasons, for his brother had died.
But Alecvander didn't die; not for hundreds of years. In his blood lay the blood of a creature beyond man, the warriors that lived a great year. So his descendants died, and he became bitter. He left the comfort of his homeland and travelled far; occupying his mind with collecting artefacts and sharpening his skills, never really knowing why he still lived.
It was as if he was waiting.
And it seemed his waiting had ended, when death finally came for him.
Alecvander.
It was more of a statement than a question of who he was. The old man looked to the side of him; Jo Mgeeth lying at his bedside in tears. He could not see the glinting green eyes of the hooded man standing beside them.
Death itself had come to guide his way.
Alecvander had wondered then. Just how long had he lived...? Oh well. It was time to go, now.
Jack was speeding through the air like a bullet. The once green spring grounds below him began to freeze and stiffen; though he didn't do this on purpose.
He just felt so horrible, and a weight in his chest felt like it was pulling him down. He felt flustered and uneasy; something he hated and wasn't used to.
Then something slid into his view. Jack craned his neck in a panic and sighed when he saw Ayver, in his larger form, running beside him as he rode the wind. He looked as worried as he was.
"Where's the others? They're not at the warren!"
Ayver gestured with his ears and turned to the left, signalling for Jack to follow. Jack's breath was shaking as he began to follow. Something in him didn't want to face them. Because he knew what had happened- especially after seeing those shattered eggs.
He swallowed with difficulty as they neared the woodland; the sun was up and the green grass was sparking ahead. It was sickly sweet; all he could think of right now where those broken treats and black horses...
He saw North pacing around in the forestry place, weapons still in hand. Bu the looked strained; and Tooth wasn't much better. She was nervously fluttering around, looking like she was in another place all together.
Jack landed with a stumble; Ayver hovered behind them in silence.
North saw Jack approach first. The frosty youth felt like melting on the spot when he looked at him.
"Jack! where have you been?" North was incredulous, "Pitch destroyed everything- everything!"
Something twisted in Jack's chest. And then, North's eyes travelled down to his hand.
Honestly, Jack had been so caught up in everything that he forgot the golden tooth box was still clasped in his hand. Tooth can forward, slowly.
Bunnymund was standing away with them; his back to the group. A few, meaningless eggs lay cold in the basket beside him as he looked over his shoulder and saw the box as well.
"Jack." Tooth's voice shook, and her eyes trembled. Jack couldn't breath as he stared back, helpless. "Where did you get that?"
Jack couldn't speak. He fought for words, for anything, but couldn't make them come. Tooth hovered back from him, eyes reflecting his guilt-stricken face. She looked distraught, and yet she didn't yell.
Instead, in an almost more horrible way, she whispered.
"Jack, what have you done?"
Something went cold inside him colder than he'd ever been. He stepped back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Bunnymund's heated but broken glare, North's disappointment.
Suddenly it all came back to him. Loosing Jo; Sandy's death. And now this...hadn't North looked at him so reassuringly just a while ago?
Jack turned and fled back to the cold; away from the fun. Ayver wasn't able to stop him as he shot into the air like a gust of wind, away from the green grass below. North's head lowered.
Then, as she watched him go with sorrow, Tooth's wings seemed to crumble and wither, and she fell to the floor.
And somewhere else, Genevieve's wings grew, and those sharp eyes glistened in the darkness.
Jack ran full speed towards the cliff.
The arctic winds whipped around him with no mercy nor kindness, just like everything else in this world. Feeling as bitter as the wind, he readied his arm; young face twisted in a snarl. He roared aloud and heaved his arm, ready to toss the stupid box of memories into the black cracks in the ice below...
But at the last moment, something seemed to seized his arm, and he came to a stop. He stood there, rage inside him, only building up that despair. He couldn't bear it any longer.
He gave in; letting his arm drop. He heaved long, heavy breaths.
They didn't mean it in the end. They probable do blame me for Jo and Sandy. This is me...my fault...Mine...
A hand gripped his pale hair and he shuddered. He didn't notice the winds dying down around him; as if they were holding their breath in the presence of someone behind them.
"I was afraid this would happen."
A soft voice; husky and accented. It rang about as if from everywhere. For a moment, Jack thought it was Jo.
"They never really believe in you." Pitch raised his head; expression almost soft as he spoke. "But I understand."
Something in Jack snapped. What did he know, of all people?!
He spun around and snarled, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!"
Without hesitation he threw a bolt of frost at him. Pitch countered with a wave of black sand, but Jack quickly launched himself into the air at his back and fired again.
"NO?" Pitch blocked again, tossing an arrow-like shot at the youth, who sprinted to the left like he weighed less than air, "I don't know what's its like to be CAST OUT?"
Jack dodged again; snow and vapour building up around him as the ice was destroyed. He fired again; Pitch blocked. Again and again; each time made him more and more angry till he was almost growling like an animal.
"To not be believed in?"
Jack looked around the misty air, searching for him. But something had hit his mind. He couldn't help it, and the anger seemed to ebb away.
He turned slowly to wear Pitch stood behind him arms out and expression strained. He suddenly looked older, and Jack's eyes widened at the sight of him.
"You don't think I know?"
Jack slowly lowered his staff. Pitch was staring downwards like he'd given up; shoulders slumped. Was this really that shadowy figure that had slipped around the place like some god-like creature, free and strong? Here in the white...he looked so vulnerable.
"All those years in the shadows I thought that no one else could know what this feels like." And he raised his head, panning an arm out to him. "But now I see that I was wrong."
Doubt came upon Jack. That feeling in his chest seemed to lighten against his will.
Pitch strode slowly around him, a hand placed almost gently on his chest as he passed. "We don't have to be alone Jack. I believe in you."
Jack looked at him, eyes wide. He couldn' help it.
"And I know children will, too." The voice was eager, encouraging. Jack's mind seemed foggy. What would it be like, to not have that feeling he got when someone walked through him...?
"In me?"
"Yes." Pitch placed a hand lightly on Jack's shoulder and turned him, gesturing upwards, "Just look at what we can do!"
Jack almost gasped at what they had created. A giant, spiked monument stained with black. It reminded him of a dead tree; twisted and dark. And, in the grey and blue-white of the frozen black sand, he could the colour of silver between them.
Silver.
Through his foggy, pained thoughts, as Pitch went on about a world filled with darkness and ice where they were believed in, Jack remembered Jo. How he had glared at Pitch in that way...had he once heard these words?
"They will FEAR both of us." His mind snapped back into place and he turned, scowling, "I don't want that."
Pitch stared back at him with a frown, his impression frozen. Jack shot him one last glare before turning around and storming away.
"Now for the last time: Leave me alone."
There was silence for a minute. Then, that soft tone hardened.
"Very well. You want to be alone- DONE." A snarl broke the last word. Then, something slid into his tones like a snake. Jack stopped.
"But first..."
There was a squeal.
Jack whirled around. Ayver was dangling, in his small form, from Pitch's hand. Tangled up in black sand, the little rabbit struggled and yelped. Jack lurched forward, reaching out.
"Ayvie!"
Pitch tightened his grip around the small rabbit's neck and Jack froze. The ice around his feet hardened and cracked as he readied his staff.
"The staff, Jack. Now."
Jack swallowed with difficulty. Pitch's face was twisted in a mockingly smooth smile, eyes calm. He was done playing.
They stood there for a few, terrible moments. Then Jack, with shaking hands, handed over his staff.
The ice in the wood dissolved in seconds and Pitch swiped it away. Jack held out a hand towards Ayver.
"Alight, Pitch. Give him back."
Pitch rose a brow indifferently. "No."
Jack stared at him, helpless. "You wanted to be alone. So be alone!"
The winter sprite couldn't dodge or block the bolt of black sand that hit him. It slammed him in the chest, knocking the air from his lungs and throwing him backwards. As he flew through the air, he saw the staff, the one thing he clung to- snap in half.
Pain shot through his body and he yelled. His back collided with the ice wall behind him, and his body fell like a ragdoll down a crack. He crashed into the walls of the crevice as he fell before slamming onto the ground.
His head swimming, Jack barely saw the pieces of his staff clutter to the floor as his vision faded.
He gasped.
Jack was surrounded by darkness. But, as he squinted his eyes, he could just make out the hazy outlines of a forest around him. The ground was moist beneath him and, like his eyes where adjusting to the light, the image of the forest became clearer.
The trees were outlined with the white world they were in; they themselves black silhouettes against the blur.
He looked around, breathing heavily. No noise. Nothing.
"Ayver...?"
No echo. His voice was just there, where he was. He shivered. He was so alone...
So alone...
"Ja-ack!"
He spun around, inhaling quickly. No-one was in the clearing with him. But then...the world around him changed. He looked down below him; and a lake suddenly morphed in from the soil. Frozen and cold, he stared at it fearfully.
He raised his head and gasped. Another figure stood opposite; black and lean, and wearing a grey blank mask. A pair of brown eyes stared back at him, sharp and watching.
Then something moved behind him; like a breath of wind. Jack looked behind him and saw someone standing on the other side; facing to the side of him. Blond hair; baggy clothes. But those brown eyes and sharp cheekbones where unmistakable.
"Jo!" Jack stepped forward, only to slip a little on the ice. "Jo, I'm here..."
He didn't seem to hear. Then, suddenly, they faded away. Jack stepped back, pupils dilating in alarm. The clearing closed in on him.
In all sense that would have done it, you know.
He found himself spinning around again. But this time what he saw stuck him with fear. A black, hooded figure wielding a scythe stood almost casually a few steps away, a pair of luminous green eyes watching him in the darkness of the hood.
Jack wasn't stupid.
"Death...?
Death cannot be a happy person; what with the Man in Moon and his loopholes...