A/N Happy Holidays and New Year! Sorry for the holiday hiatus on this; I haven't been able to get any internet to post it. So, thank you guys for sticking with it and I apologize again for the delay. There're a lot of decisions I have to make for the last few chapters but after this I'll be returning to my weekend updates. Here's your RotG gift from me! :)
Chapter 6; Amethyst and Emerald
The archways that greeted the Guardians were impressive, their images reflected back at them in blues and silvers and purples that shimmered across the sheets of ice that enclosed them in the pathway they walked along.
"Where is this?" Bunny asked, feeling Toothiana's wings beat a little quicker next to him to keep up with the pace as she looked into the mirrored ice.
"Jack's dream, I'm assuming? Or something like that? That's where Dad said we had to go to help Jack, didn't he?" Tooth said, though she sounded like she was trying to put on a brave front when she was as confused and nervous about the endeavor as the other two. Before them stretched a maze of ice walls, and at the center, almost like a beacon, stood a towering block of ice. It seemed impossibly far away, the base of it a dark color and the gradient at the top flowing to a sparkling white that beaconed like a light house.
"I'm assuming that's where we're trying to get to." Bunny muttered and gripped his boomerang. North nodded and Tooth darted closer.
"Then what are we waiting for?" She said and her hands clenched into fists, "Let's go kick the butt of whatever's doing this to Jack."
"That is what I am being curious about." North interrupted, but stepped down into the labyrinth regardless, "If what is happened to Jack is something we can save him from."
Tooth and Bunny both exchanged looks before following after the Russian, already beginning to navigate their way through the tunnels.
/ / /
They had been walking for what seemed like hours but there was no movement of the sun in the sky of wherever they were. It still hung low, barely breaking over the walls and casting a dusky light that created rainbow prisms in the ice sheets.
"Do you think we're going in the right direction?" Tooth asked as she flitted along, looking at the designs that swirled within the ice.
"Where else would we go?" Bunny asked. The frost of the ground was making his feet numb, and he stepped quickly as North trudged along ahead of them. "Can't you fly up and see where we are?" He asked.
Toothiana shrugged before shooting up into the sky to the top of the towering walls. However, where she should have been reaching the top, Tooth kept getting smaller and the walls continued to surpass her. Finally, after a few minutes, she returned and looked concerned.
"It looked like I should have been reaching the top but the walls just kept… going." She said, breathless from the exertion.
North made a gruff noise of agreement before he glanced back, "It does not appear we are in any place in real time. We are in Jack's home now, it seems to be as tricky as he." The man chuckled but was cut short when he was hit in the face with a snowball, followed by laughter that seemed too familiar.
"Frostbite!" Bunny shouted as a shadow darted away around a corner, the tail end of a staff following after it. The Guardians quickly took off after it and stopped when they turned the corner. Before them stood a kind of snow fortress that children would make during a snow fight. It was impressively large.
"Who goes there?" A voice called from behind the wall. Jack's voice.
"Jack! It is us. We are here to help you!"
"Help me with what?" Jack called, "A snowball fight?"
A rumbling caught their attention from above and an avalanche of snow and ice came careening off the glacial walls toward them. The Guardians shouted in alarm and moved to cover their heads but the ice and snow dissipated into thin air and instead each got a snowball to the face.
Bunny wiped the white off his face and twitched his ears in irritation. "What's the big idea, you little bugger?!"
A rectangular opening appeared in the wall and Jack appeared there in silhouette. "Like usual, you're no fun." He sniffed as he walked forward, one eyebrow raised. The Guardians all took immediate notice of two things: one that Jack's staff looked different; it wasn't its usual shepherd's shape. The top of the staff cut at hard right angles. The second was that Jack's eyes weren't blue, they were a dazzling purple that sparkled like gems against the light of the cavern.
"Jack." Tooth fluttered forward, snow still clinging to her eyelashes, "What happened to your eyes?"
The Jack that stood before them wrinkled his brow, "What are you talking about?" He sneered.
"I do not think this is our Jack." North muttered from where he stood back, observing.
Bunny gave his friend a side glance, "What do you mean?"
Shrugging, North nodded, "Not just how he looks. His entire demeanor is different. It is as if he does not know we are his friends." North took a step forward and raised his voice, "Tell us where Jack is."
Both Tooth and the Jack turned their attention to the Russian. Finally, Jack cocked one side of his mouth up in a disbelieving grin, "I am Jack."
"Not our Jack." Bunny corrected and Jack sent him an annoyed look.
"Why do you care, Hopper?"
Bunny's mouth twitched to say something insulting but North but a hand on his chest, "We wish only to know for our own curiosity. It will hold no consequence to you."
Not Jack hopped up on his staff and sat there, hovering, as a slight breeze blew through the canyon. Seemingly mulling it over, Jack pulled some snow from the air and rolled it into a ball, "I'll tell you if you win a snowball fight with me."
"That's not even a fair game." Bunny griped and Not Jack sent him a significant look.
"Fine. If you want to be that way. Whatever. Just go." Not Jack drifted out of the way, leaving the opening to the snow fortress open.
Bunnymund hopped up to Tooth and put a paw on her arm. North muttered 'I do not think this is a good idea' but Bunny merely went forward to the opening. He let out a yelp as the entryway collapsed, trapping him in the snow, back legs kicking and scrabbling at the snow.
"Bunny!" Tooth shouted and flew forward, scooping her hands through the snow to try and dig the Pookah out. Not Jack was howling with laughter and North reached up to pull him off his staff.
"Hey, let go!" Not Jack shouted, trying to get out of North's grip.
"You will let us through." North said and Not Jack pouted and jerked himself out of North's grip before he hurled a snowball at North's face but the Russian lifted an arm up to block it. When he lowered it again, Not Jack had the look of a child chastised. Behind them, they heard Bunny gasping for breath as Tooth finally dragged him out of the snowdrift.
"You wanna know where you're supposed to go? Fine." Not Jack tilted his head and grinned. It was a grin similar to those that Jack often flashed them when he felt especially mischievous but this smile held no hint of play in it, only the desire to trick.
"I have no vendetta against you people." Not Jack shrugged, his bright purple eyes reflecting the sunlight like amethysts. His eyes winked and he gave them an almost Cheshire smile, teeth bright against dusky skin. "Why would I lie to you?"
"You're not our Jack!" Tooth accused and Not Jack tilted his head and furrowed his brow before snorting.
"Wow, nothing gets by you, does it Sparkles?" He laughed and Tooth's feathers fluffed out in annoyance.
"Don't be rude." She warned and Not Jack sat cross legged on his staff, looking down at them with a skeptical expression.
"I'm sorry, but you are the ones who seem to be intent on trampling through my head, doesn't that make you guys a little rude?" He asked.
North stepped forward, double blades now sheathed, "Whoever you are-"
"I'm Jack." Not Jack said dangerously and North continued a little more cautiously.
"Okay, then, Jack." The kid seemed bipolar at best, almost as if he himself was breaking apart and unsure of who he was. "Please. We can help, but you must let us through."
"Help how?" Not Jack stood up on his staff and cross his arms, hunching his shoulders, "You don't know what you're doing in here. This isn't a place for other people!" His voice cracked and his eyes flickered to the gold that the Guardians had become so familiar with. Not Jack coughed and grabbed at his throat, looking up in a slight panic.
"You're falling apart, mate." Bunny said softly, looking up at the boy.
Not Jack took a few heaving breaths and cleared his throat, "What does that mean?"
Tooth flitted up to him, "We don't know yet either. Just that there's something wrong and we're going to fix it. But you have to let us."
Not Jack looked at her, his bright purple contrasting with her own rosy pink. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into."
"We don't care." Bunny said and Not Jack looked at him before pushing away from Tooth and rolling his eyes.
"If you guys are so excited about this than whatever." He kicked at the air and another opening in the snow wall opened up. "Don't expect any help from me."
"We don't want any!" Bunny snapped back and Tooth whapped him in the back of the head before zipping through the opening. The Pookah followed after and North went last. As he passed through, He looked up at the other Jack, who was sitting broodily on his staff, one hand at his throat.
"We will fix this." The Russian promised and Not Jack grunted. As he stepped through the entryway, he felt a snowbell smack the back of his head and he looked back. He couldn't catch sight of Not Jack but heard the boy laughing.
/ / /
"What do you think he meant by we didn't know what we were getting into?" Bunny asked. They'd not talked until the snow fortress was well behind them.
"Not sure." North said. "I have never been inside someone's head before, Bunny." He said pointedly and the Pookah rolled his eyes.
"Hey, the tower's getting a lot closer." Tooth pointed out and they looked up. The tower was at a distance that shouldn't have been as close as the walk they'd put in.
Rubbing his arms, Bunnymund shivered against the cold, "There's something weird about this place. The walls never end, and that bloody tower decides when it wants to be closer or farther. And this place. It's coming apart." Her ran his hand along the ice and jumped back in alarm when the wall splintered. Black goo oozed from the fracture in the ice and Bunny stared at it.
North merely sighed and Tooth bit her lip, saying, "We aren't in our usual places in the world, perhaps here it doesn't go by normal rules."
Leaving the wound in the wall alone, Bunny shook his head. "I live in a Warren below Australia! You live in a floating palace! How is that any more unusual?"
"Because those places are not in Jack's head." North answered quietly.
/ / /
They heard the quiet sobbing before they turned the corner and saw the huddled figure on the ground. His shock of white hair identified who he was, though it was no surprise to the Guardians. They were hesitant walking continuing forward.
"Is this our Jack?" Bunny whispered and at the sound of his voice the Jack on the ground looked up, his bright green eyes watery and scared.
"Who- How are you here?" He whimpered, lower lip quivering. Tooth made a noise of discomfort and reached a hand forward, though Bunny caught her.
"Don't forget what the last one did. This could be a trick." Bunny said but Tooth shook him off. She flitted down to where he sat on the ground and this Other Jack looked up at her, scared and mistrustful.
Tooth cooed quietly and kneeled on the ice. Her feathers flared out beside her and she examined the shaking boy on the ground, where his arms were wrapped around his knees. Whereas the last Jack had seemed full of life, this one's eyes were dulled as if he'd seen terrible things, his cheekbones standing out in stark lines on his gaunt face. The bones in his thin wrists were sharp and pronounced where they pressed against dirty leggings.
"Jack." Tooth said and Other Jack looked up. "Is something wrong?"
Other Jack sniffed and ran a hand across his face, "I didn't think you'd come."
"Why would we not come, Jack?" North asked, stepping forward slowly and Other Jack looked up at him, eyes wide and childish.
"Nobody ever comes. Nobody came for three hundred years." He said, haunted, and the words were like daggers to the Guardians. They all averted their gaze.
"We're sorry we didn't come earlier." Tooth said, placing a hand on Jack's arm. She pulled it back with a gasp when beneath where she'd touched it wavered and rippled like water.
"It scares me." Jack said, as if he didn't hear her. He was looking somewhere beyond where they were. "I'm so cold."
"Jack?" Bunnymund said, alarmed.
"I'm always cold. I'm cold. I'm cold." His jaw clenched and tears streamed down his cheeks. They were crystalline at first, but black seeped out after them and painted his white face. "All I ever wanted was one of you to come, to say hello back. I didn't mean to do all the things I did. I promise. I'm so cold."
"Do something." Bunny said, not wanting to think about what the kid was saying. Tooth leaned forward, pulling the Other Jack into a hug. As she pressed him to her chest, he seemed to collapse in on himself and dissolved into water, clothing and all, the last that they could see were the eyes that glimmered like polished emerald. The black that had streaked down his chin swirled lazily in the puddle of water before it disappeared into the water.
Tooth let out a startled cry and she shot back, "I-I didn't mean to do it!"
North placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly, "I do not think it was anything you did wrong, Tooth." The Russian was looking around him and Bunny's ears twitched.
"We gotta keep moving. Do you hear that?" He asked. The Pookah could hear whispers echoing in the ice around him, silhouettes in the ice forming and vanishing as soon as he looked over. North nodded his head. The ice itself seemed to be watching them and the tower loomed over them.
Tooth picked herself up and discreetly wiped at her eyes. "North, I don't understand-"
"Is like matryoshka." North interrupted, as if he had just had an epiphany, as they looked at the quivering puddle that had been Jack just a moment ago, though a frightened and shivering thing it had been.
"Like what, mate?" Bunny had to tear his eyes away from the walls.
"Matryoshka." North repeated, "Nesting doll." The other two Guardians nodded. They had both seen North's doll, and the Russian had had ones made for them as well. Clearly, the metaphor had been much more significant than any of them had realized.
"So, what, we're just floating through Jack's… layers?" Bunny asked, skeptical. "How many do you think the bloke has?"
"Well," Tooth said, still looking at the puddle on the ground with a degree of sadness, "We've run into our trickster, as well as our child. His loneliness." She said sadly as she tapped her chin in thought, "How many more could there be?"
North harrumphed from behind his beard, "I do believe this is what we are to understand as not fully understanding Jack. We do not know how many more before we get to his center."
Snorting, Bunnymund hopped around the puddle and looked down the labyrinth of glacier, "And what's at his center? I can guarantee it ain't chocolate."
"He is at his center. Along with whatever it is that burdens him so." North said, knowing this was the truth, "We must get to his center if we wish to bring him back to the outside."
A cold wind blew its way through the icy walls, biting the Guardian's with its intensity. They were silent as they watched the sky change from day to night and then to day again in a matter of minutes, as if Jack's mind couldn't quite figure out what to do with itself.
"I wonder how much time we have," Bunny said and they all jumped as a loud crack reverberated through the crevasse, behind them where they had come from a large block of ice splintered itself from the rest of the wall and crashed down to block the path. Black oozed from cracks in the ice to their left, the same goop they had seen after dealing with the first Jack.
As the puddle where the last Jack had melted began to bubble and boil as if being heated, Bunny decided it was time to move on, not wanting to acknowledge the guilt that stabbed its way through his belly. This Jack hadn't even seemed fully aware that he was there and whether his voice was hoarse from disuse or constant speech was unsure, but the things he said we spoken rhythmically, like they had been spoken many times before.
Shivering, Bunny stopped thinking about it, knowing it would do no good to dwell on it now. "Well come on, then. We aren't getting any closer by just standing around."
North and Tooth both nodded in agreement and, with one last look at where the broken hearted Jack had sat, they continued to navigate their way toward the tall glacial peak at the center of the labyrinth.
/ / /
There was a dripping noise, the sound echoing as it went unchecked. Jack shivered, trying to stretch but found his arms immobile. His eyelids refused to open, as if they were sealed shut. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his conscious was fighting to surface; something was screaming at him that it was important that he wake up. But he couldn't find the strength.
A shadow encroached his thoughts; he felt it like a living entity in the back of his mind. Groaning, Jack tried to create a fist, to kick his legs, to move his neck.
"It's cute watching you try." A voice said, almost like it was speaking directly inside of him. Jack groaned. "Come on." It said, "Wake up."
As if that was giving him permission, Jack's eyes opened slowly, the world before them hazy and gray. He couldn't seem to focus.
"Of course you can't. With how hard I hit your stupid face I would be offended if you could see." It sneered and Jack was suddenly aware of a tacky substance sticking to the side of his face and coating one of his eyelids.
"Who are you?" He whispered hoarsely, his neck feeling like someone had been choking him with a coarse rope.
A laugh. "We have to go through this again? Maybe I hit you a little too hard."
Jack's eyes opened fully and he found himself looking into his mirror image, gold eyes bright with malicious anticipation, insanity brewing behind the irises like a storm. "Good morning." It smiled.
"Jack." Jack muttered and let his head hang.
"The one and only!" It cackled. "You know, I was worried that I would only have you to play with and then I'd have to go out and deal with the Guardians." Jack forced his head back up, following his doppelgänger with a degree of difficulty. "But I've heard from excellent sources that the Guardians found their way in here."
Shocked and confused, Jack gasped out, "What... what do you mean?"
"The Guardians found their way inside our head. Now isn't that just impolite? Terrible manners. I think we'll have to teach them a lesson. Should I wait for them here or send something out to deal with them?"
As he spoke, Jack watched in horror as black ice dragged itself from the cavern walls and shattered on the ground. It pulled itself back together and in front of Jack stood several canine figures, growling and snarling, snapping at each other. The dark thing before him snapped his fingers and they heeled.
"No." Jack said and tried to move forward. It was then that he realized what exactly he was caught in. He was pinned to one of the walls, black ice encasing his limbs. The ice seemed to hiss as it pulled closer around him and Jack felt like he was going to be sick. "No!" He cried, stronger.
The thing gave him an unimpressed look. "I don't think you really have much of a say in this." He waved his hand and the wolves dove back into the walls with a noise like breaking glass, and Jack watched as their silhouettes raced along the walls before vanishing out the entry way of whatever cavern they were in.
"You'll regret this." Jack growled and the being before him laughed, the sound giving Jack a splitting headache.
"I will? Really?" It took a step forward and gripped Jack beneath the chin. Quickly, it snapped Jack's head back against the ice. "Unfortunately, I think you have more to worry about than what your friends are doing."
