A Better Life
Summary: Jack is beaten and abused by the Guardians every day. His only friend is Pitch Black. When Pitch pushes him through a white portal, suddenly everything has change. The Guardians are suddenly caring. Pitch is suddenly evil. What's going on?
Hey guys sorry this chapter is so short, wasn't sure what to write for this chapter. Hoepfully the next chapter will be my usual long standard that I for some reason now have (I have no idea where it's come from &shrug*) Anyway enjoy ^^
Two
Jack stared at the Guardians for a few minutes, trying to comprehend what they had just said.
"….Okay, if you guys are going to continue with this trick, you're gonna have to do better than that." Jack deadpanned. Seriously, who were they trying to kid?
"This isn't a trick, mate," Bunny said.
"But I haven't 'been gone for two years'!" Jack exclaimed, "I been here the entire time!"
"Jack…" Tooth said gently as she attempted to place a hand on Jack's arm, only for Jack to flinch away from her as well, "What we're telling you is the truth."
She, Bunny and Sandy all turned to North for him to explain. North sighed.
"You were attacked by Pitch." North explained. "Just on the outskirts of Burgess."
"Pitch wouldn't attack me." Jack growled.
"Of course he would, he's the flipping boogeyman!" Bunny cried.
"He's my friend! Whenever you guys would beat me up, blaming me for something I didn't do or just feeling like a round of hit-the-Jack, Pitch was always there for me, mending my injuries and letting me stay at his place until you all had calm down. And now you're trying to pretend he's the bad guy?!" Jack shouted, his eyes as cold as ice.
"We would never lay a finger–what the hell did he do to you?!" Bunny yelled crossly, jumping to his feet.
Jack jumped in fright, pressing his back into the backboard. A whimper escaped his lips unintentionally as he waited for Bunny to strike him.
Bunny's eyes widened in shock and horror as he stared at Jack, before he looked down at himself as if just realising how threating his outburst seemed. Or maybe he had realised he was blowing the Guardians cover, Jack thought, though that wouldn't explain the complete and utter devastated look on Bunny's face. As Tooth murmured the rabbit's name, Bunny fell back down in his seat, rubbing his face with his paw.
"We hadn't realised you were under attack until there was a sudden distress signal on the globe." North continued, after sparing Bunny a short glance to check if he was alright.
"I thought the globe only showed children's lights?" Jack asked, eyebrows furrowing.
"Mate, we told you as soon as you had officially become a Guardian. The globe also shows spirits' lights too, they have different colours, don't you remember?" Bunny exclaimed, though in a much quieter voice than before.
"You guys locked me up in a room after Manny told you I had officially become a Guardian." Jack said.
Bunny stared at Jack, mouth jutting open, before he shook his head, placing a paw on his forehead in distress, "I can't believe this…" He muttered.
"Jack, no, we had a ceremony remember? On your lake in Burgess?" Tooth said but was stopped by North, who shook his head.
Jack watched them unsurely. If this was a trick, surely they would have dropped it and punched him right now? Their tricks never went on for this long before...still he wasn't going to let his guard down just yet.
"As soon as we saw the distress signal, we flew to Burgess straight away. But when we got there there was no sight of you or Pitch."
"The place was covered in ice and black sand, so we knew you had been there." Tooth continued, taking over from North, "But it was like you had vanished…and we couldn't find where Pitch had gone either. All that was left was your staff."
"You guys broke my staff." Jack replied sullenly.
"No, mate, we didn't. Your staff's not broken at all." Bunny said, sudden hope flashing across his face as he bent down, retrieving something from underneath the bed, "Its right here, look,"
"What are you talking abo-"
Jack stopped, his eyes wide. Held up by Bunny was his staff, utterly intact and not broken.
"But…how…?" He whispered.
Jack placed a hand on his chest. He could still remember the pain that had shot through him, several times, when the staff was snapped again and again. There was no way he could have imagined that pain. It hadn't been like any of the beatings he had received before.
Jack realised Bunny was holding the staff out to him. Slowly, eyeing the rabbit suspiciously, he took the staff, snatching it away quickly before the Pooka could take it back. Seeing sadness instead of anger of not being able to trick him in the green eyes made him frown, but Jack still didn't believe what the Guardians were telling him.
The staff felt exactly like his staff. He could still feel his magic rushing through it. But...there was something different about too. He couldn't pinpoint it but that feeling was there. That and the fact he knew it had been snapped a million times...yet there was not a single crack to be seen.
"We searched for you. High and low. Heck, we stormed the boogeyman's lair, just looking for ya. But he must've hidden you someplace, because we couldn't find you, no matter where we looked." Bunny said while Jack was staring at his staff.
Jack looked up, knowing for a fact that they had never stormed Pitch's place; they didn't know the new location of the entrance to Pitch's lair. Yet there was nothing but honesty on Bunny's face…and the Pooka had never been a good liar.
Jack shook his head. No. He couldn't let his guard down. He could still remember the years of pain they had caused him, all the beatings they had rained down upon him, all the insults they thrown at him and lots more. He knew he couldn't have just made that all up.
Sandy tugged North's sleeved and made some images popped up over his head. North nodded in agreement before turning to Jack.
"Jack…Pitch may have given you false memories."
"Pitch wouldn't do that." Jack growled, defending his friend again, though he didn't dare shout, just in case Bunny did decide to hit him this time, "Anyway, how on earth would he have done that? His powers lies in nightmares and fear not memories and mind control."
"Well…fear can make you more susceptible to what people may say….and you were held captive for two whole years" Tooth said, slightly hesitantly, as she glanced at the others, "Plus, before Pitch managed to create sand of his own, he had relied heavily on spells before when he fought us."
Okay the last part was true. Pitch had told him that before he had perfected his nightmare sand he had to use spells he found in books and scrolls instead when protecting children and defending himself against the Guardians. Jack had seen the library where he kept all these spell books and old scrolls. But just because Tooth had gotten one thing right didn't mean she was telling the truth…
"Look, mate, whatever Pitch has led you to believe is all a lie. We would never hurt you, not in a million years." Bunny said.
Jack shook his head. He hadn't been given false memories…had he? No. Pitch was his friend. How could he even doubt that?
"You need some rest. We'll talk about this later." North said, slowly standing to his feet. He paused, about to lay a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder again, before he remembered what happen last time. Instead he led the others out of the room, pausing at the doorway.
"Call us if you need anything." North said.
Then they were gone.
Jack immediately glanced at the window, quickly wondering if he could escape while the Guardians had gone, maybe go and find Pitch and ask him to explain what was going on. But the yetis were still there by the door, watching over him, and from the looks of the windows they were shut. The windows in the infirmary all had tricky locks that only North or a yeti could jolt open, Jack had learnt that during his attempts to sneak in and grab something to fix his injuries. It looked like he was stuck for now. At least they weren't locking him up in his room like they usually did.
Jack lay down in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to think. He was just so confused. Why were they pretending he had disappeared for two whole years? What was there to gain from it, other than the fact they were giving Jack a headache? And why were they pretending Pitch had twisted Jack's memories and, from the way they spoke, had been the one to beat him again? Okay, the last one didn't confuse Jack as much. The Guardians had always hated Pitch and always made everything seem like it was Pitch's fault[ it was why all the other spirits in the world thought that they were the protectors of children when it was Pitch who protected the children of the world. Plus, they always pinpointed the blame of what they done on someone else. Jack knew, he was the one they usually blamed and he had the scars to prove it.
What really got Jack was the way they acted so remorseful. They were never remorseful, not even when they first started hitting Jack. But it was as if they generally were upset, what with the disbelief and devastation on Bunny's face, the tears streaming down Tooth's cheeks, the sorrow in North's eyes, the sad silence surrounding Sandy. It was as if it hurt them to see Jack in so much pain, hurt them to see him shield away from them, afraid of them. Even when they were playing a trick on him they never show this much emotion before.
What was going on?
Blinking, Jack sat up, realising he had fallen asleep without realising it. He tensed, expecting the Guardians to be there, this time dropping whatever act they were playing at.
But no one was about so Jack allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. Then he suddenly straightened. No one was there. The yetis weren't by the door anymore. They must have left when he was asleep.
Clutching his staff, Jack sprung out of bed, doubling up slightly when his injuries protested in response. He glanced at his staff and cautiously stepped into the air. He stayed hovering, his magic still working. It had to be his staff…but how could it be?
He lowered himself back down to the floor, deciding to trust the ground for now. Attempting to walk from the bed, he was stopped by a tug. He groaned.
"Stupid IV." He mumbled.
Glancing at the IV in his arm, Jack hesitated before ripping it out. He had been through worse, what was the harm of a little more pain? He quickly switched off the machine besides the bed, before it starting emitting any loud beeping sounds, attracting the Guardian's attention. Ignoring the blood that pooled in the area where the IV needle once was, Jack pulled down his sleeve and headed to the door.
He snuck quietly down the corridor, trying to find a room with an open window for him to fly out of. He stopped when he heard raised voices.
The Guardians. Jack froze, wondering if they realised he had escaped. Then he realised the voices were coming from North's office, just a room ahead of him from where he stood.
Normally Jack would take this as an opportunity to flee without notice. But, he was still confused about what they had said before, and curiosity had always gotten the best over with him. Knowing he would probably regret this, he tiptoed towards the room and pushed the door open a crack, peering through.
"When I get that bloody boogeyman I'm going to kill him!" Bunny yelled.
Jack flinched but carried on listening, watching as Bunny paced up and down. Tooth was hovering in the air, looking down to the floor sadly, ignoring her fairies as they tweeted besides her. North perched on the front of his desk, rubbing his forehead. Sandy was watching Bunny paced, slightly worried for the rabbit as he looked like he was just a second from turning North's office's upside down.
"Calm down, Bunny," North said softy.
"Calm down?!" Bunny's fist crashed down on a side table, making Jack jump and hold back a whimper, "North, Pitch bloody tampered with Jack's memories and practically almost beat him to death! I will not flipping calm down; not until I find that nightmare king and give him a piece of my mind!"
"Beating Pitch up won't help Jack," Tooth injected softly.
That seemed to stop Bunny's ranting. The rabbit's shoulders slouched and he leaned heavily on the side table that he had hit earlier, as if it was now the only thing that was holding him up.
"I just...god blimey...seeing Frostbite like that, covered to head to toe with all those bruises and broken bones...and the fact that he thinks it was us who'd hurt him, that we did that to him...I...I just can't..."
North got up and walked over to Bunny, placing his hands on his shoulders.
"I know," He said softly, "But right now, if Jack's going to get better, he needs to know we would never hurt him like that. Won't believe that if we just shout and yell or go and attack Pitch...even if he does deserve it."
Bunny's ears drooped sadly and he looked down, away from North's blue eyes. "Alright..." He agreed.
Jack was even more confused. Why were they still acting, continuing the lie? They didn't know Jack was there, they thought he was still in the hospital room. Wouldn't they have dropped the act, now that they weren't in front of him? Why were they still prentending?
For a while no one spoke and Jack wondered if the conversation was over and if he should quickly leave before one of the Guardians opened the door and he was punished for eavesdropping.
Suddenly sand images starting forming above Sandy's head.
"I noticed that too," Tooth said quietly as she guessed what the sand pictures were saying before the others could. She turned to North and Bunny, "Did you two notice that Jack...seems younger than before?"
"What do ya mean?" Bunny asked.
"Does seem shorter than before," North commented thoughtfully.
"It's not just that. His features look a little younger too. Not that much, but he does definitely look a couple of years younger or so," Tooth said.
Okay, now Jack was definitely confused. What did they mean he looked younger? He was the same age he was ever since he died in that lake.
Deciding he had heard enough, Jack closed the door quietly and headed down the corridor, using the wall and his staff for support.
He was unaware that the shortest Guardian in the room had noticed the door shutting and had realised that the winter spirit was no longer in bed.
Why do I always make characters younger than they are? First in Icy Shadows with Pitch now with Jack...urgh. Hope you enjoyed, and no longer hate the Guardians after last chapter (hehe ^^;) Please leave a review and/or fav. ^^