Chapter XV

Yellow diamonds in the light snd we're standing side by side. As your shadow crosses mine. What it takes to come alive. It's the way I'm feeling I just can't deny. But I've gotta let it go. We found love in a hopeless place —Rihanna, We Found Love

I woke with a start, my eyes flew open and everything was dimmed and blurred. I could feel tears run down my face. Someone leaned over me and grabbed my shoulder. My first thoughts that it was Pitch Black, so I screamed and swatted him away, however that same someone grabbed my hand.

"I-it's okay, it's okay, it's me." My vision cleared and I saw Jack.

I sat up in a panic and immediately hugged him, burying my face into his shoulder as my arms tighten around him and I felt an endless stream of tears escape my eyes. "Jack!"

"Wow…umm…it's all right…" I feel his hands lightly touch my back as he returns the hug.

For that moment of silence, with a soft warm breeze, dancing around us, I let out a sigh of relief when I felt the comfort of Jack with me, my eyes slowly close but then I hear myself say.

What am I doing?!

Embarrassed, I pull away from him and I wipe away the remaining tears on my face with my sleeve and clear my throat. "S-sorry…"

"N-no it's fine… I'm…uh… glad you're okay." Jack scratched the back of his head, while his cheeks turned a pale pink.

"Yeah…thanks." I turned away as the two of us sat there in an awkward silence. "Hey…uh…where are we?" I asked when I noticed the environment, of a bright and exotic place.

There were colorful spring plants everywhere, with moss covered statues. Then something rustled in the bushes nearby and out rolled a little egg, when I went to pick it up, it grew legs and jumped at me.

"What is that?!" I yelp and crawled behind Jack.

He laughed. "What? These little guys?" He picked up the egg that continued to move its little legs.

"Welcome to the Warren!" Bunny shouted from behind us.

Jack and I both jumped as the little egg went flying out of Jack's hand and on the ground where it took no time to get back up and run behind Bunny.

I leaned over to Jack and whispered. "How long was he there for?"

"Ah, there you are! Good to see you are okay!" North shouts as he followed behind Bunny.

"Yeah. Thanks." I bashfully replied.

A zooming fairy then grabbed my shoulders trying to take a peek inside my mouth. "Are you sure?! How are your teeth?" Tooth frantically asked.

I laughed and reassuring touched her shoulder. "I'm fine, really."

Lastly, Sandy gracefully floats into the group and stimulates up an image of a thumbs-up. And I return the gesture.

"So, what happened to you?" Tooth chimed.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Sandy saw you run, but he lost you when he tried to follow you. Then you suddenly appear in North's sleigh, unconscious." Bunny said.

My mind flashes back to when I left Jamie and Sophie's house. "Oh…that…I thought I saw you Jack, and so I followed you, but it turned out to be Shadow Jack. Then I ended up, what I assume to be in Pitch's lair—"

"You were with Pitch?" Jack, irritated, asked.

"Yeah—"

"So what happened?"

"I-I…" I pause, remembering what happened frightened me. I looked away and down at my hands.

You destroyed me!

You and your light!

Sucking in a shaky breath, I exhaled and continued. "He said…I destroyed him long ago, before all of you were made."

Each of the guardians stare at each other dumfounded.

"This could be a trick, just a way to mess with ya'" Bunny said, "He's done that to all of us."

"Yeah…" Jack mumbled.

I shook my head "No…I don't think so."

Tooth questioned. "Why?"

I bit my bottom lip as I thought about it for a moment before I spoke. "Because…there was just so much hatred in his eyes, He didn't go into great detail, but it was enough to make him angry."

There was silence. A long silence of each of us deep in thought. But I knew none of the guardians would know.

"AH HA!" North shouts, excitedly.

Bunny jumped back boomerangs ready, while Tooth hides behind Jack, and Sandy, Jack and I look at each other surprised.

"What?!" Bunny shouted, exasperated.

"Pitch then knows!" North grabs my shoulders and brought his face close to my own.

"You have to work on your personal space." I broke free from his grip.

"Pitch knows who you are as a guardian!" North continued to shout.

"B-but he isn't going to tell us or rather me! He made that very clear when he almost suffocated me with his shadows!" I tried to explain to North to calm his excitement.

"Then we'll just have to force it out of him." Jack held his staff tightly in both hands.

"Hang on, we don't even know where he is!"

Sandy softly clapped, enthusiastic.

"Wait a minute!" I screamed. "There's something more important that's happening right now than who or what I was!"

Jack chuckled. "What?"

"Manny!" I said, catching everyone's attention.

"Pitch has a plan…" I paused, looking amongst the guardians, "I don't know for sure what it is, but all I know is that he plans to drive his darkness and fear all across the globe."

"Ha! He's tried this before, but failed, and he will fail again if that is his plan!" North cheers.

"He's no match for us." Jack proudly stated.

"N-no, just think about it, Manny isn't well and somehow Pitch is using this to his advantage. I don't think you can't beat him!"

"So what's the plan?" Tooth asked North.

"You all aren't even listening to me, are you?!" I shouted, but the guardians continued to talk amongst themselves to come up with a plan.

I groan loudly which still didn't seem to catch their attention either. I decided to take a walk around the Warren.

Through tall grass and beautiful plants, I maneuver my way around large statues and come across a colorful pond where I watched the eggs with legs slide off a thick strand of grass and dived into the pond where they came out dyed a different color. I followed them around watching as the group of eggs got more colors and patterns. They marched to a wide opening that had six different tunnels leading to, what looks like above the tunnels, different continents.

"Wow…" I breathed in amazement.

I noticed while watching the group of eggs trudge on that one little egg tripped up and fell. The other eggs continued on. The egg got up but fell back down when he couldn't get his balance.

"Oh no…" I sigh, saddened by what I was seeing.

Then there's a voice, again, but not like the child like one I heard before, it was an itty-bitty little voice, but, just like the child's voice, I couldn't hear what it said.

"Oh great…now I'm hearing voices. This all a part of being a freakin' guardian?" I grumble as I kick the ground. But as I continued to watch the little egg fumble around again and again, I slump my shoulders and smile, feeling that I had to help it…feeling that I could help it. I jogged up to the egg and scooped it up in my hands along with its missing piece. "Hey little guy." I said. "Let's get you fixed up." I enclosed the egg and its eggshell piece in my hands, and concentrated. As I did this, it all felt natural to me, and before I questioned myself or knew it, my hands glowed and in a flash sparkles fluttered down form my hands. Once I opened up my hands I saw the egg was back together again and decorated beautifully. It danced and twirled excitedly, and I took it as a thank you.

When returning the egg with the rest of its group, I raised my hands up to my face. What did I just do?! That was me?! B-but how?! Why?!I have the power to heal? No…it's something much more than that.

I knew it was something more. The voice I heard…it had something to do with what I did.

As I had many thoughts and questions buzz inside my head I felt someone tap my shoulder, and with a squeak which escaped my lips I turned around frantically. "What?!"

Jack shuddered and stepped back, hands raised innocently. "Whoa…hey, it's me."

"Uh, hi. What's up?" I asked, hiding my hands behind my back.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-nothing…just enjoying the scenery….and," I look over my shoulder, "…eggs?"

"Eggs?"

"Pfftt…whatever…" I playfully push him. "What are you doing? Done coming up with you stupid battle plan to defeat Pitch?"

"Hey, where's this coming from."

"What do you mean? I told you didn't I?" I crossed my arms. "You can't beat him."

Jack eyebrows knitted in irritation as his hand gripped his staff. "We can and we will." Then his expression softened. "Why don't you believe in us?"

My arms dropped to my side as I softly spoke. "I want to believe in you—" I paused and blushed. "Y-you and the guardians…I truly do…but, Jack, this won't be like any other battle you've had with Pitch." I stopped Jack before he was going to even ask. "I don't know how I know, but I just do. I'm sorry, but you have to believe in me when I tell you."

The confused and conflict could be read on Jack's face. "So what do we do?"

"I…I don't know…"