A/N: I really didn't want to make you guys wait for this chapter, so I wrote it up as efficiently as I could. I know precisely how I'm ending it, I just haven't written out the chapters completely. It shouldn't hinder the quality, hopefully. And yes, the title of the chapter is that of the story. Can you figure out why? ;)

Also, you know how around chapter 29 I said that this had reached 4,000 views? Well 4 chapters later and I'm already at 5,000 views! I don't know about other stories' rates, but I think this is amazing! Thank you guys so, so, so much! So many exclamation points!

Please read, review, and enjoy! :)

Chapter 33 - A Choice of Faults

Jack couldn't believe it. The entirety of the North Pole was empty. No yetis, no elves, no fairies, nothing. There was no way of telling time here, either. Jack couldn't read any of North's twenty-four clocks and the sun was constantly rimmed at the horizon if not gone completely. On the last search exchange, when Cinder came back into the room, she muttered something about the passage of years. It was unlikely, but Jack couldn't refute. With no way to tell time, it was equally likely that they had been searching through memories for years. It felt unlikely, yet it was still a possibility. Either way, they were still giving each other the reluctant silent treatment. At least on Jack's part it was reluctant. He wanted to hope that Cinder didn't want to be doing this, that it was just the situation forcing these circumstances on them, but he couldn't be sure. She seemed to have a permanent scowl on her face, set in determination to either find the others or keep the silence between them perpetually. Maybe it was both.

Jack stood up from sitting on the bed cross-legged and grabbed his staff. On his way out the door, he glanced back at Cinder. She was looking away, toward the window, and her armor was shattered. A few tears strolled down her cheeks, catching the glint of the snow off the barren landscape outside. Jack was compelled to stand beside her and wait for her to open up to him again, to break the barrier that had come up between them. Seeing her memories had been painful for Jack, but he knew it must be killing Cinder, more so than how she was already being killed. Viewing the memories were one thing, but living through them all...? Jack couldn't imagine anything worse. She had been shielded from the worst of them─ those being the human years when Jack was still alive─ until a few hours ago. Jack somehow felt it was his fault for getting back her tooth case. If he hadn't gotten it back, Cinder wouldn't be this... this broken. Jack detested using that word, but that was how she appeared. Her arms were folded close, shoulders hunched, her knees were shaking, and her lips were quivering. Deciding against his desire to go to her side, Jack walked out of the room without saying a word.

One of the last levels of the building was down several flights of stairs. Jack absentmindedly hopped onto the railing and skated his way down to the intended floor. Tucking into a roll in midair, he landed in front of a closed door. That was interesting. The other floors had all been open. Jack tried the handle, but it didn't budge. Puzzled, he knocked and waited for a response. The murmur of grumbles and the scuttle of tiny feet greeted his ears, prickling his attention.

Jack knocked again. "Phil? Elves?" It's me, Jack." He paused, listening carefully. A few seconds later the latch was unlocked and the door creaked open. Nothing. Then Jack looked down and saw one of the elves containing a fearful expression. But upon realizing who Jack was, the elf looked at least a little hopeful. He waved the Guardian inside, the bell on his hat ringing slightly. Once inside, Jack's eyes tried to accustom to the dark. When he eyes could still barely make out the shapes of several yetis, Jack focused his attention on his staff. Lifting a surge of power from within him, Jack pushed the energy into the staff, making the ice crackle around the grooves in the wood as it glowed dimly. A few more surges and Jack was able to light the room by holding his empowered staff. He'd have to let the energy off at something if he wanted the light to go away. Perhaps he could save it for Pitch. As he thought such, however, he knew that controlling this much energy for an extended period of time would wear him down. Jack ignored that for the moment to assess the situation.

What he saw nearly sent a blast of ice through the ceiling if he hadn't recoiled and held on tighter to his staff. Many of the yetis were down here─ he certainly couldn't count how many─ and they were all injured, some more so than others. Bandages were being distributed hurriedly by the elves, who were shuffling through the masses of fur and appendages. Jack took a few slow steps forward, his eyes darting around in disbelief. The yetis' coats were stained dark in the pale blue light. One yeti mumbled something off to his right, and Jack spun around to find Phil grasping his dark stained shoulder with his legs pulled close, both also stained. Jack walked toward him, only to find that the stains were glistening─ Phil was still bleeding. Jack knelt beside the giant creature and started to glance over the wounds. There was a deep gash in the yeti's thigh and he was losing blood fast. Jack dreaded the possibility that all of the yetis were injured this badly. Jack put a hand close to the thigh and began flowing what little ice he could muster to freeze the open area. It wasn't exactly a bandage, but it would do. The elves were busy with the others and Jack didn't doubt for a moment that Phil had forced them to leave him for last. Phil was a good guy like that. Unfortunately, Jack needed him around. He was one of the few Jack could almost understand, and surely he knew what happened.

Phil used his good hand to try and swat Jack's away, but he failed miserably and grunted in pain. Jack stopped forming ice for a moment to speak; with the amount of power he was already using, multitasking became very difficult. "You need to let me do this. Wh-what happened?"

Phil made several incoherent grumbles before he started using his one good hand to sign and gesture his words. His fist came down from above and splayed out, fingers wavering. A bomb? The ceiling broke? Then Phil stooped his hand down low, palm flat, and waved it around that height. Something small? A lot of something small? Phil did it again and then pointed to the elves and shook his head. Something small, but not as small as the elves? Jack could only picture Sandy, but there was only one of him. Phil then reared his head and pedaled his hand, making pffft noises. Horse? Jack's ice paused. "Nightmares?"

Phil nodded. Then he signed the many small things again. Jack thought for a moment but still couldn't place it. Phil did it again and held up a finger, as if to say there was something else in addition. Jack finished with closing the gash in the thigh and put most of his attention onto Phil's mime. There was one something small that was a little taller. And there was something much taller, but not like the others. Jack figured the tallest had to be... "Pitch? And... something small."

Phil growled and grumbled again. "Okay, many small somethings?" Phil nodded furiously before groaning with pain in his shoulder. Jack stood up and shooed Phil's good arm away so that he could look at the wound. This one was shallower, not as fatal, but it had hit vital muscles. Jack focused some more ice onto the spot but quickly became exhausted. He was already close to the end of his ropes. Blinking away the stars starting to appear and clearing his mind, Jack worked a little slower. "Alright. Pitch, someone slightly taller, and then─"

Jack's ice sputtered and ceased again.

"Jamie!" Jack's breathy realization was short. Phil nodded imperceptibly, his eyes half-lidded. He was losing too much blood, Jack feared. But two other things were pulling at his mind. The nightmares were a type of fearling... just made with sand, but it made sense if it was Pitch. And if that were the case, then Jamie would be around because of the fearling within him as well. "So the small things... they were fearlings?"

Phil shook his head gravely, a tear cascading down a clump of fur. He nodded, then frowned and shook his head. They were fearlings... but they weren't. The next realization dawned on Jack and a small surge of ice escaped from his staff due to inattention.

The small things were children. They had fearlings inside them. "Where are they now? North? Tooth? Bunny? Sandy? Pitch? Jamie? The children? How many children?" Jack's questions were rapid fire and ice began to seep out around his hand holding the staff. Phil held up his good hand and grumbled at him to slow down. Then Phil pulled out a snow globe portal from the inner recesses of his fur. Jack was confused as to how Phil managed to do this, but didn't bother to ask right now. His focus was on the infuriating ice quivering in his palm grasped around the staff and the places the others could have gone. The globe's designs articulated a dreary scene, one that was hard to decipher. It would probably be easier to read upstairs in the Globe Room. Jack took the globe and thanked Phil. "Is everyone alright down here?"

Phil nodded, grumbling and waving Jack away. Go get the others. We're fine. Jack heard it loud and clear.

Dashing out of the room, Jack pushed off the ground to fly up to the higher levels. But a few feet into the air and he realized he wasn't going to be able to glide on the wind. He was wielding too much power. But he couldn't just let it all out. He would end up destroying over half of the North Pole. Why couldn't they just turn on the lights down there? Jack wondered in hindsight. Managing to float a few inches above the stairs, Jack began painstakingly gliding toward the floor he'd started on. Cinder had to know about this. They had to go to the others. The Guardians were in immediate danger.

It might even be too─

Jack stopped the thought from completing itself and dropped to the floor in a dead run. He swung his body into the room expecting Cinder to be waiting by the window. But when he halted, Jack saw that no one was at the window. Panicking, Jack whirled around to go and look for Cinder. That girl never liked to stay put, did she? His eyes circled around to the side of the bed before stopping completely. Even though it seemed impossible, Jack's anger fueled more power into his staff, it was nearly blinding now.

Pitch's back was to him, as if unaware that there was company. "What interesting memories, aren't they, Jack?" Pitch turned around and Jack saw Cinder's tooth case in the pale, ashy fingers that begged to crush the teeth. "Who would've ever imagined that the Man in the Moon would deny such a─"

Jack wouldn't hear any of it. Releasing all of the pent-up aggression, his staff shot out a lightning storm of ice aimed directly at the Nightmare King. The area of effect was spread throughout the room, but it had one main target. Pitch was caught off guard, dropping the case, but only for a split second. The case shattered to the floor, teeth sprawling across the wooden floors and gold and gemstones scattered the room in sparkly light. Pitch had a giant shield of nightmare sand in front of him taking the brunt of Jack's attack. The ice endured for a few seconds, particle by particle, freezing the sand. But it still held.

"Where. Is. Cinder?" Jack yelled above the thunderous strike.

"When will you learn, Frost? This trick doesn't work anymore!" Pitch cast his shield aside, the ice still trying to work through the layers. Jack tried to pull his aim back toward Pitch, but the power in his staff was suddenly low, the glow already settling. Didn't he have all the ice he needed a few moments ago? Out of the corner of his eye, Jack barely dodged a cable of thickly connected nightmare sand. The blast crashed into the opposite wall, cascading into regular sand on the floor. Jack whirled back to Pitch and aimed his staff, trying to gather the next shot. But barely anything came to his fingertips. The familiar tingle of energy was only fleeting in and out at best. He was able to gather up enough by the time Pitch had him up against a wall. Jack hadn't even been aware that he was taking steps backwards. The logs at his back, once comforting, now felt cornering and claustrophobic. Jack took his shot as soon as he felt he had the strength, but Pitch shoved the staff to the right against the wall with another extension of the black sand. Jack's wrist was pinned to the wall, staff still in his curled fingers. Jack tried to focus energy into it but there was a sudden barricade. Whatever pools of potential Jack had, they were running low and leaving fast. Fear wormed in his gut, but he couldn't let Pitch notice.

"Oh? You don't think I notice? That fear is spreading through your body in this very moment? Or that you're worried about your dear friend, Cinder?" Pitch put deadly emphasis on mention of the redhead because he knew that it would get to Jack.

"Where is she? Where are the others?" Jack managed to choke out. He looked down and was startled to find that nightmare sand had taken a hold of his neck, pulsing as if it were alive. When had that happened? Something wasn't right.

"Cinder? Cinder's fine," Pitch laughed with unknown knowledge on the tip of his tongue, "she's gotten her side of the deal. She's free. Relatively."

"What do you talking about?" Jack spat out repulsively. This hadn't been any deal; Jack had seen the memories and known there hadn't been any malicious intent on Cinder's part. She would only have done this under his control. But Cinder was useless to Pitch now, without much of a power source left in her body. Which meant that Pitch must have done away with her while Jack was busy. What an idiot he'd been.

"Why, she's wanted her memories ever since she met you! I just figured I'd give them back," Pitch smiled darkly. Then his head tilted to the side, the smile turning into a question. "Did you watch 'til the end, Jack?"

Jack's eyes darted around, trying to figure everything out. Why would Pitch have made Jack watch those memories? The only thing he'd seen had been Lykos─ which Jack was sure Pitch hadn't seen four years prior to the actual incident─ and the sacrifice Cinder had given by giving away some of the last fragments of her humanity and one eye. It was shocking and infuriating and it only made Jack want to fight more. But his reserves of power─

"Do you feel it?" Pitch leaned in, knowing his thoughts. This was becoming more dangerous by the second, and Jack was feeling more and more fear. There was such an overwhelming sense of these emotions that Jack's vision was tunneling. "The lack of power? The lack of... belief? The lack of a center?"

Jack's eyes widened in recognition. "No... no!" He struggled against the sudden amount of restraints capturing his limbs and swallowing his freedom. His staff had already fallen to the floor, but he didn't remember hearing the clack of wood onto the floor. Gaps were beginning to appear in his perception. The events around him transpired slowly in some places, quickly in others. The world began to swim, borders leaking and colors bleeding. Jack was hyperventilating but his heartbeat was scarily sluggish. "What did you do?"

"The question is, Jack: what did you do?" Pitch leaned in close and whispered something into Jack's ear, taking his right hand and shaking it as if striking a deal. Immediately, Jack's defenses shut down and his body slumped. All thoughts became a slur.

Belief is what keeps the Guardians alive. When they aren't believed in, they lose their very life force. And if that has already happened... what do I do? Where has Cinder gone? Cinder! Cinder. Cinder... Cin─der? And... Jamie...? What's a... Jamie...? Pitch! Pitch, you son of a─ Pitch... Pitch... Pi─

Jack's mind saw nothing more.

Cinder glared at Pitch and Jack, both standing atop the broken Globe of Belief. "Pitch, you son of a─"

"You two think so much alike, it's sickening," Pitch glanced at Jack and pointed his finger down to Cinder nonchalantly. Jack instantly understood and launched himself toward Cinder. He landed in front of her and Cinder took a step back so as not to be crushed by him. His face was inches from hers, but none of the intimacy was the same. Their eyes locked, but little meaning was held in Jack's pale yellow gaze. His eyebrows were arched in hatred and his grimace sent Cinder's stomach further downward than anything she'd ever experienced before. Jack was never the type of person to look like this, not as far as Cinder had ever seen of him. Cinder's good eye looked into both of his, one at a time, looking for any faint recognition that might be there. But there was none.

And his staff was missing.

"Looking for this?" Cinder's face left Jack's in time to see Pitch holding the staff and twirling it in his spindly fingers. He tilted his head back to her and grasped the staff tightly. "It was such a pain, really. Of course, it was easy to get once he realized keeping it was... out of the question."

Cinder swung around Jack to get closer to Pitch. But upon bringing her back to Jack, she felt her arms twist up behind her back, shooting pain into her shoulders and down her spine. She yelped and fell to her knees, trying to alleviate the pressure. Jack would have never learned to do this, let alone actually go through with the move. This must be Pitch's work, Cinder was sure. She swore under her breath, knowing she'd have to find a way out of this somehow without harming Jack. He was only being controlled. It should only be one fearling. She could figure this out. Calm down...

"Look, if you need me to do a job, that's fine. Just leave him out of this, damn it!" Cinder tested a tug against Jack's grip. It instantly tightened and her wrists began to chafe. Cinder grunted and cursed again.

Pitch's laugh echoed throughout the broken halls. "My sweet, sweet Cinder... I don't need you anymore," the words jabbed at Cinder's heart far harsher than she had expected. Pitch─ while not the greatest example─ had been a father to her for three hundred years. He taught her to control herself and to survive. She'd even remembered how to feel emotions again, thanks to the twisted man standing above her. Had all of this been just to use her?

"You're figuring it out," Pitch muttered, clapping menacingly. "Brilliant."

Cinder's strength was sapped from her. She knew she had always been alone, in some way or another, but this was something different. This was an isolation surrounded by betrayal. A betrayal that she had set up from the beginning, and thinking back on it now, perhaps she deserved this. She'd been the one to listen at the drop of a hat and follow Pitch's orders without question. Under fearling control or not, Cinder blamed herself. She felt like she could have done something─ anything─ and things would have turned out so differently. But she had chosen not to. She'd chosen wrong. That was where her fault lay. The faulty choice led to her guilt in the events that had transpired, and she alone was to blame. She yearned to cry out and shout and kick and scream and fight, but she also desired to lie down and let her tears stain the wooden floors, to wither away to dust like she should have so long ago, and to become nothing more than a fleeting memory, or better yet, nothing in the minds of others at all. The indecision tore at her and tears blinded her further.

"On the other hand," Pitch's voice rattled in Cinder's empty skull, "Jack, here, is perfect. I've seen the power he can wield! And with your amazing work with the volcano, I can control it! Fear has risen, thanks to you! But now you're so close to death, my dear! I've saved you. Another outburst and you would have died!"

But Cinder still had one question left. Perhaps she could still finish this to make up for some small piece of failure. "Why don't I just use what have left of my body?" Cinder's voice was overlaid with a growl so animalistic it scared her.

Pitch nodded, taking in the question and choosing his answer carefully. Meanwhile, Jack yanked her arms further above where it was possible to bend them, forcing Cinder to stand. His expression remained stoic and unreadable. Cinder tried her best to ignore him, but the chilling sensation rippling off his skin invaded even the thick red sweater Bunny had retrieved for her.

"Even if you could figure that out, it wouldn't do much good. I've taken out a majority of the fearlings that had consumed your bodily heat. They were becoming too hard to control and you weren't doing as you were told. Whatever you have left, plus some younger fearlings I've never bothered with, have no heat to make use of. Rather, the last of your heat has been seeping out since you rescued the little brat. But it's too late for that one, I'm afraid," Pitch added lastly, knowing it would push Cinder further. It was like he wanted her to try and fight. But Cinder didn't know if she could. It was an answer she hadn't expected, and she felt worse than before. Jamie was under Pitch's control as well, and was probably leading an army against the─ the real answer popped into Cinder's head and she felt like an idiot not for the first time that day. But she'd promised to keep Jamie and Sophie safe. The thought of Sophie took Cinder's breath from her. The little blond girl popped into her mind and Cinder knew she was losing it. Enough tears had shed from her eyes and hyperventilating sobs were all that she could muster. The Guardians were nowhere to be seen─ dead, for all she knew─ and she'd given Pitch everything he wanted to take over what he thought belonged to him. Abruptly, Jack's knee met her back and she was tossed to the ground. Arms finally free, she rubbed them sorely and glared back at Jack. His face was set, blank but determined, on her.

"Well, this is boring," Pitch's voice was suddenly much closer. Cinder wasn't aware that he had jumped through the shadows. Normally, she could hear when he was doing that. So it was true, her abilities were lessening. They hadn't left all at once, just most at once. The younger fearlings couldn't do much and she was left with little more than a veneer of skin. "Jack? Would you do the honors?"

Cinder's eyes widened as Jack's hands were suddenly gripping the front of her shirt and hoisting her into the air. Her feet were dangling above the ground─ now an eerily familiar event─ and memories flooded her system. It was a terrible feeling. And one she could do without. In a swell of strength, Cinder used Jack's arms to stabilize her body as she swung her legs up and kicked Jack's chest. The result sent Jack reeling backward while Cinder's spine cracked from hitting the floor, driving all breath from her lungs. Rolling around and propping her torso on her elbows, Cinder knew she couldn't keep her back to Jack again. He'd be back on his feet faster. A cold embrace ensnared her ankles and Cinder knew she'd be in a more complicated position. Jack swung her by her feet and let go, throwing her body into a nearby pillar. Something snapped when she hit and blood began to pour into her mouth. Cinder shouldn't have been able to move, but there was a thought in the back of her mind that wouldn't let her be beaten by that frozen idiot. Whether or not he was aware of these events, surely he would gloat over them if he had the chance. Being the competitive, stubborn girl she was: this wasn't going to be the end. She sat up painstakingly just in time to get hit by another kick from Jack's bare foot. Her nose was bleeding now: she saw the smear across the middle of his foot, streaming through the ridges. Seizing the opportunity, she grabbed his ankle and twisted it as best she could to the left. Jack grunted as he was thrown off balance. It was a feeble attempt, but it was enough to force Cinder to her feet and wheel around to face him.

But as Jack stood and looked at her, Cinder's breath hitched. His eyes sparked blue, even if only for a moment, and Pitch's sneer worsened. That gave Cinder hope. She prayed to whatever was out there that the Easter Bunny could sense it. That it might give him strength. After all, he and Cinder had a promise to keep.

Cinder ran right up to him, but at the last second, stopped her attack and dodged his hands, covered in ice and aimed for her throat. She ducked and shoved all of her weight into his core, pushing him away. Jack didn't go very far, however, and grabbed her shoulders. Cinder tried to get a grasp around his arms, but it was nearly impossible with his sweatshirt being so loose. And this boy's arms were too damn skinny. They pushed back and forth for a moment before Cinder started losing ground. Looking down for a split second, she noticed that the floor was covered in ice─ home field advantage for the winter Guardian. Cinder pushed against him to the best of her abilities, despite it being a lost cause. Then an idea struck. Cinder let go of his arms and stopped pushing. Jack wasn't expecting this and tumbled forward. Cinder ducked and let Jack's body sail over hers and land on his backside. If they were play fighting, Cinder would have laughed. But those were days they could never have again.

Pushing the thought aside, Cinder twisted around on her knees and pinned Jack to the ground. She couldn't keep him still for long, but she had to try something. Fearlings could be taken out. Hers had been. The dim memory came back to her and she knew it was her only shot. With quivering lips, Cinder forced her hand directly over his heart and called what strength she had left. For a while, nothing happened. Not even Jack stirred. But Pitch wasn't doing anything to stop them either.

That should have been a warning.

Cinder tried again, harder, pulling from the deepest pools of her soul─ if she even had one─ any power she could muster. A flicker of heat was hiding behind the waterfall and she had to keep it lit for either one of them to survive. She knew there was the chance that she wouldn't survive this. But she was a pawn in a stupid game of choices and he was a Guardian, protector of the world's faith and belief. His life would always mean more than hers.

This was the one choice she was sure was hers and hers alone.

Her arm twitched and a faint spark was felt. Cinder bit her bottom lip hard enough to tear the skin as she tried to add the kindling. Then, calling on the fearlings she knew were inside, she tried to ask a favor. If they could listen to Pitch, they might listen to her. They were basically the same person, Cinder realized bitterly. But something dark entered her perceptions and she smirked. It was like a wrestling match with her conscience, and Jack was beginning to squirm underneath her. His eyes were becoming a brighter yellow─ almost the yellow that hers had been. Pitch's control over him was getting stronger. Cinder had to fight against it. She had to withdraw his fearling. Something latched underneath her palm, and she began to slowly raise it. Black clouds and swirls danced sporadically as she pulled further. Jack's eyes dimmed again and groans turned into low-key screams. The farther she was, the harder it became to drag the fearling out. She'd have to absorb it quickly and allow it to take the last piece of her. Surely Pitch wanted that to happen. Maybe he knew Jack wouldn't be able to fight after this. But there was some chance that he could, and Cinder couldn't see another way out. "Come on, Jack. Don't fight it. You'll lose an eye just like I did," Cinder smirked sadly.

All of a sudden, Pitch's foot was close to Jack's head. Cinder paused and looked up, beads of sweat bearing down on her forehead. "Are you sure you want to do that? You'll kill both of you, you know."

"You don't know that," Cinder turned back to Jack only to see the raw agony searing through his features. Only a few more seconds, Jack. I promise. Jack's eyes opened slightly, revealing a bluer tint than before. Cinder took this to signify that it was working. But she didn't know that Pitch was letting up on the control enough to let him see that Cinder was mad─ and to assume that she was under Pitch's control instead. And best yet, it was working. Jack squirmed even more, freeing one hand and grasping Cinder's wrist with such clout that Cinder couldn't move. The fearling, with its beady white eyes and black snake-like body, wriggled around in between Jack's chest and Cinder's palm. Cinder's body was heating up even more and her muscles were weakening.

"Would you rather have the possibility of killing him... or saving them?" Cinder heard something glass and spherical drop onto the floor behind her and she whipped her head around to see what Pitch had done. A portal opened up, sending wild winds and extraordinary gravitational pulls throughout the hall. In the portal, a dark alleyway was conveyed, lit by a few streetlights at the backside of a rundown garage. Bathed in the light were the Guardians, all of which appeared sickly and embarrassingly human. Cinder didn't see Bunny anywhere. Panic settled in her lungs as she heaved and her heartbeat quickened close to a flatline. Then she saw it: the thousands of kids pouring in closer.

Each and every one of them had the same yellow eyes.

Cinder nearly tore the connection between the fearling and Jack just then. Glaring at Pitch, Cinder bared her teeth. "You...! You had no right to mess with those kids!"

"Says who?" Pitch's breath curled into her nostrils, choking her with their alarmingly smoky smell. It reminded her of her burnt house and the fire inside her weakened. Grimacing, she took her other hand and held onto Jack's hand, which was still tightly holding her other one. The effort exuded to keep this balance was excruciating.

Cinder knew the decision had to be made and made quickly. The portal was smaller, weaker than the other portals. No doubt this was in part due to the thousands of kids turning their beliefs against the Guardians as they were speaking. Does she force herself to save Jack and spell her own demise on the chance that he might not make it? Or does she try to help the Guardians with her contact with the fearlings and possibly save four out of five? The human years with Jack had been the best and worst times of her pathetic life, and she wanted to properly apologize to Jack. She thought that curing him of the fearlings would be apology enough, but now she wasn't sure. Cinder was still a burden to him. As long as she was alive and present, even in his memories, he would focus on her. And that was never the Jack she knew. He focused on everyone and made sure that they were all taken care of. He made sure everyone had smiles on their faces. If he tried to keep even the smallest of smiles on her face, surely he would spend an eternity watching his center fall to pieces. In this way, she would be the least of his worries and he could continue his Guardianship. Jack valued it more than many things, and she had to be below it if they were all ranked in such a fashion. He was no longer her Jack, just like she was no longer his Verity. But to save one immortal or to save them all, plus the children of the world? Cinder was never one for children, but she knew what was at stake. Pitch would stop at nothing until the belief was his and the world was in chaos. That's what fear was: innate and chaotic. There was also a chance that she would die either way. Was she willing to take that chance?

Swallowing dryly, Cinder prayed that she made the right one. Thrusting her palm back into Jack's chest with finality, the fearling was put back into place. Cinder jumped up and tossed her body into the portal as it closed behind her.

A/N: I don't believe this is a cliffhanger... but I might be wrong. I really, really tried to have a decision made by a character at the end of a chapter instead of dangling the possibilities in front of you, mostly for rhetorical reasons. Also, the end of the story will be chapter 35, but an epilogue for the first book/prologue for the second story will link the two stories in chapter 36.

As a side note: if it seems like Pitch knows what Cinder and Jack are thinking and reading their minds and such, you'd be correct in the assumption. Since he can control the fearlings in them, he can also get a glimpse at their thoughts. In particular Cinder's since she is mostly fearling herself. Hope this clears things up!

Previously speaking of rhetoric, I've come up with the name for the second book and possibly the third, if all comes out right. It's quite the clever naming scheme. :P

A Choice of Faults

A Change of Fates

A Carnage of Fools

What do you think? :)