A/N: Just so that you guys can get on to the story (I know how impatient you guys have been), I'll be answering some things I've noticed in an extended author's note at the end of this chapter. There's a fair amount and I don't want to take up a thousand words at the beginning (it's not really that many, but you'll see what I mean).
There are also some questions I have for you lovelies! Besides, it's the second-to-last chapter and there's so much to cover!
Please read, review, and enjoy! :)
Chapter 34 - When Senses Fail
As soon as Cinder's body went through the portal, she began falling. The amount of stress she'd put on her attempt to free Jack of his fearling had taken more out of her than she'd realized. Who knew? Maybe she would die on her way to the Guardians and the portal would disintegrate the last of her remains into the unknown dimensions of the universe. The tumbling air, condensing and expanding around her, pounded against her limbs and head and caused a massive headache. Cinder held her head as her one good eye barely made out the colors that began to form into solid shapes around her. Landing on the ground, she heard scuttling noises around her, paired with unearthly groans and scrapes of shoes and feet on concrete. Her head was still swimming, making the mounds of bodies that surrounded her appear as a living, breathing ocean bent on swallowing her whole. The immediate suffocation bombarded Cinder with an overwhelming inadequacy in her ability to stand back up. How was she to help the Guardians when she couldn't help herself?
She thought she heard something above the sea of─ Cinder gasped. These were all kids. She knew that they would be, but being in the middle of it was something entirely different. Children, ranging from three to ten maybe twelve years old, were all around her. A few took notice of her, but none bothered to help or hinder her. She was merely a disturbance, yet again. Cinder pushed her body up into a sitting position, her eyes lazily fixing themselves. Her bad eye now seemed to see nothing at all and her good eye was marginally better. Her head must have hit the pavement. Cinder blinked a few times and saw several collective faces of horror and relief all mixed into their features.
"Cinder!" The Tooth Fairy called out, frightened and confused. Cinder looked closer and saw that her wings had stopped moving. She was standing on her small feet, barely able to keep her balance. She had a hand out, but Cinder couldn't reach it. North was leaning on one cutlass and the second one was held up warily. His defense was weak and he could hardly keep the metal from falling to the ground; it was getting too heavy. Sandy's sand whips were losing their magic by the second, golden sand glittering onto the concrete hopelessly. Bunny was still his full size─ for a moment Cinder believed he'd felt her sense of hope a few minutes ago─ but he only had one boomerang. The other was nowhere to be seen. Cinder tried to call out, but a boot stepped onto her hand, crushing her fingers and causing her attention to phase to the perpetrator.
Jamie stood above her, glaring at her curiously. His eyes were a bright, haunting yellow that held no recognition of the defeated redhead. His winter boots grinded her bones into the ground and Cinder yelped.
"Jamie!" Cinder whined, feeling her joints crack and crumble. "Jamie, it's me. It's Cinder! You're─ you're hurting me!" But Jamie's eyes didn't change. When the pain didn't stop, Cinder shoved her shoulder into Jamie, effectively knocking him back. Scrambling to stand up, Cinder's feet desperately carried her to the Guardians. She pushed through the kids, having a moment of sonder creep into her consciousness. Each of these kids had a family, some with siblings, friends, crushes, and lives that may never have coincided before this. Could they see each other as they were now? Would their families worry? How did they all succumb to Pitch's tactics, individually? Some must have been taken and reduced to a scared pile of flesh and others might have been sleeping peacefully before Pitch riddled their minds with terrors unimaginable. Cinder, having a small moment of clarity, mumbled sorry as she pushed onward. There must be hundreds, maybe even thousands of kids here. But she didn't see a particular little blond girl, and for that, she was momentarily relieved. Cinder, finally breaking from the mass of bodies, remembered the time where the Guardians had temporarily not been at the North Pole before her questioning. They said there had been exceeding amounts of nightmares in one area. Cinder didn't piece it together until now: Pitch was distracting them with the nightmares while the fearlings were behind the scenes doing all of the dirty work. And Cinder had set them loose in the first place. That fact would never, ever leave her consciousness no matter how much she wanted to be rid of its sour taste.
The exertion of panic that had flooded her sickly veins caused her body to fail and she collapsed again in front of Bunny. The giant rabbit holstered his boomerang and scooped her up carefully. "You aw'right, mate?" His expression was perturbed.
Before Cinder could answer, Tooth knelt beside her. "Sweetie? Are you okay? Did you get through the memories fine? Where's Jack?" The rapid questions rattled her mind and she could barely manage several stuttering sounds before Bunny hushed her.
"We 'ave a bit of a biggah problem, Tooth!" Turning back to Cinder, he helped her stand, holding a paw around her shoulders. Cinder wanted to swat his arm away and stand on her own, but she was afraid that she would truly show how weak she was. The world now felt too far below her, her head having not been at her true height in some time. "We can't outrun these brumbies much longer!" swore Bunny.
"You're not fighting them?" Cinder managed to ask, although her mind was still foggy.
"They don't believe in us anymore. Even if we did have some of our powers back, there's no way we would harm the children!" Tooth explained, backing up further against the garage behind her as the kids moved closer. The other two Guardians stepped in front of them protectively. North and Sandy both glanced back at Cinder, weary worry glistening in their eyes. Cinder closed her own, wishing she'd had a better plan, or even half of her strength back. Today was not one of her smarter days.
When she opened her eyes, however, Cinder saw a figure break from the herd of mummified children and stand straight. Jamie's eyes didn't leave Cinder's, and she could feel the burning hatred that wasn't his but radiated from his teenage body. The other Guardians began to flicker between confusion and trepidation, looking from the Last Light to Cinder and back again. Despite not having a plan when she fell through the portal, Cinder walked past the Guardians and stood in front of the boy she'd been living with merely days ago. He was a few inches shorter than Cinder, but she didn't doubt that he'd be having his growth spurt soon. If he lived that long.
Cinder pushed the thought aside and cleared her throat. "Jamie, you don't want to do this. You cherish these guys, don't you? You've had your adventures with them, right? You don't want to harm them. Pitch just─"
"They are weak liars who veil us from the truths of the world," Jamie's voice was different, lower, and grainier. Cinder nearly took a step back because it was so unexpected.
"What are you talking about, Jamie? They're your friends! They want you all to have happy childhoods to remember! That's the Tooth Fairy's job; to keep your happy memories together for when you need them. Santa gives you gifts and merriment and wonder each year that keeps you feeling alive and joyful. And the Easter Bunny? He keeps your hopes alive so that you can dream greater things. And speaking of dreams, all those amazing fantastical feats you feel in your sleep well beyond childhood? That's Sandy. He's always there. They all are. They've never lied to you, any of you. Especially not Jack Frost. You remember Jack Frost, don't you?"
Jamie stared at Cinder and for a lengthy moment it seemed like he could really hear what she was saying. Cinder smiled, feeling relief wash over her prematurely. His features had softened and she leaned in to hug the poor boy. That was when he pushed her away, down onto the ground. She felt another bone snap and knew somewhere in the back of her mind that her body was falling apart and disintegrating by the second. Jamie sneered at her before he spoke. "Jack Frost is nothing but a nightmare inside a cold corpse. He's a killer and a monster."
Cinder's heart fell out of place and she wanted to heave. Those words; Jamie would never, ever even think of saying words like that. Her stomach swirled, and for a second she wondered if it was really her stomach or the fearlings swimming around anxiously. Jamie was beyond reach and she didn't know what to say to make him come back. The kids behind him were shifting around in anticipation, waiting on the older boy's command. The dreaded realization dawned on her: Pitch had succeeded in taking over the newest and arguably the strongest Guardian as well as the strongest believer and Last Light. What was there to stop him now? The Guardians were weak and she was nothing but a prop on this stage.
Jamie saw the weakness in Cinder's features and grinned evilly. "Pitch knows the truth. He's told us so. We have to uproot the Guardians ourselves if we want to have the knowledge, the truth, we desire." These sentences didn't sound remotely close to the Jamie that Cinder knew. This was a fearling talking. Cinder debated trying to wrestle the fearling out of Jamie instead. If he was taken down, surely the other kids would disperse at the least or the fearlings would lose control of their hosts at best. Cinder was about to push herself back up when an idea struck her. She still had fearlings in her. And Jamie had listened to her command before, that night in the kitchen when he had attacked Jack. If it was because of the dark connection... perhaps this could work.
Cinder placed a hand on her knee, already appearing old and frail, and stood cautiously with her eyes closed. She summoned the last of her fortitude and raised the burning feeling in her lungs through her fingers. It took some time, during which Jamie raised an eyebrow at the suddenly still figure, but soon Cinder felt what little reserves she had gather at her fingertips. At the last possible moment, she knew her window was narrowing and forced her hands onto Jamie's chest. They latched on and the heat scorched Jamie's shirt. That got everyone's attention. Cinder opened her eyes and Jamie hissed: her good eye became the same yellow as her broken eye, but was not broken in itself. The dancing pigments entranced Jamie and all of the kids looked toward Cinder.
With what breath she could manage, she gave the order: "You are going to relinquish control until I've returned." She was speaking directly to every fearling within these children. The massive exertion for this sort of telepathic and suggestible communication caused Cinder's arms to shake and her lips to quiver with beads of sweat pouring from her forehead. The heat was beginning to leave her and she knew that she didn't have much longer. This wouldn't rid the children of the fearlings, but at least now they would obey her. She had forced herself to become an alpha of sorts, replacing Jamie. This would be a choice that used her faults against Pitch, and the bastard deserved it. Besides, the order given would suppress them until she "returned." Cinder knew that part would never come to fruition. The bodily heat she'd gotten used to having had begun to seep out of her as well and her body failed altogether. Her hands fell from Jamie's chest, dragging a small fearling with them. It flew around the redhead momentarily before trying to burrow itself into her body as a new host. But Cinder refused, and with the last of her consciousness, forced the fearling to take a sacrifice and dissipate like they had done before─ and her last good eye was gone like the other. The sharp pain emanated from the front of her skull and the last thing they heard of her was a terrifying scream. The fearling took its prize and faded away.
Bunny and the others looked on in true horror. What they had witnessed couldn't be explained, and no one wanted to attempt to do so. Tooth turned to the kids and gasped, pointing out toward the furthest end of the mass. The kids' eyes were fading back to their born colors and they began to walk away, some confused and others dazed. Slowly, the wave of colors crashed through the sea and all trace of malicious intent disappeared from their features. Jamie sunk to the ground in front of Cinder, his mouth agape with dread and utmost horror. His and Sophie's sitter lay at his side, eyes wide open but seeing nothing. Her skin began to crack, revealing blackened char in places, but no blood. Her hair, once a vibrant orange, had dulled to a brown and looked to be strangling her in its wild arrangement. Jamie's mouth quivered and little sounds came out that weren't entirely human. What had he done? He'd been aware of everything and nothing all at once and he couldn't understand why he'd have done anything to this girl that had rescued him and loved Sophie. A hand rested softly on his shoulder and he whipped his head around to see the Tooth Fairy looking at him sadly.
She tried to say something─ anything─ that would make the boy feel better about the situation, but no words came out. Instead, she sighed and pulled Jamie into a hug. "We should get you home, Jamie. Your family must be worried." She took his hand and helped him stand, her wings beginning to flutter again. With the Last Light, even this far into teenage years, belief was being restored slowly to the Guardians.
Just then the sounds of sirens happened upon the alleyway. Several police vehicles and ambulances cut off the alley from the road and whatever kids were left were taken into their arms. Jamie turned, realizing these adults wouldn't see the Guardians. They would see that he was kneeling next to a body and that'd be the end of it.
"Go, get out of here!" Jamie whispered to the Guardians, who had all gathered around Cinder. She'd saved them, even if it was temporarily as far as they knew.
"We can at least take her with us," Bunny insisted, already beginning to pick up the mangled body.
"They can't see you! They'll think she's resisting and shoot her! Even if she might be still alive, I can't let you! She'll be safer here. They'll get her help, they'll..." Jamie's voice choked with the overwhelming sensation to wail. "Just go..."
"Jamie..." North began to kneel down and console the boy, but Jamie pushed him away.
"GO!" He yelled as the police behind him insisted he put his hands above his head where they could be seen. Jamie raised his hands slowly, tears in his eyes. "Go..."
The Guardians looked at the boy in disbelief. They slowly walked off, out of the light, when North mentioned that he didn't have the strength to open up a portal. Bunny stayed where he was in spite of Jamie's instructions. He watched as the EMTs ran up to Cinder and put fingers to her neck. He began to turn away when he heard them say that they caught a pulse. She needed medical attention and was to be brought to the local hospital. Bunny's ears lit up and a plan began to form in his mind. Before turning to finally leave, he gave Jamie a curt nod before bounding over to the others. He opened up a rabbit hole and told everyone to follow him. Jamie would have to figure his own way home; the others had to find out why Jack hadn't come with Cinder through the portal.
Bunny had a funny feeling that Cinder would be able to tell him soon.
When the Guardians made it to the Warren, Bunny had the giant eggs cater to their wounds and sores while he took no rest for himself. The Warren was a safer place at the moment, considering the North Pole was bound to be in disrepair after the brief battle Pitch had rained upon them. He went down to his bunking area─ the place where he slept─ and hopped over to an intricately carved and painted chest. Opening the latch, Bunny took out another, older boomerang to replace the one a kid had caught and snapped in half. The recent memory was bitter as he holstered this second one and made his way back to the others. It was then that he told them that he was going back to retrieve Jack and Cinder.
"We don't even know where Jack is!" Tooth reminded him. "And Cinder's─" she couldn't bring herself to say it at first, "─ Cinder's gone, Bunny."
"No, she's not," Bunny pointed out to her. North and Sandy stared at him in puzzlement. "I saw the EMTs put her on a cart and take her to the hospital. She's alive. I can talk to her and find out what happened, and then I'll go and find Frosty. Simple as that!"
Sandy mimed with pitiful sand, saying that they were all weak and that it wasn't a good idea, but Bunny wouldn't listen. He glanced away from the golden Guardian and eyed North in challenge. If the big guy had any qualms, he'd surely state them now.
"You know is not good idea, Bunny," North started with a sigh, "but you seem to have better chance. If you are not back in an hour, Christmas will forever be more important than Easter!" A devilish smile played at North's lips.
Bunny found himself smirking at the challenge. "You'll bet yer Nelly! I'll be back faster than you can spell 'carrot'!" Bunny's foot was already tapping the ground, eager to be leaving. He grinned at each Guardian in turn to reassure them and plunged into the rabbit hole. When the hole disappeared, an aster quickly grew in its place.
Pale blue moonlight showered the intensive care unit in ethereal light. The colors danced like water on a girl's burned body and it stirred restlessly. A voice, soft and gentle, caressed her features and filled her lungs with air. There was a steady beeping sound somewhere off to the left. That was the first thing Cinder could sense. She yawned and tried to stretch, but pulled back when she realized her limbs were crackling more than normal. Her muscles felt more than sore─ it honestly seemed like they were missing. Cinder opened her eyes to look at the damage. Or she thought she had opened her eyes. The beeping noise began to escalate as she tried to open her eyes more, tried to glean any particles of light from her surroundings. Her arm moved up her other arm, sensing IV needles, to her face, crawling as to not snap in two, and she padded at her cheeks, nose, and finally─
Her eyes were open.
The reality made Cinder want to sink into the bed or whatever she was on until she disappeared into the fluffy depths. The blankets above her were suddenly smothering her and the beeping noises to her left were elevating faster though her faint heartbeat felt nonexistent. Cinder made some sickly noise halfway between a cry and a groan and a yell, the desperation ripping apart what was left of her throat. She was still alive. How the hell was she still alive? She'd made the fearlings take what was left of her strength, hadn't she? Was there some resistance in not wanting to die that caused her to live? Maybe that damned Man in the Moon that she'd heard so much about had finally decided to step in and do something. She wanted to hit herself, but her arms were laden with anguish. At least Jamie would be alright. And the Guardians would have enough vigor to go after Jack. And Bunny would keep his promise. That was all she cared about anymore.
"Whhhyyyyyyyy...?" Cinder's rough voice grieved. If that Moon guy did do something, she swore she'd go after him personally for changing her plans. Especially if he'd allowed her to live at the price of being blind.
"Sheila?" She heard a noise farther in front of her but it didn't seem to be in the same room. Heavy footsteps padded on tile floors and Cinder knew exactly who it was, even without her sight.
"Bunny?" Cinder croaked out before attempting to clear her throat. But it was dry and she only ended up coughing from deep in her chest, or whatever was left of it. "What are you doing here? Did you find Jack?"
"Crikey," the giant rabbit mumbled, and Cinder figured he was glancing over her condition. She wondered if her body was disgusting charred remains or something else equally unearthly. She also wished she could roll her eyes at him. "You didn' give us much ta go on, mate. What happened after the memories?"
Cinder pushed her head further into the pillow behind her to try to think. Her memories hadn't been disrupted, but the recent events had been so rushed that it was difficult to piece them together. "We went looking for you guys. We found the Globe Room in ruins," Cinder could still imagine the turmoil she'd felt in that giant hall, but she could no longer picture what it looked like, and that frightened her. "And then Jack didn't come back. I found him with Pitch. He had sneaked a fearling into the tooth case before giving it back to us. The fearling lodged itself into Jack when he was alone in viewing the memories... because I backed out early," Cinder glazed over the explanation, hoping Bunny wouldn't pry. When he didn't, she continued, "and it consumed him. Much like they have me. And now his belief is gone and his center isn't doing much better. Anyway, Jack and I fought. I tried to take the fearling out of him─"
"But─ but that's a procedure no one's ever completed!" Bunny interrupted. "The only people that know how to do it are─"
"What do you think I did to Jamie?!" Cinder's outburst cost dearly to her physical health. She sputtered into another coughing fit and groaned. Cinder knew exactly which kind of people could do such a trick, but they weren't exactly people. Fearling hosts, if controlled well, could alleviate another of the same burden. Bunny didn't need to remind her. She tried to stare at him, but she already knew she wouldn't be facing him directly. Having only hearing at her disposal for the moment, she could only guess as to Bunny's exact position in the room.
Bunny didn't answer for a second. Perhaps he was shaking his head; Cinder thought she heard the ruffle of fur. "It doesn't matter right now. We need to know what happened to Jack."
"Wherever Pitch went, Jack went with him. That's all I can tell you." Cinder believed after a few minutes of silence that he had left, but she couldn't be sure. There was a pressure in the air that told her she still wasn't alone. Perhaps Pitch had come back to finish the job? Without sight, Cinder was worse than dead.
"Why'd you back out?" Bunny's voice was small. "Ah'm not supposed to ask. No one is. But why'd Jack get stuck seeing your memories?"
Cinder forced herself to breathe deeply despite the pain causing her lungs to constrict. If there was anyone she could trust anymore, it would be Bunny. "We knew each other, Jack and I. I grew up in his village, his age, and he was my only friend." Cinder stopped, wondering if she should reveal the details. Whatever happened between her and Jack should stay between them. She would die with that secret to keep him alive as a Guardian. "But he died. I was sad. Then I died in a fire. Except I didn't really die. Pitch found me because I saw him before I was supposed to die. He infected me with a fearling and they multiplied inside me. What you see now isn't real. I'm just a broken tool. Everything I've done was his plan. Except for a few times, when I'd become uncontrollable," Cinder smiled forlornly, "and these last few hours were exactly that: uncontrollable. But I've done what I could. Now you guys need to go find Jack and rescue him. Pitch should be weakened now. Jack can't be under his spell for much longer. Then you can all finish the job. Go. Now."
"But─"
"NOW!" Cinder yelled, thrashing her arms around hoping to smack him into leaving. This wasn't like her but she needed to make Bunny leave before he saw her die. As far as she was concerned, her life was coming to an imminent close. Her fingers brushed the fur here and there and she heard the ground shift by the side of her bed and a sudden whoosh of air. Then she heard a nurse or doctor or janitor or whoever outside of her room burst into yelling, calling security or whatnot. Cinder wasn't actively trying to listen to them.
And that was because a thought had popped into her head. She knew exactly where Pitch had taken Jack. It made so much sense to her. Jack had taken her place as Pitch's new recruit. And where else would he have taken the new recruit? Cinder regretted telling Bunny to leave, but now she had a reason to get out of this bed. They wouldn't know where this place was, anyway. But she could send them in the right direction. But what would they do once they got there? The place was way too small for all of them and none of them could fight Pitch one-on-one. Jack probably could, but he clearly was not an option. Pitch must have known Cinder would figure it out from reading her─ or the fearlings'─ thoughts. So if Pitch couldn't be fought... could he be tricked? And for how long? Cinder disregarded the idea and rammed her head back against the pillow. The rabbit hole was still open and an idea slowly began to form as she felt and heard the winds coming from deep in the tunnel. There was a land Pitch had told her about after the bucket incident (he had told her that she'd be ready to take on jobs and opponents soon enough)─ a land which had kept him sealed. He told her about it─ that it could not be reached except through a portal and a special name. He'd told her it in the event that she had no other way to defeat someone. Cinder had never used it, never even attempted it, but she never forgot it either. And perhaps this was the time to use it. Of course, using that sort of power would definitely kill her this time around. But maybe... she just needed to get her hands on some snow globes.
Cinder rolled to the right, almost falling off the bed until she remembered the IVs still in her veins. Pawing at her left arm, she found the needle and yanked it out. Several other cables were ripped off and the beeping sounds changed into a monotonous and obnoxious tone. The sticky substance meant to keep the needle steady ripped off some skin─ probably one of the few patches of skin she had left─ and sent a thousand nerves into shock. The tip of the needle had pricked her vein and she began to bleed down her arm but she paid no attention to it. Whatever condition she was in would have to be enough. Now that the leash was off, Cinder rolled her body to the side, realizing too late that the edge of the bed was much closer and she hit the ground with a thud and several more cracks. Not having enough strength to stand, she crawled her way around the room, listening for the rabbit hole. He must have just hopped through after she'd made her plan because Cinder could sense the hole closing up. Using one last push, she threw her body headlong into the tunnel and cascaded downward as the yells of security officers sounded off farther and farther away by the second.
Just hang on a little longer, Jack.
A/N: Begin semi-rantish-thing:
*I normally have this habit of not replying/recognizing reviewers' comments (although I really want to all the time because you guys are awesome), but a certain Jayla Fire Gal's review caught my attention. Well, they all catch my attention. But I just wanted to point out that the song Human by Christina Perri was actually on my playlist when I wrote this! I set up a certain playlist for each chapter to get the proper mood. Last chapter, in particular, I also used Falling Inside the Black by Skillet (which is actually one of the main songs I use for every chapter) and Shots by Imagine Dragons. This chapter had a unique feel, however, and I had a hard time finding music to make it work. So I didn't really have any set songs that I used.
*Then there was a review from guest-reviewer named hithere that addressed the concern of why I've made this story into a trilogy. I don't actually know how far I'm taking this story other than I know there has to be a sequel. Where I'm ending it still leaves holes to be filled in that would best be explained in a sequel. As for the third, it may not happen. The only reason I have it listed is because I really like the title that I came up with: A Carnage of Fools. I'm not naming the sequel that because the events that occur wouldn't match with the title. There's a vague idea for a third one, in which A Carnage of Fools makes sense, but I may decide to end this after the second one if it all gets wrapped up.
On the other hand, hithere, thanks for the comment about my story not being a "predictable cheese ball." It made me giggle and feel generally better about my writing. A special thanks to all of those giving me feedback; it's pretty heartwarming.
...
TL;DR: You guys are awesome and make me feel so happy! Sorry for the insane amount of rambling! Large amounts of delicious cookies for all of you lovely people!
End semi-rantish-thing.
Question Time! An extra cookie for each answer!
1. How do you feel about a slew of new OCs? Only three of them are hugely important to the plot [Lykos, JtR, and PtL (those are just abbreviations so that I don't spoil it]. The others are mainly filler characters for atmosphere and comical relief.
2. How do you feel about multiple the POV third-person omniscient? Or it could switch around; each chapter being from Lykos's, Cinder's, Jack's, or Pitch/OC's views. Too many?
3. Do you want me to tell you the songs I use as inspiration for each chapter? I will post them at the beginning/end of the chapter's author's notes from now on if so!
God, I am SO SORRY for this long block of bolded words. You should not have had to suffer through all of that. It will never happen again!
Good day/night to you all!