I'm back! Yeah! I'm so sorry for the incredibly long wait. But the good thing is that I got a good score on my solo! I was excited to write this chapter. I decided to name it Tug of War for a reason so hopefully you'll see it as the chapter goes on. I had already made a decision, but it was interesting to see everybody wanted Jack to be saved. We had one lone person say they wanted Jack to stay with Pitch, so props for being the only one! Well you'll just have to see what happens.

To the answer X-AoHime-X, no Jack hasn't had any contact with any of the other Guardians besides Bunny. He's seen Sandy flying around, but he hasn't actually had contact with him. There will probably be other spots were I'll switch the fairies point of view again, so no worries! :)

Disclaimer: Don't own ROTG.

Stupid.

That was what he was. Stupid. How could he have turned on Jack so easily? He'd automatically assumed the worst. Not once had he stopped to wonder if he was wrong. He had made a wrong decision, and how wrong that decision had come out to be. It hadn't cost him, or any of the other Guardian's, no it had cost Jack. The decision had cost him Jack's innocence.

When he had first laid eyes on him his mind couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. He looked nothing like the Jack he had last seen. Everything about him was different. Bunny just couldn't accept that it was Jack. There just wasn't any way that it could be him. There couldn't be.

Then there was the way he spoke, so afraid, and hesitant, it was nothing like he remembered. Then there had just been the way he looked. Waves of anger bubbled inside him, but he forced his face into a neutral one as he accessed his injuries.

His face was swollen to the point where he was sure he couldn't see from his eye. The red covering the area around his eye made it look even worse with his pale skin. Even from a distance he could see a giant bump on his head that had covered his hair in blood. Bunny knew his nose was broken instantly. It was crooked, and turning a purple color not to mention the large amount of blood that was covering his face. He was sure once the blood was off it wouldn't look as bad.

As his eyes went down he immediately noticed the cast on his leg. He wasn't sure but he thought it looked like it was made out of Pitch's sand. Bunny was sure there were more injuries that weren't visible, but after giving Jack a quick glance over, he knew it was safe to move him. He had too.

Bunny looked down at Jack's quivering form, and knew that he had to get him to safety. He unconsciously curled him tighter against his chest protectively. Bunny then did the only thing he could.

He ran.

His legs propelled him and he sprang forward. Bunny heard Jack suck in a breath. He looked down to see him grimacing in pain. Guilt formed again, as he apologized. Bunny looked up not wanting to see Jack in pain. He ran until he caught sight of something that made him halt in his tracks. He vaguely felt Jack move in his arms but he was too focused on the sight in front of him to look down.

North was standing in the middle of a ball of Nightmares. He kept swinging his swords back and forth trying to eliminate them, but he was being overcome. Nightmares would manage to get past him and would scratch him. His face was twisted into a grimace, and a light layer of sweat was covering his face. North was panting heavily as he tried to shake off a Nightmare that had clamped onto his arm. At that moment North fell, and all the Nightmares rained down on him.

Bunny watched stunned for a moment. He took a small step forward before he remembered that he had Jack in his arms. He looked down at Jack, whose face had morphed into a horrified one. Bunny rocked from one foot to the other trying to decide what to do. Jack looked up at him, his mouth twitching slightly as he seemed to debate over something. Finally he opened his mouth and whispered something.

Bunny leaned down trying to hear what he had said, but instead it only made Jack flinch. Bunny winced, a flash of hurt passed through his eyes. He swallowed back the hurt and forced himself to speak softly.

"What did you say?" Even with his soft and gentle voice Jack clamped his eyes shut. He mentally groaned. That sentence must have sounded so threatening. Jack whimpered, as he shrunk his head into his shoulder. Bunny's heart broke at the sight.

"I-I, you can s-set m-me down. Y-you can help h-him." He stuttered through the whole sentence. Bunny's mouth opened in surprise. Here he was offering himself so he could save North. Even with everything that had happened to him, he was still offering himself. Bunny's heart wrenched at Jack's willingness to help people.

He debated for a split second before he heard North cry out. Bunny shook his head in defeat, before running to the side and placing Jack down gently by a tree.

"Don't worry, I'll be back. Don't move, okay?" Bunny told him. Jack nodded uncertainly.

He looked at Jack for a second before forcing himself to jump into the ball of Nightmares. He immediately started ripping them off of North. After a moment he managed to get all of the Nightmares off of North, who was covered in bruises and scratches. He didn't get time to help North up before he had to shove a Nightmare off that had jumped onto his back. Bunny growled as he destroyed the Nightmare.

"You okay back there?" Bunny asked as he saw North struggling to get up. He chucked his boomerang at a Nightmare who lunged at him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that North had managed to get up on his feet, but he was still wobbling a bit. He spun kicking a Nightmare who was getting ready to pounce on North's back.

"Seems, like the age is getting to you." Bunny smirked, as he caught his boomerang. He felt North's glare at the back of his head. He didn't have time to turn around to confirm the glare, but North's, "Funny. Very funny," was enough indication. Bunny cracked his neck as a group of Nightmare jumped straight at him. He smirked.

"Time to get even."

He watched Bunny jump in to help North. A sharp pain in his side made him aware of the pain in his chest. He wrapped his arms around his chest, trying to relive the pain. Bunny putting pressure on his chest had jostled his ribs. Now the pain was present and he didn't want Bunny to hurt him because he had complained about it. That would only result in more pain.

He observed as Bunny defended North until he got up, and together they started fighting. Bunny seemed to have more energy than before, his fighting was more violent, and fierce. He looked lethal, yet every strike was precise. After a couple of moments he forced himself to look over at where Sandy and Pitch were fighting.

He pressed his back against the tree, as he poked his head out. Pitch was still fighting Sandy but both of them were drained out. Pitch still hadn't seemed to have noticed that he was no longer tied to the tree. He fidgeted even more not knowing what to do. He kept glancing back and forth between Bunny, North, and then Sandy and Pitch. Uncertainty was starting to creep up. He knew he was in a vulnerable position.

He had no idea what to do. A part of him knew he should go to Pitch. It would be the most logical thing to do, that way if Pitch punished him it wouldn't be so bad. The other part of him knew that deep inside he should stay with the Guardians, that he would be safe. That and Bunny had told him not to move. He couldn't defy a direct order.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as something landed in front of him. He let out a yelp as he scrambled back slightly. His eyes widened as he took in the Nightmare in front of him. Its nostrils flared as it marched towards him. Its head leaned down making its golden eyes seemingly more menacing. He stared at it frozen in fear. It whined softly lifting its head up.

Without warning it walked closer until it was next to him. He raised his arm instinctively just as the Nightmare bared its teeth before opening it mouth. He shielded his face as the Nightmare bit down. He let out a cry of pain as its teeth pierced his skin on his arm. He tried to pull his arm away from its mouth but the Nightmare held onto him with an iron grip.

The Nightmare pulled his arm as it started to fly towards Pitch. He dug his foot into the ground but the Nightmare simply pulled a little harder, and he lurched forward. He felt his ribs, and leg protest as he was suddenly hauled up. He clawed at the Nightmare desperately. The horse whined in annoyance and bit down harder. He scrunched his eyes in pain, and hung his head down in submission.

He looked up from underneath his bangs before his eyes darted over to Bunny. Only a couple of Nightmares were left and with both of the Guardians they were quickly eliminated. His blue eyes started to fill with despair as he silently begged for Bunny to look up. As if he had heard him Bunny lifted his head as he finished destroying the Nightmare. Bunny said something to North before looking over to where he had been a couple of seconds ago.

Bunny's eyes widened, and he took a step back in shock. His head went from one side to the other looking for him. His eyes finally landed on him, and without any hesitation he threw his boomerang. For a moment he thought Bunny was attacking him but the thought vanished when the boomerang angled up. A second later the Nightmare disappeared above him.

The pressure on his arm vanished, and he was falling.

He stuck his arms out in a desperate attempt to break his fall. His hands hit the ground first, followed by his knees. His face bounced off his elbow, sending shots of pain from his nose. The pain was forgotten as his leg hit the snow. Even though it was cushioned by the snow his leg exploded in pain. He let out a cry and clenched his eyes. His hands balled into fists as he cried out.

The pain overclouded his senses, and the only thing he could concentrate on was the sharp shooting pain from his leg. He tried to hold back a scream, it only made it worse if he screamed. Instead a small whimper escaped his lips. He tensed expecting to get hit. He couldn't hear or see anything around him. The only thing he knew was pain. When he didn't feel any blows he managed to crack one eye open.

The world was a blur of colors, and with his ears ringing he had no idea what was going on. A shaky hand went around his ribs trying to calm the pain. He let out short pants trying to ease the pain. Without thinking the hand that was on his ribs suddenly tingled as his power shot out. He didn't even have to time to freak out about getting in trouble. The pain immediately reduced to a throb, and he let out a gasp.

His eyes opened dazzled from the pain he had been experiencing moments ago. His mouth opened in an attempt to draw in air. Once his lungs were full of air he slowly uncurled himself. The snow on the ground helped him cool his arm. He turned his back touching the ground. He blinked trying to clear his eyesight. Slowly things started to clear up enough for him to see properly.

Bunny had stopped several feet away from him with North now standing next to him. His eyebrows were knitted together, and a scowl was adorning his face. He gulped suddenly taking in how dangerous he looked. His piercing blue eyes weren't staring at him but he could see the intense look in them. His giant arms were holding swords that were pointing towards his direction. He stared at the sword captivated by its dangerous gleam.

It wasn't until he heard a chilling voice that sounded furious did he snap out of his trance. He knew who it was immediately. His head snapped to the side at an astounding speed. Pitch was hunched over panting but after a moment he composed himself, and stood tall. His eyes locked with Pitch's, and he flinched at how much raw anger, and hate there was in them. His lips were in a tight line as he stared back at him. Pitch lowered his head, and the shadows flickered around his face making him look even more deadly.

He tried not to think about what was going to happen to him once they got back to the lair. He was going to get the punishment of his life. Pitch never looked this mad only in the beginning when he had put up resistance, and was rebellious. That first year had been the worst he still had scars from what Pitch had done to him, and right now he had a feeling that he was going to get more scars.

That was if Pitch didn't finally kill him. He knew that there was still a chance that one day Pitch would kill him. Somehow he knew that Pitch wasn't going to kill him, he knew he was going to punish him. Pitch was going to make him suffer before doing anything else. He swallowed before raising himself so he was sitting up. Now that he was sitting up he realized that he was directly in the middle.

Sandy had floated over at some point and was now next to Bunny. His eyes unlike Bunny's and North's, were looking straight at him. For a second he almost looked away, but something in Sandy's eyes stopped him. They were so full of love, kindness, and courage that he found himself being pulled into them. He felt himself relax slightly, and he wasn't afraid of Sandy. Something inside him told him he could trust him.

Sandy gave him a small smile before looking behind him. He swallowed, and nervously titled his head slightly to the side. Pitch was looking back at the Guardians but as soon as he noticed that he was staring at him his attention focused on him. He felt his arms tremble as the mere sight of Pitch glaring at him was enough for him to start hyperventilating. He raised his shoulders slightly as he lowered his head. Pitch smirked as he quickly glanced at the Guardian's.

"Jack!" He instinctively flinched. Not his name again. "Get up, and get over here." Pitch's tone was steel, and his words were sharp and cold.

He nodded, and tried to get up but his arms wouldn't support him. He had almost managed to get up when Bunny's voice cut through the silence.

"Jack, don't do it!"

He turned his head toward him. Bunny had taken a step forward, and his hand was stretched out. The other Guardians were staring at the scene with a serious expression. He stopped. Bunny had just given him a direct order he couldn't disobey. But Pitch had given him an order too, so what was he supposed to do? Who was he supposed to follow?

He froze staring uncertainly between Bunny and Pitch. Pitch growled, and snapped his fingers making him jump. "Jack, get up now!" Without second hesitations he brought himself to his feet. He swayed dangerously but managed to stay up.

"Now be a good boy, and come over here." Pitch said as he gave Bunny a glare. Bunny's eyes narrowed as he stared back at Pitch. His lip curled up in disgust as he stared at Pitch.

He started to walk towards Pitch when Bunny once again made him stop. He halted, and turned around.

"Jack, listen to me. I know you're scared but you have to believe in me okay? You just have to have faith. We'll protect you, I promise you you'll be safe." Bunny's voice was confident, and steady as he spoke. But what caught his attention was what he said. Why was he telling him he would protect him? Why would he want to protect him? He wasn't worth being protected, so why was he telling him to believe in him?

Pitch's laugh filled the air. His cackle sounded like nails being scratched against a chalkboard. It sent shivers down his back. Even when Pitch stopped laughing there was a huge grin on his face. Pitch looked at him, and Bunny. He shivered, and scooted back unconsciously. Pitch shook his head in disbelief.

"You think you can protect him? From me? Oh you make me laugh. There's no way you can protect him from me, I'll always find him. He knows it'll only be worse for him. There's no way to escape from me. It's useless to promise something that you can't do. You've already failed in protecting him, do you really want to fail twice?" Every word was covered in venom that Pitch successfully struck with precision.

"You're a coward Pitch! You take pride in beating somebody who can't fight back. That doesn't make you any stronger. You gain nothing! It only shows how weak you are preying on an innocent person. Or are too afraid to fight somebody who can beat you?" Bunny lashed out his voice rising until he was yelling.

He couldn't believe that Bunny had actually talked back to Pitch. Wasn't he afraid of what would happen to him? Of what Pitch could do to him? Pitch's face turned into a scowl and he turned to him. His eyes held barely contained rage as he forced a smile.

"You think this thing can beat me? I stomp all over him, and he doesn't say anything. The only thing he does is weep, and beg for me to stop." Pitch sneered. Almost immediately the Guardian's faces dropped. Bunny's eyes widened in horror as he took in Pitch's words.

"Pitch you've dropped low. How can you be so cruel? He's just a kid." North for the first time spoke. His voice held a sadness that was noticeable. His blue eyes studied Pitch trying to seek an answer he knew he wasn't going to get.

"I don't think that really matters. All I know is that I have to get going so if you'll excuse me I need to leave." Pitch mocked them by raising a finger, and pointing at him to come towards him. He lowered his head and started to limp towards Pitch.

"Jack don't you dare do it!" He froze again his mind only processing the word dare. He remembered the last time Pitch had dared him to do something. He let out a shaky breath once again looking between Pitch and Bunny. Bunny's eyes were pleading him to turn around and walk towards him. To a certain point he felt compelled to do the same thing but then he remembered Pitch was a couple of feet away and if he disobeyed him he was dead.

He felt his head spinning as he tried to think of what to do. He focused his eyes on the ground instead feeling everybody's eyes on him. He couldn't think clearly. Everything was starting to blend together. He started to feel lightheaded as he heard more voices talking to him at once.

"Jack you know what will happen to you if y-."

"Jack trust me. I'll protect y-."

It was too much for him to take in at once, and he clutched his head. What was he supposed to do? Both of them were telling him to go with them, and he knew there were going to be consequences if he didn't listen to one of them. If he went with Pitch, Bunny would punish him because he had told not to. If he went with Bunny then Pitch would break and burn his staff and then punish him. He had a feeling that if he went with Pitch it would bring him less harm.

He looked up at Bunny apologetically. He mouthed to Bunny that he was sorry before turning around. He didn't have to look back to see Bunny's fallen face. His destroyed expression. He took a shaky step forward. The snow crunched under his foot breaking the silence that had fallen over them. He could tell Pitch was watching him, a confident smirk adorning his face.

"Sandy now!" The yell scared him, and by Pitch's surprised face he could tell that it had startled him too. He didn't have time to react as something wrapped around him and pulled him. He let out a small yelp as he flew backwards. He dangled in the air for a second before he was brought down.

He found himself in front of Sandy. He squirmed inside the sand trying to back away from him. Sandy placed his hands in front of him trying to calm him down. His ribs flared in pain as Sandy's sand squeezed his chest. He let out a hiss as the pain went down his side. Sandy's eyes immediately widened and the sand around his chest loosened. The pain lessened but he still wheezed in pain. Sandy placed him down gently before turning around and lashing out with a whip to block Pitch off.

He heard Pitch yell something and the next thing he knew he was in excruciating pain. He writhed in agony on the floor. His scream was piercing as he clutched his leg. He only knew pain. It was unbearable, and his lips opened as he let out another scream. The sound that tore from his throat was animalistic. Tears stung at his eyes, and he let them fall freely as he clenched his eyes tight.

His throat burned but the scream kept coming out as he dug his fingernails into his hand. He felt something warm drip down his hand and fall onto his leg. He didn't have to look down to know it was blood. Eventually his scream faded, and instead his mouth opened in a silent cry. The pressure vanished all together and what was preventing his bone from moving was gone. The pain didn't stop, and he let out another agonized sob.

Something warm and furry was placed on his forehead. His head was moved and placed on top of something soft. He could hear soft murmurs being whispered into his ear. The voice sounded so comforting and eventually he relaxed slightly. His sobs slowly turned into whimpers, and moans. He didn't know how long he was in severe pain until the pain slowly eased. The pain was still there but his senses were slowly returning to him. He could hear noises all around him.

"Jack?" He let out a whimper. Somebody was saying his name again. He was in trouble, and he couldn't imagine going through any more pain.

"Jack? Come one mate, open your eyes." The accent sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

It wasn't until somebody placed their finger on his eye to pull his eyelids open did he react. He opened his eyes to see something grey in front of him. He cried out and tried to get his face away from the strange object.

"Bunny, you're scaring him!" The loud voice made him flinch and he panicked even more. Blurs of red and yellow filled his vision. He felt a firm hand being placed on his shoulder to prevent him from getting up. He almost shook the hand off before he realized what he was about to do. He immediately stopped struggling, and stayed still. The hand was slowly lifted off of his shoulder.

"North talk softer your loud voice just gave him a heart attack!"

While Bunny talked, he focused on trying to clear his vision. The blurs eventually started to clear and form figures. He could see North talking to Bunny, who he realized had his head on his lap. He swallowed and tried not to tremble. A movement from his side made him jerk his head towards Sandy. Sandy smiled and waved. He stared back at him dumbfounded.

Was he waving at him? What was he supposed to do? He watched Sandy's face fall, but he quickly covered it up with a small grin. Sandy floated over until he was next to North. He looked around anxiously trying to figure out where Pitch was.

Bunny looked down and saw him looking around. "Don't worry about him, he's gone. We managed to drive him off. I told you, you'd be safe with me. You just had to trust me. Which I know you may not now, but we have to get you out of here. You need urgent medical attention." Bunny spoke gently but urgently. "Now we have to move you, but first Sandy wants to secure your leg okay?"

"Okay." His throat was raw from screaming, and he winced.

His eyes quickly flickered over to Sandy. He watched him warily, but he didn't have a choice. Bunny nodded at Sandy, who approached him cautiously until he was next to his leg. He watched Sandy's hands hover over his leg. He tensed but did nothing as the sand started to wrap around his leg. He waited for the pain to start, but when it didn't he looked at Bunny confused.

He watched Bunny's ears drop at his confused stare. "He only wrapped it around your leg. When we get to North's place we'll properly cast it. I'm going to have to move you around, I'm sorry if it agitates your ribs." Bunny said as he nodded towards North.

North nodded before moving towards him. He jerked his foot out of pure instinct as North bent down to grab him. Realizing what he had done he lowered his head down, and stretched his leg back out. He was going to get hit. Why had he done that? He hesitantly looked up to see that North had backed away.

Bunny looked at the other Guardians questioningly. He watched them agree over something. What? He had no idea. Bunny cleared his throat. The noise made him look up at him, before something gold flashed before his eyes. His head dropped to the side as his eyelids drooped. Suddenly he felt so tired. He fought the urge to keep his eyes open. Just as he succumbed to the darkness, he swore he felt somebody brushing the hair out of his face. He also swore he heard somebody speak.

"I'll protect you."

I'm done! Did I scare any of you for a moment? Did you guys think I was cruel enough to let him stay with Pitch? Well anyways I'm incredibly sorry for the long wait. In between doing a long paper for school, getting a fever, and practicing for my solos, I did not have time to update this. I had originally planned to post this chapter on my birthday but it still wasn't ready so I had to wait. Maybe a review as a late present? Anyway for those who secretly wanted Jack to stay with Pitch, don't worry there will be plenty of that later. There will be opportunities for angst later on. Well, until then!