Woah, had a long couple of weeks. My final concerts for band and orchestra. My sister's graduation. End of school. All of that took up time but I knew I couldn't leave you guys hanging. So I used all my free time and managed to get the chapter written. As always I love all your reviews and I appreciate the time that you guys take to write one. Well onto the chapter!
Warnings: A bit of language but not much just like a word.
Disclaimer: Yeah, don't ROTG.
Pitch stared at Jack's sleeping form. His forehead was scrunched up and his mouth was set in a deep frown. Even though Pitch had laid him on the bed his body was stiff and tense. Almost as if sensing the danger near him. A smirk adorned his face as he watched Jack twitch in his sleep. He looked so adorable. There almost seemed to be an air of innocence around him. Too bad that was about to end. When this was done there would be no going back.
Pitch sat down on the edge of the bed next to Jack. He observed him for a moment, watching as his chest rose and fell. A loose strand of white hair fell across his face, covering his eyes. Pitch rolled his eyes. Jack always pushed his hair in front of his face to cover his eyes. Pitch stretched his arm out gently pushing the stray hair out of his eye. He was fixing Jack's hair when the door suddenly opened.
Pitch sighed in annoyance before looking up. A yeti had just opened the door. His face was calm and relaxed as the yeti looked around the room, expecting to see a sleeping Jack. He however did not expect to see Pitch sitting next to Jack. The yeti's eyes widened dramatically and Pitch chuckled at the comical expression. After it dawned on him the yeti quickly opened its mouth to call for help.
In less than a second Pitch threw a wave of sand at the yeti. The yeti let out a small yell. Its body was thrown against the wall before it fell to the ground with a thud. Pitch got up casually, brushing his shoulders to get rid of the crinkles. He walked slowly towards the yeti. It was struggling to get up from the floor. He raised his hand lazily summoning a ball of sand. The yeti however beat him to it and let out a yell. Pitch snarled before throwing the ball at him.
It him square in the chest. It fell down unconscious. He turned his head towards the door to see if anybody had heard the commotion. A couple of seconds' later footsteps shook the hallway. With an irritated sigh he glared at the yeti. He hadn't expected it to scream. Now the Guardians would know he had been here, and if he didn't want them to suspect anything then he would just have to make them believe he was here for a different reason.
This could be fun.
Bunny jumped to his feet at the same time as the other Guardians. North's face filled itself with panic as he ran towards the door. The yeti's frantic yells echoed down the hallways. North pushed the door open revealing all the chaos that was going on. Sandy, and Bunny stopped right behind him also looking around in shock. Yetis were running everywhere but all of them were running in a certain direction.
North stopped a yeti that was passing by. He spoke to him in an urgent voice. The yeti responded in an equally urgent voice, his arms doing wild motions while he spoke. North paled slightly before taking on a furious look. After a couple of seconds he seemed to remember that they were still behind him. He turned around.
"Come on we have to go. Pitch is here! The yeti says that he's in Jack's room." North explained hurriedly before turning back around and running towards Jack's room.
Bunny blinked in shock as he tried to wrap his mind around what North had just said. He looked down at Sandy who seemed just as surprised as him. Bunny shook his head. He had to focus. If Pitch was here, there was only one reason why.
He was here to get Jack back.
And Bunny wasn't going to let that happen. He had promised Jack that he would never let Pitch get him. He would do whatever was in his power to prevent that. He wasn't going to allow Pitch to lay another hand on Jack. Not over his dead body.
"Come on Sandy!" He yelled before hurrying after North.
He didn't look behind him to see if Sandy had followed him. Bunny knew he was behind him. He quickly weaved his way through all the yetis. Just as he got closer to the room something black nailed him straight in the chest. He let out a grunt as he slammed into the ground.
With a powerful punch he eliminated the Nightmare that was on top of him. Bunny got up onto his feet, brushing off pieces of sand that were on him. He turned his head towards Sandy who was a couple feet behind him. A question mark appeared over his head. Bunny waved him off with a small laugh.
"I'm fine Sandy. It just took me by surprise." He said while he walked. Sandy gave him a glare before following him. As they got closer the yells of the yetis could be heard as they fought against the Nightmares. He took his boomerangs out even though he knew they wouldn't work in such a cramped space. When he hit another Nightmare close by he knew that they still worked fine to eliminate Nightmares.
Sandy and Bunny helped the yetis that were in the hallway as they slowly made their way to the room. He could see North from here, as he made progress to get to Jack. The yetis were putting up a fight as they eliminated Nightmare after Nightmare. But for every single one they destroyed two more took its place. Bunny dodged a kick one of the Nightmares sent him before returning it with his own kick.
"We're here!" He told Sandy. Without any hesitation he jumped in, almost at the same time that North did. They looked up at each other for a second before looking ahead.
Pitch was sitting next to Jack. His hand was stroking Jack's cheek almost making it look tender. Almost. If it wasn't for the smirk on Pitch's face and the fact that he had a scythe up against his neck. He looked down at Jack, cooing softly before looking up at them.
"Ah, what a pleasant encounter." Pitch purred as he crossed his legs. "And as much as I would love to stay and chat as you can see I was in the middle of something. If you would excuse me."
Pitch stared pointedly at them. Bunny glared back. He had promised Jack that he would never let Pitch lay another hand on him. He was going to stop him at any cost. Bunny wasn't going to allow Pitch to walk out with him when Jack was in their care.
"What did you do to him?" Bunny snapped. He looked back at Jack's face who was twisted in pain. Now that he looked closer his whole body seemed to be tense.
Pitch raised a non-existent eyebrow at him. "Me! What did I do to him? Nothing." He answered nonchalantly. A second later a grin appeared.
"At least nothing painful. Too painful."
Bunny growled his anger bubbling inside him. His hands curled into fists, crushing the boomerangs he had in his grasp. He was going to make Pitch regret ever messing with Jack. He was going to wipe that smug grin that he had on his face away.
"Pitch we will not let you take Jack." North cut it before Bunny could say something back.
Bunny glared at North for a second before directing his gaze at Pitch. Laughter filled the room as Pitch held his stomach. He ignored the glares he was receiving as he wiped a tear from his eye.
"Oh my, you guys are even funnier than I thought. What makes you think you can stop me? Hmm? What gives you the right to try? After abandoning him for decades you try to make it up by giving him food, shelter! Well let me tell you something. Jack can never go back to what he was. It's too late." Pitch's voice was sharp and cold as he spoke. Their eyes meet and Bunny saw the humor in them.
"After all what can you do if they don't have hope?" Pitch pushed the scythe deeper into Jack's neck. Jack whimpered as he twitched in his sleep.
"Pitch you bastard! How can you do this to a mere child? I didn't think you could drop this low. He can't even fight back! Are you really contempt attacking someone when their down? When they can't even raise a finger to defend themselves." Bunny snapped in an equally cold voice.
He ignored the other two Guardian's disbelieving looks. He knew they were in shock at what he had said but he was really furious.
To his dismay Pitch didn't even bat an eyelash. "Well let me tell you something. He put up quite a fight the first couple of years. You should have seen him. How he held on to this fake hope that someone was going to help him or that he was going to be able to escape. It was actually a bit sad to see him finally give up and realize that he nothing was going to change. Now I can't really decide if I liked him better when he was sarcastic and rude or when he's submissive, and scared."
He was sure his whole body was trembling with barely contained rage. Bunny took a small step forward, but when Pitch pressed the scythe even closer to Jack's neck that a piece of the bandage fell off he stopped.
"You know what? I like it when he's submissive and scared. I'm sure you've seen him. Isn't it just adorable?" Pitch asked them. His eyes mocked them but they couldn't do anything without risking the possibility of hurting Jack.
Bunny was now shaking in rage. Pitch was just asking to get beaten to a pulp. He kept mocking them and tormenting them with his words. They stung and ate away at their conscious. While it was sick listening to him say those things a part of him believed he deserved to hear those things.
"You know something Bunny?" Pitch suddenly asked. His eyes flickered to his. "Would you like to know that Jack held onto the fact that you would one day save him for such a long time. Honestly it bored me so much having him repeat, 'He'll come. He'll save me and when he does he'll beat you up.' But now I enjoy those words so much. Do you know why?"
Dread filled his stomach as Pitch paused to observe his reaction. He knew Pitch was messing with him but he wanted to know. Did Jack really think he was going to save him? Did he really hold onto that hope for such a long time? How must have Jack felt when he didn't come? Guilt and remorse ate at him.
"The best part was when one day he looked up at me. His blue eyes were full of despair and tears. He looked so small and fragile. He stopped me, and then he whispered to me in a broken voice that trembled when he forced the words out." Pitch shook his head in false sympathy.
"You were right. He'll never come. I'm sorry for doubting you."
The silence that hung over them was suffocating. Bunny was trying his best not to let it show how much Pitch's words were affecting him. They stung and hurt. The familiar ache in his chest became more pronounced. He knew he shouldn't let Pitch's words get to him but he knew that he was telling the truth. And that hurt more than anything.
Knowing that it was the truth. That at one point Jack had had complete trust in him. That he had believed that he would save him. How much had it hurt Jack when he realized that Bunny was not coming for him? That Bunny had broken any hope Jack had had.
"I guess it was then that he stopped believing in you guys. He no longer had that spark in him. He didn't make any efforts to escape or resist. He was broken in a way." Pitch looked down at the child next to him.
"Pitch, how could you even do this? Don't you feel any remorse for what you're doing? For what you've done?" North asked, distaste clear in his voice. Bunny glanced at him. His hands were holding his weapons and he was still in a battle stance.
The boogieman shrugged. "After a while you have to resort to doing things that other people consider wrong. And everything I do you've always considered wrong."
Bunny snorted making Pitch glare at him. "Well maybe we wouldn't consider everything you do wrong, if you did it the correct way. Not by torturing people, children."
This time Pitch's mouth twitched. Bunny let a smirk settle on his face. He had finally managed to provoke a reaction from him. Maybe if he continued distracting him somebody would think of something. They needed a plan. Fast. Anything to get Pitch away from Jack. There first priority was Jack's safety. That meant they could not for any reason let Pitch get away with Jack. The Guardians knew exactly what could, and would happen to Jack if they let that occur.
The only thing they could do was get Pitch away. They had to find a way, quickly. They both knew they were stalling. In fact Pitch could have left with Jack by now, and the fact that he hadn't was now raising a red flag in Bunny's mind.
"That's such an ugly word. I prefer the term conditioning. It has a nicer tone to it." As Pitch talked he failed to notice how Sandy had summoned sand and was molding it behind his back. Bunny's eyes flickered over to him quickly before looking away. He couldn't give him away.
"Let me tell you it took a bit of training to finally get him to follow my instructions. But now that he does, he does an excellent job. He doesn't even hesitate to follow my orders." He spoke with a hint of pride.
"It could also be because he doesn't have a choice. He's probably under so many threats that he doesn't dare disobey." Bunny crossed his arms over his chest trying to draw his attention away from Sandy.
Pitch took the bait as he stared directly at him. "Threats? They aren't threats, you got it all wrong. They are rules. And each one has a consequence for being broken. I made that very clear to him. Whether or not he chooses to obey those rules is not my fault."
Bunny shook his head. How could Pitch even think that? It didn't matter anymore, what Pitch had done was inerasable. Jack would always have to live with the consequences of what Pitch had done to him. He had crossed the line this time.
"I don't want to imagine the kind of rules you had, especially the consequences. Just look at him! Don't you have any type of conscious?" North asked him. He glanced over at Bunny and when their eyes meet a look passed between them.
Bunny casually looked away acting as if nothing had happened. He knew Sandy was done and was ready to act. Now the only thing left was to distract him for a few seconds so Sandy could do it.
"You know Pitch I have one simple question. Why did you decide to take Jack? Why all of a sudden all the interest in him? Knowing you there has to be a very good reason why you took him." Bunny said all of a sudden, not letting Pitch answer. He didn't miss North's surprised face or Pitch's.
A smug look spread across Pitch's face quickly hiding his surprise. "As much as I would love to tell you all about my evil plan, I'm afraid that that would ruin what I have in mind. I guess I'll just leave you hanging. After all you should already kn-."
He was cut off abruptly as he was suddenly shoved off the bed. He flew back before hitting the floor in a non-graceful way. Not wasting a moment Bunny sprang into action. He quickly stepped in between Pitch and Jack. A second later North was at his side. Sandy was the only one that stopped directly in front of Pitch.
Now that Bunny could see him he could tell how mad Sandy was. Even with his back turned he could see the anger that radiated off of him. Without any hesitations he summoned his whips and grabbed Pitch by his ankle. Pitch who still hadn't recovered from being slammed into the ground didn't manage to stop Sandy from picking him up and throwing him over by the door.
Sandy walked casually towards him. North and Bunny glanced at each other before silently agreeing to let Sandy do whatever he wanted to. Instead they watched as Pitch managed to get up. He was clutching his chest as he stood firmly. An angry scowl adorned his face.
"Very well if a fight is what you want, then a fight you'll get." He snarled before throwing his hands up and summoning a horde of Nightmares. "I would just be a little careful considering you have two patients."
Bunny looked over at Tooth before looking back at Jack. In their haste they had completely forgotten about Tooth. He looked at North before motioning with his head towards Tooth. North nodded and moved to stand in front of Tooth.
"Pitch is right. We have to be careful. We can't fight in here with both Jack and Tooth injured. We have to push this fight outside." North said as he looked at the giant ball of Nightmares.
Sandy nodded as he flicked his whip towards Pitch. He immediately stepped backwards to avoid getting hit. Just as quickly Sandy brought the other whip across this time managing to nick Pitch's arm. The boogieman let out a hiss as he stumbled back. He didn't realize that he had been pushed out into the hallway.
But the other Guardians did and quickly advanced forward wanting to cut off any way for Pitch to get back into the room. The Nightmares that had been standing there snorted before running at them.
"We can't let them get past us! We have to push them out." Bunny yelled as he kicked a Nightmare before spinning around and delivering another kick.
North nodded as he slashed through Nightmare after Nightmare. Bunny made sure that not a single Nightmare made it past them. He kept fighting without using his boomerangs. He didn't want to risk injuring somebody. He used them to help cut through the Nightmares faster.
Bunny kept attacking, and dodging. He knew that Sandy had managed to keep Pitch outside in the hallway. Now it was up to them to make sure that no Nightmare made it past them.
He barely managed to dodge a bite that would have been nasty. He quickly punched it before it had the chance to try and bite him again. It was only when North bumped into him that he realized that they had managed to get rid of the giant swarm of Nightmares. Bunny let out a sigh as he lowered his arms.
"We have to go check on Sandy but I want to make sure Jack's alright. Go on ahead." He told North. North looked at him for a second before nodding and taking off.
Bunny looked after him for a second before turning around and going to Jack. He pressed his ear against his chest and listened for his heartbeat. When he found a steady beat Bunny let out a relived sigh. Bunny looked him over more carefully to make sure there wasn't any physical wounds. When he didn't see any visible ones he moved Jack's head onto the pillows. Just as he took a step forward he quickly turned around and ruffled his hair tenderly.
Bunny wasted no time as he ran down the hallway trying to find North and Sandy. He found them fighting Pitch in the globe room. Sliding to a stop Bunny threw his boomerang at Pitch's back. The weapon flew and Pitch who was too busy dodging North's swords didn't notice it until it was too late. It hit him straight in the shoulder.
Pitch let out a yelp and turned around. His eyes landed on him, and without any hesitations he raised his hands summoning more sand. Bunny also raised his hand as he caught his boomerang. Pitch brought his hands together, and a giant mass of sand came flying at him. His eyes widened slightly as he tried to dodge the sand. He jumped and barely missed the sand by a couple of inches.
He didn't look behind him to see the damage the sand had left. His chest rose up and down harshly as he was forced to jump out of the way again. This time the sand caught his foot and he went flying. Instinctively he brought his arms forward as the ground came closer. With a thud, he crashed into the floor. Pain raced up his arm and head as he rolled forward a couple of feet from the momentum before coming to a stop.
He grunted in pain but he forced himself to get up. His head pounded with every little movement, and his arm was wet. Bunny looked down only to see a long scratch on his arm. Blood was oozing out and dripping to the floor from his fingers.
"Bunny!" A fuzzy voice reached his ears. He forced himself to look up only to see North get blocked by something black.
He stumbled back a bit trying to get rid of the ringing in his ears. His body didn't seem to react to him, in fact his mind was in a haze. Bunny knew he had to react. He could see Pitch trying to get to him. North was distracting him but Pitch's intent to get to him was obvious. A hand touched him on the shoulder making him jerk back a bit.
Sandy was floating next to him staring at him in concern. Bunny offered him a small smile.
"I-I'm fine-e. Just a l-little dizzy." He fumbled with his words. Maybe he had hit his head harder than he had thought.
Sandy gave him a look. He obviously didn't believe him, but they didn't have a choice. North was still fighting and he wouldn't last long alone.
"C-come on. We have to help North. You can h-help me later." He added the last part at Sandy's questioning look.
With a silent sigh he nodded and flew over to help North. Bunny took a few shaky steps before he was able to walk without stumbling. Sandy kept trying to hit Pitch with his whips but he kept dodging them. Just as North was about to attack he disappeared.
Silence surrounded them as they tried to figure out where Pitch would show up next. Bunny made his way to the Guardians. Back to back the Guardians looked around. Bunny's breathing was rough as he tried to push the throbbing pain to the back of his mind. His eyes scanned the room thoroughly. His ears were on high alert. Listening for any sound that could alert them to Pitch.
He could only hear his heart's frantic beating, and North's heavy breaths. If he was Pitch what would he do? He would attack one of them, and he would attack the weakest one. Right now he was the weakest one, he was still shaky from the hit that his head had received. If he was right then that would mean that Pitch was going to attack him. He would just have to be ready for it.
A couple of more seconds passed by before a faint whooshing sound reached his ears. Acting out of pure instinct Bunny whipped his boomerang where he had heard the noise. He watched as Pitch appeared only to get hit dead on with his boomerang. He let out a pained cry as he clutched his face. Pitch moved his hand away from his face, revealing the blood that was dripping down it.
"Mark my words, you will regret ever crossing my path." His eyes hardened and turned unbelievably cold. The hatred that laced his words was clear.
Bunny shivered slightly. Now he could understand why Jack was so terrified of him. But he wasn't going to let him intimidate him.
"We're going to make you regret everything you've done. You'll regret every laying a finger on him." Bunny said coolly.
His reply made Pitch snarl and with a last glare he disappeared.
So, about not updating in like a, month? Ehh, I'm terribly sorry? *Feels all the glares* Well now that I'm out of school I should have more free time. I'll try and get the next chapter as soon as possible. Like always your reviews are awesome! There very encouraging, and make my day better. Hope you guys enjoyed it.