I'm so sad, my vacation is coming to an end. Yikes I won't be able to sleep in anymore. Ugh, oh well, I'll use my free time to keep writing a new chapter. I do apologize for the wait. It seems like I don't know how to manage my time, haha.
My bad I didn't answer any of the comments last chapter. I wanted to thank Wubtastical. Your criticism isn't dumb it's actually something I'm trying to work on. I'm glad you took the time to give me some pointers. I'll try to work harder on that, and hopefully in the future you'll keep giving me advice:)
Disclaimer: Don't own ROTG.
To say that North and Sandy glared at him was an understatement. If looks could kill then he'd be died by now. Bunny let out an irritated sigh as he watched the Nightmare disappear down the hole. He had no doubt that that Nightmare was going to go get reinforcements. This was a setback. They hadn't expected to fight outside. Their plan had been to wait until they were inside to start fighting.
"Bunny I told you that it would be better if you stayed at the sleigh." North immediately chided him.
He groaned. "Look, I stumbled. That could have happened to anybody."
North didn't bat an eyelash much to his dismay. "You clearly stumbled because you were injured."
"Either way it's too late for reproaches. You know we need all the help we can get. We're already down one. Especially considering the fact that that Nightmare is going to go get reinforcements." Bunny crossed his arms.
He watched as North shook his head. "We have no choice right now. Can you even fight in your condition?"
He knew North was certain that he was going to get more injuries. Bunny was certain that they would probably target him, but there was no way he was going to admit that.
"I'll hold my own weight." He replied. North opened his mouth to reply but Sandy silenced him by placing his hand on his arm. He pointed towards the hole, a Nightmare followed by an X appeared over his head. They both turned away from each other to look at the entrance. Bunny sighed as he watched Nightmare after Nightmare emerge from the hole. Soon Nightmares were surrounding the hole that was no longer visible.
"Looks like we're going to have to fight now." Bunny shrugged nonchalantly, and reached for his boomerangs. His fingers wrapped around them as he tugged them out. North already had his weapons out, and Sandy had his whips in his hands. He knew they were at a disadvantage. The trees wouldn't let his boomerangs work at full potential. There was also a possibility that Sandy could have trouble.
"You're right it's too late now. They here. Our best chance is to move out into the open." North motioned for them to move forward.
They nodded and stepped forward until they were out in the clearing. All the Nightmares followed them attentively until they came to a stop. Bunny kept a keen eye on them observing for any movement that would alert him that they were going to attack. The Nightmares however didn't move an inch instead they just kept their eyes on them.
Something was wrong.
None of them were moving. Their heads were down and they were snorting but they weren't moving. He gripped his boomerangs tighter as he watched them standing unnaturally still. The only thing they did was lower their heads and snort. Bunny started to get unnerved.
"Why aren't they attacking?" Bunny finally asked.
"I think their waiting for something." North answered him. Almost as if to prove his point the Nightmares slowly started to move to the side as somebody came in through the middle. Pitch came strolling down, his scythe already in his hand.
Bunny smirked smugly as he saw his face. Pitch's eyebrow was swollen and red. The memory of him hitting Pitch with his boomerang came into his mind. His smirk got wider and smugger.
"What happened to your face?" He quirked an eyebrow in mock concern. "Personally I think it makes you look a bit manly. Something you lack."
Pitch snarled in rage. His face twisting into something that resembled a monster. The forest seemed to darken drastically, and it became eerily quiet. Shadows spread across the floor with the edges coming out in sharp edges. Bunny tensed as the air turned thick. He knew the others could feel it too.
"You're going to regret doing that." Pitch's voice was cold, and sharp like daggers. His face went back to its normal calm façade. He continued walking until he was directly besides all the Nightmares. "In fact you're going to regret ever thinking you could defeat me. But you're mostly going to regret taking away Jack."
His name made Bunny's eyes flash. "You're going to regret ever laying a hand on him."
Pitch stared at him amused. "Really? I think we both know here that you can't act like I'm the only one who had something to do with this. If I remember right who let all this happen? Who was the one that ignored a plead?"
"I know I didn't help him when he needed help but I'm going to at least stop him from getting more hurt." Bunny tried to ignore the way Pitch was messing with him. He had already done that once, and he wasn't willing to do it again.
"So stopping him from getting hurt is going to make it all better? Is it going to fix everything?" Pitch's tone was mocking. "Is it going to fix your guilt?"
Bunny didn't give him the satisfaction of taking the bait. The only thing he did was give him an icy glare. Pitch simply shrugged.
"All right then you can continue acting like you're another poor innocent victim." Pitch gripped his scythe tighter before all the Nightmares sprung forward.
They all acted instantaneously. Bunny brought forward his boomerang and blocked the Nightmare that came straight at him. It dissolved just as another one snapped its jaws at him. He chucked his boomerang at it and caught it as it came back. Bunny got no time to breathe as three more jumped at him.
He ducked avoiding a kick to the head that would have knocked him unconscious, and threw his boomerangs. With a kick he eliminated the third one. Bunny took the small break to look around. Sandy was trying to get to Pitch but there was a horde around him preventing him. North was at the other side eliminating his own batch of Nightmares. All of them were being pushed away from each other.
No.
They were being pushed away from him.
Now that he realized it most of the Nightmares were coming his way. They were attacking him in small groups. Intent on bringing him down. He didn't know if it was because he was injured or because Pitch wanted him died. He decided it was probably the latter.
He tried to call out to Sandy and North but the Nightmares attacking him wouldn't let him. They kept trying to bite him and kick him in the head. It seemed that for every one he eliminated three more would take its place. They were overwhelming him. Bunny rolled on the ground trying to avoid getting knocked out when a Nightmare jumped on his back.
He let out a small yelp and started hitting it with his boomerang. As more Nightmares approached him trying to take advantage of the situation, he threw an egg bomb. It exploded taking out a couple of Nightmares but the majority just scooted back. With a final hit he managed to eliminate the one on his back. Using his agility he jumped back to his feet.
With that bomb he managed to create a bit of time. Without hesitating he tapped his foot and moved back as his warrior eggs came out. They were still slightly damaged from the incident at his lair but they were still of help.
He let out a relieved sigh as they immediately started to take out the Nightmares. The amount of Nightmares attacking him was still the same but now that he had extra help he wasn't in such a tight spot. Bunny could now hear the grumblings that meant that North had also gotten help. He could imagine the yetis going around destroying Nightmares, while the elves managed to take at least a couple down.
With the amount of Nightmares attacking him smaller, he started to make his way towards North. Bunny could see him at the edge of the trees. He slashed through all the Nightmares that got in his way. Only a couple got some lucky hits in but the majority he managed to dodge. It still seemed that bringing him down was there main objective. Even if it was less than before there was still more Nightmares attacking him than anybody else.
As he kicked a Nightmare down another one bit him in his ankle. Bunny let out a pained cry as he tried to shake it off. The only thing he got was a kick in the back that brought him crashing down to the floor. He managed to bring his arms out to break his fall. Black dots littered his vision as his head bounced off the ground. Bunny went to hit it with his boomerang only to realize that he had dropped it on his way down. He huffed in annoyance and instead tried hitting it with his paws.
It didn't work. Instead he got another sharp kick this time in his ribs by another Nightmare. He grunted as he tried to grab his boomerang that was of his reach. Bunny stretched out of his arm as much as he could. His fingertips grazed his boomerang but it was still too far. Using both arms he dragged his body forward.
As he reached for it a foot came down.
Bunny's head snapped up. Pitch was standing over him with a cold expression. His foot was crushing his paw. Bunny grit his teeth in pain as Pitch twisted his foot.
"How does it feel like to know that once I'm done with you I'm going to go get back what's mine?" Bunny felt another Nightmare jump onto his back. He ignored it and instead glared at Pitch. "Once I go to the new place he's at. What's with that surprised face? Did you think I wouldn't know if you moved Jack?"
Bunny quickly hid his surprised look. He knew Pitch would eventually find out, but this soon? How did he know that they had moved him? Was he spying on them? Did he know where Jack was? He couldn't ask Pitch, but he needed to find out if he knew.
"It won't take me long to find out where he's at, and when I find out where he's at," Pitch stopped for a moment but Bunny was too busy silently letting out a relieved sigh to notice. "Let's just say that I'll make sure he won't ever think about leaving my side. I can be quite persuasive."
Bunny growled and tried to throw all the Nightmares off. Pitch was dead. He tried to pull his paw from under Pitch's foot but he only succeeded in getting more pressure on it. Bunny's eye twitched, the only sign that showed that he was in pain.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I on your hand?" Pitch sneered as he started to grind his foot into the ground.
"I only feel pity for you Pitch. Taking advantage of a kid, abusing him, threatening him with his source of power." Bunny stared directly at Pitch's eyes. He watched as surprise flashed behind them only to get pushed aside by anger.
"I'm going to make sure that Jack pays for what you've done. In fact I'm thinking about letting you live long enough to see Jack suffer." Pitch was stepping on his hand so hard he was sure it would break any minute now. The pain however was beginning to fade only to be replaced by the anger that was starting to form. Pitch's words made his blood boil. Bunny brought his free hand down towards his pouch ready to grab an egg bomb. Pitch immediately noticed the action and brought his foot forward.
It collided with his face with such so much force that the only reason he didn't go flying was because Pitch was holding him down. His shoulder took the whole brunt force of the hit when his head snapped backwards. The taste of copper flooded his mouth, and for a moment he blacked out.
He came back slowly with Pitch's foot nudging his head. Bunny felt something wet drip down his mouth. It took a moment but he forced his eyes open, only to realize that he was on the ground. From his angle he could see the fight going on. Yetis, elves, and his warrior eggs were battling fiercely against the Nightmares. The other two Guardians weren't visible but he knew that by now they probably had noticed that he was gone.
"Is that all the so called guardians have? Jack takes harder hits than you." Pitch grabbed him by his ears and raised his head up. Bunny glared at him, pushing the dizziness to the back of his mind.
Not hesitating at all he brought his free hand up and twisted Pitch's wrist to the side. Pitch not expecting it, stumbled to the side, and in the process stepped off his hand. Not wasting any time Bunny twisted to the side with all the strength he could muster. He managed to throw off the Nightmares that were on his back, and with a kick he eliminated the one biting his foot.
He reached into his pocket and grabbed an egg bomb before throwing it at the Nightmares around him. It exploded in a barrage of colors but he didn't spare it another second and instead crawled back to his feet. He hissed slightly in pain as he accidentally put weight on his injured foot. Not keeping his eyes off of Pitch, who already had his scythe in his hands, he put less weight on his foot.
He watched him warily knowing he was going to attack at any moment. At this point he was in a very bad position. He didn't have his weapons. They were still on the floor by Pitch, and there was no way he would be able to reach them. He was stuck using his fists, which at this point wasn't much. He was in no position to fight. Bunny couldn't even see straight, his head was spinning so much that Pitch was starting to double, and his arm was starting to bleed again.
He was definitely in a bad position. He was pretty sure that he was starting to wobble. He didn't even have the correct balance to fight, and Pitch was going to use this to his advantage.
"You look so pathetic right now that I think I'm going to take some pity on you." To anybody else it would have seemed just like that, but he knew better. Pitch was only going to have fun with him. Proving his point Pitch's scythe was replaced with a bat.
He didn't say anything and lunged at him. Bunny moved out of the way just in time just as the bat came swinging down centimeters from his head. He swung his fist at Pitch's exposed side hoping to get a hit but it was blocked with sand. Not having any time to react the bat hit him in the arm. He hissed in pain before backing away. Glaring at Pitch he put some distance in between them, holding his now more injured arm.
Pitch simply smirked before disappearing. Bunny blinked a couple times to make sure it wasn't just him. He groaned as he realized that Pitch was using the shadows to disappear. Now Pitch could appear at any moment. He raised his hands in precaution as he made a slow circle around, watching for any movements.
He also kept an eye on the Nightmares around him but none of them had moved. It seemed like Pitch had told the Nightmares to leave him alone. There were still some nearby but most weren't paying attention to him, and were focused on the fight around them. Bunny limped cautiously towards his weapons that were on the ground. Once he reached them he looked around again before bending down and picking them up.
As soon as he bent over something hit him from behind. A loud grunt escaped his lips as he fell down. Not a second later Pitch's foot hit him straight in the ribs. He rolled on the ground until he came to a stop. The stars blurred high above him, and for a moment they were the only thing he could see until Pitch blocked it with his body.
"It's over." Pitch said gleefully, pointing the edge of the blade at his neck.
Bunny didn't flinch instead he simply stared Pitch straight in the eye. He wasn't about to go out showing fear. One second Pitch was raising the scythe ready to bring it down and then he suddenly froze.
Wrapped around Pitch's arm was Sandy's whips, and against Pitch's throat was North's sword. North's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stood behind Pitch. Sandy was staring at Bunny instead, his eyes full of concern.
"It's over Pitch." North pressed the blade a little closer to his neck. Pitch simply smiled, until he started to chuckle. Not wanting to wait for Pitch to have a laughing fit, Bunny rolled away from the scythe. He stumbled to his feet almost falling down again in the process.
"Do you really think it's that simple? I'm not going down so easily." Pitch grinned. "And If I were you I would be more concerned about what could be happening to somebody right now."
Bunny froze, and stared at Pitch. Jack? Could he be in danger? But Pitch had said he didn't know where he was. Either way he couldn't risk anything happening to Jack.
"What are you talking about?" He demanded. "I'm pretty sure you told me you don't know where he's at."
Pitch stared at him lazily. "He radiates so much fear I can practically taste it. There's no way to escape from fear. Ever wonder why I'm so powerful?"
Bunny tensed. He had had that exact thought when they had fought. He had even asked North about it. But what did he mean by not being able to escape from fear? Now that he looked at Pitch more closely he realized that he was relaxed and almost seemed comfortable. They had Pitch surrounded but he had a feeling that he was in that position because he wanted to.
"Either way I think I've wasted enough time here." Pitch's eyes flickered to him. "Remember, you can't escape from fear."
As soon as he said those words more Nightmares appeared. Bunny groaned in annoyance as they started to advance on him. He moved backwards trying not to get trampled. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement but he wasn't sure. The Nightmares didn't give him a chance to check, and instead prepared themselves to jump on him. As a last effort to protect himself he raised his arms up, but the hit never came. He slowly lowered his arm to see a yeti standing in front of him.
More joined the yeti at eliminating the Nightmares. Bunny watched them for a few seconds before turning his attention towards Pitch. His eyes wandered around the area but Pitch was gone. Standing there with frustrated expressions were North and Sandy. He started limping towards them. Sandy noticed and immediately went to his side to help him. Bunny didn't protest and accepted the help. Together they made their way to North who was picking up his weapons.
"Pitch managed to get away but not before nearly killing Sandy. He said that we better watch our shadows because we aren't safe from him." North eyed him. "He also said that when he found Jack we would know. We also have to find a different entrance now because this one disappeared."
Bunny sighed. "We failed at defeating him now, and I honestly don't know if we can afford to fight him again. What I don't understand is why he didn't finish us off when he had the chance. That's never good news. He's up to something, and to add more worries in, now we have to make sure he doesn't find Jack."
The other two Guardians nodded, each of them deep in their thoughts. Bunny's eyes observed all the damage. Black sand littered the floor, with pieces of trees also decorating the floor. It appeared that the one that had suffered the most damage was him. Yetis were going around, with only a couple of bruises, and cuts, helping pick up elves. His warrior eggs simply stood there not doing anything.
They were a mess.
"We have a lot of things to do but first thing first. You need medical attention." North grinned evilly before reaching over and picking him off his feet. Not expecting it he let out a yelp.
"North!"
Jack flinched as Jamie slowly started to curl into him. As Jamie's head tried to snuggle into his chest he realized he would have to move his arm up. After looking around he hesitantly raised his arm up. Almost immediately Jamie leaned his head on his shoulder. His face became more peaceful and relaxed. He watched as Jamie's chest rose up and down in a steady rhythm. A small smile worked its way to his face as he wrapped his arm around Jamie. To his surprise Jamie smiled in his sleep.
It had slowly started to get late, and Sophie had to leave. She had of course given him a hug, which had made him freeze up but eventually he had returned the hug. When she had let go he decided to please her and made it snow in the room again. That had resulted in laughter from both Jamie and Sophie. At some point he had let out a small chuckle but it was lost with the other laughter.
Jamie after a short while also had to go to sleep. His mom had entered the room and Jack had to move out of the way so she wouldn't go through him. Watching the way she had cuddled and kissed Jamie had made his chest hurt. It got to the point where it was too much and he had to look away. Seeing that type of affection had brought up a bit of resent. He had never got that type of affection before.
Why did he deserve it? What had Jack ever done to deserve what was happening to him? He didn't deserve it!
That thought alone had shocked him, and brought him out of his dark thoughts. He had never, ever had thoughts like those. For a moment he had felt something dark inside him. He had felt hate, anger, resent, and jealousy. And for a moment he had felt his power spark. Jamie, and his mom had felt it. The room had turned cold for a moment, and an unknown wind caused all there hairs to blow back.
To say he had been terrified would have been an understatement. It felt like he had been a totally different person. Jamie had sent him a questioning look that had snapped him out of the state that he had been in. He had immediately pulled back his powers, and had apologized to Jamie. Jamie had stared at him for a few seconds before turning back towards his mom. He had laughed it off trying to shake off his mom's suspicion.
It had slowly worked. His mom had still been a little wary but Jamie had managed to distract her. Now that he was left alone again to his thoughts, that moment replayed itself in his mind. Unconsciously he wrapped his arm a little tighter around Jamie bringing him closer to his body. He let out a soft sigh, and leaned his head back on the pillows. From that angle he could see the light that entered from the window.
It showered the room in a light blue. It was relaxing, and comforting to him. The tension slowly faded from his body, and he found his eyes slowly closing. His head started to fall to side as the fatigue started to win. Just as he was starting to fall asleep the same sensation that he had felt back at North's place appeared.
His eyes snapped open just as his chest started to tighten. A wave of fear crashed over him as his chest tightened even more. He knew there was only a couple of seconds before something would happen. The only thing he could do was wait, and that was the worst part.
Waiting.
After a couple of moments where nothing happened Jack slowly relaxed. Maybe he was just too nervous. Maybe it just had been nothing.
In that moment pain overclouded his senses. It spread from his chest to every part of his body. Still being able to think correctly he took his arm off of Jamie. Instead he clutched the blankets in a deadly grip trying to let the pain pass. His head titled up as he tried his hardest not to scream out in pain.
It felt like he was on fire.
Every nerve on his body felt like it was burning. Tears sprung to his eyes, and his breathing got harsh as he tried not to scream. There was so much pain. If felt like he was being burned alive, and that was the worst thing for him. Heat, warmth, and fire. It was something that Pitch used often.
Pitch dumping boiling water on him.
Pitch locking him in a room where the temperature rose to dangerous levels for him.
Pitch making him walk on a floor that was scorching.
All the memories assaulted him as he started to shake from the pain. It didn't help him at all, living those memories again but he couldn't push them away. The pain then suddenly changed. It changed from being on fire, to a sudden burst of pain. It felt like Pitch had just broken his staff again. Not being able to hold back a scream anymore he opened his mouth. Nothing came out but small wheezes.
The taste of copper made him realize that he had bitten his lip to keep quiet. A trail of blood dripped down his chin but he made no move to wipe the blood off. He was still in too much pain to move. The only thing he did was stay motionless, still wheezing.
His back had at some point arched up, and Jamie's head had fallen onto his legs but he was still asleep. After a couple of minutes the pain slowly disappeared. He slowly lowered himself back down onto the pillows. A thin layer of sweat covered his skin. Jack raised an arm to wipe off the sweat but he stopped as pain spread across his face.
He hissed and gingerly touched his face. To his surprise his skin had peeled back. Using the small amount of light that was visible he examined his arms, and hands. Red spots littered his arms. So his thoughts had been right. His staff did directly affect him, and he had no doubt that Pitch had just decided to burn his staff.
A tremble shook his body. He didn't even want to imagine what his staff looked like. Another tremble racked his body and soon he couldn't stop his body from trembling. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop his body. Not even the thought of waking up Jamie could stop him from shaking.
Just when he thought things couldn't get worse an ominous feeling made him tense up. He immediately recognized that feeling. It was one he got a lot when he was in Pitch's lair. His hairs stood up at the back of his neck. Somebody was watching him. His eyes snapped over to the window. His breath stopped, and his heart skipped a beat.
His eyes meet yellow ones.
Err sorry about the longer wait. I started summer band and well things got busy again. Sorry about that. That last line sounds like trouble. Yikes! I also wanted to say that I really enjoy all your comments. Honestly sometimes they make me laugh like a weirdo. I do get weird looks from my family, but nothing can take away the happy smile I have on my face.