A/N: You guys made me laugh like a hysterical maniac!
Willowlark: Thanks! I spent a night staying up way too late with a rhyming dictionary working on 'em. Hard work always pays off!
Unlucky Alis: Glad you like 'em. I think I may have subconsciously based some of Broken Things on those poems. XD I'd be lying if I said I was super bummed that Jack's sister doesn't really have a name, 'cause I love giving her a different name every time I write her (I'm kinda obsessed with Jack and his sister) but I will always try to find some way to tie the name back to Flee.
sparklehannah: Rhyming Master would've been a great username! Ah well, missed opportunity. I love writing poetry and have become a kind of rhyming dictionary (rhyming dictionaries are amazing by the way). *gasp* *sniffle* I'm so happy that you like them! XD
Anywho, thanks for all your wonderful reviews!
The others stood around, awkwardly, not really sure what to do. Death motioned them over while Grief comforted Jack.
He sighed, "I'm going to be blunt. Jack is going to need you guys during these next few... months? Years? Who knows?"
Death pulled his hood down and ran his fingers through his hair.
Bunny opened his mouth and closed it.
Pitch frowned, "You're a lot younger than I thought you'd be."
Death smiled, "None of you guys have ever bothered finding out anything about me, now have you?"
Bunny finally spoke, "The last time I saw you, you were an old man!"
Death all-out grinned, "That was the last Death. I'm the new one."
They all blinked at that one.
Death shook his head, "Look, the old Death got tired of his job. So, I was offered the position."
"And you accepted?!"
Death pulled his hood up again, "That's my center. Acceptance. You need to help Jack accept his sister's death. One tip that might help," He pointed to the grave, "Bennett. Her last name was Bennett."
Tooth gasped, "Jamie Bennett."
Death nodded, "He's one important boy."
()()()
Grief came over to them. Jack was still at his sister's grave. She went over to talk to Death, "It's going to be hard for him. Have you talked to them?"
Death nodded, "Yeah, a little."
Grief sighed, then turned to them, "You need to protect Jack. He's being..." Grief bit her lip, trying to find the right word, "targeted by the Fates. They feel cheated by his prolonged life. In their opinion, he should've died in that lake."
Pitch looked at her curiously, "Why are you so interested in Jack?"
Grief tilted her head, "He's been alone for 300 years. He's had everything he's loved taken away from him. He's filled with grief. And yet... he still smiles. He still laughs. He's everything I stand for."
Pitch frowned, "Why not help him sooner? You obviously knew about his memory. You knew about his loneliness. Why now?"
Grief leaned on Death, "It's not my place to give memories." She sighed again, "I might have made things worse. As for the other thing?"
Death shook his head, "We tried once." His eyes were dark, and he pursed his lips, "Now, Winter is forever associated with Death and Grief."
Grief looked down at the ground, "He didn't know who we were, but the other spirits did."
She looked up at them, then turned to Pitch, "I know you harbor a grudge against Jack, but he needs your help as well."
"Why?" Pitch asked automatically.
Grief took Pitch's hand, he tensed at the contact, "I used to think my center was grief. That I was destined to bring sadness to others." She nudged Death, "Then he came along and knocked some sense into me." She looked straight at Pitch, "Have you ever considered that your center isn't fear?"
Pitch looked incredulously at her, "No. Never."
Grief looked at him, her brown eyes shining, "What if it's courage? Jack is going to have to face his fears eventually. Who better to help him than the man who knows every fear? Think about it."
Grief let go of Pitch's hand and took Death's. She turned to them and smiled at them, "Look out for Jack okay?" Death snapped his fingers and the Guardians and Pitch were all back in Santoff Claussen.
Jack was sitting on the couch, and for once all of the Guardians were at a loss for words.
They all jumped when he said, "I didn't know those three ladies were the Fates."
He continued, "They said they knew where my sister was. I- I didn't know what to do. I saw her gravestone and" He choked up for moment. He cleared his throat and went on, "They said, 'You can't cheat Fate. Your sister is still gone.' Then they left."
Jack looked down at the ground, "I think that's when the blizzard started. I didn't even think, I just flew to the lake. I was..." Jack struggled to find the words, "Mad? Hurt?" He shook his head, "I don't know, but- but Jamie was skating." He pulled his knees to his chest, "Jamie was skating and those three ladies were there. One of them held up a thread and pointed at Jamie. The ice cracked. Jamie looked so scared. He- he fell in." The tears were flowing silently down his cheeks again. How many tears could one spirit cry? "I jumped in after him. I think I misjudged a bit."
Realization dawned on Bunny, "That long jagged cut."
Jack nodded, "I pulled him out, but... I- I couldn't keep him warm. I can't keep anyone warm. I can only make people cold." Jack trailed off into silence.
Pitch sat next to Jack, "Jack." Pitch shook his head as if he couldn't believe that he was doing this, "Jack, that offer that I made to you that day was very real. I felt like I had finally found someone to relate too." Pitch sighed, "I couldn't save my own family. Frost, you saved your sister. I lost my wife and daughter."
Jack looked at Pitch, shocked to say the least.
The others knew a bit of Pitch's past, but he had never openly shared it.
Pitch laughed softly, "Emily Jane was the most rebellious teen ever. She loved having fun. You-" Pitch hesitated, his voice dropping to a whisper, "you remind me of her."
Pitch pulled a silver locket out of his cloak, inside was a picture of a young girl with dark hair and a mischievous smile on her face.
"When they died, I had nothing left to live for. So, I became Pitch, the Nightmare King."
Pitch looked straight at Jack, "Jack, you're only cold on the outside. Me? I'm cold through and through." And with that he nodded to the others and left.