Chapter 20: Why Don't You Believe?

"Pitch? What, what happened?" Jack looked from Bunny to Gemma, now worried and confused again. What did Pitch have to do with this? "Jack, we need to get Gemma to North. I'll explain what happened when we get there." Jack was about to argue when Gemma spoke up. "No. We're not leaving until you explain." Her eyes flashed with retaliation.

Bunny shot Gemma a look. "Listen to me, Scotty. If what Sandy and I think is true, then something bad is gonna happen and soon." "What do you mean 'something bad'?" "Gemma, you and I both know what Pitch did to you!" "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I understand!" "Ugh. We don't have time for this! Now come on," he reached for her arm, "we're leaving for the Pole." Jack stepped between them.

"No." He sounded more serious than he had ever been before, which shocked Bunny, he noticed. "As far as I can tell I'm the only one here who doesn't know what happened. I was the one that brought Gemma to you, so I deserve to know. Now, I'm sure it won't take that long to tell me what happened, and when you're both finished we can leave. Alright?"

He glanced from the girl to the animal. Gemma nodded her head in agreement. Bunny stared in shock at him, dumbfounded at the fact that he could be extremely serious if need be. Bunnymund finally nodded as well. Jack looked around for Sandy's approval, but couldn't find him. "Sandy?" Everyone turned in surprise. "Where'd he go?" Jack asked. The little golden man had silently disappeared as Gemma's fog did, without warning.

"Doesn't matter. Gemma you just tell the overgrown Snowflake what happened so we can get to the Pole." In most cases, Jack would have retorted with his own nickname for the Pooka, but let it slide. He needed to know what had happened. He turned his attention to the Scott. "Gemma?" he asked, looking at her expectantly. He was surprised to see fear encompassing her eyes, obviously terrified of what had happened.

Jack instantly regretted asking her to tell the tale instead of Bunny. As she spoke, Gemma began to shake furiously, her voice shaking. She started with arriving back in the forest, describing every detail to waking up in the Warren. What she said made Jack nervous, remembering his deal with Pitch. If they had Gemma now, what would he do?

He pushed the thought aside as Gemma finished. The poor girl looked so shaken that he wrapped his arms around her again, trying to bring some comfort. Bunny had noticed how visibly terrified she was and put a paw on her shoulder, like Sandy did to him. "It'll be alright, Shelia. The next time we see Pitch we'll give him a good wallop, you hear?"

The look on Gemma's face said she was grateful, but something in her eyes made Jack nervous. "Gemma, something else is wrong. What is it?" She looked into his eyes, then threw herself into him. She was sobbing. "I don't understand what he was doing to me. It scared me, Jack." He glanced up at Bunny, understanding why the Guardian of Hope had been trying to leave so desperately. Pitch had been trying to make Gemma his own.

"Jack!" Tooth's familiar voice echoed from the tunnels. In seconds she had pushed him away from Gemma, looking him over for injuries. She took careful note on his teeth. "Are you alright? Sandy told me you got hurt and I came here. Did Pitch hurt you? Oh if he doesn't-" "Tooth!" Jack interrupted her, not happy at her constant worrying. "I'm fine. The one who needs help is Gemma."

Tooth looked surprised, her face mere inches from his. She turned around, searching for Gemma. She looked at Bunny, obviously confused, and spun back around to him. Gemma took a step forward, baffled. "Jack, I don't see anyone." He looked from Gemma to Tooth again. "You, you don't see her?" Tooth shook her head, and Gemma looked like her world was crashing down. After a moment, she said, "She, she doesn't believe in me."

Jack realized that Gemma must feel even worse than he'd had before he was picked as a Guardian. Before they had met, not even the 5 Guardians of Childhood had any idea who she was. The Moon had never even spoke to them of her, but had of many other spirits. That must've been a crushing blow. On top of that, Tooth was the only female Guardian, and for her not to believe must hurt even more.

He had all of the guys to talk to, to relate to on a totally different level. This is what Gemma had been looking for, and if Tooth didn't believe, she wasn't going to get it. This thought made him angry. "Why don't you believe in her?" The words came out harsher than he had meant. "What?" Tooth looked surprised.

"All Gemma wants is to be believed in. None of us believed in her until the Man in the Moon picked her as a Guardian. Do you realize how she must feel?" "Jack, it's alright." Gemma said. "No, it's not alright! Tooth, not even you or Bunny or North or even Sandy believed in Gemma before I met her. I didn't even knew she existed until then. She was probably the loneliest person on the planet."

Gemma took a step back, obviously uncomfortable with what Jack was saying. "And now she has friends: us! But you know what, Tooth? She isn't happy. You know why? All because the one Guardian she wanted to meet the most won't accept her. You know who that person is? It's you, Tooth! It was her dream to meet the Guardian of Memories. Why don't you believe? Don't you have any heart?"

Everyone stared at him in silence for a moment. Jack was never like this. Tooth recovered herself. "The reason why I don't believe is because the Moon didn't tell me she exists. If the Moon didn't tell me, then it doesn't exist." Tooth gave a little huff. "Why else would we have never heard of this 'Gemma Fogg' before?"

Gemma let out a sob. Jack and Bunny turned in time to see her run into the tunnels, tears streaming down her face. She didn't even notice North and Sandy when she ran between them, causing the pair to glance at the other three Guardians. "Did we miss something?" North asked. Ignoring him, Jack called after the Mistress of Fog, about to give chase when the Easter Bunny grabbed him by the shoulder. "Let me go!"

"Let her go, Jack. She needs to be alone. And… there's something else you need to know." As North and Sandy came closer, Bunny let him go. "You know when you and Sandy first came in? The fog that appeared was Gemma's powers shorting out. I think Pitch's sand stayed over her face too long and began to take control. Unless we do something, she's going to go bad."

Jack stared at him, mouth agape. He became angry again. "Then why did you let her go?" "Because I didn't want to scare her and enough damage has been done." At that, Jack glared daggers at Tooth. He had just lost Gemma, gotten her back, and lost her again on top of losing Jamie. How dare Tooth act like that towards Gemma?!

She stared back at him confused, but seemed apologetic. "Jack, I'm sorry-" "No, YOU'RE NOT! IN A MATTER OF DAYS I HAVE LOST TWO PEOPLE I LOVE MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD! I FINALLY GOT ONE BACK, BUT BECAUSE OF YOU I LOST HER AGAIN!" Everyone watched in horror, they had never seen him this mad. He let out an angry sigh as a blizzard began to form, the wind picking up.

"Thanks for nothing, Tooth. You've ruined my life, as if it wasn't bad enough with Jamie gone." He glared at her. "Good luck trying to speak to me again." And with that, he left. He was so angry at Tooth, why couldn't she have believed? What was wrong in her mind that made her want to hurt him like this? She knew about Jamie, why would she hurt him again?

He appeared near the Pole, making the storm more violent and strong than last time. These snowstorms helped him think, and this one was going to go on for hours. All his life, something had felt like it was missing. Even after he became a Guardian and had a family, that emptiness was still there. When he had met Gemma, he had felt complete for the first time.

After hours of storming, Jack finally collapsed into the snow. Weakly, he curled himself around his staff, the horrible Nightmares slowly beginning.

Not my best chapter but I had a block.

Hey all! Please review! It helps and I enjoy it!

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