Chapter 14

Raina's Point of View

I woke up feeling like I just got over a fever and a little disoriented. Looking around to see where I was just as Jack's head came into view. I was relieved to see he was alright and began to wonder about everyone else's condition.

"Hey take it easy there." Jack said, as I started to sit up.

"How long was I out?" I asked, feeling a little short of breath and glancing at Jack to hear his answer, he looked drained. "What?" I ask, trying to get him to answer.

"You've been unconscious for three days." Was his answer, and I started to become uneasy.

"What?" I said, my voice raised unnecessarily, but I became nervous with the knowledge of the handprint on my shoulder and Razan's deadline.

"What you did to stop the volcano must have taken all of your energy and it's the reason why you have been out for so long. For a while, I wondered if you would ever wake up." Was his response and looking at him, let me know how terrified he was these past couple of days.

After losing James, I thought it would have been best not to be with someone. When many years passed, I started to become uncomfortable with those who showed how much they cared about me. Then Jack came into my life and as time went on, he started to tear my walls down brick by brick. He has made me happy again after so many years of loneliness. Although we never have openly said how much we truly care about each other and it seems to us, we are both waiting for the first person to break down and say it. There have been many times when I would have said it, but then I want to hear exactly how Jack feels about me. Thinking about all of this, I kissed Jack to remind him I was still here.

"Thank you for watching over me." I said, almost laughing at how my kiss affects him.

"Your welcome my lady." He replied, smirking at my annoyed expression when he goes all formal. "Now shall the lady face her public?" He asked, and I officially became very annoyed with him as I took his offered hand.

"Keep this up and I will make you regret it." I answered, now the one smirking and he raised his hands in surrender as we walked into the dining room, where everyone was waiting.

"Raina your awake!" Daisy said as I came in, ambushing me with a hug.

"Yes I have finally awaken." I replied, hugging her back.

Looking up at everyone, I was relieved to see they were ok with a scratch here and there. Sitting down in my usual spot, with Jack on my right and Santa on my left, I started eating with a glass of tea to calm my nerves. As my breakfast was slowly being cleaned off my plate, I began to think about what Pitch said again and it made me nervous to the point where everyone noticed. I didn't realize I was shaking, till I felt a cold hand on mine which made me look up to see it was Jack. Looking at the others, I saw they were concerned as well. Deciding that it was best to tell them some of what Pitch told me, I gathered my courage to tell them.

"We need to talk." I said, and everyone looked at me, wondering what I was going to tell them.

Nobody's Point of View

Pitch watched the battle the Guardian's fought in to stop Popocatepetl from destroying the near by village. He took pride to know how much his words can affect his sister, but after watching her display of power made him nervous. He knew how much she fears fire and to see her using fire magic to stop the volcano, made it a bit more unsettling. For she is a force to be reckoned with, but knowing what Razan's mark will do to her made up for it.

"Is it done?" Razan asked as Pitch came into Razan's lair.

"It is, but I was not ready to see her display." Pitch answered, standing next to the king of darkness.

"So she has used fire magic. Good, which means her time will come." Razan answered, crushing a mouse as it came into his hand.

"Do you think it will come? Raina's spirit is strong and I am not sure if our attempts will place her to our advantage." Pitch replied, following his master as Razan looked at a globe filled with stars.

"Oh she will and when she does, her spirit will be broken to the point where it will never heal." Razan concluded, touching one of the stars and watched with a smile on his face, as it turned dark.

Jack's Point of View

I had a suspicion that Razan and Pitch were a part of the volcano's eruption, but it was a little unsettling that the message came from someone we don't know much about. I never heard of Razan until Raina told me about their encounters, which made Pitch sound like a magician with little experience compared to the master who knows everything about magic.

"If only we knew how to stop him." Tooth said, and some of the others nodded.

"This is Razan we're talking about, there's nothing that can stop him and the only person who does won't tell us." Adam replied, a hint of anger in his voice (as usual) and bitterness as he indicated Man on Moon.

"Be careful what you say Adam." Henry said, looking like he was going to apologize to Man on Moon about his behavior.

"Why? Because he won't make us Guardians? The three of us have done too much damage already to ever become one!" He retorted indicating him, Delilah, and Henry, as crossed his arms as he already decided their fate.

"We won't become Guardians if we act like our past selves." Delilah commented and Adam just ignored her.

The argument between the former Titan's raged on, which seemed to not help Raina's stress as she held her head in one of her hands. After it continued for a little longer, I could see the tension grow until for the very first time, I saw Daisy snap and start yelling at them.

"All of you stop it! Can't you see this is what the enemy would want, to watch us turn against each other as he takes over the world. Sure you both were bad people once, but now you have been giving a chance to fight the people who turned you into that. The three of you may have came home to see it and everyone dead, but you didn't have to watch the people you cared about being killed by people who had nothing but anger and darkness in their hearts!" Daisy shouted at them, leaving all of us shocked at her sudden outburst. "Can't you also see that we are struggling this together instead of on our own. If anyone who is struggling the most, it is Raina because..." She went on and just when she was about to finish, Raina cut her off.

"If anyone is struggling the most in this room, it would be Nick not me. He is struggling, because he was called into battle without his say and is the only one who has family waiting for him to come home. I may have my struggles, but I've learned to face them because its the same struggle I had for the past one thousand years. Most of you have lost your family members due to time or by watching them die. Although I have lost my family members along the way and one of them is still standing here today." Raina said, making Nick look up at her as she knew his situation, then looking at Sandy before continuing. "However, I've learned to face the fact that Pitch, my brother, has succumbed to darkness and my never return from it. I am not cruel when I say that we must stop him at any cost, but I have lost too many people I cared about due to darkness and I will not lose anymore. If it comes down to me and Pitch facing each other, in the end I will do what I must to stop him from destroying the world." Finishing off her speech, leaving everyone shocked at what she just said and not everyone was accepting of what she was ready to do.

"You cannot be so heartless to kill your own brother! What if there is still good in him where we can free him from his darkness." Delilah shouted, suggesting there might be another way to not make Raina go down that road.

"If there is any good in him, I haven't seen it. However, if I do and find away to bring him back, I will but I will not put my hopes up too high. This is a burden I've been carrying for as long as I can remember without anyone's help for the first half of it and like I said before, if Peter has no good left in him and it gets to the point where I have to stop him, I will. You may think it's hard for you because you love him, but it will be harder for me because he is my brother and I still love him despite everything." Rain replied almost shouting back, sitting back down in her chair with most of her energy gone.

There isn't many times when Raina lets everyone see how emotionally damaged she has become after so many years of pain. Despite mine, Sandy's, and everyone else's best efforts, it seems that no matter how hard we try, there will always be a hole in Raina's heart that no one can fill. Also despite her feeling like she should take all the pain on her own, I made a promise that no matter what, I will do everything I can to allow her to feel happy again.

"Now as for Man on Moon being the only person who knows how to stop Razan, that's not entirely true. Sometime while I was sleeping, Man on Moon gave me a vision about someone that lives here on Earth who might be able to help us. Someone who knows Razan just as long as Man on Moon and the original Father Time." Raina said, after regaining her energy to go on.

"Who would that be?" Nick asked after being silent through most of it.

"Is the person like us?" Tooth asked.

"If she is older than all of us then she must be powerful." Santa said thinking out loud.

"Santa is correct, she is indeed powerful and has a tendency to get on most people's nerves." Raina concluded, and Bunny seemed to be the first person to figure out who Raina was suggesting.

"Oh crikey please tell me it's not her!" Bunny said, no liking the idea.

"As much as I don't want to admit, yes Bunny it is her. This person loves to say that what's more stronger than fear and darkness is love." Raina replied, not looking too forward to meeting this person.

"Oh no." I replied, finally catching on.

"Oh great." Delilah said, also not liking the idea.

"You mean?" Daisy also replied, seeming a little excited.

"Yep. The person we have to find is known as Cupid." Raina answered, and all of us groaned.

Author's Note: Miss me? Well I hope you all like this chapter, because it was a little difficult to write. Well the next chapter should come out soon, but if it doesn't just know I will be in college again and do my best to upload over the weekend.