Ok guys, here's the next chapter for you all- and its snowing... again! Coincidence? maybe...
Anyway, loved your reviews last chapter! Thanks to all who sent one! Guest reviews, you'll find your responses at the bottom of the page!
I reply to ALL my reviewers! So if you have a minute or two, send me a note- I'd love to chat!
Read, relax, review!
~o0o~
12.
"We have bases here, here and, here," Hiccup said, rolling out the large worn map and holding it down with his hands.
It was late morning the next day, and the four Guardians were gathered around a large wooden table on one of the sides of the Corinthia common room. Sunlight shone in through the windows, putting the room in a much better mood than any of the four were actually in. Rapunzel placed a couple rocks, a water glass, and a book on the corners of the map as makeshift paperweights. Hiccup nodded in thanks and continued to point various marks out for Jack.
"My father plans to lead a portion of his army in a scouting mission today, here," he said indicating a smaller island just off the southern coast of Berk, "as well as secure the southern boarder towns. Most of the people living in the out-skirting towns of Corona have been moved to its main city, and the same in DunBroch. Because the Pole mountains take up most of the Burgess land, pretty much all of its population is already living in or around its major city. Berk on the other hand," Hiccup explained, leaning forward, "happens to be the largest of the Four Kingdoms, and it's too difficult to try to move everyone now. The most practical solution-"
Jack tuned Hiccup out. He tried to pay attention, he really did, but war strategy was not really his strong point. Jack gazed at the map of Warren, memorizing its every detail. He'd never seen a map of the entire land before- just maps of various portions of Burgess. Then something caught his eye.
"What's that?" he interrupted Hiccup, pointing at a large dark mass covering the western edge of Warren.
"Oh, that's West Point Forest," Hiccup replied with a sigh.
"Also called the forest of Eternal Night?" Rapunzel added.
"I've never heard of it," Jack shrugged.
"None of the Kingdoms have ever claimed it," Rapunzel explained. "It's very dark and very dangerous. Few people who enter it survive." She then looked at Merida pointedly, who refused to look up from her place at the table. The redhead girl was picking at the wood stubbornly, lost in her own thought.
Jack looked at Hiccup. "Well, if you guys can't find him, and no kingdom has a hold on it, then isn't Pitch obviously hiding in there? Forest of Eternal Night, and all that?"
Hiccup shrugged. "We don't doubt he has some form of base in there, but it's really risky, even for him. We believe he has to have another, stronger hideout somewhere else in Warren."
Jack pondered that. "Any ideas?"
"None. We've tried everything," Hiccup sighed, "including tracking and following him and his Nightmare armies, searching from above by my and Toothless's air patrols, preparing ambushes in likely places and countless other things and... nothing. It's like the minute he knows we're coming, he vanishes into thin air."
"Or, he was never there to begin with," Jack mused sourly. "He likes his illusions- making you think one thing when he's really up to something else."
No one answered his comment. They all understood- If Pitch was anything, he was a betraying illusionist.
"Is that so? Well, clearly you know me better than I know myself!" A voice rang out from the shadows. All four Guardians jumped from where they sat or stood, and looked around frantically to locate the source of the voice. The sunlight had completely faded, the way a room suddenly darkens the moment a cloud moves in front of the sun. Shadows littered the common room. Toothless growled from his place by the window, slowly padding his way towards Hiccup.
"How did you get in here Pitch?" Hiccup spoke, his eyes narrowed. "How did you get past the magic barrier?"
Pitch's voice chuckled lowly. "I suppose this place must still recognize me as a Guardian," he mused aloud lightly.
"Impossible." Hiccup argued.
"No, you're right." Pitch agreed, "but I'm not sharing my secrets with you. Why don't you just... look inside my mind, hmm? You must be tempted. You could learn my plans, find my precious hideout, discover why I'm so inclined to see you all destroyed... well, Dragon Rider, don't you want to know?"
The other three Guardians looked at Hiccup with fearful expressions. The boy refused to meet their eyes, instead pointing his knife in his battle stance at a particular shadow, where all four were certain Pitch was hiding.
"You know I can't." Hiccup said through gritted teeth, his face full of loathing.
"Can't, or won't?" Pitch mocked. "That's always the question with you, isn't it? The boy who wouldn't kill a dragon..." he spoke, his voice slipping away.
"What about you, dear?" Pitch's voice echoed anew from a shadow on the other side of the room. The four whipped around, Jack and Hiccup pointing their weapons. "The girl with the power to heal, to make peace, who refuses to see darkness in anyone... I know deep down you want to forgive me, to find some reason, something wrong with me that you can fix, that you can heal, that will change everything. Your naïve dreams amuse me, Rapunzel. Your desire to only see goodness in people will be your downfall, mark my words."
Jack glanced over at Rapunzel, seeing tears threatening to fall from her eyes as she tried to maintain a confident stance. Her hand was shaking. This only angered him more.
"I'm all for fun and games Pitch," he called out so Rapunzel wouldn't have to answer his mockery, "but quit playing hide and seek and show your cowardly face!"
"A coward, me?" Pitch said silkily as his form melted away from the shadows and he stepped confidently into the room. "I'm not the one afraid to take on the role he's been assigned, to achieve greatness with my powers. I'm not the one trying to be invisible." Jack's grip tightened around his staff. "But no matter, no matter," Pitch continued. "At least you won't suffer as they will..."
"Suffer? What do you mean?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyebrows.
"Didn't they tell you Jack? He asked with a smirk. "It's great being a Guardian... but there's a catch. If enough people stop believing, everything your friends protect, knowledge, peace, creativity, courage- it all goes away. And little by little," he chuckled, "so do they. What good is a symbol if there is nothing for it to stand for?"
He turned to Merida. "Does that answer your question, my dear?"
She glared at him in disgust. "I didnae ask one."
"Oh but of course you did! Haven't you wondered for weeks now why you've been experiencing... shall we say, certain difficulties, with your... gift?"
Merida's eyes widened. The others turned to look at her, confused and startled. "How... did ye know that?" the redhead asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Pitch grinned maliciously. "My darling Merida, have you forgotten already? I specialize in people's fears, and you dear, are very much afraid."
"Alright that's enough," Hiccup said, spinning around away from Merida to look Pitch in the eye, completely furious. "Are you going to tell us what you came here for or you just going to mock us and expose all of our vulnerabilities? Like Jack said, we've no more patience for fun and games."
"What a pity," Pitch sympathized with a sickening grin. "I so hoped we'd have more fun-"
An arrow whizzed, aiming true right to Pitch's heart, but the dark man caught it firmly in his fist before it could pierce his skin, like he had at the quarry.
"-but I believe the time has come for me to say 'adieu'," he finished, as if nothing had happened. With a final mocking salute, the shape of the dark man shifted and smeared as he once more melted into the darkest shadows, gone. The room brightened up again significantly with his departure, regaining its cozy comfortable feel.
The four Guardians stood in silence for a moment. Rapunzel brushed any remaining tears from her eyes and did her best to steady her resolve. Hiccup and Jack stared at the floor as they tried to diffuse their anger. Merida said nothing, but sulked as she sat back down at the table, slamming her bow onto the wooden surface in frustration.
"Ah'm going ta kill that man if it's the last thin Ah do," Merida muttered resentfully to herself.
The other three turned to look at her, Pitch's words ringing in their ears. 'Experiencing certain... difficulties... with your gift...'
Hiccup took the seat next to Merida and stared at her intently.
"Do you want to tell us?" He asked quietly.
Merida continued to glare at the table, as if it were responsible for everything that had happened.
They waited.
Finally Merida sighed. "There's somethin the matter with Compass."
"What?" Rapunzel asked, her bright green eyes wide as she too took a seat at the table.
"Ah doan know what's wrong. But everytime Ah try to look into the future, nothing happens," Merida revealed, frowning deeply. "It's like it's blocking itself from me, purposely shutting me out."
"Have you tried anywhere else?" Hiccup asked, his brow furrowed in worried thought.
Merida nodded, sniffing. "Ah tried everywhere. Outsiade of Compass is tha same- images all mishmashed together so they doan make sense. But insiade Compass- its black."
"Your throne?" Hiccup asked, putting his chin in his fist and leaning on the table.
Merida paused. "Ah tried it after Jack's ceremony. It worked fine at first... Ah got through three scenes before it... it exploded in ma face. Then black, just like Compass."
"And the three scenes?" Hiccup asked, turning his head towards her from its position on the table.
Merida closed her eyes. "They doan make sense, but tha images were clear. Tha first was tha easiest... It was supposed ta warn me about what happened at the quarry."
Rapunzel inhaled sharply, looking at Jack. He returned her look.
"Tha second... the second was a globe with black sand wrapped all around it. An' then... Jack was besiade me, warning me."
Jack's gazed swapped to the redhead. "I was what?"
Merida put her head in her hands. "Ye told me things were going ta change. Ah can't imagine why," she added sarcastically. "But it was the same gaze Ah'd been seeing for awhile now, the look in yer eyes." She shook her head, then placed her palms flat on the table. She looked at the brunette boy beside her.
"The last was yew Hiccup," she said, looking at him hopelessly.
Hiccup said nothing.
"There was fire," Merida recalled. "And yew were falling down towards it. Toothless was right behind, trying to catch up to ya." The dragon perked up at the mention of his name, but Hiccup remained pensive.
"But Merida..." Rapuzel started slowly, glancing at Hiccup's leg, "that's already happened."
Jack's gaze, following hers, found the metal contraption Hiccup had instead of a left leg and briefly wondered exactly how the brunette boy had lost the limb.
"Ah knowww," Merida cried out, letting her head fall to the table. "Ah told yew Ah doan understand!"
"Past, present, future," Hiccup said quietly, seeing a connection. "The fire was the past, the quarry was the future, and the one with Jack was about Pitch taking over-the black sand- and how everything was going to change- present."
Merida looked up at him, stunned. "But Ah only see the future with ma power."
"No," Hiccup said, shaking his head, a hand to his forehead as he thought. "No, you saw the future, with the quarry scene. That one came first. Next you got a warning, but also a reminder. Something about..."
"What, my eyes?" Jack interrupted. It felt weird talking about his own eyes. But Merida had said she'd seen his eyes before in a vision, and Jack thought he was starting to see the other boy's train of thought. "Whatever, anyway, if something about your magic is dying or fading, then...what if it starts using-"
"It resorts to memories," Hiccup finished for him, nodding. "Looking at the past to predict the future. The magic couldn't sustain new images anymore, so it gave you something that you knew had already happened, like how I almost died, and images you were familiar with, like Jack's eyes. Something that would help you, the way a normal future-vision might" he finished.
"But what does it all mean?" Rapunzel questioned.
Hiccup had no answer. Merida shrugged. Jack began to pace.
"It means," Jack said through gritted teeth, "that it's time someone put Pitch in his place. You guys saw what he did just now." Jack turned to face them, and looked especially at Hiccup. "Basic battle strategy 101. Lessen the confidence of your opponent. Make them vulnerable." Hiccup half-grinned at the use of his own words.
"We can't let his words beat us," Jack urged. "We're supposed to be a team, right? So from now on, we tell each other everything. We rely on each other for everything. We trust each other. We believe in each other. No more secrets, no more lack of confidence. We have to fight back- we can't keep waiting for Pitch to find us, or for one of the Kingdom's armies to get lucky and stumble upon his stupid lair. We are the Guardians. This is our job, our responsibility." Jack paused, taking in their expressions.
"We're a team, aren't we?" He asked again.
Rapunzel's face shone with pride. She stood up and grasped Jack's hand squeezing it tight. "A team," she confirmed.
Hiccup stood and joined them, placing his hand on top of theirs. "A team," he nodded.
Then they all turned to Merida, who sighed and got up from her chair.
"Yes, alright," she complained as she completed their little circle and added her hand to the pile. "We're a team. But Ah call dibs on punching Pitch in tha face."
They all laughed.
"From now on," Jack continued, smiling joyfully at the three people whom he cared for more than anything... except maybe Emma. "From now on, we are unbreakable. We are undefeatable. And we are going to win."
Yay so the ending is kinda choppy, my apologies.
I don't know why, but I reallllyyyyy enjoy writing Pitch. I wasn't fond of it in my last story, and found it kinda hard. But this time around... I dunno haha
I ramble.
Anyway, guest replies below, and see everyone next week!
Guest Review Responses:
Orange Cat: I'm SOOO glad you enjoyed that chapter! Honestly wasn't too sure about it when I posted it, but thank you for helping me to love it too! And Yay! I wanted Jack's power to take people by surprise- sooooo glad it worked haha! And don't worry about the fingerling- you fingerling makes ME fangirl! I'm happy that the connections I'm making when I write are coming across properly to the reader, and that the movies scenes are apparent! I just think that one of the most important things in an AU story is incorporating things (such as lines/words, places, and/or events) that tie the AU story to the Canon story. I think that connection is super important. So when I came across the youtube trailer (see the first chapter for the name) I just kinda ran with the story... Anyway, thank you so much for your lovely and wonderful, fun to read reviews! That truly make me laugh and smile! I always respond to my reviewers- you take the time to write to me, so I take the time to write to you! I shall fangirl with you! And you don't need to thank me- I need to thank YOU! SO thank you thank you! -Iceprincess
Saph: Thank you sooo much! That really means a lot actually! It's so hard to tell for me if I'm writing the characters in the right way- thanks for giving me that extra confidence! Your idea about reincarnation- its really good. It was not part of my original plan, but I confess you have intrigued me with it and I have, since reading your review, though about ways to incorporate it several times. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to use it in this story, though I might play around with it in a future story! Jack's statement about Hiccup was just my way of showing that their bond as friends deepened and that a new level of trust and friendship love was created. Does that make sense? Also, Jack will not necessarily become "The Guardian of Fear". The way I've set up the world, is that each Guardian throughout the ages has been unique. The original/previous Guardians didn't necessarily guard the same four things that the current Guardians do. The idea is that the four guard the things that the land most needs, depending on the times. So perhaps Jack will guard something else... Still, I LOVE your intuitive thinking, and the deep analysis you are using on my story! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy with happiness haha. Your theory is excellent, and it makes me sad to tell you that it doesn't really apply to Jack in this story at all. However, some of the things you said WILL still come into play... but with another character... so keep your eyes open :) Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! And hope your question with Merida and Compass was answered... Pitch knows something, but I'm not giving away his particular involvement just yet... Happy reading! Thanks so much for reviewing! Iceprincess