Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D I don't have much to say this time around, so I hope you all enjoy this new chapter (I had a lot of fun writing this one, hehe). X)
~ XC ~
We Are Family, Part Six
He was fallen, but not defeated
There was still some fight that remained
So he stood up
Gripped his staff
And fought with everything he had
...
He dreamed he was a baby again, so tiny and frail. He cried and wailed, scared and alone. Terrified. It seemed as if no one could hear him, and that only made him cry harder.
But then, someone was there. A warm, gentle hand brushed against his cheek, rubbing away the tears that streamed down his face. Little Jack open his eyes, rimmed with tears. The blurry form above him focused. It was North.
He sniffed and whimpered, still feeling fretful, but North continued to rub his cheek. "It's alright, moy mal'chik….it's okay…You are safe and sound. You aren't alone."
Jack sniffed, and his tears slowed. His lips pulled into a smile, and he reached for North's hand, grabbing it tightly. The ex-Cossack wrapped his large fingers around Jack's little hand. The winter child giggled, and North smiled down at him.
Suddenly, the image flashed to Jack's first snowball fight with the Guardians. Then it was them playing hide and seek tag in the living room together, and then it was a game in the woods with the village children. His past pranks, sharing funny stories around the fire…Jack saw a connection through them all, and that's when he found it.
Fun…That was his center. The thing that he had tried so hard to get, but it was a part of him all along. Every time he was around, he made things fun for everyone. He tried to bring smiles to people's faces and give everyone a good laugh. Jack didn't notice it until then since it had come so naturally, and fun wasn't something that most would deem important…until they didn't have it at all.
Fun was his center. It was what he brought not just to children, but to the Guardians, Katherine, Jamie, everyone.
And if he died right now, he wouldn't be able to hear their laughs or see their smiles ever again.
Jack forced his eyes open, the sounds of the battle slowly flooding his ears. He felt bursting pain in his abdomen, and he groaned. When his vision cleared, he saw the Guardians standing above him. Aster was hurriedly wrapping his wound when Tooth noticed that he was awake.
"Jack!" Tooth cried. Jack noticed that a patch of feathers on her arm had been scratched off, and her feathers were caked with Nightmare Sand, but she seemed okay. "Oh, thank goodness, we thought we lost you!"
Jack didn't respond since he was still coming too. Aster turned to him and asked. "Ya can hea rus mate, right?"
The snow sprite nodded slowly, and the Pooka let out a sigh of relief. "Good. That means he probably doesn't have any head injuries…"
"We need to get Jack out of here," said North, looking around. From as far as Jack could see, they were still in the battlefield, but closer to the forest where there was little action occurring. "He cannot fight like this."
"No…" Jack rasped. The Guardians were surprised to hear him since he looked so feeble. Jack tried to push himself up from the ground but struggled, so Sandy and Aster helped him up. "I…I have to stop Pitch."
"Like this?" asked Aster incredulously
"Jack, there is no way you are going against Pitch," Tooth said firmly, but Jack could see the worry in her eyes. "Not in this condition."
"I have to!" he exclaimed. The Guardians were taken aback. "He…He killed the snow sprites. He killed my parents. I have to…I have to…"
Jack's eyes stung, and he rubbed his eyes. No, he couldn't cry. There was no room for tears. Not now.
North softened. "Jack, I know you're upset," he said. "But we cannot let you put your life on the line. You could get killed if you step out there like this."
"We'll get Pitch, mate," said Aster, patting the snow sprites back. "Ya just stay hidden and rest."
Jack balled his fists and shook his head.
"I can't sit aside while the man who murdered my family tries to take away everything I love," he said. "I don't even have to do much; I'm still the bait. All I have to do is lure Pitch in, and let you guys do the rest.
"Please, "Jack said, his voice pleading. "I have to do this. For the snow sprites, and myself."
The Guardians looked at each other, knowing that Jack wouldn't back down until he got what he wanted. They knew how much finding his parents meant to him, and learning that they had been killed by the Nightmare King was definitely not what he wanted to hear. So obviously, he'd want to avenge them and his race.
And who were the Guardians to stop him from doing that?
"Alright," said North. Jack would've smiled if the situation wasn't so dire. "We'll let you help. But you are bait and only bait. You won't fight Pitch."
"That's fine by me," said Jack. Aster helped him stand up and Jack hissed in pain. The wound was far more painful than he had thought, but he could bear it.
Jack let out a breath and scanned the battlefield. Stardust, snow, and Nightmare sand flew everywhere along with the remaining men of the Lunar army. Jack narrowed his eyes.
"First of all, where's Pitch?" he asked.
"He retreated to the far end of the field to watch the fight," said Aster. He frowned. "At least, that's what it looks like."
"He's probably waiting until we're at our weakest so he can deliver the final blow," Tooth predicted. "It seems to be one of his favorite techniques."
"Then we're just going to have to grab his attention before he does that," said Jack. He looked at Aster. "I have an idea, but…I'm going to need a ride."
Aster smiled. "You got it, mate."
…
He was winning. And loved that feeling.
Pitch watched the chaos before him unravel, the smile on his face growing wider and wider with every man that fell under his Fearling's control. Soon, he thought, he'd put an end to this fruitless battle, and finally take over Lunslruna, and send his Nightmares and Fearlings across the entire Tsardom.
"You know," Pitch said, turning around to Tsar Lunar, who he had sensed sneaking up behind him several minutes ago. His eyes flickered. "I didn't think I'd find myself in this position. Knowing that you recruited those Guardians and all. But it looks like I overestimated them, hm?"
Tsar Lunar narrowed his eyes. "You won't win, Pitch. I know what I did wasn't right, but holding a grudge won't fix anything."
Pitch bristled. "You're in no position to educate me," he said. He swept his cape and knocked the Tsar to the ground. "And I've already won. No one here has the power to stop me. The Age of Nightmares is just beginning."
"Oh? Then we must be late to the party!"
Pitch lifted his head in disbelief. His eyes scanned the field and he spotted them. The Guardians. They were running through the battle, and upon that blasted Pokoa's back was the snow sprite. Jack. He had survived.
The Boogeyman cursed under his breath and Tsar Lunar smiled wryly. "Perhaps you have underestimated them."
Pitch delivered a hard blow to the Tsar, sending him to the ground once again. The Nightmare King turned around and faced the Guardians, his eyes flashing with fury. North, Tooth, and Sandy attacked while Aster and Jack went around. They had to get Pitch to the dark matter trap without getting injured.
Pitch followed Jack and ASter while Tooth, Sandy, and North defended them from behind. Jack clutched onto Aster's coat, slashing his staff through the Nightmares and Fearlings that tried to stop them. Pitch continued to pursue them, sending bullets of nightmare to sand their way, but Aster quickly dodged them all.
Jack narrowed his eyes as the spot where the trap was set came into view. The dark matter could only be activated once one made contact with it, so he and Aster would have to jump over it for Pitch to step upon it.
Come on…come one… Jack gritted his teeth. They were so close—almost there!
"JACK, LOOK OUT!"
Jack turned around at North's sudden shout. He wasn't expecting to be met with a punch of nightmare sand. Jack cried out as he tumbled to the ground. Aster lost his balance and fell into the snow. Thankfully, he didn't skid into the trap.
Pitch was standing above them. Tooth, Sandy, and North were trapped in an ocean of Fearligns and Nighthmares behind them. Jack's abdomen screamed in pain, and the snow sprite swallowed down a whimper.
"You're pathetic. Weak to think that you can defeat me," said Pitch. "You're nothing but a los boy from the woods who never truly belonged anywhere."
Jack squeezed his eyes shut. No…
"Just give up now. You aren't going to win. You can get rid of fear."
"You're right," Jack said weakly. He gripped his staff and hoisted himself up He wrapped an arm around his stomach, wincing."You can't get rid of fear. But you can overcome it.
"And maybe I am an outsider. Maybe I don't belong. But I have the Guardians. They're my family; the only one I've ever known. And that's more than enough for me."
Pitch scoffed. "You're not even related to them."
"I know. But relations don't always have to be formed by blood."
Pitch could feel the fear slowly ebbing away from Jack. Anything he said to poke at him was now numb to the boy. The Boogeyman had no power rover him anymore.
Pitch snarled, and he lunged forward. "Then I'll just destroy every single one of you!"
Jack called on the Wind and thrust backward. Pitch tried to grab him, but he ended up falling into the dark matter hidden under the snow. Instantaneously, the black matter began to encase him. Pitch looked around, shocked, and Jack landed in front of him.
"I've changed, Pitch," he said. The snow sprite leaned in, eyes narrowed. "And I don't fear you."
Pitch looked like he wanted to say something back, but the matter had already gone over his mouth. The thick rock continued to crawl over him until he was completely trapped.
The dark matter encased Pitch. He was trapped.
The Nightmare King was defeated.
The battle was over.
Author's Note: CELEEEEEBRATE GOOD TIMES C'MON!
*Coughs* Ah...sorry, I had to. X)
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one! =D
Until the next chapter!
~BeyondTheMoon1203
