Barren Warren- Ch 9

Warnings and disclaimer: Me no own, I make no money off this, it's purely free entertainment that I write to help alleviate my stress and hopefully stop me from having another SIS.
Feel free to review politely. I really love my reviewers.

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Jack grunted as his body hit the cold floor again. Rolling over on his side, he tried to clear his throat of the trickle of blood that had seeped down his esophagus, tickling his neck in just the wrong place as a cough overtook the gasping. His chest hurt and he couldn't defend himself with his arms tied behind his back. He curled into himself as his scrambled mind raced for an idea to escape the dark amalgamation's lair.

When Pitch's nightmares attacked him outside of Burgess on his way back to the Warren, Jack was unprepared to say the least. Even with his trusty staff returned to him, he was having difficulty relearning every trick in his book. The fur was making it harder to twist and cast ice as needed, and his small practice session was rudely interrupted by a large, horse shaped sand cloud pummeling him to the ground. After a poorly fought battle with the beast, a well placed hoof to the young buck's face knocked Jack out cold. He awoke in the Nightmare King's lair, already bound and on the floor without his staff in sight.

"Aw, isn't this cute. The little bunny wants to go to sleep." Pitch chuckled as he kicked Jack over, causing the rabbit to tumble and slide over to the other side of the arena like stone floor. He choked on his own blood again, given it really wasn't that much this time. He spat out at the dark king, managing to get a few drops of blood on the former general's face. He'd heard tales of General Pitchiner from back in the day, mostly from the tales the other guardians would tell him. The man sounded amazing, fighting Dream pirates and defeating fearlings, until his own longing had done him in. Jack had to admire the General, but the being known as Pitch was not that man. Jack launched a good kick out at the shins of the dark cloaked being, hitting him with every ounce of strength he had left. Pitch grunted as the fluffy pair of feet hit him. After landing another kick to the white rabbit's chest, Pitch straightened himself back up.

"What do you want from me?" Jack growled at the larger being.

"Oh, that should be easy to see. I needed a guinea pig for my experiments, and you happen to be the sturdiest of the Guardians." Pitch said as he leaned forward to grip Jack's chin. Jack capitalized on the moment and chomped down on the Nightmare King's hand, drawing blood where his new teeth hit. Pitch released his hold on the younger immortal's face and stumbled backwards.

"You know, I used to admire you, Kosmotis." Jack hushed out, his voice sore and scratchy from coughing.

"Oh, don't start the pity play, Jackson." Pitch growled.

"Not pity, just don't understand." Jack hissed out as he flopped over on his front.

"What's there to understand? I wanted power and I took it." Pitch replied as he observed his bitten hand with a wary eye.

"No. That's not true. North said you missed your family." Jack replied as level headed as possible. Pitch stopped looking at his hand to stare at the wall for a moment, a lost look swirling in his façade.

"What's it to you?" Pitch growled as he turned his back to the winter spirit, folding his hands behind his back in a pensive stance.

"You had a daughter. She's-" Jack was cut off by Pitch backhanding him hard across the cheek.

"Not a word about her." Pitch seethed. Jack coughed roughly and curled back into himself.

"She- She misses you." He whispered.

"What was that?" Pitch roared as he gripped the young Pooka's ears, giving them a hard pull as he yanked the white rabbit upwards. Jack yelped in a strangling voice as he struggled for air between his sore chest and throat.

"She- She misses you. She's still alive." Jack whispered. Pitch grabbed the young buck by the neck and held him up. Jack grunted in pain as he back and arms twisted in unnatural turns.

"She died years ago! Don't play with my memories!" Pitch said as he threw the Pooka against the wall. Jack could only yelp as his back hit the wall with a sickening crunch. He landed with a thud on the floor. After a testing move to see if anything was broken, he pried open eyes to see Pitch pacing around like a caged cat. He tossed his hands out in frustration, as if trying to reason with another being locked in his head.

"No…" Jack gasped, getting Pitch's attention again. The little voice of reason in the back of his head told him not to give this monster any more incentive to throw him around again, but Jack chose not to listen to the voice.

"No? No what?" Pitch barked as he tromped over to the white Pooka, who's fur was starting to stain red in small patches.

"She's not dead. North said she's taken Mother Nature's role." Jack gasped quietly, earning an odd look from the Nightmare King.

"It's… no, It's not possible. She died in the invasion." Pitch swore as his head fell against the fluffy forehead of the Pooka, as if praying that the white rabbit's words were true.

"No. Manny saved her. She tried to help the people. Died because of it." Jack managed to gasp out. Pitch seemed to be warring within himself, as his face changed between a dark scowl and a relieved smile repeatedly.

"She's alive. She's alive!" An unusually happy voice came from the master of Nightmares. Jack couldn't help but observe the man as the darkness that had consumed him all those years ago began to fade, sliding off of him like a oily coating. Jack started to catch glimpses of gold and white accented grey armor- wore from time and not nearly as dark as the fearling coloration Jack had grown so accustomed to seeing him in. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack could see the Nightmares stomping and growling in repulsion. Much to his surprise, Pitch released one hand from the rabbit's neck and held it out to form a golden sword. He dropped the Pooka, who landed roughly on his backside, and turned to face his former servants.

Jack didn't hear any battle cry, but the golden sword slipped through the first Nightmare like it was half melted butter. The dark sand vanquished itself from the golden blade, turning into golden dream dust. Jack managed to shove himself up on his bound elbows as he watched the former general slice through another Nightmare. The oily pool of darkness that gathered at his feet slide further down and off to his side, where it started to take form on its own. Jack could see oddly shaped limb like structures forming from the fearlings that had released General Pitchiner, growling and snapping as they rose up to face him. The General he'd heard so many stories about as a young guardian turned towards the beast. Jack could see that he was already tired from his battle, and couldn't muster the grand visage he'd held just a few minutes ago as the beast lashed out one arm like structure at the man. Pitchiner flew across the room, landing just feet from Jack. Jack looked back at the creature and started to look around for some way to help the man. With the darkness still seeping from his new ally's body, Jack had to figure out how to help him without causing the darkness to seek refuge in his worn body again. A sharp glint came into the Pooka's line of sight. A metal rod had fallen loose from one of the cages during a fight, and by stretching his toes, he managed to pull the rod over. Fumbling it quickly behind his back, he used a sharp edge to slice through his bonds, before grabbing the rod and jumping onto the beast's back. The creature screamed as Jack jammed the sharp point of the rod into being's back. A hissing stream of black air came from the wound as the creature thrashed against Jack. It bucked and tossed until it dislodged the dirty white rabbit from its back. Pitchiner, seeking the moment to free himself, stabbed his golden sword through what was left of the oily darkness at his feet. Luckily, this severed enough of the remaining darkness to allow Pitch to escape. While the creature moaned and slid off to the side of the room bathed in shadows, Jack stumbled over to the fallen General and gathered him onto his back. He grabbed his staff and shoved it into his mouth to carry better on the run.

"We need to leave." Jack hushed breathlessly.

"Out that way." Pitchiner said as he pointed to the secluded little exit off to the side of the room. They could hear the beastly cries of the fearlings mixing with the aggressive snorts of Nightmares as they fled. When they nearly reached the surface, the daylight seemed to be staving off the remainder of the darkness that dwelled in the little hole Pitchiner used to call home.

"Which way?" Jack barked as tried to catch his breath for only a moment. Pitchiner pointed to the nearby town of Burgess.

"There. Your friends won't mind keeping us in the light, I hope." Pitchiner said as he stumbled along with Jack. Jack gathered all the strength he had left and hauled the General, who was a good deal larger than Jack, onto his back. He started to hop like Bunny, hoping his strength would be enough to get them out of the ever decreasing afternoon light.

As they rushed through the forest, Jack could practically feel the greasy tendrils of darkness reaching for them from behind trees and rocks.

"Why are they after you? Didn't we kick their butts enough?" Jack asked breathlessly as he kept his pace.

"They need a new host. They can't survive well without a physical body. I think I'm just there easiest target right now." Pitchiner said as he held on tight. As Jack reached the fence of Jamie's house, he gave one last big jump before landing on the other side of the wooden barricade. The creatures stopped in their tracks, hissing and snapping at the house. Jack and Pitchiner rolled over on the ground, taking deep, comforting breaths as they tried to calm themselves.


"Who's there?" The familiar voice of Jamie came from inside the house. Jack could barely find the energy to turn over as the twelve year old came through the door. He took one glance at the collapsed pair of immortal beings on his lawn.

"Hey! Jamie!" Jack said as he waved to his first believer. Jamie stared at the white Pooka for a moment before approaching him.

"Jack?" Jamie asked as he reached out a curious hand to stroke the soft white ear.

"Yeah, it's me. I'll explain later, can we come in? It's kinda an emergency, and I need to get a message to North." Jack said as he gathered the General up again. Jamie held the door open for the two as they came through.

"Perfect timing, by the way. Mom and Dad had to go to grandma's for the evening. She says she broke something in her kitchen, and they won't be back for a few hours." Jamie said as he led the pair into his living room. Sofie was taking a nap on the arm chair with Abby, who barely raised her head to growl at the rabbit.

"Easy, girl." Jack said as he held out his palm for the dog to sniff. She laid her head back down after recognizing his scent with a wag of her tail.

"What can I help with?" Jamie asked as he took a good look at Pitchiner.

"Just keep the lights on until North arrives. Do you have any lamps? I don't think those Nightmares are going to play nice." Pitchiner said as he rubbed his eyes. Jack felt a ping of sympathy for the man. He must have been exhausted when he freed himself, and the sudden dash for safety was taking its toll on the man.

"Sure." Jamie said as he went into the kitchen and retrieved the emergency lamps they kept in the pantry.

"There we go." Jack said as he lifted the window just enough to send out a snowflake. He'd managed to develop a system of hard snowflakes that could carry his messages to his fellow guardians over the past two months.

"Do you think they'll get here soon?" Pitchiner asked as he slumped onto the sofa. Jamie was still giving him an odd look.

"Probably within two hours. If we can just keep them at bay until then, we should be able to get you to the pole without too much hassle. North's magic won't let them in the sleigh." Jack replied.

"Good. The sooner we get there, the sooner I can rest." Pitchiner sighed, curling into himself as he tried to calm his rattled nerves.

"Who are you, anyways?" Jamie asked with his childish curiosity. Pitchiner smiled weakly at the child, to which Jack could only step in.

"You might not remember him like this, but he used to be 'Pitch'. This is General Kosmotis Pitchiner, from the Golden Age army." Jack explained, introducing the worn man with the air of returning hero. Jack began to relay the story he'd heard so many times from North- about the battles, the prison, and the inevitable fall of the great General Pitchiner. Jamie, despite a moment of temporary fear, looked at the man. His clothes were dusty and torn, and his face spoke volumes of his time away from his family. It took about thirty minutes to tell the sad tale, only to finish it with Pitchiner looking depressed and Jamie finding the need to hug the man.

"So, you really defeated the Dream Pirates?" Jamie asked, trying to lighten the subject a bit. Pitchiner smiled at the boy.

"Yes. And the best part about it, they never saw it coming. I couldn't wait to get home and see my daughter that day. She was so proud of me." Pitchiner spoke gently.

"So… your daughter's Mother Nature now?" Jamie asked, uncertain of how to continue the conversation.

"So it seems. I haven't seen her in over two thousand years." Pitchiner admitted, a depressed look taking his worn appearance to a new level of exhausted. Jack didn't know if he should say anything about it, but he did reach out a hand to lay on the man's shoulder.

"It's all cool, man. She's missed you. She's been trying to get you back all this time, but things have been… complicated." Jack said.

"I pray she isn't too mad at me." Pitchiner said as he relaxed onto the sofa, letting his eyes slip shut for a moment. Jack and Jamie carefully placed a blanket over his lap and took a seat on the coffee table.

"He's really amazing, isn't he?" Jamie said as he rubbed one of Jack's ears. Jack smiled and nodded.

"Let me guess, you are wondering about the new look?" Jack asked with a hint of jesting in his voice.

"Well, if you'd like to tell, I'd listen." Jamie joked back.

"Before we freed him from the fearlings, they used him to turn me into this. I've been hanging with Bunny for a week to learn how to use these" Jack said as he pointed to his feet.

"How is Bunny?" Jamie asked.

"Same old awesome rabbit. Kinda glad I got his attention back in '68." Jack jested back.

"Why did you send that blizzard? Surely you knew that was his holiday?" Jamie replied.

"Yup. But it's hard to get Kangaroo to notice you sometimes." Jack admitted as he fingered and twirled his staff between his palms.

"I swear, it seems like you guys are worse than teenagers." Jamie admired as he quietly pushed himself off the table. Reindeer hooves clattered on top of the house, ceasing their conversation.


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