In Love with the Darkness (A ROTG Story)

Chapter 16

Third Person POV

After Jack had left, the rest of the guardians rushed into the room. They had heard the commotion, but waited outside the door so they didn't spook Jack.

North sat in the chair, still clutching his leg, slightly in shock. Tooth rushed over, checking to make sure he was okay.

Bunny looked around, "What the hell happened, mate? Did you get an answer?"

North looked to the hallway where Jack had hobbled off to, tears in his eyes, "I .... Yes. It's Pitch, that fucking bastard."

The guardians all looked at him in surprise. It was rare for North to curse that way. He was always the rational one of the group, never quick to anger.

Tooth rubbed his shoulders, trying to calm him down, "What happened, North?" She questioned worriedly.

North shook his head, trying to hold back his tears, "All I did was say his name and Jack freaked out. He was apologizing, begging. He grabbed onto me, held onto my leg. I couldn't do anything, just sit there and watch."

He paused for a minute, looking around at all of them, "It was like he was back there again. He was beating him. I could feel it. He was reliving every strike, and I felt them all. It was horrifying. How could someone do that to another person?"

Tooth pulled North in for a hug, rubbing his back. They'd never had to deal with this type of thing before. They were completely out of their depth in every sense of the phrase. The only thing that was certain was that each and every one of them wanted to help the winter spirit. They wanted him to feel safe again, and be happy, and smile.

Bunny sighed and sat down, "Look, I know it's horrible, but we don't have the time to sit here and wallow. Now that we know it's Pitch, we need to prepare. That bastard is probably already on his way over here."

Tooth nodded and took a seat as well. Sandy patted North's leg before climbing into a seat of his own. None of them really knew where to start.

"Someone should stay with Jack, so we know he's safe." North offered.

Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy all nodded, discussing weapons and strategies they'd use to defeat him.

*****************

At the lair, Pitch was on the verge of a breakdown. Jack had been gone for a week now and everything was going wrong.

He shouted in anger, swiping everything off of his desk. "How dare he leave me. We've been together for so long, how am I supposed to do this without him?"

Pitch spoke aloud to himself, his hands pulling at his hair painfully, "No, no ... I can't. I can't. He has to be here. He's supposed to. He's not allowed to leave. How did he leave?"

He looked around, pacing, trying to put his scattered thoughts together. Everything was swimming, he couldn't think straight. He missed him. He missed Jack more than anything.

"It was the guardians, " he said, suddenly calm, "They stole him from me. He'd never leave me on his own, they must've taken him."

He nodded, gathering all his things and heading to the exit. His head was clear now. He knew exactly what he had to do. He would save Jack from those bastards if it was the last thing he did.