Along For The Ride(ROTG Fan Fiction)(UNDER EDITING)

Chapter 21

*Jack's POV*

Waking up to empty arms horrifies me. I long to stare into Jess' bright green eyes. I lay in bed for a few minutes. Then I will myself to get up and leave my room. I walk towards the dining hall. I reach the door and open it. I step into the room and hear nothing but silence. I look around and see that the others aren't in here. I sit at the table next to the empty chair where Jess would be sitting right now. I finish my breakfast and get up from the table. I walk towards the door. About halfway there, I collapse to the ground. Jess. She's really gone.

I lay face down on the cold, wood floor. A few minutes pass by, then I hear the door open. "Jack, what are you doing?" Tooth asks. She helps me up off the ground. I look at her. I can tell that she's been crying. Then she hugs me. Right now, I feel no sadness, I feel no pain. I just feel empty. I miss Jess' presence, how cheerful she is. She brightens up everybody's mood when they need that little bit of happiness. With her gone, I'm nothing. Tooth lets go of me and walks over to the table. I walk out of the room and into the main room. I pass Sandy, who sits slumped on the couch. Bunny sits on the floor against the banister and North sits at his desk with his head in his hands.

None of them seem to notice me as I walk towards the stairs. I walk down the stairs and to Jess' room. I enter her room and immediately spot the ball of green light she was playing with. It sits on her bed. I sit in the chair and pick up the ball. For the first time in 300 years, tears come to my eyes. I hold the ball tightly in my hands and fall asleep in the chair.

*{{3 hours later}}*

"Jack, you need to wake up. North needs us." I open my eyes and look up. Tooth stands there. I get up, holding the ball in one hand and my staff in the other. I follow Tooth out of the room. I walk up the stairs. The others stand together, talking. We walk up to them. "North came up with a plan." Bunny says. "If we want to get Jess back, we are going to have to get her back here to be able to go through with my plan." North says. I nod, to show that I'm listening. "We have to remind her of everything. We have to remind her of her brother, of how she saved Jack, of the snowball fight we had, of Jack's death, of what she saw when Tooth gave her her teeth."

This peaks my interest. "If we show her enough stuff, we might get her back?" Bunny asks. "Correct." North says. "But I do not think that Pitch will let her out of his sight for awhile, so we are going to need to wait for some time." This plan has given me hope. I hope all of the waiting we're gonna do pays off.

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*Jess' POV*

"You don't remember me either?" The girl asks sadly. "This is my daughter, Alice," Pitch says. "She's like your sister." I look back at the girl. "Now that you mention it, I do remember a sister." I say. The girl throws herself into my arms. I hug her for a few seconds then let her go. "Come," Pitch says. "Let's all go for a walk." A smile comes to my face and we follow Pitch over to the sliding door. It opens and we walk out. Then Pitch grabs my wrist and the girls hand. Then we disappear and appear out in the open, surrounded by trees. There's a hole off to my left and I glance down it. I don't see anything.

I turn back to Pitch. He walks off into the trees and I follow. We're silent for a while. "Jess, if you see anyone of those five people, try to get away from them as fast as possible. They're dangerous." Pitch says. He's talking about those people that came yesterday. "Okay. I will." I say. Pitch nods and we're silent for the rest of the walk. At a certain point, we stop and turn around. We head back in the direction we came from. When we reach the hole, Pitch grabs my wrist again and the Alice's hand. We disappear and appear in the dining room. "Who wants lunch?"

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*Jack's POV*

I find myself playing with the ball of light. The others sit around me. "Did Jess make that?" Tooth asks." I nod and she takes it from me. I want to take it back from her, but I decide against it. Tooth stands up and starts bouncing the ball. "Let me see that." Bunny says. Tooth hands it to him. He rolls it back and forth in his hands then throws it up in the air and catches it every time. He bounces it on the ground for awhile. Then throws it towards the wall across the room. It hits the wall and disappears. I jump up and look over at Bunny.

"What the heck?" I shout at him. "I didn't know it was gonna do that." He says. "What did you think I hit you with when Jess and I played that trick on you guys? What would've left no trace at all? Light, Bunny!" I say. "Light would! And that was the only one! What if we don't get Jess back? It's not like she's going to make us a ton of those!" "Jack!" North shouts. I spin around. "Stay out of this, old man." I say. Tooth gasps and I turn back around to Bunny, who seems to have shrunk a foot or two. I point my staff at him.

Then I'm being pulled back by my hood. I look to my right and see North. "Let me go." I say. He tosses me onto the couch. He walks up to me and says, "Bunny had no idea that would happen, Jack. And I suggest that you be quiet and sit here with the rest of us. I do not want to have to make you." He takes a step back then walks back over to where he was just standing. "We are going to get Jess back, no matter what." He says. After a few hours of sitting here in silence, we head into the dining hall for dinner.

We quickly finish and gather back in the main room. After an hour or so of sitting there, we all slowly drift off to sleep, one by one. I'm the last one that's actually awake. It will be okay, Jack. Manny tells me. I sit back on the couch and sleep comes to me. I slowly drift off.