Hall of Shadows

Broken bonds

Jack suddenly felt an urge of hope rushing through his body as he found a way of breaking free. As the engulfing darkness had difficulties holding onto him when he attempted to squirm his way out of its hold, he thought about his sister. His whole family before that fateful night, the one that made him mend together with the fantasies of young children.

And he also gave thought to the Guardians—for they were his new family, with memories just as important.

This set Pitch off his balance. He thought he had stripped the Guardian of Ice of his powers, his hopes and ambitions. He thought he had him under control. But as Jack continuously kept fighting on, breaking his restraints, what Pitch was ultimately feeling deep beneath his core was not defeat or hatred—it was excitement.

Jack never ceased to amaze him, it seemed. Pitch had only inspected him for a short period of time, but he was more passionate about Jack than anyone else before in his dark existence in its entirety. He was strong, and he was different from the other Guardians. At first it seemed like Pitch could sense something cold and peculiar inside the boy, but as time passed and he became to learn more about Jack, he was convinced it was darkness lurking inside of him. Calling for Pitch.

It was almost as if destiny and fate had laid their claws on the two of them, dragging them together. There was something about Jack that made Pitch want more of him—he wanted to see him, interact with him. And he thoroughly enjoyed when he had the upper hand with Jack. Pitch felt like it was easy to manipulate him, and he wanted to go even further than ever before. He wanted to ruin Jack.

It was all like a game to him, a story with no conclusion, because he never wanted it to end. He was sure he would never get tired of the boy. Pitch was always looking for joy, and Jack was definitely his new favorite play toy.

Jack had almost broken out of his bond. He was running out of time for now. Pitch would have to let him go, and fetch him back later.

"You've won this round, Jack. I'll let you slide this time, but remember that I'm always in your heart", Pitch murmured in slight disappointment, almost like a child finding out he can't get the last cookie on the cookie plate.

Jack felt darkness sliding down his back like a shiver of pain. It kept going until it reached the middle, and just as Jack thought he would finally be free of the burden that was caused by it, the darkness dug inside of his spine and vanished into his body.

Jack screamed. It hurt beyond understanding, like a thousand knives trying to open him up and stitch him back down. To his fortune, however, the pain only lasted for a couple of seconds and gradually ceased to exist. After a while the pain and the restrictions were gone, but Jack could still feel the darkness inside. It was like it had laid its eggs inside of him. A dreadful parasite that fed off of him and his will to live.

Jack felt filthy. He felt contaminated.

But he had no time to dwell on these thoughts. North and the others were most likely in trouble, and Jack needed to get there in time. Wherever they were, he had to help them however he was able to. He groaned as he lifted his aching body in an upward position once again, all the while supporting his back as if it was about to snap in two. 

He felt like a broken doll. A misfit toy that could amuse its owner for a while, but would eventually wear off and be disregarded as past. Was that all he meant to Pitch in the end? 

"What am I even thinking? None of that matters now", Jack retorted to himself as he finally managed to hold his balance on foot. The little fairy next to him seemed relieved, although she still had hints of worry in her eyes. Jack felt sorry for making her go through this—being helpless in times where help is most needed was the definition of feeling useless.

The tooth fairy kept flying around him in panic as he started taking unsure steps forward. 

"I need to get going, okay?" he tried to convince the little one, but she was not at all happy about his intentions. Of course Jack was aware that he needed to rest, too. But the situation demanded him to act otherwise. He would do anything he could to be able to help the other Guardians, because they meant everything to him. Even when he had difficulties with children not believing in him, the other Guardians were always there whenever he needed a bit of support. 

They always believed in him—and they were the only ones to see him at all times. Jack was grateful for all of that.

The fairy tried to stop him by tugging on his hoodie, but it was obvious that she couldn't control Jack's actions even when he was at his worst. She became frustrated and kept on trying until it was certain that she would not be able to change his mind at any cost. If she couldn't stop him, however, she would have to go with him—and help him do what needed to be done.

Jack grabbed his staff from the ground. The wood felt weird on the skin of his palms, as if it was rotten under it. He was sure that this was also Pitch's doings, but he tried not to mind it now. He could inspect the staff and his own state later, but this could not wait. He glanced at the fairy on his shoulder, gave her a tired smile and attempted to jump up to be taken by the wind. 

This did not happen, however. The wind would not cling onto him, and he was met with the cold, hard ground unexpectedly. Jack yelped, and the pain in his body got considerably worse because of the fall. The fairy flew to his aid as fast as she could, but there was nothing she could do once again. Her small size allowed her to do practically nothing in situations like these. 

How would he be able to get to the other Guardians if he couldn't fly? His ability to fly was one of the easiest things he had ever mastered, and to be completely stripped of that ability was baffling him to no end. He tightened his grip on the staff and stood up once again. 

"I need to go. Wind, please take me with you", Jack pleaded with his eyes closed. He took in a deep breath, and leaped into the sky once again. This time, it worked. Jack felt overjoyed, just for this one moment, but was soon reminded of all the bad things that could possibly be going on. This was one small victory, but there was much more left to do. 

Jack had an idea of where the other Guardians could possibly be. There was a place that Jack had heard North talking about a long time ago—the center of the nightmares. A dark, deep hole in the middle of a thick forest. If he knew North at all, that's where the old man would go. Seek for the source of the problem. The wind was carrying him slowly, but he was getting there.

He just hoped he wouldn't be too late.