The Sweetest Dream of the Spectral Boy

Chapter 2

The emptiness I was engulfed by gave some amount of relief from the oppressive feeling of the memory I'd been shoved into reliving upon entry to Jack's mind, though the return to being clawed at by a fearling was considerably regrettable.

Only a short time was spent on fighting it off before I was thrown painfully to the warm ground as I felt weaker than normally expected, but before the creature could strike again, a glint of brilliant blue appeared from behind it, shining through the mirage of fear and banishing it in a manner not unlike the sun might rid of the night- by revealing the truth of nothing really having been there at all.

"Koz, we can't afford to be caught off-guard, you said so yourself. My light can't heal you forever- and-! I..."

It took real effort not to growl at him as I pushed away his concerned hands trying to pry for a look at the long, shallow wound across my chest. "My apologies. Unlike some people, I find it difficult to be afraid of something that's a part of me. Perhaps if you hadn't been so afraid of your own darkness, you wouldn't be in this place, and I wouldn't be forced to fetch you lest I face the wrath of your friends." As I spoke, Jack's eyes widened and his demeanor changed from worried friend to something completely opposite- breathless relief. "Also, it may be of interest for you to be aware that if you call me Koz ever again, you will greatly regret it, so lets not dwell on who I was. He's dead. My name is Pitch Black now, and you would do well to -..."

Whatever threat I was about to make had been cut short by the arms suddenly wrapped tightly around my chest. "Pitch.-" His unusually soft voice broke in half and I could feel the sting of his tears falling into the cut on my chest. "I...thought-."

When I lifted one hand to rest on his back, he held tighter, words tumbling clumsily out of his mouth, some of them hard to understand due to quickness, slurring, and a few emotional hiccups. "I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean for this to- h-appen..! I was just trying to feel better but everything only made me feel worse, and I couldn't find myself anymore and then I trapped myself in a cave, but it was an-an accident! I didn't mean to, but I thought I'd find a way out somehow, I thought you would help me a-and you didn't! Why weren't you there?!" A few hits to my shoulder. "I thought you hated me! You don't! You're here, so you don't! Why? Why does no one tell me anything when it's important?! And then I was suddenly here and it's been nothing but memories and darkness and fearings and Kozmotis and even he couldn't tell me anything, because he didn't remember anything! And now- n-ow..you're....." Jack seemed to calm a bit, his previously balled hands relaxing and sliding down against me. After that, he went silent, either because he was just as unsure of what to say after his emotional outburst as I was, or because he still had a lot to say and was at a loss for of which to speak.

The grip around my middle was not released, despite my small and short attempt to get out of it. Jack sighed, turning his face so that I could hear him better. "Did you hear me?"

"Honestly, you were a bit muffled at times, but yes, I got the idea."

"Not that. When I......" With another sigh, he finally let go, stepping back and staring at the void-like ground. "When I went missing.....did you look for me?"

"Would knowing that I heard every word and desperate plea you made to me make any difference? Look where we are, Jack. This is you. This darkness, these fearlings. They're you. Now, they're me, too, and there is nothing we can do, no escape plan, no little faeries that will come to our rescue." Something about what I was saying, about this situation, this setup felt too familiar, like it had happened once before, but I continued, gesturing toward him. "Yes. Of course I heard you, I'm the bogeyman, I hear it when someone cries out in fear of the dark. I felt every moment of that fear shaking my bones against my will until I thought even my immortal body might break from the pressure, rattling me constantly until I gave in and now? Now, we're stuck here. We're not getting out, so you might as well make yourself comfortable with the constant dark, foreboding memories, and the relentless fearlings clouding our souls."

After that, our heated conversation was never to be finished, as we both were sent violently spiraling into another vision from the past, seemingly right on cue.