A Trapped Winter Spirit - completed

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ: ʜᴏᴘᴇ

North's POV:

I knew it must still be there. It had to be. Jack's staff, one of his very few belongings, had to be in that same town. But it was certainly snapped in two. He put too much strain on it and it snapped in half. That's why Jack fell after all. He needs it to control the wind and his powers and without it, he was just a boy. A boy that must be going through hell right now.

I told the others of my idea. They were still angry at me and refused to talk to me. After a bit of convincing and a few glares, I shared with them. It seemed hopeless, but they thought it was better then nothing. Jack needed our every attempt.

We're coming for the staff.

------Time Skip------

We're at the town where we fought Pitch. It brought back disturbing memories, but I pushed those aside for Jack's sake. His staff still had to be here somewhere.

"Where d'ya think we start," asks Bunny.

"Just search everywhere," Tooth replies. She was taking this the hardest. She could barely keep herself afloat and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She darts around the streets faster then I've seen her move in a while, scouring the corners and the alleys.

Sandy has his sand in lots of different forms, all of them disappearing under the rubbish bins and cars looking for the staff. Bunny's hopping around, his eyes focused on the floor for the staff. I get to work, using my superior strength to lift up things to look under them.

Then we hear cold, hard laughter. My head shot up and found the source of the voice. It was the Nightmare King himself. Pitch.

"I suppose you're looking for the same thing as me?" he asks. It's a rhetorical question, so none of us moves. Glares, scowls and snarls were on each of our faces.

"Bugger off, Pitch," says Bunny boldly. "Ya don't have no business here."

Pitch shook his head, a grin plastered onto his face. "No, no, I do, Bunnymund. Poor Jack needs his staff, even if it's just two pieces of a broken stick."

Tooth reacted first. With an enraged scream, she flew at Pitch with just her fists. He didn't move fast enough, and her fist connected with his nose. But she didn't stop. Her fists just kept flying at him. One after another. Again and again.

"Tell. Me. Where. He. IS!" she yelled. Pitch lost his balance and fell backwards. "I would! But I'm hardly done with your pathetic winter spirit. You should hear him scream. It's almost musical!"

Before Tooth could get another hit on him, Pitch vanished into a nearby shadow. When she turned around, she was breathing hard, her eyes wild. Her fists were still clenched, as if ready to attack anyone or anything that crossed her.

"Bloody hell, sheila," exclaimed Bunny. "That was brilliant."

But she flew straight over to me and sobbed into my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her, careful not crush her wings. "I hate this. I hate being so... so powerless." She sobs.

"I know," I say. "But we'll have him back soon. This, I swear."

Then I felt a tap at my leg. I look down to see Sandy. But he was acting strangely. The golden sand guardian bounced from foot to foot. A huge smile on his face. This had to be good. He couldn't be so happy after what happened if he hadn't found something.

"What is it, old friend?" He tugged on my trouser leg and led me over to a dark alley. And there, lying in the middle of the gap, was the two pieces of Jack's staff. They looked completely ordinary, with none of the usual blue light or magical ice. It was strange, seeing it without the laughing winter spirit carrying it.

Bunny hopped over to it and picked them up. "Mate, I don't think we can fix it. It's completely broken."

Three symbols flashed over Sandy's head. A rotary phone, a snowflake, then a question mark. "You think we could call Jack through it?" asked Tooth. Even she seemed more hopeful now that the staff was here. Tooth took one half of the staff (A/N: haha, that rhymed. OK, please continue) and tried fitting it to the other half, where it had snapped. It fitted perfectly together, like a puzzle piece.

"Jack," she whispered. "Are you there?"

Jack's POV:

Pitch had finally left me alone. I don't know where he went, but I could finally have some time when I'm not screaming in agony. Sure, every part of my body aches when I move or breathe, but it's better then being tortured for fear.

I couldn't sleep. No, every time I tried, I had awful nightmares that made me wake up screaming or crying. So I just sat there and drifted off into thought. All the pranks I pulled on the other spirits. The snow days. The thought of my old happy self, where I could laugh like nobody's business. Where I couldn't remember the last time I was in pain.

The faces of my victims when I tossed snowballs at them. Even those nights I felt empty inside, because of how alone I was, didn't seem so bad now. Now I was barely ever alone, and I was being tortured by the King of Nightmares himself because he found it funny.

"Jack..."

My name! I'm Jack! Oh, I must be going crazy. No one could be here, I was alone. The voice echoed around my mind. I faintly recognised it, but I couldn't remember where from. Its been too long since I've talked to anyone that's not Pitch, and he mostly laughed at me.

"Are you there?" the voice asked again. It's feminine. Is it the angel of death, here to finally let me leave this poor, sad story that is my life?

"Yes, I am," I say aloud. "Who is it?"

"Guys, guys! He can hear me! It's Jack!" the voice got louder, and she was laughing. Maybe crying. Perhaps both.

I recognised the voice now. It's Tooth! She can talk to me! Maybe there is hope for getting out of here now.