Curse Of A Witch (Book 1)

Ch. 29 Pitch

*No One's P.O.V.*

Jack's eyes darted back and forth as the Guardians shouted amongst themselves, Gen and the children. They had all been arguing for approximately 5 and a half minutes now. What were they arguing about, you ask?

Jack wasn't really sure anymore. All the noise was putting him on edge and stressing him out. At first it was about Pitch, then it switched to Jack and his powers, then it went to the witch, and now its a whole mess that he was having a hard time following.

"Guys!" The former spirit shouted, but everyone was too caught up in their arguments to notice. "Guys!" He shouted louder, but was still ignored. He hated being ignored. He went to the kitchen and pulled out two metal pan lids.

With an annoyed look he decided to try just once more, "Guys!!" But as he suspected, that failed too. He initiated plan B, slamming the pan lids together five times until they were all silently staring at him, covering their ears.

"Finally!" He triumphed while putting the utensils away respectively. "Am I the only level head right now?" He shook his head in disapproval at his friends and family. "Sorry, Sweet Pea." Gen apologized sincerely, feeling silly that she took part in the arguing.

Jack dismissed it and got to the point. "Look. You've been searching all over for Pitch and there's no sign of him, but we know that he wants something. So, I've been thinking-" Jack was interrupted by Bunny.

"That's not good," Jack shot the kangaroo an annoyed look but continued. "I can just give him the opportunity to talk to me. Maybe- mm!? " this time Sandy cut him off by covering Jack's mouth with sand.

"No." North deadpanned as Jack struggled to get the sand off of his mouth. "Sandy.." Jamie coaxed and the sand gag was released. "He'll take the bait. I know he's dying to see me up close like this. We could catch him." Jack said with confidence.

The Guardians and children seemed to be in deep thought at this. "But he could hurt you, Jack. He didn't hesitate to kill Sandy!" Jamie exclaimed. The boy in question sighed, "I know, believe me I do. But I'm on borrowed time. And if he's planning to hurt people? I have to try to stop him. He clearly is evading you all but is giving me nightmares still." He replied solemnly.

"Besides," Jack paused with a sigh. "My time is almost up anyway. I only have 2 weeks left." At this the room grew cold. Not physically, but it was so tense and full of anxiety that it just felt cold. Despite this, Jack smiled confidently. He had secretly made his peace with whatever befalls him.

If he is to die, he will die knowing he did everything he could to save the children, maybe even the world. He would even be able to see his beloved sister again. But if he passes this, and becomes a spirit again he will have felt what it's like to be human again.

To feel the cold, the warmth. He no longer hates the witch for doing this to him. He is upset that this happened, he hasn't had the best time lately as a human, but he's still experiencing it as a human which is an amazing opportunity.

"I trust Jack." Gen stepped up. "I trust that he knows what he's doing, and that he'll do what's right." She stated, turning to face the others. There were worried and nervous glances but everyone agreed. "Okay. We follow your lead." North crossed his arms as Jack nodded.

*Time Skip*

It had been two days. Jack was very tired, but not like before his hospital visit. They had made somewhat of a plan, and it was time to put it into action. The sun was beginning to set as Jack walked through Burgess woods.

His boots crunched into the snowy ground, his nose burried into his scarf, hands tucked into his trench coat pockets. He knew the woods very well, so he knew how far he'd need to go if he wanted to get Pitch to come out.

He was alone, of course, but he did have a taser hidden in his pocket just in case. As he made his way to the deeper part of the woods, the sun was almost set, but there was stil plently of light out. He shivered slightly, lifting his chin from his scarf.

"I know you're out here, I wanna talk." His breath came out smoke-like in the icy stillness. There were no sounds, just Jack's footseps coming to a stop, his breathing, and the occasional shuffle of his coat. There was silence.

A feeling of dread settled inside Jack, making him sure of Pitch's presence. "Don't be shy now, I don't have my powers anymore." He paused, a gut feeling telling him he wasn't alone anymore.

"But you know that. Lets just talk, yeah?" Jack casually turned around to servey his surroundings, knowing Pitch wouldn't be seen when Jack turned. "Yes, you are quite helpless now, aren't you." The sinister voice finally revealed itself where Jack had previously been facing.

The boy turned back around with a slight shiver. "Yep. You've been getting your kicks off of it though. You've gotten pretty creative lately." He drooped his shoulders as he referred to the nightmares Pitch had carefully crafted for him.

The slender spirit loomed over Jack even as he stood a few feet away, staring at him with a slight curiosity about him. Jack simply looked on in mild annoyance. "I actually like sleep, y'know. It'd be nice to have some from time to time." He brushed off the elder's silence.

"Now what's the fun in that?" Pitch mused, slowly beginning to circle Jack. "You didn't come all this way just to ask for a good night's sleep, I'm sure." The eerie voice chuckled. "It was worth a try." Jack shrugged.

Pitch stationed himself back at his original spot. "This is an ambush." Pitch accused as Jack was already shaking his head. "I'm alone, you know that. You followed me out here." Jack looked up at him, the calmness about him put Pitch on edge.

"Hm." The Boogyman simply hummed in response, eying the boy. "You can take a closer look, I don't bite." Jack gave a small signature smirk which made the man scoff. "Yes, you do." He retorted, earning a chuckle from the human.

"Yeah, you're right." Came his reply, but despite this, Pitch came closer which mildly surprised Jack. "I was there, you know." Pitch's voice came out hushed, almost inaudible to Jack's chilled ears. Pitch once again began to circle the boy, taking notice of the low heat readiating from his body, the small shivers from his shoulders, and his warm breath filling the icy air.

The elder man's brows furrowed, almost unable to believe this was really the mighty Jack Frost standing before him. "What?" Jack replied to Pitch's statement in slight confusion as the man stopped in front of him once again.

Those once icy blue eyes, now brown, bore into him expectantly and Pitch frowned. "When you became human again." He stated as Jack's eyes widened a bit. Before Jack could say anything else Pitch began walking further into the woods, allowing Jack to follow, which he did.

"Why?" Jack asked as he followed the slender figure, pulling out a flash light to see the path in front of him since it was now dark. "Because I reside in these woods since you and those imbeciles locked me away out here." He deadpanned, turning to glare at the boy as he suddenly became interested in a passing tree.

"That's rough buddy." Jack responded plainly. "What do you want, Frost?" Pitch was impatient now, his gold eyes piercing through the blackness of the woods. "I want to know what you're planning." Jack stated, earning a questioning look from the Boogyman.

The man was a bit stunned at Jack's answer to his question. Why would he tell Jack his plans? Why tell him what he really wanted? Jack knew something was up. Pitch hadn't offered him any power, any seats by his side, no teaming up. He didn't threaten anyone, nor did he make any moves to do any harm?

He wasn't trying to be menacing either. Jack was getting nervous, he wasn't sure what to do now that his plan has taken an unexpected turn. Pitch didn't answer Jack's question. "Where are we going?" Jack asked instead, not aure why Pitch would even walk with him.

"My cave. You need to warm up or you'll freeze." Came the Boogyman's response, making Jack stop dead in his tracks.