Brightest {A RotG Fanfic}

Chapter 25 - Red

    He heard her thoughts reply, "And so now you show up?" Her speech was fragmented, as if she was talking through an old radio. "It's you all along... I should've realized. Who else can create nightmares out here?" 

    "I did it so I can be free from my prison." 

    "You did it because you thought you didn't have any choice," she said. Clara looked at Benny, stroking his hair. 

    He waited for her to speak. Dust and ash flew up as he approached the girl and the child. At least there were no deaths... 

    "You were the one who tortured me. You were the one who fed from my terrors. I thought you were good. But I was wrong." Clara was crying. She used her dirty sleeve to wipe away the blood from her ears and used the other for her eyes. 

    "I am sorry," Pitch said with sorrow. He surprised himself with the tone of his voice, his emotions mirrored that in her eyes. 

    "I know it wasn't your fault... But I would never forgive you for what you did." 

    "I never asked for your forgiveness," he snarled, back to his previous façade. 

    "Deep down, you're reaching out... for someone who could understand what you're going through... The only one to blame here is the Chaos." 

    He glared at her vulnerable form. "You naïve child. It paved the way towards my goal: for me to get my memory back." 

    "I'm sorry no one believed in you." 

    His eyes widened in fury, but Clara continued. 

    "I'm also sorry that everyone saw you as a hazard, as something that could hurt them. But no... I never saw you that way. All you ever wanted was to be acknowledged for the good you've done, right? No matter how little?" 

    Pitch looked at her as she looked at the child in her arms. Ash covered their hair and smudged their skin. Clara was busy dusting him off uselessly. Even if he wasn't her brother, she treated him as if he was. She kissed the top of his head. 

    "I did you harm," he said to her. 

    "I accepted that," she said. "You became a traitor to us all, and I accepted that, too." 

    "You could never understand the reason why I did this to a mere child like you," Pitch said in a low voice. "I've made mistakes, and I know I'll make more. I have nothing to lose, Clara." 

    "What about humanity? Ever thought of losing that? Compassion? Remorse? Sadness?" 

    "Of course I feel emotion! I am not a heartless being who revels in the idea of torturing helpless children," Pitch responded. 

    Clara just looked at him. Her brown eyes were so full of innocence. She began to speak out loud, to the child, "Benny, baby... I... We're going home okay?" 

    The little kid asked her what's happening, but Clara shook her head. 

    "I can't hear you, Benny. See?" Clara pointed to her ears. "When my ears are very, very red, it means they are sick. Not working, see?" She snapped her fingers and shook her head. 

    "Nothing?" he asked her. 

    "Nothing," she answered when she saw him reply. 

    Pitch watched all of this and looked at the Guardians behind him. They held the front quite well, he could say.