Cold War

by proximally

[INDEFINITE HIATUS] North receives some unexpected visitors and the Guardians learn of their newest member's old friends and do not approve. But they've appeared for more than pleasantries, and Jack is the only one who can help them - well, the only one willing to help. No pairings.

1. Prologue

Cold War

- Prologue -

.\/\/\/\/.

North smiled, eyes sparkling with glee, as he admired his newest creation. It was small, sleek and sparkling, with long, delicate-looking legs and a spiralling horn jutting from its forehead; a hand-sized icy unicorn, as lifelike as anything. Of course, it was only the prototype, the maquette; the one that would be given out come Christmastime would be twice as large, with many alterations, and certainly not made of such an ephemeral material as ice. Nonetheless, North was most pleased; he was certain that the little girls of the world would simply adore the little equine toy. Carefully, he placed it upon what had come to be called the Design Rack. It wasn't really a rack, more of a shelf, but it was covered with little icy animals and objects, all painstakingly numbered, each number corresponding to one of the hundreds of blueprints neatly ordered on the actual rack. In time, the designs would be collected by one of the many yeti, improved upon and then built in time for the next Christmas.

Then, just as he was picking up his now-cold mug of hot chocolate, there was a knock at the door, one that could only have been made by a heavy-handed yeti. North sighed, and replaced the cup on his rather cluttered desk. Opening the door, he came face-to-face with a grey-furred abominable snowman with a slightly nervous expression; Phil, head of security. The guard grunted something that would be unintelligible to most, but North understood perfectly. "Well, show them in, then. Can't have them freezing, can we?" Phil grumbled something else, and the white-bearded toymaker just answered with, "Why not take them to the stable? I am sure reindeer will not mind." The yeti nodded and turned to leave, but stopped as a thought occurred to him. Once the sentry had voiced his concerns, his boss gave him an uneasy smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "What else can we do but make them comfy and hope?" Phil gave him a rather worried look before leaving to relay the message concerning the Workshop's uninvited guests. He could only hope that this was the right thing to do.

.\/\/\/\/.

No more than ten minutes later, North arrived to a scene that, if he wasn't so nervous, he would have found most amusing. Three additional armchairs and a rickety wooden rocking chair had been pulled up next to the fire opposing his own. The individual closest to the fire seemed to be looking despairingly at his mug of hot chocolate, but it was hard to tell, the thin figure in the middle was sipping demurely at his beverage and staring into the flames, and the last two were bickering quietly and glaring daggers at each other. North made his way to his own chair, and coughed nervously to get his guests' attention. "Ah, gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

The figure directly opposite him, finally drawing its eyes away from the mug, said, in a voice that seemed to bypass the ears on its way to the brain, WE ARE SEARCHING FOR...AN OLD FRIEND.

North frowned. "You are...who you are. How can you, of all...people, not find them?"

HE HAS NO NEED TO FEAR ME.

"He is one of us, then? Surely he must have a home, a headquarters?"

HE IS A NOMAD. HIS VISITS ARE FLEETING, BUT HIS REACH IS FAR.

"Then why do you think I would know where he is?"

YOU ARE A FRIEND.

"I have many friends. What is he called?"

HE GOES BY MANY NAMES. WINTERSMITH. VETR. OLD MAN WINTER...

North could see where this was going, and he did not like it. Did not like it one inch.

...JACK FROST, said Death.

.\/\/\/\/.

Disclaimer: Not mine, thank goodness. If it were mine, you would all be very depressed people.

A/N: First things first: I am only posting this here because otherwise I'll just forget about it and it'll die all alone deep in the recesses of my computer like so many other fanfics I've started but never got past chapter 1. So please guilt-trip me into continuing this by voicing your approval. Point the second is that all my notes and comments get chucked over at idoloni . tumblr . com - I'll also be posting a (tiny) preview of the next chapter. Lastly, I'm still not entirely sure where I'm going with this. I laugh in the face of story plans. Nonetheless, if I don't update often, it's for either this reason or school.

Thank you for reading and until next time,

Idoloni