Jack always felt drowsy when he watched the globe turn. It was a slow spin, and the lights were the perfect golden color that was like a dim fire. He liked to spend a little time by the globe every time he visited Santoff Claussen, but he'd been staring at the thing for half an hour now, and he was getting a tid tired. All peaceful sleepiness that had been accumulated vanished when North stepped up behind Jack and heavily patted the boy on his back.
"Still spinning?" He asked with amusement lacing his Russian accent. Jack smiled at the Guardian of Wonder, who he had begun to see as a father, and nodded.
"Gets a little slow around Hawaii but..." Jack joked and North laughed loudly. It drew over Tooth and Sandy, who were curious as to the source of North's amusement. Despite not being there for the joke, Tooth still laughed at the way North looked when he laughed. Jack was smirking slightly, not really sure if his little joke was that funny really. But North was easy to amuse, especially in his current state of not soberness.
"Oh I see how it is, everyone leaving out the old Pooka." Bunny pouted from the drink table. Jack kicked up off the ground and floated over to the overgrown rabbit. He mimicked the pouty face that Bunny wore as he poured himself a cup of Norths "special eggnog". It had become a tradition for them to celebrate the end of each Easter. After the whole ordeal with Pitch twelve years ago, they liked to make Easter a little special for the rabbit with a spiked brew and good company.
"Aw come on kangaroo you know we'd never leave ya out." Jack smirked, toasting him a slightly. Tooth fluttered after Jack and they laced their fingers together. Bunny rolled his eyes but toasted back.
"To Bunny!" North bellowed. He'd had a little to much eggnog already and the night was still young. Sandy made a sign that said he seconded the notion and they all joined in with cried of "Bunny" and "Easter" and "Eggnog"! But Jack, who was the least heavy drinker of them all, became painfully aware of the sudden black dot on the globe. He wanted to shrug it off as a trick of the light or maybe of the eggnog, but it was so definitively there that he knew it wasn't just him. He nudged Bunny and pointed to the black dot, which was slowly slipping away as the globe turned. Bunny barely saw the thing before it was lost on the horizon, but his ears perked up and he abandoned his cup to investigate.
"What's up with Bunny?" Tooth asked confused.
"Some sorta dot on the globe." Bunny called. Jack shrugged, taking one final drink before joining Bunny as he slowly followed the dot around the room. Sandy too wandered over, followed by a hilariously intoxicated North. Everyone except Jack seemed to snap out of their drunken reverie seeing the curious little light and North had the most dramatic personality change. One minute tripping over himself and the next commanding a yeti to get the sleigh prepared.
"What is it?" Jack asked trailing after the four more experienced Guardians. His hand was still locked with Tooth as she sped towards the sleigh but he was still coming down from eggnog land. Sandy tried to explain, but between the blurry vision and hangover symptoms that were starting to kick in already, Jack had no idea what to make of it.
"A dark spot like that means evil. Some sort of bad force is on globe and we must find it." North explained, a deadly determination taking over his features. Like a completely different person from five minutes ago.
"Evil, dark...like Pitch?" They all shuddered a little at the name.
"Let's hope not, but virtually yes. Something like Pitch." Tooth acknowledged. Jack rubbed his forehead and nearly tripped over an elf as he boarded the sleigh.
"Whoa Jack you're not coming with us!" Bunny nearly scoffed and helped Jack back out of the sleight.
"What? Why? I'm not that drunk!" He exclaimed with a frown.
"Mate you saw where the dot was."
"Yes but I seem to have forgotten already." Okay so maybe he was that drunk. But being an immortal, the whole being drunk thing went faster, or so he was told. You're drunk, you have a hand over, and your sober. All extremely fast, but for Jack it felt like the hangover was taking forever.
"Arizona mate. Not a good place for little frost spirits such as yourself. Especially not the day after Easter. Just stay here and make sure the elves don't get into the eggnog. We'll be back soon as we can." Bunny insisted. Jack looked at Tooth with a pout.
"Sorry Jack but I agree with Bunny. You'll overheat if you go with us." She kissed him gently on the cheek and boarded the sleigh.
"We'll return soon Jack." North promised and urged the reindeer on. Jack sighed, watching until they were out of sight, then returned to the globe room to wallow in self-drunken-pity.
The ride seemed to go by bizarrely fast for Bunny. He might have still be a little hungover, as demonstrated by the fact that he wasn't hanging onto the sleigh for dear life, but still...wow. Arizona isn't exactly next door neighbors with the North Pole yet in what seemed like only a few minutes they had arrived.
They parked in the desert and let Sandy fly them in on a spiffy magic carpet of dream sand. The dot had appeared right in the middle of Mesa, some place none of them had really ever explored. Generally it was uncomfortable for them to be in a place so inhabited by people. But if Pitch or anything like Pitch was there, they needed to know why and put an end to it. North pulled out a circular compact looking thing and flipped it open to reveal a tiny version of his globe. It zoomed into the black dot, detailing it's position on a street level.
"This way." He said simply, leading his friend through the quiet streets. Every now and then a car would pass them, but it was so late/early that none of them were really worried about having someone who would see them be awake to see them. Still it was strange to Bunny to be walking the streets of a city like it was normal.
The miniature map led them up to a small home in a more suburb area of Mesa. No cars stirred here, but they were still uneasy. The place seemed completely dark and devoid of activity. But up close, Tooth felt the darkness that the globe had shown. She knew there was something there, and she didn't like it. Her feeling was shared by the other three. Sandy, silently as ever, depicted that the four should each take a different entrance of the home and investigate. He himself got the honor of breaking in through the front door. He fashioned a skeleton key from dream sand and after a moment of trying, he got the lock to turn and the door to open. He silently slunk into the dark and still house, immediately greeted by snores.
There was a man and a woman in the front room, passed out on the couch. Sandy gently sprinkled a little sand over the two, trying to see what they were dreaming, but neither had anything specific in their heads. So he moved on, checking the kitchen, where he found Bunny had successfully gotten in through the side door. No dark shadows lurked there so he returned to the living room. He was curious as to why the man and woman were here and not in their room so he floated that way. North had maneuvered into the home through the patio door, entering into the couples room. He was surprised when the door to the room opened and had his swords ready when Sandy walked in.
"O bozhe moi! Sandy you frightened me!" He exclaimed quietly. Sandy laughed silently and pointed to the room. It was being painted, a sheet laid out over the unused bed. So that was why the couple were camped in the front room. But alas there was still no intruder. It must be in one of the other rooms. They came across Tooth as she descended the attic staircase. She too had found nothing. And Bunny came back from investigating the basement and bathroom just as they finished the dining room and laundry room. There was only one room left.
The door to the unchecked room was painted a bright red, with splotches of silver and black. Caution tape criss-crossed the painted beauty and a few pictures were stuck up. The most prevalent feature was a sign about sarcasm. Tooth was fairly certain a kid slept here, and she wasn't too happy thinking that some sort of dark evil thing was there with her. She was the one to hastily turn the nob and barge into the room.
None of the Guardians were particularly sure of what or who they would find on the other side. Not one of them wanted it to be Pitch, but of course it was. He stood in the middle of the chaotic but somehow organized room looking intently at a bundled up child. Bunny immediately pulled out his boomerangs, North his swords, and Sandy his whips. Pitch shifter his attention from the kid to the Guardians and growled.
"This doesn't concern you Guardians." He hissed. The kid whimpered a little at the menacing voice of the Boogeyman. It made them all hate Pitch a little more.
"It does now. Unless you wanna be nothing but a pile of sand I suggest you get outta here you demented freak." Bunny growled, prepared to toss his weapon. Pitch looked over the four Guardians and with a sneer he reached down, grabbing the kid by the blankets wrapped around him or her. He whispered something that the Guardians couldn't hear, and that made the child whimper again. But then he released the poor thing and faded into shadows, leaving them in the dark room with the panicked kid. The child was sobbing gently in heap on the floor, wrapped up in blankets so they couldn't see anything but a head of brown hair. He or she refused to look from the spot where Pitch vanished, not even when Tooth shifted uncomfortably. They were all understandably curious but none of them were sure how the kid would react to them trying to talk about what just happened.
"Hey, you okay?" Bunny asked, hopping forward a little. He or She sniffled a little but didn't reply. He hopped all the way over in front of the kid and gaped. It wasn't a kid at all, it was a young woman. Probably fifteen or sixteen. She looked at Bunny with large and tear filled blue eyes like she couldn't quite believe a six foot rabbit was standing in her room. Sandy, North, and Tooth all congregated around Bunny, all trying to get a look at the poor terrified girl. She still had yet to say anything but her sobs hung in the air. She was afraid of them, they could see it in her eyes. She flinched away when Tooth tried to put a hand on her shoulder and scrambled from the floor back to her bed, covering her head with her blankets.
"It's just a dream, it's just a dream, it's just a dream..." she murmured to herself over and over. The Guardians exchanged looks and they all decided with silent words that North should be the one to try to talk to the girl again. Sandy wandered away to make sure the adults would stay asleep. North knelt in front of the girls bed and cleared his throat.
"Uh, hello?" No response. "I am North. Also known as Santa." Still nothing. "We are not going to hurt you young lady. We want to know why Pitch was here and hopefully we can protect you from him." At this brown hair and blue eyes appeared again, but still not overly trusting.
"You can't protect me." Between the fact that it was a painfully quiet whisper and the sobs that accompanied it, North had trouble understanding it for a moment.
"Oh sweety of course we can. We're sorta special, we're really good at fighting people like Pitch." Tooth explained fluttering up next to North.
"You cant protect me from him." She insisted with a sad shake of her head. Bunny was busying himself looking around while they tried to talk to the poor girl. He was amazed at the collection of junk the girl had. Candlesticks and jewelry boxes and movie memorabilia and dolls. It seemed like she didn't throw away anything. But somehow it all fit together nicely. He was particularly fond of the three bookshelves and collection of vintage boomerangs she had. Each one handcrafted in Australia, or so the tags said. It must have taken her entire life to collect all of this, and he could honestly say he was jealous. There were so many little things everywhere he wasn't sure if he'd be able to see all of the stuff in under a month! The girl's sniffling drew his attention back to her.
"What happened tonight?" North was trying to calmly coax the information out of her.
"I was dreaming. And suddenly he was here. He knows all about me, he knows my secret. He said he was going to take me away from my parents because he needs something from me and it didn't matter what I wanted anymore. He said he needs my secret." The way she talked about this mysterious secret you'd think it was a curse from Satan or something. The Guardians all exchanged looks and all of them were wondering the same thing.
"Honey, whats your secret?" Tooth finally asked.
"I can't tell you." She whimpered, looking down at her hands that were now clutching her legs as she sat cross-legged, her blanket draped over her shoulder. As she looked down, brown hair fell over her face half hiding her fear filled eyes. "I don't want to help him. He's hurt me since I was a little girl. He's kept me so afraid." She sobbed. Tooth nearly glowed with anger.
"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down sheila, he is not gunna get to ya. We'll make sure of it." Bunny assured her. But she remained half hidden, and unconvinced. "Look, ya got a name?" He asked.
"Ellie. Ellie Parker." She whispered. They all looked at each other again. None of them had heard the name before. No one could identify why Pitch had targeted her. But they all seemed to agree she couldn't stay here by herself.
"Look Ellie we wanna keep ya safe. But we cant do it here. Ya gotta come with us to one of our homes so we can keep our eyes on ya." Bunny said bluntly. She looked up with doubt in her eyes but she seemed to remember that she was talking to a six foot bunny and didn't point out how bizarre the invitation was.
"My mom and dad..."
"We can make sure they're safe too." Tooth smiled kindly. Ellie shook her head slightly.
"I'm not worried about them being safe. I'm worried they'll freak out if I'm not here." Well that was weird. Bein threatened by the King of Nightmares and she's worried about her parents curfew for her? Bunny thought to himself. He wasn't quite sure what to make of this girl. She was obviously older than a kid, but she still looked so innocent with those big blue eyes. And her room was organized in a completely chaotic fashion but that just sorta seemed to suit her. He didn't want to make assumptions but she seemed so split down the middle. Was she a kid or was she a mature young woman? Did she even know herself? He sorta doubted it from the way she talked about her secret. She seemed so lonely and yet she seemed so wise. He was picking up so many completely different vibes from her that it was nearly driving him insane.
"Don't worry about that either." he finally said when the others didn't. "We're good at pacifying adults." He added when Ellie gave him a curious look. He smiled gently at her trying not to seem foreboding or creepy. She looked at him for another moment then wiped her eyes. Bunny noticed the way she pinched the sleeve of her shirt between her fingers as she wiped her eyes. Like she didn't want to let go of the long sleeve. Like she was cold, but the room was not nearly as cold as the North Pole.
"If I go with you, you can keep me safe?" She asked still unsure. North gratefully nodded. He wasn't sure he'd been getting through to the girl but finally! A breakthrough.
"Yes. We will keep you safe and happy! With hot cocoa and cookies and books!" He shouted happily and a bit proudly, before the other three shushed him. Sandy made a sign towards the living room, indicating the sleeping people. The slightest giggle rang in the air, and left them all a little surprised. The girl had giggled! The one who was crying only a minute ago was actually smiling at North's little outburst.
"Thank you. I've been scared so long..." She started to look off into the distance but shook her head and looked back at North.
"Well no longer. Come, we have sleigh to take us back." he held out his hand and the girl took it, her shirt still pinched between her fingers. North led the edgy girl to the door, but she seemed to remember something and ran back for a pair of black glasses that sat on her bookshelf, which served as a nightstand as well. After putting them on and wiping away the last few tears, she returned to stand between North and Tooth and followed them as they tiptoed past her parents. Her dad's snores reverberated throughout the house and made her smile slightly. Bunny couldn't help but like her smile. It seemed like a pleasant enough thing, though not nearly used enough he would bet. Sandy saw everything Bunny thought written over his expressive face like a neon billboard at night. He could tell Bunny liked Ellie. Heck Sandy would admit, he kinda liked the girl too. She seemed different somehow than the other kids they'd come in contact with. Even Jack's friend Jamie was nothing like Ellie.
They walked swiftly outside before Sandy conjured up a ride to take them to the sleigh. Ellie kept as far from the edge of the magic carpet as possible and on the sleigh took the same position as Bunny. Rigidly stiff in the very middle of one of the bench like seats. They were all silent on the ride back to the Pole. None of them really knew what to expect now. Or what they were going to do to make sure their promise was kept and Ellie would be safe from Pitch.
FAR AWAY IN THE SHADOWS...
Pitch growled to himself as he paced. It was so annoyingly characteristic of the Guardians to ruin his plans! Barging in at just he wrong moment, just before he was going to be done with his strike-fear-into-peoples-hearts monologue and take the girl! Now he would have to create some clever way to take her from under their noses.
He thought long and hard, pacing in front of his most loyal Nightmare Stallion. Then he remembered...poor Jack Frost hadn't been with them when they had ruined his little chat with the girl. They left him behind? That didn't sound like them. Not now that he was "a part of the family" and all that jazz. Perhaps the hot weather restricted him from making the journey? Well it's didn't really matter all that much to Pitch. A plan was already forming in his sinister mind.
By then the Guardians would all be back at the pole. And all together Pitch really couldn't stand up to them. But just because they were together now didn't mean they would always be. He would just have to be patient and wait until they left either Ellie or Jack alone. With a sadistic smile Pitch stopped pacing and sat down on his grand throne. The stallion made some sort of evil horse noise and disappeared into shadows as its owner stopped fretting.
Pitch could wait. He would wait. For Ellie...he would wait as long as he needed to.