I own nothing. All rights go to their respective owners. Except Black. She's mine. Muahaha. 3
-At the Pole-
"Outta my vay! Ze globe-" The large, white-bearded man stopped dead in his tracks, all the jolly spirit he once held now disspating at the horrid sight before him. The globe, with all of the lights of the children who still believed, was now surrounded by shadows, inky black as they streached around the mass, snubbing out the lights in its path. The front of the shadows morphed, becoming the sillouhette of a man that the Guardian of Wonder knew all too well, the shadow-man's head throwing back and letting out an evil, chilling chackle.
As he did, a puddle of blackness rose on the top of the globe, rising until it became a girl, not silouhetted, but her true form. She stood there, dressed head-to-toe in a cloak of shadows, the hood pulled so low that the only visible thing was the girl's pale gray skin, and one lock of black hair that shone dull silver in certain places. From the bottom of her cloak, shadows streatched down and enveloped the entire globe.
"...It cannot be..."The large guardian whispered, dread dropping in his chest as the girl splayed out her arms like an eagle, then quickly spun around, the cloak swirrling and twisting around her. In mere seconds they were gone, dissapeared in a flurry of shadows. The globe recovered, the lights slowly turning back on after what the guardian knew was a warning.
"...I must call ze others."The guardian said, determination and seriousness in his tone as he spun around, miniature elves and massive yetis jumping out of the way. What had just happened, he knew, was what they had all feared for hundreds of years. That the one thing that could threaten the children was finally back, and this time with backup.
The man felt a tug on his red pant leg, and he looked down, flustered and hurrying.
"Vat?! Vat is it?!"He asked in a thick Russian accent, the tiny elf below him pointing up to the skyview over the globe, where the moon shone bright and strong. But it did not look normal on this particular night. Emitting from the moon were waves of colourful lights, like the Aurora, reaching out over the world. The guardian raised his eyebrows and crossed his tattoed forearms.
"Hm, ze Man in ze Moon in two steps ahead of me. Yetis! Elves!"The man boomed, all hasty work stopped as they all snapped to attention. The guardian held his arms wide and shouted, "Prepare for guests!"
A hasty scrambling occured, with yetis running to prepare rooms and the elves...well...doing elf things. It was a matter of moments before the Guardians all arrived, and this time it would not be for a happy occasion. The guardian moved to the golden railing that overlooked a workplace below, right in front of the globe. In the moment of silence that followed, right before the arrival of the Guardians, the jolly old man sighed. He knew that girl who had stood at the top of the globe. A long time ago, he had been friends with her. When she changed, it devestated him.
But not nearly as much as another guardian that would be here tonight. A commontion behind him broke the man of his thoughts, turning just as a swirrel of bright golden sand rushed up and out of it popped a very, very short, round man with golden hair that stuck up, a chubby face and bright, happy eyes.
"Sandy!"The guardian exclaimed, arms open in joy as his old friend gave him a salute, an image of a heart popping above his head in sand.
"Oh my old friend, it has been too long, no? Yes!"The man chuckled, The Guardian of Dreams smiling brightly back.
"Incoming!"A small, sweet voice chimed, as a green blurr swooped into the room. A half-woman half-green and purple hummingbird stopped before them, her body covered in green, yellow, and purple feathers with a kind and gentle human face, violet eyes alert as her see-through, slightly purple wings batted behind her. A few baby hummingbirds swarmed around her, buzzing as she gave them orders hastily, gasping every now and then as she got the new location of a tooth in need of a present.
"Toothina! Buzzing like alvays!"The guardian man boomed, and Toothina, the Guardian of Memories, smiled, saying in a high, sweet voice,
"Not all of us can work just one day a year, North! Isn't that right, Sandy?"Toothina asked the little golden man, who nodded joyfully. North, the Guardian of Wonder, was about to retort, when he was interrupted by a thick Aulstralian accent,
"Took ya all long enough! By the time you fellas made it, I could have finished the eggs!" From behind North, an abnormally tall bunny walked, standing on his hind legs at a full 6,1, with pale blue fur and even paler blue fur on his stomach, indigo-colored fur creating markings on his body. His triangular face had two, bushy black eyebrows and deep green eyes, with a black strap across his shoulder and going across his chest, under his right arm, where boomerangs were held.
In his human-like, black-furred hands he was intricatly painting a small egg.
"Bunnymund, not everything is a race."Toothina joked lightly, Bunnymund, the Guardian of Hope, ignoring her and turning to North, annoyed.
"What's the big idea, mate? I got three thousand more eggs to paint, and Easter is only three bloody days away!"Bunny demanded, and the jolly man's mood dampened. With the sudden and noticable shadow crossing the man's face, the other guardians looked closer as he turned to the globe, arms crossed across his chest, 'Naughty' and 'Nice' tattoed on his heavy forearms amoungst other tribal tattoos.
"...Something happened."He said darkly, as a Yeti walked up, handing North a thin, black phone. North raised his eyebrows in surprise and took the phone. "Oh, you got it on video. Wonderful, I'll just show you zen...um...vell...how does this vork?...Oh! Yes! Here ve go!" He exclaimed, as a yeti stood holding the phone, lightly tapping the screen where the guardians gathered, the scene from before playing out.
There was silence, then Toothina gasped as she saw the shadows. An image of an exclimation point appeared above Sandy's head, Toothina's eyes widening and her baby teeth fluttering about worriedly.
"Pitch! He's back!"She exclaimed, and North nodded. "Wait, what's..."Toothina cut herself off as the sound of a paintbrush hitting the floor cut the tension. The image on the phone showed the girl, rising out of the shadows and covering the globe in shadows. Everyone looked over at the Guardian of Hope, as his face contorted into a scowl, eyebrows drawing together as he leaned in closer, anger in his eyes as he spat a single name.
"Black."
Black's p.o.v***
I stood a top a roof, looking down in the night, my hood protecting me from the unseasonable cold in April, caused by only one person. The wind billowed my cloak a bit, but not a lot, remaining still as I took watch over Pitch's actions, ensuring that no harm came to him as he initiated his plan, the plan that would finally end all of his suffering. That would make him happy again.
Anyone getting in the way would pay by me. The night around me fell, little golden tendrils of sand creeping into windows of children, giving them good dreams and sweet sleep. There was a time when I would have left them alone, when children held a greater meaning to me. A time when Pitch's actions had no influence over my life, when I would even play with the children that could see me.
But that time ended when Pitch was threatened, and I had to make a choice. I chose the Boogeyman. I chose my big brother. Doesn't sound so bad that way, does it?
"Hey, who's there?"A young voice called, and I looked down into an alley, seeing the cause for my chill. A young boy, dressed in a blue hoodie and brown pants, barefoot, with pale white skin and shockingly white, messy hair over two pale blue eyes, a wooden staff in one hand with a semi-circle at the end. Jack Frost.
His question wasn't aimed at me, which piqued my interest. I stood on the edge of the roof, walking forward until I was frozen solid by a voice so painfully familiar. A voice I knew I'd run into when Pitch had begun formulating his plan to destroy the belief in the children by defeating their guardians. A voice that brought back too many memories that I'd convinced myself to cover up.
Because he didn't mean to me now what he did before. Because now, all that I allowed myself to focus on was being Pitch's guardian. Anything else, even memories of a man, meant nothing to me now.
"Been a long time, mate."An Aulstralian accent came out of the shadows, and Jack's face became amused and playful, leaning on the staff childishly.
"Oh, hey there!"He said, the voice following dark and clearly holding a grudge.
"Sorry if I'm not so keen ta see ya, after what ya did last time I saw ya."
Jack's smile grew more and more amused by the second, saying airily,
"The Easter Blizzard of '68? You still mad about that, Hops?" From the shadows a large, intimidating-looking bunny jumped. 6,1, nerves of steel, master of tai chi. So I had been told. Hearing him and seeing him had completely different effects.
Hearing him brought back memories. Seeing him...for a moment...brought a feeling of longing, for an old friend. Of guilt, because I knew that if I stepped foot in front of him, a fight would break out. But these feelings lasted only a moment before my instinct jumped up and stifled them, focusing only on why these two were meeting now of all times. Easter was only three days away, and Bunnymund was always frantically busy at this time... So I'd heard.
"It was Easter Sunday!"He exclaimed angrliy, Jack laughing nervoisly as two larger figures walked up behind Bunnymund. Yetis, one holding a brown sack and the other a snowglobe.
"Hey guys, what's up with that stuff?"Jack asked, floating away, feet not touching the ground. Bunnymund smirked and spun a boomerang in his hand, saying in a cool tone,
"We're taking a trip, Frostbite."
In one swift motion, the yeti covered Jack's head and swooped him into the bag, the second yeti tossing the globe, a rainbow-colored portal opening in thin-air. The yetis moved towards the portal, looking back at Bunny in a beckoning way. He held up a hand and said cooly,
"Thanks, but my tunnels are faster, mates." The yetis gave each other a look and shrugged, walking through the portal that closed instantly behind them. I sensed that he was going to turn around and stepped back, throwing an arm in front of me, shadows following command and cloaking me in darkness just as Bunnymund turned, looking up right to where I was standing.
Though I knew I could see him, yet he couldn't see me, part of me worried a moment that he was looking right at me. I tried not to make it harder, to not look into those eyes, as he slowly tapped a foot on the ground, a tunnel opening up under it. In a second he was gone and the hole closed up, me throwing the shadows off just as a pair of hands lightly pulled down my hood from behind. A light kiss was placed on my hair as a kind voice said in a slight accent,
"It went perfectly. Each child, twisting in fear. The first step is completed, without a hitch, and soon...oh, soon children will believe in me. Everyone will believe in me!" He was so joyful, so happy, that I hated the news I had to bring to him. For there was only one reason for Jack Frost to be taken by Yetis.
"There is a minor complication."I said calmly, the hands on my shoulders tightening a bit.
"What is it?"Pitch asked in a deep tone. My eyes remained where the Guardian of Hope had dissapeared.
"A new guardian has been chosen. Jack Frost."
