Title: Runny Nose Reindeer 2/?
Fandom: Rise of the Guardians
Rating: PG for now, ratings might change later
Story summary: When North refuses to help Pestilence, the Spirit of Disease, said Spirit infects his reindeer with an unknown illness. Now, the Guardian of Wonder has until the next Christmas to find either a cure, or someone who knows it.
Notes: This is a fill for the RoTG Kink meme, which can be found here. Extra foot notes marked with a number, can be found at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 2
The first thing North made certain of, was to completely evacuate the stables. It was only pure luck that none of the elves had been there, but North decided to find out why that was later (though knowing them, it had to be food related). Instead, he searched out all the different elf tunnels that went through the stables, and then proceeded to close and lock them up, and added a warding spell for good measure. The ones he couldn't get to in person, were found with a spell, before they too were closed and locked up.
When that was done, North sent one of his yeti to set off the Aurora Borealis, so that the other Guardians could be summoned.
The time waiting was one he spent berating himself. Because if one had to be brutally honest, he had been far too hasty in rejecting Pestilence. The other spirits words kept coming back to him, and it left him with a sour taste in his mouth.
Nicholas St. North, you are a fool. He thought darkly to himself. And you call yourself a Guardian... You had plenty of time to come up with some kind of idea at least. But no, you had to reject Pestilence, simply because of your issues... At the thought of it, he shuddered, but forced down his disgust.
Yes, lepers were not one of the things he had been the most fond of when he was a child. But that was no excuse now, when he as a very adult man, should have been able to overcome such... apprehensions. And even more when it came to helping the children that suffered from it.
Dubiina!(1) North thought darkly. Despite how crude he had been about it, Pestilence had meant well when it had come to his request. The children had need of North, just as much as anyone else. And to refuse helping them, was to go against his very own oath.
Good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them. The Guardian of Wonder thought bitterly, and glanced upwards towards the skylight for a moment. While the moon wasn't visible, North couldn't help but wonder if Manny had noticed things. And if he had, why had he not said anything?
While he thought about this, North went around and examined his reindeer, frowning as he looked over their symptoms and wrote them down on a clipboard. Perhaps one of the others would have an idea of what disease it was that Pestilence had been talking about? It didn't look good, and one of the reindeer had coughed up a massive amount of green slime, while North was examining it. The Guardian wrote it down quickly, and quietly prayed for a solution.
Whatever this disease is, he thought, I am going to need all the help I can get.
The second precaution North had taken, had started the moment that the other Guardians had appeared.
They had been informed very sternly to keep out of a certain range, especially since North had no idea how this disease got spread. Having been as close to his reindeer as he had, in order to examine them, the Guardian of Wonder wasn't taking any chances, even though he had taken a scalding shower before the meeting in the hopes of decontaminating himself.
Especially since two of the Guardians basically were related to animals, with Tooth being part bird, while Bunnymund was a giant rabbit. The last thing anyone needed, was for them to get sick as well, especially with Bunny getting ready for Easter again. Last years disaster had been bad enough.
And then there was Jack. He played with kids and their animals almost every day, and while his amount of believers were growing steadily, it was still a fragile position. Pestilence's comment on Alaska alone had been enough to remind North of that.
Better safe than sorry, as they said.
"... And that is the whole story." North said, as he finished his story with a heavy sigh. "I have looked most of the animals over, and even the calves have been affected! It is only luck that I thought to separate the pregnant does from the herd three weeks ago. I do not dare think what effect there would the disease might have on them otherwise."(2)
The other Guardians, seated as far from North as possible, nodded in agreement.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Tooth asked with a worried look. "I mean, there has to be something. Right Bunny? Next to Sandy, you're one of the oldest of us."
"And you have all those plants too." Jack agreed. "Can't you make a remedy or something? I mean, you're good at whipping up a lot of stuff on the run."(3)
Bunnymund huffed, crossing his arms. "It ain't that simple..." He rumbled. "I only know remedies for a few things, and those are for th' few humanoid illnesses I know! I never really went for the veterinary line o' medicine, and even if I did, there's th' risk of gettin' sick with whatever is wrong with his antlered brumbies if I got too close." He looked to Jack with a harder frown. "An' more than that, as North pointed out, we don't know if it affects kids."
The winter spirits expression darkened. "Knowing old boil-face, it wouldn't be good if it did." He muttered. North frowned, but made no comment about it. Instead, he looked towards Sandman, who was hovering in the air with a cup of eggnog in one hand, and a very thoughtful expression.
"Sandy? Any thoughts?"
The Dream Weaver frowned, shaking his head slightly. With a series of carefully woven signs, he expressed his sympathies for North's situation. While he as a star was much older than any of the Guardians, he had never really been one to be affected himself by diseases. Children played in the muck and sand every day, and for the most part, they were fine, which was one reason that Sandy could assure, that North wouldn't have to worry about him. Because let's be honest, he signed with a raised brow, someone has to keep an eye on you.
North simply sighed. "But that does not mean you can help, does it now." He concluded.
Sandy shook his head in an apologetic way. I am terribly sorry, he signed, but in all my time, I have only been concerned with sea creatures. There are very few mammals I know how to treat, and they do not include reindeer. (4)
But! He added, using an exclamation mark to make his point, I do think I know someone who can help. He has been around almost even longer than I, and for as long as I have known him, he has always had an interest in Pestilence's diseases and on how to cure them. He saw it as a sort of sport... He grimaced slightly at that though.
There is just one small problem.
"Well tell us what it is!" Bunny exclaimed impatiently. "Does this guy demand special payment or somethin'?" He snorted at that, looking towards his fellow Guardians. "I mean, if he's one o' those ol' Giants, then we could probably trick the cure out of 'im."(5) An impatient tapping on the shoulder from the Sandman silenced him, and he looked back to see the other shaking his head firmly.
He is not an old Giant, the Dream Weaver said. The reason that I think he might not want to help us... is because of how we defeated him last Easter.
There was a deep ringing silence for a moment, and then Bunnymund hid his face behind his paws with a pained groan. North echoed the motion by running a hand down across his own face, before he lightly pinched the bridge of his nose, as if attempting to ward off a migraine.
Tooth grimaced herself, though she looked like she couldn't decide if it should be in worry or dismay, while Jack just watched it all with a raised eyebrow.
"So, you're saying the only one who might be able to help us is Pitch Black?" When the Sandman nodded, Jack blinked, then made a 'hrm' sound, and stood in silence for a while, before he finally shrugged.
"Alright then, let's go get him."
Bunny froze completely where he sat, before he slowly lifted his head, and glared firmly at Jack.
"What... Did you just say?" He growled.
"Before you say anything yourself," Jack responded quickly, "think about it! None of us know how to take care of this disease. And we don't know anyone else who might, except Pitch, and of course Pestilence." When none of the others said anything, he continued, "and from how it's going with the reindeer, we can either try to get help from Pitch, while searching for someone else who might know how to help the reindeer, or we can search for someone else right now, and waste precious time that we don't have!"
The others looked at him in slightly stunned silence at that, but then Bunnymund growled, crossing his arms with huff.
"Alrigh', fine. But I ain't goin' after him. Not on yer nelly."
"I hate to sound like a coward..." Tooth said quietly, "but I would rather not go as well." She shuddered, hugging herself. "My fairies told me about how it was down there, while they were captured, and I just... oogh!" She grimaced in dismay, her tail feathers shivering slightly.
"It is alright, Tooth. No one is forcing you or Bunny to do anything." North said soothingly. "No, I think it is best if only Jack, Sandy and I go. And perhaps one or two yeti. So long as we keep a certain distance from each other, I do not think the disease will spread between us. And with where we are going, there will be plenty of space."
"What would we need yeti for?" Jack asked curiously.
North shrugged. "In case Pitch struggles. If he knows how to treat reindeer, we must bring him here whether he likes it or not. So yeti can sneak up on him if necessary."
"Ye're all outta yer bloody mind." Bunny muttered darkly.
Bunny was at least willing to help by opening a tunnel to Pitch's lair, since they couldn't be certain how the magic in Norths snowglobes would react to the Boogeymans realm, especially with their old enemy being as weak as he was.(6)
But first they made preparations, based on some of Jacks descriptions. Even if Pitch was weakened, it didn't mean his realm wasn't dangerous, or any less of a maze. So rope was one of the things brought, along with a few lanterns, just in case. (7)
Much to Tooth's surprise, one of her own fairies volunteered to come along, chirping eagerly as she flew around Jacks head, before settling on his shoulder and nuzzling happily against his neck. Jack laughed softly when both he and the Guardian of Memories realized that the little fairy was Baby Tooth.
"She knows Pitch's lair." He told Tooth, "and she could be of great help." His tone indicated however, that Tooth had the final say on the matter.
Tooth frowned as she looked at the little fairy, who was giving her the fairy equivalent of puppy eyes. In her own thrilling language, she assured her queen that she would be careful and not get in the way at all!
"All right..." Tooth finally sighed, before she pointed warningly at Baby Tooth, "but you do as Jack says, and if something happens, you do NOT put yourself in danger!"
Baby Tooth chirped in agreement, before snuggling thoroughly into Jacks hoodie.
When they were certain that they were ready, Bunny begrudgingly informed them, that if they were gone for more than three hours, he would come down after them.
"I don't trust Pitch any more than I c'n throw 'im. So better safe than sorry." He said gruffly. Jack just grinned in response.
"Aww Bunny, you do care!"
"Oh hush up, ya bloody galah." The Pooka scoffed. Then he tapped his foot, and a tunnel opened in front of them. "A'right, this is goin' to take ya straight to Pitch's lair. Ya sure yer gonna be alright?"
"We will be fine. Sandy says he has a plan of some kind." North said, while glancing at the Dream weaver. Sandy nodded, before he in his own language signed that they first had to find the Boogeyman. But as soon as they did, he should be able to make his plan work, depending on how things turned out. For all they knew, Pitch might actually help them, simply in return for a price.
"Yeah well, whatever ya got in mind, it better be good." The Pooka rumbled. The Dream Weaver nodded, and then floated down into the tunnel in order to light the way.
After him came Jack, and finally, once he had ensured there was proper 'quarantine distance' between them, North followed with two of his yetis, who had the rope tied between them for when they entered Pitch's lair. The trip was slower this time, unlike when they had traveled to the Warren, which had been more of a surprise roller coaster ride. But they still made pretty good time, even as the tunnel got darker and darker.
They soon came out of the tunnel and into the wider space of Pitch's lair. It was just as large and eerie as Jack remembered it, with the cages that the Tooth fairies had been trapped in hanging above them.
Baby Tooth gave a soft chirp in apprehension, but was brave enough to carefully fly up so she could get a proper bird's eye view. Jack smiled encouragingly, then looked around with a frown while gripping his staff tightly in his hands.
"Which way, Jack?" North asked quietly. Behind him, the yetis had arrived and had readied their own weapons and were ready to move out.
Jack looked to Sandy, who simply nodded silently, telling him to lead the way. The winter spirit began to move forward, listening intensely as he did so. For the moment, all that could be heard was the light fluttering of Baby Tooth's wings as she flew ahead to carefully scout the area, the subtle, but still heavier footsteps of the yetis, and the gentle breathing of everyone else, along with the very light creaking of the old cages above.
They soon found a small flight of stairs, which lead them up to what Jack had basically assumed was the center of the Boogeyman's lair. On the platform it lead to, they found the globe that showed all the children in the world who believed in the Guardians, its lights casting shadows around them. North frowned when he saw it however, and grumbled something under his breath about 'black sand'.(8) Jack looked to him at that, but when the Guardian of Wonder made no further comment, he made a mental note to ask him about it later. The Yetis, Jack noted, had disappeared and were nowhere to be seen. For being so large and imposing, the enormous creatures could be incredibly silent as well, and Jack had no doubt that if they did find Pitch, he wouldn't see them coming.
Sandy on his part floated up to the top of the globe, where he landed and then made a show of scouting along with Baby Tooth, before he looked to the others and shrugged. He hadn't seen the Boogeyman at all.
"Where could Pitch be?" Jack asked out loud, and tried not to flinch when his voice echoed around them unexpectedly in a faint series of 'be... be... be...'. It made sense that the acoustics would go crazy however, when you thought about it. Since the place wasn't filled to almost the bursting point with the Tooth boxes this time around, sounds were thrown around much more easily.
It also made it a lot more harder to distinguish where sounds were coming from however. As the echo of his words faded, Jack felt the familiar niggling sensation, of someone who wasn't present watching him. It was impossible to tell from where though, but he had no doubt about who it was.
"Pitch!" He called out instead. "We know you're here somewhere!" Again, the last word echoed the most into a faint 'where...ere...re...'. This time however, there came a response in the form of a sharp whinnying, the loud screeching sound ringing painfully in everyone's ears, right before the black, unmistakeable shape of a Nightmare suddenly came galloping through the air, zig-zagging between the cages until it disappeared out of sight. There was a brief garbling of yeti voices, which suggested that the massive abominables had startled the Nightmare from wherever it had been roosting.
"You have some nerve!" The unmistakeable voice of the Boogeymans hissed from the shadows. The three Guardians looked around, their weapons wielded, but there was no sign of the Nightmare King. They could sense his presence though, and kept looking, searching the darkness. It was almost impossible to see properly though, even with the glowing lights from the globe.
"Not enough to defeat me, is it? Now you come to invade my home?!" Pitch snarled, "or perhaps your precious Man in the Moon finally decided, that I should be finished off for good? About time then, if that's the case."
Sandy frowned, and began to make a series of signs with his sands. Some were in his usual charade language, showing an 'S.O.S', and the Guardian symbol.
There came a snarling laugh at that.
"And what makes you think I'm going to help you lot? You seemed awfully content to let me be dragged down here to rot!"
North on his part seemed to be listening intently, before he seemed to realize something. He gave Sandy a look, which the Dream Weaver seemed to understand. The Sandman in return very discreetly made a tiny sand symbol in the form of the three Guardians making goofy gestures, while a teeny version of Baby Tooth hovered over a tiny figure of Pitch.
Jack understood at once, and so did the mini fairy, who discreetly disappeared into the shadows herself. Only a few faint glimpses of green and blue showed her presence, at least while she was close enough to the globe.
"Yeah well, you kind of brought that on yourself." The Winter Spirit called out loud. "Frightening kids, and giving them Nightmares? Not exactly the best thing."
"Always easier to talk big, isn't it, Frost." Pitch growled. "Especially now that you're a member of the big leagues. But is it truly worth it?" There was a nasty chuckling at that. "Did they pay any attention to you, during North's holiday at all?" The Winter spirit narrowed his eyes, but Sandy put a hand on his shoulder, before flashing a series of signs. Jack is worth more than you could ever imagine.
"We will always have each others back." North agreed gruffly, "especially at a time like this."
The words were touching, and Jack found himself smiling slightly at the older Guardian, but Pitch scoffed at them.
"I would normally love to demonstrate what I can achieve in my own domain," he said drily. "But since you brought the glow-in-the-dark cat pan, I feel it isn't worth it."
Sandy's jaw dropped, and his eyes went wide, right before he went a dark orange color with anger. Jack couldn't help but think, that if they had not been on their current mission, the Boogeyman would have been in for a solid beating. That Pitch could be heard chuckling from somewhere, clearly secure in that the others couldn't find him, didn't really help.
Suddenly, there was a loud squealing from Baby Tooth, along with a surprised snarl, which was followed by the sounds of a violent struggle. Judging from the triumphant shout from one of the yetis however, it had been very one-sided. The Mini Fairy soon came darting out of wherever she had been, followed shortly by the yetis, who came into sight while carrying a sack between them. Something inside of the sack was struggling furiously, while muffled swearing could be heard. Pitch might have been weakened in some ways, but physically he was still able to put up quite a fight.
"As you say yourself," North said with a grin, as he looked towards the sack, while still keeping his distance, "big words are always easy. But sometimes, action is better!"
A muffled snarl could be heard from the sack, and the yetis yelped as Pitch kicked towards them in an attempt to get free. They would probably have lost their grip too if Sandy, still scowling about the insulting 'cat pan' comment, had not summoned up a ball of Dream Sand, which he then tossed at said sack. It hit it right on the side, with its cargo going limp, as the sand took the shape of golden butterflies that began to circle around the bottom of it.
North huffed a bit. "Thank you, Sandy." He then frowned, looking towards the others. "Now, let us go back to the work shop. We have much to do!" He turned and began to walk back towards the still open tunnel that Bunny had provided for them. Once at the proper distance, the two yetis followed, with Sandy hovering after them, scowling at the sack whenever it seemed like it might move in a wrong way, with another ball of sand ready in his hands.
Jack glanced at Baby Tooth, as the two followed their friends to get back to North's workshop. "Yeah, let's agree to never call him any names." He muttered. The tiny fairy chirped in agreement.
In the darkness behind them, the shapes of several Nightmares carefully peered out from assorted hiding spaces. It was only the presence of the Sandman that had kept them from coming to their master's aid. But they would be ready, should he summon them for any reason whatsoever.
1- Dubiina – Russian for idiot
2- I figure that while Pestilence did go for the main stables, he didn't look elsewhere during his temper tantrum, so the Does are in a separate stable. The disease might still be carried to them, but North will be taking his precautions as we will see in future chapters
3- According to the book, Bunny has invented a lot of things to try and help mankind, including jokes, spring, summer vacations and other stuff.
4- For all we know, these mammals includes dolphins and whales, and maybe smaller critters like cats or dogs.
5- Going for a bit of the classic mythology here. In some stories, there are giants or similar beings, that are known for having a "cures everything" object, be it a potion or a house hold object like a comb or something. The hero of the story either gets this object as a reward, or through trickery.
6- we know how the Guardians' magic was pretty much warped, as they lost their powers. Tooth molted like crazy, North literally felt his age, and lost his ability to handle his reindeer, and Bunny became mini!Bunny. So who knows what might have happened fully with Pitch? We could go by the example by Rufftoons comics, but we don't know how it might have affected his lair. Cartoon logic states, that if a villain with magical origin loses power, his home usually goes down with him.
7- Important note for cave climbing. Always have a rope so you can stay close together in groups, and always have plenty of light. Especially if the cave is the kind that changes its surroundings if necessary.
8- According to one of the Dreamworks people, in the opening scene where Pitch spreads black sand all over North's globe, he basically did this in order to hack the globe and "download" all the information he could find, about where there was a child that believed in the Guardians.