A/N: Here, have an update.

Disclaimer: I don't own RotG.


"Last things last
By the grace of the fire and the flames
You're the face of the future, the blood in my veins, oh ooh
The blood in my veins, oh ooh
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing
Inhibited, limited
Till it broke open and rained down
You rained down, like...

Pain!
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
Pain!
You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer
Pain!
Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain
My life, my love, my drive, it came from...

Pain!"-"Believer" by Imagine Dragons


(Floor 1*, Sector 3 (S.O.B [Study of Otherworldly Beings]), Erutrepa Science Facility, Upper Michigan, USA)

(June 16, 2016, 9:20 AM)

Someone was screaming in the operating room.

He had a good idea who they were. Test subject 5811, a river nymph, was scheduled for operation that day, supposedly to determine how changes in her genetic makeup affected her powers. Indeed, he would have believed that story, if the experiment hadn't already been repeated four times during his 'employment', each time with the same results.

An agonized scream echoed from the locked and bolted door, and he winced before going back to tallying equipment. It was a well-known fact that the Laboratory Director* considered using anesthetic and antiseptic for operations as a waste, and as a result, screams and shrieks were the norm at S.O.B. Laboratories.

It's a wonder no one has gone insane yet.

Having determined to his satisfaction that there were precisely twenty-three packs of filter paper, he switched to counting the face masks. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a couple of interns glancing nervously at the closed doors of the operating room, and he gave them both a stern look that clearly said "get back to work".

They did, both scowling at him. They would likely consider him heartless, but it was necessary. The Director didn't like it when people tried to interfere with his so-called 'work', and many a young intern had died that way.

If murder and torture could be considered 'work', that is.

Oh, and you're so much better? If you consider him so low, then why don't you stop him instead of sinking to his level?

It's not like I have much of a choice, you know.

Excuses, excuses. That's just what you like to tell yourself.

I'm serious. If I interfere, the only thing I'll accomplish is the signing and stamping of my own death sentence.

Which is better, death in honor or life in infamy?

He sighed, closed his eyes briefly, and then reopened them. They were dull and glazed, even as he went back to counting masks, even as screams split the air.


(Globe Room, North's Workshop, North Pole)

(June 16, 2015, at 2:31 PM EDT*)

"North? What are you doing?"

Tooth was...well, to put it mildly, she was concerned. Lately, North had been behaving more or less like a madman, from the first triumphant cry of "I've found him!" six months ago, to the recent slipping of a temporary appearance-changing potion into their food.

...A potion that made them look like humans, as far as she could tell. She glanced nervously over her shoulder, long hair weighing her head down in an unfamiliar way, to see that yes, indeed, her wings were now missing. Fabulous.

Although, she still wasn't sure how he managed to slip the potion in her food. She and her fairies always kept their food supplies under constant, jealous supervision, in order to guard against potential assassinations...

Unless they hadn't. Her fairies loved her, but they adored Jack. It wasn't unreasonable to assume that they might have bent the rules for North, just a little, just enough to help bring Jack home.

Damn it.

Bunny looked just as annoyed as she felt, if not more so. Practically snarling, he stomped forward, the heavy brown boots that now adorned his human feet smacking harshly against the floor of the Workshop. "Just what the hell do ya think yer doin', mate?"

North's voice was somber, even as streaks of black were swiftly replacing the white of his hair, giving him a faintly zebra-like appearance. "I am doing what I believe is necessary, my friend."

"Necessary? How the bloody hell is this necessary?"

The beard abruptly vanished, showing a younger-looking North underneath. "Because it is better that we arrive at Erutrepa as potential interns, instead of as spirits."

Tooth forgot her irritation at her wingless-state, curiosity taking hold. "Whoever said anything about going to Erutrepa?"

North took one last vial of the lilac-colored potion and nonchalantly poured it over Sandy, who was sleeping. It soaked into the golden sand, and a lilac-colored exclamation mark formed briefly over the awakening Sandman's head before he too, was turned into a human with a faint pop. "I do."

"North, Manny told us to wait-"

North seemed to snap at that moment, eyes narrowing. "I am tired of waiting! We have been waiting for six months, my friends, and it has been six months too long! Oh, it is easy for Manny to say 'wait' but while we wait, Jack is getting hurt, and the longer we wait the more he is hurt."

"North, we don't know what's happening. Just because they study spirits doesn't mean they're cruel-"

"Ah, but let me stop you there, Toothy. They are cruel, and I am living proof of it."

A dull silence oppressed them, as they glanced at each other nervously. All of them remembered the time when North had gone missing for two weeks, and had returned a bloody, gibbering mess, ranting about "scientists" and "murderers". It took ten days of steady care before he told them what had really happened, and they had all done their best to forget it.

North broke the silence with a heavy sigh. "You see, friends, I suffered much. I still have nightmares, even now. But I suffered for only two weeks, while Jack has been trapped for six months. Who knows how badly he has been hurt, while we have 'waited'?"

The guilty silence seemed to stretch for eternity. They shared a glance, considering.

Rolling his eyes, Bunny stepped forward, Tooth and Sandy following suit. The rabbit-turned-human sighed as he tapped his foot impatiently. "Alright, mate, lead the way."

North smiled bitterly, even as he took a snowglobe off a nearby table and shook it. "Erutrepa Science, in Upper Michigan!"

Then, he smashed it against the ground, and all four jumped through the portal that formed, without a moment of hesitation.


(Floor 1, Sector 3 (S.O.B [Study of Otherworldly Beings]), Erutrepa Science Facility, Upper Michigan, USA)

(June 16, 2016, 3:11 PM)

"I didn't do it! I swear!"

The intern looked terrified, her brown eyes filled with fear and confusion. She looked to Frost for help, but he turned away, even as guilt stabbed his heart.

The Director glared at the intern, amber gaze burning. "And why do I have the distinct impression that you are lying, young lady?"

She stumbled backwards, breath catching. "I don't even know where most of the rooms are, let alone the plans! I've never been to the basement! This is only my third day! Please, you have to believe me!"

"I don't have to believe anything you say, my dear. I only need to believe my eyes, ears, and brain, and they tell me you stole them."

"I didn't! I swear I didn't!"

The Director's eyes flashed angrily, and he drew a small gun, holding it within inches of her face. The entire lab froze in shock, none of the personnel able to ignore the drama unfolding in front of them. He gave a cruel, twisted smile, and inched the muzzle of the gun towards her forehead. "You know, dear, we don't tolerate liars in Sector 3."

She looked speechless. She gazed at everyone in the room, begging for help, but none stepped forward to shield her.

The gun drew closer. "Nor do we tolerate thieves."

She stood frozen, face pale, eyes blank.

"So, with all the regret I can possible muster, dear...I'm afraid to say that you are fired."

The gun went off, and she fell limply to the ground, eyes glazed over as blood dripped from the hole in her forehead. Silence prevailed.

He looked down at the corpse at his feet, face expressionless, before he glanced around the still lab. Practically everyone was staring at him in horror, jobs forgotten as they struggled to process what had just happened. Frowning, he raised one thin gray eyebrow. "Well? Don't let me stop you, carry on with your work."

They slowly returned to their duties, one by one, as the Director left the room.

From his corner, Frost quietly sighed.


(June 16, 2016, 4:08 PM)

"New arrivals to see you, Frost."

He gently placed file No. 481523 down on his rosewood desk, as he inwardly sighed. He always hated it when new arrivals came in. They were invariably hopeful, naive, and excited, and he detested watching as one by one, their hopes were crushed and replaced with a dark depression and a biting anger.

No one deserved that. No one, except perhaps himself.

"Let them in, Donovan."

He didn't even glance at the door as Donovan left and four figures entered. Instead, he smiled a clearly fake smile, as he began mechanically rattling off his usual spiel. "Welcome to Sector 3 of the Erutrepa Science Facility. How may I help y-"

As he spoke, he finally glanced at the prospective interns, and stopped abruptly.

Four shocked and horrified faces were staring at him, each unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar to him. His heart turned to lead in his chest as his brain finally clicked as to who they were.

The Guardians.

Oh, hell, no.


A/N: And, just like that, everything goes to hell in a hand-basket. Fabulous.

I have the feeling this chappie's a little rushed, but meh. I tried. In my defense, introducing the Guardians later would have involved a chapter full of filler, and chapters full of filler are not my thing.

Now for notes!

1-I feel like I need to explain a few things about the building plans of Sector 3. Feel free to skip if architecture bores you.

Sector 3 is a single building. From the top, it looks like a rectangle with a hollowed-out center as a courtyard. The courtyard is basically just some pavement with a few sickly plants lying around in pots. It's very dreary.

In total, there are ten floors: two basement floors for storage (only one, technically, as the lower basement has been flooded since 2001 and no one goes down there anymore), and eight upper floors. Floor 1 contains the laboratory, as well as ten operating rooms and more storage facilities, floor 2 contains the living spaces for all personnel, and floors 3 through 8 contain cells with test subjects.

Each test subject has a four-digit number, which is their floor number followed by three more-or-less random digits (rooms are not numbered). Whenever new test subjects are brought in or killed, they're either added to or removed from the Sector's computer database, which automatically checks to make sure no two test subjects have the same number, on top of containing all information that is pertinent to the test subjects.

Why do they still use paper files, then, instead of doing everything by computer? Because Sector 3 didn't switch to using computers until 2005, and since then files have been fairly messed up, since some personnel downright refuse to switch to the new system. As a result, some files are stored on computers, some are printed on paper, and the rest are 'lost'. Yeah, Sector 3 has severe organization problems. Either that or all of its staff are being passive-aggressive. Actually, it's probably the latter.

2-I couldn't find much on ranking in laboratories, but from what I can tell, it goes somewhat like this (from highest to lowest):

-CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

-COO (Chief Operating Officer)

-Lab Director

-Lab Supervisor

-Principal Investigator

-Various assorted jobs of equal rank

Jack holds the combined roles of Supervisor and Investigator. He is outranked by the Director. Therefore, he can't really do anything to stop the Director.

3-Time zones in Upper Michigan are a little skewed. In June (during DST) most counties follow Eastern Daylight Time, but four counties that border Wisconsin are on Central Daylight Time, which has an hour's time difference. Erutrepa is located in the part that's on EDT. (Actually, if you're that interested, it's located close to Whitefish Point.)

Also, I put it in EDT because the North Pole has freaky time zones, and I couldn't be bothered to mess around with the time zones of a place that has days that are over six months long.

...Review?