HOLY CRAP 13 FAVES 23 ALERTS AND 4 REVIEWS...
...Ah well, at least some people reviewed. I'm happy with all the faves and follows though. :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters associated with it (I want Jack Frost though).
Old Man Winter looked on to see if the coast was clear. Once he was positively sure it was, he tiptoed quietly into Father Time's office, thinking scornfully, Old Father Time must be taking another one of those silly bubble baths of his again.
It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for in the time spirit's office, and with an evil chuckle, Winter left, as quietly as he had come in.
"Come on, yetis! Let's get to work!" North barked. "Christmas is about to come! Gifts must be ready by then!"
One particular yeti, Phil, groaned in exhaustion as he tried to paint his toy trains even faster.
"Phil! You are painting messily! Children do not want sloppy painting!" North shouted disapprovingly.
Phil grumbled in response and slowed down to his original pace.
The elves were sneaking into the kitchen and stealing (more like attempting to steal) cookies once more. They all struggled to pile on top of each other in order to reach the counter where the cookie jar stood. One particular elf at the top finally managed to climb on to the counter, cackling as he opened the cookie jar lid.
North, whistling a tune and craving a candy cane, strolled into the kitchen, only to be greeted by the sight of an elf munching greedily on a cookie and many other elves shrieking and waving their fists at him.
Taking in the sight, North sighed and put a hand to his face. "What am I going to do with you all..."
"You could always throw them out."
North turned and saw a smirking Jack standing in the kitchen doorway. He greeted him warmly, "Ah, Jack. Long time no see, no? Are you spreading mischief or snow now?"
"Um, I'd say about 80% snow, 20% mischief," Jack joked, then turning back to the elves. Seriously though, I don't get why you keep all these little guys."
"They can be useful at times as my test subjects for my toys."
Jack paused at this. "So if you made a machine gun, and you wanted to test out if it worked or not, you would shoot your elves?"
"I am Santa, not a gunmaker. So no," North replied flatly.
Jack put a hand up. "Hey, just saying."
"I am happy to see you, but why are you visiting around this time of year?"
"Oh, right. You know Sophie, Jamie's little sister?" North nodded. "Yeah, well, her birthday's about a week before Christmas, and when I was up in New York City spreading snow, I thought that it'd be nice if all the Guardians could give her presents."
"I normally would oblige, Jack, but December is the month where I cannot take any breaks any longer than 5 minutes."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. All I'm asking for is a spare toy. I'll deliver it to Sophie for you."
North stroked his beard. "Hmm... I remember many years back, Phil made a stuffed bunny. I did not like it because the mouth was lopsided, so I never gave any child that toy. I never threw it away, and I am sure Sophie is the type of girl to enjoy a stuffed animal, no matter how ugly it looks."
Jack shrugged. "Okay, at least that's something. Can you go get it?"
"Of course. Wait here, and do not do anything to my elves," North instructed, leaving the kitchen.
Jack frowned; he was in the mood to freeze two or three of those Christmas troublemakers. Oh well. He sat on the counter, swinging his thin legs back and forth, waiting for North to come back with a bunny in his hand.
Jack heard footsteps hurriedly approaching and stopping at the entrance to the kitchen. He looked up, expecting to see North with Sophie's gift. However, what he saw took him by surprise. A man, looking to be around the age of 30, dressed in a clock-patterned bathroom robe and slippers, was panting in the doorway, trying to catch his breath. When he looked up, he seemed equally confused to see Jack sitting on the counter. "Where's North?" he asked the younger spirit.
Jack answered, "Busy with Christmas. Why the heck are you here?"
"Old Man-"
"Jack! I have found the bunny!" North cheerfully came back into the kitchen, but stopped once he saw the newcomer. "Why, Tony! I did not that you were planning on visiting as well."
Father Time, or Tony, as North called him, quickly explained, "As happy as I am to see you, North, I'm not here for a friend reunion. There's trouble brewing."
"Is it Pitch?" was North's immediate question. "Has he come back and attacked you?"
Tony shook his head. "No, it's Old Man Winter. He snuck into my office earlier today and stole my time traveling dust while I was enjoying my bubble bath."
"Is that why the only thing you're wearing is a bathrobe?" Jack deadpanned. "And if he stole your stuff without you noticing, then how do you know he was the one who stole it?"
"Quiet, you. And it's because I have a GPS that connects to my dust; I was always paranoid that something like this would happen. And once I found out where it was and who it was with, I immediately recognized the thief to be Winter."
Jack raised an eyebrow. A GPS? He was expecting Tony's answer to be more along the lines of "I-can-sense-it-if-someone-steals-my-dust."
"But, Tony, you have more dust, no? This is no big deal. And there is nothing we can do about your stolen possession," North reasoned.
"No!" Tony waved his arms frantically. "When I tracked Winter down, I saw him using it to go back to the year of 1712! I just know that the canny brute is plotting something, and I bet it has to do with changing history!"
Jack couldn't help but notice that 1712 was the year he became Jack Frost, but he refused to make any comment about that, knowing that now wasn't the best time.
"What?!" North roared, dropping the bunny he was still holding on to. "That little... This is exact reason why I said he had no potential to become Guardian!"
"Whoa, whoa, let's rewind here for a bit," Jack spoke up, not getting what North was saying. "I know Winter is that really old winter spirit, but what do you mean that he has no potential to become a Guardian?"
"Jack, a long time ago, before you were even born as human, Winter requested to become one of us Guardians," North began to explain. "We turned him down, because he was – and still is – known to make winter a miserable time of year, which is clearly not worthy of Guardian. Not to mention that he created both ice ages."
A terrible gut feeling sprouted in Jack, but he didn't show it. He felt as if he had yet to put two and two together...
"I will go call the other Guardians," North announced. "Tony, stay in kitchen, and make sure Jack does not hurt my elves."
Jack, momentarily forgetting his hidden distress, exclaimed, "Really, how come you don't trust me with your stupid elves?!"
He was ignored, however, and North went to the globe room to summon over Bunnymund, Tooth, and Sandy.
It didn't take long for all three of the other Guardians to arrive, and they gathered in the globe room, where North, Jack, and Tony were waiting.
"So what's this all about?" Bunnymund demanded to know. "Easter may not be for anotha' four months, but I still have work to do, ya know."
Tony gave a brief overview on what he had informed North and Jack. "Winter's unpredictable," he concluded. "Whatever he's planning on doing, it isn't good."
Silence.
"Jack, are you okay?" Tooth asked after a while, concerned for her friend. She had noticed him staring off into space throughout Tony's explanation.
Jack snapped back down to Earth, and said hurriedly, "Oh yeah, I'm fine..."
His comrades gave him skeptical looks.
"Okay, I just think that something doesn't seem right," Jack admitted in defeat. "The year 1712 was the exact year I died and became a winter spirit."
Bunnymund scoffed. "That's it? Mate, we've got bigger problems on our paws. We don't have time to be noticin' year coincidences."
"Bunny, wait," North interrupted. "Maybe it is not coincidence after all."
Sandy created the sand image of a question mark.
"Think about it. Why did Winter decide to go back to 1712 out of all the years he could have journeyed back to? He has no good reason to go back to colonial times, unless..." North's eyes widened. "Unless if he is after Jack."
Jack was speechless for a moment. "But- But I've never done anything to him! Why would he want to go and take whatever anger he has out on me?!"
"Winter is a man who doesn't need a reason to do unjust things," Tony replied grimly. "There's only one thing we can do right now. Jack, you're going to have to go after him."
Jack looked surprised. "Not that I'm complaining or anything... But why me?"
"If Winter really is trying to get you, then he most likely went off to find your past human self. You know yourself better than Winter knows you, so you know where to find you. On the other hand, unless if Winter is really lucky, he will have to search for you. Find your human self before Winter does, Jack. Both your mortal and immortal lives are on the line now."
Tony reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a spare bag of time traveling dust, and put it in Jack's hand.
"We will all be here when you return," North promised. "This is your personal mission."
"And ya betta' not fail, mate," Bunnymund continued crossly, folding his arms. "Or then ya would be askin' for a boomerang in the face."
Jack smirked. "Is the kangaroo really wishing me luck right now?"
"I am not," Bunnymund said stubbornly. "I just prefer ya over Winter, that's all."
Tooth smiled and waved. "Bye, Jack. And make sure Winter doesn't dirty up your teeth. I would hate to see such pretty teeth as yours ruined."
"Uh, yeah," Jack agreed, with a weird look on his face. "I seriously doubt that would happen, but okay."
Sandy simply gave him a small smile.
Jack smiled back, before opening the bag and taking a small pinch of dust. "To 1712," he breathed out, and flicked the dust out of his fingers, causing it to open up a wormhole. Right before stepping into the portal, Jack added, "I'll be back soon, guys. I'll be fine."
And with that, he disappeared.
After a moment of silence, Bunnymund turned to North. "If he fails, then there's a chance that Jack Frost would never exist again, isn't there?" He didn't wait for an answer before saying, "Wouldn't want that to happen..."
North smiled softly. "This is Jack we are talking about. Jack is not one to fail."
I like how the ending of this chapter turned out, but the beginning doesn't impress me as much. Oh well, it'll have to do.
On another note, when I woke up this morning, 45 MESSAGES FLOWED INTO MY INBOX. To be specific, one was actually a new chapter alert on this story I'm following, but still, 44 FAVES, FOLLOWS, AND REVIEWS FOR FATE AND POWERLESS GUARDIAN.
Speaking of Powerless Guardian, Fate seems to be the more popular one out of the two, which is why I'm updating it first (You Fate followers are lucky that I wasn't in an evil mood today, or else Powerless Guardian would've been purposely updated first. And I'm usually in an evil mood). I'll try and update my other fanfic tomorrow, or maybe later tonight, if I rush and it somehow turns out at least semi-decent.
Review! It'd be nice to earn more reviews than on the first chapter. :D RANT IS NOW OFFICIALLY OVER.