So I was definitely not expecting my idea to turn out the way it is right now. I only expected a bit of overview about creating new fairies, explore Baby Tooth for a bit, and then call it over.
And then I just kept typing and typing until I ended up not where I wanted, but what felt like a good stopping place. My plan was to just get Baby Tooth's part wrapped up with this chapter and move on to some other ideas, but apparently that little fairy had other ideas. She just kept chirping all these cool ideas and I couldn't resist adding on.
I thought about waiting until I was done with the whole thing, but then I figured this thing could go on for a while and I would have ended up breaking up everything anyway. So, I guess you can consider this kind of a neat bonus!
This chapter covers the attack of the Tooth Palace and capture of the fairies and the teeth. Thinking back to the movie, Tooth mentions how the fairies tried to fight off the Night Mares and that image tagged along with warrior Tooth from the books to inspire to write this scene. It's definitely more action-y than last chapter, but I still hope y'all find it enjoyable.
Note: I tend to think the fairies don't really have names for themselves since they don't see a reason for it. Tooth does as a form of respect since she is their leader and 'mother.' Because of that, I mainly use the words 'she' and 'her' for Baby Tooth unless otherwise stated. Hopefully that's not as confusing as it sounds.
Disclaimer: I do not own "Rise of the Guardians" or "The Guardians of Childhood." Those rights belong to DreamWorks and William Joyce, respectively.
The day of her creation, she immediately knew her purpose and was ready to perform her duty as a tooth fairy. Queen Toothiana needed the assistance of her and all her sisters, whether they were from Toothiana or memory creations such as herself, to protect the children of the world and help them find the right path.
She felt sad for her child, a sweet girl with the best older brother in the world until that tragic day at the pond. Feeling like the whole thing was her fault wracked the girl with guilt for several weeks, but she eventually found closure by the time her last baby tooth fell out. Her last thoughts were to never waste a single day on wards and to laugh, because that's what her brother would have wanted.
Someday, the girl hoped to see her brother once again and help save him as well.
Sometimes, the fairy would help others going through similar loss cope with their loved one's sudden absence. She wasn't strictly unique for being created under such circumstances, but she seemed to have a greater need to assist when needed.
Almost as if she needed to prepare herself.
Of course, that was a silly feeling. Any tooth fairy can help someone when it comes to memories, whether they were tooth creations or not. Helping children made all of them happy, so there was no reason one fairy had to do more than others.
It was approaching the 300th year since she began collecting and storing teeth, not that she kept that much track of the time. There was always something to do at the Palace or teeth to collect, and will continue to be for many years to come.
Coming back in from the field, she caught sight of Toothiana stop mid praising (children flossing is always a great reason to celebrate), stare at the Moon, and then fly off with a few of the others. The first time she's left the Palace in a long while.
"Guardian business. Be back soon. Oh! Mumbai, Bandung, Auckland, and Salvador!" Queen Toothiana relayed to some of her passing workers. Fairies were already heading out as she spoke, with others coming in with their small treasures.
The tooth fairies continued at their tasks as if it was any other day. It was a bit strange not having Toothiana hovering in the center of everything, but they managed as they always do. Children were always losing teeth and at least one side of the world was always preparing for their arrival.
The golden plumed creature was just about to fly out to her next assignment when something stopped her. It wasn't a change in orders or avoiding some type of crash, they were too organized for that to happen.
If she had to place the feeling, it would be fear that stops one dead in their tracks.
While many years have passed since the battle with the Nightmare King, none of the fairies' memories of that time had faded. Partially because their jobs dealt with memory, and mainly because Toothiana's memories of those events passed through her connections to all of them no matter their creations. This meant every one of them could remember how the fairies sent out to the field immediately after Pitch Black's defeat felt passing dark corners and being on guard in case of attack.
The need for vigilance had passed, but not the feeling that something could be watching them from the shadows.
Shaking her head, but hovering in the same area, she looked around the Palace. Her sisters' chirps and wing flaps filled the air with sound without being overwhelming. The structures still dazzled in the light, especially the spots containing the teeth. Even the numerous clouds floating around seemed to shine from the Sun's gentle rays.
"But I know I felt something," she chirped quietly to herself, the only stationary being in the whole place. "I know I did!"
One of her sisters caught notice of her, curious enough to break from her flight path and halt next to the mismatched eye fairy. Not that any of them took notice of that oddity. "What is wrong? Are you alright?"
Casting a few more glances, she answered, "I don't know. I just thought I felt something… something that definitely shouldn't be here."
The other placed a hand on her shoulder in understanding, chirping, "Would you like me to explore with you? Some of the others can handle our tasks for a while."
She nodded in thanks, both chirping out to the others what they were doing before taking off. They managed to fly around the whole Palace within minutes, and resumed flying through many more times while changing courses. In almost no time at all, every inch had been explored with not even a reflection out of place.
Returning back to their original position, her friendly sister chirped, "Do you still feel like something is watching?"
Looking around, the tooth fairy frowned, but relented, "No, and now I feel silly. I'm sorry for wasting our time."
"Now, now, it's okay. Better safe than sorry, right?" The other fairy placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, eliciting a small smile from her. "There we go." Retracting their arm, the other chirped, "Head back to the field when you're feeling secure."
The other's retreat was followed by a pair of different colored eyes before they blended in with the sea of others. Letting out a small sigh, she shook her head and flew back up to the main fray, following in line with everyone else with no effort.
While her body relaxed back into routine, her eyes remained vigilant for anything amiss. Flight patterns the same. The weather remained peaceful. Every cast shadow had a normal source. No one else seemed to be alarmed.
Just as she was about to chalk it up to her imagination, she caught a pair of glowing eyes jump out from the walls!
"Intruders!" she chirped loudly, putting on a burst of speed to shoot above whatever charged at her. She felt something fine gently brush against her feet, only sending her into further panic.
Those nearest her also managed to get out of the thing's way, calling out warnings to everyone else as well.
"Intruders!"
"Protect the teeth!"
"Attack formations!"
The fairies flew into formation, those with teeth quickly putting them in their vaults while the others grouped up to take on the trespasser. One mysterious being against an army of fairies descended from a Sister of Flight would have been dealt with in no time.
What none of them anticipated, though, was for more of those beings to gallop out of the walls with a loud cry. Out in the open, the shadows revealed themselves as horses. Large, admittedly elegant creatures with hides and manes crafted from shadows. Even the light was only able to bounce off parts of the wild mares, causing their appearances to shift between pure night and a dark shine.
"What are these things?" the golden feathered fairy chirped out to no one in particular, grabbing one of her sisters before she could run straight into a passing one. With a nod of thanks, they joined with another group and flew towards a mare retreating in front of them.
In the open air, a large group of fairies charged at a horse as it halted itself in order to turn around. The beast felt them slam into its side, losing focus and begin falling from the air. It panicked for several seconds before managing to right itself back onto its hooves.
When it looked back up, the group had already flown off to help others.
Word had long been sent to Queen Tooth about what was happening at the Tooth Palace, they were just doing their best to hold the enemy off until she and the other Guardians could arrive. Until then, every fairy did their part in defending their home.
While groups of fairies made direct attacks against the mares, others did their best to protect those still placing teeth inside their proper canisters. Once the child's tooth was safely placed, the fairy immediately joined the others in either attacking or guarding.
Within minutes, every tooth was safely locked away and the fairies readied themselves for a united attack. The tooth fairy was ready to join her sisters in another barrage when her blue/purple eyes caught sight of a larger issue.
"They're heading for the teeth!"
Everyone looked and sure enough, some of the mares had ceased attacking the bird-like creatures and galloped straight towards the teeth vaults. Closer groups moved forward to intercept them, but were chased away by other members of the herd barreling around them.
The mares were meters from the vaults, the fairies began to feel a spark of hope that the monsters wouldn't be able to slow down in time and knock themselves unconscious when they inevitably hit the walls. Surely that would stop them.
What did end up happening was enough shock all of them. Before their eyes, just as the mares nostrils was centimeters from colliding, the things suddenly lost form and left behind a wave of what they could only describe as sand. The dark, fine material blanketed over entire wall and then seeped through the surface. Not a single grain showing.
Despite the remaining mares circling around, a few chirped out loud, "Are they gone?" "Did the Palace's magic cause them to disappear?"
Just when an inkling of victory began spreading throughout the army, the sand burst from the walls and reformed back into the shadowy mares. To their horror, glittering brightly in the cavern of their bodies, were the teeth canisters.
At once, a greater cry of alarm rang out in and around the Tooth Palace, the fairies faced with the new tasks of defeating the night mares and reclaiming their precious treasures.
A group of five flew straight at one of the charging mares, aligned in an arrow like formation pointed straight towards the thing's chest. They were so focused on the monster in front, that they didn't another approach from the side, its mouth wide open.
One moment the fairies were close to a possible victory, the light of their home and bright colors of their sisters almost a blue. The next, their vision darkened and the next light they registered was tinted in black. Fluttering together, they looked out and saw they were entombed inside a rib cage of a racing mare.
"No!" Those who didn't witness the events cast a quick glance over, and tweeted in fear at the sight of their sisters trapped inside.
Everything seemed to freeze, all of them trying to register how the situation could have turned so much worse. Unfortunately, the cause of all this chaos did not freeze at all. If anything, they seemed strengthen by the events.
All of a sudden, the night mares became more vicious and split off into two herds. One snatching all the teeth canisters they could carry, the other snatching whatever fairies were not quick enough to escape.
Chaos and fear descended over the fairies as they began fleeing from the gaping jaws of those shadows brought to life. The mares adopted seamlessly flight paths as they raced across the air in pursuit of their prey.
Most groups found themselves losing many members at once, with a few attempting rescue missions. However, more creatures seemed to be coming at the shadows and it wasn't long until they were all overwhelmed.
Where once countless fairies filled the skies, only few remained, scattered among the forms of dark creatures with no mercy.
The baby tooth fairy, still maneuvering with her sisters, expertly dodged the snapping mouth of a pursuing enemy. They led the thing in circles, loops, drops, and near misses for miles, but the thing still managed to remain close at their tails.
A small miscalculation caused them to lose precious speed and allow their pursuer to reach them. In one gulp, half her group were now prisoners, flapping in panic once they realized what happened. One by one, the remaining fairies were taken out until only one was left.
A memory created fairy with mismatched eyes, golden plume, and small beauty mark below her eye.
"This is it," she gasped, feeling herself begin to tire. "No one will be left to guard the teeth, to remind the children."
Fear slowly crept over her. In moments she knew she would be captured as well, and there was nothing she or any of them could do afterwards. Queen Tooth would fight whatever these things were, unleash the warrior hidden under the cloak of her gentle and kind personality. However, it would be too late for her.
Feeling the mare's breath right on her back, she could only stare out in front of her, eyes searching for someone to help her once again.
Jack, I'm scared, a quiet voice called out, nearly drowned out by her panic.
Suddenly, she felt something cold surround her as the light vanished, shocking her already charged nerves and causing her to shiver. However, a strange feeling overtook her small being, chasing the fear away.
She sensed herself being pulled down quickly but gently, as if the thing holding her was doing its best to avoid hurting her. Each moment lessened her panic and even the cold surrounding her didn't feel dangerous.
However, she was still a being used to warm weather so she couldn't stop her body from curling up and shivering in an effort to heat itself back up.
That's what she looked like as the light returned above her and a kind face stared down at her. She gazed up at the pair of blazing blue eyes, clear and cold as a winter sky, attached to a snow pale boy with pure white hair. It could have been her imagination, but she was sure there were even bits of ice forming across parts of his skin.
"Hey little Baby Tooth," he greeted with a dazzling smile, and it was then she knew she would be safe. "You okay?"
Still shivering but feeling much better since this whole thing started, she smiled as well and nodded. She couldn't exactly place her little finger on it, but she knew this was Jack Frost, the mischievous and kind Winter spirit with teeth that sparkled like freshly fallen snow.
He lifted her up towards his hood, which she could already tell would be much warmer than his hands, and she quickly wrapped herself inside the material. A small part of her felt guilty for not getting back up to join the fight, but another part could feel exhaustion taking over her body.
"A quick rest," she chirped to herself, letting her eyes close.
Jack is here, I'll be alright, were her last thoughts as she drifted off, too tired to notice if it was hers or one from a memory a long, long time ago.
Whelp, thank you for making it this far! Like I said, this wasn't my original plan when I starting with the idea, but I found it to be a fun detour and a chance to help me write out fight scenes. It also gave me a hilarious image of the Dragon riders of Berk coming across the tooth fairies and being very confused about these strange flying creatures.
Not much with the lore I mentioned last chapter safe for a few bits here and there, though I do plan on changing that soon. I don't really like to just repeat movie and show scenes, so I may end up going more towards providing filler and then Baby Tooth's point of view for major scenes.
Anywho, hope to see y'all next chapter! Also, the place names Tooth mentions in the beginning are just random. I literally went to a random city name generator and picked some names that seemed interesting.