"Wake up fur ball!" Joy squeaked as a hand connected with the side of her face, her fur uncomfortably damp. Her eyes snapped open, Autumn looking down on her, Daisy peeking behind her shoulder.
"Oh thank MiM." Sighed Daisy, squinting with her black eye. She was thoroughly soaked, her sunshine blond hair hanging limp with water, dress drenched to a dark pink.
"Hey, thanks for NOT dying Snow-ball." Huffed Jesse. "You are one lucky little fur ball. Must be the rabbit's feet." Joy looked around, seeing only the three seasons around.
"Where are my-"
"Pitch." Sighed Autumn. "Daisy is the only one that made it through the cloud. Jesse and I couldn't hold on. While she pulled you out we lost your siblings."
"The up side is Pitch needs them alive now that he thinks your dead." Said Daisy quietly. "Tomorrow night there is no moon in the sky. We have until then before they are no longer useful to him."
"Frosty's power made him too strong for us to take." Huffed Jesse. "We'll need back up, someone who knows enough about his powers. MiM can't help us now."
"Hallow? April Fool?" suggested Daisy.
"No." said Autumn. "They wouldn't know any weaknesses, other than heat, and you KNOW he can trump you Jesse. We need a winter spirit."
"You're not actually suggesting-" began Daisy.
"Old Man Winter is our only choice, and her only chance." Sighed Autumn. "Maybe a few years at the bottom of Mount St. Helen will have evened him out."
"He's not going to help!" huffed Jesse. "You know what he did! He'll figure out it's her! In case you forgot, he HATES the Pooka, and tried to kill Snow-ball!"
"But he has a soft spot for other winter spirits." Said Daisy. "Besides, if we free him he'll owe us, and you KNOW how anal he gets with honor. He knows if Frosty dies, the balance will be put out. It's for his own good. Even he won't let Pitch get away with this. You remember how close he was to Cupid…" Joy looked about, sensing an untold story. But, she knew better than to prod at a time like this.
"Then we have to go get him." She said. Jumping to her feet, Joy sniffed the air, searching for the rabbit hole that would connect to the other tunnels.
"No way." Said Jesse, looking at the hole as Joy's ears perked up. "NOT going underground. Not now, not EVER!"
"It's the fastest way." Said Joy. "And Pitch won't look here. He thinks I…how close was I to dying?!"
"Daisy had to give you CPR." Said Autumn. "Lead the way…um…"
"Joy." Jesse snorted.
"Leave it to Frosty to name the kid after his job."
"You are SO lucky I need help, or else my boomerang would be wiping that grin off your face." Daisy giggled at the choked snort Jesse gave, glaring at the white Pooka as she slipped into the tunnel, bounding towards Mount St. Helen.
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Hunter couldn't sleep, instead staring out of the cage with a blank expression, not even shivering as a cold draft rustled his fur.
"Hunter, it's almost dawn." Hunter barely acknowledged his Father crouching next to him. "What are ya looking at anyway?"
"Nothing." Said Hunter. "I'm just thinking…"
"About…?"
"An escape route." Aster gave his oldest son a look.
"Escape?"
"Yeah." Said Hunter. "But it's impossible. Theres nothing, nothing at all. It's completely hopeless." Aster sighed.
"Theres always hope." Said Aster. "Wait; bide yer time. Getting out of Pitch's lair is unlikely, but if what Mother Nature says is true, he'll have to take most, if not all, of us to yer Mother's pond. We might stand a chance there."
"We didn't stand a chance with three seasonal spirits against him. He beat the guardians!" sighed Hunter. "Looking on the bright side only goes so far. Dad, all four of you are weakening. Mom's under Pitch's control, Joy, the only one out of five of us that aren't weakening or hurt with ANY fighting experience and talent, is dead and Mother Nature is out of commission. Mrs. Clause, I don't know what happened to her. And, if Pitch succeeds tonight, Mom will have to die. There is no way out." Aster clapped Hunter on the back, rubbing circles in his fur.
"Ya sound like me during Pitch's last escapade." Said Aster, laughing. "After he destroyed Easter. Still don't know how yer Mother forgave me for being such an arse. Nearly punched him. I blamed him for not being where we needed him to be, and almost cost us him forever. We all thought the worst, that he gave away Baby Tooth for his memories. We should have known Pitch tricked him. We gave him every reason to join Pitch, ignored him for centuries, and, well, when I met him I was an arse then too. Shoulda realized he was alone for so long. But, when there was only one light left-"
"Uncle Jamie." Said Hunter. "He kept believing."
"Yeah." Said Aster. "But ya wanna know WHY he kept believing?"
"Because he's stubborn and a conspiracy theorist?"
"Nope." Said Aster. "Those things are true, but it was because of yer Mother. He was invisible, unbeleived in, and he STILL made the little ankle biter believe in me, and in the rest of us, including yer Mother. All of us gave up hope when we saw his light begin to flicker, and none of us believer yer Mother would come back, but he did, and we kicked Pitch's mangy arse back into the dark pit where he belonged. Theres something to the saying 'Hope springs eternal'. Theres always hope, as long as yer willing to fight for it. Besides, ya got fighting talent. Ya may not be good with a boomerang, but ya can use a sword. Unless the blood on ya and Pitch's missing fingers is a coincidence. It's a wonder North hasn't abducted ya and trained ya in the arts. And yer stubborn, just like yer oldies. Yer fourteen, ya don't need to try and carry the world on yer shoulders. Of course yer not the best; ya haven't had time to train. Yer doing the best ya can, and bested an enemy with nothing but instinct and wits on yer first shot. Ya did good, and ya got the makings of a great swordsman. Yer Mother would be proud and bragging his arse off." Hunter laughed at the image, his Mother flying around telling anyone who could see or hear him about the encounter with Pitch.
"And Joy?"
"If she's gone, she's gone." Said Aster quietly. "I can't change that. She's a smart girl…sometimes at least. She could have been pushed to shore by the tide."
"Or Daisy got her out." Aster stiffened.
"Ya mean Spring?!"
"Joy said they might know more about how to free Mom." Said Hunter. "So, we went looking for them. They were trying to help us, and Daisy had Joy. We got separated from Jesse and Autumn. They might have escaped. Pitch didn't have them. They said something about Pitch destroying the order, and the seasons ceasing to exist if he took out Mom."
"Then ya got reason to have high hopes." Chuckled Aster. "Those three may not be the best ally in the trust department, but when they go on yer side yer a damn lucky bastard. If this means they're in danger, they got yer back on it. And when ya screw with nature spirits, trust me, it ain't pretty." Hunter smiled, then his grin fell.
"Screw…" he said, looking at the lock to the cage. "Screw! That's it!"
"What are ya getting at?" asked Aster, Hunter's exited yelp waking the rest of the prisoners. Hunter unstrapped his arm guard, and bit through the leather, ripping open the stitching.
"Yuck." He said, beginning t pull away the leather and reveal the metal plating.
"Oi!" said Aster. "Yer Mother worked hard on that! What are ya wreaking it for?!"
"The metal!" he said, smiling. "Sandy can still move his sand! He can file the metal down to match the screw heads on the cage, maybe even copy the key!"
"What?!" exclaimed North. "Where did-"
"Look at the cages!" said Hunter, tossing a bewildered Sandy the metal plate. "ALL of them are made in the same design! Chances are I can take the lock mechanism right out with the correct screwdriver, and pick the locks on the shackles.
"How do we get Mother Nature down?" asked Tooth. "I can't fly like this, and Sandy is too weak to hold her up now. Hunter's eye rested on North.
"Give me your belt." He said, taking off all his armor. Wordlessly North handed him the leather. "Tooth, can ya spare the stiffest feather ya got?" Tooth winced, handing him a brilliant green feather. Hunter bit down on the end, sharpening the edge like a knife. He gently pulled the seams from the other guards, tossing the short leather and keeping the long pieces with the belt.
"This should do." He said, firmly knotting the leather together. "Sandy, can you make a grappling hook out of one of these?" He nodded, a ticking clock above his head.
"How long?" asked North. The hour hand on the clock moved from twelve to two.
"It'll have to do." Said Hunter, Sandy tossing him the screw drivers. He tucked them away in his utility belt, hidden from Pitch, should he come knocking, North hiding the improvised rope in his coat. Aster ruffled his son's hair.
"Good onya." He said, smiling as the sun slowly rose.
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"THIS is Old Man Winter?" asked Joy, looking at the urn of water. She opened the lid and stared, thoroughly confused. Suddenly the water shook, Joy squeaking and jumping back from the urn as the water turned to ice.
"FINALLY!" Joy's ears went flat at the old man made of ice, grabbing a cane from the ground. "That damn rodent is going to-"
"Uh…hi?" Joy waved meekly at Old Man Winter, the man's cold eyes seemingly boring through her. Joy shivered as his eyes narrowed.
"If it isn't Jack Frost's little rat." He huffed. "To what do I owe the displeasure?" Joy fidgeted for a moment, scared, before finding her nerve.
"Pitch came back." She said. "He's controlling my Mom, kidnapped my brothers and sisters, and is trying to make the guardians fade, and he's too much to take on."
"And you want me to help you." Stated the old ice man.
"You're the only other winter spirit with powers capable of matching my Mom." Said Joy. "Pitch is going to try and turn him into his minion, like he did with Cupid." She saw the old man flinch, hoping she had stuck a heartstring.
"It'll disrupt the natural order." Said Jesse. "Look, we don't like Frosty at all, and sadly, we have to admit we've gotta help Snow-ball out. If Frosty goes, the cycle of nature will be disrupted and all Hell will break loose."
"Fine." Snarled Old Man Winter. "For the balance. Now, where is Jack's pond?"
"Burgess." Said Joy. "Pennsylvania."
"Lets get this over with." Huffed Old Man Winter, hovering with his arms crossed. Joy perked up, leading the way back to the tunnels.
Pitch wouldn't know what hit him.