Chapter 7 – Old friend

There was one thing Ivy didn't consider while being all clever-y, planning and appearing clever in front of the Guardians, and the thing was: it was almost Christmas. And Christmas means shops selling everything in theme, and people roaming around, a lot of people. And fairs.

A fair was what was currently going on in the streets close to the research building. Those kind of things always annoyed Ivy: too many strangers around you, too much noise and a very high chance of being pickpocketed. She never understood how people could become more inclined into buying trinkets and useless stuff while these multicolored stands were around.

Thankfully, though, the fair meant the roads were closed to cars and the crowd allowed them to move almost unnoticed. Well, if only Jack behaved. Ivy glared at the boy with an annoyed look, while he ran from stall to stall asking any kind of question to the vendors. He insisted on wearing the scarab necklace from the beginning, despite the Man in the Moon's warnings and Ivy's "is everything a game for you?!".

With the magic artifact around his neck, both his hair and eyes turned brown, but besides that there was no noticeable change. The crowd was too focused on the stands to bother looking down and wondering why he wasn't wearing shoes. Sitting on a bench, Ivy looked at him, monitoring the entrance of the building and waiting for Toothiana and Bunnymund's message on the walkie-talkie currently sitting in her bag.

There was still time before the start of the presentation, and Ivy knew that it would take a while for the two Guardians to approach Thoth without unnecessary suspicions by his human colleagues. With a sigh she rose on her feet and brushed the ice on her coat, catching up with Jack at a stand selling knitted scarves and hats. The boy was unexpectedly still, looking at his own reflection on a mirror hanging from the cloth covering the shop.

"You'll better get used to it" she commented, pretending to browse between the scarves.

"I've got used to it" he replied "I was just…recalling something".

Ivy looked again at him, realizing this was the first moment she had to talk with him freely since the whole mess started.

"All right" she sighed, "I still haven't told you why I made a hole in your lake to begin with".

This seemed to catch his attention, because he turned around. His expression was unnaturally serious, maybe for the first time betraying his real age, while he listened.

"Me and my brother…we used to solve mysteries together, you know? It was a hobby: we liked to find out how ghosts and paranormal phenomena could be explained with a bit of science and common science. We came across Burgess' lake last summer and I admit it was nothing like anything we saw before".

At this point she stopped browsing and chose a white scarf, with snowflake patterns in light blue wool: "I dived inside to find out anything that could keep it frozen for centuries", she continued. Jack shivered, almost imperceptibly, but Ivy noticed nonetheless. "We found nothing relevant, but we discovered someone drowned in that lake shortly before it froze permanently".

"Yeah, it was me" he soughed, "can we…please not speak about it?"

Ivy would have liked to drop the subject, since it evidently was unpleasant for him. Naturally, discussing your death is never a relaxing topic of discussion. Nonetheless, curiosity was always her weak spot: "Sorry" she started "but I need to know: what happened after?"

Jack shrugged: "I woke up. The Moon, no sorry, Tsar Lunar, took me out of the lake and gave me new life…but I had no recollection of the past, no known purpose…for 300 years it was just me and the Wind going around the World, freezing stuff, pranking people and messing around…until I became a Guardian some years ago. It's nice belonging somewhere but there's one place I'll always call 'home'".

"The lake" Ivy concluded, and Jack nodded. The girl smiled: "Alright, mystery solved" she said. Handing the white scarf to the vendor.

"It's 5 bucks, ma'am" the young man said "Are you two reharsing a play or something?" he wondered while she handed him the money.

"Yeah" Ivy smiled "That's it. Don't spoil it around!"

"My lips are sealed!" he laughed "What is it called?"

"uh…The Five Legends" she improvised, Jack grinned at the reference.

"I'll come to see it!" the vendor exclaimed while the two walked away.

"Sorry for that. People listening, I'm not exactly used to it" Jack apologized.

Ivy walked towards the exact same bench she was sitting on earlier: "I noticed" she said, then she wrapped the scarf around Jack's neck. "There. Happy Christmas"

Jack looked baffled for a moment: "Oh" he only said after a while. Ivy sat down, while he stayed on his feet in front of her.

"So you don't remember anything from before becoming…whatever you are now?" Ivy didn't want to say sprite, though that was the word that Mr. Mercury used to describe supernatural creatures.

"Now I do! Some of it, at least. Tooth helped!" he corrected her.

"Oh, right! The teeth thing!" she smiled.

"I remember I lived in a village near the city that now is called Burgess, and the kids I played with. I remember I like skating and that I had a little sister. That day, on the lake, I died saving her life." Jack beamed with pride. "I would give anything to go back and see how she lived her life after that but…"

"She married" Ivy interrupted him, Jack looked at her with surprise. "She married and had a kid that called like you. Also, you had a little brother, born after your death. I don't remember his name but he too died very young."

"How…" he started, unable to say anything else.

Ivy grinned: "I told you how we were with mysteries: we dug in Burgess' records at the parish and a families of distant relatives of yours showed us the family tree. The Bennetts, ever heard of?"

"Jamie!" Jack exclaimed, looking at a point behind Ivy.

This time, it was the girl's turn to look surprised: "Yes! How do you k…?"

"No!" he corrected her "Jamie!" Jack exclaimed, jumping over the bench and running towards a small family with two kids and a dog, walking in their direction: "Oh, you've got to be kidding me" she exclaimed. "it's the kid with imaginary f...wait" she stopped, then hit herself on the forehead: "Oh! I'm so stupid! Jack, wait!" she ran after him.

Jamie Bennett didn't even manage to see who was running towards him before finding himself hugged. "Woah!" he exclaimed, caught by surprise. Then took a better look at the stranger: "Jack?!" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"The staff kinda gave it away, uh?" Jack laughed.

"Jack! Jack!" Sophie exclaimed.

"Jamie, is this a friend of yours?" Mrs. Bennett asked, eyeing the boy's raggedy clothes and bare feet suspiciously. Jamie gaped as he looked at his mother, then at Jack, and again at his mother and again at Jack: "How…" he mouthed. Jack grinned: "Yeah, sorry about that. I'm undercover" he whispered, then turned towards the family: "Nice, to meet you all, my name's Jack…"

"…Summer" Ivy interrupted him as she caught up, "He's my cousin, and a street performer".

"Oh, you're the girl that came to us this summer! Ivy, right?" Mr. Bennett smiled at her. "How is your brother?"

"He's…fine, thanks. Now, if you can excuse us, we're headed to a conference".

"Mr. Mercury's?" The man said, "What a fortunate coincidence, we're headed there as well! Isn't that great?"

Ivy felt the sudden and instinctive urge to facepalm: "Yees…" she said, instead, "amazing".

"We can go together!" Jamie suggested, then whispering "I'll cover you!"

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, but Ivy grabbed his arm, dragging him away a bit and whispering: "What do you think you're doing? We must stick to the plan, have you forgot how dangerous that guy is?"

"Come on! We're going to be less suspicious in a group, plus Jamie is a brave kid, and he won't stop believing for anything in this universe".

"That's not…" she sighed. "Alright, you've got a point, but first…" she went through her bag pulling out a pair of trainers "…put these on, please!"

In that exact moment, a man in a tux along with an elegant Indian woman in a green and gold traditional dress walked into the crowded reception room.

"Forget what I said earlier" the man hissed "This is extremely uncomfortable. Why do I have to wear this clothes?"

The woman chuckled: "Well, forgive me if I'm blunt, but you looked a bit too wild to go unnoticed in a formal reception!"

He didn't reply, instead he started looking around, stopping only when he finally saw Mr. Mercury talking to a reporter: "There he is" he said.

"Are you sure?" Toothiana wondered as she looked at the man. From there, it was impossible to see if he was wearing a ring or not.

"This is not the first time I see him is this form. I'd recognize that old bird of prey anytime." Bunnymund said. "Stay here and send the message to Jack and Ivy as soon as I manage to take him away from here".

As he approached Mr. Mercury, a young man, who was beside the journalists, was the first one to notice: "I'm sorry, no more interviews allowed before the speech" he said. Bunnymund looked him down: "You're Zach Summer, right?"

"You know me?" he beamed.

"Sort of. And I'm only here to speak with an old friend" Bunnymund replied. Mercury turned around with eyes full of genuine surprise: "Aster?" he called after a while.

"Ezayko, Djehuty" Bunnymund said in a plain tone.

Mr. Mercury's face lightened with a warm smile: "It's been a long time, old friend. I'm glad to see you…"

"I wish I could say the same" Bunnymund replied "What in the name of sanity are you doing?".

After a few seconds of silence the other man sighed: "Come with me: this is not the time nor the place" he started to walk away, followed by Bunnymund.

"Mr. Mercury! The speech! We have a timetable!" Zach called as he noticed them leaving.

"And as a clever assistant you are, I'm sure you'll be able to buy me some time" Mercury replied without looking at the boy. Bunnymund, instead, signed him to shut up and follow them, with a smirk.

Zach felt a familiar shiver: the feeling of a mistery ready to be uncovered. The sensation he felt many times while investigating with Ivy in the past. He waited for the two of them to disappear around a corner, then followed them.

Toothiana, having observed the whole scene from a distance, took a walkie-talkie out from her dress and pressed the red button.

"Ivy, Jack. It's time" Toothiana's voice came from the transmitter when the group was almost at the palace's door. "Perfect timing" the girl smiled.

"Time for what?" Jamie asked, curiously. "Are you on a mission? Is it Pitch again?!" he exclaimed, excited and just a little bit worried.

"Yup. Mission. No, not Pitch" Jack replied.

"Who is this Pitch guy anyway? North and Tsar Lunar mentioned him as well…" Ivy wondered as they walked towards the lift.

"The Boogeyman" Jack and Jamie answered in chorus.

"Oh, yeah, obviously…" she rolled her eyes, then saw the two of them looking at her with serious expressions: "Seriously?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes! I helped defeat him!" Jamie beamed with pride. Jack laughed as he ruffled his friend's hair: "Yeah, you were great. This time it's better for you to stay out of this, though".

"Eh? Why?" he asked.

"Jamie, you and your friends are coming?" Mrs. Bennet called as she was entering the elevator.

"Me and Jack are taking the stairs. You know, healty life and stuff…" Ivy replied. "Jamie, go with your family".

Jamie walked towards his parents, sadly: "Be careful" he muttered, facing them one last time as the doors closed.

Ivy and Jack exchanged a look, then headed towards the emergency stairs.

"I must admit: I was not expecting your visit" Mr. Mercury said, once he and Bunnymund stopped in an empty corridor, not far from the conference hall. "You're the last person I expected to see tonight", he continued, "plus, wearing one of my scarabs!"

"It was necessary" the other replied "As much as I don't find myself at ease in this form, I certainly prefer it to be tossed in a cage".

Mr. Mercury's face darkened: "So, you know about that already" he acknowledged.

"What are your intentions, Thoth?" Bunnymund hissed.

"I know how does it look" Thoth replied "But it was the only way to make humans acknowledge our existence. My intentions never changed: I'll gift humankind with my knowledge and stop all the conflicts".

"I thought your books were destroyed",

"Yes. Every single one of them" as he said so, Bunnymund saw something in his eyes: the sparkle of fear, and hidden behind that, a lie. "But this time is different. Look around: this new world is full of time and curiosity. With my intelligence it was easy to climb the human social ladder: they forgot us old gods…"

"You are not a god"

"…but they have brand new gods now: money, television, internet! And these will be my instrument through which I'll open my mind to mankind".

Bunnymund chortled: "Yeah, right! Every single human has access to all knowledge through these intruments but what do they do? They use them to share pictures of cats and 6-seconds moronic videos."

"Exactly" Thoth smiled. "But once I'll talk to them they'll start to think like me and use this knowledge for their good!"

Bunnymund's eyes widened with worry as he understood: "Is tonight show going to be broadcasted live?"

"This will be just the beginning, old friend! Imagine a whole planet living in peace and knowledge! All of humankind will hear my voice, and I will be the prophet of a new Golden Age! Have you seen the silver-eyed boy? He's got the mind of a great man, wasted for all those years, until I intervened!"

"Free will is not a game, Thoth!" Bunnymund roared, surprising him. "This is not a gift. This is a curse: shaping the world in your image will not save it. What will happen to their imagination, to their dreams…and hopes?!"

The man in white looked baffled: "Why and since when do you care so much about sentiment, Aster?"

"Since I swore to protect hope…as a Guardian" Bunnymund stated.

"You…are a Guardian?"

"Of Hope. I am the Easter Bunny" he smiled with pride

Thoth laughed bitterly: "I see…thousands of years really changed you" he commented. "E. Aster Bunnymund, the last Pooka, the time traveler, a warrior and a man, pardon, rabbit of science, is now reduced to the pathetic work of hiding painted eggs?"

"I love what I do, and so do children!" Bunnymund replied. "I won't let you destroy what I protect".

"Very well". Though he looked tense, he suddenly relaxed. "I'll enjoy watching you trying" he walked away, but as he turned the corner he found himself face to face with a very shocked Zach.

"Zachariah?"

The boy gulped: "I…c-came to tell you t-that…people are getting impatient…"

Mr. Mercury's face was hard: "How much did you hear?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about…" Zach tried.

"How much did you hear?!" he repeated, furious. Zach stood, silent and terrified.

"Idiot, run!" Bunnymund exclaimed, grabbing Mercury's suit to drag him away. Thoth turned around and grabbed him instead, and threw him out of a nearby window, shattering the glass. In mid-air, Bunnymund was able to rip away the necklace and return to his natural form, landing on his paws in the middle of the crowd. Nobody noticed the few glass shards that fell around him. Holding the scarab in his paw, he looked up: "Sorry, mates. It's up to you now".

"I'm pretty sure it was the fourth floor" Ivy told Jack when they were in front of the door with the number four on it.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Jack asked, trying to open the door, but it was locked. "Wait, I'll take care of this" he said holding his staff and pointing towards the door. The metallic handle froze almost instantly, but Jack kept the curved point of his staff on place until the door became so cold Ivy had to recede. Then, Jack grabbed the handle with nonchalance: it broke almost instantly. Then, he simply kicked the door open.

"You weakened the crystalline structure of the steel to make it brittle and break the lock" Ivy smiled genuinely: "But that's brilliant!"

"See, I know a bit of physics as well!" Jack grinned.

Their laughter was interrupted by an approaching noise: someone was running down the stairs. Jack assumed a defensive stance, but the person that appeared in front of them was the last they were expecting.

"Zach?" Ivy called. Her brother stared back, his hair and suit in a mess, and missing one shoe. He looked at Ivy, at Jack and at the broken door and the first thing they heard him saying was: "What".

Mr. Mercury returned to the conference room in the same time as the elevator doors opened to let the Bennetts and a bunch of other people in. "I apologize for the delay. The conference will start in five minutes", he announced.

Toothiana looked at him with worry, noticing immediately both Bunnymund and Zach were missing. After a moment in which she was about to panic, she sighed deeply then smiled: she just needed to trust them. They were going to make it.

For sure.

Yes, I'm still here. Real life took the best of me, and I went through some difficult phases of my life. I live in York, England, now. Many things changed since I published the last chapter, but I don't want to annoy you with them. My moirail talked me out of my laziness and you should thank her for this chapter.

Now, for the interesting things: CHILD AT HEART was initially supposed to end on a hiatus with this chapter, but instead the story evolved and there is one more chapter before the end.

Done with this, and the last fanfiction of the trilogy, BROKEN SUMMER, I'm going to write (since many of you asked me to) a multi-chapter story in the universe of both The Summer Twins Trilogy and FRIENDS WITH THE WIND, my most successful two-shot (read it if you like :D), called OF ANCIENT STORIES OF TEENAGE GODS (there was a reference to it in this chapter if you didn't miss it). Another project on my hands right now is the fanadventure AFTER S, Homestuck-inspired, and a crossover between Homestuck and Misfits, still without a proper name.

Yeah, mainly Homestuck-themed works, I know.

Headcanon time: Ivy and Zach have the same height, and they're both slightly taller than Jack. Jack is slightly taller than Jamie, who's very tall for his age.

Coming Next: Child at Heart, one last battle…