"Jack! Good to see you, boy!" North bellowed out as he walked towards the Guardian symbol in the floor. "Look at them, Jack! You have believers!"
"I know, it's crazy!" Jack sighed out with a slight chuckle. "I can't believe it's been seven years since that day."
"It was remarkable day! So, what brings you here?"
"Oh, Wind wanted to come and see the workshop some more. She loves this place."
"She does?"
"Yes. She finds it wonderful, and magical. Which, duh, it's YOUR workshop, but I figure I owe her for my last prank on her."
'You're damn right you do, Jack Frost.'
"What did you do?"
"Oh, well...when she was about to take a bite of her food...I froze her spoon to her tongue. Emily found it so funny that she actually fell out of her chair laughing which was well worth it, but the conversation after wasn't. So, now I'm here, and she's calmed down some."
'Some. Tread lightly, my love.'
'What? Like walking on air?' Suddenly Jack was lifted into the air and slammed back down against the floor. "Ah, and that's what I get for being a smart mouth." He chuckle out. 'I love you, you know that.'
'Yes, I know. I love you too.' She sighed out with only mild frustration. 'My tongue still hurts though.'
'Hmm...perhaps I could fix it with a kiss?'
'Okay one, lame, two...s-stop making me blush!'
'Never.' He grinned. "And now, I think she's forgiven me. So, what have you been up to?"
"Oh! Christmas preparations as always! Christmas is only twenty-five days away! So, you know that I..." Before North could finish that thought, a shadow passed by them. "That couldn't have been..."
"Let's go after it!" Jack shouted, and immediately Elaina lifted him and rushed him towards the shadow. Once he caught up to it, he shot it with electrical ice, and it froze it solid. "Wh-What is that?" Jack asked as he looked at the strangely deformed black shadowy creature.
Elaina gasped and felt a chill rush up her spine. 'That's a Fearling!'
"A Fearling! That could only mean one thing! Pitch is coming back! Come, Jack! To Northern Lights!"
"Um...what do we do with this thing?"
"Yeti! Get rid of Fearling! You know what to do! Come, Jack!" Without needing to be told twice, Jack followed North to the console, and watched as he quickly activated the Northern lights.
Then, after about ten minutes, Tooth, Aster, and Sandy arrived at around the same time. "North!? What's wrong!?" Tooth quickly asked as she had three mini fairies flying behind her, trying to keep up with her.
"There was a Fearling! Here, at the Pole!" North told them with pure seriousness and a sense of dread.
"A-A Fearling? But...Pitch...I thought we..." Tooth trailed off as she noticed a look of horror on Aster and Sandy.
"He's more powerful..." Aster breathed out. "Do we know what he's planning?"
"No, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Sandy stated with his dream sand.
"Oh, that you will." The sickeningly dark voice called out from the darkness. "My, my...it surely doesn't take much to summon all of you, and this time we have Jack! Oh, it seems you're believed in, but I wonder how long that'll last..."
"What are ya gonna do this time!?" Aster spat out as hundreds of Pitch's shadows started coming towards them.
"Oh, well, you see...I'm going to do a few things. I'm going to take your belief again, but at the same time by doing it how I did it at the first time...there will be some others that will just have to be turned into beautiful Fearlings for my plans. Can you stop me if I do both at the same time?"
"Where did you get the power to do all of this?" North asked as he looked around frantically.
"Oh, You see...that dear boy, Jamie...he remembers and still believes...he told the story to others, but some of the children who passed it on, and then further, and further...some of those children gained a belief and fear in the Boogeyman! Oh, and it IS delicious! So, I have belief to steal, and Fearlings to create. Bye bye now!" The shadows faded and the room got many times brighter as it went back to it's usual joyful hue.
"Now what do we do?" Jack asked, ready to defend the children.
"We fight, that's what!" Aster growled out. "We find out where he is, and we beat him!"
"We have to lessen his numbers and his strength to do that first, and he said he was going to take the belief again. You have to admit, he did a great job of that last time." Jack mentioned with a calculative expression. "They believe in him, and they're afraid of him...but the thing that's different this time...are the Fearlings. If he can turn others into Fearlings...we need to get to the children and fast, but we also need to fight them off."
"Jack is right!" North stated with pride. "We will do as we did last time and focus on the children! Now...with my holiday being closest...he may try and attack Christmas, and this...I cannot allow!"
"I'll help you, North!" Jack smirked with a sense of pride as he tapped his staff a few times. "Kala, Chrissy, and Tanya?" Suddenly three separate portals were created and three beautiful women stepped through.
"Jack!" The one that seemed to be ten years old with sky blue eyes and short pixie cut hair shouted.
"You called us to the North Pole?" The other one to Kala's right asked with concern. Her eyes were the same as the first one's but her hair was white with blue highlights, and she seemed to be in her mid-twenties.
"North, and everyone else. I would like for you to meet Chrissy..." He trailed off as he pointed to the ten year old. "...and Tanya." He finished as he pointed to the other. "Now...Pitch is back, and he's likely out to destroy Christmas...we need some winter wonderlands. We need snow days! We need joy! We need the snow so bright, it glows like the moon! Do you think the three of you are up for it?"
"I can make the snow brighter! I can use the moons and the stars and the street lights to make the snow glow!" Chrissy stated excitedly.
"Good!"
"I'll make sure that the children have fun by casting the fun flakes you taught me." Tanya stated with determination.
"And I will make sure it snows lightly on children more so than adults."
"Good, now go! And keep in mind, we don't know how long this battle will last. Ask your other brothers and sisters for help if need be. If they have a problem with it, they can deal with me."
"Yes, Jack!" They shouted, and immediately teleported out of the room.
"There, they should create a winter wonderland in the appropriate places. That'll keep the children's spirits up."
"Excellent thinking, Jack!" North boomed out with a hearty laugh. "You DO sound like General!"
"Thank you?"
"You are welcome. It was compliment. Now, considering he is after us...and more than likely Jack as well as Christmas...we should go to Burgess for our first search."
"I agree!" Sandy shouted with his symbols. "Race you there, Jack?"
"Oh! You're on, Sandy!"
oOoOoOoOo
Once they all arrived, Jack winning the race, Sandy coming behind, Tooth following him, North in his sleigh, and Aster with his tunnels, they all looked around and noticed how much darker it seemed. "Well, I think we're in the right place." Aster remarked as he started walking away from the pond. "Look! There's a child!" He pointed out, but then all of them noticed a disfigured dark figure holding its hand out to the small child that had to be no older than four. "NO!" He shouted, and tried to make it to the child, but just as he was about to get to her, she grabbed for the Fearling's hand, and turned into one herself almost instantly.
"Well, Pitch certainly isn't wasting any time." Jack growled out, and shot the Fearling with an ice beam, freezing both of them solid.
"JACK! That was a..." Tooth trailed off, but was quickly interrupted by Jack's saddened yet rage filled expression.
"Key word...WAS! It's no longer a child...and it was probably so terrified on the inside. We have to save the others before this happens."
"Jack is right unfortunately." Sandy mentioned with his symbols. "The children suffer on the inside as Fearlings. We have to get to them before that happens."
"Ah, how wonderful! All of you have found out my plan! But you see...will you be able to stop it in time? Or will YOU be consumed by Nightmares? Even if you get out, it'll still give me plenty of time to work on Christmas! Sweet Nightmares!" Pitch's voice echoed in the darkness, and suddenly they were all surrounded by a similar tidal wave of the same menacing Nightmares from seven years ago.
They immediately felt Pitch's presence leave, but his nightmare wave remained surrounded around them. So, they all immediately attacked them all from all angles. North with his swords, Tooth with her punches, wings, and daggers, Aster with his feet and boomerangs, Sandy with his whips, and Jack with his ice, but the Nightmares didn't seem to lessen.
'Jack, I think now's a good time for some light magic. Now's the time for Father to know I'm here.'
'You're sure?'
'Yes!' She laughed out triumphantly.
"You pick awful timing, Elaina!" Jack laughed out.
Meanwhile, at the sound of his daughter's name, Sandy faltered as his heart skipped a frantic beat, but then he heard her voice, and he could've sworn his heart stopped. "It's not my fault! You know that!" His head whipped around to the source and saw her appear out of thin air, and she was fighting the Nightmares with dream sand, which caught everyone else's attention.
"Who is she!?" Aster questioned as he threw another boomerang.
"Why is she here!?" Tooth asked as she flew through two more Nightmares.
"How do you know her, Jack?" North asked as he cut through another three Nightmares.
"Give us a moment!" Jack and Elaina shouted together with mild amusement on their faces.
"Jack! Do you remember what we did seven years ago?"
"Yeah, but remember? I was almost unconscious!"
"Don't worry, love. I'll catch you."
"You better!"
All Sandy could do was watch, and although the other Guardians didn't know why, they assumed there was a reason, and surrounded him to protect him, but still allowed him to see Jack and Elaina. He watched Elaina place her hands over Jack's and he noticed how the light magic glowed on her hands, and then the staff. Then, a sonic boom was heard. Right at the sound, Elaina removed her hands, and Jack slammed his staff on the ground as he glowed brighter than any star. Sandy's eyes widened in completely shock as the light magic and the Winter magic fused together perfectly, and eradicated all of the Nightmares that surrounded them. "Well, now that that is taken care of..." North trailed off in shock. "...who are you?"
"Ah, no offense, North, but the only questions I care about...are his." Elaina politely told him as she pointed at Sandy.
"Sandy?" Jack cautiously asked as he stood by Elaina's side. Sandy looked at him, but couldn't say anything. Not even telepathically.
"Do you know her, Sandy?" Aster asked with a curious brow.
All he could do was nod his head. "Sandy, a-are you m-mad at me?"
Sandy looked at Jack and noticed how guilty he looked. He also seemed frightened of whatever he might say, but the problem was that he was completely speechless. After another minute or so, he finally started holding up symbols. Even if they were unsteady and difficult to make out. However, Jack could hear him, and how much his voice was shaking. "I-Is...is she...J-Jack...is she Wind?"
"Yes...she is."
"I think we should get back to Pole! We cannot stand out here so openly, and things need to be explained apparently." North climbed into his sleigh, Tooth made her way there, and Aster already conjured a hole. Sandy, however, stood motionless. "Sandy? We need to go."
Sandy nodded his head and created a dream sand cloud beneath him and made his way for the North Pole followed by Elaina who became one with the wind again, and Jack who suddenly felt his heart pound with anxiety the longer they flew in silence.
Once they all made it back at the pole they gathered around the Guardian symbol, and Sandy was so stunned that he nearly fell from his dream cloud. Aster quickly caught Sandy and steadied him. "You alright, mate?"
"Y-Yeah..." Sandy answered with shaky symbols. He then turned to face a worried Jack and Elaina, and although he had plenty of time to think of what to say, he was still in shock.
"Sandy?" Jack asked again as he once again stood at Elaina's side.
"H-Has...has she...been Wind...the whole...time?" He carefully and slowly asked if only to calm his own pounding heart.
"Yes, and I'm so so SO sorry. It's just...she COULDN'T reveal herself. It wasn't that she didn't want to...it was that she COULDN'T. Emily told her she would know when the time was right and it was then, and she was finally able to physically appear in front of you."
"S-So..." He stuttered with a shaky breath as he looked at Elaina. "...this...this isn't some...I'm not in...a Nightmare o-or anything?"
"No, I'm really here." Elaina answered, and the interactions between the three were only further serving to confuse the other three Guardians. Elaina stepped forward towards Sandy with a sympathetic smile. She then wrapped her arms around him. "I'm really really here, and I can FINALLY hug you!"
Sandy's heart was pounding so fast he could feel it everywhere, and as he returned Elaina's hug, he let out hard sobs that only Jack could hear, but the others could definitely see. Once Sandy was a bit more calm, he stepped back from the hug to show unsteady symbols above his head as tears continued to fall from his eyes. "Y-You're here! Y-You're a-alive! I-I thought..."
"I know what you thought. I've been by Jack's side CONSTANTLY ever since he came out of the pond. I have never left him. I know what you thought."
"Y-You've...you've been there th-the e-entire t-time?"
"Yes, and do you remember when Jack asked you what kind of person you would've trusted..."
"Jack?" Sandy breathed out as he looked up to Jack who was still looking rather guilty. "Were...were you asking me for..."
"In a way...yes...but I...I couldn't tell you about her. I couldn't tell you anything, because honestly, not even Emily knew what might've happened, so Elaina had to wait for the right time, and she has...but when I asked you...I was also genuinely curious."
"Wh-why do you look like you're feeling guilty?" Sandy questioned carefully, fully aware of the increasingly confused and concerned looks from his fellow Guardians.
"I thought...I thought that you would be angry with me. I knew, yet I said nothing."
"Oh, but you've said many things. You've said a great deal of things about 'Wind'." Sandy let out a soft laugh as he smile brightly at Jack. "My words from then? They still stand."
"Wait..." Elaina started as a bright smile appeared on her face. "...do you mean that you'll let...are you serious!?"
"Yes, I'm very serious, and my words very much stay the same, and Jack, I'm not mad. I could never be angry for this. I j-just...we were surrounded by Nightmares, and when Pitch killed me...he didn't really kill me, but he trapped me in the dark side of the dream world. I was surrounded by trickery and Nightmares. I was worried it happened again, but the Nightmares never hugged me. That's how I knew it was real."
"So...you're okay with this? With us?"
"Do you not remember what I said?" Sandy smile through his still falling tears. "I would've tried to get the two of you together, and with everything...well, I don't have to, because you already did!"
"Okay, just what the HELL is goin' on!?" Aster shouted, his confusion finally reaching its limit.
"Right, only Jack knows!" Sandy stated with widened eyes as he realized the reason for their confusion. "Well, Elaina, you've revealed yourself, go ahead and introduce yourself."
"You sure? They may think differently of you and Jack."
"Oh, I'm counting on it." He laughed out.
"Alright." Elaina chuckled out, as she grabbed Jack's hand, lacing her fingers through his. "My name is Elaina Aurora Mansnoozie. I am the biological daughter of Pitch Black the Nightmare King, but when he left our home, my mother found love again a few years later, and Married a man named Sanderson Mansnoozie. He asked my mother if he could adopt me as his own, and if it was alright if I took his last name so that I could really be his daughter...and I accepted gladly. Sandy is my Father."
Tooth, North, and Aster stared at them with bewildered and shocked expressions. "Um...I think we broke them." Jack stated with a slight chuckle. "Well, to further add to it then...Sandy just gave me his blessing to be in a relationship with his daughter...who I HAVE been in a relationship with, knowing full well who she was."
Their eyes got wider, and Elaina couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, yeah. We broke them. Guys? Say something please?"
"Y-You're...Sandy has a..." Tooth stuttered out, trying to find a way to speak.
"Daughter?" Elaina questioned slowly. "Yes, I'm his daughter. I am also the result of what happens when Light Magic and Dark Magic come together and make a baby. It was when Pitch was still the Nightmare King, but when he was sane as he fought them off. He had tasked my Mother with something long before Sandy became my Father. He tasked her with sending me away. So, she sent me ahead in the future...well...Earth's future. She sent me to where I would be immediately needed, and that was with Jack."
"T-Time tr-travel!?" Aster squeaked out as his eyes got impossibly wider. "I've never heard of ANYONE staying in the future for this long!"
"That's because somehow...I became a part of Jack. I became a part of his powers...and according to Emily...my half sister...we're linked, so technically, Jack being from this time...is what's keeping me here. At least that's what Emily said, because I wasn't too entirely sure about it either after about a decade. So, she sat me and Jack down and looked us over with her magic, and saw that we HAD become a part of one another in a way. Although I was able to do Winter magic before...I started being able to do JACK'S Winter magic, and he started being able to move through the darkness with greater ease. However, the thing that really linked us together was that we both possess Light and Winter Magic together. I, however, also possess Dark Magic, and that linked itself to Jack like Jack's Winter Magic linked to me. So, he's keeping me grounded here, and I couldn't be happier...well...that was until I was finally able to show my Father that I'm alive."
"That...that makes sense..." Aster nodded his head as he started to calm down. "Wait..." He started again as his eyes suddenly went wide. "...Sandy...the Pooka...we saw you had gotten close to..."
"Yes, I got close to her, fell in love, and married her."
"Who?" North asked.
"S-Sandy married the Queen of the League of Star Captains. She was also Queen of an entire planet. That would make Elaina a..."
"A pure blood princess of the Golden Age." Sandy stated with slight pride.
"A-And Sandy was one of the head Generals...making him similar to a King already..."
"Yup, and Jack is a technically the King of Winter, so...a princess marrying a King..."
"WAIT WHAT!?" Jack and Elaina both shot up with excited and joyful faces.
"What did you think my blessing was for?"
"F-For us just being together."
"Oh, no, I meant it for more than that. I meant that the two of you have my blessing to get married. The two of you have certainly been together long enough. Now, as much as I would love to continue about my past...we have to deal with Pitch, and then I can answer everything and anything you all want to ask, however, Jack knows most of it."
"R-Right...the children! Um...Pitch is much more powerful now...how are we going to..."
"Oh, that'll be easy." Elaina grinned wickedly. "I can also control dream sand as I'm sure you saw, but Nightmare sand is a part of Dark Magic, and I'm an expert at it. Won't he be surprised to not only see me, but to see what power I have. The battle should be over quickly."
"You're sure?" North asked carefully.
"Trust me...my daughter is very stubborn. Once she sets her mind to something..."
"...she'll do it no matter what." Jack finished, causing Sandy to laugh as he wiped away his tears. "Th-Thank you, Sandy. I...I gladly accept your blessing to marry your daughter...that is..." Jack quickly got down on one knee in front of Elaina and held her hand as gently as he could. "...if she'll have me. Elaina, as poetic as I'm sure you wanted a proposal to be, I don't have the time to say sweet words, besides, you've nearly heard them all...will you marry me?"
"YES!" Jack shot up and gave her a warm and passionate kiss, but it ended all too soon for either of their tastes. "W-Well..." Elaina grinned as she looked at Jack. "...with that...we really should go find Pitch. Let's not worry about the fearlings and Nightmares...we need to go straight for Pitch himself."
A portal sounded behind them, and Emily stepped through. "I sensed a battle with Pitch."
"Yes..." Elaina started, but was quickly interrupted by Emily.
"Oh my..." Emily breathed out as she looked at Elaina in her physical form. "...so everyone knows now?"
"Yes, and they all got a brief history lesson." Elaina answered proudly. "Jack also got Father's blessing to marry me. Jack proposed just a few moments ago, and I said yes."
"Tr-Truly!?" She stuttered out in shock.
"Yes." Sandy answered as he looked at Jack. "For centuries I've heard of how much he loves her, how he treats her, how they treat one another, how they love each other...I think they're WELL past courting at this point. Now, yes, they know everything, and we need to fight Pitch directly. Would you like to help us, Emily?"
"I would!"
