Soory it took so long for me to update- School has just been swamping me. Anyway, finished this. Please review- I refuse to hold chapters for ransom, but reviews mean a lot. If just half the people who favorited this story or just a third of those who follow it reviewed each chapter, this story would have over/close to a hundred reviews in three chapters. Thanks- I'm done begging now! ;)
Luv ya!
Jack floated beside Sam in the frosty air as she trekked to Sophie's daycare, watching her curiously. This girl was intriguing. Sam didn't say much as they walked; her only response to his accompanying her was to raise an eyebrow- but hostility didn't radiate off of her, which he supposed was something.
For a bit, they simply walked in silence, Sam's breath making smoky white clouds as she pretended to ignore the supernatural boy walking beside her. Jack, meanwhile, didn't try to engage her in conversation. He was pondering whether or not to let Sam know about the rest of the Guardians- that she could ask them for help. If she would even want to- speaking from his admittedly limited experience, she seemed like one of those people who preferred to rely on themselves.
The sun was low when they reached the right street. Jack, deciding that letting her know was the best idea, wondered how to put what he wanted to say.
"Um- Sam?"
"Yes?" The word was muffled by the scarf she wore, but understandable. Her head turned in his direction, her unusual silvery gray eyes catching and throwing off the light of the streetlamps.
"I have some friends who can help- with the shadows."
Sam stopped dead, and turned to face him fully, surprise and doubt in her expression. "What? Who?"
Sam, despite the ruthless effort she made to quash it, felt the tide of hope swell. She preferred not to accept help that could all to easily be turned against her eventually, but after so long facing those- horrors- Sam would take any help, and gratefully to. But despite the reasonable expectation that a supernatural creature would know something of how to help her, experience nagged at her not to expect too much to come of it.
Jack leaned on his staff as he answered, meeting her eyes. "The Guardians." he said casually.
Sam's eyes widened- and then she laughed. That surprised him- that and how bitter and full of mocking humor it was. "You're joking. Them?" She laughed again, just as mirthlessly. "If they can help, then where have they been? Where were they when I was seeing things no child should be forced to deal with, when the Shadows were chasing me, when the Nightmares were torturing me?" She shook her head. "No; the Guardians haven't bothered to look me up in sixteen years; they're not going to do it now." Those silver eyes glared up at him- yes, up at him, and he wasn't even floating!- with indignation and fury, daring him to challenge her bastion of anger.
Jack blinked at the torrent of bitterness and anger that poured from the delicate looking girl's lips- feeling both guilt and offense as a Guardian: offense at the accusations of neglect Sam had made; guilt that, despite the anger fueling Sam's rant, what she said was true. And, at the same time, he felt a kinship to her emotions. He had been as bitter and angry at the Guardians that had become his family, once- they had abandoned him to be alone for three hundred years.
"Hey," He said gently, projecting the same reassurance and sympathy he had instinctively channeled with Jamie, when they were facing Pitch. "It's not like that anymore."
Sam snorted. "Sure, it's not. Three hundred years and it's just not like that. How would you know?"
Jack looked like he had been smacked across the face, and Sam instantly regretted her harsh choice of words.
"Sorry," Sam added quickly, sounding contrite, and regretting loosing control of her temper. "I didn't mean it like that…"
"Nah, It's okay," Jack said, waving off the remark. "I am a Guardian; anyway, that's how I know."
Sam's eyes instantly registered surprise. "Oh! Amay didn't- my friend didn't mention that when she explained the Guardians."
Jack's eyes narrowed momentarily at the mention of Amay- who Sam had been very circumspect about- before he shrugged. "I've only been one for about two years now- that's nothing in the life of an immortal. Two years is practically the evening news."
Sam blinked, as if perplexed by the sudden change in topic- before sighing. "Fine. If you want to tell your fellow Guardians, fine. That's great. Honestly, after ten years, I'd take any help I can get."
"Alright, then," Jack said, feeling, once again, the odd urge to protect- only, this time, instead of Jamie or Sophie, it was this girl he knew practically nothing about; the girl he had met barely three hours ago.
"I'll be back!" He added with an impudent grin to cover the awkwardness he felt, before calling the wind to take him away.
The wind seemed to sense his urgency; Jack found himself dumped in the snow of the Pole, outside Santoff Clausen, in much less time than it usually took. But he didn't have time to ponder it.
Above him, the misty blue sky seemed close enough to touch, and the city of Santoff Clausen loomed out of the snow on the edge of an enormous cliff, delicate looking towers of burnt gold and crimson red poking out in brilliant colors against the snow and the fifty foot icicles that covered the city.
It had only been two years since Pitch had last appeared- and by all signs, he was not gone. All of the Guardians- North, Sandy, Tooth, and Bunny- they were all alert for any sign of Pitch's return; all guarded against any attack he might make.
As he had so aptly stated, fear could never be erased. And, after being taken relatively by surprise with near disastrous consequences those two years ago, the Guardians were not eager to be taken unawares again.
That was evident here- four yetis, instead of the usual two, guarded the enormous doors. Approaching them, Jack tried not to look to worried. "Hey, guys," He said pleasantly. "I have to go talk to North about... Christmasy stuff, so is it cool if I go in?"
The guards looked at him doubtfully, but let him in without comment. Jack ignored the doubtful looks, slinging his staff casually over his shoulder as he walked through the open doors.
It was weird to just be walking in, especially considering he'd spent a fair portion of his immortal life trying (and failing) to break in. But hey; it was better than being tossed out, and much better than being dumped on the floor in a sack.
Jack walked down a long corridor, carefully avoiding the busy yetis rushing around, and the elves scurrying underfoot causing trouble, before he emerged onto the second level tier above the toy room.
North was nowhere to be seen- and neither were any of the other Guardians. Just busy yetis giving him dirty looks for being in the way of the rushed christmas preparations.
Realizing he was in the way, Jack quickly got out of the yeti's paths, still looking for North, who was not anywhere Jack could see.
Shoot. I probably should have thought this out-
"Jack? Jack!" Someone calling his name interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to see a beautifully and vibrantly colored fairy hovering in front of him, with a wide smile and violet eyes sparkling with bubbly energy and excitement.
"Hey, Tooth," Jack said, smiling back at her. Tooth was one of his better freinds among the Guardians- in all honesty, it was hard not to like her. "Is everybody else here?" He asked curiously, wondering, suddenly, if Manny had anything to do with this.
"Of course, silly!" She giggled, grabbing his arm and dragging him behind her off to the elevator. "We were going to have the yearly meeting about Pitch, remember? We were just waiting for you."
Jack winced slightly as he obediently followed- he had totally and completely forgotten. And not on purpose- it wasn't like he kept a day planner or anything. Three hundred years doing whatever he felt like as he felt like it did not mesh well with suddenly having both commitments and responsibilities.
"Yeah," He agreed, trying to cover the slip. "I just got sidetracked for a bit."
Tooth raised a doubtful eyebrow as they stepped out of the elevator and over to the main area where the others had already convened, but said nothing.
She was sleeping quietly, body still- but the occasional wimper and her pinched expression, even in sleep, betrayed the nightmare she suffered through. The ugly creature stood beside her bed- but oddly, it did nothing but observe, almost impassively.
Hearing the Guardians, the creature's head swung around- before it snorted, almost contemptously, and flew out the window to terrorize some poor other child.
Slowly, Sam's face relaxed. Watching for a moment to make sure the Nightmare was gone, Jack shook Sam's shoulder a little awkwardly, trying to wake her up. Sam murmered something and rolled over- before somehow hitting the play button on the silver Ipod before her, sending a blast of pop music blaring through the earbuds she was wearing.
"What the-" Sam yanked the headphones out of her ears and onto the covers, where they continued to quietly blare Nicki Menaj's latest album as her eyes darted around the room.
Jack hastened to explain. "Umm... Sam.. these are the Guardians."
Sam's eyes widened as she took in the four characters crouched against her wall, before she turned to Jack.
"You know, frostbite, when I said I'd meet them, I didn't say you could bring them to my room. At..." She glanced at the alarm clock beside the bed- "Three bloody am."
Jack smirked, shrugging. "Sorry- the North Pole doesn't have the greatest sense of time in the world." And then he got more serious. "We saw the Nightmare."
Sam shuddered, looking in the direction . "Yeah. That one- I'm quite familar with. It- it brings me the same dream everytime."
"What is it?" Jack couldn't help asking.
"What, you think I'm going to dish my reccurring nightmare out like that?" Sam snapped iritably, then flushed."Sorry. It's three in the morning. I'm crabby." she sighed. "The nightmare's personal. Let's leave it at that."
Unsure of how to reply to that pronouncement, Jack cast about for something to re-direct the conversation with- and found the discarded and still playing iPod.
"What's with Nicki Menaj's latest musical travesty?"
Sam blushed deeper, clicking the iPod off. "It keeps them away. Usually. Apparently, even Nightmares can't stand Nicki's synthesized screeching."
"Really?" Jack asked, intrigued. Who would've thought?
"Oh, yeah. Katy Perry works, too."
Bunny coughed, reminding both teens of the purpose of this visit. "Ah, Sam? May I introduce the Guardians of Childhood." Jack began.
A/N: Yes, Nightmares can be repelled using Nicki Manaj and Katy Perry. Rejoice or deal. ;)