Another update! And this one has thrills and chills written all over it so hang on tight!
Once again, I do NOT own ROTG.
Chapter 10
To make up for lost time, the Guardians decided to get up at the crack of dawn.
"We can head to the Warren. Santoff Claussen will be our next step." Sapphire suggested.
Bunny was still a little bit sleepy but he instantly perked up when he heard this.
"I was hoping you'd say that mate. Straight on to the tunnel!" he shouted, stomping his foot on the floor.
Before any of the Guardians could say something, a huge hole opened up in the ground! While North hollered as they fell down, the others were having a blast sliding down the tunnel. Finally they arrived at the entrance of the Warren.
"That was like a waterslide! Way cool!" Layla exclaimed, thrilled to no end. "Only without the water." Her sister laughed.
"This is why I prefer the sleigh." North groaned as he got up with Sandy's help. "Oh come on, North. You enjoyed the first slide down the tunnels, remember?" Tooth said teasingly.
"Welcome back to the Warren." Bunny said as Sentinel Eggs greeted them.
Then he looked at Sapphire, Layla and Marina.
"Oh, and a grand welcome to you three." He added, smiling.
"Wow…" "Ahh…" "Whoa…"
Sapphire, Layla and Marina breathed in amazement as they saw millions of white eggs got colored and dyed in the many pools, springs, streams and lakes of colorful paint and powder.
"You run a pretty crack operation here, Bunny." Sapphire complimented. "Thanks mate. But the really hard part of the job is hiding them." The rabbit grinned.
"What's so hard about that?" Marina confused. "Well for one thing, I sometimes have to risk slipping and skidding on patches of ice and freezing my tail off." Bunny stated, shooting Jack a look.
"Really? You're still mad about 1968?" the winter Guardian said, rolling his eyes. "Just a smidge." The rabbit replied, putting his thumb and one finger a few millimeters apart.
A little surprised at how mellow Bunny was now, Jack looked at him then Layla confused.
"Hey, people forgive and forget. They forgive each other, they forgive themselves. Everyone can do that." The little girl said brightly.
Sapphire had been eavesdropping on them and stopped in her tracks. Her sister's words seemed to have struck a chord in her heart.
Forgiving yourself? Was that even possible?
When the accident had happened, she blamed herself for everything. Even when her family, friends and everyone else told her not to, Sapphire still believed that it was all her fault.
After taking that little trip down memory lane, Sapphire wondered about Layla's words. She was thinking so hard she didn't notice a Sentinel Egg running straight towards her as it herded some unpainted eggs.
"Whoa! Watch out!" Jack quickly hooked her by the waist with his staff and pulled her out of the giant stone egg. Sapphire was caught off guard and nearly lost her balance if Jack hadn't wrapped an arm around her waist as he grabbed her.
"You were about to get trampled." Jack chuckled before noticing that Sapphire was blushing and looking at him funny.
Then the winter spirit realized that he still had one arm wrapped around the young lady.
Blushing, Jack let Sapphire go muttering a quick, "Sorry…" before he retreated back to the other Guardians.
Sapphire blinked and went on her way.
But not before she looked behind and gave a flirtatious wink to Jack, who was trying to hide behind North's massive frame.
Jack caught her eye and just turned even redder as he watched her walk away.
"Admit it, mate. You've gone head over heels for her." Bunny laughed. "Shut it." Jack growled at him.
But the rabbit just smiled mischievously.
"Maybe I should be your wingman. You know, let her know you're interested." Once again, Jack glared at his taunting friend. "You try that, it'll be 1968 all over again for you." He warned him.
Bunny just laughed. "Yeah, good luck with that. Expect an army of Sentinel Eggs waiting for you." He shot back.
"Not listening…Not listening, lalalalala…" Jack just chanted, putting his hands over his ears and hastened to catch up with Sapphire.
"I've never seen Jack like this. Nervous, jittery, shy…klutzy." Tooth decided to add that last bit when she and Baby Tooth saw the boy accidentally bump into Sapphire and nearly fall over as he stammered an apology.
"Trust me, Tooth. That's how all boys behave like when they like someone." Layla chuckled.
Sandy began to clap his hands as the others chanted, "Jack and Sapphire, sitting in a tree! K.I.S.S.I.N.G!"
Jack and Sapphire heard everything.
They looked at each other and immediately blushed.
"Sorry about those guys…" Jack mumbled apologetically. "It's okay. I'm sorry about my sister. She just likes to push my buttons sometimes." She said quietly.
Suddenly her sapphire charm glowed and began to shake, making her necklace vibrate on her neck.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Jack asked in surprise. Sapphire shook her head. "No…This is new." She said uneasily.
Then…zoom!
Like a missle, Sapphire was suddenly pulled by her necklace farther into the Warren!
"Whooaa! Heellpp!" she shrieked as she zipped away.
Jack was about to fly after her when he heard the other Guardians still chanting.
"Uh, guys! A little help!" he yelled, tapping his staff to get their attention. The other Guardians stopped chanting and looked at him.
"What's up?" Marina asked confused.
Then they all heard Sapphire's yelps as she zipped around faster and faster around the Warren.
"That." The winter Guardian said, annoyed before he flew after Sapphire followed by the others.
Sapphire flailed around wildly as she was whisked around the Warren at top speed. Her charm was glowing really bright and forced her into shutting her eyes.
"Yikes! Please stop!" she yelped as she flew past Sentinel Eggs, hordes of white and painted eggs who ducked for cover and colorful paints, thankfully being spared from getting messy.
Soon she came to a green clearing and her charm pointed directly at the ground and took her down with it.
"Oww…" she moaned as she took off her necklace.
The charm was still glowing and pointed at the ground.
Finally the Guardians caught up with her.
"You alright, sis?" Layla asked. Sapphire nodded and focused on the spot her charm was pointing at.
"Does that glowing mean a gem's down there?" North asked. "Well since my necklace dragged me here, I'd say yes." Sapphire said before looking at Bunny.
"I've got an idea. Bunny, thump your foot here." She said, pointing at the spot her charm was pointing at. "But there's no water here." Bunny said, puzzled.
Didn't they already receive the hint that the gems were hidden near water? There wasn't a drop of the stuff in this clearing!
"He's right. We have to look in places with water. There's not a single drop here." Tooth agreed with the Guardian of Hope.
Jack quizzically raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. Sapphire tapped her foot on the solid earth.
"My parents always discover some surprises during their marine biology excursions. One thing I've learned from them is that everything is not always what it seems. The least suspecting places usually always have secrets hidden. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but the gem's got to be here. I can feel it." She said confidently.
"In your belly?" North smiled. "Yeah, you can say that." Sapphire laughed. "Alright then. Let's see where my tunnel leads." Bunny thumped his foot at the spot Sapphire had pointed to.
When the hole opened up and the Guardians peered down the hole, they were greeted by an outstanding sight.
A huge underground lake was hidden right underneath the Warren!
"Crikey…" Bunny said, amazed.
"Wowzers…" Marina said in agreement.
Then North asked, "Now how are we going to get down there?"
That started an argument between Sapphire and Bunny.
"What're we waiting for? Let's jump!" Sapphire said excitedly. A little worried the girl could get hurt, Bunny said cautiously. "Maybe we should think this through."
Sapphire rolled her eyes at this. "We don't need to think it through! We can just dive in!" she countered. "You're as stubborn as a pack of mules." Bunny sighed. "Hey! Offensive much!" Sapphire said, miffed.
Then Sandy stepped forward and held up a long, thick vine.
"Well lowering ourselves down's a lot safer than just recklessly jumping in and better than just standing around here doing nothing." Jack quipped, realizing the Sandman's plan.
Sapphire and Bunny looked at each other.
"Fair enough." The girl said after a few seconds.
"Works for me." The rabbit agreed.
Sandy (with a sly smile) then handed Jack the vine. The Guardian of Fun shot a quick acid look at the Guardian of Dreams before tying the vine around Sapphire's waist, all the while blushing slightly and trying real hard not to make eye contact with the young girl.
Luckily for him, Sapphire was too busy listening to North's instructions.
"Pull on vine once if you have the gem. If there's danger, pull twice." The Russian told her.
"Got it."Sapphire nodded before she went to the edge of the tunnel's hole.
"Here goes…" Tooth mumbled as they carefully lowered the girl down.
Sapphire placed one hand on the hilt of her dagger as a precaution. For a few moments, everything was okay.
Until Sapphire heard a loud whinny from above followed by the sounds of battle.
"What's going on up there?!" she yelled. Bunny looked down at her, holding onto the vine with one hand.
That's when Sapphire saw a Nightmare about to charge at him before he tossed a boomerang at it.
Knowing he can't possibly keep holding onto the vine and protect himself at the same time, Sapphire unsheathed her dagger and held it to the vine.
"What're you doing?!" Bunny shouted at her. "I'll be fine, Kangaroo! You go help the others!"
Before Bunny could stop her (and make any comments on her 'kangaroo' remark), Sapphire slashed the vine and plunged into the water!
Jack glanced at Bunny and noticed the shocked look on his face.
"She can breathe underwater, Bunny. She'll be fine." The winter spirit said calmly. Bunny looked at him and relaxed a little.
"For the record, Frostbite…She's as stubborn as you." The rabbit remarked before he fully joined the fight.
The lake was enormous indeed. Luckily for Sapphire, the fish gave her directions to the Underwater Egg Grotto.
"Wow…" Sapphire breathed as she saw the Grotto come into view.
Ancient egg shaped boulders were nestled at the lake's bottom amongst colorful branches of coral. A large stone egg stood in the very center of the Grotto.
'We've always felt some strange power from that one. Maybe it has what you're looking for.' The fish told her.
Sapphire examined the giant egg, noticing the grooves at the top and bottom with various egg shaped jewels.
Then she remembered the various patterns on Easter eggs.
'Maybe I need to arrange them in a pattern…But what pattern should I use?' she thought.
She thought about Bunny, trying to find a clue.
Then she remembered how his ears seemed to look a bit triangular.
Sapphire got to work, sliding the jewels in a triangular zigzag pattern on the top and bottom. As soon as she worked the last jewel into place, her charm began to glow again. A small notch opened in the egg's center. Swimming over to it, she saw a gray triangle shaped gem resting in it. Quickly, Sapphire slipped it into her pocket.
As she began to swim upwards, a cloud of black sand suddenly enveloped her. Pitch's voice rang in Sapphire's ears as she avoided touching the nightmare sand.
'I can feel the fear in you…Your greatest fear is losing the ones you love. And you've already seen that happen once. Hmmm…I wonder who you will lose this time…'
Sapphire brandished her dagger in a fury at the black sand. "Don't even dare try to hurt my family or friends! I won't let you!" she yelled as the nightmare sand gradually vanished.
She no longer heard Pitch's voice but his words lingered in her brain, enraging and scaring her at the same time.
But she had no time to dwell on it now!
Sapphire burst out of the water and looked up at the opening. She didn't hear a single sound.
"Guys, are you okay?!" she yelled. A few seconds passed before Bunny's head peered down at her. "We're okay! The Nightmares are gone!" he informed her.
Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief as Jack flew down to lift her out of the water.
"You got it?" he asked her. Sapphire pulled the gem out of her pocket. "I got it." She smiled as they flew up.
Back up in the Warren, she placed the gem in the Scepter at the bottom right corner.
"Alright! Only two gems left!" Marina said excitedly.
"Next stop-Santoff Claussen." Layla grinned.
North took out another snow globe and opened a portal back to the Tooth Palace to get the sleigh. "Klassno!" he laughed as they took off into the sky.
Sapphire was enjoying the ride when Bunny looked at her.
"What?" she asked, seeing the serious look on the rabbit's face despite the fact that he was turning green. "What you did back there was super dangerous, young lady. Don't even think of doing it again." Bunny told her off while trying not to throw up on the ride.
"Well if you kept holding onto the vine, you wouldn't have been able to protect yourself." Sapphire countered. "Even so, Sapphire you have to stick close to us no matter what and be careful. Since you're the new Guardian, Pitch has been targeting you. We just don't want you getting hurt." Tooth said concerned.
The young girl just stayed silent.
She just kept thinking back to what the Boogeyman had told her. The thought of Pitch knowing about her greatest fear made her worry. She couldn't bear to see any of her loved ones hurt-it scared her.
Jack noticed the dark look in her eyes and got worried. As they neared the North Pole, he scooted over to Sapphire.
"You okay?" he asked gently. Sapphire looked at him. "Yeah…" she said quietly.
Jack then gave her hand a small squeeze.
The winter spirit suddenly realized what he just did and mentally kicked himself in the gut.
'WHY did I do that?!' he thought, embarrassed completely.
Then to his surprise, Sapphire kept her hand in his and smiled.
Suddenly the wind picked up.
"What's going on?" Marina said uneasily.
That's when Nightmares swooped down from the sky!
"Shostakovich!" North yelled. The Guardians quickly readied their weapons and got into position.
Bunny began tossing egg bombs and his boomerangs at any Nightmare that came too close while Tooth and Marina zipped in and out, slicing the Nightmares with their wings. Sandy and Layla were a pretty good team, using sand whips and plant vines to fend them off. North slashed whatever Nightmare he could reach with his swords. Sapphire and Jack stayed close to each other. Unleashing water blasts and whips, Sapphire took out Nightmares left and right while Jack blasted them with snow and ice.
"We make a pretty good team." Jack told her, smiling. Sapphire grinned. "I guess so." She agreed before noticing someone riding a dark cloud a few feet above them all.
Pitch.
Just seeing the amused look on his face as he watched the Guardians battle it out with his Nightmares made Sapphire's blood and the ocean boil.
"Marina!" she shouted to her swan comrade. Marina flew over to her and before anyone could stop her, Sapphire hopped on.
"Sapphire…What're you going to do?" Jack looked at the young girl uneasily. "I'm going after the Boogeyman, Jack. I have to fight him on my own." Sapphire said flatly.
And before the others could react, Sapphire yanked on Marina's reins and flew up towards Pitch.
"Well, well. Look who came up to play." Pitch said with an evil smile on his face.
Cliffhanger! And keep an eye out for my new story, The Fiersome Chronicles coming soon after I post this! Later dear reader ;)