Chapter 10
"This would be an ideal time to give Ember back her bow," Jack suggested positioning his staff in front of him. "Also, a door with a lock would be great to have here."
"Yeah it'd keep us uninvited guests out," Ember said as North tossed her recurve bow. She easily repositioned it and drew an arrow without any issues. She still had no idea why some days her powers seemed fine and others they would just fail out on her.
"I doubt they'd knock," Bunny retaliated.
"Perhaps not," Jack said stepping next to the fire spirit and the Easter rabbit. "But it would make some noise before they surprise us."
"Now this is just adorable," Edge cooed from his place waving at the Guardians. "Opposites working together. Oh this just excites me." He started to clap his hands together, but he didn't get to continue when Ember's arrow flew past his head and hit the rock behind him.
"You missed," Bunny growled.
"I didn't think you'd appreciate me shooting him in the face with fire," she said, and Jack tried to stifle his laughter. The situation was quite serious, but it was hard to take that way with so much tension in the air.
"It is a fair point," the winter spirit said with a shrug as the rest of the Guardians assembled with their weapons.
"That wasn't very nice," Edge growled, his hands balled into fists at his side. He then turned to the rest of the anti-spirits. "I would appreciate them alive, however, unharmed is not necessary."
"This looks like it's going to be a party," Jack muttered as the anti-spirits came at them full force.
"With a lot of uninvited guests," Ember said with a wink before taking to the air. She flew ahead with Tooth. The fairy nailed into the anti-Cupid, and the fire spirit followed up the tackle with an arrow to one of the creature's wings. It snarled in obvious anger, but Ember didn't get to see what she'd do in retaliation as the anti-Dragon of the Chinese New Year came right at her.
Knowing Bunny wouldn't appreciate the entire Warren on fire again, Ember slapped the larger animal in the face with her bow, fire licking off of it as she did so and flew high up with the dragon on her tail. The last thing she ever thought she'd fight would be a dragon, but as she turned to face the creature, it became a hard reality as she dodged the razor teeth of the massive black dragon.
North clashed his blades against an army of undead that Samhain had been very polite to summon. He was cackling like a madman behind the twenty or so skeletons attempting to skewer the Guardian of wonder. He was blocking with one sword and swinging with the other. For every skeleton he knocked down, they stood right back up. He could chop off a limb (bone), and it would just re-attach with a wave of Samhain's hands.
Sandy stood against the anti-spirit of spring, May. She had dead flowers in her hair, and was dressed in a tattered skirt and shirt. The smile on her face was one of malice, and it only grew when the Sandman stepped up to her. Water was dripping from her finger tips.
"April showers," she whispered before sending a spray of water in the Guardian of dreams direction; he simply ducked and formed a question mark above his head.
Bunny had the easiest- the anti-Groundhog. The rabid animal ran at the larger rabbit, and Bunnymund simply opened a hole under the creature's feet. The screeching animal fell right into it and was easily trapped. "I really don't like you mate," he muttered looking down at the rabid spirit. "Suddenly glad it was Frostbite that joined us," he said this more to himself before closing the top of the hole to keep the anti-spirit in their while he helped North deal with Samhain's skeletons. His boomerang slipped from his paw and nailed four skeletons and hit two upon returning to the Guardian. Samhain barely moved from his spot near Edge; he stood simply watching, but his face showed far more emotion than Edge's.
Edge looked thoughtful at best; his eyes were skipping from one fighting Guardian to the next. Of course, his eyes would always stray back to Jack, who was fighting the spirit of luck- Leppy the Leprechaun- then Ember. Bunny noticed this, and he didn't like the way this new enemy stared at his fellow Guardian… but the Guardian of hope couldn't tell if he stared at Jack with fascination, want, or just plain curiosity. It sent shivers down the rabbit's spine that was for sure.
Tooth barely dodged an arrow from anti-Cupid, and as she looked around at her fellow comrades who were all trying to stay on top of their own fight, but even on their own ground, each were losing slowly. There were just so many enemies that she feared they would be defeated. In her distraction, an arrow clipped her shoulder; Tooth felt the heat of the wound followed an inescapable bout of hatred toward nothing in specific, just everything. Her face scrunched together as she yelled out and moved to attack anti-Cupid again with more vigor. Her sword swinging down in an attempt to behead the spirit, but anti-Cupid expected this and ducked before slamming her fist into Tooth's midsection.
"Tooth!" Jack cried before trying to fly above the Leprechaun's head to go and help his fellow Guardian, but he fell right on his face. The opposite of being lucky was obviously bad luck, and the winter spirit was feeling the unlucky. He had already frozen himself to the ground, fallen on his face, and flown straight into a tree.
"Now where do ya think ya goin' lad?" anti-Leppy asked smiling. His teeth were all rotted or falling out. The once green suit was now tattered in black. "We're not done."
Jack shot a beam of ice at the spirit in hopes of buying some time to go help Tooth, but the beam hit the ground a few feet short before rebounding back at the winter spirit. He hung his head in annoyance when his own attack pushed him back a few feet.
"Oh this is such fun," Edge finally said breaking his long silence.
North glared at the man from behind the army of skeletons. Samhain had been easier to beat when they were all focused on him, but now that it was two against infinity, both North and Bunny were losing ground quick. It was hard to beat someone that could just keep reanimating the skeletons that they destroyed.
Sandy was probably faring the best out of all the Guardians; anti-May's power was water, which could wash sand away or help mold it. The dreamer knew how to avoid all the splashes she kept sending at him, and he had already hit her a few times with his whips, but he was trying avoiding hurting her. He knew May, and to see her like this upset Sandy greatly. He knew this really wasn't her, but that didn't change the fact she was trying to basically flatten him.
Finally, Ember was flying hard to keep the dragon on her tail. She wished that instead of turning this new year spirit, that Edge turned Babs, the baby new year, instead. Even with her fire power protecting her from the brunt, she was still exhausting herself keeping the creature on her tail and not burning the entire warren to the ground. The blood red dragon was right on her, and she dropped a few feet in the air to avoid its claws raking her back. In her periphery, she saw what happened to Tooth and saw Jack struggling to help his fellow guardian. Turning hard in the air, Ember drew an arrow and shot it right into the chin of the dragon to hear it scream and claw at her, but she had already pushed ahead to give Tooth back up.
Ember saw an arrow fly at Tooth, and while it wasn't an easy shot, Ember lined up her own arrow and shot the enemy arrow from the air. It was one lucky shot, impossibly lucky; her eyes wandered down to anti-Leppy, but he was still snarling and laughing at Jack. Focusing, the fire spirit floated next to Tooth and notched an arrow.
"Come on love," Ember said to the anti-Cupid. "Let's see who the better archer is."
"I'd agree, but he won't," anti-Cupid said with a small smile pointing up. Ember and Tooth barely had a chance to look up before the anti-dragon's tail slammed into both of them and sent them into the ground hard.
The two had landed behind North and Bunny, who both moved to get them up and moving. Tooth groaned and touched her pounding head while Ember just re-adjusted her grip on her bow. She watched as both the anti-spirits they were just fighting return to Edge's side. Ember was deciding she really didn't like that guy.
"I do not understand your reluctance Ember," Edge said as if him and her were the only ones here. "Opposites are natural occurrence. For every good spirit that exists, there must be an equal and opposite. So why do you fight what you are?"
"And what am I?" Ember growled trying to notch an arrow but her shoulder ached.
"You were born of darkness and fire," Edge continued, cocking his head to the side. "You try to be good, but you were not created by the Man in the Moon to be a protector as the spirits around you. You were born to be an opposite, to create balance between good and evil. You belong with me," he said touching his chest. "Stop trying to be something you're not and you will find your mind at peace."
Edge was met with silence; Ember found her gaze casted to the ground. She found her mind and heart at war again. She had known for quite some time that it might not had been Manny's will to bring her back, for when she awoke on a beach, she had not heard a word from the moon nor from anyone. She learned all she knew through accidents and trials.
"She died protecting her sister!" Tooth argued.
"Perhaps," Edge shrugged. "But her final thoughts were not of her sister but of her hate, of her anger for her father. She is a spirit of fire and anger." His eyes trailed back over to Ember.
Before he could continue, a wall of ice sprung up separating the Guardians and Ember from the entirety of the army Edge had brought. The ice was thick, but even through it, the outlines of their enemies could be seen. Jack walked up looking worse for wear but still on his feet.
"Are they all on that side?" Bunny asked pointing to the ice wall.
"Yes," Jack said thinking back to when he was finally able to land a hit on anti-Leppy and send him flying as a giant snowball back. "But the wall does not go up forever. The fliers can get over."
"It's also very reflective," Edge said stepping through the ice. "That was not very nice Jack. I was not done speaking with Ember." He stepped towards them all but more specifically Ember who was frozen in place. "Now where was I?" He tapped his chin. "Ah yes, I want you on our side where you belong my feisty little fire spirit."
"No," Ember whispered, her voice cracked. She didn't like hearing what he was saying to her. "No," she said a bit louder and more confident.
Edge seemed to sigh, and Jack didn't waste time attacking the man. He sent an icicle in the direction of the villain, but Edge simply sighed and summoned what looked to be a mirror. The icicle was absorbed by the mirror before being reflected at Ember. Her eyes went wide when the sheet of ice slammed into her and sent her sprawling.
North roared and attacked Edge, but he simply brought back up that strange mirror and it sent North spinning into Bunny almost, who had to dodge North's blade in turn. When Bunnymund tried his luck with his boomerang, it came back and smacked Sandy in the head. All the time Edge simply smiled untouched.
"He is reflecting all of our attacks," Tooth finally summed up stepping back and knowing it was better to not risk another head on attack.
"Tell me about it," Ember groaned holding her stomach and slowly standing. Her entire body shivered from the earlier onslaught of ice.
"Then how do we attack him?" Jack asked.
"Please Guardians," Edge said raising his hand. "Enough of this folly. I really am only here for Ember."
"You wanted me too," Jack growled trying to distract him.
"All in good time," Edge said with a smile. "Let's not be selfish for the moment. Now Ember…"
"How many times do I need to say no before you get it through your thick skull!" she growled. "I won't join you. I don't care if… if I was born to be evil. I won't help you."
Edge sighed, "Perhaps you need a reminder why you were born."
"There is nothing you can do to me to convince me."
"Oh but there is," he said, a massive smirk covering his face. His eyes seemed to sparkle. "You're immortal currently my dear Ember. And as you are now, you seem to have forgotten the fear and darkness you were created in. I'll help you remember."
"Pitch couldn't scare me," she growled. "What makes you think you can be any different?"
"Because my dear fire spirit," he said stepping towards her, and time seemed to freeze. "I can take away this persona you hide behind, the fire and the immortality. After all I deal with opposites, and what is the opposite of being a spirit?" A mirror was suddenly in front of Ember, and her eyes were glued on her reflection. "What do you see, Ember?"
"No Ember!" Jack cried moving to knock her from her spot, but the other anti-spirits had finally rejoined the fight and anti-Leppy made sure the winter spirit fell face flat.
The fire spirit's eyes were wide, and no matter how she wanted to look away from the mirror, she couldn't. For standing in the mirror was not some evil maniacle version of herself as the other spirits had seen; instead, in the mirror stood herself as she had been the day before she had died- no scars, no fire licking her skin, and full of fear for her sister, for her mother, and for her own life… before the fire spirit could even let out a choked cry, she felt a pull and agony in every bone… the next thing she knew besides the battle around her was her falling to her knees. Ember stared down at her arm, the one that had always been scarred, and she tried not to cry at the sight. Her scar was gone, and when she looked into the ice to see her own reflection- she saw herself with no scars, long brown hair, and brown eyes… she saw herself as a human.
Chapter 11 preview: Ember… now Amber is powerless against Edge and his spirits. Even worse so, her mind is tainted with everything she had felt before her death. Frozen in fear, Amber has everything to lose if she doesn't agree to Edge's terms… as for the rest of the Guardians, they find themselves having to choose to make a retreat and surrender the Warren or die if they stay.
OOC: Not much to say today, just hope you enjoy this turn of events. R&R :P