Chapter 11: I Can Feel It! In My Belly!

Jack thumped. The sack opened. Two stubby elves peeked inside.

Jack zapped them with his staff.

"Beat it."

The genius elf ran. The average-intelligence elf wondered where the genius elf was going. Jack zapped again. The average-intelligence elf froze into a popsicle.

Angrily, Jack clamored out of the sack.

"You guys!" he announced, "Have zero concept of personal bubble space!"

Four guardians turned: North, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy (Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Toothfairy and Sandman). Prior to his entrance, they had been bickering beneath an enormous globe. As Jack entered North's observatory, they immediately quieted.

"AH!" North boomed. "There he is! Jack Frost!"

"Hi Jack!" Tooth fluttered forward. An armada of mini tooth-fairies trailed behind. "How was your trip?"

"Da!" North agreed, using the Russian word for 'yes.' He motioned to the yetis. "Hope the yetis treated you well?"

The yetis gulped. Guiltily they brushed wrinkles from Jack's hoodie.

Jack pushed them away.

"Oh yeah." He kicked his staff. It twirled up from the ground and he caught it midair. "I love being shoved in a sack and tossed through a magic portal."

Jack was being sarcastic. But North looked delighted.

"Ah good! That was my idea! Jack, you remember the group! Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy – "

"Before you say anything else!" Jack interrupted. "I'm going to say this one last time!"

North raise a dark brow. Bunny furrowed. Tooth bobbed nervously. Sandy dozed.

"I am not a guardian!" said Jack. "Kapeesh? You're all hard work and deadlines, and I'm snowballs and fun times. But most importantly..."

Jack glared at the observatory skylight. The Man in the Moon was just visible through the clouds.

"I don't want to be a guardian!" He swiped at a passing elf. "So buzz off!"

"Believe me mate, my thoughts exactly." Bunny fingered his boomerang. "Some of us don't think you're guardian material."

Tooth looked reproachfully at Bunny. Earnestly, she returned to Jack. "Jack, I don't think you understand why North called us. A few minutes ago, North saw Pitch."

Jack frowned. "Pitch? Pitch Black?"

"The Boogie Man!" North circled his beefy hands. Behind him, Sandman conjured an image of a scythe. "Pitch was here! At the North Pole! There was black sand covering the globe. And darkness in the sky! And outside there were – "

North shuddered.

"—shadows!"

"Hold on, hold on." Bunny pointed his boomerang. "I thought you said you saw Pitch. What do you mean black sand? And shadows? What's with the shadows?"

"Shadows!" North waved sinisterly. The mini tooth-fairies cooed. "From across the sea! Black as ink and evil as sin! Yes, my friends!"

North pound his fist.

"Pitch was here!"

The mini tooth-fairies twittered.

"And he is up to something bad!"

The mini tooth-fairies chirped.

"I can feel it—" North insisted.

The mini tooth-fairies gasped.

Earnestly, North jiggled his paunch. "—in my belly!"

The mini tooth-fairies swooned.

North strode to the globe. Lights dotted the giant sphere. Each light represented a child. "I have called you here because our old enemy has risen. The children are in danger. And it is our duty to protect them."

Solemnly North appraised the twinkling lights. "Before Pitch controls them with fear. Before they stop believing. In us."

Jack heard a sad jingle. He looked down. An elf had curled sadly against his leg. It was sucking its thumb. Jack shook it away.

"Pitch? Back? I dunno, North." Cynically, Bunny leaned off the wall. "Pitch went out with the dark ages. We made sure of that – remember?"

North frowned. He hated when his speeches turned anticlimactic.

"I know it was Pitch! We have serious situation!" North patted his tummy. "The belly – she never lies."

"What are the shadows?" Jack asked. For once, he concurred with Bunny's skepticism. "And what's the sand? I thought Pitch Black was the nightmare king or something."

Eagerly, Sandman waved. Golden sand collected over his head and materialized into a skeletal horse. The horse started to prance.

"That's not really helping." Jack said, clueless to what Sandman was communicating. "But thanks, little man."

Sandman hmphed. Heatedly, he blew sand out his ears.

"Sandy is right." North continued as the image dissolved. "Pitch is a master of nightmares. The black horse – the 'night mare' – is a trick. Using Sandy's dream sand, Pitch can transform dreams into nightmares!"

Sandman nodded. Sad, but true.

"Ah! But! The shadows!" North clasped Jack's shoulders. "Pitch exists with shadows – both hide under beds!"

"Pitch is almost a shadow himself." Tooth added.

"You see Jack..." Fatherly, North led Jack to the globe. "Under the bed is the most shadowy place of all! Under the bed is where shadows hide during the day, so they may scare children at night! Shadows are evil! Shadows are fear!"

"Yeah." Bunny scoffed. "And thanks to the Fantasians, Pitch got his hands on a few."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. He thought of Elsa and Michael. "Why thanks to the Fantasians?"

Tooth quivered. "Long ago, Fantasia had guardians. Just like us. But the Fantasian guardians lived in isolation – they didn't work together. So, without the others knowing, one of the guardians taught Pitch how to use shadows."

"Yen Sid." remembered Bunny. He made air quotes. "'Underworld' guardian. Grey magic sorcerer. And a shadow worker."

"Manipulator of shadows." Tooth explained.

"Bloke tried to mix white and black magic like Skittles and M&Ms." Bunny snuffed. "Tore shadows right off people and dumped them into my tunnels. Bloody old mongrel. Glad he's dead."

"The point Jack." North redirected Jack to the globe. "Is that shadows can hurt our children while they are asleep or awake. Pitch can control shadows. The children of the Otherland are in danger. Jack... they will need our help."

Jack studied the globe. Perhaps he was just imagining, but it seemed several lights had extinguished.

"What about the Fantasians?" he asked.

"What?"

"The Fantasians." Jack rounded the globe. The opposite side was dark, without lights. "Fantasians have kids. Lots of them. I was just there. Oh and incidentally – "

Jack flicked his staff towards Bunny.

"—the Fantasian guardians? They're back."

Bunny dropped his boomerang. "Excuse me?"

"Yup." Jack said, enjoying Bunny's reaction. "Just met two of them. One of them flies. The other one shot me."

"Lucky bastard." said Bunny.

"Guardians? In Fantasia?" Tooth looked perplexed. "Since when? One of them flies? I haven't seen anyone."

Suddenly Sandman brightened. His dream-sand morphed into a bow. But no one noticed. The image was lost in the bickering.

"You didn't see anyone because they're not there." Bunny motioned derisively at Jack. "This yo-yo's pulling a fast one on us. My tunnels sit right on top of the Underworld – there's nothing there. It's quiet as a mouse."

Sandman bounced up and down, pointing ecstatically over his head.

Still, no one saw.

North stroked his beard. "Tooth is right Jack. My reindeer fill the skies. And my yetis roam the seas. They have not seen Fantasian guardians."

"And what about Manny?" Bunny said as Sandman waved wildly for attention. "The Man in the Moon reigns outer space! The last time there was an Outerworld guardian we had to kick the blighter's big fat pirate – "

"But I saw them!" Jack rammed his staff. Frost slivered across the woodwork. "I can't remember the others, but the two I met were called Rat Tail and Peter Pan! They've been guardians for six –"

"Does this sound made up, or does this sound made up?!" sneered Bunny.

"Well maybe Jack did see something." Tooth offered weakly. "Maybe he – "

"Then why haven't we seen them?" Bunny demanded. "Tooth, wake up and smell the minty-fresh breath! You remember! Fantasian guardians are pushy, stingy, meddlesome – "

Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jangle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jangle!

They turned. Sandman had seized an elf by its hat, and was vigorously shaking its bell. When he finally had their attention, Sandman dropped the elf (it fainted) and pointed over his head.

The dream-sand sifted into three shapes: a needle, a spool of thread, and a bow.

They blinked.

"Still not helping." Jack said.

Sandman slapped his forehead. Exasperated he pointed down.

"Floor?" guessed Jack.

Sandman jabbed. His sand materialized into a downward arrow to emphasize the direction.

"Deeper than the floor?" Tooth squinted. "Bunny's tunnels?"

Again, a jab downward. Deeper.

"Oh crikey." Bunny groaned. "Sandy, do you mean the Underworld?"

The golden arrow swooshed into an exclamation point. Sandman gave a thumbs up.

Jack connected the dots.

"Wait, Underworld? Peter said something about —Sandy did you see someone? In the Underworld? A guardian?"

Wearily, Sandman re-conjured the needle, thread, and bow. Again he nodded. Duh.

"Yes!" Jack exclaimed. "I was right!"

"Sandy?" North frowned. "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true!" Jack said as Sandman confirmed. "There are Fantasian guardians. And we can team up!"

The guardians exchanged uneasy glances.

"Jack..." Tooth began.

"We can work together!" Jack bounded to the skylight. "The guardians might be isolated, but we can transport them! Peter needed me to enter the Outerworld! Together we can protect everyone!"

Jack thrust his staff skyward. "Together we can help protect The Otherland and Fantasia – "

"Whoa. Hold it skiffy." Bunny broke Jack's excitement. "We don't help Fantasians."

"What?" Jack was confused. Bunny's comment didn't make sense. "What do you mean?"

"Fantasia's not our territory." Bunny wiped his paws. "Off limits. We don't go there. And they don't come here."

Jack was incredulous. He beseeched the guardians for an explanation, but their faces told him the truth. North was glum. Tooth was morose. Sandman sadly shrugged.

Jack shook his head.

"Why? Fantasians have kids, and they're pretty cool. You guys get all passive-aggressive with the 'we-love-children' shpeel. Why ditch the Fantasian kids?"

"Oh Jack, it's not like that. We're not excluding Fantasian children." Woefully, Tooth explained. "The Fantasian guardians excluded us. Long ago, when things got bad, they made us leave."

"They made you leave? Why'd they do that?"

"Otherland is a rotten place, mate." Bunny said bitterly. "And the Fantasian guardians blamed us. Said we weren't doing the job right. Said we couldn't defend our children. They thought if we crossed into Fantasia – "

"—then Fantasia would become like The Otherland. Cold. Dark." North glowered. "And dangerous."

"Which is kinda funny." Tooth laughed thinly. "Considering the Fantasians banished their guardians and outlawed magic after that crazy war. Remember? The revolt against King Mickey?"

Bunny snorted. "Right. When they locked the shadows in the Wishing Star?"

"Yup."

"I remember." Bunny rolled his eyes. "Real effective."

Jack attempted a second rally.

"But Fantasia's not like that now. The guardians are different. They're young and – "

"Jack." North templed his hands, pleading Jack to understand. "You said a guardian shot you. Da?"

"Well yeah but – "

"Sounds real friendly to me." Bunny turned. "Sandy?"

Sandman rubbed his cheek mournfully. Bunny was right. Sorry Jack.

"But – " Jack thought of Elsa. If Pitch attacked Fantasia, he would get her too. Jack writhed. The thought of Pitch Black slithering beneath Elsa's bed made him sick.

"But -" Jack wrestled before deciding to speak. "But I met one! I met a Fantasian. A girl. She was – special. She had powers, magical powers, like me! She controls ice and snow and – and – "

Jack burned with embarrassment. The guardians were staring as if they could see his heart somersaulting.

"—and she could feel me!" Jack blurted. "She couldn't see me and she couldn't hear me, but she could feel me when we held hands. It was weird, it was awesome, it was like our powers just fused – "

"We're not risking our necks – " Bunny interrupted. "—because some dumb Fantasian sheila melted you into slush."

Jack clenched his staff.

"Elsa is not dumb."

"Brilliant." Bunny scoffed. "He named her."

North interceded as Jack raised his staff.

"All 'interactions' aside, we cannot help Fantasia. If what you say is true, and Fantasia has guardians, then they will protect the Fantasian children."

Jack protested. "So you're just going to abandon –?"

"We are going to focus," North's tone was sharp as a butcher knife. "On our children. The children of The Otherland."

Jack rapped his staff. "But that's not - "

Definitively, North clapped. "Case dismissed!"

"But – "

"Story over!"

Jack could have argued all night. But an imploring shh from Sandman withheld further dispute. Wrathfully, Jack ripped up his hood and sulked to the window ledge. He made sure to freeze several elves along the way.

Presently Tooth joined him. She sat quietly, which was a rare mannerism but one that Jack greatly appreciated. He was too depressed for effervescent conversation. Especially if the subject was 'teeth.'

Tooth rubbed her rainbow feathers. Jack glanced from under his hood.

"You cold?"

Tooth grinned. "Well this is the North Pole." Her mini tooth-fairies shivered.

Jack folded his legs. He closed the window.

"Thanks."

Jack pressed a cheek to his staff. He glared into the snowy vista. "Sure."

Tooth regarded Jack. And a little piece of her heart cracked.

Tooth was a girl in a boys club. But she wasn't just any girl – Tooth was a fairy. It was the girliest title in the universe. And it was a title not normally welcomed in a boy's club.

But Tooth was unintimidated. Refusing to masculinize, she embraced the stereotype and exploded onto the scene. As a fairy, she symbolized beauty, passion, and ambition. Tooth brought energy when moral was low, and obsession when drive was frail.

She was a fairy. It was her true nature.

Still, Tooth was a girl in a boy's club. North, Bunny, and Sandy included her as 'one of the guys.'

But Jack admired her – fairyness and all. And that was very flattering. So flattering, Tooth was a little taken with Jack.

So when she next spoke, a little piece of her heart cracked.

"That girl. The Fantasian..."

Jack's grip tightened. Tooth proceeded kindly as she could.

"She sounds nice. Very nice."

"...she is."

"And she can feel you." Tooth alluded to Jack's invisibility. "That's a promising first step."

"...guess."

Tooth felt Jack's restlessness. She waited patiently for him to speak.

"Tooth?"

"Yes?"

Jack sighed into his staff. "She trusts me. Without seeing. She...trusts me."

The crack in Tooth's heart broke.

"Some people call that love Jack."

Involuntarily, Jack touched his chest.

"You think...it's possible?"

"For you?" Tooth smiled. "I think it's impossible."

The mini-tooth fairies swayed lovingly as Jack hugged Tooth.

"Tooth?" Jack squeezed.

Tooth squeezed back. "Yes?"

Jack released. Kicking the window, he leapt into the wind. "Tell them I'll be in Fantasia!"

"Jack? Jack Frost - stop!" Bunny, North, and Sandman raced to the sill. They gawked as Jack soared away. "What did he say? Where is he going?"

Tooth winked at her mini fairies.

"Who?" she asked innocently.

...

Big4girl poem:

Ice and Snow here we go two frozen hearts not so cold. We show the world the beauty in us, keeping children happy the way it is and was.

...