"The Hollow"

Note: Angst-heavy chapter ahead! Tooth Fairy gets too curious about the Rings and gets more than he bargained for, and the timing couldn't be worse! Myuu's piano arrangement, 'Something's Wrong', fits the first part of this chapter nicely and can be found on YouTube. Buddy is the driving force behind this whole adventure they're on, but nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Trigger warning for anyone with emetophobia.

"Chapter 11: Something's Wrong"

Tooth Fairy landed a few feet away from the closest Fairy Ring he could find, preparing to go back, but he paused when that awful feeling from before came over him again. Before, it had receded when he moved away from the Fairy Ring, and he had forgotten about it for a bit.

Now the feeling was back, and he felt nauseous again.

"I don't understand..." he muttered. The closer he got, the worse he felt. It had to be something about those Rings, something about the magic that created them, and once again he sensed something dreadful. Inexplicably, he was afraid to get any closer. Realizing that his hands had begun to shake, he fisted them at his sides. "Come on...You're tougher than this..."

Tooth Fairy took a deliberate step forward. Then another, and two more, until he stood above one of the only ways out. Even though he had cautioned Santa not to touch the mushrooms, he decided not to take his own advice. It wouldn't hurt him physically, and he wouldn't be transported anywhere unless he actually stepped inside the Ring, but if he made physical contact he might be able to understand what he was sensing.

He hitched at his trouser legs as he knelt down, and slowly extended a finger to prod at one of the mushrooms. The moment he got within an inch of it, purple magic arced out and drew his finger to it like a magnet, so quickly that he didn't even have time for second thoughts.

"Nngh!" He gritted his teeth and went rigid as images and sounds poured into his head. Feelings of betrayal and regret coursed through him, and his ears seemed to ring with a scream they didn't actually hear. His heart pounded frantically, and the street beneath him seemed to give a violent tilt. His sister's face, as beautiful as his was not, loomed in his mind's eye, and he had never seen her look like this before! Crying for help, pleading to be set free...

There was a phantom pain where his wings joined his back, which was a sensation he could not abide, and with a monumental effort he snatched his hand away from the mushroom. The images, sounds, and feelings immediately ceased, and he breathed hard as his world swam back into focus. He patted his jacket pockets and touched his face, making sure he was there, making sure he was real, and he discovered that his cheeks were damp. He guiltily wiped the tears away, giving a swift look around to make sure no one had seen, and he became aware of a sour taste in his mouth. He looked down and saw that he must have gotten sick at some point.

Getting shakily to his feet, he fished a sample bottle of Listerine out of one of his many pockets and rinsed his mouth out. After spitting off to the side, he took several deep breaths to calm himself. He hadn't thought of Brinna in years. "Okay...okay...M'okay..."

He wasn't, and he knew it, but he knew he couldn't show it around the Clauses. And Cupid would never let him hear the end of it if he saw him like this!

Taking care not to step on any of the mushrooms, he stepped into the Ring and willed it to take him back to the North Pole.


Tooth Fairy managed to fully compose himself by the time he spotted Mother Nature, and between the two of them they discreetly called an emergency meeting in Santa's study. As they filed in, Curtis bringing up the rear, Mrs. Claus got a really good look at Tooth Fairy's face and stopped dead in her tracks. "Oh...You're really pale. Are you all right?"

He nodded, and he thanked his lucky stars when Mother Nature interrupted them.

"Tooth Fairy. We're all glad you made it back safely. Would you please tell us what you found?"

"Did you find Buddy?" asked the Easter Bunny, twitching his nose.

Cupid interjected before Tooth Fairy could speak. "If he did, the kid and Bernard would be back by now."

It was very telling that Tooth Fairy didn't snipe back at Cupid. Instead he fidgeted with his dental floss and addressed Santa in particular. "Well, first of all, Bernard's safe. He chose to stay behind and keep looking. The Ring led to some kind of underground cavern with a small city inside."

Mother Nature's brow creased in thought. "A pocket realm?"

"I-I don't know," Tooth Fairy shook his head. "but I can tell you that it seems to be populated by...well, Halloween monsters." He gave a smile that was more like a grimace; he knew how it sounded!

"Psh..." Cupid scoffed, twirling a finger around his ear. "It's happened, he's finally lost it."

"No, I haven't," Tooth Fairy insisted, finally showing some annoyance. "It's not just monsters, but Christmas Elf turn-aways, who now call themselves 'Dark Elves', and they took Buddy for revenge. At last, that's what Bernard told me."

Carol grew almost as pale as Tooth Fairy, and she abruptly sat down.

Tooth Fairy quickly added, "Bernard managed to find a group of people-"

"Thought you said they were monsters," Cupid pointed out.

"Cupid...I am this close to punting you out that window like a football, now let me finish!" Tooth Fairy actually raised his voice, which was something he seldom did in a meeting. His formerly pale face was turning an ugly brick-red, and Cupid immediately fell silent. Tooth Fairy jumped when he felt a hand on his, but it was only Mrs. Claus.

"Tooth Fairy..." She began to ask him what was going on with him, but realized that doing so in front of his peers would deeply embarrass him, and she offered a smile she hoped was reassuring. "Please, continue."

He swallowed hard, gently taking his hand from hers. "Thank you, Mrs. Claus. These people," here he shot Cupid a warning look, "at least the ones with Bernard, they want to help."

Santa leaned forward, frowning as he considered this. "You're sure about that?"

He nodded. "I talked with them for a while. Their leader was really nice."

"And what's he?" Santa asked.

"She's a Werewolf. She seems to keep the others in line pretty well. Anyway, she told me where Buddy was probably taken, and told me to have you meet them there. Said they might get delayed."

"By what?" Cupid dared to chime in.

"She didn't specify," Tooth Fairy replied.

"You didn't ask?"

Tooth Fairy blinked a few times, abashed. "I...no.

"Oy...Nice to know for sure what you'll be facing..."

Curtis cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at him, having forgotten that he was even there. "Santa, if you're going down there...would now be a good time to tell the Elves what's going on?"

Santa knew what Curtis was getting at, but he wasn't about to mention it out loud and upset his wife. If he didn't make it back, the Elves would need to find a new Santa. This meant leaving his coat and hat behind. He nodded, getting to his feet. "Now is the perfect time, Curtis. Get 'em all assembled in the Workshop, and I'll be there soon to let everyone know."

Father Time and Mother Nature exchanged regretful looks, and Father Time shook his head. "Mother Nature and I can't abandon our duties...not even for this."

"What?" Santa shook his head, hardly able to believe what he was hearing.

"We're deeply sorry, Santa..." Indeed, Mother Nature looked desperately unhappy, "We have our own rules we have to follow, and we can't break them."

"Time marches on...It has to."

"And life cycles must continue..."

Santa remembered how he had treated Tooth Fairy that morning, and caught himself before he could dig himself a nice little hole to jump into. "Fine. I understand. Who is going?"

Sandman snorted himself awake, caught the last of Santa's words, and raised his hand with a yawn. "I could use my sand if we're caught. It'll put them right out."

Santa nodded and favored him with a small, grateful smile.

"Not me," Cupid waved a hand. "I'm a third your size, and my arrows are for lovers, not fighters."

Tooth Fairy gritted his teeth, muttering under his breath. "Stupid Cupid..."

"What was that?" Santa turned to him.

"I'll go. There's some things I need to check out on my own. It's about the Fairy Rings. I don't think we should use them once we're down there." He dropped his gaze to his hands, which were busily winding and unwinding dental floss. He felt queasy at the very thought of stepping into one of those again.

"Why not?"

Tooth Fairy forced himself to look Santa in the eye. "Something's not right about them. I don't know if these 'Dark Elves' have a Fairy working for them, or if they captured one, but you don't wanna play around with magic."

Jack Frost folded his arms and leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling as if in thought. "Nooo, you definitely don't. Tell you what, I'll go too. It's been a while since I froze someone, and I don't want to get too out of practice." Then he saw that all eyes were on him, and he spread his hands. "What are you all gawking at? I have to exercise my lungs every now and then, don't I?"

"So learn opera..." Cupid snarked.

"Don't dare him, he'll do it," Easter Bunny hopped off, sensing that the meeting was coming to a close.

Santa watched him leave. "Looks like he's not going either. Given that he's a rabbit and there's a Werewolf down there, I guess I can't blame him..."

Mother Nature adjourned the meeting, and they all trooped out except for Tooth Fairy. Carol noticed that he wasn't with them, and turned back when she saw that he was almost hypnotically focused on his floss.

"Tooth Fairy?"

"Hm?" he jumped, then quickly put the floss away. "Sorry, what?"

"Are you sure you're all right?"

He nodded, then winced when she gave him a Significant Look. "No."

She nodded, not quite understanding, but she had her son to worry about, and she knew Tooth Fairy well enough to understand that he wouldn't tell her what was bothering him. Unburdening himself just wasn't something he did.

"I have to go," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, already backing towards the door, and she let him go. While Santa and the other Legendary Figures got ready, Tooth Fairy flew into the back alley and touched down in the middle of the Ring, his face a mask of determination.