A Hollow Christmas- for soinherownhead- cont.
Authors note: okay so I almost didn't post this today but I couldn't help myself XD here's the rest of the story^^ the others are all oneshots so this is the last and only double whammy you'll get this year^^ see you tommorow! Please let me know what you think, it really makes me happy to hear from you guys
They'd been searching for so long she almost didn't get her hopes up. But then she saw a slight ripple of fabric that looked like a hood.
"Jack!" She yelled. North's immediate jolt on the reigns sending her tumbling into a downwards spiral off the sleigh, but she didn't care- she'd caught herself within a second, and was tearing towards his motionless figure in the next. "Jack!" She screamed, praying for some sort of response… She couldn't see any. Travelling so fast she half crashed into the foot-deep snow by his side, she almost didn't touch him for the fear of hurting him.
"Jack… Jack wake up." She whispered, trembling on the edge of hysteria as she fought back hot, stinging tears in her eyes. "Jack..!" She tried again, summoning as much of her voice as she could- shaking him as hard as she dared. She heard a slight, mumbling groan and gasped. "Jack?" She whispered. Before shaking him again with renewed urgency. "Jack- wake up! Please!" She begged, as he shifted with another slight groan. He was almost there! He was almost there-!
The sleigh crashed next to them in a train wreck North was so desperate to check up on the boy. The sleigh hadn't even stopped before his two giant feet crashed into the snow nearby, and approached them. North never had been one for subtlety.
"JACK! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! HOLD ON MY BOY WE'RE GOING TO GET YOU SOME HELP! DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES! STAY AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!" He pulled out his magically enhanced radio, and yelled into it with just as much volume. "BUNNY- WE'VE FOUND HIM! BRING SANDY AND COME QUICK STAY WITH US! JACK! STAY AWAKE-!"
"North, cutit- owww. Would you stop with the shaking?" North froze- stunned, for once, into complete silence, as he lowered the irritated (though still somehow bleary eyed spirit) back towards the ground.
"I'm up- I'm up." He murmured in a half-asleep stupor, managing a tired squint up at North, who stared back. Was he alright? "Who's idea was it to give me that wakeup call? Was it the Kangaroo? It was the Kangaroo wasn't it." He decided. He sounded fine- if a little rough from just waking up. Tooth and North both ignored his questions, as North delicately set him down on the ground- watching him stretched and yawn like nothing had even happening.
"…Jack… What happened? Where were you? No one's seen you for two weeks- we've been worried sick!... What happened to you?" Tooth began delicately, the easy with which he'd come back to consciousness making her a little wary of his mental state. Jack frowned slightly in the middle of mussing up his bedhead.
"I was spreading snow around the world- what else would I doing?" He pointed out. Tooth looked at him, dumbfounded as silence enveloped the North Pole- thankfully, or perhaps unthankfully, they were spared from the awkward silence by a hysteric rabbit arriving on the scene- soon followed by Sandy.
"North, I got the message! Where is he? Is he alright? Aw shoot, I left my first aid kit back at the Warren! Hold on, I'll go get it! Do I need the emergency? Specialist? Accident? Do I just bring everything at on-?" A sand ball to the head knocked him clean out for a few seconds- so he could come to his senses and actually use his eyes before jumping to insane conclusions this time.
"…Frostbite?" He muttered in a disbelieving daze, as he looked the not dead, not horrificly injured and not passed out on the floor winter spirit up and down (then up again, just to make sure). "…You're alright?" He muttered, half confused half relieved.
"Would you rather I be lying on the ground left for dead?" Jack queried. Bad answer after everything Bunny had just been through. That sarcastic little-! Twenty four hours he'd been worried sick about that kid, and that was the response he got?!
"Now listen listen here you little-!" He just about reigned himself in from saying something he might regret. "I've been running across the globe for five hours straight looking for you- WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! Do you have any idea what you put us through?!" He demanded, Jack looking taken aback with the outburst without a single clue how to respond. His usual response was a joke or something annoying, but something told him that wouldn't cut it. What did you do when someone was worried over you? He couldn't even remember. The only times he had to put up with something similar was with the wind, and even then all it took was a half bothered "sorry" and she let it go (she'd just gotten used to it at this point). He guessed sorry wasn't a bad start though.
"I'm sorry." He muttered. "I really was just spreading snow around and I just.. passed out up here at the pole." He muttered, trying for that apologetic, guilty look kids gave their parents when they misbehaved- but he never had been very good with apologies, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't feel perhaps a little bit too good to know they'd been looking for him.
"'JUST passed out?!'" Tooth yelled. Bunny's outburst reminding her of her own terrified anger. "I just saw you there lying in the snow! I didn't know what to think! You could've been hurt! You could've-!" She stopped herself, and stared him down sternly. "What do you have to say for yourself?" She demanded. He bit his lip- should he venture out into a joke? Well what's the worst that could happen?
"Guy can't take a nap with his snow blanket in peace?" He ventured.
Tooth had not been expecting that- she was completely thrown off by the unexpected joke.
"Snow blanket?" Bunny repeated, fighting the smirk spreading across his face. "Is that really the best you could come up with?" He queried, the battle to stop himself smirking failing.
"What?" Jack grinned, deeming himself suitably off the hook enough to relax a little bit. "Its soft, cold- what more could an ice spirit ask for?" He shrugged, about to make some other passing humorous comment, when he found himself pulled into a gentle hug.
"I'm just glad you're okay." Tooth murmured into his hoodie, refusing to let her relieved tears spill- she didn't want him to see. He froze for a stunned moment- he was still a little new to this whole hug thing, but he was getting used to it. He let his smile soften as he returned the calm embrace.
It only lasted a few moments, but a few moments was all she needed- just to compose herself, and remind herself he was okay. Jack smiled at her as she let go, but before he could say a single word, some kind of golden cane dragged him down, and he suddenly found himself stuck face to face with an angry sandman. One golden hand holding him by the neck hoodie, the other drawing a tight line against Sandy's neck in a very clear message of what he'd do if the trickster ever worried them like that again. Jack gulped- if there was one thing he'd learn over last Easter it's that you never- ever- messed with the Sandman. He nodded back with the most serious face he could managed. Sandy must've deemed the threat satisfactory, because he finally let him go. He breathed out a breath of relief, and immediately wished he hadn't. He heard North's larger than life laugh before he saw him coming- which was strange; you'd think you'd notice a giant, red Santa Claus coming up to you, ready to lift you onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, but, no such luck.
The next thing he knew he was crushed under North's hands, regretting having let go of that that air that would've been great now. Soon after, he found himself bouncing off North's shoulder like a damsel in distress. Okay, so maybe deserved it- that did not mean he was just going to accept the piggy back ride quietly. He hated being reminded of the fact that he was in fact the kid of the group- and it especially irked him that North could pick him up in a single hand without even breaking a sweat. He was so mad, in fact, he almost didn't notice the way in which they were heading.
"Wait!" He called out, effectively halting their rescue party. "I've left my staff." He informed them. They all paused as they debated whether or not he was messing with them, because he usually never let that thing out of his sight.
"Are you serious mate?" Bunny complained.
"Hey, it's not like I can throw it away and it'll just keep coming back." He pointed out. Bunny sighed, grumbling under his breath as they all turned back to the place they found him.
"Maybe you should've invested in boomerangs then." Jack just rolled his eyes, finally getting set down as they cast their eyes about for his staff. Except there seemed to be one problem.
"Where the bloody 'ell is it?" Bunny muttered. The length of twisted bark was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey!" Jack called over. "Do you think it could be down here?" He asked, all of them walking over to examine what appeared to be some kind of huge icy pit- or possibly a ravine. They squinted down it, trying to see if there was anything resembling a staff lying at the bottom, but it was way too dark to see anything.
"Can you guys see anything?" Tooth muttered, hovering at their shoulders.
"Is just a lot of black." North informed her.
"Of course it had to bloody well end up here." Bunny muttered, none of them noticing that Jack had slowly stepped away from the edge, kicking up a long, wooden stick from where it'd been quickly buried under snow.
"Come on Bunny, it wasn't his fault. Is there anyway we could get down there?" Tooth wondered, Jack squared up, side on, behind them, levelling his staff at their rears.
And here comes Frosty, lining up to take his first shot. He commentated to himself.
"Well unless you have a ladder on you." Bunny retorted sarcastically.
He takes a practise swing, he thought, swinging his staff back, before levelling it in front of him once more.
"Are you sure you can't climb down?" Tooth queried.
"Woah woah woah- I'm not going down there! There's no telling how deep this thing goes! Why don't you go down-…"
A second swing, and he's finally to take the shot… Sandy glanced back to see a very obviously not stuck down a hole staff slowly swinging away from them. He jumped- desperately waving to get the other Guardian's attention.
"Not now Sandy." North dismissed, deep in thought over the puzzle before them.
He takes his position… makes the swing, and…. Four!
The wind swung low and fast- sweeping forwards with his staff towards the already leaning Guardians-knocking them all clean over into pit. Everyone's arms flailing wildly as they toppled helplessly into the giant pit- Sandy folding his arms across his chest in annoyance.
Except that they didn't all fall to their deaths. They didn't fall for very long at all. Each of them landed into four little icy ruts that slid and crisscrossed deep underground like a giant rollercoaster. A extreme adrenaline junkie's course looping North straight over Bunny's toned down kids ride of a chute. Tooth kept shooting in and out of view as she was carried back and forth at speeds approaching those of her world travelling flight, as Sandy bounced around from track to track flying around them all like a little golden pinball- and there, behind them, skating atop the chutes like some kind of arctic version of Tarzan, came Jack. If they didn't know any better, they'd say this whole thing had been planned for weeks.
Between Bunny's incessant wailing, North's booming enthusiasm and the echoing qualities of the walls around them, it was a pretty loud ride- and, for some, it ended as suddenly as it started. Sandy flying straight into a snowdrift, as North ploughed into one about ten times bigger. Tooth's threw her high into the air, allowing her to catch herself in mid-air, followed by Jack as he backflipped his way into the underground area. Bunny? He slowly scooted his way to a stop as the chute trailed out at the other Guardian's feet. Jack had to bite his lip to stop himself laughing- to compensate for the lack of tricks he added in a few extra spirals. Perhaps a few too many- Bunny's eyes were still spinning.
"That is it Frostbite!" He roared, turning to point at him and pointing at the wall. "That is the last time you watch Ice Age" He punished, trying again and this time managing to land his pointing finger at the winter spirit… mostly.
"That was brilliant!" North declared, exploding out of his snowdrift, nearly knocking out Sandy who was pointing a golden arrow back up the way they came in way of saying "Again! Again! Again!" Jack chuckled as he addressed them all.
"Alright, so I may not have been entirely truthful earlier." He admitted. "I wasn't just spreading snow across the world." Come on, I do that every year, he thought, but he decided it would be cooler if he left that bit out. "I know, I know, lying's bad and all that, but the thing is…" He said, leaning back against the closest wall with a trademark smirk. "I am top of the naughty list." He quipped, the wall behind him slowly groaning as it creaked open under his weight.
The secret door opened up to reveal a huge, open hall made from what looked like the hollowed out inside of a giant glacier! But the towering space was by no means empty. A cacophony of noise rose up, as the final arrivals to the surprise party finally walked in. Hundreds upon hundreds of yetis warbling out a "Merry Christmas" to the Guardians, as a thousand chirping fairies did the same from up above- even the many elves that scattered across the floor shook their bells in excitement at their arrival.
Jack casually strolled in like the mountain he'd converting into a giant dining hall was nothing impressive- greeting a few of the yetis, and casually inquiring about the cooking effort. A couple of fairies zipping down from the roof to give him a shy "hello", as Baby Tooth proudly informed him that everything was running smoothly. He thanked her, rubbing a gentle finger behind her crest as the Guardians stumbled in, practically tripping over their gaping jaws.
Thousands of little snowflake tables glittered, suspended, above their heads in three rounded sections- even as they watched, fairies zipped from table to table, busily chirping to each other as they caught up with the latest gossip. The yetis all boisterously crowded the flat topped, rocky ice boulders that covered the floor, babbling loudly and happily across the tables, some of them waving in the barely moving Guardians. The elves just did whatever they pleased- it looked like they were meant to be waiters, but, true to form, they'd forgotten their job and started roaming about under everyone's feet in search of the food that hadn't been served yet.
A sharp whistle finally stopped the Guardians gaping as they followed the sound to see Jack standing next to the centre table, pulling out a chair in an overly obvious gesture. They'd spent all Christmas so far wondering if they'd even see a Christmas with the winter spirit, and then he only went and trumped everything they had planned with an indoor glacier full of their friends and partners. He really had gone over and beyond.
A couple of minutes later and the winter spirit was happier than he'd been in three hundred years. He just sat and watched Tooth's face grow wider with shock for every passing second Baby Tooth told her about the everything she and Jack had done to get this place ready- and she left nothing unmentioned. She told her about the two solid weeks he'd spent carving out the mountain and creating the all the tables both floor and floating from scratch, kicking the elves out of the kitchen, organising the fairy rotation system (with three sections of waiting, eating and on call all being used to make sure the fairies got just as much fun out of the holiday as they did, stopping a bit of impromptu yeti karaoke and subsequently rationing the eggnog, not to mention all the stories that had come out of Jack's involvement in the cooking effort.
For the first time in three weeks, Jack was relaxed- and sat there watching Tooth's torn looks from Baby Tooth to him as she struggled to know who to gape in astonishment at, that alone made everything worth it. The bags under his eyes, the stress, burns from hot pans, and grey hairs (he maintained he must've gone even whiter), it had been worth all of it for this one happy moment. For the first time, he felt like he really understood Christmas. For all its mad rush, with the presents, the toys, the decorations and the dinner- this right here was what it was it was really all about. Sitting there with the people that really mattered, just having a great time together.
He took in everything, not watched to miss a single detail: the yetis chugging ridiculous amounts of eggnog, the elves tripping over each other as much as everyone else was, the fairies whizzing back and forth overhead taking orders to and from the kitchen that would soon be bringing out the starters. A group of them had gotten their tiny hands on some mistletoe, causing chaos the moment they floated towards the yetis. He watched Baby Tooth telling Tooth about the many failed cooking attempts that occurred in the months he'd been teaching himself to cook in order to help with the Christmas dinner- North trying to put a hat onto Bunny's head, despite his insistence that his ears would rip it- and Sandy flying off his stool as he pulled a cracker with the wrong yeti.
He noticed it all as the wind swirled around letting out a consent sigh… and he smiled, suddenly finding a stray snowflake seemed to have found its way into his eye.
So this was Christmas.
