Author's Notes: Ahoy! I actually looked up some Russian and Australian phrases for this chapter. Hope it helps lend credence to the characters-who are all totally awesome. :D And thanks you guys for more wonderful reviews and faves! You guys are also completely awesome! 3 Oh, and there's a long chapter ahead, so beware.
Of Ghosts and Guardians
Ch. 13 "Son Of A Pitchner"
Danny didn't know what to expect, diving head first into a magical portal. She only knew her parents' home-built Ghost Portal. Where she'd simply flew through the metal rings, and for all of two seconds she'd be surrounded by the green veils of ectoplasmic energies. After that she would be zooming through the Ghost Zone. But this magic snow globe was different. Very different.
Instead it worked more like her teleportation-which, she was terrible at. With this snow globe you simply jump through the watery image that it projected. Next thing you know, you're sailing through the air of another place, ready to collide with a giant walking fur carpet.
Jaime screamed something, not that Danny heard it in her state of shock. The walking carpet turned and jumped in surprise. It clutched it armful of crates and boxes tightly as its eye widened. It was shouting something in an another foreign language. There were other voices, vocalizing their shock. One of them may have been Jack, after all, he did jump through the portal first. Danny wasn't sure though.
Everything was happening in slow motion. Milliseconds became minutes in Danny's eyes. She watched the carpet heave its massive forearms. The fur in its arms, thick and heavy strands, slowly swayed forward as momentum carried them. This carpet, or, whatever-type-of-creature, meant to toss its load to a nearby person, who was another wierd carpet-thing. But Danny knew that its wasn't moving fast enough. She knew that her and Jaime were going to ram straight into the massive bulk of this creature's arms and torso.
Not once thinking about the pain of using her powers, or any other repercussions, Danny gripped Jaime tightly. Ectoplasm surged through her veins, her jaws clenched, and her eyes burned a bright florescent green. A strong and eerie glow surrounded her and Jaime. The two phased right through the walking carpet who, as Danny had predicted, hadn't yet extended its arms to properly catch the two.
Danny and Jaime skidded across the floor. The walking carpet vocalized its confusion. It spun around and eyed the two in disbelief. Jaime's big brother instincts kicked in, he wrapped his arms around Danny during the confusion. Once they stopped moving, Danny rolled out of Jaime's hold.
"Wha-what just happened?" Jaime gasped aloud. He, like everyone, and everything, else in the room had no idea what just happened.
Danny crawled to her knees. Her wrists flared in pain, a burning pain that felt worse than the electric jolt of the anti-ghost cuffs. The pain quickly spread. Following the same path the ectoplasm used. Her own blood was slowly turning into a liquid fire.
"Hey, Danny! Danny!" Jaime scrambled to her side. Other figures joined him in a ring around the young teen. All of who shared expressions of worry and concern.
Danny gritted her teeth, breathing sharply through her teeth. The cool air stung her lungs. Her whole body trembled under the immense burning pain. She doubled over, arching her back into a protective dome that covered her burning wrists.
"Danny!" Jaime shook her small shoulders. She hadn't said a single word since the portal jump and now she was on the floor, writhing in pain.
"Danny, look at me! What's wrong-AHH!"
Once final push from Jaime snapped Danny back into reality. Her head shot up, revealing the burning glow of ectoplasm that filled her eyes. Jaime, and Jack, who reappeared at his side, jumped back with a fright. Danny's eyes turned bloodshot but instead of red, the veins were green. The same awful eerie shade of green that lit up her iris', and bulged in the veins of her arms.
"What's happening to you?!" Jack screamed. His pupils shrank to the size of cookie crumbs. He was shaking with fear as the veins around Danny's eyes began to bulge and protrude much like the ones on her arms had.
"Pain," She managed to say through her still gritting teeth.
Danny focused all of her will power, every ounce of concentration she had in her, directly at her blood. Her ghostly blood, her ectoplasm, was igniting itself on fire, at least, that was how it felt to her. But she had an idea, a small but certain-to-be-true theory that could explain what was happening.
Pitch had captured Danny with anti-ghost tech, this much she was certain of. What she didn't know was just how long she'd been under Pitch's thumb. She vaguely remembered a conversation with her mother, about how prolonged exposure to anti-ghost technology could seriously hurt a ghost. Danny had no way of knowing how long she'd been trapped by Pitch, but it must have been long enough for the side effects her mother mentioned.
Danny hissed in pain, she lowered her head again and curled in under her shoulders. Her chin touched her collar-bone, while her arms were buried in the folds of her dirty shirt. The fresh scars throbbed in blistering pain, threatening to reopen.
She concentrated with all her might on her ghost blood. Willing, begging, threatening the ectoplasm within her to stop everything that it was doing. Danny was pulling the ectoplasm away from the surface. Trying to bury it deep withing her ghost half, where it belonged. her attempts were proving futile, as the ectoplasm spread faster than she could control it.
Everything looked disastrous until a pair of cool, icy hands touched the back of her shoulders. A cold air wafted from the hands and seeped into her skin. her cold core activated itself as readily accepted the chilly air.
At first, Danny felt frightened. She worried about what might happen if two opposing powers decided to duck it out inside of her. But no such thing happened. What happened instead was that more cold air bellowed from the hands. Danny's cold core readily took this new coldness and spread it all across her body, stilling the raging ectoplasm that burned through her mortal veins.
The cold hand nimbly glided across the top of her back, spreading more chills and steadily easing the pain. Danny's cold core affectively spread the cold energies for her. Easing the pain and subduing the ectoplasm, everything was happening on auto-pilot.
After several minutes of burning pain and frustration, Danny released her jaws and breathed an easy sigh. She looked up to see Jack hovering right above her. His dark furrowed brows slowly raised high, a glint of cheer shined in his blue eyes. It was his hands that had glided across her back, spreading the cold air that extinguished her ectoplasm. The corners of his mouth curled into a smile. And Danny smiled back at him.
"WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL JUST HAPPENED?!"
Danny jumped slightly. She looked to see where the Aussie came from but found a seven-foot tall rabbit staring down at her instead.
"Bunny?" It took her a while, but Baby Tooth's stories slowly returned to the front of her mind.
"Yeah, yeah. Now, little sheila, hows about you tell us what happened here just now." The over-sized rabbit pointed a furry finger, claw-thing, accusingly at Danny.
Jack quickly rose to his feet, ready to stick up for Danny.
"Why don't you back off-"
"Pitch. That's what happened to me." Danny stated plainly. She felt her rage boil inside of her as she remembered the dark cage she'd awoke in.
The arm Bunny used to point at Danny quickly went limp. His expression melted away into confused and guilt-ridden jumble. Jack tried his best not to smirk too much.
"Oh , hey. Didn't you say that Pitch did something to your powers?" Jaime reminded her of their earlier conversation.
"Y-yeah,"
"Pitch did this to you?" Danny jumped as her personal space was rudely invaded by a white bearded giant with a thick Russian accent. His big blue eyes grew wide with concern. He patiently waited for Danny to answer.
"Well, kind of. I mean, yes? Pitch did short-circuit my powers, which made it hard for me to escape. But I don't think he meant for my little breakdown to happen. That's just a side effect." Danny explained.
"Danny, if it was bad for you to use your powers than why'd you use them this time?" Jaime asked as he pointed to the walking carpet, who continued to gawk in disbelief at her.
"I,I just didn't even think about it. I just reacted. Ya know?" She said sheepishly.
"But you had no reason to worry. The Yetis would have caught you." The giant Russian replied.
"No he wouldn't have. He was too slow." The walking carpet growled and stomped his feet in protest. Danny heard Jack chuckle.
"Wow! All of that in under three-point-six seconds. You've got good reflexes, sweetie." A woman fluttered closer to Danny.
Danny did a double-take at the woman. At first Danny thought she was only wearing a dress made of feathers. But Danny soon realized that the woman was covered from head-to-toe in feathers.
"Haw! Yes. Quick like Bunny, or possibly quicker than Bunny, no?" The Russian man nudged Bunny with elbow as he laughed hysterically at his own joke.
The seven-foot rabbit simply rolled his eyes, like he'd already heard the joke a million times before.
But Danny hardly noticed the two. She was still focused on the woman who was decked out in feathers.
"Y-you, Baby Tooth?" The woman's feathers ruffled. She cocked her head to the side as Danny gathered her words. "No, you're not Baby Tooth. But, I mean, you're the Tooth-the Tooth Fairy! Right?"
The woman's face glowed with delight. She bounced in the air, a smile danced across her face.
"That's right! Hi! You can call me Tooth, though." Tooth swooped down and excitedly shook Danny's hands. Her voice was positively dripping with sweetness.
"So, so, Baby Tooth is here too, right?" Danny looked eagerly at Tooth, expecting to hear good news. instead the woman sadly turned her head away from Danny. She took in a deep breath before turning to Danny, wearing a serious expression.
"Baby Tooth isn't here, Danny. She's back in your world. Pitch only took you with him." Tooth explained.
"My world, my world," Danny repeated the words, trying to process them.
"Come, come! Let us take you from here. All dirty and worn and tired. Its time to be getting you some rest, young Danny!" The Russian clapped his hands, signaling for several of the walking carpets to busy themselves with-whatever it was that they do.
Jack and Tooth gently raised Danny to her feet. They checked and asked how she was feeling. Danny nodded her head, she was feeling better, "thanks to Jack." A line of thin frost grew across his face.
Wait, wait, wait! Was he actually blushing?!
Danny felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see a little golden man hovering in the air. Golden sand gathered in his hand and formed a stately top hat. The little man brought the hat to his head and tipped it to her, just like a proper gentleman would.
"Oh, right. Sorry for ignoring you, little fella. Danny, this here's the one and only Sandman. He's the Earth's first Guardian." Jack introduced the two.
"We all just call him 'Sandy' though. You can too. After all, we're all friends now." Tooth informed her.
"Hey, man. Nice to meet you." Danny reached her arm out and shook Sandy's little hand.
He flashed her a warm, gentle smile. Even without words, she felt like he'd already complemented her in some way.
Sandy then hovered backwards and extended his arms. More of his golden sand rushed forth. It gathered mid-air to build what looked like the softest, most cushioned mattress Danny had ever seen. The little Sandman then motioned for Danny to hop on.
Danny raised an eyebrow at the golden man. She patted the sand construct to test its stability. This was certainly different from any of her snow or ice constructs, she thought to herself.
"Aww, see, Danny? Nothing to worry about." Danny laughed at Jack when he hopped on the sand-mattress. He quickly reclined into the mattress, despite Sandy's attempts to 'shoo' him off.
"Jack, get off of there. That's meant for Danny." Tooth chastised him.
"I'm just showing Danny that its safe is all." Jack explained, still fully reclined.
Danny followed Jack's example and hopped on the mattress, settling in right next to Jack. Frost grew along his cheeks again, in place of a normal blush. He seemed embarrassed by their arms, and even parts of their legs, touching each other. Danny, having had umpteen different sleepovers with Tucker and Sam, wasn't as bothered. She waited until Jack started fidgeting before she struck-she flipped him right off the mattress. Jack tumbled down to the wood floor with a loud "ouch."
The pale teen scrambled to his feet, his eyes narrowed on Danny.
"What the heck was that?!" He demanded of Danny.
"I'm the youngest in my family. And my family likes to fight. A lot." She explained.
"You are so not getting away with this," Jack warned her. The corners of his lips curled into a coy smile.
"Bring. It. On." Danny dared him, matching his coy grin.
"Ease up now, you two. Danny you still need some rest." Tooth warned the teens.
Sandy laughed a quiet laugh as he escorted Danny, along with Tooth and Jack, to the infirmary.
Jaime waited until the group had rounded the corner. He gathered with Bunny and the Russian giant, known as North, off to the side. They all spoke in hushed tones.
"So, Jaime, how is Danny? What is her condition?" North asked.
Jaime sighed heavily before he related what had happened at the pond. He told them what Danny had said about her powers and how she escaped from Pitch. Jaime also explained how paranoid and jumpy Danny was around them.
"But that's not even the worst of it," Jaime concluded, "She outright refused to let me treat her wounds."
"The paranoia?" North asked.
"Well, that could easily be Pitch's doin'. Getting kidnapped an' all would fry anyone's circuits." Bunny postulated.
"No. This was different. See, Sophie, brought this kid home. A friend of her's from school. I never noticed it at first, but the more he came around the more I realized that he didn't trust adults. And the way Danny was acting, it just reminded me of this kid." Jaime explained.
Both North and Bunny gasped. The three exchanged worried looks before continuing their conversation.
"Jaime, you really think that little sheila is going through the same thing?" Bunny asked one more time, needing to make certain.
"Or something similar. Or maybe she naturally has trust issues. I'm not really sure. Danny was pretty vague." Jaime said.
"I'll sure say so." Bunny scoffed.
North hummed low, he crossed his arms and meditated deeply before replying.
"We do not know enough about the situation for comment on Danny's personal life. We know she has sister who was not surprised in least to see her use magic. Manny told us her name but nothing else. We should focus on protecting her from Pitch. He took her for a reason."
"Yeah! And that reason is why we're all getting antsy up here! Meanwhile, Pitch is grinning like a shot fox 'cause we have no idea what he's planning for this go-round!" Both North and Jaime had to remind Bunny to keep his voice down.
"Look, guys. I don't doubt that she's a good kid," Jaime began.
"And neither do we." North assured the young man.
"But she's a mess right now. There's no way she can fight or do anything else." Jaime finished.
"Right. Pitch did a helluva number on the girl." Bunny sighed deeply.
North rubbed his temples anxiously. Bunny was right on two counts-they had no idea what Pitch was up to, and Danny was in no condition for anything besides the afternoon nap.
"Hey, North. What happens next?" Jaime asked the man.
"You go home, Jaime. This fight is ours, not yours. Hurry and say 'do svidaniya' to Danny and Jack. Then Yetis will take you home." North told him.
"Yeah, okay." Jaime nodded before walking off.
Bunny barely waited before whispering to North.
"Oi, mate. You think its really wise to let the kid off like that? Won't he be a target too?"
"No, no. Jaime is grown up now. He means nothing to Pitch. Even if Jaime still believes, Pitch needs children to fear him." North explained.
"What? Children like Danny?" Bunny cocked an eyebrow at the Russian.
North sighed as he shook his head. He just didn't know. Pitch was always impossible to predict. Even if Pitch's singular want, need, goal, was to be believed in by the entire world. His methods for obtaining that belief changed as often as the seasons did. But what tied his methods together was his cunning. Pitch had an innate gift for two-timing, underhanded tactics, deceit, confidence schemes, and all-out-lying. After six, seven hundred years of battling, North and the other Guardians were no closer to understanding Pitch than when they first meet him.
"C'mon, mate. Let's go and see Jaime off. Before Frost freezes him to the walls again." Bunny patted his old friend on the shoulder. Then he gave North his best reassuring smile.
"You are right, old friend. Let's put on faces of brave and lead the charge, no?" North managed a small laugh. He clapped a large hand against the back of Bunny's shoulder.
The two men walked together. They headed for the infirmary where Danny would rest and recuperate. The Yetis bustled along the festive hallways, hurrying to finish their daily tasks. And the Elves were constantly underfoot, perpetually getting in the Yetis' ways and hindering their duties.
Approaching the infirmary, North stepped forward and pushed the door open. Bunny nodded his thanks to North and entered the room. The men found the rest of the group were deep in conversation.
"So, these are the elves?" Danny asked, pointing to a small group of three elves who clambered up into a nearby chair.
Danny sat upright in one of the beds, neatly tucked under the heavy quilts. She had a plush burgundy bathrobe neatly wrapped around her form.
North and Bunny nodded to Sandy who hovered over to them as they entered the room. Jack sat at the foot of the bed Danny was in. Jaime sat in a small chair he'd pulled closer to the bed. And Tooth fluttered over the side of the bed.
The Yetis were running about checking her vitals and performing other medical duties. Danny had been under one of Pitch's nightmare for an extended, and what was worse, unknown, amount of time. So many other things had happened to Danny as well. She was in dire need of a check-up.
"Yeah, but they don't actually do anything around here." Jack informed her. One of the elves took high offence and warbled something angry at the teen. Jack just laughed it off.
"They look like gremlins." Danny cringed as one of the elves puckered his lips at her. She scooted back in the bed.
Jack and Jaime let out hardy laughs, they could barely contain themselves. While Bunny and Tooth were trying their best to not laugh. Sandy simply applauded the remark, which did nothing to stop the boys from laughing further. Even a few of the Yetis chuckled slightly. But North was quick to defend his elves.
"But they have wonderful purpose. They are so very helpful, and, and insightful, and, inspirational?" North was failing.
"I swear to you-they look like gremlins!" Danny continued to say. That one elf leaned further forward, still attempting to kiss her. The other two elves held his arms to prevent him from falling. Again, Danny scooted further back into the bed.
"Nyet. They are elves and they are loved here." North said with a long, sweeping wave of his massive arms. Bunny and Sandy neatly dodged his arms as they swung around.
"It's interesting that you say that, Danny. Especially after you said the Yetis look like demon polar bears." Tooth mused.
"What?" North eyed the girl.
Bunny scoffed as he rolled his eyes.
"No, no. All I meant that was what Yetis looked like back in my world!" Danny explained.
"Really? You have Yetis in your world? But no elves?" North asked, wide-eyed.
"Of course not. You have gremlins instead, right?" Jack joked, which killed just about everyone in the room. North however, was still trying hard not to laugh, for the sake of the elves who were also in the room.
"So, Danny, how now are you feeling?" North waited until most of the laughing had died down, before talking again.
"Way better now, thanks." She smiled.
"Good, good." He nodded his head, smiling sweetly. "REPORT!" North then hollered for one of his Yetis. The sudden outburst caused Danny to jump under her covers. Everyone else didn't seem too bothered by it.
North mulled over the papers that the Yetis gave. The man muttered to himself before turning back to his subordinates.
"Is this all tests? No? Uh-huh, uh-huh. Hmmn," North engaged with one of the Yetis, who only spoke in his own gibberish language. North continued to speak in regular English. But now and then, he'd thrown in some Russian expression.
"Bah! This can all wait until later. Danny, would you like to join us in the globe room?" North asked.
"North! Danny should stay in bed and rest some more." Tooth insisted.
"Is fine, is fine. It is only for sending Jaime off." North said.
"What? You're leaving already?" Danny couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Yeah. I really should. I've got a busy life back home and I need to check on my sister." Jaime said as he stood up from his chair.
"Come on, Tooth. We'll carry her out again if it helps." Jack added.
Tooth furled her feathers as she thought.
"Alright. You guys win. But then its straight back to bed for you, missy." The fairy left no room for argument.
"Fine by me. And I'd like to try walking this time, guys." Danny said as she lifted the heavy quilts off of her.
Once again, there was that one extra-creepy little elf who insisted on wooing her every passing second. Danny grimaced, she carefully crawled out of the bed to better avoid him. Not getting the hint, the elf extended his bony arms and puckered up, ready to embrace her.
Jack snorted at the elf. He then raised his staff, waving a rush of cold air above the elf. Ice particles fell covered the little elf and clinged to him. Freezing the elf almost instantly. The other two elves gasped aloud in fright and quickly scampered away.
"My hero." Danny laughed.
Jack hopped off the bed, he stood straight and presented his arm for Danny to take.
"My lady," He spoke with a humorous, faux-aristocractic tone.
Danny laughed again as she took his arm. Jack walked her out of the infirmary and into the Globe Room. Jaime followed close behind them.
Bunny and North watched in awe as the two teens exited the room. Gawking, Bunny turned to Tooth and Sandy, looking for an explanation. North mouthed to his comrades, also seeking an answer. Tooth nodded excitedly. Sandy's only reply was to form the sand-image of a heart, being struck through by an arrow. North pumped his fists, delighted by the prospect that Jack found had himself a "special someone."
As excited as he was, Bunny ushered the other Guardians out the door. He liked the idea of Jack finding company with a girl his age, mental age at least, Jack is over 300 years-old, but they needed to hurry along. The Guardians quickly caught up with Jack, Danny, and Jaime in the hallway.
"So, if they aren't gremlins, then does anything happen when you feed them after midnight?" Danny asked in a hushed tone. She still held on to his arm. Not for any sort of romantic undertone, but for the sake of balance. All of her weight was falling on Jack, who used a lot of effort to keep her upright. As it turned out, Danny was still in terrible shape. Her strength was fading from her limbs dangerously fast.
"They turn into him." Jack not-so-subtley pointed to Bunny. The two shared a quiet giggle. Even Jaime, who overheard them, chuckled slightly.
Jack shifted the positions of Danny's arms. He had Danny hug his torso and shoulders. Now more of her weight now leaned directly on Jack, running parallel along his frame. One of his arms caught the underside of Danny's ribcage while the other held her arms in place on his shoulder. Her weight was being better supported but barely so. Jack was athletic yet lacked any real muscle mass, and Danny was anything but a feather weight.
"You gonna make it?" Jack wore a worried expression.
"I'll make it, alright. But I might take you up on that offer for a carriage ride back." Danny replied.
"Consider it done." Jack smiled at her.
Jaime shot a nervous glance over his shoulder. The other Guardians quickly caught it. North looked to Jaime and nodded his head. They would be certain to take care of Danny, after he left.
The group fast arrived at the fabled Globe Room. Danny's first impression was that it was huge-beyond huge-ginormus even. Located in the very center of North's workshop, the room was stylized after the grand old Russian palaces she'd seen in history books. The architecture was wood with ornate tiles, and the walls were draped with tapestries colored in deep crimson and shimmering gold. It was every bit as grand and over-the-top as North.
Everyone said their good-byes to Jaime. Farewell handshakes and hugs were plentiful, as were promises for more recent visits. Jack gave Jaime a bro-hug. And North gave the young man a bear hug before kissing him on both cheeks and wishing him many happy returns.
One Yeti stepped forward and presented Jaime with a magical snowglobe. Jaime took the globe and shook it. He barely uttered the name of the home town before a shadow darted through the air, striking Jaime's hand. The snowglobe fell, shattering into a million pieces on the floor. Magic wisped and faded away from the shattered remains.
Every person in the room, from the gigantic Yetis to the diminutive Elves, tensed from the sight. They all recognized the shadow-a Fearling. Jack immediately leapt forward and neutralized the Fearling. Jaime fell to his knees, his hand throbbed in pain.
A dark, low chuckled wafted through the air. The entire room stood on alert, ready for battle. Jack raised his staff and continued to stand guard over Jaime. Bunny and North had their weapons drawn. Danny took a battle pose but faltered. She was still far too weak to fight. Even her incredible willpower couldn't help her to stand straight. Tooth and Sandy gathered to her, holding her and covering her protectively.
"Well, well, The gang's all here." Pitch materialized atop the giant Globe, voice dripping with contempt. He glided across the metal surface without making a sound. "And what a picture of togetherness that you paint! Why, even little Jack Frost, for all his screw-ups and faults, is still here."
Jack's eyes darkened at the man's words, gripping his staff tighter. He stayed calm and continued to stand over Jaime.
"Pitch, you blighter! What'd you want?!" Bunny pointed a boomerang at the man.
"What do you think I want! To be BELIEVED IN!" Pitch snarled at Bunny. Throwing his fists into the air, columns of nightmaresand billowed high. The whole room gasped aloud. The nightmaresand columns pulsed like powerful thirty foot geysers, erupting at the top. A fine sprinkling of nightmaresand spiraled down the columns only to rejoin the cycle.
"Oi! What's going on here?!" Alarmed, Bunny jumped several feet backwards.
"Sandy, how can Pitch still control the nightmaresand? Didn't he lose it ten years ago?" Tooth asked of him.
Sandy could only shake his head. None of this was making any sense. Pitch truly did lose control all those years ago. All the power he had once gained was gone now. The golden man turned his attention back to Pitch. He carefully studied Pitch in hopes of discovering his newest secret, because, whatever it was, would certainly prove to be his most dangerous yet.
"Oh, my! That's not fear that I sense, is it? No. It couldn't be. Are the Guardians scared? Now I'm flattered. Really, I am." Pitch grinned wickedly at them. He was thoroughly enjoying his time in the spotlight.
"Save your flowery words and speeches, Pitch! We are most certainly not scared of-of, you?"
North's words fell short, he watched Pitch split off into three separate Pitches. The extra two Pitches weren't mere mirages made from nightmaresand either. These two were living breathing copies of the original. Each one wore the same wicked grin as the first, their eyes all glowing darkly.
"How about now?" Pitch asked with a coy smile.
Danny, like everyone else, gasped in shock. But unlike everyone else, Danny had seen this sort of self-copying technique before. She had seen it so many times in the Ghost Zone. And Plasmius, who taunted her with this very technique so many times. It had taken her so long to master, and now here was Pitch-taunting her, taunting everyone. Showing his superiority and making them all feel insignificant and fearful.
Jack carefully guided, without ever taken his eyes off the group of Pitches, Jaime back towards Bunny and North.
"North, what's going on here?!" Jack asked.
"I, I don't know," North stood there, gawking. His swords slowing dropping. North didn't know what to think of Pitch's newest ability. Even under the tutelage of Ombric, he had still never seen anything like this before.
Tooth hugged Danny closer, doing her best to shield the teen from any impending attack. Sandy moved in front of the two, keeping up a ready-to-attack-form, sand whips twirling in his hands.
"Tooth! hey, hold up for a sec-" Danny shifted in Tooth's arms but the woman was adamant on not letting her go.
"Danny, you need to stay here. We'll keep you safe." Tooth told her.
"No! I mean, that's not it. I mean that I've seen this before." Danny replied.
"You have?!" Tooth looked at the young teen with wide eyes.
Buuny's ears twitched. he shot a quick look at her from across the room.
"Wait-did I hear that right? You know what's going here?" Bunny called out.
Pitch remained silent. Even as the room filled with levity, he quietly waited for the scene to play out. He wanted to see exactly how the Guardians would react. he especially waited for Danny's reaction also.
"Its called 'duplication' and I've seen it done dozens of times by the gho-ghosts," Danny stopped to think for a moment.
Something was seriously wrong with this whole scene. It never made sense for Pitch to kidnap her. If she was any sort of threat then he should have just beaten her to a pulp. Pitch has proven he was more than capable of at least that much. But kidnapping made no sense. Especially after she sneaked into Vlad's mansion with her-wait-!
"Son of a bitch," Danny huffed.
"Danny?" Tooth's feather furled. She watched in confusion as Danny's expression quickly darkened.
The corners of Pitch's (ahem-all three Pitches) mouth curled into a nasty, snarling smile. This is what he waited to see.
"That's what you did to me? The kidnapping, the fighting, all some song and dance for THAT?!" Danny's fists shook as her rage boiled. Tooth continued to hold the teen close, not letting her any closer to Pitch.
"But Danny, you make it sound so inconsequential. I'm hurt. After all, it wasn't an easy feat." Pitch feigned hurt by grasping at his chest, his voice dripping with mockery.
"Oi, oi! What's goin' on over there?! Ye can't just be leavin' the rest of us in the dark!" Bunny continued to hold his boomerangs defensively in front of him. Tentatively throwing a glance towards the far side of the room where the others were huddled.
Tooth kept her arms tight around Danny, who now was at the bubbling point. Danny tried to take a step forward but Tooth wouldn't let her. With a fair amount of effort, Danny freed an arm and pointed high at the central Pitch.
"THAT BASTARD STOLE MY POWERS!"
Cussing was always a sure sign when Danny was angry. And now, she was beyond angry. Pitch hadn't simply removed her ghost-self. No, what he'd done was taken a choice ability of hers and implant it inside of himself. She'd never seen anything like it before. Danny had her powers swapped with other ghosts but that was all accidental. Except this time it happened intentionally.
It was clear to Danny that such a feat, as Pitch had described it, could only be possible with help from Vlad Masters' technology. Danny cursed her luck. Only Vlad would make a bad guy even badder.
"But how?" North gawked at Pitch. Seeing an inexplicable ability, such as duplicating one-self, made sense knowing it came from a whole other world. But knowing that Pitch could now steal these alien abilities terrified North.
"Wai-wait! Didn't you use your powers before already? When we entered the workshop?" Jaime asked from behind a wall of Yetis.
"Hey! That's right. He didn't steal all your powers, Danny!" A sly smile danced across Jack's face, his terror slowly fading.
"You're right. Pitch just took one thing that he wanted. The one he could get the most use out of." Danny looked directly at Pitch as she spoke. Her intense glare did nothing to waiver the man. Even though Sandy and Tooth felt slightly unnerved by Danny's vehemence.
"Don't forget. It's also how we first met." The central Pitch stepped forward, snarling like an arrogant beast. His tone was in stark contrast to his expression. Soft, quiet, and smooth, velvety smooth. Pitch furrowed his brows and focused his eyes solely on Danny.
"Such a fateful meeting," He began. Keeping his voice soft, but with a touch of cynicism. "Here I am, in a wholly strange but equally familiar world. And what do I find? Two mighty, fearsome men who squabble over their repeated defeats by a mere child. A sentiment that sadly I'm all to familiar with."
Jack flashed a cocky smirk at Pitch, to which, all three Pitches snorted back in response.
"But lo and behold-here is a realm where ghosts and malevolent spirits run rampant! All the destruction. The chaos. The fear. And despite it all there's only one child who can truly see." Pitch's voice rose in cadence. He ended by pointing a long bony finger at Danny, his eyes narrowing on her.
"You're not taking her again, Pitch!" Tooth yelled at the man. Her arms further constricted around Danny's frame.
Sandy gave a curt nod, sliding in front of the two, he cracked his dreamsand whip.
"She's right! We've beaten you before, Pitch. And we'll beat you again!" Jack cried.
"You tell 'im, Frost!" Bunny cheered, giving a twirl to his boomerangs.
"Pitch! Your tactics will not work on us. We are not scarred of you!" North exclaimed, feeling triumphant.
"Oh. Is that so? Tell me, Danny. You've gotten quite chummy with the Guardians here. Have you told them about the nightmare that you had?" Pitch's eyes glowed with malice. Licking his lips, he felt Danny's anxiety instantly rise.
When North saw Danny's whole body tremble from 30 feet away, he immediately regretted taunting Pitch.
"Danny? Hey, Danny, what's wrong?" Tooth asked, worrying over the girl.
Danny couldn't respond. Her throat felt drier than mummy dust, her voice caught on an invisible hook made from fear. Pitch continued to goad her further.
"I take it you haven't. Too scarred to recall? Or maybe you even somehow forgot? Must be from all the trauma." Pitch chided.
"Sh-shut up," Danny's voice cracked.
Truly, Danny's fear was the most delicious Pitch had ever tasted. As he had noted earlier, all the girl's repressed emotions bubbled and aged into a delectable brew. Like the proverbial mana from the heavens, her fear did wonders for him. Filling him with power and recharging his own twisted sense of inspiration. Pitch liked to spend his time imagining new and awful, dreadful ways of tapping Danny for that energy he so coveted.
"Poor, poor, little ghost-girl. So fearful, so alone." Pitch took a few steps forward.
"Stop," Danny almost whimpered.
"The little ghost-girl, who is so frightful and monstrous!" He continued.
"What is matter?" North asked from across the room.
Everyone turned to look at Danny. Trembling like a leaf in Tooth's arms. She clasped her hands over her ears, praying for it to block out Pitch's sickening voice.
"Danny, what's wrong? What's he talking about?" Tooth was now scarred for Danny. The young teen looked ready to have a break down.
"I'll tell you what's wrong-she's a freak of nature!" Those words struck Danny right in her heart. Pitch's own heart skipped a beat. He could feel, just feel how close Danny was to a nervous break down.
"PITCH! What gives YOU the right to call her that?! You're the real monster here!" Bunny was fuming. he never could understand Pitch, nor did he ever try. But this time Pitch was going too far.
Bunny leapt into the air and threw his two trusty boomerangs. The two duplicate Pitches easily knocked the boomerangs out of the air. Then the real, central, Pitch blasted Bunny with a small cannon made of nightmaresand. Bunny went flying, landing far back behind Jack and Jaime.
Several of the Yeits screamed in terror. Nightmaresand snaked across the fur on Bunny's chest. North raced over to his friend, followed close behind by Jack. The two worked quickly to remove the nightmaresand from Bunny.
Sandy watched the two diligently free Bunny of the nightmaresand. Normally he would've gone to his friend's side, but he couldn't bring himself to leave his post. He stood guarding Danny as Tooth tried to reason with her.
"Danny, don't you listen to anything he says. Pitch is nothing but a liar. He only wants you to doubt yourself." Tooth did her best to reassure Danny, but the girl was falling fast.
"All that rage and power bottled up in such a tiny, insignificant body. Rotting away as she walks among the living. Pretending that she belongs!" Pitch continued, his chest swelling with excitement.
"I said stop," Danny's voice shook.
Tooth shivered as a cold air emanated around Danny. An icy blue hue emanated from the teen. Pitch would never notice
"Yet none of this compares to what she'll become! The Dark-"
Danny had meant to scream. She wanted to scream for Pitch to stop, but something else happened instead. Sandy and Tooth were knocked aside by the sheer concussive force of Danny's voice. Without ever meaning to, Danny had unleashed a massive Ghostly Wail. Only problem was that this wasn't her usual Ghostly Wail. However, not a low-pitched deathly moan, Danny's voice was shrill and piercing.
Glass had shattered all throughout the Globe Room. The air turned icy cold and shook, deep into the lungs of everyone present. The ear-splitting pain forced people down to their knees. Bunny and the Yetis were especially susceptible to the high frequency.
Pitch took the brunt of the vocal blast. All three of the Pitches were bombarded with a condensed, miniature blizzard. Icy winds stung his skin. Shrill cries nearly ruptured his eardrums. And many icicles of varying sizes pelted, bruised, and cut the man. His two duplicates couldn't handle the attack and dissolved away, back into piles of nightmaresand.
Pitch and his nightmaresand were blown several dozen feet backwards. He slammed hard against the far wall of the workshop. His body pressed further into the wall, being held in place by the continuing power of Danny's voice. Even the gigantic Glove was nearly uprooted from its stand.
Soon Danny's voice gave away and the sharp, howling winds stopped. Danny staggered before dropping to her knees. Drained of what little energy she had left in her. Squinting into the distance, she saw Pitch fall to the floor. A large shard of ice sticking out of his right arm. The area around the wound turned pale from the festering ice, slowly freezing his arm.
In sheer horror, Pitch gawked at his arm. He looked to the fatigued Danny and snarled at her. Pitch looked reminiscent of a wounded animal. Desperate, hurt, and cornered. Pitch knew when he was beat. The man quickly summoned a Fearling Stallion and escaped on the beast.
That was the last thing Danny saw before she finally passed out.
Tooth and Sandy were quick to catch the girl. The rest of the Guardians gathered around her. Surveying the damage wrought, they were rendered speechless.
Luckily, Danny had only aimed for Pitch, so, the damaged was localized. Small tufts of snow and frost littered the floor and walls. There was a trail of pristine, flawless ice, beginning only five feet from Danny, and leading all the way to the top of the massive 40 foot Globe. The width of the trail widened exponentially. Curving and cresting like ocean waves, growing taller further down the trail. Pilars and spears also grew out of the ice, also growing sharper and more jagged the further the trail went. The very top of the Globe looked the worst. Buried under several feet of ice and topped with monstrous icicles that could deter even the bravest of souls.
Everyone then turned back to Danny, laying unconscious in Tooth's arms. her breathing was heavily labored. She was breaking out into a cold sweat and her complexion was ghastly pale. Completely unresponsive and practically dead to the world. She wasn't waking up.