Author's Notes: No witty banter this time. Just enjoy the belated chapter everyone!
Of Ghosts and Guardians
Ch. 14 "Explanations"
Danny's eyes fluttered open. Her vision slowly came into focus, definitive lines were drawn and Danny could finally make out her surroundings.
It looked like she was back in the infirmary. Danny turned her head to look around, but instead found an Elf who was, rather rudely, hovering over her.
Danny screamed in shock and the Elf screamed right back, and given such a fright that he tumbling backwards right off the bed.
Pain shot through Danny's entire body. She winced, hissing through her teeth. Curling into a tight ball under the bed covers. Her muscles spazmed, throat and burned hot from over use. Danny could vaguely remember fending off Pitch with a devastating Ghostly Wail. Only, it wasn't the normal-kind of Wail she'd always used in the past. This time it had been more like a frosty Canary Cry.
Exactly how had that happened? She asked herself, still lying on her side and curled up.
"O Great One. Thank the stars above that you're awake finally!" A familiar voice boomed into the room.
"Great One? Wait a sec-Frostbite?!" Danny carefully looked up to see a very familiar Yeti.
"Greetings, O Great One! How are you faring this afternoon?" Frostbite inquired of the girl.
"A lot better now that I see you. What's been happening? How is everyone back home? What about my family? And Baby Tooth-did you meet her yet?" Words flew from Danny's mouth a mile-a-minute.
"Calm yourself, Great One. Please. Questions will be answered in due time. But first, a few visitors perhaps?" Frostbite took some steps off to the side, revealing the Guardians who stood eagerly at the door way.
"Great One, huh?" Jack was the first to step forward. Looking smug as ever, he strutted through the doorway. "You told us all about the Yetis in your world, that much I remember. But I think you left a few things out."
Danny shot him a disapproving look. It did little to affect Jack. The corners of his mouth curled into a cocky smile as Danny continued to stare him down.
"You are hero, Danny! You saved your own world single-handedly! Most impressive." North bellowed, applauding the teen.
"Wa-wait, wait, wait! There was no singled-handed anything! Frostbite, what did you tell them?" Danny swiveled her head from North straight to Frostbite. Her expression was pure dread. Not that Danny didn't appreciate the recognition for all her hard work, but Frostbite had a history of embellishing the facts. Not to mention that she didn't even know which stories he had told everyone. As there were a few she'd rather keep secret.
"That's so amazing, Danny!" Tooth fluttered in. Her purple eyes were big and glittering.
"Quite the accomplishment for broken stick." Even the usually gruff Bunnymund nodded in approval.
Sandy clapped his little hands together, a great big smile across his face. A large gaudy trophy with a big "#1" plastered on its front formed from dreamsand. The Sandman then threw out a whistle and pumped his fists in the air for good measure.
"Please, please. The Great One is very humble. You're embarrassing her." Frostbite commented. He waved his massive paw through the air, acting more like he was the embarrassed one.
"Ahh, yes. The humble world savior. With her even more humble servant, the king of the Far Frozen, by her side. Quite the reputation you got there, Danny." Danny could feel the waves of smug satisfaction rolling off Jack. He could clearly see her discomfort and milked the situation for all its worth. He strode closer to the bed, continuing to taunt Danny, earning a death glare from her. He began again, "You know, I never would've pegged you as humble-OWCH!" But was soon interrupted by a blur of green and gold that struck the back of Jack's head.
"BABY TOOTH!" Danny squealed.
The mini-fairy rushed to Danny. Her arms splayed across Danny's lower jaw, and nuzzling her face against Danny's cheek. Danny hugged Baby Tooth back. Relieved to see the little ball of feathers healthy again. And flying no less.
"Ohh. I'm so, so happy to see you again. And you're flying too!" Danny rejoiced.
Baby Tooth fluttered backwards, responding with several loud tweets. Her tiny face brimming with joy. She twirled through the air, showing off her newly healed wings.
"Thank goodness!" Danny cried cheerfully. She and Baby Tooth hugged each other a second time.
"Ahh, yes. We were meaning to tell you-" North cleared his throat.
"Baby Tooth is back home. Safe and sound. Thanks to King Frostbite here for bringing her home. And thanks you to and your friends for nursing my girl back to health." Tooth chimed in, interrupting North.
Baby Tooth settled down on Danny's shoulder. The teen kept her hand raised, her index finger resting in Baby Tooth's lap while the other held on tightly. Smiles dancing across the two girls' faces.
"Well that's one problem solved at least. So, when am I going home?" The reunion with Baby Tooth had lifted Danny's spirits exponentially. She felt so certain that travelling back would be easy for her. Especially seeing that Frostbite managed had it along with Baby Tooth. Never once expecting that her innocent question would instantly dissolve Frostbite's wide, toothy grin into a painful frown. Danny's mood was dropping fast. Yet again.
"About that-My apologies, O Great One. But the situation isn't that simple." Frostbite started. His paws were clasped together, hanging low in front of him. His voice grew soft but remained firm as he spoke. "The one called Pitch Black, he remains a threat. His Fearlings run rampant throughout both the ghost and human realms. There is much chaos in his wake."
Danny's jaw went slack. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She figured she'd been gone two days at the most. And Pitch hadn't been in her world any longer than that either. Just how in the hell much damage did this guy do?
All the guardians went silent as Frostbite continued. Even Jack's cocky demeanour faded away. This did not bode well for her, Danny thought to herself.
"The situation has become most dire. And your new friends, these Guardians of the Man in the Moon, have explained to me the confrontation between you and Pitch Black."
"Yeah, yeah. Umm, he came in and started egging me on. And I, I, well, I fell for it." Danny sighed. She shook her head, disappointed in herself. She's always known better but Danny could never stop herself from charging forward. Her ghost powers ignited a severe level of over-confidence that she had yet to overcome. There's been too many times in the past when she'd charge head-on into an already bad situation only to make it worse.
"Yes. Lord North has explained to me the events that transpired. I believe I now understand how you came to freeze his workshop with your newfound power." Frostbite commented.
"Oi! So, wait a sec' 'ere. That wasn't something normal for her?" Bunny belted.
"What? That frosty Canary Cry? No way! I can only do a Ghostly Wail, or, at least, that's what I always thought." Danny replied.
"You're kidding, right?" Bunny asked, skeptically.
"Nope." Danny said straightly.
Bunny's nosed twitched frantically. His furry face contorted in a mix of shock, fear, and partial outrage.
"You're kidding me!" He exploded. "You mean to tell me that you've just been skippin' around learning all this as ya go?!"
"For the past two years? Yes! And I've only known Frostbite for the last six months. And he only helps me with the ice powers." Danny explained.
A loud whistle broke through the air. Everyone turned to Sandy, who had a hand in the air.
With everyone's attention, a series of sand images formed above his head. First a glittering snowflake, followed by a bullhorn, then a toonish ghost. Sandy next shrugged his shoulders. A question mark forming lastly above his head.
"Yes, yes. The Great One's recently acquired Banshee Shriek." Frostbite nodded, acknowledging Sandy's silent question.
Sandy looked at the Yeti, feeling even more confused than before.
"A what? Did you just say a Banshee Shriek?" Tooth repeated.
"What's that?" Jack piped up.
"Banshees, you see, are fairy women who wail whenever someone is about to die. But the Banshee Shriek is a Ghost technique that combines the powerful Ghostly Wail with the element of ice. It instills the fear of death into anyone caught within the line of fire. And surrounds them with ice. It also makes the blood, of anyone who hears, run cold." Frostbite explained.
"In fact, Sir Jack, I believe its thanks to you that the Great One discovered this new technique!" The yeti added.
"Really?!" Confused and shocked, Jack took a few steps back. He shot an impossible look and Danny. She appeared slightly less confused than Jack was. Danny bit her lip as she pondered on Frostbite's words.
"Yeah! Really! How's tha' even possible when the two aren't from the same dimension?" Bunny was fuming.
"Because they are of 'like spirits.'" Frostbite answered.
Bunny squinted his green eyes at the Yeti. Desperately wanting to understand the meaning but couldn't.
"Oh! Because of the cold core, right? We're both ice spirits." Danny perked up as Frostbite happily nodded to her. She'd been able to figure out what had happened.
"That's all it took? Are you serious?" Jack looked at her skeptically.
"It may not seem like much to you. But in our world, 'like spirits' are able to share their powers. Together, they feed off the other, empower, and even build themselves up. Making each spirit stronger than they were before." Frostbite informed the young Guardian.
"But how?" North wondered.
"But Danny and Jack aren't from the same world. Even though Danny is capable, Jack shouldn't be." Tooth described.
"This is all true. But please keep in mind that it is the Great One who would trigger the symbiosis between the two. Even without meaning to, she would pass on this ability to Sir Jack." Frostbite continued.
"Earlier, when the Great One tried using her powers, but instead found herself in extreme pain. That was when Sir Jack used his own ice powers to help the Great One. Thus, providing the catalyst for the symbiotic relationship between the two and the birth of a new power. So, it doesn't matter that Sir Jack isn't from the Ghost Zone." The Yeti concluded.
Danny's felt her face grow hot but she wasn't fully blushing. Not yet anyway. But once she turned to see a fine frost creep across Jack's nose, her own face glowed pink. Somehow hearing Frostbite, in the large baritone voice of his no less, talk so seriously about her and Jack being in a relationship embarrassed the two teens.
Bunny snickered at the their expense. He liked seeing Jack act awkward and-for once in three hundred years-at a loss for words.
Jack caught wind of this and raised his staff dangerously high. Ready to fire a bolt of ice at the Pooka. But Tooth was quick to dive in and quietly ease the boy down. North gave a hearty chuckle at the sight.
Frostbite loudly cleared his throat before continuing.
"While on the subject of powers, O Great One. You started to lose control upon first entering this workshop, correct?" Frostbite had asked in his typical far-rounded way.
"Uh, yeah." Danny quickly recalled. "After I had turned Jaime and me intangible. Say, where is he? Is he alright?"
"Jaime is fine. After Pitch had left, we asked him to hurry and return home. He made sure first that you were alright. We tucked you in hospital bed and then he left. He wishes for your speedy recovery." North told her.
Danny sighed in relief. She felt a little guilty for not realizing that he was missing sooner. But more than that, she was happy to hear Jaime was alright.
"Again, O Great One. Your powers?" Frostbite reminded her.
"Sorry." Danny quickly apologized.
"I was able to examine you. I do not have the benefit of the Far Frozen's technology, but I suspect something terrible has happened to you. Nay, I'm certain of it. Only I do not know of the damage's extent." Frostbite stated.
Danny's jaw went rigged. She knew exactly what frostbite was talking about.
"Pitch stole my powers." Her voice went monotone. She absolutely hated the thought of having her own powers stolen from her. It made her feel violated and sickened.
"Yes. But we don't know how much of your powers are now gone." Frostbite added.
"At the very least, he has my Duplication ability. But it's also the one he can do the most damage with. The bastard even figured out how to use it faster than I did." Danny grumbled as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"That is true. Pitch Black has proven to be a very dangerous man. He is no doubt using these stolen powers to their fullest. To assume any less could prove our own downfall." Frostbite said.
Danny muttered dark curses under her breath. She began pulling at her hair in frustration. Its bad enough when she can't hope to match her opponents. But its an even more bitter pill to swallow when she learns that she's solely responsible for making the bad guy stronger.
Jack rested a hand on her shoulder in a comforting manner. Danny turned to see him smiling at her. It helped to lighten her spirits some.
"My apologies, Great One. But there are other complications that need discussion." Frostbite began.
"Like what?" Danny was scared to ask.
"The amount of time you've been without all of your powers. As you know from earlier experience-any attempts to extricate your ghost-half result in decay and instability." Frostbite answered.
"But it can't be that bad, can it? I mean, I've only been gone for a couple of days. Right?" Danny asked of Frostbite. The Yeti froze. Not daring to breathe, biting his lip.
"Right?" She asked him again. This time in a much more serious and demanding tone. "Frostbite, what aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing. Nothing. I, I thought you knew." Frostbite stuttered out.
"Thought I knew what?!" Danny shouted.
"That you were gone for so long. For three weeks, in fact." Frostbite answered.
That answer had hit Danny harder than a brick wall.
"Thr-three weeks?" Jack gasped.
"But that's almost as long as long as Baby Tooth has been missing! It can't be true! Can it, Baby Tooth?" Tooth turned to her Mini-fairy.
Baby Tooth looked sadly to her Queen. She let out a pitiful chirp and nodded. Tooth fell slightly. Covering her mouth with both of her hands from the shock.
"But Manny only recently told us of Danny's escape from Pitch. Its only been a few hours." North spoke.
"Now hold on here! Are we actually saying that Danny's been trapped by Pitch for that long? She said he had her trapped in a nightmare. And she only ever woke up once!" Bunny laid out the facts. The facts were next to impossible to believe. Only because they were true, the weight had fallen heavy on everyone's minds.
"In a perpetual nightmare," North gulped.
"For three whole weeks," Tooth was horror-stricken.
Danny was floored. Just like the Guardians, Danny couldn't believe what she was hearing. She grabbed fistfuls of bed sheets, pulling and yanking hard. Shaking her head in disbelief. It all had to be a lie, she told herself. It couldn't be true!
Of everyone in the room, it was Sandy who felt the most concern for Danny. As the Guardian of Dreams, Sandy knew the importance that dreams held. Sleeping in itself provided rest for both the body and mind. Dreaming, especially true in children, revived the spirit within people. All people, young and old, have a spirit-a force that drives them forward in life. Providing an unending happiness and sanctity. Nightmares however, did the exact opposite. They continuously break people down. Too many nightmares can turn a person hollow and melancholic.
To hear that Danny was imprisoned in a single three-week long nightmare. It sounded illogical-utterly impossible. To look at Danny, you'd never think she'd have suffered such a horrendous fate. She'd been guarded and skeptical in the beginning but that was understandable. Having been kidnapped and taken to another world, anyone would act the way she did. And most remarkably of all, Danny showed no other signs of despair or trouble. Almost like it never even happened to her at all.
"Three weeks," She repeated over and over. "Three weeks, three weeks, three weeks," Lost in utter disbelief. Danny tried to reassure herself. Hollow promises of mistakes fell to the wayside. She wanted to see a way around this, but couldn't.
"Oh, Danny." Tooth flew close to help Jack and Baby Tooth comfort the girl.
Jack stepped closer to Danny, his hand firmly clasping her shoulder. His attempts at comforting her fell on deaf ears. Even the added support of Tooth and Baby Tooth went unheard.
Danny had closed herself off from the rest of the world. Reeling in shock, she was desperately trying to process what she had just heard. For three whole weeks she'd been gone. For three weeks she'd been Pitch's captive. Worse yet, she'd been missing from her own home. Her clueless, terrified parents have probably already gone to the police. And then there was Jazz, Sam, and Tucker. They all watched her disappear. How were they coping?
Finally, Danny exploded in a fit of rage.
"I'VE BEEN GONE FOR THREE WHOLE WEEKS! WHAT THE HELL'S BEEN HAPPENING ALL THIS TIME?!"
Dun, dun, DUUUUUNNNN!