A/N:
I'm very sorry about the irregular updates...
Real life is kind of rough, right now, nothing in specific, just generally speaking.
I'll try to update more often, key-word being "try", fortunately, again: really sorry.
Well. Guys. Have fun with the chapter. ^^
Chapter 14:
``I wouldn't call this found, exactly.´´ Bunny states gleefully.
``Shut UP, Fluff! This is a hygienic NIGHTMARE.´´
The white haired teen growls and glares.
In all fairness, he probably has the right to be a little annoyed, considering the fact that he was currently on the floor in front of an ancient rotting closet, being crushed by a wooden door that had apparently fallen of said closet.
Right. There were of course also the two fairly skeletal looking corpses pressing down on the wood and, by association, Jack.
Hold on Jack, Sandy signs and throws up a hand full of Sand, a few gestures later another giant Sand-Hand had lifted everything of off the teen.
``Thanks, Sandy.´´ He stands up and dusts off his clothes, turning towards Bunny he glares angrily, ``Thanks for your concern too, Fluff.´´
``Don't mention it.´´
``You son of a...´´
He is interrupted by Sandy poking his arm and pointing at two skeletons, now lying on the onld wooden floor.
``Ah, right. So I saw this old closet thingy and figured I should open it, just so I don't miss anything. ...long story short: The hinges were rusty and the damn door came right off, burrying me and letting those two guys fall free.´´
He sighs: ``I feel gross.´´
``Don't be a baby, that can't possibly be the first bones you've ever seen,´´
``They're usually not right on top of me! Ugh, I think I got a piece of someones cranium in my eye.´´
``That's really tasteless, mate.´´
The Australian shakes his head and takes a few steps forward and comes to a halt besides Jack and the remains. ``So, do we torch 'em?´´
``Yep, two ghosts less to worry about. At least I think it's two, there's only two skulls...´´
``Whatever, burn bones equals less Spirits, anyone got a lighter and the FR foil*?´´
Sandy snaps his fingers and his companions look over at him, the smallest guardian is kneeling besides the bones and seems to be closely inspecting the scraps of cloth that must once have been their clothes.
With one last angry gaze at Bunny, Jack walks to stand next to Sandy and leans over, ``What is it?´´
For a second Sandy doesn't move, then he bows his head shaking it slightly, when he glances up at jack again he looks slightly bitter.
Take a look at the collar of this one. Jack goes into a hunch and frowns, ``Is that...?´´
Yes, I think it used to be a jacket and this embroidery looks like...
``It looks like the AGGA-logo.´´ He sighs and averts his gaze. ``They were Guardians.´´
Bunny doesn't even bother joining them, he just closes his eyes and massages his temples.
Guardians.
From what Manny had told them, these two must a part of the first and only team to ever visit this place.
It's unlikely Bunny actually knew any of them still... Seeing other Guardians or any member of the AGGA dead is never easy.
When he looks at the other again, Jack is holding one of the sculls and examining it closely.
``What are ya doin'? Frost?´´
``There's something wired here, in the eye-socket. It looks like it's ... A silver coin, it's stuck...´´
He says puzzled.
``Stop tha'. We should burn the bones, it's only proper.´´
```That's just it. I'm wondering why they were left behind in the first place.´´
Even though ghosts have been around forever, well, since humans were dying, the tradition to always burn the bodies of the dead had not been made a law until a few decades ago.
There was always conflict with religions or philosophies, also a few activist groups stating that ghosts are just as much a part of the "circle of life" as birth and death themselves.
Not that it helps much now, after centuries and centuries of humans being buried instead of burned, but it's always good to see society learn from their mistakes. Some of them.
The only exception to this had been guardians, for whom it had always been a mandatory thing to be cremated. Ever since the AGGAs creation.
``But this coin, it...´´ jack stops mid sentence and stares at something behind his fellow guardian.
Immediately his brows furrow and his eyes take on a steely look..
He sets down the skull very slowly and carefully, raises his staff.
His eyes never leaving the spot behind Bunny he says: ``Don't move, either of you. Please. Stay still.´´
The Australian has seen enough of Jacks work to know him to be capable and doesn't doubt that the kid has his reasons for his strange words, especially now that Sandy has also raised his head allowing Bunny to see the expression on his face. Tense and worried.
``Alright´´ Bunny mouths, not moving a muscle anywhere but his face.
``This will be slightly uncomfortable.´´ Jack whispers looking apologetic.
Then... Bunny goes cold. Like he's jumped head first into a frozen lake.
He hears the slightest of rustling.
Like clothes... Freezing.
He can't see his own body but he can feel the frost, the thinnest layer of ice rushing up his legs, over his pants, his shirt, down his arms.
It reaches his hands and neck, bare skin immediately breaking out into goosebumps.
He can't see what is happening but Sandy looks stunned.
His eyes wonder back to Jack, desperately trying to make out how that child is doing this, not touching his staff, not moving his hands.
...His hands.
They're glowing.
Almost unnoticeably so, but it is there, an ice blue glow, starting at his fingertips traveling up the insides of his arms, along the blueish veins visible through the pale skin.
If not for the situation, it'd be beautifully.
They stand like that. Silent. Unmovable.
Bunny's skin is slowly starting to burn, cold seeping into it from the thin mantle of ice, even through his clothes.
There is also the fact that the temptation to turn and look over his shoulder is getting stronger and stronger, he feels like Orpheus, tempted to look at Eurydice, except he's pretty sure that a women ascending from the under world is not what he'll see behind him.
Besides, the whole turning thing didn't exactly work out for that guy...
He'll have to move eventually, though.
He's still trying to solve this problem (and figure out why he's slowly but surely being turned into a human Popsicle) when he's distracted.
There's a hand.
Radiating Cold far more threatening then Jack actually ice.
There are flaps of rotting skin hanging off of it and it's thin, practically Skeletal.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees it near.
Slowly coming closer, somewhere in the back of his mind he registers that despite the completely dried out remnants of skin there's still blood running down the far too thin fingers even though that is a medical impossibility.
And then it rests on his shoulder.
For a split second he's convinced he'll die, convinced the ghostly touch will be his end, now, in this cold, empty, dead mansion.
His breath stops.
He could swear so does his heartbeat.
But the ice thickens, even as Bunny's eyes, still resting on Jack, widen in panic, he feels the weight on his shoulder grow heavier as his only protection from certain death grows stronger and The 's hands glow brighter.
Then Jack... Flinches. It's such a small movement, Bunny almost misses it.
But it's there.
And the kid looks surprised, confused.
Whatever it was that caught him off guard in this way, Sandy does not appear to have noticed it and Bunny does not mull over it either, he feels the hand disappear and suddenly everything is moving much to fast for his mind dulled by the cold.
The ice is gone immediately, Sandy relaxes slightly and Jack.. Jack runs.
He's out of the room and in the hallway leading back to the first floor, out of sight.
Sandy appears all but frozen for a second then, his hands move faster then Bunny ever saw them move before.
Two ghosts. Jack's following.
And he's out the door as well.
``Fuck! Damn that kid!´´ He yells and pinches his legs as hard as he can, the sharp pain helps him force the numb limp to move.
A little slower than the two preceding him he follows.
Tooth had given up on trying to fix the cameras and had instead been spending the last have hour calling Bunny's and Jack's cell-phones every five minutes. She'd also send Sandy about a dozen texts, North had taken up pacing.
``Hoe long will it take until the oxygen runs out?´´ Tooth questions, staring up at the very much hole-less ceiling of the ice cubical.
``Jack told me that the ice vill go if he dies.´´
``That's horrible!´´ Tooth cries, ``He's so young. He shouldn't have to think of things like that.´´
``I didn't ask him. He told me himself.´´ North states. He stops to look at Tooth and, upon seeing that her expression doesn't lighten up, adds: ``He is guardian, Tooth. Not child.´´
``Yeah, I keep forgetting that.´´ she sigh and starts gnawing on her fingernails, worriedly.``They'll be fine, right?´´
``Of course!´´ The Russian shouts enthusiastically ``Bunny and Sandy have much experience and from what ve have seen, Jack is great too.´´
``I know. I just worry about... All of you. I mean, you're my team and now Jack's a part of that team too, so...´´
``I understand. I feel that way too, but right now, there is nothing you can do.´´ He smiles at her encouragingly.
She chuckles and looks over to him.
``Maybe that'd work better if you hadn't spent the last 30 minutes trying to run a furrow into that floor, I don't think it can take much more.´´
``Yes, you are right. 35 minutes without contact is... ´´
Tooth just nods.
``But...´´ She stops ``did you hear that?´´
``Hear what?´´
``That bizzar crackling.´´ She says, North is about to answer but she holds up a finger, ``Shhh. There it is again.´´
And she's right. North can hear it too, now.
It sounds like cracks running through glass or...
``The ice!´´ North shouts, ``It's changing!´´
``No! It's disappearing?´´ She cries clasping her hand over her mouth.
``No, No, just...´´ he doesn't have to finish. I becomes kind of obvious.
The walls of ice are closing in, right towards them, pushing against the floor boards, crushing them on their way.
``What the hell?! How is this happening?´´ Tooth yells scrambling to haul the bags into the middle of the ever shrinking cubical before they suffer the same fate the Wooden floor ends.
``ve have to stop it!´´ North slams his shoulder against the icy wall and pushes, hard.
It completely futile, of course.
``Is this... Is this intentional? Damn it, North´´ she jumps forward, grabs his arm and pulls him towards her, ``Stop that. You can't hold back that wall, you're gonna hurt yourself! We have to think calmly, what's causing this?´´
``Right... Uh. I've no idea!´´
``I don't... Maybe we should just let it be... Jack's the only one who can control it. There has to be a purpose to this... Right?´´
``I... I don't vant to say this but... It might just be that something has happened to Jack.´´
For a second Tooth just stares at him.
Surely, Jack would not just have left them like this if this is what happens to the ice in case he...
Then again, how would Jack even know.
She really hates to think about any of this, Jack's new, sure, but he makes Sandy smile, makes Tooth laugh out loud, makes Bunny look alive and shares North childish joy and excitement.
He also makes them feel appreciated, like every time they talk to him ,look at him or laugh at bis jokes, they're fulfilling his greatest wish, considering the whole Isolation thing that's probably the case.
It's both endearing and... Tragic.
Jack's fine. They're all fine. Or at least, they will be.
No need to leave that to faith alone though.
Tooth draws her twin daggers and starts hacking on the ice walls, she has to admit it's a desperate measure and she didn't really expect it to work.
It doesn't, her weapons blades hit their icy doom with loud "clang" and springs back, she stumbles at the unexpected force and hits her elbow on the corner of the camping table, the equipment of it shakes but doesn't fall.
North swirls around at the sound and joins her without a second thought, despite her obvious lack of success, not that that does much good either. His sword bounces off so hard he actually falls back against the opposite wall.
Their efforts don't even leave a scratch on the glassy, clear surface.
``Should we... Try melting it?´´ North asks, as Tooth helps him up, despite being very well aware off the fact that Jack had called the frozen liquid in broad daylight and it had not so much as lost a drop in volume for the entire time.
``Go down fighting, right?´´ Tooth answers with a strained smile, she runs towards the bags and searches trough them until she comes across the flamethrowers.
She turns around again and almost screams, She's only half a meter from the ice now, the room now down to 5x5 meters of empty space.
Tooth can barely take two steps forward with all their equipment being in the way.
Nevertheless she immediately collects herself and raises the flamethrower, ignoring the slight shaking of her hands.
It's risky, open fire in such a small area, also she doesn't know what kind of chemicals might be enclosed in this strange ice but, anything better then getting crushed to death.
``Here goes nothing!`´ She yells and pulls the lever.
A bright burst of flames erupts from the worn instrument and clashes with it's exact opposite element.
The flash of light that follows is blinding and for a second only bright white fills their vision.
Tooth trips again and feels herself bump into North, who instinctively steadies her.
``Arhg.. Fuck´´ she groans and rubs her eyes ``Owww´´
``North?´´ she asks still blinking the spots out of her sight, startled at his silence.
``Oh god!´´ abruptly her hands drop ``I let go of the flame... Thrower...´´ she trails off.
The fire spitting piece of technology is not a threat to anyone, since it is in fact frozen to the wall, the fire is frozen.
``How could this...?´´ North says, stunned.
``Never mind that right now! The walls are still moving.´´
And they're nor slowing down, the two guardians see themselves forced to grab their bags and haul them onto the table following suit themselves.
They huddle down and try to be small as possible.
``No,´´ Tooth says desperately, her voice cracking slightly, ``No, no, no...´´
The wall are closing in farther and farther, almost reaching them now.
``Damn it! черт возьми!´´
North yells furiously, slamming his fist down on the table.
Tooth clenches her fists and closes her eyes, the ice has almost reached them now, she can see tiny wooden splinters flying up as it crushes the floorboards, pushing the destroyed loos wood in front of
it.
The horrible sound gets louder and louder.
Is this what their bones will sound like as well? The thought enters her mind before she can stop it and she shivers.
North senses her distress and clasps her upper arm reassuringly, she looks up. Is about to say something but the sounds of the floor being obliterated are so loud now, it sounds so awfully violent.
So see closes her mouth and studies Norths face he's smiling at her, seemingly calm, but Tooth has known him for too long to fall for that, she can see his fear, feel his resignation.
The last thing she sees before she squeezes her eyes shut again is the corner of plastic table bend and crack under the pressure of what used to be their steady protection from deadly and dead foes.
She rests her forehead against North's shoulder and clasps her hands over her ears. The contact is not very reassuring but it will remind her that she's not alone in the few seconds she still has left.
That's probably the worst and the best thing about all of this.
A/N: And it's over again. I hope you liked it and I really love your comments. I try to reply to all but some of you aren't logged in or don't have an account, so consider this a very grateful thanks to all of you. Have a nice day/night!^^