I must warn you, my dear sweet frosty waiting readers, that I am an easily influenced person. What happens around me changes me and the things I do. The same is with what I read. How I think or act or carry myself sways with the way a book makes me feel, the residual echo that it leaves on my brain. As you can possibly tell, I have read a book that sways away towards things that flitter about on pages, that don't lay solidly on the ground to guide you towards the end of a story. I must say The Slow Regard of Silent Things does rather seem to flit and float about. And so might this chapter. This so longingly awaited chapter that my brain has finally found buried deep within the darks of myself. I'm sorry if you feel disappointed by this, that you feel that it doesn't belong here, but this is my story. Even if I am describing your adventure, it is my story to tell however it must be told. And this is how it goes... I warn you, this is long and painful... Enter at your own peril...

~~~Previously, in the Guardians' Guardian...~~~
You run like hell, until you realize you're basically in a bowl. You grab the wall at start to climb, then quickly change into a nimble squirrel making the task much much easier for yourself. you shift into Frostbite, missing this form - not like I'll ever admit THAT to anyone - and as you're about to sprint toward the light that MUST be a way out, a lasso latches around your neck and you're thrown backward. The lasso is cold and makes you feel hollow, and teeny tiny thorns protrude into your skin. You soon lose any urge to leave, any urge to move, and a second figure stands over you. Not Pitch but vaguely similar. You gaze at him as your sight goes blurry... and for some reason the only thing you really register... is the crown of tiny skulls... and large thorns wreathing his head...

~~~And now, Part 18~~~
The world was broken glass and fire in the air. Your (s/c) skin itched with the sensation of a thousand dancing fingers, your (h/c) hair snarled in knots and your tongue oily and tangy in your mouth. Your (e/c) eyes burned softly at the thought of opening, so you kept them sealed tightly shut. Your shoes were missing, as was the sensation of your jeans rubbing against your legs when you slowly pulled them closer to your chest. Moving your arms, your found them bare and exposed to the dirt floor you were curled on. Not wanting to admit it to yourself, you plaintively ignored the fact that you were clothed in naught but a silken sheet. It was not the same as the sheets in Mim's place, the white bed with the soft sheets and Mim in his high wingback chair. How long was it since I woke there?

Finding that you couldn't live in ignorance for the rest of your life, you begrudgingly lift yourself into a sitting position, clasping the sheet to your chest. The air was hot around you, the heat both dry and sweltering. The broken glass world echoed around you. The sharp, jagged edges of the walls protruded at odd intervals like broken teeth meant for killing and the floor was dirt and dust and mold all mixed in the dark. Who the hell can live in such a place?What little you could see in the darkness, besides the walls and floor, froze the marrow in your bones. Skeletons. Broken bodies with nothing left but lacerated cross-hatched marks on the bones. Some had meat left hanging off the ends, little bits of flesh missed in whatever endeavor amassed in this place. This is the worst kind of nightmare. Please tell me there's no deranged cannibal clown popping out of drain pipes. Or a giant man-eating thing. You stumble to your quivering feet, legs shaking with malnutrition and weakness. I must've been out for at least two days... Shit... You push the thoughts and fatigue away. What good would worrying do? Although, it did strike you as odd. Mim had said that it was impossible to starve or grow weak, that you weren't limited by such things. Then why were you so-

Someone was coming.

The fetid, heated air muffled the steps, but you could feel the presence the same as you could feel a sleeping person in a dark room. There was no sound, but you knew they were there. It drew closer as you slowly sat back down in the center of the room. You didn't know which direction the presence came from, so there was no point in hiding. It could come from any which place in the room. No point in running either, that would waste precious energy. Only thing to do was sit.

Schooling your face into a blank, indifferent slate, you straighten your spine and tuck the blanket around your breasts. Folding your hands in your lap, you restrain the jolt when a soft, cool hand lands on your shoulder.

"What're you doin' without your clothes on, Frostbite?" Spinning swiftly, you launch yourself at Jack. He holds you tightly as you bury your face in his neck. His sweet peppermint smell calms you, bringing a sweet smile to your face and a wetness to your (e/c) eyes. Pulling back, Jack wipes his thumbs under your eyes, drawing away the moisture. "Now, now, Snowflake, you didn't think I wouldn't let you leave like that, did you?" His soft smile pulls one from you and you press your lips to his. He cradles your face tenderly, assuring your frantic, lonely heart with his touch. Screw what Mim says, he's mine. You delve your hands into Jack's hair, the cool strands reminding you of your own disheveled state. You pull back slowly with a slight blush on your cheeks. Jack grins at you, a broad and bright thing, and kisses your nose. It goes red at the cold touch. With another touch of his lips to yours, he backs away and pulls you into another embrace. "C'mon, the others are waiting outside." With this, he wraps a secure arm around your shoulders and leads you through an invisible crack in the wall. The others, the Guardians, Mim, Bunny. Do they hate me for trading myself in, are they hurt, has Pitch gotten to them? What about the other figure? Oh please, let everyone be okay!

You both emerge into a wide underground cavern, a sliver of starlight dancing in from a fissure in the ceiling. The others are waiting at a lonely outcropping in the middle of a wide trench, a flat expanse around 60-70 feet across. You blush as you look down at your sheet and clench it tighter to yourself. Jack grins wolfishly down at you, and you blush harder and scowl at him. He winds an arm around your middle and you clutch his chest as he jumps into the air to join the others across the room.

Mim is the first to spot you, turning and stretching out his arms. You reluctantly leave Jack's embrace with a slight squeeze of his hand and move to Mim. His touch sends a rush of tingles through your body. Deja vu, I swear. It was just like when he had granted you your powers, and you immediately felt at ease. Strength flooded you limbs and light flooded your (e/c) eyes once again. You beamed at everyone, who all turned to encircle you in a giant group hug.

"Little One! I am so glad you are okay!" North's booming voice echoed around the cavern, his beard with the (f/c) ribbon tickling your nose. You giggle.

"Oh, my little butterfly, I am so so SOOOOO happy you're back! We have so much to talk about and the Baby Teeth are going to be super excited and-" Tooth was her little hyper self, flittering around and squeezing the breath from your lungs. Sandy just held your right hand with both of his and offered a wide, sweet smile. You grin at him in return, reaching out and stroking his sandy hair.

"'Ey, ya Gumbee! 'Oo gave you permission ta sacrifice yaself fo' me? Ya bloody gaffa', didja even think about 'ow worried we were?" Bunny's furry paws were wrapped tightly around your middle and his voice came from over your shoulder. Turning, you smile sweetly up at his worried eyes and plant a soft kiss on his soft nose. You giggle again as his eyes go wide, a pink tinge peeking out from under his fur.

"Hey! What about my kiss?" Jack is in front of you again, and you can see the relief in his stance, the joy of having you with all of them again. You extricate yourself from the group and wrap your arms around Jack's shoulders. He places chilly hands on your waist and goose-flesh riddles your skin.

Giving him a coy smile, you lean in close and whisper "What about it Popsicle-Breath? I thought you got a pretty good treat earlier." To your delight, a flush works it way into his cheeks. He just presses his forehead against your own, a cool brush of hair mingling with yours.

"Well, I believe I'll need another one, just to make sure I'm not dreaming." He murmurs, and you can't help but oblige. You kiss him deeply, humming in content when he slithers his arms tighter around you. Your fingers tug at the hairs at the base of his neck and he lets out a groan, causing you to smile. A chuckle from behind you pulls you from the blissful cloud that had descended on your senses. Jack is just as dazed, and you both turn to find the Guardians grinning widely, Tooth especially about to burst with giddiness. Mim is straight-faced, a strange glint in his eyes, and he turns away when you look to him. I'm sorry Mim, but I can't fight it any longer. I'm not going to let him go, he's mine now.

You let your arms drop to hold Jack's hand, but the moment is broken when a loud BOOOOM shakes the cavern. Jack turns wildly around, pulling you behind him, and the Guardians crowd around you in full battle formation. Mim is standing tall, a sword of pure moonlight glowing softly in his right hand. His gaze is fixed on he darkest corner of the room, the one place the starlight doesn't reach. Turning, you follow his gaze.

What you see pulls the world out from under your feet. A man was standing against the wall. His hair was dark, dark as anything, and long enough to lay across his shoulders. His body was powerfully built, thick and armored in black overlapping plates. His arms were crossed in front of his body, as if trying, and failing, to hold in the power and foreboding his being emanated. It was his eyes that struck you deepest. His eyes, they were so familiar, you knew those burning silver eyes.

"Would you leave my company so soon, (f/n)?" Your breath caught in your throat at his voice. It rumbled like thunder over a midnight plain. Granite wrapped in satin, it made you dizzy as you wracked your brain for answers. How do I know this voice? Why do his eyes seem so fucking familiar? Who is this man to me? There was a hammer at his side, thick heavy iron that looked well worn. There were curious stains along one end...

"Don't speak to her. You don't have the right." The menace in the voice surprises you and you glance at Mim, catching the steel in in the burning gaze he sends toward the dark figure.

"Oh brother dear," he tuts, "I have every right. She is a guest in my humble home. You, however, are rather unwelcome." He grounds out these last words with a hatred so profound you flinch. Brother... He called him brother... HADES... You watch, (e/c) eyes widening in horrified fascination as a blackness deeper than any shadow writhes around Hades' visage like an unholy halo. It gathers at the hammer's head, and he raises it high above his head with a roar that sends your head reeling.

As the echo bounces around the cavern, rebounding and growing louder, you spy ghastly creatures climbing onto the outcropping, hundreds upon hundreds swarming in. They're the same creatures as the ones you'd found in the Warren, although much less gooey and much more lethal. Their eyes glow like sickly yellow stars in their rotting heads. Their bodies are warped and unnatural, bent and twisted into nightmarish forms. They screech as they spot your group huddled in the middle of the expanse, rushing forward on grotesque, clawed feet.

Without thinking, you shift forms, growing in size rapidly and giving a terrifying roar at the coming onslaught. A prehistoric lionness, nice choice. You were larger than a grizzly bear's shoulder, and over half a length longer. You push your friends aside, leaping forward and swiping away the offensive creatures with a large grey paw. You rip and tear into blackened flesh, amassing a pile of bodies with both tooth and claw. Grabbing one in your enormous jaws, you whip your head savagely, ripping the wretched thing in half. Dropping the other remaining half, you let loose an ear-shattering roar of challenge, eyes burning at a grinning Hades.

"Feisty," he purrs, "I like that." You growl viciously. Turning and finding that you'd eliminated all of the largest dark minions, you shift again. Taking a leap, you land on four wolfy paws and take off to join the Guardians in the battle.

You see North swinging his two swords, roaring words in Russian, and jump off his back as he crouches so as to get a better angle at the throat of a long-necked creature. You drag it down with your teeth buried in its trachea, tearing out the windpipe as you pull away. You jump and grab Bunny's boomerang in your black muzzle and throw it. It kills three creatures on its way back to Bunny, and you move on to the next victim. Grabbing the achilles tendons of one, you snap your jaws shut and sever the flimsy muscle. The creature buckles to the side, its leg no longer able to support it. As the dark demon falls, you push it onto its back and rake your claws into the tender belly, gouging and tearing. The thing screams and twitches as it dies. Rising, you duck just as one lunges for you, only to have it tackle Tooth, who was hovering next to you. Snarling, you snatch the attacker by the back of its neck and fling it away, snapping the neck. Tooth gives you a wide smile of thanks, to which you give a lick on the face. She giggles and flies off, her Baby Teeth rallying to her battle cry. Sandy's whip cracks next to your head, wrapping around a fiend that had been creeping up on you. You bark in thanks, to which he tips a hat and resumes flinging the figure around like a toy. Growling low in your throat, you plunge once more into the fray.

Jack watches in amazement, his eyes staying glued to you as you seem to flow effortlessly across the battlefield. Your prowess astounds him, had you been in battle before? How long have you been this skilled? What had happened to you to make you this adept at killing? As he whirls to take down another foe, Mim flashes past him. He lunges for something, a desperate look on his face. When Jack turns again, he sees why. Hades is wielding his dark hammer directly towards you, sending a dark energy flare straight at your exposed back. He screams "NOOOOO!" And you spin to face the blackness-
A white light flares from your body. A stream of energy collides with the jet of darkness, colliding with a WHOOSH that sends everything within a ten foot radius flying backwards. Your wolf form triples in size, the black fur growing darker, the white tips glowing brightly. Streams of black and white light gather, coalescing into a monochromatic halo around you. Jack stares in awe...

Growling fiercely, you run at Hades, light trailing behind you. He's grinning madly, a deathly gleam in his eyes as he lifts his hammer again. You collide head-on, pushing him back with a ferocious snarl. His hands are in your fur, his grip tightening as he throws you through the air. Jack's wind catches you, you can tell by the peppermint smell, and you land softly on your side. That's my Popsicle~ Hades cackles maniacally and runs at you. You stand to meet him and he pummels your left side with his hammer, sending you yelping to the side. Jack yells, but you get up again, turning and latching onto Hades' right arm. Your teeth dig deep into flesh, you can feel bone beneath your crushing jaws. He howls, flinging you back and forth, and you grip tighter. Lifting your lower body, you swing your back legs onto his torso. He falls backwards and your front claws slash across his face, ripping skin and tearing flesh. Hades roars in pain and takes up his hammer. A bright light flashes and the dark metal head breaks away, falling solidly to the ground. He holds the broken handle, furious. A sudden look in his eyes gives you pause, and you don't have time to retreat as he flips the broke shaft and buries it in your chest...