Yeah yeah, I know this chapter was way overdue, but updates won't be coming as quick now that I'm back at school and working 5 days a week. I need you guys to be patient with me. I promised I won't abandon this story no matter how busy my life gets. I'll always come back to it and it will get finished. I also apologize for this being a day late, but well, the weekend was busier than I had originally anticipated. This chapter is unedited so sorry for any grammar mistakes as well. I'll edit it tomorrow. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I'll try to update quicker for chapter 26. Enjoy.
EDIT: 3/2/13 - Yeah I'm horrible I know, but hey guess what, I've nearly finished the next chapter and it will be ready to be posted tonight! I started it yesterday after not having time to do it Thursday, but I wasn't even able to finish it yesterday either! I'd post it during the day today but unfortunately I have work. But tonight is the night!
Once again, my apologies for sucking at updating. Life needs to stop being so busy.
As the ground opened up beneath the lush floor of the Tooth Palace, all Bunnymund could hear were the swarms of mini fairies. They were hard at work delivering gifts to the children of the world while placing their baby teeth in their rightful tooth boxes.
Their movement halted at once when they heard the spirit of Easter arise from the earth, their pink eyes wide with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. They flittered quickly to the ground floor where the Guardian was waiting; chirping madly as they did.
Bunnymund knew they were worried about their missing mother, it must have been driving them mad not knowing where she was or what she was doing for last number of days.
They gathered in a mass around him, careful not to suffocate him with their large numbers.
"Easy sheilas, easy." Bunnymund said soothingly as he moved his arms up in down in a thoughtful manner. "I gotta scope this place out a bit, make sure its safe, then I'll tell ya what's going on."
The fairies chirped softly in agreement, making room for the spirit of Easter to move through them. Bunnymund's ears twitched in all different directions while his nose sniffed the air; he scurried about the area, looking for any signs of unwanted intruders, of fearlings.
"There doesn't seem to be any unwanted guests, looks like the Tooth Palace is safe, for now." Bunnymund said as he approached the waiting swarm of fairies. He felt like there were rocks in his gut as he looked at them. They all looked so worried, and he didn't have good news for them either. How was he supposed to tell them that their mother was hurt. that Jack was hurt. With a heavy sigh he tried to swallow the dread bubbling within him.
"Look sheilas, this isn't gonna be easy to say, so bear with me okay." He asked quietly. A few uncertain chirps resonated through the air before complete silence befell the Tooth Palace.
"Tooth, she's hurt…" He whispered gravely.
Just as he thought, angry and frantic chirping ensued as the tooth fairies flittered around in a disorganized pattern. "But she's okay! She's going to be fine!" He added quickly in an effort to ease their hysteria. Once they settled down he continued on, "the truth is, Jack's the one we need to worry more about, he's hurt worse, a lot worse." The large rabbit winced visibly as he thought of Jack's injured body lying in the infirmary bed. The tooth fairies all squeaked sadly, and Bunnymund was sure some were crying.
"Pitch is on the loose, and this time he really means business. The fight we fought last year is nothing compared to this one. So North has commanded that we move all of you and the tooth boxes to the North Pole. I know this won't be easy for you all, but it needs to be done."
The rainbow hybrid fairies all looked around at each other and squeaked their language at one another, a few seconds of this ensued before they all faced the Easter spirit, nodding in understanding at North's command.
Bunnymund nodded back in return and let a small smile find itself onto his face. "Alright then, you ladies gather up the tooth boxes, I'll stand watch in case anything goes awry. Once your finished I'll transport you all to the North Pole." The Guardian of Hope ordered as he settled himself by crystal blue lagoon at the base of the palace. The mini fairies instantly got to work, gathering their precious cargo as quickly as they could, wanting nothing more than to see their mother again. 'Maybe we can win this thing, if we do fight together.' Bunnymund thought as he leaned against the cool bark of one of the Cherry Blossoms.
After North watched Bunnymund leave he knew what he needed to do. Wasting no more time he trekked through the workshop. He needed to talk to MiM again, and he knew just the place to do it.
As he made his way down the various hallways he checked the repairs that the yetis had been making, relieved to see that progress was already being made. It was easy to fix a building, but bringing friends back to life wasn't fixable, and that is why, even though it was hard to see his home wrecked by fearlings, he would manage. Jack and Tooth were alive, and right now, that was all that mattered.
After a few more minutes Father Christmas found himself standing in front of the heavy wooden door to his personal workspace. Part of him was afraid to go inside, worried that there wouldn't be much of a workspace left. His features hardened as he pushed the door open, waiting expectantly to see the wreckage.
A sigh of relief escaped him as he stepped inside, his workroom had been untarnished; completely the same as it was before. He smiled warmly as he smelled the scent of uneaten cookies.
He couldn't stop himself from brushing his large fingers across the tools he used to fashion prototypes for new toys, eying them with a look of longing. Once they defeated Pitch, he would be more than happy to be sitting back on the wooden stool by his worktable, chiseling away at the large ice blocks, having Jack come in and ask him a string of questions just to get his attention.
North's heart ached slightly as the memories of Jack flooded in. The mischievous, yet curious winter spirit would distract the yetis from their work, often getting them to "test out" the toys with him. He would sneak cookies from the elves when they weren't looking, and feed the reindeer even when North told him not too. But the moments North remembered most fondly were those from the times Jack would stay the night and listen to him tell stories about his adventurous past in front of the fireplace. Those times were too short lived, barely a year of them.
North snapped out of his flashback, turning his attention towards the large windows at the end of the workplace. They were lightly frosted from the cold of the world outside; that detail alone just motivated North more. If there was going to be a hope of Jack and Tooth recovering, they needed to find a way to buy time, and that was what North was going to ask MiM, for time.
Heavy footsteps rattled through the air as the Russian moved to unlatch the heavy windows. They swung open without much effort and a heavy breeze pressed against the Guardian of Wonder. North stood their unfazed, by now completely used to the biting cold of the Pole. Dark blue eyes narrowed at the outline of the moon that shone brightly through the partially clouded sky. A heavy breath escaped his parted lips as he searched for the words he needed to say.
"MiM…Manny, my friend. We are in trouble. You must know what has happened. What has happened to Pitch, and what he has done because of it."
He paused for a moment and looked up, watching as the wispy clouds parted and the moon showed its full brilliance. MiM was listening, that was now clear.
"Tooth is hurt…Jack is much worse. Even Bunny and I have our own injuries. It seems that Sandy is only one who has gone unscathed by Pitch's madness." North said, anger and sadness now coating his words. The moon shinned even brighter, its blue beams nearly blinding; they almost felt warm against the Russians exposed skin.
"I hate to admit this but, Manny, we need your help again. We are outgunned, and we need time to heal. Please, friend, please help us." North nearly begged.
For a moment, nothing happened, but soon North attention was on one of his coat pockets. A faint glow emanated from its depths, beckoning the spirit of Christmas. North reached for the blue stone Bunny had given him earlier, eying it with curiosity as he retrieved it from the depths of his pocket.
"This? What do you want me to do with this?" North asked curiously as he examined the stone up close. Before he could come up with any ideas the stone flashed brighter and flew from his hands and into the sky. North's eyes widened in surprise and he leaned his body outside the window, straining to see where the stone had gone.
It was of no use, he couldn't see it anymore; it was gone. "I don't understand Manny, that stone protected us, why did you take it?" he asked, voice now full of concern.
Just as the question left his lips a blue light rained down from the sky, forming a dome around the entire pole. North watched in awe, not sure what he was seeing. His eyes followed the light as it formed a shield around the entire area. 'A shield!'
"A shield! Manny, you are genius! This is perfect!" North hollered in excitement. He clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "Thank you, friend. Thank you."
Sandy sat unmoving at Jack's bedside, watching as one of the boy's memories unfolded before him, playing itself out in the wisps of dreamsand. Sandy remembered this event like it was yesterday; well actually, it wasn't that long ago at all in immortal time.
After Jack became a Guardian, they all decided that it would be a good idea to have gatherings where they could all see each other. They would do this about once a week, just so that they could enjoy each others company.
To be honest they used to do this before, but as the years passed on, they did it less and less, and soon they barely saw each other at all.
Jack had helped bring the custom back, it was just another positive thing the winter spirit had done for them.
Sandy would never forget the genuine smile on the boy's face as he described his first believer outside of Burgess. Jenny was her name; she lived in Charlotte, North Carolina. They all knew her; she was a sweet child. Her belief in Jack meant that stories of Jack Frost were finally spreading.
Jack was flying full of energy, causing snow flurries to fall inside the pole as he told his story about her. They all laughed and gave their congratulations; it was a really good day for all of them.
He watched as the memory continued, Jenny was running down her driveway, waving goodbye to Jack. Sandy watched Jack's golden figure curiously as the girl went into her house, waiting to see where the memory would go.
A blue glow coming through the windows distracted him though, and his curiosity instantly took over. Sandy floated quickly and quietly away from the resting winter spirit and made his way over to the frosted windows. A smile lit up his rounded face as he saw the light blue light forming a shield around the North Pole. He watched excitedly as the light knit itself to other beams of light, stretching downwards until it reached the frozen tundra below.
The Sandman's attention was completely taken by the events outside, missing the slight twitch Jack's pale fingers. He didn't see as the golden figure formed by the sand collapsed, writhing on the ground in agony. He didn't see the flash of a grimace on the boy's face, or the way his eyes darted beneath his pale lids as his dreams were assailed. He didn't see that Jack was still vulnerable to the King of Nightmares.