Chapter Thirteen:
Hiccup and Rapunzel had taken off after Jack's army, with North following behind in his sleigh - something that had survived the destruction at the pole and had been taken by the Frost King as a trophy.
That led to the mission Bunny and Tooth were currently on - to find Sandy.
The two guardians were in Bunny's tunnels, opening up portals into every major town along the kingdoms. There, Tooth would release one fairy, all with the same message - to join them in the battle of Dunbroch.
"Once we find him, we go straight there," Bunny muttered, anxiously opening another tunnel as he fiddled with his boomerangs. If he'd had a choice in the matter, he would be charging into the fighting, not hiding out underground.
"That's the last of them," Tooth whispered as her last fairy disappeared. "Now we wait,"
"Or look ourselves," Bunny muttered, double tapping his foot and sending the two guardians hurtling down another tunnel. It spit them out into the desert - an area that both recognized.
"This is where Sandy's castle was…" Tooth whispered, turning towards Bunny. The guardian nodded and pulled out his boomerangs, as both set out to search the abandoned castle.
It was completely empty, but intact. It was almost like they'd never left, that the darklings hadn't appeared and wrecked everything. That seemed to be an advantage of dreamsand, where it automatically reformed, no matter what damage or age had affected it.
It made Toothiana miss her own home. Her tooth palace had been absolutely destroyed by the nightmares in the early days of the darklings, and she'd lost so many fairies. So many fairies had died that day, but Tooth still clung to the notion that more had escaped, and were just in hiding. Either way, it wouldn't change the searing pain that had coursed through her core when the nightmares broke through the walls. The pain that had left her curled up and shaking on the destroyed floor for days until Bunny found her in the rubble.
Bunny had only just survived the destruction of the Warren himself, and had been hiding out in the tunnels. When he'd found Tooth, he'd made sure she followed and stayed out of trouble while she recovered. They'd never returned to the Tooth Palace, but Bunny made trips out to the Warren. He doubted that it would ever reach its former glory, but it reminded him a little more of home.
"There's nobody he-" Tooth started, squeaking as the sand wall in front of her suddenly moved, two short knives spiralling towards her.
The wall disappeared, and a small blur of gold started to attack, knives and whips swinging and appearing through the sand.
"SANDY!" Bunny killed, "It's us!"
THe fighting stopped, Sandy dropped the whips and ran to his friends.
"You're alive!" Tooth cried, hugging the smallest guardian. "We have to hurry! The Frost Kin-"
Sandy cut her off, nodding quickly. He snapped his fingers and pointed towards the door, leading the way back into the warzone.
The Frost King smashed through the large window, bursting into the Dunbroch throne room. He squinted, trying to focus in the dark room. He couldn't see anything, much less the Bear Queen.
Where was she?
"Hello Frostie," A voice said from behind him. The King whipped around, finding himself face to face with the Bear Queen, her hair and clothing rumpled and unkempt as she slumped in her throne.
"Bear Bitch," He snarled, brandishing his scythe in her direction. "Too lazy to fight me?"
The queen smirked, not bothering to even look up from her nails as she readjusted her seat.
"Tha's the difference between you and me Frostie," She purred. "Ah 'ave people ta do things for me,"
And with that, the room lit up as fifty or so dragons all lit up at the same time. A low growl echoed as Mor'du stepped out from behind the throne, stepping in front of the queen, who smiled wider.
"Go." The Bear Queen whispered, and the dragons burst through the ceiling, heading out to attack the fearlings and snow creatures. Mor'du waited by his queen's side, but followed the army after a wave of her hand.
The Frost King yelled angrily and sent a series of icicles towards the Queen. In the second before they hit, a shimmering perimeter of blue blocked the attack, burning away the ice as a shield of tiny blue wisps responded to the queen. Merida smirked, and lunged from her chair, a hidden sword twirling above her head.
Jack's scythe met the sword midair, and the two darklings launched into the battle.
Both spirits were masters of their weapons. The Bear Queen moved between the shadowy rubble and open rooms expertly, the only thing visible her eerie glowing eye. The Frost King's shoulder armor grew thicker and sharper with icicles, and he coated the floor in a layer of ice, trying to knock his opponent off her feet.
The Frost King's ice was hard to beat, as every missed attack only hit the walls and created deadly looking spikes that threatened the trip or slice in their skin. The Wisp's could burn icicles that would have hit the queen, but the flare of energy that it took tired the small ghosts. Either way, they were bound to the Bear Queen, and had the impulse to protect her.
The fight waged on, with Jack leaping into the air only for Merida to roll out of the way, Merida swinging what should have been a killing blow but having her blade stopped by ice. The throne room was littered with spiking ice, melted snow and rubble from the ceiling, and the battle outside was long and dangerous. Fearlings abandoned the Frost Kings ranks and went rogue after fearful villagers, and snow monsters were destroyed by dragonfire. The dragons were frozen to the ground by snow creatures, but neither ruler noticed the state of their armies as they fought.
They were too engrossed in their own fight.
Sword and Scythe clanged together for the thousandth time. Merida growled - something low and bearlike - as she pushed all her weight into the blade, and Jack pushed back. A stray icicle from his armor stabbed into her shoulder, piercing through the fabric of her shirt and pressing its freezing point to her skin.
"ARRH!" The Bear Queen yelled, swinging her sword up and stepping to the side, sending the Frost King stumbling forwards. He spun around to face her, but was slammed in the head with the hilt of her sword. He stumbled back and tripped over the loose stones, slipping and crying out.
As an icicle impaled itself through his skin. The Bear Queen grinned as her foe gasped for breath, scabbing at the ice that had once been his greatest asset.
"Donae worry," She whispered, leaning in and pushing Jack further down the spike. "Yeh had no chance against me,"
Jack gasped for air again as the Bear Queen turned and stalked out of the throne room. The icicles on his armor melted away as he struggled to escape, but he could feel his body growing more and more tired.
He closed his eyes and gripped the box in his pocket.
What he wouldn't give for Rapunzel right now.