A/N: Hey, welcome back! I'm so glad to finally share Chapter 6 with you all! Also, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while, I was getting used to the way school worked again, haha. Nonetheless, thanks for your amazing support while I was gone! Anyway, as a quick refresher, the last chapter ended with North, Sandy, and Bunny going through the portal to the Tooth Palace to help aid Tooth and fight back whatever was attacking the palace.
Enjoy!
Chapter 6: Unexpected Happenings
It was like nothing they've ever seen.
Shortly after exiting the portal to the Tooth Palace, the oncoming swarm of dark mass that stood out menacingly against the bright morning sky was more than enough to strike a twinge of fearful confusion into the hearts of the three Guardians sitting in North's sleigh. While Bunny and Sandy avoided the dark forms that came crashing next to them, North pulled hard on the reigns of the sleigh, rapidly causing it to veer left and right as he tried his best to dodge the strange creatures. The fact that the dark masses morphed into the forms of shadowy horses the closer they got to the Tooth Palace did not help.
"Vhat are they?!" Was the question that erupted from North's mouth. None of them had ever seen such beasts, and if Pitch was behind this, he definitely had a card up his sleeve. Their eyes widened as they continued to witness the maelstrom around them continue to unfold.
And, to say the least, it was utter chaos.
Everywhere, these nightmarish horses galloped and neighed through the skies around Punjam Hy Loo, dozens of terrified mini-fairies chittering as they desperately tried to flee from them. The unlucky ones that weren't fast enough to escape their shadowy pursuers were eaten up and visibly trapped in the bony bellies of the monsters.
"Whoa!" Bunny exclaimed as both he and Sandy ducked from one of the creatures that darted past overhead. The Pooka's keen ears began to perk and twitch every which way at the frantic twittering of the distressed, trapped fairies, and through the creatures' loud whinnying, he attempted to somewhat answer North's question, "I dunno, mate, but they're takin' the fairies!"
Midst the turmoil, the Guardian of Wonder managed to pull through and steer the sleigh into one of the many gaping entrances of the Palace while still trying his best to avoid the oncoming creatures. However, without warning, one of the monsters slammed into the side of the sleigh, jarring the passengers while the monster itself exploded into a mass of black powder, causing particles to disperse everywhere and something to clatter at Aster's feet. Letting his arm drop from shielding his face, the Pooka leaned slightly forward to what had made the noise, and upon picking the object up, his emerald green eyes widened as the unsettling realization sank in.
Gripped in his paw was a young boy's tooth container.
Aster hastily directed his gaze to the tooth columns that zoomed past only to find that they all looked empty; these creatures–these things–were not only stealing fairies, they were also stealing children's memories. Through his daze, Aster alerted the others of his unsettling discovery, "They-they're stealin' the teeth!"
From the corner of his eye, he noticed North immediately tense, and after turning around, he saw Sandy give him a look of worry. The little man then directed his attention to the palm of his golden hand where he held the powdery remnants of the downed creature as it shifted almost as if it was still breathing. Upon closer examination, it was actually sand, and aside from its color, it seemed to bear a strong semblance to Sandy's Dreamsand.
The Guardian of Hope felt his nerves knot further as he realized what the Guardian of Dreams was suggesting: this sand belonged to him; how was it that these creatures were even moving when Sandy was the only one known to have power over sand? Both Aster and Sandy exchanged a look of concern before being jerked forward as one of the creatures crashed into the sleigh once again.
North fervently tried to take control of the reins again as the sleigh began to swerve through the air, the reindeer frantic with panic whilst the passengers were tossed every which way. Finally, once the Russian finally did take control of the reins, it was, unfortunately, already too late; they were heading straight for a pillar.
"Hold on!" North yelled out through the chaos, pulling the reins hard to the right in hopes of veering the sleigh to avoid the pillar, but to no avail.
They all braced themselves.
The sleigh clipped the pillar and was abruptly sent plummeting down onto a platform below, jostling its three passengers during the process while the reindeer somewhat regained control. After what seemed like an eternity, the sleigh finally skidded to a rough stop before nearly toppling over the platform's edge. After a strenuous moment of shock, the three Guardians hazily looked around only to find that the shadowy creatures began to retreat from the palace, whinnying darkly in triumph as pillaged fairies trembled and stolen teeth clinked. And other than what had just happened, something seemed terribly off about the usually lively palace.
It was desolate.
A whirring sound was the only thing that seemed to pull them from their unfocused senses as Tooth flitted into view above them, her expression full of distress as she looked around frantically for things that could no longer be found.
Seeing this from the crashed sleigh, North called out, "Tooth! Are you alright?"
"They, they took my fairies! A-and the teeth! All of them! Everything is gone!" The Tooth Fairy landed nearby, her shimmering wings dropped in immense defeat as the devastating realization hit her.
"Everything…"
The three Guardians hastily stumbled from the sleigh and rushed to her side, hoping to somewhat console her. What the Guardian of Memories had said was true; everything had been taken. The creatures had left the palace in desolate disarray, with no fairies, no teeth, nothing. If Pitch Black was truly behind this, he would pay dearly. But, now, they could only stand in silence at the truly devastating loss.
However, an unnervingly calm voice shook them from their thoughts as it echoed insidiously throughout the open palace.
"I have to say, this is very, very exciting."
Looking up to a higher platform, they saw none other than Pitch Black himself, a satisfied smile carved onto his face as he skulked in the shadow of a pillar. In response, the Guardians tensed with lividness as they stared up at the shadowy form of the Nightmare King. After all these years, Pitch Black had returned.
"The Big Four, all in one place. I'm a little star-struck." He mused and then paused, his jagged-tooth grin widening as he leered down at the Guardian of Wonder. "Did you like my little trick involving Jack Frost, North?"
As he glared at Pitch with both brows furrowed in thought, North considered the meaning of his sentence before the realization hit him hard.
It was a distraction; the entire hunt for Jack Frost was just a distraction.
The feeling in his belly that normally acted as a sixth sense was hijacked by emphasized fear brought on by Pitch. In that moment, Nicholas St. North silently cursed himself while the others around him shifted a little when they realized the same thing. Meanwhile, the shadowy man situated on the platform above them continued.
"Got you all together, didn't I? Why, he's such a great friend of mine."
Before Pitch could say another word, a furious Tooth abruptly took to the air and darted after him, but he disappeared into the shadows with a dark laugh before she could even touch him.
"Pitch," she roared, "you have got thirty seconds to return my fairies!"
"Or what?" His haunting voice echoed threateningly, and the Guardians watched from the platform below as Tooth followed its source only to find Pitch slinking around a tooth box column, a smug grin cracked on his face as he looked down at her uneasy but determined form. "You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?"
Before Tooth could reply, North quickly intervened, "Vhy are you doing this?"
He knew why; they all did. But really, the Guardian of Wonder had never fully understood Pitch's ways and was one of the few that was willing to reach out to him if he were willing to change for good. Now, however, the chances seemed as slim as ever.
Pitch immediately sneered at the question as if the answer was obvious. How dare the Man in the Moon replace his delicious fear with their horrid wonder and light! After hiding under beds and struggling for so very long, he was so very tired of the world that they had changed. "Maybe I want what you have…To be believed in."
They watched with loathing as Pitch moved into a shadow and disappeared again only to reappear and emerge from behind a different column, his expression bitter and full of resentment as he continued, one of the nightmarish creatures coming to rest by his side.
The Guardians of Hope, Wonder, Memories, and Dreams knew that in the past, Pitch played games, but this time, he wasn't playing.
5 Days until Easter
"And to think," Jack thought aloud, incredulity lacing his words, "children actually believe in them!"
Wind whirled around him fervently as if nodding in agreement.
It was true, she thought, that it definitely was a disturbing shock that anyone actually believed in the Guardians of Childhood after what they had put her best friend through. They both knew that most spirits disliked him, but in all of her eternal existence, she would've never guessed that they of all people would try to kill him, but when she saw them searching over Québec and heard their words of distaste, she knew that she had to keep a vigilant watch over him while he slept.
And now, as Jack slowly made his way through the forest of Burgess, his cold thoughts continuing to brew, it was no longer dark, and the morning sun shone down on the recently snow-laced landscape surrounding him.
Ever since his lovely encounter with the so-called Guardians of Childhood a few hours ago, the winter child didn't feel so bothered by the warmth of spring anymore. That was mainly because of the flurry he had unintentionally caused during the nerve-racking ordeal (sometimes his emotions got the best of him). And although he relished the refreshingly cold air against his pale skin and the snow that welcomed his sore beaten feet, Jack admittedly wished that the weather wouldn't have reflected his distress because about 4½ inches (11.43 cm) of snow in this area during the beginning of April was definitely enough to get his tail kicked into next winter; in fact, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that some spring spirits were already looking for him.
He shrugged, a small smile forming. At least the kids got a snow day.
A moment later, as he cautiously hopped onto a fallen tree and walked along its length, staff in hand, the smile disappeared.
Either way, though, he had no intention to stay so the spirits of spring could give him another piece of their mind again.
Coming to the end of the fallen tree, Jack carefully stepped off but stiffened when a sharp pain shot through his sprained arm which he held closer in response. Unfortunately, the bandage that Sarila had wrapped around his arm in a brace-like fashion had loosened immensely during the whole ordeal with the Guardians, leaving his arm free to move dangerously without limitation. So, Jack attempted to make sure that his arm didn't absorb as much shock as the rest of his body, especially when stepping or jumping off of things; it didn't really seem to help.
He relaxed slowly and sighed, slipping the hand belonging to the sprained arm into the front pocket of his hoodie to rest.
Of course, his arm wasn't the only thing that had been affected by being hounded down by the Guardians.
Ever since the adrenaline of the chase wore off, his body threatened to collapse completely. In fact, he would even dare say that it felt worse than after the spring spirits took their anger out on him. His legs felt like falling off, his back muscles were twitching restlessly with a dull ache, and his ribs rattled slightly with each pained breath he took (and he silently regretted not telling Sarila about the injury earlier when he had the chance). Anything not mentioned had at least a deep, dull ache. In short, his body had been pushed way past its limit.
But it wasn't really the physical aspect that made him want to cry out.
It was the fact that no one really cared.
Other than Wind and Sarila, the kind spring spirit that he might as well may never see again, it seemed that no one cared about him.
No one.
Alas, Jack pushed on.
Besides, it has been this way for about three hundred years.
He doesn't need anyone, his mind repeatedly told him.
But, his heart constantly reminded him otherwise.
Physical and emotional injuries aside, though, he knew that he would have to migrate somewhere north to stay for the seasons very soon.
As he continued to make his way through the rather silent, white forest, the wintry teen had so many questions running through his mind. He was angry, he was sad, and he was confused mostly because the Guardians could've at least tried to talk to him about whatever he did wrong instead of trying to straight up murder him. Overall, though, they just wanted him dead like everyone else, and that was a fact that he couldn't deny. What he didn't know was their true reasoning behind it.
Why?
Seems to be a question he asked a lot.
Maybe it was because he always tried to break into North's Workshop.
No, he shook his head. If that had been the case, it would've just been Ol' St. Nick who would have bothered to come and kill me. Plus, that would've happened a long time ago if he was so bothered by it. Truth be told, Jack doubted that Phil had ever even told the big man about his endeavors to break in, but shuddered when he pondered the outcome of when the Santa man eventually found out. At that moment, Jack vowed to never go near his workshop again.
And what was all of that crap about killing children?!
Never in his long life had he attempted to kill someone. Well…not on purpose, anyway; being a spirit of winter meant heralding a season not known for its favorable or safe conditions so it was very easy for accidents to happen.
Really, for both parties involved, it was just a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. For people, it was something as simple as walking on a patch of ice, slipping, and then landing the wrong way. For him, it was while he witnessed the terrible event that he was being watched by another spirit, who, in turn, would start a rumor that pinned him as the cause of the person's death even when he denied it and tried to explain himself. He was never given a chance. In the end, though, it didn't really matter what Jack argued, winter would still be seen as nothing more but a season of death and him as one of the heralds of it. If that was the true reason that the Guardians wanted the kill him, though, they were sorely mistaken just as everyone else was about him.
Just when he had thought he could no longer produce a seemingly valid reason as to why the Guardians would try to kill him, a forgotten notion sprung up from the dark, forsaken corner of his mind.
Whₐt ₐbₒᵤt ₁₉₆₈?
Jack stopped dead in his tracks, the temperature around him plummeting dangerously.
He closed his icy-blue eyes and inhaled the crisp air, careful not to take in too much lest he wanted his ribs to protest and elicit a coughing fit. In an attempt to recollect himself, he tried to banish the dreadful thought that elicited both hatred and self-pity–two things he didn't have time for, let alone the nerves; he needn't dwell on that anyway, it wasn't his fault.
It was only until Wind brushed past him that he realized how long he'd been standing there. The wintry teen sighed before continuing forward onto the forest trail, the snow cushioning his bare, beaten feet as he reassured his companion, "Sorry, Wind. I was just…thinking…"
The Wind swayed around him soothingly, and he smiled appreciatively at her.
After a few moments, Jack's weary mind drifted to what was left of the dream (which he speculated was how they had found him in the first place–with the Sandman's golden sand that he'd heard could track anything it touches) he had before it was cruelly interrupted by the ensuing nightmare with the Guardians. Indeed, after the whole ordeal, most of his dream was all but forgotten; what he did remember, however, was like a dream of a dream, distant and dim while still leaving a faint wondrous, warmth that set his heart aglow. He remembered the remnants of children's smiles, snowball fights, and fun.
Speaking of which, just then, he heard children talking in the distance. Thinking that he might as well should eavesdrop closer since they couldn't see him anyway, Jack smiled and gravitated towards the source, which was at the edge of the forest where four familiar children conversed.
A boy's voice rang out as he approached. "I was reading about the history of Burgess last night and—"
"Ha! Nerd!" A different boy, one wearing a green jersey, interrupted.
Unbeknownst to them, Jack smiled at the teasing remark as he walked alongside the familiar group, his staff on his shoulder. He had played with this group of kids many times in Burgess during snowball fights. Currently, if he remembered correctly, there was Pippa, a cheery girl with short reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, Claude and Caleb, rambunctious twins that usually teased themselves as well as others, and the boy who was talking about the history of Burgess was named Monty.
"No, I found something really interesting about that lake in the forest! Y'know, the one we skated on last year?"
Jack paused, his interest peeking at the boy's mention of skating on a lake in the forest.
Caleb lit up at the new information. "Ooh, tell us! Tell us!"
"Yeah, what did you find out? Does it explain what happened with Jamie?" Pippa asked, causing Jack to quirk his brow slightly at the familiar name. Wait, Jamie? Jamie Bennett?
"What happened to him? Is he okay?" Inquired Jack aloud even though he knew he would receive no answer, his dark brows furrowed. It was true that he hadn't seen the cheery boy in a while since he had seemingly disappeared from the group sometime during mid-winter last year, leaving Jack to wonder where the boy had gone even when his little sister Sophie was around. The fact that Pippa had hinted to something happening to him made the winter spirit worried, especially if it involved skating on his lake.
Monty continued on to answer Pippa's question as if there hadn't been an interruption. "Well, not really, but it's still kind of spooky nonetheless! Apparently, sometime in the 1700s, a boy drowned in the lake and the legend says that his ghost haunts the lake!"
The winter spirit slightly snorted at the thought–my lake, haunted? His dark brows remained furrowed in both confusion and interest, though, while he followed them closer as they continued to walk, a strange feeling pulling at his heart. He could tell that Wind felt it too because she slowly began to rustle the branches.
"Really?! That's creepy!" Commented Claude as he dodged his twin's attempt to tackle him.
"How old was he?"
Monty shrugged at Pippa's question, "Some sources say he was 14 years old, but that's about it."
The strange feeling that pulled at Jack's heart hastily left without saying goodbye.
"Oh, it's not me then." Jack mused, a note of despondency in his voice as he glanced at his beaten 17 or 18 year old physical form. Not that it would be him, of course; he wasn't anybody before he was Jack Frost. Besides, he would've remembered it if he had been. From the countless spirits that he's eavesdropped on, he knew that resurrected spirits had at least some dim idea of who they were in their past life, but Jack had woken up with no memories whatsoever–none.
So, he speculated that the supposed drowning must've happened before he was created. From as long as he could remember, no one had fallen through the ice at his lake–he's made sure of that. Early on, he'd known that humans, just like most other life forms, could not handle the cold, and if his presence did not completely freeze the surface of his lake, he knew that many would've perished when on his lake so the drowning would've had to have happened before he was created. Either that, or it was truly just a local legend.
"Should we tell Jamie?" Pippa asked in a slightly concerned tone.
"No, he probably still thinks that Jack Frost did it! Haha!"
Jack perked at hearing his name but then deflated when he quickly realized that Claude was using it in a joking manner.
"I swear, he believes in everything."
At that, the wintry teen's sullen expression was quickly replaced with a warm smile as he recalled that Jamie did, in fact, believe in almost everything. Not only did Jack know that Jamie wholeheartedly–and unfortunately–believed in the Guardians, he had also once even seen him reading a book about cryptids, excitedly claiming that 'They're out there!' Overall, the kiddo truly had an indomitable spirit.
Very soon, they approached a snow-roofed suburban house, and Jack nimbly perched himself on the nearby fence surrounding it, careful to keep mindful of his injuries. He watched as the kids walked around the house, stopping just below a second story window. Pippa cupped her mouth with her hands before calling out at the window.
"Hey! Jamie! You there?"
Jack looked at the window with rapt attention as he eagerly waited for Jamie to come out. Soon enough, the window was opened and a boy popped his head out of it before looking down at his friends with a halfhearted smile. His face was round and youthful, his hair and eyes both brown, and Jack was glad to see the boy again. He watched intently as the boy known as Jamie began to talk from the window, a note of nervousness in his voice.
"Well-uh, hey guys! What's up?"
"We were wondering if you wanted to come and play with us outside!"
It was faint but Jack saw the light smile disappear from the boy's face as he glanced around nervously.
"Today?"
"Uh, yeah?" Claude answered, "Why, what's wrong? It's a snow day, dude!"
Jamie's hesitant voice answered back, "Um, I-I would love to, but I've-uh still got some homework to do so I don't think I can go."
In response, the group of children didn't even deflate at their friend's answer, and a part of Jack wondered if they were expecting Jamie to say no. Glancing back to Jamie, the winter spirit noticed how frayed he looked, almost as if he was afraid to go outside and play. Jack was even more puzzled when his friends didn't continue to urge him to come out and play. Didn't they want Jamie to have fun?
The group began to leave the front yard, unable to look back at Jamie. Pippa called over her shoulder, "Okay, sure, I guess we'll see you at school tomorrow."
Jamie waved with uncertainty, "Oh, okay…Goodbye..."
Still perched on the fence, Jack could hear Caleb whisper as the group walked away, "I told you that he wouldn't come out."
Jack was left slightly dumbstruck as he looked between the boy in the window and his four friends that were currently leaving him alone. To the winter spirit, homework was just not a good enough reason to not have fun on a snow day.
Time to have some fun, thought Jack as he formed a single snowflake in his palm and let Wind carry it over to Jamie's open window to where the boy still stared out. However, right when the snowflake was about to come into to contact with the boy's nose and make the magic happen, Jamie spotted it and unceremoniously swatted once before backing away from the window and closing it harshly.
Jack's puzzled expression at the boy's strange action lasted only a second before he shrugged, at least I tried…Maybe he really is busy.
It was still strange though; Jamie usually adored playing in the snow with his friends…
However, deciding that it was about time to fly off somewhere north, he stood straight up on the fence and turned his sore back to the house, silently hoping that whatever was happening with Jamie was just a phase. He was just about to let Wind carry him off to fly when he heard something strange–like a high-pitched noise to his left, and upon turning his head in its direction, something small and colorful slammed into his cheek, almost throwing him off balance. And without warning, the small, colorful thing began to attack his head, and was zipping around Jack too fast for him to see what it was as it chittered angrily with the same high-pitched noise that he had originally heard.
"What-tha?!" The wintry teen gasped in surprise and confusion before fervently trying to dodge and swat the little assailant away with his staff. When that didn't work, he decided to drop his staff and grab whatever it was out of the air, all the while still keeping his balance on top of the fence. And finally, on the fourth try, Jack managed to catch it in his good hand as it squeaked profusely in protest. After getting a clear look at it, Jack's eyes widened as he realized what it was.
Gripped in his cold hand, was a hummingbird-like creature, like the ones he had seen with the Tooth Fairy earlier. In fact, upon closer examination, it looked like a baby version of the Tooth Fairy, and currently, it did not look happy with him. If he wasn't so peeved at the small creature for attacking him, he would've melted at the rather cute scowl it was giving him. Without warning, though, the admittingly cute mini-fairy jabbed its hummingbird-like beak into his finger to which he immediately expressed his pain in the form of letting the thing go whilst sounding an "Ow!"
From that point, the process started all over again with the stubborn thing zipping around him furiously before it was caught by Jack yet again, and this time, he held onto the mini-fairy tightly so no more repeats would happen. After a second, he dropped from the fence next to his fallen staff carefully, making sure his sprained arm was secure before bringing his attention back to the fairy, raising it to eye level at a reasonable distance. Jack looked directly into its eyes as it did the same to him, not making a peep as it huffed in anger, scowling. Jack shook his head as he chided the flustered, feathery creature, "Nuh-uh, no more of that. Now, if you calm down, I'll let you go. Does that sound good?"
In that moment, the little fairy gave him a surprised yet confused look, almost as if she hadn't expected him to say that. After seemingly thinking his offer of freedom over, she bowed her head slowly and nodded reluctantly.
"Okay," he said slowly, not really trusting the fairy. "I'm going to let go…" And with that, he released the little fairy from his grip, and flinched away, expecting the release to end in more attacks.
But that never happened.
The creature hovered in the same spot for a second as it stared at him, utterly shocked; it was like it expected to be doomed but it was instead released out of kind mercy.
"What?" Jack asked, unsure why it was still staring at him.
In response, the little thing tilted its head with a squeak, a sight that Jack thought was rather cute, so he gave a little laugh.
When it perked at his laugh, he smiled. The smile disappeared however when the fairy almost seemed to swoon after obsessively gaping at his teeth.
At that moment, Jack realized how attractive his teeth must've looked to the little tooth fairy; most winter spirits were renowned for their naturally snow-white teeth. So, he flashed an even bigger smile, causing the fairy to squeal with delight.
The winter spirit then watched as the fairy settled herself snuggly onto his shoulder. Although he was confused at first, he eventually knew what it wanted; it wanted to stay with him, and Jack couldn't afford this adorable baby tooth fairy to be lost to the cold when he went up north, even if he would enjoy the company.
So, with his good hand, he shooed her off his shoulder nonchalantly. "Go on, go on home now."
In response, the fairy simply gave him an unbothered look as she hovered before she flew back to the same spot on his shoulder and gave him a squeak of protest, crossing her little arms.
"No, you don't want to be around me, all I bring is trouble." He reasoned, hoping to convince her to just go home.
While seemingly ignoring him, she stayed put.
Jack placed his good hand on his hip. "What, are you going to stay with me?"
The fairy nodded and gave a confident tweet. At that, Jack smiled again before leaning forward to pick up his staff.
"Alright, suit yourself." The wintry teen cautioned, staff now in hand. In response, the little fairy squeaked with glee, and Jack smiled, causing her to almost swoon again.
So, without a second to lose, Jack called onto Wind, and soon, they were soaring into the cold sky above and leaving Burgess far behind.
And in that moment, the winter spirit's heart was set aglow for he had just made a new friend.
"Manny, please!" North pleaded to the celestial body in the skylight above. "Tell us what to do, and we vill do it."
Next to the main fireplace, while he painted an egg with a rather jittery paw, E. Aster Bunnymund couldn't shake the feeling of worry after what had happened to Tooth after they had left her Palace for North's Workshop. Giving a fleeting glance towards the rather fatigued-looking Fairy Queen, his heart went out to her once again before he continued painting the egg in his paw.
The thing that shook him the most about the whole ordeal with Pitch and the Tooth Palace was that Toothiana, the Tooth Fairy, and the one and only Guardian of Memories, was now showing signs of losing believers by the dozens. Earlier, she had unexpectedly faltered to the ground, her iridescent wings fluttering to a permanent halt as her feathers lost their sheen. That was not a good sign.
And although he would never openly admit it, the fact that Easter was only five days away and Pitch was now rampant made Bunny very, very nervous. But, Bunnymund remained hopeful. Hopeful that Pitch would utterly fail at picking them off one by one. Hopeful that the Nightmare King would disappear back underneath a bed. And most of all, hopeful that Manny came up with a solution to fix this mess.
Besides, they really had no other choice but to go seek help from him; other than the fact that Tooth was losing believers by huge amounts, once it was revealed that Pitch had been stealing Sandy's Dreamsand right under his nose to turn it into those monstrous creatures he called Nightmares, they knew that they needed help and fast; the sake of the children of the world depended on it. And although they wondered the true meaning on why Pitch Black decided to involve Jack Frost, they disregarded the detail and focused on the bigger matter at hand. Manny, however, remained unresponsive.
"Manny," North continued, "if there iz anyone that knows vhat to do, it iz you. Pitch seems stronger than ever, and although I believe we can defeat him, we are at a loss on where to start."
Sandy nodded up at the Moon while Tooth bowed her head. And after putting the egg and paintbrush away, Bunny finally decided it was time to join them underneath the skylight as well.
But still, the Man in the Moon kept quiet.
However, just when they had begun to think that he would remain silent, a ray of moonlight shone through the skylight, and with wide-eyed wonderment, they watched it concentrate on the large Guardian symbol carved into the floor. The symbol glowed before it moved to reveal a hole in its place that soon disappeared when a pillar topped with a large, blue gem emerged from it. As the ray of moonlight shone through the gem, it refracted, causing light to envelope the large room, and they all stood gaping with awe as the rather exciting realization sank in.
"A new Guardian…" Whispered North thoughtfully before he beamed up at Manny in amazement. "He's choosing a new Guardian!"
"Woah, woah, woah!" Bunny started, obviously not liking where this was going. "Mate, I knew we needed help, but another Guardian? That's a big step."
"And it might be just what we need!" Tooth nodded, her dismal state from earlier all but forgotten as hope coursed through her. Sandy, with a big grin and two thumbs-up, looked equally enthusiastic about having another Guardian join them.
"Da, Bunny, a new Guardian vill be big help!" North stated with a smile as he looked back down at the bright glowing gem, hands placed confidently on hips.
After thinking it through a little more, Bunny agreed that it wouldn't be so bad having another Guardian join them. That is, with one exception.
The Pooka admitted with a quick nod, "Alright, mate, as long as it's not the bloody Groundhog, I'm fine with whoever!"
Sandy immediately snickered at the statement while both Tooth and North looked rather bemused. North then shook his head, "I vill never understand…"
Bunny shot a glare at the still-snickering Sandy while muttering under his breath, "Let's hope ya never do, mate."
Suddenly, the light of the gem grew stronger, pulling them from their thoughts and renewing their anticipation. Through the suspense, they all prepared themselves to witness the birth of a new Guardian whilst Bunny chanted underneath his breath continuously, "Please not the Groundhog, please not the Groundhog." And finally, after a bright flash, a figure of blue light began to resolve and form above the pillar's gem.
As the image became clearer, a strangely familiar figure was depicted–a hooded young teen with a shepherd's crook gripped in his hand.
…
Time seemed to freeze as their eyes widened, their breath caught, and they tensed with both utter shock and confusion. Only one word seemed to be suitable for this situation.
"WHAT?!"
Their booming voices and the echoes that belonged to them were enough to briefly stop Yetis from producing toys in the workshop while the elves ceased their usual mirth and jingling as they stood frozen with shock, all wondering what had brought on the abrupt noise.
The Guardians had all expressed the emotion in unison–even Sandy signaled his shock with a giant exclamation point and question mark (!?) of Dreamsand above his head. Looking over to the others, Tooth seemed to be on the verge of passing out while Aster fumed with ire, their eyes both glued to the image of the monstrosity that was supposedly a new Guardian.
Meanwhile, North, who was wholeheartedly bewildered, turned back to the figure on the moon that they had so trusted, looking for an explanation, "Manny! We do not understand, Jack Frost iz not a Guardian!"
"Yeah, mate! Far from it!" Bunny snarled at the image above the pillar's gem, ears pinned back in righteous animosity.
The image of Jack Frost glowed even brighter at that, and they were utterly horrified at the sight.
Jack Frost, the demon that had been the very one to murder children, had just been chosen as a Guardian of Childhood.
They gawked further as Manny's light grew brighter with confidence, and just like that, it disappeared, leaving the image of Jack Frost to vanish, and the room to grow dim and silent as the appalling revelation sank in.
And, for a while, everyone seemed to be at a loss for words.
…
…
…
And then, ripping his gaze from the Moon to close his eyes, Nicholas St. North furrowed his brows, and he took a deep breath. After exhaling, he broke the silence by saying something he'd never thought he'd say: "It must be done."
"WHAT?!" Bunny bellowed, the others looking equally as wide-eyed and shocked at North's statement.
The Guardian of Wonder straightened, and after taking another deep breath, he exhaled and opened his eyes, flashing them in a serious manner at each Guardian. "If Manny believes that Jack Frost is…capable of Guardianship then…he iz."
"WHAT?!" Bunny repeated while the others began to consider what North had said.
"Is 'e crazy?" The Pooka gave each Guardian a bewildered expression as he pointed accusingly at North. "Jack Frost is anything but a Guardian!"
"Bunny," Tooth began softly, hoping to ease the situation, "Manny has finally answered us, and…I think that if he didn't want to help us, he would've kept silent."
E. Aster Bunnymund blinked at what Tooth had said to him, not really wanting to register it. He opened his mouth briefly but closed it; he was at a complete loss for words. He then glanced at Sandy who nodded reluctantly as if what Tooth had said was sensible, and the Pooka just couldn't take it anymore.
"ARE YA ALL OFF YA ROCKERS, JACK FROST IS A BLOODY CHILD KILLER!"
"BUNNY, ENOUGH!" North boomed, silencing the incredulous Pooka. The Guardian of Wonder rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking back up and continuing, "He might be a child killer, but according to Manny, he iz what we need to succeed in defeating Pitch."
Bunny's eye twitched as he gawked at North, and the Pooka opened his mouth more to respond, but before he could say anything, Tooth intervened.
"You know he's right, Bunny. I don't want to believe it either but I have to. Even though Jack Frost might not particularly be qualified for Guardianship, he was chosen by Manny…And although his choice is…questionable and…hard to take in, we must follow it…" She paused, her eyes brightening a small bit, "And who knows? Maybe…Jack Frost will change his ways after…we…talk…to him?"
In that brief moment, Tooth was the only one that seemed to realize that convincing Jack Frost to join them as a Guardian of Childhood might be extremely difficult to do, not only because he hated children, but especially because they just tried to…kill him. However, the thought was immediately brushed aside for later when Sandy formed the word "Redemption?" above his head in Dreamsand, and Bunny's jaw dropped even more.
After a moment, the disbelieving Pooka closed his mouth and eyes before inhaling a deep breath. And just when they all thought he was going to blow up again, he spoke, his ears twitching with contained animosity, and his voice low and dangerous.
"Are you meaning to tell me that after everything that bloody monster has done, you are willing to forgive and team up with him, just like that, huh?"
His emerald green eyes snapped open to see that each Guardian gave a small, somewhat uncertain nod. And, with that, he scowled at them and crossed his arms.
How dare they.
The very thought of that bloody devil being granted Guardianship was abhorrent; instead of protecting children, the Pooka knew that the despicable monster would be giving them frostbite, freezing, torturing, and murdering them all, and he was disgusted to believe that the other Guardians, especially Manny, seemed to be completely blind to this fact. Right now, E. Aster Bunnymund would even stoop so low to beg for the Groundhog to become a Guardian instead; at least, he was not a monster.
"Please, Bunnymund," North said with sincerity, his twinkling blue eyes pleading.
In response, Bunny just huffed and looked away from the Guardian of Wonder as he continued to talk, "We know that you do not like it, but we are also in same boat…and all we ask from you iz that you have trust in Manny's choice, no matter how difficult it may be if it means that we are one foot closer to defeating Pitch…"
A few seconds passed, and the disapproving Pooka remained unmoved.
"Do it for Easter, Bunny…do it for the children."
…
"Fine." Aster threw his arms up and then pointed sternly at North, "But I am not going to play nice."
North nodded and shrugged nonchalantly, "Understandable. Now," the Guardian of Wonder clapped his hands together and proceeded to crack his knuckles, a dark malicious note in his voice as he asked, "how should we fetch our new…addition?"
A/N:
Uh-oh, that does not sound too good for Jack…But I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think! Also, if you have them, ask questions! It would be greatly appreciated! In the next chapter, expect Sarila to be back, there might be a snippet of Jamie's perspective, and you'll have to wait and see if things go well for Jack, MWHAHAHAA (I'm sorry). Anyways, thanks for your support, and until next time, bye!