So it should have been pretty clear right from the beginning of this series (and probably most one shot series for any fandom) that the stuff I put here is Mugetsu-headcanon or just random shizzles that come to mind, but this one's a teeny bit of an AU for my AU ^^;
This is a request from a guest called Guest (how can I refuse you :P) who gave me this prompt: "One where some other spirits attack jack when hes sleeping, attacks him, but jack fights back like an animal (call it insticts from being alone so long), the guardians sees this, tries to help, but he attacks them, they panic, one of em gets lleu ( i forgot how its spelled), and you take it from there because my idea just fizzled out... Plz do this!"
And I got so excited I had to write it right away (and by right away I mean the day after I got it because it was the last day of the month so I had 6GB of internet to use and free reign :P (We only get 10GB p/month so I have to use it sparingly)
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians
Instinct
He was a wolf, stalking through the forest of night with only the stars to light the moonless sky. He was alone, his pack had abandoned him. But that was okay. He was used to being alone.
There was a strong scent in the air, luring his senses with promises of satiating his hunger. He moved quickly, his paws silent as they trudged across the spotless snow, darting between the trees like a shadow. His prey was so close now, its silhouette visible in the distance. He crept slowly around, being sure to stay downwind so as not to alert his target of his presence before he was ready.
As he got closer the single silhouette morphed into two, then three, continuing to split and divide until there were almost a dozen. He sprang forward on powerful legs, eyes locked on a single target that he would pursue until he either caught it or could run no further.
He had expected the silhouettes to scatter as his presence became known but they merely turned shadowy heads towards him, not a hint of fear permeating the air. He skidded to a halt as they suddenly charged towards him, realising with sudden horror that the stench of prey he had hitherto been following had shifted, changed into that of a predator. He turned to run back the way he had come, only to slip and fall. He looked down at himself, confused at the sudden change to his body. Where had those powerful muscles gone? Where had his clear night-vision vanished to? Where had his superior hearing and sense of smell disappeared to?
He was not a wolf anymore.
Struggling to his feet, unbalanced on two legs, he tried to run, tried to get away from the malevolent beings charging towards him. But it was like trying to run through water. His strides were slow and heavy, and he'd barely taken more than a step before they were upon him.
They were large, hulking beasts with thick fur and menacing yellow eyes that tore through the darkness. He recognised these predators. They were the ones that had hunted him during all those years he'd stayed in a deep forest, hidden away from a cruel world that could only ignore him. Or was this the very same moment? Did those years of fighting against the Boogeyman and becoming a Guardian, being seen for the first time by a mortal, being accepted and loved by not just one but
four different families ever really happen? Or had he dreamed it?
Perhaps this was not a dream after all. Perhaps he had finally woken up.
Biting back the ache in his chest at the realisation, he allowed the memories he'd thought were true but now saw were false – after all, such presumptions and miraculous events could not possibly be real – to wash away from him, returning his state of mind to the one it had taken on for a countless period of time.
These wolves may be predators but he was not prey.
Teeth bared in a snarl, he fought back, letting instinct take over rational thought as he became just as much a beast as they were. This endless pursuit needed to end once and for all. There was no point escaping when they would hunt him to the ends of the Earth.
Sharp fangs tore into the flesh of his arm and he cried out in pain.
He landed roughly in the snow, not wasting a single second before hefting himself back up onto all fours. The scenery seemed to have changed but he paid it no mind. There was very little light around him, and his eyes strained against the darkness, but he could still see the blackened silhouettes dancing around him. They were shouting and growling but the nonsense sounds fell on deaf ears. There was only one thought running through his mind, fuelling the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
With a growl like the wolves' own tearing from his throat he shot forwards, sinking nails into flesh and relishing in the cries of pain of the creature pinned beneath him as it crumpled to the frozen ground. It was about time they felt what it was like to be hunted relentlessly and without mercy. And if they got away from him, secluded themselves to lick their wounds like he had so often done in the past, well, he would find them again, like they had him, and make them regret that very first meeting, now so long ago, that had sealed their infinite cycle of predator and prey.
...
...
It was just after midnight in North America where they knew Jack to currently be, but that didn't change the fact that the lights had gone off – and this time it hadn't been a mere social gathering. A swarm of Nightmares had been spotted near Hong Kong and they needed to do something about it before the children of the area suffered at their ha- uh, hooves.
Understandably, Jack hadn't turned up – he was likely asleep and therefore wouldn't have been able to see the lights – so the rest of the Guardians had decided on the swiftest course of action; they would bring the meeting to the winter spirit.
Of course, what they found when they arrived at Jack's pond was the last thing any of them would have expected.
Cries of pain and angry shouts filled their ears, along with a horrifying, inhuman growling. Without the moon lighting the sky, all the Guardians could see were dark shadows moving about; about a dozen or so two to three foot high silhouettes moving in a frenzy to either avoid or strike at another, hunched form about twice their size that was lashing out at them.
The Guardians had no idea what was going on or how all this had started, but they sure as hell were going to put an end to it.
Leaving the sleigh a safe distance away, they charged towards the fray, weapons out and ready in case they were needed.
"That's enough!" North cried out, startling the shadow figures, who moved back several steps.
"What in blazes is goin' on here?" Bunny asked gruffly, stepping forwards so he stood side-by-side with the Cossack.
Only one of the figures – the largest one – hadn't stood to attention at their arrival. It had released the shorter being it had been attacking and backed up against the trunk of a tree, growling threateningly. The Guardians could just make out the soft blue glow of its eyes. Bunny stepped towards it, confident he could hold his own against whatever it was.
The growling grew in intensity with each step he took and, when he was no more than two or three steps away it sprung. He was unprepared for the sudden force that slammed into him, but while he stumbled, the near non-existent weight of his assailant was nowhere near enough to knock him down.
The Pooka grabbed the blighter in his paws and held him back out of reach, the thing struggling like a mindless beast as it tried to free itself from its restraint. It was only then that he registered the cold; a body temperature far lower than he'd known any living creature to have and still be alive. Any creature, that is, except…
"Sandy, light! Now!" he called out.
A soft golden glow filled the clearing around them as Sandy sent a gentle stream of dream sand floating above their heads.
Bunny's eyes widened considerably, even despite the fact that he'd expected it. He heard prominent gasps from behind him and was vaguely aware of Tooth fluttering a bit closer, but his attention was focused solely on the spirit still writhing in his grasp.
"Frostbite?" he gaped. Because even despite the dirt, the scratches and bruises, and the blood – most of which didn't appear to be his – he would recognise the winter spirit anywhere.
Jack continued on like he hadn't heard a thing.
"Jack, calm down! It's us!"
Frost was starting to creep along the edges of his fur but he held firm. That is, until Jack somehow managed to get his mouth close enough the Bunny's paw to bite down. Hard. The rabbit cried out – more in surprise than actual pain (but the kid did have a sharp set of chompers on him) – instinctively loosening his grip. Slight as it was, it was more than enough for Jack, who manoeuvred his way to freedom, only to go for another shot at the Easter Bunny.
"Sandy, knock 'im out!" Bunny cried. He couldn't think of what else to do; the kid just wasn't seeing clearly and he didn't want to have to hurt him.
Jack pulled away, ducking as a ball of dream sand went hurtling overhead. He turned his unfocused gaze on the little man who had sent the 'attack' and, new target chosen, bounded towards him. He was intercepted halfway by a flustered Tooth, who grabbed him in a bear hug and pinned him to herself even as the two of them crashed heavily into the ground.
"Guys, what do we do?!" she asked, struggling vainly to keep Jack down. Formidable warrior queen she may be, but Jack's actions were mindless, more like he was running on pure animalistic instinct and a feverish need to get away and to fight back at the same time.
"I do not know," North said, sounding rather resigned.
They'd never seen this kind of behaviour before in Jack and had no idea how to react to it. Sandy looked like he wanted to try the dream sand again but with Tooth so close, the risk of hitting her instead was far too high and they couldn't afford to have her knocked out. A light bulb appeared above his head, his expression one of a sudden epiphany as he hurried skywards, a plane taking form around him.
"Where're you goin', mate?" Bunny shouted up at him.
A bunch of images flashed one after the other but at that distance and speed they could hardly be discerned. They just had to have faith that Sandy had an idea and would be back as soon as possible.
...
...
When the Sandman returned, it was to find a rather dishevelled looking group of Guardians. The spirits Jack had been fighting when they'd arrived had long since fled but no one seemed to have noticed.
Jack had managed to worm his way out of the Tooth Fairy's hold and was now held in a sort of backwards bear-hug by North, his attempts at liberation futile against the Cossack's strength.
"Lleu?" Tooth said in recognition as the familiar summer spirit touched down beside Sandy.
"At your service," he grinned, bowing. "I hear our little Snowflake is in need of assistance."
"I think it's us who're in need of assistance," Bunny muttered.
Lleu raised a brow, turning his attention to the winter spirit still held by North. The other eyebrow rose to meet its brother. "When you conveyed he was in trouble," Lleu began, looking down at his companion, "I didn't think you actually meant he'd finally gone off his rocker."
"Are you here to help or not?" Bunny snapped, a little more harshly than he'd intended.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your tail on," Lleu rolled his eyes. "Where's his stick?"
The Guardians' eyes widened as, for the first time, they noticed Jack's staff's absence. Everyone except North began searching the surrounding area for the old piece of wood.
"Here it is!" Tooth called triumphantly, carrying the staff above her head as she flew back over to them.
"Thank you," Lleu said, taking it from her. He tested its weight in his palm, walked over to Jack, and, shifting his grip on the thing, whacked it with considerable force into the side of the kid's face. An audible 'smack' resounded throughout the clearing, accompanied by gasps and angry protests from the Guardians.
Jack's head snapped to the side under the force of the blow, his eyes wide and his ceaseless movements halting. The winter spirit remained frozen in place for several seconds before blinking slowly, turning his gaze to the people standing around him and then, finally, settling on the large pair of arms squeezing him.
"Um," he said slowly, his voice rough and slightly strained. "What's going on?"
The Guardians heaved sighs of relief.
"Welcome back to the land of the sane, Snow Cone," Lleu smirked. "Although I can only really speak for myself."
Jack looked more confused than before.
"Ya jumped us, mate," Bunny frowned. "We heard a kafuffle goin' on when we got here and found ya fighting off…" he trailed off, looking around them for the spirits that were long gone. "Well, I dunno who – the mooinjer veggey*, maybe – but you were actin' like ya didn't even recognise us."
"Oh," Jack managed. "Well, I recognise you now and I don't feel much like attacking anyone, so if you could put me down, North, I would appreciate it. I can't really breathe."
"Oh! Sorry, Jack," North said sheepishly, releasing his grip.
The winter spirit took several deep breaths where he'd stumbled to the ground.
"What happened, Jack?" Tooth asked, kneeling down in front of him.
"I… I don't really know," Jack frowned at his knees. "I think I was dreaming about… something that happened a long time ago. I guess I didn't really wake up until…" he paused, looking up at them with a look that clearly said he had no idea how he'd woken up.
"Until I knocked some sense back into you," Lleu happily finished for him, tossing his opposite his stick. The others glared at him.
Jack deftly caught it, looking at it curiously. "Well, that would explain why my head hurts."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tooth asked gently. "Your dream, I mean," she elaborated at the confused expression he turned on her.
"To be honest I'd just like to sleep," Jack smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He had sagged slightly, the adrenaline finally leaving his system.
"Come back to Pole," North suggested. "All of you. Is safe from mysterious midnight attacks and in morning we can have meeting."
"Meeting?"
"Yeah, mate, the reason we came here in the first place," Bunny explained.
"But it can wait," Tooth told him. "I think we could all use some sleep."
Sandy somehow managed to convey that he would head over to Hong Kong to give the children some good dreams and stop any Nightmares he came across, and would meet them back at the Pole shortly.
"No!" Jack protested. "If Pitch is up to something you shouldn't go alone."
"Jack's right, Sandy," North agreed. "Is not safe."
"If it will appease you," Lleu interrupted in an over-the-top attempt at an English accent, "I shall accompany mister Mansnoozie on his expedition." He grinned, dropping the accent, "And then I'm heading back home before the fire spirits I was playing cards with decide they're tired of waiting and burn my hand. I reckon I've got a good chance at winning this round," he winked. The grin turned to a grimace, though, when he shifted, noticing the puddle of what had once been snow he was standing in. "And, uh, dry my feet."
Jack snorted, allowing Tooth to help get him back to his feet. "See you back at the Pole, Sandman. And Lleu," he smiled at the older spirit. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, Snowflake," he nodded. "You ever need someone to knock you in the head you know who to call. You could try Ceres, too, sometime. I'm sure she'd jump at the opportunity."
"Ceres? Jump?" Jack gaped exaggeratedly. "Don't know about that. But I'm sure you're right about the hitting me thing."
Lleu laughed, taking off alongside Sandy.
"Come on," Bunny rolled his eyes, hefting the winter spirit over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
"Ah! Hey! I can walk, rabbit!"
"Uh-huh," Bunny replied absently as he trudged back over to the sleigh, a smiling Tooth and North following after him.
*The mooinjer veggey are from Manx folklore and are "rather inclined to be mischievous and spiteful" (Wikipedia). If you're confused about what the heck just happened, let me know and I'll explain (don't want to put it here because the AN is already pretty long)
Guest Review Responses:
Guest: How can I resist a request? :P I tweaked it a teeny bit - I hope you don't mind. And relax, you spelled his name right XD
NothernMage: 'Tis fine. FFN likes to test our patience from time to time. I am belatedly realising that I could have PMed this response to you but oh well. ^^; Yes, poor Jack. I'm very mean to him :I
Lazy: Hehehe it's a funny mental image XD Thank you!
ROTG Revolution: Ah! You got a name! Very good :P Naaaaaawwwwww =^w^= You are too lovely. Yeah... I've got a nice big feels hammer I like to hit people with XD (Including myself from time to time - usually accidental) Thank you so much! 3