Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been consistent recently . Hopefully I'll be a bit moreso with the holidays approaching. But anyway, here's chapter 14!
I do not own ROTG, just my OCs
Can't a spirit just catch a break? Jack flew across Asia as quickly as he could to make it to the Tooth Palace. Well, at least it's not in Santoff Claussen again. The change in scenery could be good for us.
He finally caught up with the other Guardians at the spring pool toward the bottom of the mountain where Tooth's palace resided. As he lowered himself to its edge, he noticed something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't until he approached the brightly-colored tooth fairy mural that he realized: where are all the tooth fairies?
"Ah, Jack, you are here!" North bellowed. North clapped his hand on Jack's back in welcome, but the winter spirit's eyes were busy darting all across the horizon, trying to find any sign of even one fairy. He finally let his eyes rest on Tooth, whose face was contorted in all sorts of confusion and worry.
"What happened over here?" he asked, finally giving up the guessing game. Tooth's wings twitched and she shook her head. "I wish I could tell you, but I'm not entirely sure myself. I-I went back in the field for this one night and when I came back, all of my girls, they're...something or someone obviously terrified them enough to send them all into hiding. There's only one person I know who could hold that much fear over them."
"What, you mean Pitch?" Jack scoffed. When he saw that none of his companions shared his dubious sentiment, the nervous laughter died down. "No, no! There's no way he healed that quickly after Canada! Were you guys even at the same fight I was? I literally shot ice through him and made him bleed out!"
"Next time, I suggest ye try a method that won't piss me off!" a familiar voice called out from below. The Guardians all walked toward the edge of the pool and peered down the cliff, looking for where Amberlynn may be.
"Look out!" Jack cried. He grabbed Tooth by the waist and they all dove to the ground, away from the cliff, as a team of Nightmares charged upward to the nearest gilded column. The Nightmares all stood at the edge of the column, their golden eyes peering into the hearts of the Guardians, daring them to make any sudden move.
From behind the team of Nightmares, Amberlynn jumped out and flew toward the spring pool, with her charcoal-ember eyes glowing in a rage the Guardians had never seen in this young spirit before!
"A Guardian?!" she screeched. "Ye have the nerve to kidnap me from my own home, imprison me in Santoff Claussen, nearly kill me from said imprisonment, and ye expect me to become a Guardian? Have ye lost yer damn minds?"
Jack had the courage (or stupidity, he hadn't quite figured it out himself) to be the first one to approach Amberlynn and speak to her. "Okay, okay, I know the best decisions weren't made regarding how to handle this entire situation," he began, glaring directly at North when he said it. "And I can see that you're quite upset-"
"I don't recommend referring to her justifiable wrath as 'quite upset,'" Pitch called out from the column above. He remained astride his favorite Nightmare, Onyx, as he called to the opposing party below. "Trust me when I say it doesn't end well."
"Pitch Black! What did you do to my fairies?" Tooth screamed when she saw him. She grabbed one of Bunny's boomerangs and began to fly toward him, only to have Amberlynn grab her by the ankles and throw Tooth across the spring pool. Tooth grunted in pain as her back smacked into the mural. Jack winced upon hearing the slight crack which resulted from the hit. Whether it was her spine or the wall, he wasn't completely sure.
"Yer fight is not with Pitch, ye lousy ffynhonnell, it's with me," Amberlynn growled. North and Bunny stood on either side of Tooth as they helped her to stand. When she winced from the pain shooting through her back, Amberlynn continued, "And don't worry about yer wee fairies, they're fine. Just a bit frightened off after being chased around by a 10-by-20-foot firewall fer quite some time. After the ordeal ye lot put both me and Pitch through, consider yerself lucky that's all I do to ye."
"She's right," Pitch confirmed. "This is all Amberlynn's idea. I'm just the transportation today. Although I must say I am enjoying the theatrics which have transpired thus far. Might I add, I am quite impressed with that arm of yours and how well you handled shadow-travel, my dear. Most people become incredibly nauseous after their first try."
"Ask me how I feel after the adrenaline wears off," Amberlynn replied offhandedly. "Back to subject, though. How dare ye think ye can simply waltz into my life and instead of asking if I would be interested in being part of your 'club,' ye just expect me to join in a heartbeat without even thinking about it? Where do ye get the gall to think so highly of yerselves?"
"How did you-Bunny! You said you would not be messenger for us!" North yelled at the Guardian of hope. Bunny's ears shot up and he raised his paws in protest. "What, you think I told her, ya big gumby? I haven't said a word to her since she left the Warren in one piece-which was also no thanks to you, mate! If anybody told her, it was the frostbite!"
"You thi-you honestly think that I told her?" Jack objected. "When, exactly, do you think I would have had time to drop the news on her? Hmm?"
Amberlynn looked to Pitch and they both rolled their eyes as the Guardians continued to bicker back and forth. Fed up with all the arguing, Amberlynn cut them off and said, "Oh quit yer mouthin' off to each other, will ye? It was Pitch who told me. Jack and Bunny, I'm not mad at ye fer not tellin' me, I'm just disappointed. As for you two…"
Amberlynn stormed toward both North and Tooth, charcoal-grey eyes glowing with a fury to match the fiery flames they held. "You have exactly 5 seconds to explain to me what was going on in yer minds to think kidnapping me and imprisoning me in Santoff godforsaken Claussen would convince me I should join yer all-exclusive club I've wanted no part in since my time as a spirit!"
Never, in Pitch's centuries of knowing North, has the old master of bribery ever become so visibly nervous and at a loss for words as he was right this moment, and the King of Nightmares absolutely beamed with pride at Amberlynn and reveled in all the fear North radiated because of her.
North used his right sleeve to wipe the sweat off his brow, partially revealing the "Naughty" tattoo that was permanently inked onto his arm. He stammered, "I uhh, well, I'm not-not quite sure how Pitch Black knew, but it seems we have slight problem…"
"Oh, ye don't say?" Amberlynn interrupted, unamused. North feebly attempted to make a cohesive statement. "You don't, you think you know why you are chosen Guardian, but you do not understand grand plan of-"
"Oh, Man in Moon?" Amberlynn cut him off. "Actually, I've become pretty familiar with 'good old Manny' and his way of 'granting such an honor' to any particular spirit who might have powers that he finally decides can be put to his personal use...all fer the sake of the children! Or so he says. Did I cover it just about right, Pitch?"
Pitch steered Onyx to fly him down next to the summer spirit. As he carefully dismounted the mare to approach Amberlynn, he scoffed at the shock and offended gapes coming from the Guardians.
"To be fair," he began, "I never explained it to you with as much vocal loathing and sarcasm. However, that would indeed be an accurate painting of this picture, I agree." He bent down slightly and gently brushed his lips across the top of Amberlynn's head, just about making all the other spirits take a step back in shock...everyone that is, except for Bunny. He merely rolled his eyes at the public display of affection.
"As much as I support 'stirring the pot,' so to speak," Amberlynn quietly warned Pitch. "If ye pull another PDA stunt like that again I'll just as easily reopen the hole in yer abdomen that I stitched back up."
Though he quickly stood upright, Amberlynn rolled her eyes when she saw that the devious smile never left Pitch's face.
"Oi, can we back up for just a minute here, mates?" Bunny asked, finally breaking the silence among the Big Five. What in the bloody hell are you talking about, shelia? MiM is not just some spirit who chooses to twist and meddle with the affairs of others for his own benefit." He shot dagger eyes at Pitch, who merely shrugged the nameless accusation away.
"Are you sure about that, Bunny?" Amberlynn asked. "Let's review for a second: before Jack was 'chosen,' you four were all chosen for what purpose? To keep Pitch Black at bay. Not that he didn't entirely deserve it, to be fair," she added, lightly jabbing him in the side (and silently grateful she elbowed the not-recently-stitched-up side).
"Literally, all you spirits have done since becoming Guardians is make sure Pitch Black doesn't get 'too powerful' for MiM's standards. Before Jack Frost got thrown into yer lives-literally-when was the last time ye did anything directly with the children? I'm not too keen of mortals meself and I can bet yer arse I've spent more time in the last 10 years with them then ye lot combined have in the last 200! Correct me if I'm wrong. I understand ye have taken a liking to the children of Burgess, where Jack resides, but tell me. With the exception of Frost, have any of ye recently spent time with other children of the world, truly getting to know them?"
Their silence was more than enough confirmation. She continued, "Don't try to tell me this whole 'glorious plan' nonsense is all fer the children if ye can't stand here and give me one recent instance where ye truly spent time with any o'yer believers."
For extra measure she added, "Especially don't try to tell me that the Moon, whose source of light is a reflection off the Sun, knows what's best for a diurnal spirit. Honestly, I can't believe none of ye could figure that one out. I am a daughter of the Sun...a sun spirit! I was chosen by the Sun, I work mostly during the day! Except for Jack because, well let's face facts he doesn't abide by anybody's rules"-Jack shrugged and nodded in agreement-"what other spirit chosen by the Moon do you know of that predominantly functions in the day? And vice versa with Sun spirits? Awfully bold of him, really, to think he can just 'choose' me and think I'll accept it. I don't know what he had to gain by that bloody awful move on his part."
Bunny sighed and dropped his head. "Okay, I'll give you that one, sheila. I don't even pretend to try to know or understand Manny's motivations. But right now, Guardian or no Guardian, we do need your help."
"Oh, there's a surprise," Pitch muttered. "What did I do this time, rabbit? Did I survive my last encounter with you too soon? I'll make sure to teach Frost to aim so he doesn't miss next time."
"As tempting of an offer as that is," Bunny shot back, "Right now we have an actual, imminent threat." Pitch snarled, but otherwise kept silent (it may or may not have had to do with the death glare Amberlynn sent his way).
"I'm not saying I will do anything," Amberlynn began, "but I'm listening. Since we are all here anyway, what threat was so important that ye had to kidnap me fer all those weeks ago? One that, evidently, is so imminent a threat that nothing has even happened yet after nearly a month of said kidnapping."
Bunny sighed and pulled out a piece of parchment to give to the summer spirit. Amberlynn unfolded the paper and shared an edge with Pitch. While the Nightmare King immediately scoffed in disbelief, Amberlynn frowned in confusion. I know I have seen this before, but where? There remained nothing on the paper but 7 dots with lines connecting them together in almost a zigzag pattern, but it was not a zigzag. The 3 larger lines were appearing to curve upward with the motion of the dots. It was so random, yet Amberlynn knew she recognized this symbol.
"You're joking," Pitch said to the Guardians. "Believe me when I say it's impossible." Giving up on the game, Amberlynn looked at Pitch and asked, "What's impossible, and where have I seen this before?"
"Imagine, if you will," Pitch replied as he held the parchment up, "a cloudless summer sky around midnight in the northern hemisphere. If I remember what you taught me, this should lie just to the side of the Twins like so." He held it up to approximately where he envisioned it would be if the parchment were, in fact, part of the stars.
Amberlynn lightly chuckled in realization. Adjusting Pitch's arms a few inches to the left, she said, "First of all, the lynx constellation would fall about here with that description. Second, why am I being given a pop quiz on the night sky? Third, what is impossible and why is it impossible?"
"That's not just a constellation," Bunny explained. "It is the insignia of Lynx, one of the oldest spirits on the earth. Not by a lot, but he's even older than Sandy here if I recall, right mate?" Sandy shook his head and spun three small images of sand over his head to indicate the age rank: Pitch, Sandy, and-Amberlynn presumed the unknown figure to be-Lynx.
"Lynx is big time trouble," North continued. "Even worse than Pitch Black." Amberlynn and Pitch both rolled their eyes but let the Guardians continued. "You are familiar with Ice Age, no? Lynx may not have been initial cause, but he is single-handedly responsible for it lasting as long as it did."
"Wonderful!" Amberlynn quipped. "So he's just some psychopath equivalent of Jack, that is if Frosty the Snowman over here decided to do steroids or something to retain that much power."
"Oh yes, because I want to go on an environmental killing rampage and cause an eternal winter all over the world," Jack retorted. Bunny coughed. "That didn't stop ya from causing Blizzard of '68, mate," he muttered.
Amberlynn air-high fived Bunny and agreed. "He has a point there, Frosty. But what is that supposed to do with me? I don't know if ye noticed, but ye lot just about killed me in Santoff Claussen, what do ye want me to do with Mr. Ice Giant over here?"
Pitch instinctively stepped in front of Amberlynn, putting distance between her and the Guardians. "Never mind that," he said. "Let's not forget the minor detail that it's impossible! Do I need to remind you he has been trapped in isolation in an impenetrable prison for the past 11 thousand years?"
From out of nowhere, dark green vines popped out of the ground and entwined themselves completely and tightly around Pitch, causing him to instinctively yell out in pain from the still relatively fresh stitches. The wind vigorously picked up (oh no, Amberlynn and Jack simultaneously thought) and a harsh voice screeched, "PITCH BLACK!"
Ffynhonnell-sprite