Hey everybody, and welcome back to Running for Life!
First things first as usual, time to thank the reviewers! Huge thanks to ForeverFrost (Not telling! ;), sprinkles888, Guest, Brenne (You'll see in this chapter!), , .mira, justsomeone (Gotta love puns, intentional or otherwise :D), Serami Nefera, and Guest (Oh, cool! Happy belated birthday!)!
With that out of the way, on with the chapter! Honestly not sure how I feel about this one, but I hope you guys like it all the same!
Chapter 13: End but No Answers
Jack wasn't sure how long he'd been trying to beat back the Nightmares. No matter what he did, the horses, having apparently moved on from whichever section of town they had been terrorizing before, continued to flood the alleyway. Jack felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his face, but he didn't dare take a moment to wipe it away. Even a moment's pause could mean being overwhelmed by the black sand creatures.
To his credit, young Jamie was surprisingly helpful in the fight. He had found a long-abandoned plank of wood on the ground, and though its large size made it difficult for the youth to wield it, the thing did a remarkable number on any Nightmare it happened to come into contact to.
I suppose he's convinced I'm not an enemy, Jack thought, unwilling to waste his breath on speaking the words allowed. He's certainly brave, I'll give him that, but I don't know how much longer we can last…
The sound of Sophie's whimper caused him to banish these negative thoughts. Risking a quick glance out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the little girl was currently positioned behind Zephyr, who was stomping and kicking at the dark equines to the best of his ability. Yanking his focus back to the fight, Jack steeled himself for the next wave, an inexplicable urge to keep the child and her brother safe driving his movements.
Well, aren't we noble today? a little voice in the back of his mind commented. Almost...Guardian-like, wouldn't you say?
Shut up, me, Jack thought, perfectly aware of how childish he sounded, and not particularly liking it. At least, he reasoned. No one heard that but me.
Throughout his mental argument with his own subconscious, the winter boy's movements had become almost mechanical. Though he was by no means an experienced fighter, he could at least feel proud at the thought that he was able to hold his own for this long, especially considering how he was not even paying attention for half of the time.
Unfortunately (and quite ironically), it was when he was paying attention that Jack had the wind rather painfully knocked out of him by a particularly bold Nightmare that had evidently decided it would be a good idea to headbutt the boy rather than try to crush him underneath its hooves.
"Good decision," Jack wheezed aloud as he doubled over in pain, struggling to regain his breath. A wave of panic washed over him as he heard a clatter and realized that his hands were empty. As he tried to refill his protesting lungs with the precious oxygen he so needed, the sprite could only watch in horror as the Nightmare that had hit him before reared up on its hind legs, its clear intent being to bring down its hooves and snap the wooden weapon in two.
"No!" he heard a voice gasp. It took him a moment to realize that it was he who had spoken. Regaining the ability to breathe at last, Jack lunged forward, grabbing his staff off the ground and falling into a somersault mere milliseconds after his fingers touched wood. The sharp clatter of hooves behind him told him that he had just narrowly avoided quite the deadly head injury.
Triumphant as this feat may have been, once Jack turned his head, he was met with the sight of coal black rear hooves just inches from colliding with his face. Taken by surprise, all Jack could think to do was close his eyes and wish for the inevitable.
It never came.
Instead, Jack once again felt an artificial yet convincing metaphorical wave of fear slam into him as a slightly more literal wave of Nightmare sand sprayed his flesh. Brushing the gritty substance off his face, he looked up and almost immediately had to force himself to repress a sigh.
"Well, this seems familiar," the young snow sprite commented as the boomerang returned to Aster's now-human-like hand.
The Motorean Guardian scowled, but bit back any snarky comment he might've made once his emerald gaze landed on the two children. Said gaze flickered in Jack's direction, then abandoned the little group entirely as he turned around, tanned arms folded over his chest.
Looking past him, Jack saw exactly what he expected to; the Guardians had arrived.
While Sandy busied himself setting up a barricade of golden sand in order to cease any more Nightmare progress, Tooth and North took care of the last stragglers who were unlucky enough to find themselves on the wrong side of the alley. Jack couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy as he took in their smooth, refined fighting styles. Thinking back on his own inexperienced, disjointed strikes, he let a stream of air blow upwards out of his mouth, ruffling his chocolate brown bangs.
I still don't like them, but I must admit, it would be...advantageous to learn battle tactics from them, he thought begrudgingly. And since they want me to do more of this, I'd be surprised if they didn't try to teach me a thing or two.
"A-Are those the Guardians!?" Jamie asked, dropping his makeshift weapon in disbelief as his mouth fell open to match.
Jack gave the boy a furtive sidelong glance. "They are," he said, then watched the wonder blossom in the brunette's eyes.
I remember when I would've reacted like that, Jack thought, eyes widening as he saw himself in the boy. Once again, that sudden, strange feeling of protectiveness filled his chest, tightening and twisting until it almost hurt, and Jack found himself thinking silently to himself, I hope his innocence is never crushed like mine was.
Pulling himself away from his sickeningly Guardian-like internal monologue, Jack instead observed the state of the aforementioned quartet. Judging by the tears in North's clothing, the ruffled appearance of Tooth's feathers, the bruises on Aster's shoulders and chest, and the slightly dimmed appearance of Sandy's dreamsand, the four had indeed been doing battle, only in a different location.
As the final Nightmare on the Guardians' side of the sand wall was slashed to dust by one of North's blades, the boy got to his feet, raising one dark eyebrow. "Getting pushed back, hm?"
Toothiana nodded, smoothing the feathers that sprouted from her forehead. "There's so many of them," she said. "And we have no idea where they're coming from." The Sister of Flight flashed a kind smile in the sprite's direction. "Hopefully now that we have you, we'll be able to push them back instead!"
"Right," Aster muttered sarcastically from a few feet away. "So good ta have ya here." He quickly busied himself with adjusting his left gauntlet the moment he caught sight of the expression on Tooth's face.
"Shouldn't a few Nightmares be nothing more than an average day's work for Guardians such as yourself?" Jack commented dully, disregarding Aster entirely. "I would have thought that this would all be over the moment you four arrived on the scene."
North sighed, either not noticing the snark in the boy's tone or deciding not to acknowledge it. "Crowd is not making things easy," he explained. "Is not ideal for battlefield, and no one seems to have idea of where they want to flee to."
"I've noticed as much," Jack mumbled, recalling the difficulty of his initial entrance upon Zephyr. He opened his mouth to speak once again, but was interrupted by a high-pitched squeal escaping from the mouth of certain little blonde. As he turned to look, Sophie leapt to her feet and ran towards the Guardians, her path taking her right between Jack's legs. He had to bite his lip to surprise a yelp of surprise as he was thrown off-balance, but luckily managed to avoid toppling over.
"You're the Guardians!" she declared as Jack quickly steadied himself, the girl apparently having been informed of this fact by her brother.
Jamie slowly moved to stand beside her, eyes wide as he shifted his astonished brown gaze to each Guardian. "Nicholas St. North...E. Aster Bunnymund...Sanderson Mansnoozie...Queen Toothiana! I knew you'd come!" His eyes were alight with wonder, having completely forgotten the disguised snow sprite standing behind him.
Back to being invisible, I suppose, Jack thought, unsure of how he felt about this. For the best, really.
"Surprise!" Tooth was saying, giggling somewhat awkwardly. "We came!"
Sophie, who had been staring at Aster ever since Jamie had spoken his name aloud, suddenly exclaimed, "Bunny!" Before Aster could even blink, the little girl was clinging to his leg, and didn't seem willing to let go. Jack would have laughed had the whinnies of the Nightmares trying to break through the dreamsand barrier not been taking up most of his attention.
However, with the slight amount of his focus still on the Guardians, Jack couldn't help but notice Aster's stiff posture, or the grimace on the currently-humanoid Pooka's face as he mumbled, "Oh crikey." This time, Jack could not stop a bubble of laughter from escaping his lips.
"You can't be serious," he chuckled as the immortals turned their attention on him. "The Guardians of Childhood don't know how to interact with kids?"
"We are very busy bringing joy to children!" North insisted defensively. "We don't have time...for children!"
"Like ya could do better," Aster snapped as North was left to contemplate how ridiculous his former statement sounded. "Ya've probably never talked ta a kid in yer life!"
Jack merely rolled his eyes and leaned his head against his staff in a nonchalant manner. "As much as I would love to debate this with you all day, Kangaroo, we're sort of in the middle of an attack, not to mention the fact that we're the only defense this town has."
Don't know where this "we" stuff came from but we'll just go with it, Jack thought, frustrated at the thought that he was beginning to include himself with the Guardians. Damn it, my resolve is already breaking...if I'm not careful, I'll be their puppet in a matter of days…
"Well? Why are we all just standing here?" Jack continued aloud, one dark eyebrow raised as he glanced around at the others.
North took action almost immediately. "We already took out source," he said, stepping forward. "There was strange, black portal in center of town that Sandy was able to turn into dreamsand. Now, all we need to do is destroy remaining Nightmares."
"Sandy and I'll take the west side of town," Aster picked up, pulling a boomerang from its holster. "North and Tooth'll take the east." The Guardian suddenly turned, eyeing Jack cautiously. "And ya…" he trailed off, frowning slightly.
Suddenly Sandy quite literally jumped in, forming an image of a snowflake above his head, followed by an arrow pointing at Jamie and Sophie, which then shifted to point away. Jack will get these two out of here.
Aster blanched. "Whoa whoa, what?" he asked incredulously. "We're gonna trust the spr-kid ta get them out safely!?"
The little golden man shrugged nonchalantly, nodding and gesturing in Zephyr's direction.
"He's not the only one that's got a-!"
"Jack, do you think you can do it?" Toothiana cut in, leaving Aster to splutter indignantly.
Honestly, Jack wasn't sure if he could. Sure, he knew for a fact that he could help Jamie and Sophie actually escape, but he knew that by now, there was sure to be quite the assembly outside the town. I don't do crowds, he thought to himself, put on edge by the thought of being asked to explain everything to a large group of people.
Still, upon taking a furtive glance at the young boy and girl, he knew that he couldn't refuse. He took a deep breath and nodded, his eyes about as expressive as two chips of stone as he said, "Yes. I'll get them out."
Sandy gave what might have been an almost proud smile, while North laughed and clapped the boy on the back, proclaiming, "This will be your first Guardian mission! Good luck!"
Jack coughed from the impact of the man's strong hand, mumbling under his breath, "Right...I'm still not a Guardian, but right…"
Jamie, apparently having not heard the older boy's mutters, stared up at him with wide eyes. "Wait…you're a Guardian too?"
"N-"
"He will be soon!" Tooth interrupted excitedly, ignoring the deadly glare Jack sent in her direction. She turned to the sprite and put a hand on his shoulder, the look in her magenta eyes suddenly serious. "Good luck," she said, echoing North's earlier words. The fairy squeezed his shoulder gently, smiling. "Not that you'll need it, of course."
Jack smiled back, but it was a tight, forced kind of grin. "'Tis no need for flattery," he said, a metaphorical layer of frost decorating his tone. He pulled back from her and stood beside Jamie. "I've found that over-confidence tends to lead to failure in these situations. 'Twas one of the first lessons I've ever learned, actually."
"Oh 'twas it?" Aster said sarcastically, not bothering to suppress his obvious eye roll.
"I'm a Central Iskaldite by birth," Jack deadpanned icily. "'Tis how we speak. Bring it up again and I might just start making comments about your ridiculous accent, none of which you'll like very much at all."
"Tch," the Pooka scoffed, feigning indifference (though the anger-induced eye twitching served to give away his true thoughts on Jack's words). "Whatever. Just take the kids and get out of here, will ya?" He gently moved his leg, which Sophie was still attached to, and grumbled, "Come on, ya ankle-biter. Off. Go ta the kid."
After some coaxing, Sophie was convinced to go with Jack. The three of them all mounted Zephyr, with Jack in the middle, Sophie in front, and Jamie behind. "Alright," Jack said, unsure of what else to say. "Let's get going."
On the note of Jack giving a final nod in the Guardians' direction, they were off.
()()()()
Riding through town was surprisingly easy now that the crowd had thinned. Considering the rather large population of the town, and the fact that many who had taken refuge inside were now changing their minds, people were still running, but Jack now found it much less painless to navigate Zephyr through the streets.
At least, it would have been painless, had Jamie not been asking rapid-fire questions the entire time.
"You said your name was Jack, right? Jack what? Where are you from? I mean I know you said Central Iskald, but where specifically? Are you really going to be a Guardian? Why is that? Does it mean something's wrong? Why do the Guardians need help?"
Jack felt the hidden tip of his ear twitch in irritation. Though he felt no ill will towards the boy, he was finding it increasingly difficult to avoid trampling people the more the child rambled on.
"Listen, kid," Jack finally interrupted, successfully silencing Jamie. "I'll answer your questions once we get out of this, okay? For now, I need to concentrate, so I would really appreciate it if you could be quiet for a little." He hoped he didn't sound harsh.
"Oh…" Jamie sounded put out for a moment, then took a breath and nodded calmly. "Got it, right, sorry."
Jack was able to let out a breath of his own as the younger boy fell silent. With all of his attention focused on their path, maneuvering was made much easier, and Jack, Zephyr, Jamie, and Sophie were back at the entrance of town in no time.
Movements made awkward in his attempts to avoid sending one of the kids toppling off Zephyr's back from a blow from his long legs, Jack managed to dismount first. The moment his boots touched the snowy ground, he found himself in a crowd of frantic villagers, eager to question the strange brunette boy whom they had seen ride into town just after the Guardians of Childhood.
Just barely keeping himself from panicking, Jack backed away, almost tempted to spring back up onto Zephyr to avoid the rather claustrophobic situation. Instead, he took a deep breath and steeled himself to offer explanations to as many people as he could.
You know how to talk fast, Jack, he thought to himself. Good thing too, because is going to have to be a quick, rapid-fire kind of thing. Just pretend you know how to socialize; as long as you're confident, you'll be fine. Get ready...get set...go.
"Who are you!?"
"My name is Jack, ma'am."
"Were those the Guardians of Childhood in there!?"
"Yes, sir."
"Are you a new Guardian!?"
"Ah…not officially sir, but I'm supposed to be soon."
"Why do we need a fifth Guardian!?"
"Well I-"
"A new Guardian is only recruited when there's trouble!"
"Ma'am if you could just-"
"Is the Nightmare King up to something!?"
"Listen, I-"
Suddenly, a loud female voice rang out over the rest of the crowd. "JAMIE, SOPHIE!"
From his position atop Zephyr, Jamie perked up, looking around for the source of the voice. "Aunt Laura?" he called out, eyes eventually landing on a certain individual amongst the crowd. He grinned and raised a hand in greeting. "Aunt Laura!" he repeated, more enthusiastically this time.
Jack followed the younger boy's gaze to see a slim, well-dressed, brunette woman pushing her way through the throng of people. The woman was tailed by two young girls, both of which seemed to be about ten. One was blonde and blue eyed, also well-dressed, and carrying herself with a certain practiced grace, while the other was brunette and brown eyed, clad in a simple dress, and timidly trailing a little ways behind them, eyes flicking around nervously as though she didn't trust a single person around her.
Jack could relate.
The aforementioned "Aunt Laura" was swift, and reached Zephyr's side rather quickly. Unintentionally nudging Jack aside in her haste, she rushed over to the stallion, reaching up and pulling Sophie from his back. She held the little girl in one arm and helped Jamie down with her free hand, not once falling silent.
"Oh, thank goodness you two are safe!" she cried as she pulled the children close to her. "Why, I can only imagine the look on your mother's face if I had to tell her that her children were killed in a Nightmare attack under my watch! She'd be devastated!" Laura shuddered and gave the two of them another tight hug.
"Aunt Laura, we're fine," Jamie laughed awkwardly. Evidently, the boy was painfully aware of the heavy weight that was the crowd's attention that currently rested upon them. He looked over his babbling aunt's shoulder at Jack, in search of a rescue. "Jack saved us!"
Kid, I swear to-
Jack didn't even have time to finish his bitter thought before he too was pulled into a decidedly painful embrace.
"Thank you so much!" Laura exclaimed, her surprising strength catching Jack off guard as his windpipe was nearly crushed. Much to Jack's relief, she pulled back after a moment and studied him, chestnut eyes taking in every detail of his appearance. "You're not from around here, are you?" she asked.
Taking a moment to regain his breath and compose himself, Jack managed to say at a decently audible volume, "No, ma'am. I'm from Central Iskald." This woman is insane, was what he didn't say out loud.
Jamie and Sophie's aunt nodded. "Ah, so just up north, then." She smiled and, for one terrifying moment, Jack thought she was going to hug him again. Thankfully, she didn't, and instead settled on simply saying, "Again, thank you for rescuing my niece and nephew!"
"'Twas...no problem," Jack replied awkwardly, running his fingers through his dyed hair. Does she not realize we're being stared at? He shuddered under the weight of the townspeople's attention, biting his lip nervously.
Laura, seemingly oblivious to this, simply giggled. "'Twas? You really are from Central Iskald!"
Jack had to quite literally bite his tongue to keep from retorting.
The young sprite couldn't tell if this was lucky or unlucky, but at that moment, the Guardians appeared in the village gates, saving him from any further conversation. At the sight of the heroes, a joyous roar almost immediately went up from the crowd, Jack the stranger all but forgotten.
"All Nightmares have been destroyed!" North called out, his booming voice easily carrying to even the back of the crowd. "It is safe to return!"
Another cheer went up, causing Jack to scoff inwardly. Why are they so trusting? he thought, drawing his cloak around him. They might be Guardians, but that does not mean they are incapable of error. There could easily be more that they missed. Then, ...I really am a cynic, aren't I?
Suddenly, North's eyes, which had been scanning the crowd, came to rest on Jack, who tensed considerably. "Ah, Jack!" he called, much to the boy's chagrin. "There you are! Come over here, boy!"
All at once, Jack felt the attention return to him. He shifted uncomfortably, sensitive ears picking up many of the curious whispers and murmurs that sounded around him. The crowd gradually parted, allowing him a perfect view of the Guardians. Clicking his tongue quietly to let Zephyr know to follow, Jack slowly made his way back over to the four of them, head down as far as it would go without seeming at all suspicious. The young sprite came to a stop once he had reached the Guardians, still refusing to say a word.
As North stepped in front of him to address the crowd once more, Tooth smiled at Jack and squeezed his shoulder gently. "You did well," she whispered softly. "I knew you'd get them back safely."
With a mumbled thanks, Jack pulled away from her touch. The fairy, as though expecting this, did not cast away her smile, though the boy noticed it gained a tinge of sadness to it.
As if you truly care, Jack thought sarcastically.
"Questions will only be taken once we have answers!" North was calling, having no trouble projecting his deep voice over the crowd of townspeople. "For now, does anyone know if the Nightmares had someone leading them!?"
Jack's invisible ear tips pricked up with interest. However, he was momentarily disappointed, as at first, not a soul raised their hands. Evidently, they had been too busy fleeing the attack to worry about who might have been in charge of the equines.
Then, just as he was about to return to staring at the ground indifferently, Jack noticed the little brunette girl that had been with Jamie and Sophie's aunt fearfully tap on the blonde girl's shoulder, as though she was afraid to speak. With the blonde's permission apparently granted, the brunette quickly whispered something in her ear, eyes wide. In turn, the blonde girl tugged on Laura's sleeve, who bent down to hear what the girl had to say. The woman's eyes widened, and she abruptly stood up, raising a hand to call for the others' attention.
"We might know something!" she called out, and the entire crowd went from staring at her to staring at the Guardians, waiting to see what their response might be.
"Wonderful!" North replied with a wide grin. He began to walk, the other Guardians-as well as Jack-following in his wake. The crowd had stayed parted, and stared at the legendary figures in awe, appearing astounded that the immortal Guardians were just inches away from them.
Is staring all these people know how to do? Jack thought frustratedly, fighting back the urge to reach for his hood. Honestly, some of them don't appear to be blinking.
Upon reaching Laura, who looked nearly about to faint, North asked gently, "Can you tell us what you know?" The man glanced around. "But not here. Too many eyes and ears."
Finally, someone here says something intelligent, Jack thought.
"We...We can go to my house," Laura stammered, her gaze never able to focus on one Guardian for very long. "I-It'll be safe there, and secure, I promise."
"Then it is decided!" North proclaimed. He nodded at Laura, smiling kindly. "Lead way."
"Oi, mate," Aster cut in, speaking for the first time. "What about all these people waitin' for answers?"
"As I said," the man replied, loud enough for a good amount of the people around them to here. "Answers will be given once we have answers to give. We are going to get answers." He shrugged. "Is simple."
Jack couldn't suppress his eye-roll. Forget what I said about intelligent…
Miraculously, the crowd was actually willing to let the ten individuals through, presumably only because of the fact that nearly half of them were Guardians. Jack was inwardly amazed at how quickly people were able to trust the quartet.
Hold a title and suddenly you rule the world, the snow sprite realized, glancing around at the awe-filled expressions most of the townspeople wore as they watched the small group head back into town. Most of these people probably didn't even know exactly what the Guardians looked like before now, considering how every illustrator draws them differently. And now look; they're being invited into a stranger's home and being allowed to walk away from a crowd without an explanation regarding a damn Nightmare attack. What are they, gods?
Jack nearly scoffed out loud at his own thought.
Gods. Right. Now there's a religion I'd never want to be a part of.
Bitter, exhausted thoughts refusing to cease their running through his mind, Jack trudged after the others, allowing only Zephyr to remain at his side.
Bit of an OC there, yeah, but don't worry if you don't like her-she won't be important for very long.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, and I'll see you guys next week for the next chapter of Running for Life!
For now, Sapphire316, out.