Author's Note: This chapter was much longer than I originally intended it be. I hope you guys like it, it turned out a lot more angsty than I thought. I'll have some notes at the end if you're confused about certain events.
Reviews:
Con Weird: I answered them in a PM, but for all those curious: Jamie's Ghost Hunting and UFO Adventures might be considered to have a slight spoiler in Chapter 3, the italic parts. You can skip it and it'll still make sense. The fic takes place in the Child of Spring-verse and does make some references to the past, but they are usually non-specific and not too spoilery. So you don't have to worry about it ruining the plot to Child of Spring.
Crossver Junkie: Yep, that was a Katherine reference. :) And if I'm doing what you think that I think I'm doing, then yes there'll be some sadness. Honestly, so far it feels like everything is a big ball of angst. But yes, I think Jamie will learn some hard lessons from this adventure and will definitely learn to look at certain people differently.
Also, a small warning about this chapter: It's very angsty. It deals with heavy topics such as death and bullying. If you want to avoid the majority of the angst, then skip the large section that starts off with 'Over two hundred years ago' and pick it back up in the next section, when Gethen reiterates something. You'll miss an interesting portion of the plot and you might not understand some of the character's issues and motivations though.
Now, on with the chapter!
Chapter Seventy-One: Spring's Rescue
Tooth looked over at 1974 Gethen cautiously.
"What do you mean, your future self?"
Gethen ran a hand through his hair, looking agitated.
"I went home to my cave and - "
Tooth and North booth looked surprised.
"You live in a cave?!" Tooth interrupted incredulously.
Gethen's cheeks turned a little pink at that, since compared to the Guardians' grand place on the North Pole, his place was a hovel.
"..Yeah. Anyway, When I went home I saw myself. He wanted to know what I was doing there, but I asked what he was doing there instead and he mentioned something about Father Time."
North looked surprised and rubbed his belly, he had a really bad feeling about this.
"I saw there were all those black horses and there was a girl on the floor, who looked to be unconscious," Gethen continued. "When I asked him about it, he told me that I didn't need to know about it and that I would become him anyway and find out for myself what was going on."
Tooth noticed Gethen seemed to become more upset at this, but they had to know.
"Then what happened?" she asked in a hushed tone.
"I knocked him out," Gethen said as his expression grew dark. "I didn't want any part of whatever he was doing. Whatever happened, I.. I won't let it happen to me."
"Of course not!" Tooth exclaimed at once.
"We must speak to Bunny and Sandy about this," North said urgently.
Tooth nodded in agreement and turned back to Gethen.
"Stay right here. We'll be right back," she promised as she and North dashed out of the room.
Gethen sighed and sat back down on the bed.
Sandy had just finished his explanation to Bunny when North and Tooth burst into the room.
Jamie had jumped and Bunny quickly hushed him as he rubbed Jamie's back some more. He could feel Jamie trembling and he didn't like how frightened the boy had become. What had this Gethen done to him?!
Tooth flew over hurriedly to Bunny and Sandy and began talking a hundred miles a minute as she tried to explain what was going on.
Bunny held up a hand with a frown at her chattering.
"Hold on a minute, sheila!" he ordered. When Tooth had finally stopped, Bunny nodded. "Good, now try that again."
Tooth took a deep breath to begin again, but North beat her to it.
"G - that man - " North started, avoiding Gethen's name in case it set Jamie off again, "says that when he arrived at his home he saw himself and this other him said he was from future. He mentioned Father Time. He would not explain why he had Lillian or the Nightmares with him and said that the man would understand when he became him. The man did not like this and knocked him out."
Tooth nodded emphatically.
"So you see," she continued as she smiled at Jamie, "he wasn't the bad guy, Jamie! It was his future self who did those bad things! So you don't have to worry, we didn't bring anyone bad here."
Bunny looked skeptical at this.
"But that would mean that this is his past self. That doesn't mean he ain't evil."
Sandy shook his head and wagged his finger at Bunny again. Golden symbols appeared above Sandy's head to remind Bunny that this past Gethen had helped out Lillian and had taken on the Nightmares all by himself.
"That's right!" Tooth agreed. "This Gethen tried to save Lillian and he attacked his future self. If he was evil, he would have tried to help him out instead."
Jamie, for his part, looked very confused at this. Wasn't Gethen always evil? Bad guys were always bad guys, all the stories were very clear about this. Good guys didn't turn into bad guys unless they got hit with a ray gun or had bad kryptonite or something. That was the rule.
"Gethen can't be a good guy," Jamie said confusedly. "Everyone kept telling me he was bad and to watch out for him. I even left a message for myself to look out for him."
The Guardians all exchanged a look at this. They knew that sometimes bad things happened to good people, but Jamie was so young. It would be hard to get him to understand such an adult concept.
"We don't know what happened in his past," Tooth cautioned.
"'Sides," Bunny said as he remembered what Jamie had said much earlier. "You said that this time was messed up. Things are happenin' that aren't supposed ta."
Jamie nodded and winced. He felt really bad. It was hard trying to concentrate on the conversation and thinking about everything that happened was making his head hurt. The voices that only he could hear were still trying rip and tear into him and destroy his belief. But, with all the Guardians right there, it was a little hard not to believe in them.
Bunny felt Jamie wince and looked down at him. He looked so much different than before and he knew that was very bad.
"We gotta get ya back ta normal first," Bunny decided. "We can worry 'bout this other stuff after yer fixed."
"Manny will help, I feel it in my belly," North said with a kind smile at Jamie.
Tooth's wings fluttered nervously.
"But the moon's been covered in clouds for hours and they don't seem to be going anywhere. We can't wait for them to move!"
Sandy made a golden image of a fan appear above his head and North shook his head.
"It would take a very big fan, my friend," North said.
"If only we could change the weather," Tooth said mournfully.
Bunny's eyes had narrowed in thought at that and he nodded.
"We might be able ta," he said much to everyone's surprise.
"..We.. we can?" Tooth said in surprise.
Bunny nodded again.
"Leif could do it," Bunny explained. "It's still spring and I know where he lives. We could get him ta move the clouds fer us."
"Great!" North said as he clapped his hands together. "Sleigh is still ready to go. We leave right away and soon Jamie is better!"
When Bunny tried to pull away from Jamie to join the others, however, Jamie cried out and clutched onto Bunny's fur desperately.
"Don't leave me!" Jamie wailed. "Don't go!"
Bunny looked surprised and gave Jamie a hug.
"I gotta go," he patiently explained. "I'm the only one that knows where Leif lives. I gotta show the others. Can ya be brave and wait fer a little bit?"
Jamie had buried his face in Bunny's fur and was clutching hard at it.
"..No..! I.. I.. no.." Jamie said in distress as tears dampened Bunny's fur. "I can't.. I can't wait.. D-don't leave..!"
Bunny shot the others a panicked look. Now, what were they going to do?
"I can wait here with Jamie," Tooth offered. "Would that be okay, Sweetie?"
But Jamie just clung onto Bunny like a lifeline and it was difficult to tell if he even heard Tooth.
Sandy helpfully held up a ball of dreamsand in order to knock Jamie out, but North shook his head at this.
"We don't know how it would affect him," North said. "It might make things worse."
Sandy pouted, since his good dreams wouldn't hurt anything, but nodded all the same. North did have a point, it would be unwise to do anything to Jamie without knowing what would happen.
"Oh, what are we going to do?!" Tooth said as she wrung her hands again. "Bunny's the only one who knows how to get there and we need Leif to help us."
"I know where to go," a quiet voice spoke up from the doorway.
Everyone turned in surprise to see Gethen himself in the open doorway. Apparently North and Tooth had been in such a hurry that they hadn't closed it all the way. Gethen must have wondered what was taking North and Tooth so long and come to investigate. Bunny looked at Gethen mistrustfully while Tooth looked a little guilty at discussing Gethen behind his back. Sandy watched Gethen silently and tilted his head as he observed the dark spirit. How much of their conversation had he heard?
"I know where Leif lives," Gethen said, not quite looking at anyone. "I could show you."
"You do?" Tooth and Bunny said at the same time, Tooth in relief and Bunny, suspicion.
Gethen nodded, looking awkward.
"Great!" North exclaimed. "Then you can take us while Bunny stays with Jamie and Lillian."
"I don't like this," Bunny muttered, receiving a sharp look from Sandy.
But even he couldn't think of any alternative that wouldn't upset Jamie and possibly cause him more harm from the upset.
Bunny ran a weary paw down his face as he ignored Sandy's disapproving look. Bunny hoped they weren't making a colossal mistake, but what choice did they have?
In no time at all, North, Tooth, Sandy, and Gethen had returned to the sleigh they had just left not all that long ago. North had remembered to grab a lot of snow globes this time, just in case. With his pockets bulging, they had taken off in a hurry.
Gethen had cried out when they went through the roller coaster tunnels and once the sleigh finally evened out, he looked a little green.
North just grinned back at the green spirit. Gethen and Sandy were sitting behind him, with Tooth in the back while he sat up front to steer. Gethen failed to notice the look as he was trying hard not to concentrate on the feeling that he'd left his stomach behind back there somewhere.
"Where do I go?" North called back jovially as pulled out a snow globe.
Massaging his poor stomach, Gethen shakily managed to call out the name of the country closest to Leif's spring paradise that he called home.
In what seemed to be no time at all, the sleigh disappeared through yet another portal in a magical flash of brilliance and soon reappeared on the other side, leaving behind the cold for a much warmer climate in the throes of spring.
The Guardians all gaped at the picture-perfect countryside that they were looking at. There were beautiful spring flowers everywhere with lovely green grass and even a waterfall or two. They were so busy staring around that at first, North hadn't even noticed that Gethen was calling out more directions for them to follow.
Soon the sleigh had landed in a large open field filled with flowers that went up into a huge cliff/hill that had a big waterfall right in the middle of it that went into a river of crystal blue water. It was all green and so very beautiful.
It was also very isolated, situated far away from any towns or cities. It would be the perfect retreat for any spirit, Seasonal or not.
"This is where Leif lives?" Tooth asked in disbelief as Sandy looked around curiously. He was wondering why Leif had such a majestic living space while Gethen lived in such a dead area in a small cave. He shrugged to himself as he thought about it. Maybe Gethen liked small spaces. And he was, after all, the Spirit of Decay. Maybe he also liked the effect of his powers on plants.
Gethen nodded, still looking very uncomfortable.
"The entrance to his place is on the left side of the cliff, the part that looks more like a hill," he replied, gesturing at it. "It's only accessible through Seasonal magic, I think. Or through a Spirit's powers."
Sandy turned to Gethen in confusion, as did North and Tooth.
"Then how are we to get in to see Leif?" North asked. "Snowglobe?"
Gethen shook his head.
"Your powers won't get you inside," he said with a sigh.
His dark eyes scanned the picturesque hillside, but of course, it looked as wonderful as ever. No one would be able to tell that it hadn't always been that way, over two hundred years ago.
"Is there door to knock on?" North asked in complete bewilderment. How could they have come so far only to fall short now?
Gethen had hoped that their showing up might draw Leif outside, but he knew that there was always the chance that Leif wouldn't be there. They wouldn't really know unless they ventured inside.
"No," Gethen said as he gazed at the hillside with an unreadable expression.
Sandy, who had been observing Gethen, wasn't sure he liked that look on the spirit's face. He wandered over and touched Gethen gently on the arm. When the young man looked down at Sandy, a golden question mark appeared above Sandy's head.
"I can use my powers to get us inside," Gethen said, as he thought he answered Sandy's question, but he hadn't really. He didn't realize that Sandy wasn't asking about going inside, but was instead trying to find out what had Gethen so upset.
"How can decay do that?" Tooth asked with a flutter of her wings.
Gethen looked away from Sandy and back to the hillside again. He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture he seemed to do often, Sandy noticed. Did he do it when he was stressed? Upset? Or when he was thinking? Sandy had been curious about the spirit before when they were taking him and Lillian to the North Pole, but now he was even moreso once they had all learned that this Gethen's future self was so evil. Was he destined to become the same way?
"It's.. hard to explain," Gethen said tiredly. "It took me a long time to find a way to do it. I've never tried to take anyone with me.. Maybe it would be better if you all waited out here while I get Leif."
"Oh, we couldn't do that!" Tooth said.
"Da, we should all go," North said stubbornly. "Leif should know is Guardian business."
Sandy nodded along with the others and Gethen's shoulders slumped a little. So much for that idea.
"Fine," he said with resignation as he walked up the hill.
From their position farther away, it didn't look like much of a trek, but it was actually quite a distance. The Guardians all hurried after Gethen, who stopped at a point that was a little below halfway up the hillside.
"Stand back," Gethen warned. "And whatever you do, don't touch anything."
Before anyone could ask why Gethen placed his uninjured hand flat to the ground that was now slanted. A dark sort of glow emanated from his fingertips and soon encompassed his whole palm as it spread to the grass underneath. The grass started to turn brown as the glow spread, creating an oval-shaped hole that was big enough for a person to climb through.
The hole looked dark and frightening and the Guardians were hesitant to go through it.
"G-Go," Gethen panted as a bead of sweat fell down the side of his face. "I can't hold it long. I have to be the last one through."
Sandy nodded and gestured for the others to follow him. He went up to the hole and waited for Gethen to move his hand out of the way. When the spirit did so, Sandy noticed that Gethen's hand kept glowing, but was pointed towards the hole. It made sense though if Gethen was using his powers to keep the hole open.
Soon Sandy had stepped into the hole, followed by a reluctant Tooth and then North, who had a little difficulty in trying to squeeze through. Once North finally made it with a loud "Oof!" Gethen took a deep breath and stepped into the hole himself.
He knew he was going to regret this.
Once they had all made it through the hole, the hole vanished leaving no trace (at least on this side) that it had been there. Most spirits had perfected their own travel so that it didn't affect anything, but Gethen used his powers of decay to create a sort of circular portal for himself to walk through, so there was always a small amount of damage to whatever he applied his powers to. It was unfortunate, but the damage was minimal and whatever he had used his powers on recovered after a few years. It was one of the reasons that Gethen mostly preferred walking. While other spirits grew lazy and used their powers to teleport even short distances, Gethen only used his powers when he needed to travel long distances.
Not that anyone would know that.
It's not like anyone besides Mistral had ever gotten to know him well enough to find out.
Gethen shook the bitter thought away as he looked around Leif's domain. There was no trace of the hillside they had come through and this place was just as gorgeous. The sky was a beautiful spring blue with a hint of fluffy, white clouds. The grass at their feet was a deep, spring green with spring flowers all around. The field they were in almost seemed neverending and in the distance, houses could be seen.
They looked normal enough from back where they were, but Gethen knew they were unusual, to say the least. The houses were earthy houses, made from the earth itself with actual living grass roofs that needed to be tended to. It made the insides cool and comfortable and the Spirits and Sprites could keep them at the perfect temperature anyway, with their powers. Several of the roofs had flowers growing from them as decoration.
Beyond the roofs was a good-sized green cliff that had a small waterfall. The waterfall ended in a deep pool and was gentle enough for one to stand under. The Spirits were known to play there often, well.. when there had been more of them.
Gethen shifted a little guiltily as they all took in the spring paradise that was Leif's home.
"It's beautiful," Tooth breathed.
"Da, Bunny would approve," North agreed with a nod, knowing that their furry friend would absolutely love this place.
Sandy nodded and then glanced curiously at Gethen, who seemed a little.. sad? Sandy held up a finger as though to ask something, but Gethen didn't notice.
"Come on," Gethen finally said. "Leif's house is over there."
Gethen had gestured at the cluster of earthy houses in the distance and he began walking with the Guardians hurrying to follow after.
As they grew closer, they could finally hear the alarmed chatter as Sprites caught sight of Gethen. The Guardians grew concerned when they saw a few doors open to have Spirits peek out at them, only for the doors to suddenly slam closed.
It wasn't until Leif himself showed up that the Spirits felt confident enough to leave their homes.
As Gethen approached with the Guardians trailing after him, Leif finally made an appearance as Gethen knew he would. Leif was tall and lean, but muscular. He had short red hair and a fair complexion. However, he was so normally so freckly that he almost looked tan, but with his many years of imprisonment, he wasn't as freckly as he usually was. His outfit at one time had been similar to Gethen's, but like Jasper, Leif had decided to change up his dress to something more modern.
Now he wore a spring green button up shirt that was longsleeved with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. It was unbuttoned with an Easter blue t-shirt underneath that proclaimed in bright purple letters 'Spring Break is Forever.' He had on regular blue jeans and instead of the sturdy boots he might have worn at one time, now he wore high tops that were a mix of bright rainbowy colors that swirled on the sides to form a beautiful rose. The normally girly shoes would have looked strange on anyone else but a Spring Spirit, but for Leif, they perfectly matched his view of Spring. The bright colors, while technically matching the rest of his outfit also seemed to clash.
Leif was certainly a mix of bright colors and the exact opposite of Gethen's dark attire. Right down to his bright blue eyes, which were flashing angrily at Gethen. His eyes, which usually had a serious, but warm look to them, now looked cold as ice. He also was looking a little worse for wear. His clothes looked as nice as usual, but he had a tired, drawn look that he never used to have and he had dark circles under his eyes. His Spirits and Sprites were the same. While they were just as colorful as their Seasonal in their dress, they all looked tired and worn out. There were less than a dozen Sprites visible and only four* Spirits could be seen. There were two male Spirits and two female. The two males stepped forward to flank Leif, each looking coldly at the dark spirit.
"Get. Out." Leif said in a short, clipped tone. His every syllable contained a deep and utter loathing that the Guardians were all shocked to hear.
Gethen averted his gaze from the angry Spirits.
"I didn't come to cause trouble," Gethen said quietly to them. "I came because - "
"I don't care why you came!" Leif exploded in a fiery temper. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?!"
Gethen flinched at the harsh tone and his eyes darted back to Leif's. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come. What could he ever say to make things right?
"LOOK AT US!" Leif all but screamed as he gestured wildly at the few Spirits and Sprites that remained. "There are hardly any of us left! You did this! I stand by what I said! You're nothing but a monster!"
Gethen's eyes filled with hurt, but he clenched his fists as he glared back at the Spring Spirit.
"I let you go, didn't I?" his quiet voice carried in the ringing silence.
The look Leif gave the dark spirit at that would have made him drop dead if he was able.
The Guardians all exchanged looks as they wondered what in the world was going on. When Gethen had volunteered to take them to Leif's, they had never imagined that the two spirits had some sort of animosity with each other. It suddenly made sense why Gethen seemed so very reluctant to go in the first place.
While the Guardians were wondering what to do, as Leif's rage grew, so did the darkening clouds in the sky and before any of them knew it lightning began to crackle and thunder boom as the wind picked up.
Over two hundred years ago, Mistral, the Spirit of Winter and Gethen's only friend, had faded away right before Gethen's eyes.
"..Don't leave me.." Gethen had said brokenly as Mistral vanished forever. Gethen had fallen to his knees in the snow and he stared in disbelief and shock at where his friend had once stood.
Mistral couldn't be gone.
The Wind began to howl in despair for its lost master and the Winter Sprites all began to chatter in alarm. Where had their Seasonal gone? He couldn't vanish! What were they going to do?!
One of them went to dart off as if to go find an answer to their dilemma, but Gethen's hand suddenly flashed out and he caught the Sprite in his hand.
"You can't leave me!" Gethen said more than a touch hysterically. "You can't! I won't let you leave me too!"
It wasn't long after that, that all of the Winter Spirits and Sprites had mysteriously disappeared.
Gethen, used to Mistral's constant companionship, had been frantic when his friend disappeared. He couldn't bear the thought of being all alone again, in a neverending solitude and surrounded by the constant hatred of the other Seasonals. He had also been worried that the same fate would befall the Winter Spirits and Sprites, so for their own good, he had kidnapped them one by one and hidden them away in his cave.
They hadn't wanted to stay, however, and hadn't understood his need to hide them. So Gethen did what he had to do and put them in cages.
"You have to let us go!" a Winter Spirit said desperately to Gethen one day. "You can't keep us here! Mistral wouldn't like it!"
Gethen had flinched at hearing his once-friend's name and he turned away from the sight of the Winter Spirits and Sprites locked up. He hated seeing them that way.
"Mistral isn't here to say what he would or wouldn't like," Gethen snapped back, his tone harsh to cover his hurt.
We're going to die here, a Winter Sprite said mournfully. She was already becoming transparent in her despair. He won't let us go.
It was the spring after Mistral faded that finally caused Gethen to snap. He had been wandering around a lush spring field, surrounded by the nature that he so loved, but he hardly took any of it in. He had never felt more lost and alone.
Voices carried on the light spring breeze and Gethen looked up from where he had been gazing down at the ground unseeingly. There stood the infamous trio of Seasonals, known throughout the spirit world as such best friends that they were more like brothers.
Curious as to what they could be talking so animatedly about, Gethen quietly crept closer to hear what they were saying.
"I heard Mistral faded," Jasper said conversationally, as he placed his hands in his pants pockets. He was wearing a cloak and peasant-style shirt in Fall colors, with his pants a dark green.
August's hair was hanging down to his shoulders in its usual golden curls, his outfit was similar to Jasper's but instead was in the red and gold of Summer.
"They say some kid took his place," August added, in full gossip mode.
Leif scoffed at this. His attire was also the same as the others but done in Spring colors.
"Mistral should have faded long ago," Leif said with disdain. "Look at all the pain and suffering he caused! He was nothing but a menace, just like that useless Spirit of Decay."
August nodded in agreement, but Jasper frowned a little.
"That doesn't mean he should have been faded," Jasper said, his voice with a tinge of reprimand in it. "Mother should have given him a chance to redeem himself."
"He had years to change his ways," Leif countered. "He was nothing but a heartless murderer."
Gethen, who was still unnoticed, clenched his hands into fists at his sides, his eyes dark with anger.
Mistral, a murderer?!
"All he did was cause suffering," August agreed. "Even you have to admit, Jasper, that his Winters were far too harsh. Wasn't it you who complained to me this last year that Mistral had started Winter far too early? I believe he tried to make it snow while you were still painting your leaves."
Jasper frowned as he recalled the Winter Spirit turning up while he had indeed been painting. The Winter Spirit had said some things he hadn't understood at the time, and now with Mistral faded, he likely wouldn't ever know what the Winter Spirit had meant.
What had Mistral meant when he said "I am repaying one cruelty with another," in reply to Jasper's angry demand to know what he was doing in starting so early. When Jasper had shouted at the Winter Spirit he had no idea what he was talking about, Mistral had replied "You know what you have done. Balance is needed amongst the Seasons. If you prefer the imbalance, then have a little taste for yourself."
Jasper had been very confused and angry by Mistral's cryptic remarks. Of course, there wasn't anything to keep a balance between the Seasons. It was up to the individual Seasonal to keep their Season in line. He had vehemently complained to Leif and August about it afterward and the three of them had gone to complain to Mother Nature about it, who had assured them that she would speak to Mistral about his errant ways.
The next thing they had known, however, was that Mistral had faded.
"Good riddance, I say!" Leif continued, a frown on his face. "Now there can be more peaceful Winters."
"Unless the new Winter Spirit is the same," August sighed.
"We should see for ourselves before we judge him," Jasper cautioned. "It would be unfair to do otherwise."
But it had only taken that one year for all the Seasonals to decide that they hated Jack Frost and that he was just as bad as his predecessor.
It hadn't been long after Leif had chased Jack Frost away from his precious flowers that he had run into Gethen again. In fact, Gethen had witnessed Jack's hasty departure. If Gethen hadn't been so preoccupied at glaring at Leif, he might have noticed Jack's stricken face when he flew away. It might have been a moment in which the two could have bonded, as he had done with Mistral. But instead, Gethen ignored Jack as the other Spirits had done and inadvertently what had been done to himself.
"Taken to bullying others, I see," Gethen called out to the Spring Spirit as he stepped forward.
Leif whirled around to see the Spirit of Decay standing amongst his flowers. They had already been snowed on and now they were to turn brown and die?!
"You!" Leif glared back at Gethen. "Get out of here!"
Gethen continued to glare at the Spring Spirit with loathing. Ever since that day that he had overheard the Seasonals callously discussing Mistral's death as though it were nothing, his anger and hatred for them had only grown.
Mistral had been his only friend, the only bright spot in this cruel world and his miserable life as a spirit and they didn't even care that he died.
Good riddance, Leif had said.
The harsh words of the Spring Spirit rang in Gethen's ears.
He was a murderer.
"Why should I?" Gethen taunted. "Your flowers look much better covered in snow. I don't even have to do anything, they are already withering in the cold. Even if I left, they would still wilt and die. Jack Frost has done me a favor by bringing snow to you."
As Leif looked around, he found that it was true. His precious flowers were already wilting with the cold, the temperature too harsh for them to survive. They had barely been alive for a few minutes. He clenched his hands into fists in anger and glared at the dark spirit, his eyes growing dark.
"You're just as much a murderer as Mistral!" Leif shouted. "You should do everyone a favor and fade away too! No one wants you here! Everyone would be happy if you left!"
Gethen reeled back from the cruel words, a hand moving up to his heart as though Leif had struck him a harsh blow. Then Gethen's face hardened and his tone became dark.
"You think me a murderer?" he said, his tone as callous as Leif's had once been, "You think me evil? I'll show you just how evil I can be!"
The look of shock and fright on Leif's face had been most satisfying.
It wasn't long after that encounter that the Spirit of Spring had turned up missing and one by one, his Spirits and Sprites vanished too. August and Jasper had puzzled over their friend's disappearance and noticed that some of their Spirits and Sprites were also disappearing, but it wouldn't be until much later that anything would be done about it.
It was over two hundred years after Leif's disappearance that Gethen had started having a change of heart. It had started with the disastrous Easter of 1968 when a morose Gethen had taken to watching the other Seasonals in his mirrors. At first, he had taken much pleasure in August's and Jasper's dismay over their missing Spirits and Sprites and had even taken to threatening some of the ones he had captured into causing strange, out of season weather.
Gethen had forgotten all about his promise to Mother Nature to protect the balance of nature. He had even forgotten all about his love for the Seasons. All he could think about was the cruelty he had faced from the Seasonals, the taunts, and jeers. The attacks from the various Spirits and Sprites and the way they had treated poor Mistral the same. All that consumed his mind was his need to get even, his need for revenge.
But it was after 1968** that something had changed. He had asked his magic mirror to show him the Winter Seasonal. Gethen had avoided looking at the spirit that he was certain would remind him of his long lost friend, but now he was curious. He had heard of a massive blizzard that had recently happened, in Spring, no less.
What he saw caused him to widen his eyes in surprise.
Jack Frost stood amongst all the snow in his blue hoodie, hugging his staff close to his chest with his head bowed and icy tears streaming down his cheeks. A small Spring Flower was buried in the snow nearby, indicating the departure of the Easter Bunny. Jack looked more like a lost child than a Winter Seasonal. As he stood there, hugging his staff more like a teddy bear, his shoulders shook with his sobs.
He looked so completely and utterly alone. So devastated and broken.
Gethen's shoulders slumped as he watched the young spirit. He knew exactly what that felt like. He knew what it was like to not have anyone, to feel as if everything was so hopeless.
He ran a hand through his hair and looked over at the cages guiltily. There weren't a lot of Spirits and Sprites left. Summer and Fall had held up fairly well, but Winter and Spring weren't going to last much longer. Leif had his hands restrained behind his back, so he was unable to use his powers to free himself or the other Spirits and Sprites. He was in a cage alone while the others of his Season were grouped together in another cage. Winter, Summer, and Fall had their own cages, but most of Winter had faded. Only a few Winter Spirits remained and there were less than five Winter Sprites left. Even Leif, who hated Mistral with a passion, had felt it cruel and unfair that most of the Winter Spirits and Sprites were gone.
Leif, who noticed Gethen's attention was on them sneered at the dark spirit.
"Admiring your handiwork?" Leif said scathingly. "Look at what you've done! Hardly any of us remain! You're nothing but a heartless monster."
Gethen reeled back and for the first time in a long time, he really took a look at the Spirits and Sprites he had captured. Where he had once seen nothing but satisfaction at seeing them locked away, he now noticed their haggard and ragged appearances. A lot of them had a lost, hopeless look in their eyes and looked beyond any kind of miserable that Gethen had ever seen.
A look of stricken horror crossed Gethen's face as he looked at them all.
What had he done?
"I let you go," Gethen reiterated.
"You think that makes things right?!" Leif shouted angrily as he waved a fist at Gethen. "You think that excuses what you did?!"
"We need to save a child," Gethen said, not answering Leif. "We need your help to do it."
"I'll never help you!" Leif all but screamed at Gethen. "NEVER!"
"Please," Tooth pleaded as she flew forward. "Don't do it to help Gethen, do it to help the Guardians. To help an innocent child."
A golden picture of Bunny appeared above Sandy's head, reminding Leif of his friendship with Bunny.
"There isn't much time," North added. "We need your help as a Seasonal. We cannot do it ourselves."
Leif glared angrily at them, but as their words sunk in, his anger seemed to leave him. His shoulders slumped and he looked more tired than anything, as the storm seemed to fade away with his anger.
"I'm not doing it for you," he told Gethen harshly.
Gethen looked away from Leif, his once tormenter. Ever since 1968, the two had avoided seeing one another. Gethen had always hurried away from any Spring Spirits and Sprites he ran into and they seemed to take no pleasure in taunting him as they had once done. It still hadn't stopped the other Summer and Fall Spirits and Sprites though.
"I wouldn't expect you to," Gethen replied, his voice growing quieter and tinged with shame. "After tonight, you won't see me again. I promise."
Leif eyed the dark spirit and then his gaze fell on the Guardians. He let out a weary sigh and shook his head.
"Fine," he finally huffed. "What is it you wanted me to do?"
* If you go look at past chapters, I continuously mention that there are only two Spring Spirits that survived Gethen's imprisonment. They are referred to once as Flora and Kelby (Kel for short). This isn't a typo. Without the Child of Spring, things changed. Leif never died. It was mentioned in past chapters that Leif's death was a huge blow to the Spirits' and Sprites' morale and many faded away. Since Leif survived in this alternate timeline, it would make sense for more Spirits and Sprites to also have survived.
** It was mentioned in previous chapters (probably somewhere around the 40's, when the plot with Gethen was picking up) that Gethen liked watching Jack and Lillian, and it hurt him to see them being so friendly with one another. It reminded him of his friendship he had with Mistral and he didn't like Jack and Lillian because of it. Here we see a major divergence with the Child of Spring missing. There is no Child of Spring to turn up and change Gethen's observing of Jack. Whereas Gethen might have grown irritated with how disgustingly cute Lillian was with Jack, now he only feels sorry for Jack Frost and we get to see that despite the bad things Gethen's done, he still has a sense of empathy for others.
Author's Note: I didn't want to end the chapter there, but I felt like that was a good stopping point. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too angsty! I can't promise it'll get much happier, but it'll at least be interesting! What I personally find most interesting is how different things are with no Child of Spring. Not only does Lillian as a Spring Spirit missing cause bad things to happen, it's also the cause of some good things to happen, specifically with Gethen. I have to admit, the more I write for him, the less I'm liking Leif. Hopefully I'll get to show him actually being nice at some point, so you guys won't think he's just a huge jerk all the time. I feel like with all the flashbacks on Gethen's past, he could practically star in his own fic. (Don't worry, I'm not starting another one, I promise) I hope you guys don't mind. I feel like it's a good way to expand on Gethen's character and for us to get to learn not only a little more about him, but also about the other Seasonal Spirits.
Also! If you guys are confused about what Mistral said to Jasper, just think about his words and the reference to the balance of the Seasons. Now think back to the last chapter, where it was revealed that the Fall Spirits and Sprites had been cruel in the past to a certain someone. If it still doesn't make sense, I'll explain it better in the Author's Notes of the next chapter.
I hope you guys liked this and I would also like to thank everyone for their follows and faves! Remember, I won't know if you guys liked/disliked anything in particular if I don't get feedback. If you guys have any ideas, questions, or comments feel free to let me know!
