Dam Dam Dam! I'm ALIVE! I know this chapter is long overdue. But hey, I still have a life outside the internet. Sometimes I really loose my inspiration and then... WRITER'S BLOCK!
Thanks to FuelForTheMuse. You gave me the courage to finish writing this chapter even with this headache I have right now and school tomorrow...
Thanks to all of you who have given me a review and those who read this story!
Enough with the talk! Let the story continue!
Antarctica
"I said no. You can't go see him. He is a dangerous criminal." the guard said, again. Akira was furious. This had been going on for two hours now. He was the apprentice of Death himself, for goodness sake! He wasn't overthrown easily, least of all from a weakened winter spirit that was chained and without his staff to control the winds. But no, this stupid spirit wouldn't allow him to visit his only friend.
Yes, the world was against him.
"I was promised that I could see him after 40 years! It was an agreement between MIM and my master!" "I don't know of this agreement you speak of. So I can't let you see him." Akira wanted to punch this guy. What was wrong in just seeing his friend for five minutes? He clenched his teeth and summoned his scythe, the silver shone brightly in the desert of snow. "I'm going to see him. Now!" The guard seemed nervous as he came face to face with the deadly weapon. A weapon that even spirits weren't immortal to. "Hey, hey, hey! Wait a moment! I'm just guarding this place! You have to talk with the high council to see your friend. If they let you see him, at all…" The guard, if possible, got even more onto his nerves. The teen had some headaches coming by now. It didn't help to make the situation easier. In a fluid motion, he was swinging his scythe and held it at the neck of the surprised guard. "Then go fetch them for me! And if you don't…" He let his finger make a slicing motion against his throat. The guard gulped in fear and sped off to fetch the council members, understanding the warning Akira had sent him. After waiting for some minutes, the spirit he wanted to see the least of all came back with the guard. His gaze darkened. It was the spirit whose name he would never forget, for it was her who began this mess. Summer Heat. He knew that she had something to do with the blizzard on Easter, he had felt her presence near the place he found Jack, but without some valid proof he couldn't do more than send her a glare every time he saw her. She was a high spirit, powerful and famous for the wonderful summer she brought to the world. Nobody would ever think of her as malicious, power hungry or as dark as the boogeyman, maybe even darker. The only spirits on their side were the winter sprites and some of the autumn sprites who were friends with Jack. Summer gave him a fake smile and asked him innocently: "What's the matter, death child? I heard you wanted to visit your friend?" "You know about the agreement my master made 40 years ago with MIM. Let me go see him!" "Don't be such a nasty boy." Summer shook her head like a parent who was disappointed in the behaviour of their child. It nearly drove him up the wall. "Fred, go with him to the edge. Pay attention. We don't want a prison break now, do we?" She disappeared in a flash of summer flowers and heat. How fitting, Akira thought. "You heard her. Come on!" The guard, Fred, lead him through a maze of floors, stairs and secret passages, until they came to the edge of an icy abyss. He shuddered as he looked down the endless darkness. It gave him the chills. This was it, the eternal prison of ice and darkness, serving as the ultimate punishment for a seasonal spirit. "Take the stairs, but don't fall. You can't fly out or use any of your powers once you're beyond the point where the spell takes effect. There is a mark on the wall that shows you the beginning of the spell. You have an hour until you have to be up here again." Akira nodded in understanding, but the guard already paid no attention to him. Slowly, he ascended the stairs. The ice was solid and slippery. A wrong step and he would fall to his doom. He got nervous, but tried very hard not to think about it. Akira thought about Jack and how happy he would be to see him. His mind cleared and he took another step. Two thousand and one steps later he reached the bottom of the abyss. A single lantern provided light. The black haired teen could see the cells which held the imprisoned spirits. No sound could be heard and the fact made him nervous again. The air was even colder than before if that was even possible. A wind sprite, of the northern winds probably for he seemed unaffected by the cold, approached him, his face an unreadable mask. "Name?" "Akira Fallecimiento, master of death. I'm here to visit Jack Frost." "Ah, yes, the young spirit of winter. Where is the key again? I swear I had it somewhere…" Akira waited for the wind sprite to find the key in the chaos of keys that hung on the many keychains on the wall. "Found it! Here you go. His cell number is 1412. Don't even think about breaking him out!" The teen nodded and went to the cell with number 1412. He opened the door.
What he saw horrified him. The cell was dark, safe the spirit light that provided enough light to see the inhabitant, a young winter spirit with dirty white wings. "Jack." Akira whispered. The spirit must have heard him, for he lifted his head a little to look at the intruder of his loneliness. His eyes glowed blue in the dark, but they looked broken and sad. It broke his heart to see his friend this way. The black haired teen rushed to the spirit's side and hugged him. He nearly broke down in front of the tortured winter spirit, but reminded himself to show strength for his friend. "I missed you."
The guardians flew with the sleigh to the southern pole. Bunny looked pale and tried very hard not to think about the fact that he was flying in a contraption pulled by reindeers. Yeah, safe and nothing to worry at all, he said to himself. It's just an over a Millennia old sleigh. His face went green and he felt like he was going to throw up his stomach's contents.
The sleigh landed in front of a large portal guarded by a very grumpy guard. "What's this? Is there some party going on here or why do these visitors pop up all day?" The guardians looked at him confused. What did he mean about visitors? "Let me guess, you want to see Frost, don't you? Please don't point sharp things my way and let me get Summer, before you can visit him." The guard vanished inside the hidden building, leaving the guardians to talk to each other. "What did he mean?" asked Tooth. "He even grumpier than you Bunny." North said. Bunny huffed in annoyance. "I'm not grumpy!" The guard came back with a summer spirit in a cute yellow dress and long hair. "Oh, the guardians! What brings you to the edge?" she asked in a sweet voice. Bunny didn't like her one bit. She was a person that sweet talked others into doing what you wanted. His voice sounded clipped as he spoke. "We want to see Frost. Manny gave us order to get him out of 'ere." Summer's face darkened for a moment before she was back to her bright cheery self. "It's good to hear this. Now, if you will follow me."
They walked into the building and to a big room. The walls all had been themed after one of the seasons. You could see bright leafs of autumn, the colourful flowers of summer, the snowy winter and the green of spring. It was a breath taking piece of art. Bunny especially looked in wonder at the tiny details making the pictures look alive. A spring spirit walked to them. "We may have a problem, Summer." He said. "Akira-" Before he could finish the sentence, the doors banged open by force and an enraged master of death walked in. "One thing! One simple thing! That's all I asked over fifty years ago! And you can't even hold your end of the bargain! You little piece of shit!" Akira let his scythe materialize in his hand and noted with satisfaction the look of fear on the summer spirit's face. He laughed. "You really thought you could just take my weapon from me? How silly!" He noticed the guardians. "Hey, long time no see! What do you do here, on all places on earth?" Toothiana spoke first. "We were sent from MiM to take Jack with us." Akira didn't know what to say. Of all answers possible he hadn't expected this. "You…What?" "You heard them, death child. Now go and take souls or whatever you do." "Shut up, bitch!" Akira yelled at the girl. "Don't play this game with me! We both know you're the reason for Jack's misery." Summer had the nerve to smile at his accusation. "You can't proof any of your words. Give up already and face it. You just don't want to see the true Jack." Akira had a hard time not to use his power on the girl and slam her into the next wall. A knock on the door got all their attention to the source of the sound. "Enter." Summer said. Two guards dragged a knocked out winter spirit into the room. He had a few bruises more than before which angered Akira. How dare they hurt him!
North and the other guardians looked at the child. He may be a spirit of winter, but he was still a teenager, a child in their eyes and it hurt to see him this way, all beaten up, broken. They could understand the anger of the master of death. "Just take him with you and tell him that he is free, once he wakes up." Summer said in a bored tone of voice. Bunny looked like Akira moments before, ready to attack the other spirit with his boomerangs. Toothiana flew over to pick him up, but was stopped by Akira who went over first and took the spirit of winter into his arms cautious about his wings. He gave the guardians a warning glance and marched out.
