hi guys! thanks to everyone who has found this story so far and left a favorite! it really makes me glad to see that people are still active in this fandom and looking to read my work. again, pls feel free to leave a comment or hmu on tumblr (exbirdies) if y'all want to chat about anything rise of the guardians related ;-) chapter updates will probably come once every 1-4 days, depending on how busy i am.
In North's workshop, Toothiana paces the Globe Room in a rapid flutter.
She's early, as always. The other Guardians hadn't arrived yet, save North, who stood silent and still before the Globe of Belief with arms crossed, exposing the faded ink of his tattoos. Tooth couldn't remember the last time North appeared so deep in thought, a pensive look replacing his usual jolly self. Even the Yetis and elves in the room
"North?" Tooth smiles, hovering towards him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything okay?"
He pauses, pressing a palm against the Globe, now covered in a thick white mist that shrouds the children's lights. A cool breeze is lifted from Michigan and drifts in all directions at once, surrounding the sphere in snow.
"North?"
"Yes, Tooth, of course," He sighs. "Why not okay?" North turns away from the map, directing his gaze instead at the Yetis sitting uncomfortably in the room. None of them make eye contact, their heads turned downwards. The silence is deafeningly loud.
"Well, you know," she says. "Though, my fairies have been searching diligently while on their daily runs-we've covered much of Southeast Asia and Europe already and Bunny-" Tooth stops. At the same time, a low rumbling sound growls from beneath the floorboards. Tooth lights up, laughing in spite of the moment. "Oh, he's here!"
North too grins, his eyes brightening as he steps out of the way. The floor beneath him caves into a gaping tunnel that stretches for who-knows-how-long underground while Bunnymund leaps up on instinct, landing on the floor with a thud. He spins his boomerang around him and slings it on his back.
"Nice to see I'm not last. Where's the Sandman?" Bunny asks, leaning against the wall. He tosses an egg up in the air and catches it with ease. "Better question-any news of Frost? It's been how long, now?"
"A month and a bit," Tooth says, folding her hands together. "Any luck on your end?"
"Nope," Bunny shrugs. Tooth opens her mouth to speak, then closes it. Despite Bunny's nonchalant manner, she can tell he's just as worried as the rest of them. Or perhaps worry isn't the right word, and Tooth doesn't know what to call this except for the epitome of fear. She shakes her head. It's been so long she isn't sure what to make of the situation anymore, and neither does Bunny or North, it seems.
Tooth still remembers bringing Jack to collect teeth from that house in Massachusetts. How his face fell and Tooth immediately regretted allowing him to tag along as she slipped not one, but four quarters underneath the girl's pillow. The way her dirt-tangled and greased hair framed the bruises around her face. And how Jack had to step back, take in the little girl's empty bedroom that held no toys or personal items, except for a picture with its glass shattered on top of a family of three.
The mother inside was smiling at her daughter, her teeth bright and nearly blinding in the photograph's flash. Her eyes seemed to dance under the sunlight, the same look shared in the girl standing below her, hands holding on to both parents. The father, Tooth had noticed, stared into the camera with a lighter smile, his shoulders relaxed in a way that appeared strange, as if he was the kind of man who wasn't normally seen so calm. The sight sent shivers down her spine.
And Jack had done so much. He held up a hand, though trembling in an emotion he couldn't quite place, to the girl's sleeping face, pressing ice against her wounds. Tooth stayed by his side as he enchanted packages and packages of ice, numbing the girl's bruises as dawn rose over the sky from outside the window. When the girl began to stir, they left without a second glance back, exchanging not a word. Still, Tooth remembered Jack fumbling in the wind when heading back to Tooth Palace and acting unusually quiet. She didn't press him for questions, though.
But perhaps she should have. At the time, how much could she have done to prevent all this? Tooth brushes the thought away, turning back to North, who is in the middle of speaking in a hushed tone with Bunny.
Bunny raises an eyebrow at North.
Footsteps and the sound of dust sweeping the floor echo in the still halls. The grand double-doors swing open and Sandy walks through, his face a mixture of both disheartenment and curiosity. He signs a silhouette of Jack's face overhead, pointing to it expectedly.
"No, Sandy, nothing from us." It breaks her heart to see the Sandman slump over, sitting on the ground beside a cluster of elves. She glances at North, who clears his throat and throws out his arms.
"Guardians! Thank you for coming for-what now?" He laughs, though it doesn't quite reach his eyes.
"The third meeting this week, North. I don't know how to tell you this, but even when we aren't here, these mates and I have been fighting the blizzards in every way possible. We're talking egg explosions on every rooftop, chimney, driveway, and street. Temperatures have been dropping like hell, mate. What is this, the Ice Age?" Bunny crosses his arms. "How am I supposed to have bloody Easter when the snow covers inches and inches of ground every six hours? My eggs are drowning in it, for Manny's sake. Do you know how many children without a roof over their heads have already-"
"Bunny," North warns. He looks at Sandy, who signs a message back: "Half the children in Burgess alone. Not falling asleep as they normally would. Because of cold. No sleep, no dreams. And when dreams," he nods at Bunny, "all about Easter. In February! Because the children need hope. And no hope in snow without fun."
"So we bring back fun!" North cries. The Guardians shift in discomfort. "Or, tried that already?" He chuckles, and Tooth notices how nervous it sounds. He didn't plan this meeting at all, unless, of course, he plans to do what Tooth thinks is their last hope.
"North," Tooth begins, fluttering to the ground to stand. "We're too late for that. We can't reverse the storm. We can't-" her voice breaks- "save all the children. Unless we find where Jack went..."
"If he's alive." Bunny looks at her.
"He is. He must be," North nods, beckoning Tooth to continue, knowing what she would say.
"The world is going to freeze. The children will stop believing. Maybe it's time we tried contacting-"
As if to respond, a trill of a song breaks the tension in the room, and the Guardians turn to face the open window where the moon can be seen.
"Guardians." A blue glow emits from a distance miles away, saturating the room in silver. "It's been a while."
North takes in a breath. "Man in Moon."
