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Sandy's car sped along through the countryside as the group traveled further inland. Tooth flew beside the car at intervals, flitting off periodically in order to collect teeth. The mini fairies checked in periodically, the memory guardian giving them instructions at a speed the others could not comprehend. Her voice took on a higher pitch the more quickly she spoke. Despite the octave, the melodious sound floated over the group as they journeyed.
Once night had fallen, her voice – and those of her fairies – became the only sound in the air. It took several moments past sunset for the lack of noise to register with Bunnymund's conscious mind. When he realized it, he put a hand on North's shoulder to get the large man's attention.
"Stop the car, Sandy." Forming a question mark from his dream sand, the glittering guardian complied. "Spasibo, tovarisch. What is the problem?" He and Sandy both turned to face the lagomorph who was standing to his full high on the back seat, ears pivoting about as he searched out any other noise in the darkness.
"What don't you hear?"
Frowning, Sandy used his sand to form the shapes of everything he could not hear, his arms crossed as the images changed rather rapidly. The pooka scowled.
"Nyet, he is right. There is no chirping of insects, no sound of the night time birds."
Hopping from the back seat, Bunnymund landed on the ground. He had expected to encounter the soft vegetation that the rich soil of middle England should have produced prior to the summer season. Instead, his paws found hard, frozen earth. Wholly unaccustomed to finding such devastation in a land that should be a sprawling green countryside, the hare's concern for the gravity of the situation grew exponentially.
Where Pitch had used his influence to confound the guardians and keep them from their appointed tasks long enough to cause a worldwide effect on the belief of children, whatever phenomenon was responsible for this level of destruction scared the ancient rabbit. While affecting a child's belief – causing them to lose faith and stop imagining – could never be forgiven, the precursor to this situation among England's children appeared to have more far-reaching capability. Bunny shuddered at the thought of this phenomenon repeating on a global level. The thought terrified him more than he was willing to admit to his fellow guardians. Turning back to face the car, he schooled his features carefully to keep from revealing the extent of his own fear.
"There's no grass."
North's eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. "What?"
Bunnymund shook his head. "None. That's why there are no insects." Disconcerted by the feeling of the dormant earth beneath his feet, the large lagomorph hopped back into the back seat of the dream sand car. "It doesn't feel like the land is dead though."
"Nyet?"
"No. Just... asleep, for some reason."
North stroked his chin thoughtfully, silence once more covering their journey as Sandy resumed driving.
Jack had not slept a single night in more than three hundred years. Time had passed over those many decades comprising his time as a spirit both quickly and slowly. One thing had remained constant for him regardless – time had passed. Despite his own state of inner turmoil, he knew that with England frozen in winter as it appeared to be, many aspects of the world he knew would wither away.
Mortals concerned themselves with such things as economics and business, neither of which meant much to him. He did, though, concern himself with the lack of crops. Without crops there would be no food, and children would starve. If children died from hunger, they would never have the ability to believe, much less lose that belief.
The ice wielder had made several attempts to explain his thoughts to his new companion. Occasionally, she had chuckled. Mostly, she had ignored him. She might not be responsible for the change in the weather that had caused such devastation, but it was obvious to Jack that she knew far more than she was willing to tell him.
She had carried about her business as though his presence affected nothing, save for keeping her face covered. That, he was certain, was solely for his benefit. She seemed to travel with the wind, in much the same way as he journeyed from place to place himself. So the white-haired guardian simply followed along her path. Had he been watching the ground as they passed over it, he would have noted that the soil which had appeared to be ready for seedlings in the moments before their arrival quickly took on qualities of barren winter land.
The hours passed in silence as they journeyed. Jack could feel the that the sun would crest the horizon within the next hour. Despite his misgivings about the fleeting state of a child's belief, he found himself looking forward to the sunrise. The kids might not be able to see him, but they could at least revel in the effects of the happy chaos he created with his ice. Since his thoughts had ventured away from his companion, he jumped when she finally spoke.
"You should leave now."
She turned suddenly, her hood falling back and her face coming into full view. Not having been given the opportunity to accustom himself to her features, Jack had to suppress his shout of shock. His shallow breaths seemed to amuse her, though. Her grin widened, her elongated canines once again shining in the light.
"W-Why?"
The ice wielder had not meant to stutter. His companion cackled in response.
"Because you do not sleep, but during the day, I do not wander."
Looking about him for the first time since he had arrived with her, he noticed the cave a short distance away. "Oh. Okay." Jack inwardly rolled his eyes, realizing he sounded very much like a small child.
"I will find you again tonight." She turned from him and began shuffling off in the direction of the cave. Just as he had been about to alight the wind once more, she turned back to him. "Jack Frost."
With but a thought, his staff glowed blue once more as he infused it with his power. "I never told you my name."
She smiled at him. He had not detected malice in her during the hours of their journey. The set of her mouth at that moment, however, sent shivers racing up his spine. "I haven't told you mine either. Maybe we'll get to that tonight."
Her laughter carried back to him on the wind as she turned from him once more. Jack watched her leave with narrowed eyes, only turning away once he could no longer see her.
The cave was dark, as would be expected. A single shaft of light entered through a pinhole in the roof, illuminating a spot on one side of the cavern which she took pains to avoid. Despite the dim state of her home, she knew very well when a visitor had wandered into her abode.
"You're playing a dangerous game."
The silky voice came to her from the shadows, the soft lilt a balm to her tired ears. "Perhaps."
A scoff answered her. "Do you have any idea who he is?"
"Yes." She could feel the impatience of the spirit addressing her. His growing ire became all too obvious as he stepped from the depths of the shadows in which he habitually hid himself.
"Do you really?" His drawl echoed slightly in her cave. "Because I somehow think that if you really knew who he was, you wouldn't be quite so willing to engage in such an intrigue." Her chuckle bounced off the walls of the cave in answer to him. "I suppose I could be wrong."
She moved slowly through the cavern, ignoring his presence until he stepped directly in her path. His arms folded across his narrow chest, he stared into her one eye intently.
"You don't scare me. You've no advantage over me." She turned from him, making it clear she was dismissing him entirely. His eyes narrowed.
"It's not wise to turn your back on me, old woman."
The words caused her to stop and return her attention to him. She pulled herself up to her full height, rivaling his own as she addressed him. "You should take great care to remember which of us is the elder. I've no reason to fear you, Pitch. Never forget, long after the man in the moon ended the madness you called fun for so many years, I still commanded the fear that I own to this day."
Pitch took a step backwards as she advance on him, her finger extended. His eyes widened as she planted her elongated yellow talon to his chest. "Unlike you, I intend to enjoy every minute of my reign. I know better than to wantonly provoke the very creatures who could defeat me. That was your mistake, you know." He glared at her, causing her to cackle loudly.
"Once he realizes who you are, he will do whatever he can to defeat you." She merely smirked in response. "You have no concern for the guardians, then?"
"What need have I to be concerned?" She turned her back on him once more, settling herself into the shadows against the cold cavern wall. "I fully intend to have them orchestrate my eternal reign."
Had he been mortal, North would have assumed that his leporine friend was asleep. Since they were spirits, the guardian of wonder knew that the large pooka was merely attempting to avoid the reality of his situation. If nothing else, Bunnymund had lost a close comrade. The guardian often known as Father Christmas suspected the ramifications were a great deal more poignant for his often-teased friend, but even his frequently naive grasp of a situation did not leave him without tact.
The sun was just cresting over the horizon, and Sandy began drawing in the streams of sand that had reached out like tentacles from the vehicle. The dream weaver might have been willing to let children slumber peacefully on other occasions. Until they knew why the days were short as in winter and not their normal summer length, the silent guardian recognized that regardless of how little they may believe in him, he owed it to the children to let them wake and play, enjoying what little time they would have in each other's company before another night would fall. The situation certainly looked bleak, but as the keeper of dreams, Sanderson Mansnoozie knew that there was no limit to a child's imagination. As ever, the guardians' best hope lay with the children.
Sandy attempted to distract North before the Russian bothered their friend – better to let the hare dwell on his thoughts when they had the time for such luxuries. His efforts in that regard, though, appeared to be wasted.
"I know you're starin' at me." Bunnymund's announcement actually startled a yelp from the largest guardian. The rabbit opened one eye, chuckling as he regarded his old friend before closing his eye once more. "One of the benefits of being a guardian, mate."
"Oh?"
"I know whenever someone's lookin' right at me."
The declaration pulled a hearty laugh from the Christmas spirit. "Da. We do."
Because the two were engrossed in their repartee, both were completely taken by surprise when Sandy stopped the car. The sudden halt caused them to lurch forward. As their transport was composed entirely of dream sand, their momentum sent them through the construct, dissolving it entirely. Levitating as his seat disappeared, the dream weaver shook his head and wagged a finger at them both.
"Have you found something?" Tooth's voice floated down to them as her large wings fluttered furiously, keeping her aloft while she continued to give rapid-fire instructions to her fairies.
Pulling himself up from the dirt, Bunny shook his head as he attempted to pat the dust from his fur. "You'd have to ask the driver, an' I'm not too sure he knows." Sandy put his hands on his hips, frowning at the lagomorph. "Hey, mate, I think you just stopped the car to throw me an' North out of it." The eldest guardian's face immediately morphed into a smile. Nevertheless, he shook his head gently to deny the statement. He pointed to the horizon.
The sun had crested and was rising higher as they talked. The sky's decidedly rose tone was taking on a blue hue as the new day dawned over England. Sunrise, though, was not the phenomenon Sandy intended to bring to the attention of his fellow guardians.
Seemingly barren throughout their entire nighttime journey, the land in front of them appeared to have fresh vegetation. Though not the type found in summer, the earth in the area they found themselves did not show the same signs of intense devastation. Bunny smiled, hopping towards the visible grass. Once he had planted himself firmly within a large patch of vibrantly green growth, he thumped his foot several times, watching with a grin as flowers sprang up with each of his steps.
Letting himself fall back onto the dew-soaked grass, the pooka allowed himself a brief moment of happiness, knowing he would have to point out the problem since North's cheers were being echoed by Tooth and her fairies and none of them seemed to be paying any attention to Sandy. Sighing, he stood, hopping back to the group and holding up his hands.
"Now, I'm as happy as you about the beautiful greenery. But Sandy's right."
Giving a fervent nod, the dream weaver relaxed slightly as he realized that he had not been entirely ignored.
"Chto? It is green over there … Oh." North's face fell as he looked about. The realization that they had traveled across the entire affected area was not lost on the group. The benefit to the journey, as Sandy pointed out with his dream sand forming a map and then shrinking inward, was that they now knew the size of the problem and could focus on narrowing their efforts. The group nodded as the dream guardian used his sand to form another mode of transport. Bunny smiled at the choice of a CAC Sabre Mk thirty.
"Might be a bit fast, mate." Shrugging, he used his dream sand to form the image of an engine with an attached propeller. A sand wrench appeared within the engine, slowing the propeller down. Bunnymund laughed. "Point taken." Climbing onto one of the wings, the hare fashioned himself a strap from the sand to make certain he did not fall from his perch prematurely. North's face clearly showed his concern with the new mode of travel, prompting a scoff from the rabbit. "You ride in a sleigh at speeds in excess of thought, and you can't make yourself sit on the wing of such a beauty? And you say I'm scared of –"
"I am not afraid!" The Russian's declaration was very loud, and would easily have drawn the attention of any nearby. His cheeks reddened a bit at the realization as he climbed onto the other wing of the plane. "How did you make strap?"
"What's that, mate?" Sandy started the plane rolling forward, running through the motions of taxing just as though the group were on a mortal flight.
"The seat belt. You made a seat – ah!" Startled by the plane's sudden lift off, the jolly man forgot to finish his question. "Bozhe moi!" Bunnymund could not help but laugh. It was rare for Nicholas Saint North to be at all flustered.
Jack had spent the day causing mischief. He had forgotten what it had been like to be invisible, and though he took some joy in the small amount of havoc he created, there was little delight in it. He no longer felt the rush that he had before he knew Jamie – before he had known acceptance.
Each time a child laughed because of his antics, it was both a balm and a burden. Each chuckle reminded him that their fun would be all too fleeting. The joy he was uniquely known for creating could be nothing more than brief in this barren land.
After hours of the same hijinks from which he had once derived great joy, he found himself completely bored. His thoughts turned to the mysterious hag from the night, hoping she would find him once again. He consoled himself that the reason was because she could see him. No matter what she was, she made him aware that he was not alone. That single fact was nearly enough for him to seek her out.
When night fell, though, Jack chose to be prudent. He knew well that the hag would find him. Recognizing that he needed to keep some secrets from her, he kept his place on the roof of the town's main hall. If she sought him out, she could hardly miss him resting there.
The subject of his thoughts was standing in the shadows nearby, watching him. The disdain she felt for him – truly, for all of the guardians – was etched into her features. She turned away from him in order to compose herself. Looking into the reflection provided by the sheet of ice covering a nearby window, she forced the moue of disgust from her face. She began chanting a mantra, immersing her mind in the thoughts she knew would help her to her goal.
"Jack, I need to want you."