Apologies for the slight lateness with this chapter, but I've been quite busy. So enjoy this chapter and, as always, reviews are deeply appreciated.
Jack felt like he was suffocating.
He and the other Guardians had been trapped at the North Pole for what felt like forever. He had been making and painting toys for days on end with barely any rest and he hadn't taken a foot outside the building since his arrival. It was too warm and homely. He felt like he was melting. He needed the cold. He needed to get outside in the snow and icy air. He needed to breathe. He had been trapped inside for too long. He needed to get back out into the cold. He had tried sneaking out, but the yetis had caught him and he found that he was barely able to create any ice or snow, making his escapes increasingly impossible. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't take the confinement any longer. He couldn't breathe. He needed to get out. He had to get out. He had to get –
"Jack? Jack are you alright?"
Tooth's concerned voice cut through his increasingly panicky thoughts and he turned his head, his light blue eyes meeting her amethyst ones. She was hovering close to him, a worried look on her face.
"Are you alright?" she asked once more, leaning in closer, her eyes watching him carefully.
He stared for a moment before leaning in closer to her, their heads almost touching. His breath was hitched and his eyes darted from side to side. She unconsciously retreated away from him slightly, startled by their sudden close proximity, but also because of how he was acting. She had never seen him like this before and it deeply concerned her. It was almost as if he were possessed.
"Jack…" she began hesitantly.
"I need to get out," he whispered to her, his voice hushed. His eyes continued to dart around, his pupils dilated, as if searching for a way out. "I can't stay here, Tooth. I need to get out." He lunged forward, grabbing her petite shoulders, almost shaking her. "Tooth, I need to get out!"
Tooth let out a gasp as she felt his hands grab her and she felt an additional flutter of her heart as she realised that Jack Frost was actually touching her. She would have revelled in the moment if she hadn't noticed the unnatural tepid feeling of his hands, deprived of their usual coldness. He did need to get out but she needed to get him to calm down first. She had never seen him act like this before and it unnerved her. "Jack," she said softly, her wings fluttering as she placed her own hands on his shoulders. Her eyes widened. His shoulders were as warm as his hands. There was definitely something wrong with him. "Jack, you need to calm down."
"Calm down? Calm down?! I can't stay here, Tooth. I need to get out."
"I know you do," she said, keeping a firm grip on his shoulders, an attempt at keeping him stable, "and I'll help you, but you need to calm down." She kept her eyes fixed on his, despite the fact his blue orbs were still dancing in their sockets. There was definitely something wrong with him. She wanted to look around, try and find one of the others for help but they had gone to see North.
Jack looked at her, his panic abating minutely as he fixed his wild eyes on her concerned ones. "You'll help me?" He focused on her, on her concerned face as her calming tone brought back to reality. His panic subsided even more.
She nodded. "Of course." She placed the back of one of her hands against his forehead, making him flinch at the gesture though she ignored it, and almost jumped herself. His skin was clammy. Her eyes squinted slightly with confusion. Guardians and spirits don't get sick. "What is wrong?" she mumbled to herself, her hand dropping to her side.
Jack, however, heard her. "I don't like being confined for so long. I just need to get out for a little bit."
She nodded again and her eyes flickered over towards the enormous roaring fire on the opposite side of the room. Her eyes widened. Of course. It wasn't just the confinement, but the warmth. It wouldn't bother her, Sandy or Bunny, but Jack was a winter spirit. He needed the cold. Though, she was surprised that it had only taken such a short amount of time being deprived of snow for him to end up like this. She looked around for Sandy, Bunny or North, but none of them had returned yet. She swallowed and looked back at Jack. She was going to have to get him outside on her own.
With a breath, she moved the hand that was on his shoulder down his arm and clasped his wrist, a shiver rustling her feathers slightly from the movement. "Come on," she said softly to him. "Let's get you outside." With a gentle tug of his wrist, she pulled him forward, leading him towards the door to the workshop.
Jack followed her slowly, his feet stumbling slightly. Despite not panicking as much now, he found it hard to concentrate and felt almost disconnected from his body, as he were watching through someone else's eyes. But he couldn't tell if it was from the uncomfortable, sweltering heat or from Tooth's presence. He hadn't failed to miss the fact that she had hold of his wrist and was pulling him forward despite his confused state.
Feeling his hesitant steps, Tooth pulled harder in an attempt to make him walk faster. She needed to get him out into the snow as quickly as possible. "Jack, come on," she moaned. She knew it would be quicker if she just picked him up and flew him out, but she doubted that, despite his slim stature, she would be able to hold him and Jack was in no condition to fly himself outside.
She was inches from the large wooden doors that led to the workshop when they were suddenly thrust open, a disgruntled Bunny bursting in blindly, followed by Sandy who had an unreadable look on his face. Bunny stormed past Tooth and Jack, sitting himself back at his workstation and slammed his head against the wood, rattling the various things that were already on there.
Tooth looked over at him, forgetting for a moment that she was in the middle of dragging Jack outside, wondering what could have happened. She was brought back when she felt Sandy lightly tug on her foot, which was hovering at the same height as his shoulder. She looked down at him and he pointed up at Jack, who was looking around with a confused expression as to what was going on. "Oh," she said, "I need to get him outside. It's too warm in here and he needs to cold." Her words came out quickly and she stopped herself from saying too much. Getting Jack outside was more important.
Sandy peered around her so that he could get a look at the winter spirit, noticing how Tooth had a hold of his wrist as he did so before looking back at the Tooth Fairy, a knowing gleam in his eyes and a small smile of his face. He knew all about her overwhelming fascination with Jack and how much she liked him since he had seen the quick glances she would cast at him and how she always lit up more than usual when he was around. It was obvious how much she liked him even though everyone else seemed to be oblivious to this, but then again, they usually didn't see what he did. He looked up at her.
Tooth let out a disgruntled breath and rolled her eyes. "It's not what you think," she muttered to him, hoping that Jack wouldn't hear, though she couldn't stop the faint blush from tinting her cheeks, knowing the implications of the Sandman's expression. "He's not well. His skin is really clammy. He needs to get outside into the cold." She could still feel the unnatural warmth radiating off of him.
Sandy continued to look up at him, not overly convinced by her words.
"I'm not kidding, Sandy," she all but moaned. She seriously needed to get him outside.
Without Tooth's attention focused on him, Jack began to feel the heat penetrated deeply into his body once more, making him feel like he was on fire, the cool breeze coming from her rapidly beating wings wasn't enough to avert it and the panic began to consume him once more. Why had Tooth stopped? Why weren't they going outside? The heat was becoming unbearable once more and his breathing began to hitch in his throat. He needed to get outside. His vision began to sway gently from side to side. Why was he on a boat? Since when had North put a boat in there? "T-Tooth…" he stammered, his voice faint. He tried jerking his wrist in an attempt to regain her attention, but the movement made him feel dizzy, the world suddenly spinning at an increased pace. "T-Tooth…" He tried to steady himself, but the heat was becoming too much, his body feeling like it was on fire.
Sandy peered around the fairy once more and his eyes widened as he saw the winter spirit begin to sway. Tooth was still talking with a stream of quick words, oblivious to Jack's predicament. He tugged on her foot, but she didn't notice it and he looked around, trying to find something to bring her back to the current situation. Inwardly he groaned. Why was there never an elf around when he needed one? He tried clapping his hands, but the sound could barely be heard over her chatter. He needed to think of something and quick as Jack's swaying amplified.
Jack could barely see. His vision was one massive blur that was becoming increasingly consumed by darkness. The heat was continuing to pound through his veins like lava. He had to get outside.
With a frustrated huff, Sandy levitated himself up so that he was eye to eye with the Tooth Fairy. He placed his small golden hands either side of her face, cupping it and held her head still so that she was looking directly at him.
"Sandy, what? What?" The fairy was startled by the Sandman's movement and looked at him, confused as to why he was looking at her so sternly. "What's wrong?"
Sandy resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her. In all of her yabbering she had forgotten all about Jack. He tilted his head in the winter spirit's direction.
Tooth followed his gaze, turning her head. Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp. "Jack!"
The young Guardian let out a groan as he toppled forward, directly into Tooth who, because she was still facing away from him, was unable to hold him up and he fell to the floor, taking her with him. The pair landed on the ground with a thud, Jack's staff clattering loudly against the wooden surface and Sandy quickly tried to pull Jack off of Tooth whilst also signalling to Bunny that he needed help.
The Easter Bunny, who was still sat at his workstation across the room with his head in his hands, looked up upon hearing the thud. He rolled his eyes and scoffed upon seeing that Jack had fallen on top of Tooth. Obviously the youngster was messing about and this time had had the audacity to drag Tooth into his ridiculous antics. Couldn't that boy take anything seriously? He was shaking his head in disbelief when a glimmer of gold caught his eye and he looked back across the room to see that Jack was still on top of Tooth while Sandy was beckoning to him as he tried to futilely push Jack off, a panicked looked in his eyes.
Rolling his eyes once more with the fact that even Sandy was getting involved, Bunny stood up and hopped over to the trio. It was against his better judgement to do so, but he was curious as to why neither Jack nor Tooth were getting up and why Sandy was looking so panicky. "Bloody show pony," he muttered before calling across to Sandy, "Mate, this had better be good." He folded his arms across his chest, not looking the least bit impressed.
Sandy shook his head then paused and nodded, unsure as to what the right response was – it wasn't good because Jack had fainted but it was good because it was important. He pointed down at Jack.
Bunny shrugged his shoulders. "What is Frosty doin'? Get up ya lazy ingrate!"
Sandy shook his head. Above his head, he conjured the golden image of Jack fainting, but to Bunny, it just looked like Jack had fallen.
"I can see that Frosty fell over."
The little Sandman shook his head again. How could he get Bunny to understand that Jack wasn't messy about?
"B-Bunny," the voice of Tooth gasped from beneath Jack.
"Tooth, you and Jack need to stop messy about and get up," Bunny chastised her.
"I-I can't. Jack's not well. He needs to get outside quickly," she groaned. She could barely move. The majority of her body, saver her head, were slowly being crushed beneath Jack's dead weight.
"Ay?" Bunny lowered his arms, a startled look on his face.
"Bunny, quickly," Tooth moaned, struggling to push herself up.
The six-foot rabbit peered over so that he could see Jack's face and his eyes widened. The young Guardian's eyes were closed but his face was flushed red and there appeared to be beads of water flowing down his face. This wasn't right. Winter spirits don't sweat. "Strweth mate!" he gasped and quickly picked Jack up in his arms holding onto him carefully as if he were one of his precious eggs and dashed towards the door leaving Sandy to help Tooth up.
Tooth's entire body throbbed as she hastily dusted herself off, ruffling her feathers. Sandy shot her a concerned look and she quickly shook her head. "I'm alright," she told him, "but Jack's not." Without another word, she shot after Bunny like an arrow, Sandy following closely behind. Her heart was beating rapidly with nerves, worried that there may be something else desperately wrong with him.
#
Bunny shuddered violently as the briskly cold wind of the North Pole hit him, his grey fur standing on end. He had ignored the yells of the yetis as he bounded through the workshop as fast as he could. Tooth had been right; the young Guardian in his arms wasn't well. He could feel the warmth radiating off of him and instantly understood the importance of the situation: Jack was the spirit of winter. He wasn't supposed to be warm.
Moving quickly in an attempt to keep warm, Bunny hopped over to a mound of soft snow and unceremoniously dropped the young spirit onto it. He wanted to leave him there and head back inside, but he knew Tooth would deeply disapprove of that, plus some small part of him actually wanted to make sure Jack was alright. He shuddered at the thought. There was no way he cared about Jack Frost. No way. Not even the slightest. He nodded his head firmly. He was only staying outside for Tooth's sake.
He folded his arms across his chest, rubbing his paws up and down his arms in order to try and keep warm as he desperately attempted to stop his teeth from chattering. Why did it have to be so cold at the North Pole?
"Bunny?!" The voice of Tooth sounded distant as the cold wind scattered her voice. He turned to see the Tooth Fairy approaching as fast as her wings could take her, Sandy just behind her.
"You took your time gettin' here, Sheila," he said, hoping that now she was here he could go back into the warm.
Tooth looked at him, her eyes glittering with worry. "The yetis tried to stop us. Apparently they thought we were trying to escape and I had to explain what was going on. One of them went to get North." She peered around Bunny, looking for Jack. "Where is he?" She bit her lip nervously as her eyes rested back upon Bunny, waiting for his response.
"Over there." He waved his paw in the direction of the snowdrift he had tossed Jack into.
Tooth's amethyst eyes widened. "Oh, Bunny, you didn't?" She quickly flew over to where Jack was lying face down in the pile of snow.
"What?" He shrugged his shoulders. "You said he needed the cold, so I put him where it's cold."
Tooth shook her head, resisting the urge to groan at the Easter Bunny's antics. Jack was outside in the cold and that was the important thing. "Jack," she called, placing her hand on his shoulder, which, to her relief, was feeling relatively colder than before. "Jack."
There was no response from the unconscious spirit. Tooth bit her lip once more, her worry mounting. She looked across at Sandy and Bunny, but neither knew what to do. In all of their years as spirits, they had never encountered something like this before. Very rarely did spirits get sick, things like this usually only happened when children either began to stop believing or they themselves lost their belief and they all knew that neither of these was the case.
The fairy turned back to Jack and shook his shoulder gently. "Jack… Jack…"
There was another moment of silence before Jack let out a faint groan, his body shifting in the snow as he regained consciousness. He coughed before suddenly sitting up on his knees, causing Tooth to dart back away from him, her hand on her chest. "What the?" the young Guardian moaned, coughing out a mouthful of snow. His entire face was covered in the stuff and he looked like a Jack Frost-shaped snowman. Both Bunny and Sandy covered their faces so that Jack couldn't see them laughing at his appearance.
"Jack?" Tooth fluttered back to him almost cautiously. "Are you alright?"
With another groan, Jack placed his hand to his head, feeling the wet snow. "What the?" he murmured once more, wiping the white stuff off of his face, oblivious to Bunny and Sandy stifling their laughter and to Tooth behind him who was watching with nervous eyes.
"Jack?" she tried once more, flying closer to him.
The winter spirit turned, spraying the fairy with the snow that had been caught in his hair. She let out a squeal, covering her face with her hands as the cold substance hit her.
"Ah, Tooth, I'm sorry!" he cried, quickly getting to his feet.
"Oi, mate, watch what ya doin'." Bunny chastised though his tone conveyed his amusement at the scene in front of him.
Tooth shot him a dark look before turning back to Jack as she brushed the snow off of herself. "No, it's alright," she replied. "It was my fault. I was too close."
Jack shook his head – carefully this time. "No, it was my fault," he apologised. Stepping close to her, he reached up and brushed snow off of the top of her head, surprised at how soft and warm they felt considering the fact that they had just been coated in cold and wet snow.
Tooth tensed as she felt his fingers linger on her feathers, a soft blush crept across her cheeks.
"They're soft," he murmured to himself, letting his fingers trace the outline of one of them.
Tooth resisted the urge to shiver at his gentle touch; instead she focused on her reply, trying to distract herself from the fact that Jack was touching her feathers. "They're covered in a special wax which helps keep them dry and warm in the rain and cold," she told him. "Sort of like a duck." She inwardly grimaced and closed her eyes at her stupidity. She had just compared herself to a duck. A duck?! What had she been thinking? While she was accustomed to her feathers (after so many centuries how could she not?) and liked them, she had always found that she hated being compared to birds just because she had feathers – but she was a fairy, not a bird. If she was going to compare herself to a bird, then it should have been a swan. But a duck?
Jack let out a soft laugh. "I like ducks."
Her blush amplified at this and she lowered her head, flustered. Maybe comparing herself to a duck hadn't been stupid after all.
"You're shivering," he suddenly said, his hand still stroking her head feathers.
"Hmm?" She blinked and looked up at this, surprised. She hadn't realised she was cold, or was she shivering because Jack was touching her? She didn't know, but as soon as he made her aware of the cold, she couldn't stop her body from trembling.
Seeing her tremble, Jack quickly removed his hand. He knew he had let it linger on her feathers for too long, for far too long, but he hadn't been able to resist it, they had just been so soft. As soon as moved his hand, he immediately missed the soothing sensation and he found himself longing to touch her feathers (or even her skin) once more. A blush crept onto his cheeks and he shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking things like that.
"Are you alright?"
He looked up at Tooth and nodded. He was fine now but was confused as to what had happened and apparently he wasn't the only one.
"So, Frosty, what happened?" Bunny's loud voice cut across alerting Jack to the presence of both the Easter Bunny and the Sandman. He felt another wave of embarrassment wash over him. They had seen the interaction between himself and Tooth.
"Dunno," he replied. "I just got so hot in there and I needed to cold."
"You should have just said something. I'm sure North would have let you out if the heat was getting too much for you." Tooth folded her arms and shook her head. "He really should have known better. You're a winter spirit. You need to be cold."
"You're right, Sheila," Bunny added while Sandy nodded in agreement. "Take it that's why you kept trying to escape, ay." He directed this at Jack.
"I didn't think North would let me out. Every time I've seen him he looks deranged."
"That's 'cause it's nearly Christmas, mate," Bunny reminded him. "North gets like this 'round Christmas."
"Yeah, but he's kept us trapped in there for weeks."
At this, the elder Guardians all cast confused looks at each other. Weeks?
"Uh, Jack," Tooth began hesitantly, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her. "We haven't been here for weeks."
Jack's icy blue eyes widened. "Of course we have."
She shook her head slowly. How ill had he really been?
"No, mate, we haven't," Bunny said and Jack turned to look at him. "We've only been here a couple of days."
"What?"
"It's true," Tooth told him. She let out a sigh. "Why didn't you tell us you weren't feeling well?"
Jack was stunned. He had only been at the North Pole for a couple of days? He shook his head. The heat must have really gotten to him. "I, I don't know. I'm not used to asking others for help."
"Well you'd better get used to it, mate," Bunny said with a small smile.
At this, Jack gave a smile in return. Of course he wasn't alone any more, but it still took some time to get used to. "How'd I get out here anyway?"
Neither Tooth nor Bunny replied to this, instead Sandy conjured the image of the Easter Bunny carrying him. Jack laughed upon seeing the image while Bunny scowled.
"Aww, Kangaroo, you do care," Jack said, smirking as he walked over to Bunny who was now wearing a very dark look.
"I ain't no kangaroo," he all but spat in response, his paws twitching to get a hold of one of his boomerangs and fling them at the smirking spirit.
Tooth and Sandy looked at each other, unsure as to whether or not another argument was about to break out between the two. Their worries were put to rest as before either Jack or Bunny had a chance to retort, booming footsteps could be heard approaching, signalling the arrival of North.
"Ah Jack Frost," North called, stepping out into the cold, a yeti just behind him. "You are feeling better, no?"
The Guardian of Joy turned and his smirked faded, a light smile replacing it. "Yeah, thanks North."
The tall Russian nodded his head. "That is good."
"You know," Bunny began, folding his arms against his chest, "this wouldn't have happened if you'd listened to us in the first place and let us out every now and then. We have our own jobs that we need to check on, remember." Both Sandy and Tooth nodded in agreement at this. For the past couple of days Sandy had been unable to ensure that people slept peacefully while Tooth had resorted to having one of her fairies sneak in every couple of hours with an update.
North paused, taking in Bunny's words as well as what had happened to Jack. "Is nearly Christmas," he reminded them. "It is important these things are done. But," he paused once more before inwardly groaning, "I shall allow break time." It was the best he could offer. There was still a lot to do after all. He looked around at the four other spirits, all of the nodding in agreement, knowing it was the best they would get and he suddenly realised that all of them were still outside. "In, in!" he suddenly commanded with a loud clap of his hands, making the four Guardians jump. "Is still nearly Christmas. Lots to do. No time to waste. In, in!"
Sandy and Bunny followed North back into the building while Tooth turned back to Jack once more. She had seen the panic in his eyes, the clamminess of his skin. She had to make sure he was alright. "Jack, are you sure you're–"
"I'm fine, Tooth," he quickly interrupted her. He wanted to get back inside, not to work, but to get away from it all, away from his embarrassment. He couldn't believe how much being inside for a couple of days had affected him. He hadn't just overheated and fainted; he had had a breakdown and had acted crazy in front of Tooth. At that moment, he didn't want her to worry about him. He just wanted to move on. Making sure not to look at her, he headed back inside.
Tooth fluttered in the cold air for a moment. She still felt concern for the frost spirit despite his words, but with North now allowing them breaks, she hoped that he would be alright now. A growling sound alerted her to the presence of the yeti that had accompanied North, who was also thumping his foot against the ground in impatience, reminding her that he was waiting for her to join the others. With a hasty apology, she flew inside, the yeti following her and closing the large wooden door behind them.
#
North stayed true to his word and allowed the Guardians breaks, giving them time to focus of their own duties before returning to help him. Though the Guardian of Wonder still felt a lot of pressure that everything wasn't going to be ready in time, he understood that the others still needed to focus on their responsibilities, after all Sandy and Tooth had incredibly important jobs and Jack and Bunny also needed to undertake their own work. He had, though, been pleasantly surprised that the four of them had returned to the pole after their first break, he had thought they'd take the opportunity to not come back but they understood the importance of North's job even if he didn't always understand the importance of their own.
Jack was revelling in feeling the cold wind on his skin once more as he soared across the skies bringing snow and ice back to the Northern hemisphere once more. He had been incredibly disheartened to see that a vast majority of the snow he had created a few days prior had all but melted but the fact that he was now able to rectify this pleased him greatly. He had been deeply tempted, as he flew across Burgess, to visit Jamie, but resisted the urge because he knew that as soon as he was with the young boy, he would want to engage in a snowball fight or create crazy ice paths for him and his friends to sledge along. It was a feeling that swallowed him greatly, he was the Guardian of Joy yet he was unable to join in with the joy and fun he created, instead he felt as if he was becoming more like the others, focused on their work rather than enjoying it.
With a heavy heart, he allowed the icy air to carry him back to the North Pole. Landing in the Globe Room, he noticed that, as usual, he was the last one back. He let out a sigh. He wanted to be back out in the cold. He looked around at the other three Guardians, who, like himself, appeared to have more life in them now that they were allowed time to concentrate on their own jobs. Tooth was talking animatedly to two of her fairies, fluttering near the top of the massive golden globe, while Bunny was hunched in a corner, painting an egg, his eyes and ears alert for North's arrival. Sandy, meanwhile, was hovering near the giant rabbit, his eyes closed in sleep. Jack let out another sigh and gave his head a gentle shake. He looked up at the globe, at the millions of glowing lights.
Watching the globe, he found his line of sight drifting higher, resting on the Tooth Fairy who was still talking with her fairies. The two had barely spoken since the day he had collapsed and he hoped that he hadn't hurt her feelings with his brash attitude towards her, but he still wasn't used to others being concerned about him and caring and he knew that she cared about him the most. It was pretty obvious seeing as a few times since he had caught her glancing at him, but as soon as she realised he was looking at her, she would blush and quickly look away. It was this, along the two of them barely speaking that resulted in him wondering if he had hurt her feelings. He hadn't meant to, but he couldn't help it.
He studied her, noting her smile as she spoke, the rapid movement of her wings so that they were literally a blur and how the light reflected off her multi-tonal feathers, making them (and her) shine brightly. Looking at her, he realised that he still hadn't apologised for falling on her and worrying her. He hated not really talking to her but he didn't know how to approach her. He swallowed. He still had to apologise, so maybe that was a good place to start.
With a breath and quickly running his fingers through his white hair, he propelled himself into the air, stopping once he was next to Tooth. "Uh, Tooth," he began, surprised at his own hesitance. He was Jack Frost, bold and confident; he wasn't supposed to stuttering and unsure.
Hearing his voice and noting his presence next to her, Tooth quickly sent the two fairies away before turning to the winter spirit. "Jack." She turned to look at him, her head tilted slightly to one side, curiosity gleaming in her purple-pink eyes.
"I, uh, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." Seriously, what was the matter with him? It was just Tooth he was talking to. Why was he feeling like an embarrassed fool?
Her eyes narrowed as her confusion increased. "About what?"
He cleared his throat. "For the other day. Worrying you and then falling on you. I hope I didn't hurt you."
A look of realisation hit her and she slowly shook her head, a light smile on her face. "No," she said softly, "you didn't."
The young spirit let out a sigh of relief. That hadn't been too hard and the fact that she was smiling at him proved that she wasn't angry with him. "Good. I was worried," he admitted, turning his head away. And now he was back as a blubbering idiot. What was the matter with him?
Her smile increased. "I've had worse," she told him. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, a light, pleasant shiver ruffling through her feathers from the touch. "But thanks for worrying," she said sincerely.
Jack nodded and looked back up at her, matching her smile with his own. Her warm hand was still on his shoulder, but he didn't mind. Her touch always had a calming effect on him and he always found it oddly soothing. He smiled more widely at her, the white of his teeth showing and he grinned even more as he felt her twitch and saw her eyes gleam, knowing how desperate she was to get another glimpse at his pearly white teeth. He quickly covered his teeth, amused when her smile faltered slightly.
"Jack, don't tease," she lightly scolded him; through she continued to smile at him.
A mischievous gleam shone in his eyes. "I can't help it," he told her. "I am the Guardian of Fun after all."
A light musical laugh escaped from her. "That you are."
"Aw, isn't this quaint," a sneering voice suddenly echoed through the room.
Jack and Tooth jumped and looked around for the source of the voice while Sandy woke up and Bunny leapt to his feet, a boomerang ready in his paw. The sky outside began to darken quickly.
"Show yerself!" Bunny bellowed, as he and Sandy approached the centre of the room, mimicking Jack and Tooth's movements by looking around the see whom the speaker was.
Jack's grip on his staff tightened, holding it defensively in front of himself. He recognised that voice.
Tooth had removed her hand from his shoulder but remained close to her fellow Guardian. She too recognised the voice and it made her heart quiver. It couldn't be possible.
The voice tutted. "Four of the big Five. I'm a little disappointed that you don't recognise me. You really should."
The darken sky outside appeared to creep into the Globe Room as the fires flickered and the blackness began to seep down the walls like ooze. Tooth gasped and fluttered closer to Jack. She wasn't scared but she had never seen anything like this happen before and it unnerved her.
The doors into the room suddenly burst open, making the four Guardians jump despite themselves and North appeared, a look of shock upon his face as he gazed upon the increasingly darken walls as the fires were extinguished. "What?"
"Ah, at last the bungling, incompetent fool arrives," the voice sneered. "Now the fun can begin."
North stood next to Bunny and Sandy, looking up at the Globe. "What is going on?" He flexed his arms. "Show yourself, you coward!"
Laughter echoed through the room, making the hairs on the back of Jack's neck stand up. "Fine," the voice said.
By now, the only light in the room came from the silver moon, which illuminated the Guardian design on the floor, and the lights of the believers. The five Guardians turned their eyes to the sliver of light as a swirling black smoky mass began to form above the centre of the motif. It increased in height, forming a body, the body of a figure they all recognised. The laughter increased as the black smoke fell from the figure like sand revealing the owner of the voice.
Pitch Black look down at the insignia beneath his feet, a malicious smile stretching across his pointed face. "Oh look, I'm a Guardian."