Oh my dear lord, this chapter was the death of me! I had no idea what direction to go in or what to say so thank the gods that it's over. Hopefully its easier to read that it was to write haha. Just so you know, I changed the timeline of the movie to better fit my story. So if it's not EXACTLY like the movie, you've been warned! Any who, I probably won't update until after Christmas so Merry Christmas everyone and congratulations on not dying December 21st. I hope everyone has a good holiday and reviews at the end of the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything besides my own characters, everything else belongs to DreamWorks.

Song of the Chapter: Promise – Ben Howard

Chapter Seven: The Day that Finally Ends

The North Pole was a mess. Everywhere tables had been turned over, toys scattered on the ground, yetis cowarding behind anything that would conceal them. Santa cried out in dismay as he rushed off the sleigh, propelled by deep alarm. Tooth looked utterly devastated, having lost all her fairies and teeth, and now having to deal with this. Bunnymund sat still in the sleigh, his head in his paws, refusing to see the new destruction while Sandy hung his head low in sorrow. Jack leaped out behind Santa and followed him into the Workshop, witnessing the ruins for himself. All thoughts of Tooth's palace and finding his memories vanished.

"This cannot be!" cried out Santa as he rushed forward into the main room, assessing the damage. "Pitch was with us! How could he have been here too?" His voice broke as he picked up a doll that had been ripped apart and thrown the floor. "All the toys are broken!" Santa fell down to his knees, his bright blue eyes watering with grief.

Tooth fluttered past Santa and into the room, trying desperately herself not to cry. "We weren't even here to protect the place. I couldn't even protect my own home." She wiped away the tears that had fallen, trying to appear strong but losing the battle. "Everything's destroyed." Her voice was barely a whisper as Sandy came up behind her, giving her a reassuring rub on her shoulder. Jack hung his head low as he picked his way through the toys scattered across the ground, each one torn or ripped or shredded apart. Glass ornaments decorating the Workshop had also been smashed, leaving the floor dangerous territory. Jack knelt down and ran a long finger over a broken fire truck. How anyone could be so sick to destroy a child's joy, he would never know.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted by a terrible cry from the other side of the globe. He was on his feet and by Tooth's side in seconds, looking down at a bruised and unconscious Ellie. He felt the air rush out of his lungs at the sight of her broken on the ground a tried to calm himself. The air was dropping in temperature around them fast as he clenched and unclenched his hands, visioning how hard he would pummel Pitch into the ground. A violent bruise was forming beneath Ellie's left eye, her bottom lip cut. Her hands were bloody and cut from landing on the glass scattered around her everywhere. Her breaths shallow as she lay in unconsciousness in the middle of the destroyed workshop.

"Ellie," Tooth cried again, coming down to the girl's side and grabbing her hand. Sandy remained behind her, a comforting hand on her shoulder still. "Oh Ellie." Tooth sobbed now uncontrollably as Santa and Bunnymund rushed over, hearing her distressing cries. All the colour in Santa's face drained as he knelt by Tooth's side, muttering vulgar words about Pitch and how he had crossed a line. Bunnymund turned away from the group and kicked violently at an overturned table, smashing a hole in the middle. Santa -regaining his composure- began throwing out orders to nearby yetis, snapping them out of their daze and instructing them to prepare the infirmary.

Jack cringed as Santa lifted the girl gently off the floor, her breathing becoming more haggard with the movement. What little colour she had left in her face drained as Santa rushed her to the medical room, wasting no time. The other three Guardians followed and for a single moment, Jack was left all alone in the room. There was an eerie silence filling the great space, a quiet remnant of the destruction Pitch had caused. For all the beauty of the Workshop had been destroyed, nothing left untouched. Jack stood helplessly as the room came slowly back to life. Yetis trickled in to begin cleaning the mess, each one dapping at their own tears. Jack pursed his lips together tightly and took off after the others, stepping over the wreckage carefully. There was no music or liveliness filling the corridors as he proceeded after the Guardians, his eyes never leaving Santa carrying Ellie's limp body.

It took only two minutes of walking through the elaborate hallways until they reached the infirmary. The room was long and orderly, equipped with white, perfectly made beds set at intervals. Yetis were already digging through medical supplies as Santa placed Ellie down on a bed, ordering them to bring him bandages, ice and medical concoctions. She groaned quietly between her ragged breaths as he began examining her injuries. He tilted her head down with a gentle hand so he could better view the bruise and cut on her face. He muttered to himself in Russian, diagnosing her injuries and deciding how best to treat them. The other Guardians respectfully gave the man space to work but Jack would not back away. He positioned himself on the other side on the bed, silently giving Ellie words of encouragement, bidding her to recover. Santa gave him one look under a bushy eyebrow to keep him in line but continued working. Jack would give no interruptions during a time like this.

As Santa began assessing supplies from a tray presented to him by a yeti, Ellie began to moan more frequently, her breath becoming alarmingly short. "What's happening?" Jack breathed.

Santa furrowed his eyebrows in deep concern as he picked up a vial from the tray. Its substance was a golden liquid that seemed to move with heavy viscosity. "She is waking up," he said matter of factly. "Give her space. She will be in pain."

Jack held his breath as Ellie slowly opened her eyes. She wore an expression of deep confusion mixed with pain and for a moment began to struggle. Santa outstretched his arm, taking her right hand in his and making soothing sounds. She struggled for a moment with words, trying to form a sentence but the shock of everything was too overwhelming. Everyone in the room held a collective breath as the girl slowly began to calm down. Santa was the first to break the quiet and offer her reassuring words. "My dear. Fear not now. You are safe." Ellie tried to focus her eyes on the big man but they never landed on her target. Instead she twisted her neck at an odd angle, trying to ground her bearings and assess the situation. It took everything in Jack's power not to look away. The guilt of knowing they had left her here as an open target was too great. They had failed to protect her.

"Wha- what happened?" she croaked out in a harsh whisper.

"We hoped you could tell us exactly," Santa said while looking to the others for conformation.

Tooth fluttered forward to Santa's side. "Pitch did it. We just don't know how," she offered quietly, trying to hold back more tears at the sight of Ellie.

Something seemed to click in the girl's eyes at the mention of Pitch. For a split second Jack registered fear, but as quickly as it had come, it was replaced by anger. "Pitch. Yes, Pitch. Pitch was here. That son of a bitch," Ellie yelled out nearly in tears. In a flash of anger, Ellie had sat bolt upright but her rage died quickly with a cry out in pain.

"Ellie, Ellie. You must not overdo yourself. You are hurt," Santa said, trying to gently push Ellie back into the bed. "You must rest." Jack found himself nodding with Santa's words of plain wisdom, quite ready to hold down Ellie himself.

"But he attacked! He was here and he attacked. And he knew things, about me! That son of a bitch, I'm going to kill him!" Ellie was all white hot rage again, her emotions running high enough to ignore her pain for the moment. "We have to do something!"

Tooth was about to interject when Jack beat her to the punch."Whoa, easy now tiger. I don't think you're in any condition to be getting out of bed and kicking some ass right now." Jack placed a cold hand on Ellie's shoulder and pushed her back down as she tried to protest. "We can't just go handing people's asses to them if we can barely get off our own, now can we?" Ellie seemed conflicted by Jack's words. He was speaking the truth, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it.

"But I-"

"But you no. You're going to let Santa and his magical furry helpers help you and then when you are feeling better, we can go kick some ass, okay?" Jack knew he had won the argument when only a dirty look was sent his way, followed by no sass. But he would take a dirty look any day over a damaged girl who refused help. The others around him seemed shocked at his sudden take in command but no one was going to refuse Ellie's cooperation, no matter how it was achieved. The girl huffed in annoyance before moaning in pain. The expansion her attitude caused in her lungs had sent a shock of pain through her ribs.

"Let me have look," Santa ordered, not wasting any time. Ellie defeated, lifted up her shirt just below her bra, exposing a riot of colour along her ribs. Santa poked a finger in a very tender spot, forcing a squeak of pain from Ellie. "Probably broken," he muttered, ignoring the look of exasperation from her. "Busted lip, bruised cheek. Someone decided to mop the floor with her face, no? Let's see. What else?" Santa grabbed her hands and inspected them gently. There were small cuts on both of them, most likely from fallen on top of broken glass ornaments. "I always thought those ornaments would be a workplace hazard," Santa mumbled to no one's benefit. "Well, you are fixable. Take this," Santa said, shoving her the vial of golden liquid from before. "And all of you, I don't need all of you right now. I fix her, then we take break and act later. It is no good if we all half asleep. Out, out, now." The other Guardians seemed to hesitate but Santa was met with no resistance. Jack however remained. "You too Jack Frost."

"I'm sure, you know, that Ellie might want some decent company for a change," Jack offered quite pathetically. In truth, he did not want to leave her side. She looked so miserable lying on the bed, all bruised and bloodied. It always astounded him how fragile mortals were.

Santa was just about to protest when Ellie interrupted. "Actually Uncle Nick, it's fine. Besides, he convinced me I needed to be healed first and foremost. So he should at least have to stay and listen to me complain the entire time."

The jolly old man considered her words. "Very well. As long as he stays out of my way." Jack nearly smiled like a fool at the fact that Ellie had vouched for him. But he kept his cool, instead giving her one of his famous grins.

For the next hour, Ellie purposely complained about everything health care related. Santa seemed to enjoy her ability to rant about health care systems, comparing the Canadian's to the American's. She was purposely ranting to annoy Jack, who to her benefit acted annoyed. But he genuinely found her knowledge interesting. Not because it was interesting in the first place - Jack could have cared less about the differences in health care systems - but because it was her saying it. She seemed to get very caught up in it all, her eyes lighting up as she talked about the wait times in the ER or the lack of doctors in a needy world. It was rather odd that someone could look so intrigued about something so dull. It seemed very typically Ellie, to skip to a different beat than the average person would.

Jack groaned at the appropriate spots, propelling Ellie deeper into her rant until Santa had finished tending to her. By the end of it all, she had bandages wrapped around both hands and an icepack strapped to the back of her head by a tensor bandage. The hour had been largely taken up by Santa removing the broken glass in her hands and disinfecting the cuts. Her ribs however would have to heal on their own.

Throughout the entire time, Jack's thoughts would turn towards finding his memories. The idea of knowing who he really was so tantalizing, he hoped dearly Ellie would heal soon so they could be off. He was equally relieved when they finished, knowing Ellie was alright and knowing they would be on their way soon. Pitch's time was limited.

After doing a quick clean of the area, Jack and Santa both took one of Ellie's arms and pulled her slowly out of the bed. She wobbled unsteadily on her feet, grabbing onto Jack's arm with an iron grip to steady herself. Upon realizing she was cutting off his circulation, Ellie let go quickly and muttered a quiet sorry. Jack waved her off proving his toughness. Like a girl could ever really hurt him, he told her with pride, to which she scoffed at his ego. Once she had finally found her balance, Santa told Jack to escort her to the kitchens, get her something to eat, and then send her off to bed. Ellie had no protest to this. Her stomach was rumbling rather loudly. It had been hours since she had last eaten and her body ached from the day's trying events. How sweet her bed would be tonight.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Jack kept Ellie in pleasant company. He offered her jokes when she seemed to retreat into herself, reliving the day's events. He thought of himself as the ultimate distraction: cute and entertaining at the same time. He poked fun at Bunnymund and his cocky attitude, to which Ellie reminded him of his own. It was a comfortable cycle: Jack told a joke when Ellie looked to be in pain, she would then brighten up, if only for a minute or two, then he would crack another one. They continued slowly through the hallways, her injuries giving them much time to talk as they made their way to the kitchen. Ellie could only manage a little bit of food before claiming that it was time for bed. They had been awake for hours, besides her being unconscious. All she wanted was to pass out and seek her revenge later. Jack agreed with her, finding the time coming to an end quickly when they finally made it to her door after their late dinner.

"Well, this day never seemed to end," Ellie joked using the last of her energy. She had tried to appear as good natured as anyone could be regarding the last few hours, but she was dying to get some alone time. She needed sleep and her bed was lying only meters behind her oak door.

"Hey, don't say that. You'll jinx it," Jack joked, leaning casually on her door frame, not wanting to say good bye quite just yet.

"Oh god. Please no!" she joked in return before yawning greatly. "Anyways, I should get my ass into bed. I think my heads about to fall off from exhaustion and my body needs to just shut down for awhile."

Jack's eyes darkened at her words, his feelings of shame and regret surfacing once again. "Look Ellie, I'm sorry this happened to you. If we had acted better, none of this should have happened at all."

Ellie shifted uncomfortably on her spot. "It's not your fault Jack. Or anyone of the Guardians in fact. Pitch is a dangerous guy, much more dangerous than any of us thought. We'll just have to anticipate that he'll do all he can to hurt you guys. He's a man with nothing to lose. The most dangerous kind."

Jack took in a deep breath, processing her words even though he still felt the blame landed on them. "Probably. But we'll fight back. In fact, there's something we haven't told you and I don't think it's fair to keep you in the dark. Not after tonight." Ellie scrunched up her face, bracing herself for more bad news. "Pitch took all of the teeth that Tooth and her fairies have collected. You know how they hold memories, right?" Ellie nodded."Well, we need to get them back. Otherwise kids will stop believing." And I need to get mine back to know who I really am.

"So how do you propose that?"

"We're going to do it the old fashion way. Collect them ourselves."

Ellie took in his words, noting the magnitude of how important this was. "Why are you telling me this?"

Jack took this moment to look Ellie deeply in the eyes. "Because I think you should come with us. It's not safe to leave you behind. We need you where we can see you, where we can protect you always."

Ellie chewed on her bottom lip. "We're leaving right now?" There was no way she would be able to function without some sleep. Not to mention her body needed to rest after the days traumas.

"No, no, no. We're leaving after we all get some shut eye. Besides, it's three in the morning, a little late to start now. We'll begin once the kids go to bed tonight. So you in?"

"Well I'm not promising I'll be the most amazing tooth stealer that every existed, but I'll try." That was all Jack needed to hear. He gave her a lopsided grin as she opened her door, stepping half inside her room. "Thanks Jack. I'm glad you're here to look out for me." And then she disappeared behind her door.

Jack smiled like an idiot all the way to his room.

XXXXX

So I've decided that you should all give me the most beautiful Christmas gift a writer could get, reviews! The more the merrier! My Christmas gift to you is the story, so now it's your turn!

I'm also curious as to what all of you think Ellie's center is, so let me know and you'll find out near the end if you were right or not!

Have a very Merry Christmas!

See you all later!