And... Action!
North saw the signal in the sky.
"Sandy, over there!" he said, pointing at the blue light.
They were traveling on a golden sand all terrain vehicle, courtesy of Sandy, its big wheels navigating easy through the destruction around them. The storm was too intense for flying and after a very rough landing, they decided to try their luck by land instead. The Sand Man sped up through the debris at his friend's command, towards the place Jack had signaled.
"Do you think they're OK?" asked the Russian man.
Sandy shrugged. It was a long shot for two people who couldn't fly, but somehow he had faith in Bunny's ability to survive. A smile illuminated his golden face as they approached the clearing. The pooka was not only alive, but his arm was wrapped tightly around Gretchen's waist.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't realize... I was so worried about you two..." said Tooth.
"Clearly you were really worried about me..." snarled Gretchen.
It wasn't so much that she was jealous. She knew that Tooth only had eyes for handsome and who could blame her, really. The Groundhog was just angry that they were interrupted. God dammit, Bunny was about to say something and the way he was looking at her... if he loved her too she wanted to freaking hear it, and now thanks to Little Miss Sunshine she may never get a chance. She felt his grip tightened around her waist, he could obviously feel the tension building inside her. Or maybe he just wanted to hold her tight, it did feel pretty darn good after all.
"How did you even survive that?" asked Jack, curious. Two spirits who couldn't fly, falling down from an out of control sleigh during a terrible storm was unbelievable, even for the Kangaroo.
"Turns out that Gretchen here is a Forest Fairy. She only needed help this morning after we tried to help her." said Bunny, bumping the Groundhog softly with his shoulder as he smiled widely, obviously proud.
"Uhh... but Forrest Fairies look like...?" asked Jack, he was even more confused now.
"My father was a pooka" offered Gretchen and Tooth's eyes widened.
"Bunny that means you're not the only one of your kind anymore!" smiled the Tooth Fairy.
"Well... technically she's only half pooka... but it would have to do!" he said, smiling at Gretchen and pulling her closer again.
"Hey! What do you mean it would have to do?" she protested back, punching his chest.
North and Sandy got down from the golden vehicle.
"Bunny, glad to see you are alright! Better than alright, no?" said the Russian raising an eyebrow, noticing the little exchange between the Easter Bunny and the Groundhog.
Sandy was smiling widely, a heart and a question mark displayed over his head.
Bunny looked at Gretchen, those smoldering green eyes shinning with emotion again, melting her from the inside out. She sighted and looked at Sandy.
"OK, you can get a bit excited, but I wouldn't count on happy endings unless we stop Gaia soon. I can feel it. This may become irreversible even if we bring her back." she said serious.
When she became one with the tree to save Bunny, she realized the extent of the damage. The earth was changing fast. Even stopping her friend was no guarantee that they could stop the chain events that had been already been unleashed.
Bunny wrapped his other arm around her as well and kissed her temple.
"There's still time. Spring can still come, I can feel it..." Bunny began, in his best Guardian of Hope fashion, but he was forced to stop as the ground under his feet started shaking. An earthquake.
"Oh there you are? I've been looking all over for you, winter boy. We have a score to settle, remember?" said Serafina, her black sand face adorned with a malicious smile.
Tooth tried desperately to fly to Jack's side. She felt so stupid. She was supposed to keep him safe, to hold his hand and don't let go, but she let herself get distracted and now her winter boy was standing all alone between her and Bunny, at Gaia's mercy. She barely advanced a couple of meters before a herd of fearlings surrounded her.
"Tooth!" Jack tried to fly towards her , but of course the wind couldn't obey him anymore.
"Not so fast, Toothiana!" said Pitch, putting his hand on his daughter's shoulder "isn't it delightful? All the Guardians together! Even your cute friend is here!"
Sandy held North and they both flew to Tooth's aid, while Jack and the pookas were still trying to regain their balance as the earthquake intensified. Bunny let Gretchen's waist go to have better range of movement, but he held her hand. There was no way he was letting go of her again. He was clinging to her hand so tightly that he was hurting her, but she didn't complaint. She didn't want to let go either. She didn't want to be in Jack's and Tooth's shoes. They were silently agreeing that if they were going to die it would be together.
"Oh, would you look at that! I told you that they were in love! You two are so perfect for each other" said Pitch maliciously, looking at the pookas holding hands. "I can't believe I'm finally getting the chance to kill every last pooka... but don't worry rabbit, we'll kill her fast and painless. You, on the other hand..."
Bunny looked at the boogeyman menacingly and took a step forward with difficulty, trying to shield Gretchen. She couldn't tell, as the ground beneath their feet started cracking.
Tooth was fighting fearlings left and right, her sharp wings tearing them apart as she tried to find a way out, more worried about Jack's safety than her own. She panicked when she saw Sandy and North by her side.
"But Jack...?" she asked.
Why were they helping her? Wasn't Jack the key? Wasn't protecting her winter boy the only thing that mattered? What if something happened to him? What if Gaia... killed him?
"Too many fearlings Tooth. I'm sure Bunny has it under control, no?" said North, slicing three fearlings in half with his swords.
"But she can kill Jack!" she screamed again.
Didn't North understand that Mother Nature could kill him in a blink of an eye? What were they going to do if Jack...? What was she going to do if Jack...? She was hyperventilating but fighting the fearlings furiously, trying to find a way to get to her boyfriend.
"Tooth, you can't do this alone. Bunny and Gretchen will look after Jack." insisted the Russian.
Jack also noticed the big cracks under his feet. He tried with all his might to walk towards the pookas but it was near impossible. The place where he was standing was shaking more furiously than the rest of the clearing and he found himself falling on the ground over and over again. Abruptly the ground started sinking.
"Handsome!" screamed Gretchen, realizing what was going on.
In a matter of seconds Jack disappeared in a cloud of dust as the area where he was standing sank down, the trees around him catching fire.
"Frostbite!" yelled Bunny.
The Guardian of Hope froze for a split second. He couldn't just leave snowflake down there but it was suicidal to try and rescue him. It was dangerous to leave Gretchen alone, but she could take care of herself and it was worse to take her with him. He let her hand go as he hopped into the fire pit after Jack.
The Groundhog realized that he wanted her to stay put, but of course she jumped too. There was no way she was letting her pooka go into that Hell alone
