Sorry about the angst. It was bound to happen.
Wow! 185 reviews! We've already surpassed A Little Big Word! I'm so excited! I can't stop squealing!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone, especially to these lovely people who reviewed the last three chapters (sorry I haven't said thanks in a while): AGR2016, Goldie my Frost buddy, Hanna-I always love your suggestions, keep them coming!-, ShawnaCrazyGirl, creatorX33, ObsidianLove-the biggest Grabbit fan out there-, OinkyThePiggy, TheAngeloflego, Everlak-forever12, Revenge of the Red Pen, Chuffi4Harmony, xXBroken ThoughtsXx
You feed my review addiction and encourage me to keep writing. I don't even hate action scenes so much any more! Speaking of which...
Everything was blurry. The heat was unbearable. Jack was sweating buckets and he put his hood over his head to protect his face, as small blisters started appearing on his hands and feet. He tried to call out for help but his throat was impossibly dry. This was it, this was his end. The irony. The first time he had died it had been under frozen water. The second time under raging flames.
His mind drifted towards his family. It was comforting to even have a family to think about after being alone for so long. At least they were safe. 'Not for long' said a voice in his head. If they didn't stop Gaia soon... would MiM replace him? Maybe that's what he should have done all along. Replace him with a new Guardian of Fun, one that Gaia couldn't melt. One who was not possessed by evil. 'Please, just don't let it be Jamie'.
He thought of Jamie, his first believer, his very first hug. He hoped the kiddo knew how much he meant to him. He thought of Sophie and the cute way in which she said his name, o'uncle Jack'. He couldn't help but smiling thinking that her blond hair would not obey her, just like his. And Mandy, he remembered the safety of her arms and he lost himself in that feeling.
He was struggling to keep his eyes opened, not that it mattered, all he could see around was smoke and flames. 'Don't you dare closing your eyes, Jack!' he could almost hear Toothie's voice in his head. Tooth... to anyone else it would have seemed cruel to spend three hundred years alone just to have a few moths of her, but to her winter boy she was well worth it. He would have happily spent six hundred years alone just to have one day with Tooth.
"Sorry Tooth" he breathed, his eyelids were so heavy now.
Just as his eyes were closing, he heard Bunny's voice in the distance. The boy clung to that voice, resisting the urge of closing his eyes. Hope was here.
"Bloody Hell, Gretchen! I wanted you to stay up there!" said Aster, coughing.
The Groundhog didn't reply. Her eyes were closed and she was focusing very hard, trying to feel Jack through the trees. It wasn't easy, the trees were scared, they knew they were about to die. A tear ran down her cheek. Feeling the forest's pain was one of the perks of being a fairy.
"Gretchen?" he called her name as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
He didn't understand what she was doing, he imagined that she was very afraid. Even he was afraid, they were really in Hell. Everything around them was on fire, the black and thick smoke making it hard to see, hard to breathe. It was so hot, even for them, and he wondered how were they going to find Jack amidst the smoke. He wondered if they would even find him alive. Suddenly Gretchen opened her eyes, startling him.
"This way" she said, running to her right and Aster understood what she had been doing.
They ran a few meters before a dark figure appeared just in front of them. Gaia.
"Gretchen, Gretchen, Gretchen. Do you really think you can stop me?" said Seraphina.
"God dammit, Gaia! You used to be smarter than this!" replied the Groundhog, not a spec of fear in her eyes. "Get handsome!" she said to Bunny, but her eyes were fixed on her friend.
"You get him, I'll handle this!" said the Guardian. There was no way he was leaving her alone with Mother Nature.
"Oh yeah? How? Fuck Aster, just treat me like an equal for once in your freaking life and listen to me!" Gretchen screamed furious, her eyes still locked on Gaia's.
"Oh, lovers' brawl, how sweet! Too bad this relationship will be very short..." said Seraphina.
"You shut up, you idiot! You should know better than to get yourself down here with me!" yelled Gretchen. She was really frustrated. She didn't want to hurt her friend, but she didn't have a choice.
Bunny just couldn't move. He wanted to, he could see that she did seem to know what she was doing and he wanted to show her that he did consider her his equal, but the thought of loosing her was paralysing.
"I don't want to hurt you, Gaia. Get out of here." warned the Groundhog.
"Someone is over confident..." replied Seraphina, trying to hit her friend with a lightning strike.
Bunny's heart stopped, but Gretchen moved just in time. She was indeed as fast as he was. Aster was about to attack Gaia but he heard Jack coughing badly and ran to his help, watching the two women battle from the corner of his eyes. His friend was still alive, but he probably didn't have much time.
"I'm sorry, Gaia. You taught me too well." said Gretchen, her expression one of sadness and determination.
The flaming trees wrapped around Mother Nature's body, who screamed in pain before disappearing, only to reappear a few meters away. The ground kept shaking frantically and small fires were starting all around Gretchen, but she was too fast for her friend.
The trees kept attacking Seraphina with its branches, the fire engulfing them burning her black sand skin. The Groundhog had been successfully dodging almost every attack, but the heat was beginning to get to her, the smoke was making it too hard to see and she had begun coughing loudly.
"Jack, mate, are you alright?" Bunny asked, but he could tell that Jack was not alright. The boy was soaking wet, thick sweat drops covering his blushed, red face and the pooka could see the blisters on the back of his hands.
Jack looked at him, his eyes were so clouded that Aster wondered if he could really see him. The boy tried to say something, but he only managed to cough again, his eyelids menacing to close.
"Just stay with me OK? I'm gonna get you out of here. Keep your eyes open, mate. We're gonna make it, just one more minute" said Bunny, lifting Jack up from the floor and running back to Gretchen.
A lightening hit a tree next to the Groundhog, the trunk falling on her, knocking her to the ground. The Guardian of Hope panicked when he saw Gretchen breathing heavily, lying on the floor. Gaia was laughing malevolently, ready to give her the last blow. He was just too far away. He ran with all his might, with a half conscious Jack on his shoulder, but he just knew he wasn't going to make it in time to save her.
"What is it Gretchen? Tired already?" asked Gaia maliciously.
"Yes." replied Gretchen with difficulty, just as a tree branch hit Gaia on the nape of the neck and knocked her unconscious.
Bunny ran to Gretchen's side, panting.
"Are you OK? That was... you're amazing!" he said panting, helping her up.
She cough loudly, holding her middle and smiled back. Adrenaline was running through his body, he wanted to hug her and kiss her, he wanted to tell her that he loved her, but Jack became heavier as his consciousness slipped away.
"Oh no, you don't!" he said, shifting Jack to hold him like a baby so he could see the boy's face as his foot tapped the floor, opening a rabbit hole.
"Open your eyes, Jack! We're getting out of here!" said Bunny and the winter spirit obeyed, his eyelids fluttering open "that's better, mate!"
"Ladies first" he signaled for her to enter the tunnel. She signaled to wait.
"We don't have time to wait!" yelled Bunny, looking at his fellow Guardian and then back at Gretchen.
A tree lifted Gaia to the safety of the ground above them.
"I love her. And we need her." said Gretchen with difficulty, stepping into the tunnel.
