I just realized that I never thanked Faleno for being the 200th reviewer. I have no clue how I could forget that! Congratulations! I'm sending Jack to deliver your present tonight ;)
We have a lot of drama and a lot of angst in this chapter. Sorry. I just couldn't imagine the Guardians reacting any other way to Gretchen's plan. Warning, this is REALLY angsty.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you know I love you. Keep them coming! The greedy person in me wonders if we can make it to 300 :)
"Sandy, are you OK?" asked Bunny. He couldn't help noticing that his friend was bleeding.
The Sandman nodded. Then Jack's face appeared over his head followed by a question mark. The pooka pretended that he didn't see it and he pulled Sandy by his arm further down the tunnel.
"This is your stop, mate. Gotta help the others!" said Aster pushing the golden man out. He was safe, away from the tornado's path.
Bunny came out from another hole, inside the building where the other Guardians were trapped. His sense of smell was useless amidst the smoke but his sharp ears could hear them coughing on the third floor. He used the explosive googies to break the ceiling and jumped to the upper level.
North and Tooth were trapped. The building seemed to have caught on fire from the outside in, the circle of flames around them blocking all the exits. The heat was intense and the smoke was impairing their vision, making it hard to breathe.
"North?" asked Tooth, coughing.
The Russian man ignored her. He would find a way out. He would get Tooth out of there if it was the last thing he did. He looked in every direction, fearlessly getting closer to the flames than anyone else would, but there didn't seem to be a way out. He wrapped one arm around her shoulders but he didn't meet her gaze, as his eyes kept searching the room, hoping that he could still find a way.
"North, Tooth!" called a familiar voice with an unmistakable accent. North's face lit up "I need you to stay put. Don't move an inch. Both of you."
"OK" replied North.
As soon as he said it, a colorful explosion destroyed the floor in front of them. The pooka jumped out from the multi-color smoke.
"This way! Quick! Gretchen won't be able to buy us much time!" said Bunny, guiding them back to his tunnel.
"Leave them alone, Gaia!" said Gretchen's voice. There was no sign of the Groundhog, but her voice seemed to be everywhere, carried by the wind and the trees.
"Very impressive Gretchen... Do you really think you can beat me at my own game? Do you really think you can stop the ground from cracking under that building?" as soon as Seraphina said the words, the structure started shaking dangerously.
"Considering I just did... then yeah!" replied the half pooka.
"You really should have killed me when you had the chance." added Seraphina and the building collapsed, causing Gretchen to gasp.
The three Guardians were still on the second floor when the ground split and the whole edifice imploded. They jumped into the tunnel, which closed as soon as they were all inside. They were hit by the fallen debris but they were mostly unscathed.
"You guys OK?" asked Bunny panting, helping Tooth get up. She had a deep, bloody wound on her right cheek.
"I'm fine" she replied. "Where's Jack?"
"North, are you alright?" asked the pooka, turning away from Tooth.
"Fine" replied North, eying him suspiciously.
"Bunny! I asked you a question! Where is Jack!" Tooth spoke really fast, her voice filled with panic.
"This way!" said Aster, leading them down the tunnel.
Tooth's heart moved to her throat as she ran through the tunnel. Jack must have been really badly injured if Bunny didn't dare telling her. She wondered what she would find at the end of that tunnel and she fought back the tears prickling her eyes. She was about to see her winter boy and that was all that mattered. Whatever it was he would heal, spirits always did. And she would be by his side. Everything would be fine as long as they were together.
"Bunny?" asked North. He also wanted to question the other Guardian about Jack's condition. What could be so terrible that Bunny wouldn't tell them? Spirits healed completely from any injury, unless of course they... was Jack dead? " Bunny... is Jack...?"
"This is you, guys!" said Bunny, literally pushing them out of the tunnel.
North an Tooth found themselves out in the open. They could see Gaia and Pitch in front of them and they could see Sandy to their right, a few meters away.
Bunny and Gretchen came out from their tunnel together, a few meters to the other's left. North figured their formation was not a coincidence and he hoped that Bunny had a plan.
"Bunny... where is Jack?" asked Tooth desperate, realizing that everyone was where they were supposed to be, except for the Guardian of Fun.
"Yes, Bunny, where is Jack?" asked Pitch with hopeful malice.
Bunny look down at the ground. He was a horrible liar, and he really didn't want to see Tooth's face when she heard that her winter boy was dead. Taking away hope was really not his thing.
"He was badly injured..." said Gretchen. Thinking about Jack's hands and legs gave her expression realism. "We tried taking him to the snow..." she continued, dropping her gaze. She didn't want to take the risk of lying in front of Gaia because she knew that her friend would know, so she stopped there and let the others fill in the blanks.
"Jack is..." North couldn't finish the sentence. Saying it out loud would make it real. And Jack was like the son he never had...
Sandy's sand somehow lost its shine. His golden color got dull as his eyes welled up. Jack was his best friend and now he was gone. Guilt rushed over the Sandman. He should have tried to help the winter spirit, he should have risked himself. Jack would've done it...
Tooth felt a dark, heavy cloud covering her body. It couldn't be. She was still alive. How could she still be here if Jack wasn't?! How could the world exist without him?! Her eyes were hurting, but they were dry, the tears just wouldn't fall. She was numbed. She didn't realized when her wings stopped flapping and her feet touched the ground for the fist time in months.
"Such a terrible way to die for a winter spirit." the Boogeyman smiled as if he had won the lottery.
That did it. Something in Tooth snapped. She was blinded by rage and grief. She didn't care about anything anymore, not even her own life. The only thing that mattered was killing Gaia. She needed to die for taking Jack. She needed to die to erase that evil smile from Pitch's face. If she was to suffer, he would suffer too. She grabbed what was left of a street light from the pavement. The broken metal was sharp and thick, the perfect weapon. She held it in her hand for a few seconds, her blood boiling, her mind planning her next move. But as soon as her wings lifted her off the ground, North grabbed her arm, harder than it was necessary, pulling her towards him.
"He would want you to live" he rasped in her ear. Unlike his usual jolly voice, this one was dangerously rough, the thick accent making it sound even more menacing. He would not loose two Guardians in one night. He would not loose two loved ones in one night.
"She needs to die" she growled so low that only North could hear her.
"Maybe, but not out of revenge. Not at the expense of your life." her leader rasped again decisively.
I know, I know, I'm sorry. We'll kick some bum again next chapter and we'll have some fluff to compensate. I'll see if I can throw in some humour too.
