Me: Okay guys, I'm just going to jump right in here. First things first, thanks to all guest reviewers from the last chapter! As usual, responses are at the end of the chapter :D Also, thanks to DeviaLyanMalfoi, (for the faves and follows of both me and the story) PJO 4 me and silverhuntress04 (for faving the story), and Adina Mizu (for following the story) Hope you enjoy the ride guys!
And, seeing as I haven't for a while now... *HUGS* to everyone,
(and I suppose I should do another random discalimer.. I don't own RotG, it's characters or locations and this is a non-profit fic, etc yada yada. We all know the drill :D )
Anyway, I was going to- Oh, *startled blink at the coincidence* never mind. Here they come now anyway...
Jack: Why did you call me here Raven?
Me: You'll see-
Jack Sparrow: *popping into existence*Yeah, I've a mind to say the same thing. I was busy ransacking some poor sods off of Tortuga, when I gets wrenched from me rum. I didn't appreciate it, Raven. Savvy?
Jack O'lantern: *appearing in a puf of smoke*Ha, tell me about it. Al I get is a letter saying 'get your ass over here' What are ya supposed to make of that?
Jack Sparrow: Yeah... S'annoyin... Rum? *offers the bottle*
Me: *grabs it and throws it into the air, shooting it* No getting drunk on me Sparrow.
Jack Sparrow: But I-
Jack Black: *appearing with a huge kung fu noise of a boom*Ooh, I came at the right time?
Jackie Chan: *leaping in, Martial Artsy style* The time of violence?
Me: *to you guys* Yup, that's right... IT'S A JACK CONVENTION! Who likes my plan? … Anyone?
Jackie Chan: Well, I was only beating some guy up, so I had nothing better to do- Hey! You're the guy that voices he kung fu panda, Right?
Jack (frostbite to you and me): Well, I think this could be fun-
Jack O'lantern: Oh damn it, no more pranks?
Jack Sparrow: Pranks?
Me: *bites lip* Ah... Vader! Please tell me I hid the blasters!?
Vader: *having just entered* Yes... Oh no... this is what you had planned? A convention of the Jacks...?
Me: Yup... And there are more coming! I think it's time to 'Jack up' the entertainment... Haha... Hehe... Hehe... Heh... Anyone? … No? *pouts* Fine then... Ah well, enjoy the chapter guys! (Sorry that's it's not ridiculously in depth and descriptive, but... yeah... *sheepish shrug and disarming grin* Ya love me really :D)
The ten of them, as they landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs-the result of all rushing at once and promptly tripping and falling down in a huge tangled mess of limbs- decided to split up to cover more ground.
Gale, Flow, Clover, Lily and Tooth went towards the study, Aspen, Shady and Bunny went to the training room and North, Sandy deciding to tag along, head to 'check out' the kitchen.
Finding nothing out of the ordinary in the study, or the adjoining rooms, the four girls made their way back to the agreed meeting place, namely the store room, and arrived just in time to hear a loud yelp, followed by laughter, then more yelps...
Shady poked his head around the doorway, looking into the training room. Then Aspen did, a bit higher up, then Bunny followed suit. None of them saw anything strange, so Bunny slowly tiptoed forward. When nothing burst out to throw stuff at him, he sighed in relief.
"Okay, I think it's clear-"
"NO!" Aspen cried, slapping a hand over the Pooka's mouth, Shady having hastily given him a leg up to enable him to do so. "Don't jinx it!"
Bunny rolled his eyes, peeling the fingers away.
"Look, he might be good, but he can't prepare for everything, and he can't booby-trap every room."
The other two shared dark looks, and Bunny sighed, pulling away...
And promptly yelping loudly as he fell through a hole in the floor, where there had previously been a panel.
The others froze, then burst out laughing as the Pooka tied to clamber back out, completely covered in slippery slime and good, in a lovely toxic green colour.
Their laughter was replaced by yelps as Bunny pulled them both in too, and they both spluttered as they glared at him.
"Remind me why we chose to be on their team?" Shady said, and Aspen sighed.
"Because we're idiots and thought we had a chance of winning."
"We still have a chance of winning-" Bunny cut off at the pointed looks, before rolling his eyes. "Bleedin' pessimists..."
They eventually managed to get themselves out of the hole in the floor, and Bunny glared as the panel slid back into place.
"Damn Frostbite... How the hell could he manage to do all this?"
The others, in unison, replied.
"He's Jack Frost."
They were just leaving to head back to the meeting place when they heard a huge yell, followed by a constant jumble of Russian... Then an even louder series of yells. None of them could speak the language, but they got the gist...
North sighed as he heard the yelps, and shook his head, shrugging at Sandy, who rolled his eyes and took guard position outside the door in case of attack.
Great... The Pole had become a huge bloody trap... Ah well, apparently the youngest guardian was not in the kitchen.
He absently grabbed a few cookies and munched on them, not paying much attention to the taste... until the spice kicked in, all in one sudden explosion.
He yelped, starting to try and fan his mouth-which only made things worse- before garbling a string of Russian curses as he threw open the fridge and grabbed a bottle of eggnog, downing it in a few mouthfuls... Only to yelp louder as it made everything a hundred times worse.
He ended up throwing his head under a tap and letting water pour into his mouth that way, Sandy in the midst of a silent laughing fit the entire time.
It eventually cooled enough for him to be able to leave the haven of the sink, and he glared at everything and nothing as he made his way to the meeting area... Only to see three bright green dripping males, four giggling females and a dancing elf.
"Right. This time, he has gone too far. HE SPIKED THE COOKIES!"
The dancing elf skipped off as Bunny spoke up, still trying, in vain, to wipe away the green sludge that was stuck in his fur.
"With what mate?"
"Ridiculously hot spices... Then he put, what I am assuming is, Tobasco sauce in eggnog."
Tooth tried, valiantly, to hide her giggle, but it burst out anyway.
At the evil looks she was given, she held up her hands defensively.
"Sorry, sorry... Look, let's just stock up on paint bombs, go to his place, and give him hell?"
They all exchanged looks, before shrugging and heading into the store room, each picking up several of the 'paint bombs'.
Bunny threw one up in the air, catching it again, and sighing.
"You really want to risk attacking on his home turf...?"
North shrugged.
"Luck favours the brave..."
"I'm not so sure that that's the saying-"
"Pish Pash-"
"Neither is that- Oi!"
Bunny ducked as North went to throw a pint bomb at him, only for it to explode into an explosion of red powder.
The others all shared looks, before looking at the paint bombs.
Or rather, the ruse.
They all heaved a sigh, in unison, as North coughed, knocking into Flow, who dropped the ones she was holding. They fell in almost slow motion... before they all promptly exploded, making everyone drop the ones they were holding, which also exploded, and Shady bumped into the box, sending the rest of them crashing to the floor...
By the time they had fought their way out of the store room, tripping each other up all the way, they were all covered in multi-coloured powder, and they all tiredly sank down against the wall.
And to think they had only been at it for an hour or so...
Clothes, feathers and fur were all coated in a think layer of the stuff, and North scowled as he realised what it was.
"Will not wash out, but will stay for several hours before vanishing, unless we have specific water and powder combination, which Jack will no doubt have taken hostage. Meanwhile, we leave trail of dust wherever we go..."
They all sighed, until Clover perked up.
"Everywhere? Then I say we go and make a mess at Jacks..."
They all exchanged looks, before Tooth gave Clover a high five.
"Brilliant..."
They took a few minutes to double check their blasters and various other weapons, before heading for the sleigh, their thinking being that Jack would be expecting a portal...
They had just stepped through the door when Flow uttered a loud groan and an apology...
They all turned just in time to see her foot stuck under a tripwire, before looking up to see a wave of glue and feathers falling towards them...
Clover growled as she realised what a mess her hair was in, before realising that t was the least of her problems...
They all looked like lumpy, powdery chickens for Moon's sake...
Though, she had to admit, Bunny looked ridiculously funny... And Tooth's wings actually suited the whole chicken look.
It took them several moments to wipe most of it off, but they were still left with patches of glue and feathers everywhere, and Shady was slowly head-butting the wooden post.
"Never go against Jack... In A Prank War... Every time... Never listen to my own... Damned advice... Bloody Guardians..."
Clover held her hand up as the others went to cheer him up, making 'you don't want to go there' gestures and, a few seconds later, he turned to North.
"You've doomed us all..."
"So much Pessimism!"
"I'm being realistic... WE'RE DOOMED!"
"I am sure that we will be fine-"
"Then go and walk to your sleigh. We'll watch."
The others all grinned at North, making shooing motions, and he got a determined look.
He took a dramatic step forward... and promptly fell over on the ice that was there, sliding halfway across the floor.
The others burst out laughing, even as Aspen started clearing it for them to walk across.
Shady nodded, tying a scrap of black fabric around his forehead.
"Right. I may be on the wrong side in this war, but I'll be damned if we're going down that easy. ASPEN! Give me that blaster."
Aspen threw it to him, grinning at the guardians.
"Shady's going into war mode. Hey, we might be in with a chance now..."
The guardians all shared looks, before nodding, making a silent decision that they were sure they would regret... Eventually... Maybe... Possibly... Not?
Sandy immediately morphed a suit of armour with dream sand, North pressed a switch and a breast plate, arm and leg braces and shoulder pads folded out from his belt creating his own armour, Bunny pulled a cord on his belt and the leather split, revealing a row of fold out boomerangs which he took out and strapped to his waist and Tooth flicked her wings, her feathers flipping to a darker colour as a set of delicate armour-which was clearly stronger that it looked- folded itself out.
Shady gave them an approving look.
"That's more like it. It's better to start taking this seriously earlier rather than later... Spirits! Prepare for battle!"
Gale grinned, and she brushed aside the leaves on her outfit to reveal that she was in fact wearing leather bracers and... chainmail? With a leather belt. Flow and Clover caught the small packages she threw them, and they rolled out an all in one, flexible, armour outfit, and Aspen got a load of Ice together, morphing it into his own armour.
Shady flexed his fingers, before spinning the blaster around and blasting three times, each time hitting a hidden trip wire.
The guardians all stared, completely bemused...
Why did they get the feeling that the spirits had done this before?
"Rule one, always keep your eyes peeled. Rule two, never do the unexpected. Jack lives for that... Rule three, never rest. If you feel safe? Run. Rule four, never antagonise Jack Frost. I mean never. And rule five? Never go first. Off you go North."
North glared at the spirit, but cautiously made his way across the floor. He sighed as he managed to reach the sleigh, and was just starting to feel secure when a stream of glitter-glue exploded at him.
He sighed as he managed to block the small blaster that had clearly been set up with a weight distribution system.
Shady sighed as he turned to the others, throwing Aspen his blaster back and taking back his wooden staff.
"Again, Rule number three. Until there is a truce or a surrender, you are never safe. Now are you starting to see what you've started?"
Sandy, Tooth and Bunny sighed, nodding, before sharing small grins, causing sighs amongst the spirits.
It appeared Jack Frost had had far too much of an influence on the guardians... And it was looking to become the cause of one of the greatest battles the spirit world had ever seen...
_
They managed to get into the sleigh without further incident, and it wasn't long before they were landing in the huge runway in the monastery.
They all leapt out, immediately running for cover, North even doing a combat roll behind the small wooden table, and froze for a few seconds until Shady motioned them forwards.
"Okay, go!"
They slowly and cautiously made their way up, using basic, altered military tactics, such as hiding in doorways, as they did so, before they finally burst into the training room, throwing themselves behind various pillars and tables.
Then they all groaned as they spotted Jack, grinning at them from a rafter and with a very familiar looking can in his hand.
"Hey guys… Ya look a bit… well… messy."
"Can it Frostbite…" Bunny called, from behind his pillar, before glaring at the drink.
"Please tell me that it isn't-"
"Caffeine? Yep. An aptly named No-Fear energy drink. Oh, hey Shady, you gone all War Commander mode on us?"
"We're against you. What do you expect, Jackie boy?" This was Bunny and Shady winced, throwing himself behind one of the small wooden shields Jack had arranged over the room, shouting for everyone to get down.
"Jackie boy?" Jack shot the Pooka an evil grin. "Bad move Plushie…"
With that, he swung down into the shadows and vanished…
Shady was quick to call out again.
"Clover! Gale! Flow! Aspen! Lily! Serpentine manoeuvre and fire at will!"
The guardians all shared looks, before shrugging and getting their own weapons ready to fire.
Suddenly, Flow blasted at a flicker of movement, only to see that it had been a cardboard cut-out of Jack, with the words 'Nice try…' written on them.
A flurry of movement had everyone else blasting, and it was a few seconds before they realised that they were firing at more decoys.
They all stopped, when one of the Jack's suddenly started firing, catching North and Gale with several blasts of paint.
Everyone started firing, only to find that, once again, Jack had vanished.
Damn it, Shady thought, as he crept forward, Jack had gotten, if it was possible, even better…
A sudden shifting behind him had him spinning, only to duck a blast from Jack, who had crept behind him, and roll to the floor, coming up firing.
He grinned as he managed to catch Jack's jacket with the red paint in his blaster..
That should make him a little easier to spot…
But that was the only piece of luck they had during this shoot-out.
Jack would leap in, fire, then vanish into the shadows again-much to Shady's annoyance, as the damned spirit was so quick he couldn't pinpoint him- and the nine of them slowly, but surely, ended up becoming walking rainbows.
Not only were they getting blasted by Jack, but Jack would often leap between two of them, making them shoot each other, before laughing, blasting at them, and vanishing yet again.
They made a valiant effort, Aspen, Clover, Flow and Tooth even using the climbing frames and getting off some very impressively aimed shots which only narrowly missed, but were soon considering just giving Jack the win for this one.
It was only when Jack created a few ice sculptures, however, that started throwing snowballs at them, that North called a retreat.
"GET BACK! THROUGH THE PORTAL!"
Bunny blinked.
"Mate, the Pole could still have traps!"
"I HAVE OPENED IT TO BURROW."
"Oh gee, thanks…"
He, didn't, however, hesitate or argue before leaping through and rolled out of the way as Flow and Gale followed, Shady yelling for them to close it and he'd shadow jump.
North nodded, slamming the portal closed, and they all waited, with baited breath, for Shady to arrive.
Shady winced as Jack gave a cheerful laugh.
"Hey, just like old times, huh?"
Aside from the optimism."
"Meh, it'll fade." Shady grinned as he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, and span, firing.
Jack yelped as he leapt aside, firing at Shady, and the two exchanged a flurry of blasts before Shady finally made it to a pool of shadows, shot a snappy salute to Jack, and vanished.
Jack grinned as the shadow spirit vanished.
Now then, how many of the burrow traps would they trigger? Only one way to find out…
He tapped a tunnel, and leapt out, grinning as he leapt into the trees and, using the branches, ran and flipped his way towards the rest of them, keen to keep track of what area's he could use for traps later… Seeing as they were bound to miss a few, it would be nice to make use of them.
Bunny's ears twitched as he felt something flare in the warren, but brushed it away. Jack wouldn't be crazy enough to follow them here…
And it was wiped from his mind as Shady came tumbling from the trees, grinning.
"Well, that went well…"
They all set off, heading to Bunny's home.
A sudden yelp from Tooth, who was in front, preceded her getting hoisted upside down, dangling from one ankle, which a rope was wrapped around.
"Oldest trick in the book..." Bunny sighed, letting her down. "Okay, eyes to the ground…"
They all listened, watching for more tripwires… Which was why they didn't noticed the wires strung between branches.
Lily ended up triggering one just as North did the same, both of them ending up with buckets of paint emptying over their heads, and both backed away, knocking into Gale and Aspen who were knocked backwards and ended up triggering two more of the foot snares.
North, as the two were helped down, belatedly -in the others' opinions-decided to just take a short-cut and opened a portal to just outside Bunny's home.
The Pooka sighed as they all gasped-being ahead of him- and he hurried through the portal, leaping forward to see what the damned Frostbite had- Oh Moon… He… He…
He'd painted a Christmas scene on his home! With little arctic bunnies and everything!
"JACKSON OVERLAND FROST! WHEN I FIND YOU YOUR LIFE WON'T BE WORTH LIVING YOU... YOU… ARGGGHHHHH!"
With that, he started pacing, muttering and clearly plotting something, and shot the others a determined look.
"I have had a plan for a while now, but needed help. You guys in?"
They all nodded, and he ran to the store room, coming out with a huge sheet of paper.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do…"
Jack, in the interests of fair play, decided to just hang back and not take a peek, though he did overhear something about Burgess…
He lounged about for a bit, before he perked up as they all head over to the store room.
Bunny absently grabbed a carrot, biting into it as he reached for more paint bottles to empty into their-now empty- blasters.
He had barely swallowed before the heat kicked in, and he yelped, running in circles and fanning his mouth.
He grabbed a couple of carrots from a different box, thanks to the heat induced illusion he was in deluding him into thinking that Jack would only have spiked one barrel.
He quickly realised his mistake as the three carrots he munched on also had chilli's in them.
North, both sympathetic and panicking, grabbed a bottle of water and Bunny snatched it, downing it in a couple of mouthfuls. He was quiet for a second or two until…
"TOBASCO SAUCE!"
He ran from the store room, running in circles and yelling about the heat, when they all heard laughter from the trees.
They all yelled, diving behind trees, until he spoke up.
"Huh... Too hot for you Plushie? Then let me help you cool down…"
With that. A heavy snow started falling, and the ground around them was covered with a thick layer of the white powder within minutes.
They all groaned as Jack leapt to the ground, scooping snow up and making it into a perfect snowball, before tossing it into the air and catching it a few times. It was only a minute fraction of a second before they were doing the same themselves, ignoring Bunny who had simply dove into the snow and was now busy eating it to get rid of the effects of the chilli's.
By the time he rolled back up, there was a full on snowball fight going on around him.
_
Jack had formed several snowmen, and animated them to throw snowballs at a steady rhythm, the others were working to destroy the snowmen, whilst avoiding Jack's uncanny aim and Bunny decided what the hell, grabbed his slingshot and started firing at the Winter spirit.
Yeah, Jack wasn't the only good shot here… Though they had to shout a grudging thanks to him when he started throwing balloons filled with the mixture that dissolved the multi-coloured powder that they were still plastered with. For as he had said, he was 'helping them out'.
Shady and Aspen were likewise very good shots, and they wordlessly formed a plan. Whilst the three of them targeted Jack and made sure he couldn't focus on the others, the others all worked towards getting rid of the snowmen.
As the last one crumbled, Jack grinned, sending a final shot towards Bunny and hitting him in the face, before vanishing into the trees.
After a few minutes, it appeared that he had decided to let them have this one and they all relaxed a tiny amount.
After a few seconds when they all got their breath back, Tooth spoke up.
"Okay, we need somewhere to rest and clear up. The Pole is too risky, and staying here is clearly not an option. I'm willing to risk the palace, if you guys are?"
Knowing they would have to go there eventually, they all voted for getting it over and done with, letting North open a portal to the main entrance to the palace.
Tooth sighed as she flew forwards a little. Now it was her turn...
Hovering as she was, however, she didn't fall victim to the slippery floor and motioned the others inside... Just in time to realise her mistake.
She was too late to shout a warning, however, and the seven members of their little party that were walking ended up falling over themselves and, in their attempts to stand upright, finally came to a halt in a tangled mess in the centre of the room.
It was nearly ten slippery, yelp-filled and embarrassing minutes later before Tooth and Sandy managed to help them manoeuvre to the other end of the hall, and they finally managed to stand on their own two feet.
Bunny's fur had started to dry, with the mixture in it, and he was now starting to look like a full on poof-ball.
The girls had hard times not giggling, and even the guys were trying hard not to let their grins show.
Needless to say that, by the time they had navigated the rigged doorways,got splattered and covered in paint, fallen over tripwires which set off yet more buckets full of some form of colourful and irritating concoction and finally entered the meeting room, they were all ready to clean themselves up and take a nap.
No such luck.
They had no sooner entered the room when the huge tarpaulin fell-triggered by pressure sensors in the doorway, and they were all buried beneath glitter confetti.
There were squeals from Flow and Clover as they realised what a mess their air was in, and Bunny scowled as confetti and glitter stuck to the paint and everything else already coating his fur.
It would take ages to get this off...
The others looked likewise ridiculous and tired, and by the time they had fought their way free of the huge confetti pile in the middle of the room, they simply head off and got themselves cleared up, the six spirits muttering about 'the older generation having something to prove' and 'maybe not siding with the losing side in future'.
The guardians however, even though Bunnymund took almost three hours to fully get everything out of his fur, were actually enjoying themselves immensely, though they grudgingly realised that Jack was likely as energetic as ever, even as they were exhausted.
They had just sat down, to get some rest, when everyone leapt into the air, yelling or squealing or exploding into a blast of golden sand sparks, before landing in heaps on the floor, as the loud sound of air horns echoed through the palace.
They would check every chair they sat on for some years after that, simply for Paranoia's sake...
Now, that was one spirit who was really rather amused by the whole affair, though she would never admit it...
_
The following morning, they all grouped together, double checking their roles in Bunny''s plan, and deciding on an ideal place for a secret base. They couldn't risk their homes. It was too obvious.
So, when North hit upon the perfect location, they eagerly snapped up the opportunity and set about moving...
Now it was time for them to go on the offensive...
But, Shady thought as they moved everything, That left Jack on the defensive... And he was never more dangerous and sly and smart and ridiculously uncanny than when he was completely improvising...
Ah well, they'd see... For now, what was the best way to convince the Burgess kids that they really should not side with their idol in this particular battle?
Me: Okay guys... I would... you know, explore the whole Jack Convention thing more? But most of them (mainly background characters in Moon knows what films and books and what-not) are currently involved in a game of exploding snap, which Vader managed to swipe from Ron Weasley. Not only that but Sparrow is drunk and is dancing with a giant teddy bear that he's named Jackie Sparrow Jr, Jackie Chan and Jack Black are in an arm wrestle, Jack (from Jack the Giant Slayer) is in an argument about fairy tales with the Jack from Jack and Jill, Jack O'lantern and Jack Frost are currently discussing the politics of the spirit world, and the Jack of hearts, from Alice in Wonderland, is trying to steal the tarts... I mean cookies! Gah, this thing is wearing my nerves down! Seriously, I think I'm just going to invite the Looney Tunes Gang over for a party and have some fun... So, till the next chapter, (where I am sure the party will spill into the fore-note... ;D) Have fun, Be good and Don't blow anything up! WAIT! JACK SPARROW! THAT MEANS YOU TOO-
*Huge explosion of gunpowder*
Vader: Too late...
Me: … You dare say I told you so and I'll... I'll...
Vader: Fine! Sheesh... But I informed you thusly. I so informed you thusly.
Me: … *glares*
Vader: *shuts up and quickly busies himself welcoming a Jack in a Box *
Me: Yeah... This is starting to get strange, so I'm definitely inviting Bugs, Daffy and the others over. See ya guys!
Guest Review Responses (Up till I uploaded this chapter)
RobynSmith – Interesting idea... Not sure whether It would work in the context of the fic at the moment, but I'll see :D Don't hesitate to let me know if you think of any more! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D
ThatRandomGuest – Haha, yeah... But when he's in the whole 'Gah! I need to cool the heat!' phase, I'm assuming he would just forget about it, Lol :D Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you enjoyed this one as well!
Guest- Living Ice Sculpture of himself? I like the idea... Not sure about him being harsh enough to make them think they'd shattered him into a million pieces, but I really like the idea! Cheers for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Guest: Awesome, huh? Why thank you! Thank you very much! *elaborate bow* Hope you thought this chapter just as enjoyable!