Chapter two: arguing

The guardians had been training for a while now, every now and again they'd be forced to break though and have to slip Rapunzel back home because of Gothel. Either way this still didn't stop the constant arguing in the group, mainly from Merida and Jack. Rapunzel had turned into the peacekeeper always trying to stop the arguing and then of course there was Hiccup who didn't seem to pick either side, so far every task the guardians had given to them as trust building exercises no one took seriously except for Rapunzel.

Rapunzel happened to be gone this day though, and the other three sat rather bored in the workshop
"So how come she gets to go home and we don't?" Merida asked looking at North
"Because, Rapunzel is only one who wants to be here, we know she'll come back" North said smiling at her a little bit Jack frowned a little bit tapping his hand against the table he was bored, sense they didn't have all the members of the team they couldn't exactly do anything, or so he thought, he didn't realize what the guardians had planned this time for them. None of our heroes did, well maybe one did.

"How can you just sit there and work like that?" Jack suddenly asked looking at Hiccup who was cleaning out the fake wing for Toothless's tail, he looked up at Jack

"Because being able to care for my inventions is fun for me, why don't you try doing something that entertains you, preferably not making fun of Merida" Hiccup added afterwards seeing a grin spread across Jack's face but when Hiccup spoke Jack's smile vanished and he tapped his fingers frustratedly until suddenly something black dashed across the other side of the room causing Jack to perk up a bit
"Did you guys see that?" Jack asked suddenly standing up Hiccup looked up again from his work and Merida looked over
"See what?" Merida asked him Jack frowned watching the spot where the black thing had disappeared he grabbed his staff quickly and looked over at the other two
"Stay here" jack said quickly before hurrying over to where he had seen it Hiccup and Merida watched him disappear and Merida grabbed her bow and quiver quickly
"Where are you going?" Hiccup asked her as Merida pulled the quiver over her shoulder
"It's obviously one of Frosts tricks and i'm not gunna be a dummy this time" merida said hurrying away Hiccup hesitated before quickly assembling Toothless's tail again and hurrying to his feet
"Hey wait up!" he called hurrying after them, Toothless hot on his trail when they caught up they saw something that was rather alarming, the workshop was trashed and no one was in sight but Jack who was looking around frantically
"North! North where are you?!" Jack shouted searching for the large man as the other two cautiously looked around as well stepping around broken toys and equipment, everything was eerily silent except for Jack's voice as he called for the guardian once in awhile,
"What happened? and how did we not notice?" Hiccup asked causing Jack to jump as he looked over at Hiccup and Merida he frowned at them hopping off of a broken table he had been standing on
"I told you guys to wait"
"Yes and that was goin to happen" Merida said drawing an arrow and placing it in her bow though she kept it aimed at the ground for now, she didn't like this it had a creepy feeling to it. Jack sighed a little running his hand through his hair but Hiccup did have a point, how didn't they notice? they surely would have heard the yetis and the elves so...what had happened? Jack saw more movement and a black figure duck around a corner
"North?" Jack called hurrying after the figure Merida watched him for a moment before trying to grab him
"Jack wait!" she called but the frost spirit was already around the corner she sighed if something was really wrong then they were in trouble they hurried after him just barely catching his staff ducking around another corner Merida sighed hurrying after him as they ducked and weaved through the hallways she finally caught up to him and grabbed his staff stopping dead and causing the spirit to fall backwards she took the staff completely away from him and tossed it to Hiccup then standing between the two as Jack scrambled to his feet and glared at her
"Give it back."
"Not until ya calm down!" Merida said to him "For all you know you could be following whatever did that to the workshop"
Jack glared at her he mostly because she took his staff but also because he knew she was most likely right, he was being reckless and a little stupid but he needed to know that his friends were alright. he let out a long irritated sigh before he looked at Hiccup
"Fine. Give it back and we'll do this your way" he told them Hiccup hesitated and looked to Merida she nodded Hiccup went to hand the staff back but something suddenly wrapped around his ankle he let out a cry of surprise as something suddenly began to drag him down the hall
"Hiccup!" Merida shouted she drew her arrow back but Jack stopped her as toothless grabbed Hiccup by the scruff of his shirt and dug his heels into the floor to stop him from disappearing Jack glared at Merida
"What are you doing? You could hit him or toothless"
"I won't miss" merida said to him she tried to draw her bow again but Jack grabbed her hands and shoved them back
"ANd what if you do? He's hurt or dead and you're to blame"
"Guys now isn't the time to argue!" Hiccup shouted trying to hit whatever it was with the staff but that wasn't working either but his two teammates weren't listening to him they were too busy fighting still
"Jack I don't miss"
"How do I know that you aren't just full of yourself?"
"You don't you just have to trust me!"
"and why should I?"
"GUYS" the two looked just as Toothless lost his grip and Hiccup completely disappeared
"THat's enough!" a familiar voice with an australian accent shouted suddenly the three felt as if they were drowning.

their eyes snapped open and all three sat up coughing and spluttering water as Rapunzel stood over them she sighed
"You failed" she said putting the bucket down, the guardians stood around them North had his face in his hand and the workshop was completely fine.
"W-we were asleep?" Hiccup asked ringing the water out of his shirt Sandy nodded and held up a small jar full of black sand Jack knew it was Pitch's nightmare sand and was completely confused as he looked at the little guardian
"ALright which of you three can tell us when it went wrong in that scenario?" Bunny asked with his arms folded Merida and Jack immediately looked at the floor in shame, they knew what had gone wrong, yet again the two had been arguing while they should have been helping Hiccup and Toothless.
"You two need to set aside your anger if yer gunna argue, do it after you are all safe and sound until then ya do whatever you can to protect each other and get the job done, in this case ya were supposed to find North and defeat the fearling" Bunny told them
"Hold on how come i was the one who got captured yet she didn't have to be part of the nightmare?" Hiccup asked pointing accusingly at Rapunzel
"Rapunzel had the idea for the exercise" Toothiana told them causing all eyes to fall on her the blonde sighed
"I wanted to show you guys just how harmful your arguing is to our exercises and possibly to each other." Rapunzel explained to them
"I know i'm not perfect with this either but-"
"We needed a mediator to wake ya up, if i had it my way you would have seen what happened to Hiccup afterwards" Bunny said Jerking his thumb towards Hiccup who went a ghostly pale not wanting to know what he had in mind from there never having seen a fearling.
"Hiccup, you're dismissed for the exercise." North told him Hiccup stood and went with toothless to go do what they had been doing before they had fallen asleep, Merida and Jack looked at each other knowing that now they were going to get it.
"Rapunzel you go make sure Hiccup is alright" Toothiana told her Rapunzel nodded hurrying away to go and make sure that her friend was alright this left the red head and the frost bite alone with the guardians
"You two need to work out your differences before something bad happens" North told them Merida rolled her eyes
"It's not my fault he doesn't think"
"It's not my fault she needs anger management" Jack shot back to her accusing him of being stupid Merida glared at him
"At least I am not the most useless part of the group!" that one stopped Jack dead he just glared at her for a minute and Merida could tell she hit a nerve and realized what she said and put a hand over her mouth
"Jack, Jack i didn't-"
"No don't, you said everything you needed too." Jack said before he stood up and walked away Merida looked at the guardians now who all looked just as frustrated as she did
"I didn't mean it! I just-"
"You both need to control your tempers" Tooth told her Merida sighed a little bit she stood and left her bow this time before she hurried away Tooth went to follow but Bunny grabbed her shoulder and shook his head
"Don't, they need to work this one out on their own." Bunny told her Tooth looked worriedly at where they both had disappeared before she sighed a little and nodded

Jack sat in the window making frost images on the windowpane his hood was up and his legs held close to his chest, Hiccup and Rapunzel only watched him both had tried to talk to him and ask what had happened but he would just shake his head and not say a word to either of them which worried them, this was the quietest they had seen the guardian sense they had met.

Merida walked in then she watched from the doorway for a minute or two causing the other two to look up Merida motioned with her head for them to leave they stood and left. Merida walked over to Jack she had her hands behind her back Jack looked up at her reflection in the window before looking back at the picture he was making with the frost of his sister.
"That's a nice picture" merida said sitting down beside him, Jack stayed silent trying to ignore her but merida was persistent in trying to make peace with him, all she could remember was the feeling of when that thing had taken Hiccup and all they had done was watch and argue.
"Who is it?"
"...my sister" Jack muttered the first thing he had said sense their last conversation about an hour ago Merida sighed a little and held out the plate of cookies she had made, they were slightly burnt and didn't look all that good but Jack understood she probably had never baked a day in her life.

"Look, i wanted to make a peace offering, we can still argue and fight we just gotta try to be less offensive and keep our heads you know?" She asked him curiously Jack looked up at her then down at the cookies again "Neither of us wants to be here, but we have to be and we are gonna be here for a while so we've gotta try and get along not just for our sakes but for Rapunzel and Hiccup's too. I mean if that scenario had been real..." Merida trailed off not wanting to say another word about it but Jack knew what she meant he smiled a little and took a cookie from her Merida smiled a little bit
"I'm sorry" she told him taking one also Jack nodded
"Me too" he added both bit into the cookies and their faces immediately scrunched in disgust spitting the unedible cookies out instantly
"I think you forgot the sugar" Jack said laughing a little bit Merida laughed also.
The guardians watched from behind the door and North looked over his shoulder at Rapunzel
"you were right, it worked."
"They won't be perfect but I think it should do the trick" Rapunzel said to them with a confident smile on her face.

Their lesson had worked out so far, but I don't think they were prepared for what was to come.