Alaia Skyhawk: Here it is! Part 9!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.
~(-)~
Chapter 61: Rise of the Guardians ~Part 9~
A small hand strained towards the gutter, reaching for the tantalising glimpse of a colourful rounded shape that sat there. Beneath the boy to whom the hand belonged, the tall step-ladder wobbled. But for a youth who had climbed and played in the massive oak trees around Santoff Claussen, the height held no fear. A distance as small as this was, to him, could be cushioned by the power of belief should he fall.
Jamie kept reaching, his fingers just passing over the edge of the gutter to touch the possible-egg, while below him his friends watched with a mixture of concern and weak anticipation. They'd been hunting for eggs for hours, but hadn't found any. They'd woken to an intense feeling of happiness, that spurred them out into the sunshine as soon as their parents would let them go, but in turn that glee had become crushing disappointment. It was only Jamie's persistence that had kept them going this long.
Jamie started to smile, his fingers almost to the glimpse of colour, when the ladder's wobbling finally got too much and it tipped. He cried out in surprise, grabbing the edge of the gutter, and as the ladded fell from beneath him the gutter sagged with his weight and he lost his grip.
He closed his eyes, 'fall like a leaf' running over and over through his mind, and he hit the ground with only a moderate thump. Of course his friends didn't know he knew he wouldn't be hurt, and they rushed to his side.
"Are you ok!"
"Jamie!"
Jamie opened his eyes, in time to see a purple and pink tennis-ball drop from the damaged gutter and bounce along the ground beside him. He frowned, got up, and brushed himself off before picking up his basket in determination.
"Let's check the park again."
He reached the gate of his backyard, but stopped when he noticed his friends weren't following. All of them looked depressed, miserable, without hope. But by far the most affected were Claude and Caleb.
"Really? Again?"
"For what, the Easter Bunny?"
Jamie went back to them, waving an arm in emphasis.
"Guys, I told you. I saw him! He's as big as Jack Frost says he is, and he's got these cool boomerang things-"
"Grow up, Jamie."
Caleb's interruption was blunt and harsh, and his brothers added comment was laced with sarcasm.
"Ah man, seriously. You know that Jack Frost isn't real."
Pippa, Monty, and Cupcake nodded in agreement with the twins, leaving Jamie unable to do anything but stare at them in confusion.
"What's happened to you guys?"
Caleb sighed, downcast.
"It was a dream. You should be happy you still get dreams like that."
Pippa picked up the ball and tossed it into Jamie's basket.
"Forget it, Jamie. There's just no Easter this year."
All five of them turned and left the yard, ignoring Jamie as he called out after them.
"He really is real! Jack too!" The gate clattered shut, leaving him alone, and Jamie put down his basket. He then cupped his hands to his mouth, murmured a spell, and blew into them. His gaze settling determinedly on the ball of light that was the result. "They're real. I know they're real."
~(-)~
The winds that whipped across the mountains and glaciers could have been a reflection of his inner turmoil, but they weren't. They could have been his anger, except that all he felt was crushing guilt. The howl of air over ice could have been his cries of despair, except that he was silent... Here among the jagged shards of ice that were the glaciers one-hundred miles north-west of the Winter Sanctuary.
Jack stood there, letting the winds pull at his hair and clothing. He stood there, ignoring the flecks of ice and snow that beat against him. He knew he'd been a coward to run away from the other Guardians, and that Bunny had only said those things because he was upset. Except that he agreed with the Pooka, at least a little... Easter wouldn't have been ruined, if he'd not been so stupid as to go to Pitch's lair alone instead of waiting until after the festival was over.
His reckless choice had played right into Pitch's hands.
Jack gritted his teeth, thinking about it. Even as the continued pull on his power by the golems, reassured him that at least he was still doing something. Maybe it would be enough, if he went and sent out more frostdust right away. The Guardians could still raid the lair and get the fairies and teeth back, and maybe that would turn the tide. Maybe then all this wouldn't have been for nothing.
"I thought this might happen." At that voice, those words, Jack tensed. His fist clenching on his staff as the speaker continued. "You don't belong with them, Jack. I was just trying to show you that."
Jack bared his teeth in a snarl of rage, turning on one foot to send a blast of ice at Pitch. For that was who it was, stood behind him... The Nightmare King.
"Get lost!"
Pitch blocked it with a cloud of black sand, along with those that followed it. Whatever words he said were lost amid the roar of ice clashing with sand, until after one particularly vicious strike from Jack, Pitch shouted out in the following pause.
"You really are a naive fool, aren't you?! You're being used, Jack!" Jack glared at him, staff still clenched tight, as Pitch came out from behind the wall of ice that had just been created. Pitch was actually trying to reason with him. "You forget, Frost, that I know my daughter. She would never have chosen someone like you to be the Spirit of Winter, not when your traits and personality clashed so much with the Spirits of Spring, Summer, and Autumn. You were an anomaly right from the start, and the only way that could have happened was if she wasn't the one to choose you."
Jack's eyes narrowed, and he laughed in scorn.
"So you figured that much out. Big deal. Ten points out of ten. Give the genius a prize... The Man in the Moon chose me. It was an agreement he had with her, not that it's your bu-"
Pitch's expression changed to pity, so seemingly sincere that it silenced Jack with surprise. And then the man of shadows spoke with sympathy as thick and clinging as oil.
"So I'm correct... Right from the start, the very reason you were chosen, was to create a weapon to use against me. Don't you see, Jack? You're nothing but a pawn! The Man in the Moon chose the first little fool he knew would swallow all his sickening excuses. He put a man who was barely more than boy, into one of the harshest and loneliest tasks on this forsaken planet. He built you up, and up, and then he make you a 'Guardian'... Except that he never actually let you be that, did he?"
Jack had gone still, his heart having struck him with a nauseating wrench. He barely sounded like he was convinced himself, as he spoke.
"It... It had to be that way. I had to wait. So that you wouldn't be able to plan ahead to counter me."
Pitch shook his head in resignation.
"As I said... Naive." He pointed at Jack. "It was true, what I said when you were in my lair. I would not have risen again this soon, if not for you... How long had you already waited, Jack? Did you think that was bad? Well imagine this... It would certainly have been centuries from now, maybe even as much as a thousand years, for me to get to this point if not for the Blizzard of '68. Could you have waited that long, Jack? How much longer could you have endured, before it drove you insane?"
Further up the slope, Jack staggered backwards as if struck. His eyes were wide in horror at such a prospect, and his body was trembling.
He averted his gaze, breath shaky, and Pitch began to advance towards him. "You see now? The truth? The Man in the Moon was willing to let you linger in torment, for no other reason than to use you against me. You're not a Guardian, not really. You're just a tool, that was forged from boy too blind to see what he was being led into."
Pitch held out his hand, now just beyond arm's length from Jack. "Winter is a force of Nature, Jack, and so is Fear. Join me, and you will never be a mere tool ever again... No more will you be known just to one small town, but rather the entire world. A world where everything... everything... is-"
"Pitch Black?"
Jack's words came with a flat stare, but Pitch returned them with a smile.
"And Jack Frost, too... They'll believe in us both."
There was a pause before Jack's expression hardened, and he turned to walk away.
"No, they'll fear both of us, and that's not what I want. Now for the last time, leave me alone."
Pitch watched him for a few seconds, whatever 'reasonable' offer he'd been willing to make, now cast aside to be replaced by cold calculation.
"Very well. You want to be left alone? Done. But first..."
Jack stopped the moment he heard the faint squeaking of a Tooth Fairy, and turned sharply to see a very familiar fairy tight within the grasp of Pitch's fist.
"Baby Tooth!"
Jack charged towards them, but skidded to a halt when Pitch tightening his grip in threat to crush her. The King of Nightmares then held out his hand again.
"The staff, Jack... You have a bad habit of interfering. Now hand it over... and I'll let her go."
Baby Tooth shook her head vehemently, her protests cut off in a gasp as Pitch's grip tightened on her further. And Jack, he was torn as to what to do, except for the fact he knew he would never willingly let one of Tooth's fairies die in front of him.
He forced himself to relax his grip on his staff, which he'd had held up ready to attack, and reluctantly inverted the stave to hand it over.
As soon as Pitch had hold of it, Jack held out his now empty hand.
"Alright, now let her go."
Pitch regarded him for several moments, before shaking his head with a mocking smile.
"No... You said you wanted to be alone. So be alone!"
Jack tensed, ready to lash out with everything at his disposal. If Pitch thought he couldn't attack without the staff, he was wrong. Yet before the Guardian of Fun could do anything, in that moment of distraction for Pitch, Baby Tooth worked her head free enough to jab him hard with her 'beak'.
Pitch yelped in surprise then threw her with rage into the nearby crevasse, as Jack turned to follow her path which his gaze.
"No! Baby Tooth!"
Behind him, Pitch hissed in displeasure.
"I really wanted to avoid this, but you leave me with no choice."
Jack started to turn, to face him again, but not fast enough as Pitch gripped the staff with both hands and brought it down over his knee.
The sound of splintering wood was lost in the roar that filled Jack's ears, and the agonised wail that tore itself from his throat as though it had been him that had been torn in two. And then came the black sand that slammed him into side of the crevasse behind him, before his eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious into the gloom below.
Pitch came to the edge to stare below, laughing once in scorn before tossing the broken staff down after Jack and turning to leave.
~(-)~
"This is serious! We demand that you tell us where Jack is! And we demand that you cease your obstruction and allow us into the Winter Sanctuary!"
Ariko was practically simmering with frustration, alongside Achieng and Oisin. The three of them were stood in the entrance tunnel of the sanctuary, with their path blocked by a furry wall of Winter Sprites and the Lieutenant in charge of keeping track of them.
Yuki refused to budge. She couldn't let them in or they'd see the golems collecting the teeth, and that would raise questions that Jack really didn't have time to deal with right now... But there was also the fact that she didn't know where he was. Not since yesterday... Not since he'd gone missing.
She bit her lip in anxiety, before stubbornly raising her head in defiance.
"No! I'm not letting you in. You'll have to move me by force!"
The three Spirits of the Seasons stared at her, before Oisin shook his head in exasperation. They couldn't move her by force, because chances were she'd be hurt as she fought back. Angering Jack by harming one of his Lieutenants, even if it weren't intentional, was totally out of the question.
He took a step towards Yuki, trying to reason with her.
"Look, we need to speak with him. The Blackout has reached a state where it's beyond a disaster, and all of our Lieutenants have lost almost all of their believers. We three have been reduced almost completely to our base strength, and he must be close to that by now as well. We need to consolidate our power so that we can safely seek out the cause of this and, if fate is willing, find a solution to it."
Yuki remained where she was, but there was concern in her expression now. That the other Spirits of the Seasons were worried enough to suggest joining forces, meant they were on the verge of panic themselves. The entire belief-system that supported most of the Immortals, was collapsing all around them. It would put the world's Nature Immortals in the dire position of being the only thing left that was a threat to the dark things held prisoner on this world.
Yes, they were worried about Pitch and the Fearlings, because they'd have to be complete idiots not to have realised he would take advantage of something like this.
Yuki's shoulders slumped, and she shook her head.
"I can't tell you, because I don't know where he is. And right now I am sworn to guard this sanctuary and ensure that no one enters it who does not need to enter. I'm sorry."
It was Achieng's turn to sigh in frustration, as she tucked an errant braid behind her ear.
"Then I guess we're at a stalemate." She glanced at her peers. "Shall we try asking the winds to find him again? I know we had no luck a few hours ago, but that's not to say he won't be out in the open n-"
"JACK!"
Yuki's sudden shriek silenced her, the three of them now staring at the Lieutenant of Winter. The Japanese girl's eyes were wide, her arms wrapped tightly around her slightly hunched torso as she started to shake. And then came the flash of rage in her eyes, the same instant the sprites erupted into shrill wails and another voice from the cavern beyond began what could only be described as 'screaming murder'. That sound echoing above another which was reminiscent of icicles falling to the ground and shattering.
Dig came charging down the passage, sharp incisors bared, raging at the top of his little lungs.
"GOLEMS BROKEN! JACK HURT! JACK HURT! JACK HURT! JACK HURT!"
Yuki grabbed him as he passed her, straining against his attempts to break free of her. Until she abandoned her post and began flying towards the exit herself with him tucked under her arm.
The three Spirits of the Seasons raced after her, falling into formation alongside her. All three of them looked shocked, but at the same time anger of their own started to rise. They didn't need to ask if Yuki could find Jack, not with the Rage of Winter driving her to go to his side. But that also didn't change the uneasiness they felt at this incident, because never before in all this time had a Spirit of the Seasons been attacked.
~(-)~
The sky outside was starting to darken, the young boy sat at the window gazing out in bewilderment. Behind him his sister played with her toys in the middle of the living room floor, with no sign that she expected to be doing anything else... And yet just yesterday she'd been running around chattering about the Easter Bunny, and also about going to see 'Grampa Ombie'.
Jamie turned away from the window and looked towards his father. Craig was sat in one of the armchairs reading a book.
"Uncle Jack's late. Dad, do you think something happened? He's supposed to be taking me and Sophie to Santoff Claussen."
Craig raised his head, his expression one of tolerant amusement.
"Santoff Claussen? Jamie, that's just a story, and how could your uncle take you there? He's out-of-town on a business trip, somewhere up in Alaska, remember?"
Jamie frowned.
"You mean he's up there spreading blizzards?"
Craig raised his eyebrows.
"Blizzards? Jamie, where did you get the idea your uncle can make it snow?"
"Because he's Jack Frost!"
There was awkward pause before Laura got up from her chair. Jamie's mother walking over to him and crouching down.
"Jamie, you know that Jack Frost is just a story, a myth. He isn't real, and he's certainly not your uncle. Now why don't you head upstairs and get ready for bed. It's nearly eight o'clock."
Jamie couldn't find it in himself to protest as he was shooed towards the stairs, and his mother then went to pick up Sophie. He ran up them and into his room, closing the door and leaning against the inside feeling confused and upset. Jack Frost was real, and he was his uncle! Why couldn't his parents remember that? Why had his sister forgotten about him too?
Jamie bit his lip to stop it trembling, and raised his hands to his mouth as he had done earlier on. But this time his whispered words and puff of breath did nothing... No light gleamed within his grasp.
He stared at his empty hands, breath shuddering in his chest, and tried again... Again he failed, as tears prickled at his eyes.
"Jack Frost is real... Isn't he? The Easter Bunny too... right?"
~(-)~
The winds howled across the top of the glacier up above, a barrier that no little Tooth Fairy could overcome even if she could fly right now...
Baby Tooth huddled against Jack, hand on his face, trying over and over to wake him. But she was too tiny to shake him, and her voice too quiet to be heard clearly over the wind. She couldn't even bring his broken staff to him, what with the pieces being too heavy for her to push.
And her weakness was only getting worse, not from the cold, but because belief in Tooth was failing again. The teeth weren't being collected anymore.
Helpless, she tucked herself into the collar of his hoodie, unable to do anything but be with him. Everything had gone so wrong, and if Jack didn't get back up then Pitch was going to win.
"Jack! ...Jack!"
Baby Tooth twitched, looking up at the sky above. Had she been hearing things?
"Jack Frost! Are you there?!"
A different voice from the first, a man, and he sounded worried. He also sounded closer than the first voice.
Baby Tooth scrambled up onto Jack's shoulder, squeaking as loud as she could manage. Shouting out that he was here! Down here!
A shadow flickered over the top of the crevasse, gone for a few seconds before reappearing again. A woman with dark skin and braided hair, gazing down before calling out.
"He's here!"
Achieng dropped down beside Jack, pausing in surprise at the sight of the fairy on his shoulder, before Ariko plummeted to the ice beside her without any of her usual grace. The Spirit of Spring then rushed to Jack, passing Baby Tooth to Achieng before hauling him into a sitting position against her.
Ariko, intent with concern, then began checking him for injury before frowning.
"There's not a mark on him."
Yuki, Oisin, and Dig landed in the crevasse now, the former stooping to pick up the reason for his condition.
Yuki held up the pieces of Jack's staff.
"His staff. Jack's staff is like a part of him, and always has been since before he became immortal. He uses it as a catalyst, an extension of himself."
Oisin took it from her grasp, anger in his eyes.
"Then who would dare break it?"
Dig was now beside Jack, snuggled against his side and nudging him, and Yuki joined him there. She placed a hand on Jack's forehead, the contact with the power of his Lieutenants at last causing him to wake.
He squinted at them, grimacing in discomfort, before he noticed just who it was holding him upright... Ariko.
The Spirit of Spring hastily let go of him and stood up, leaving him to be supported by Yuki instead.
"So, you're awake." She clenched her fists, petals starting to form and swirl around her in her fury. "Who did this to you? Tell me so I can go rip their head off! NO ONE does this to one of us and gets away with it! NO ONE!"
Jack stared at her, surprised that she would be so defensive of him when she normally couldn't stand him, before he chuckled.
"If you want to go give Pitch a piece of your mind, go right ahead. Just make sure to let me watch."
"Pitch? Pitch Black?"
Achieng and Oisin stood there in shock, much as Ariko was doing. And at the Spirit of Spring's stunned whisper, Jack reached out to take his broken staff from the Spirit of Autumn.
"Yeah, he's attacked the Guardians... Took all of Tooth's fairies, and the teeth she was guarding. He's wrecked Easter, and he... He's killed The Sandman. That's why there's a Blackout right now, and why it's so bad. And it's why I have to get back into the fight."
A dark-skinned hand came to rest on his shoulder, Achieng regarding him in confusion.
"But if Pitch is after the Guardians, why are you involved? To the point that he would take the risk of hurting you to get you out of the way, no less?"
"Because he's one of them, and has been for a long time." Yuki's quiet words caused Achieng and her peers to look at her sharply, but she ignored them to instead speak to Jack. "Can you fix it? Your staff?"
Jack started to smile, arranging the two pieces so they lined up in his grasp. The fracture between them immediately gleaming with frost and light.
"Do you really need to ask? Nothing is impossible, if you believe."
The fracture blazed, there was a gust of wind, and Jack was streaking skywards leaving them to scramble to catch up. Within moments he created an Ice Mirror to the sanctuary, all of them passing through it to a cavern whose floor was covered with the shattered remnants of numerous golems...
And then he paused, nodding in reassurance to the confused Selkie guards, before glancing at Baby Tooth.
"Pitch made a mistake when he underestimated the strength of my Lieutenants, and how fast they could get me up again." He conjured a new mirror, one that shimmered and then showed a cavernous space, with cages hanging from above and piles of tooth-boxes down below. He smirked. "But his biggest mistake was letting me into his lair... It's time to do something that he's not expecting, which will really piss him off."
~(-)~
Alaia Skyhawk: Woo, so close to the end of the film arc! For those wondering where Marzanna, Cernunnos, and Zuě Hu are, they were too far North to arrive before Yuki and Dig did. But they will be in the next chapter :)