Chapter 9: Definitely Naughty

Jack Frost had spent over three hundred years perfecting his craft. To him, it was a great achievement. But just like that, in a matter of seconds, everything had crashed and burned in front of him. His record was no more.

This won't do, Jack thought, pacing up and down the Globe Room. How could he let this happen? North thought it was a good idea to 'wipe clean the slate', but who else could say they've been at the top of the Naughty List for that long? Nobody. Not even Jack anymore. He'd have to start from the bottom again. He groaned exaggeratedly, kicking his staff up into his hands. What better way to get back to the top than some good, old-fashioned pranks? He had a plan, he just needed some help.

This won't do at all. He thought again, a mischievous grin forming on his face. He knew the perfect person. They would regret the day they put Jack Frost on the Nice list.

"So, are you clear on the plan?" Jack stood in front of Seth, the Spirit of Summer. It was somewhere around South Africa that he had found him and, though he really shouldn't be somewhere so close to the equator in the middle of summer, it was all worth it to take back his title as Number One.

"Crystal." The latter said with a grin and a waggish look in his eyes. It was scary how similar Jack and Seth were to each other, it was like they were the same person just in two different bodies. Put it this way: you did not want to be on the receiving end of one of their pranks

Unfortunately, for a handful of unlucky people, this was exactly the case.

Their first victim was probably going to kill the pair of spirits when he saw what they had done. They had to wait a while for their prey to leave but, as soon as it was dark, a figure arose from the ground, meaning they were now able to creep in undetected, the bags on their backs loaded full of supplies.

Now that the tricky part (sneaking in) was accomplished, it was time to have some fun. It only took them a total of only twenty minutes but the finished results were brilliant. Truly, it was any unicorn-loving, eight-year-olds dream.

Large balls of fire floated around the room, reflecting the inch of pink glitter that was coating the floor, giving the impression of a dozen disco balls hanging in the air. Hand-painted unicorns, rainbows and love hearts decorated the previously bland walls, making the fluffy pillows -stacked head high on the black throne - pop. Dozens of hand-made ornaments, including fairies, elves and princesses in tiaras, stood around the large ice palace, which Jack had expertly crafted with every tiny detail.

Jack took a quick photo of their masterpiece (this would surely be going up on display) before they made a hasty retreat, not wanting to get caught.

If he did say so himself, Pitch was coming home to a real treat.

Next on the list was Tooth. The Winter spirit felt bad at first for pranking the kindest person he knew, but then he remembered why he was doing this in the first place.

They will all pay.

They were done in minutes, leaving the Tooth Palace for their next target without so much as a second glance, leaving behind hundreds of tiny fairies on a massive sugar-high, which would surely last days. Neither of them could suppress their laughter as they watched the baby teeth wreak havoc in their mother's home. A quick flash of his camera and they were gone.

Revenge really was sweet.

Everyone in the spirit realm, not just the Guardians, was aware of the centuries-old feud between North and Bunnymund as to whose holiday was better. So, obviously, Jack and Seth thought the only appropriate thing to do was to beautify their homes with the opposing holiday's decorations. It was a fantastic idea.

Jack took on the Warren while Seth handled the North Pole, making things much faster.

The Winter Spirit was pleasantly surprised when the gigantic golem eggs didn't only let him in but didn't protest when he covered them head to toe in sparkly red, gold and green tinsel. They didn't stop him when he turned the dye rivers from rainbow into green and red nor when he froze them over (obviously so Bunny could go ice skating). They didn't even bat an eye (did they have eyes? Jack wasn't sure, but he thought the figure of speech was appropriate) when he transformed the luscious green gardens of the Warren into a full-on Winter Wonderland, complete with snow forts and an exquisitely crafted playground made solely from ice. For a final touch, he quickly made some snowmen, adding a lovely red Santa hat to each one.

Jack didn't get to see how his Summer friend had decorated the Pole (he didn't dare be anywhere near the place when North arrived back home) but from the way Seth described it, it was better than the Warren - and Jack didn't easily admit when someone had outperformed him.

They decided to fly to Sandy's island together, putting their heads together to think of a way to prank him. After a while, they came up with the perfect plan. When the Sandman wasn't delivering dreams (though sometimes when he was) or visiting the Pole, he was at his home in the Island of the Sleepy Sands. Jack had always been intrigued by Sandy's home and how it had come to be (a shooting star falling to earth). He even felt a tiny bit guilty at what he was about to do. Not that he wasn't going to do it, mind you.

The troublesome spirits had to stop and pick up more supplies before they could finish their task, but they were back on their way in no time. Out of all the things they had done today, this had probably taken them the longest.

After all, they were dyeing the whole island purple.

Later, after hours of hiding, Jack would become curious as to why his first victim hadn't yet tried to kill him. He would grow so curious that he would sneak out of his hiding place and make his way, carefully, to the old, abandoned bed. He would jump down the secret tunnel, fully expecting there to be drawing boards full of revenge plots. Instead, all he would find is Pitch, the seemingly terrifying Nightmare King, sitting happily a foot deep in pink glitter, playing with his ice sculptures.

If only the other receivers of his pranks were this pleased. He guessed not, he could practically head the Pooka's scream of rage from here. He chuckled - he was definitely back on the naughty list.

Seth is short for Sethlans, the Etruscan God of fire - I thought it was fitting for our Summer spirit.

Thank you for reading!