Gale of Memories

Chapter 6: Death's Angel

Chapter 6: Death's Angel

"Does it really hurt?" Tooth asked, unsure. It'd been so long since she'd been walked through. Surprisingly, Bunny was the one to answer.

"It hurts, all right. Physically and emotionally. Like an electric shock straight ta yer core. An' it's cold, worse than the Pole." He shivered as he recalled that Easter that almost cost them everything.

"Same here." Jack nodded. Tooth, North, and Sandy winced. Sandy, however, raised a question mark above his head.

"Wait, they never told you what happened while you were gone?" Jack asked, perplexed. He hadn't expected them to not tell Sandy. The golden man shook his head, indicating that no, nobody would tell him anything. Jack sighed.

"Well, it's complicated. We might even see it in here, now that I think about it." Jack mused, missing the wave of unease that swept through the three Guardians at the thought. "I'll give you a quick summary, though. We had a big fight, which I'm sure you'll see much later in the memories, and I flew off for a while to cool off. I ran into Pitch, got my ass handed to me, and came back just in time to save Jamie's belief, kick Nightmare King butt, welcome you home, and return in time for dinner." Jack smirked.

"Language, Jack!" North admonished, before Jack's words truly registered.

"Wait, you ran into Pitch?! ALONE?!" Tooth screeched.

"Oh, di-did I forget to mention that?" Jack smiled sheepishly, inching away from the somewhat intimidating fairy.

"Yes, you did. But no matter! Everything is fine, now, and we will discuss when memory is shown!" North interjected, stopping Tooth before she could go on a tirade. Jack let out a sigh of relief. Thank you, North. It'd be hard enough with everyone's worrying about him throughout these memories. He didn't want to add in any... unnecessary complications.

The scene around them shifted as the next memory blurred into view. Frost (Memory Jack) was wandering through a forest in the middle of a blizzard.

"Guardians." MiM's ethereal voice made the group jump. "Jack is eight in this memory."

"Eight? He must mean immortal years..." Bunny crossed his arms, fighting the urge to shiver. He hated blizzards. Even if he couldn't feel them.

"Please! Stop! There's people out here!!" Frost cried out, tears frozen on his face. The Guardians were struck by just how young he looked.

Jack flinched as he recognized the memory. They watched as he tried and failed to reign in the storm, gasping for breath at the effort.

"Little One... you know I cannot." A whispery voice said. If one wasn't listening closely enough, they'd miss it.

"Who the hell was that?!" Bunny asked, whirling around to try to find the source of the voice.

"That's Wind." Jack said, smiling softly. Wind wasn't with them, here, so he'd gotten a little lonely. She had been his first friend, after all.

"But! Surely, just enough to get them home! There's a kid missing!" Frost tried again.

"I have explained the cycle of death and life to you. You already know, Young One. The Cycle must be kept." Wind said, a touch of sorrow in her voice.

"H-hello?" A small voice made Frost jump and spin around as he came face to face with a small child. She looked no older than ten.

"Oh my tooth..." Tooth's wings flittered gently as she landed on the ground. There was no way this child would survive the blizzard.