Gale of Memories

Chapter 10: A Flare of Hope

Chapter 10: A Flare of Hope

The next memory faded in to show Frost, now fully recovered, gliding gracefully atop the wind. He looked almost ethereal, now, compared to his initial klutziness that had him falling out of the sky at random intervals.

He seemed to be enjoying spreading winter around London, when a sudden high-pitched scream filled the air, only to be abruptly cut off. Frost immediately sped towards the source of the sound—a river. The fast moving waters had pulled a young girl under the surface of the water.

"Guardians. Jack is 104 in this memory."

"So that's what... 18...er..." Bunny scratched his head, unable to remember the year Jack was born.

"1816." Jack spoke up. He looked down at the struggling child who could scarcely keep her head above the icy waters.

"A-a kid?!" Frost looked around desperately, trying to find someone nearby who could save her, but it seemed that nobody was around. "Looks like I'll have to try." He flew down towards the water, trying to get to the girl, but there were too many low-hanging trees to be of any help from the sky. "Guess I'll have to dive in, then." He went to fly into the water, before he froze.

"What is wrong?" North asked, looking at the petrified memory-Jack.

"W-why can't I move?" A sudden flash of being pulled under the surface of the lake as a human was shown, though it was too fast to process if you didn't already know what it was.

"You're scared." Tooth realized. "You're afraid of water."

"Gee, I wonder why?" Jack shot back sarcastically. "Sorry, Tooth. I don't mean to be such a brat, I'm just... overwhelmed. Seeing all these memories again..."

"It's alright, Frostbite. We can understand." Bunny placed a comforting paw on his shoulder, causing the white-haired youth to blink up at the Pooka in surprise.

"That's a new one, comin' from you." He smirked.

"Sh-shut up!" Bunny quickly pulled away his paw.

"Aww, you do care!" Jack teased, and the Guardians relaxed at the familiar banter.

"I... I have to save her!" Frost shook himself, and forced his trembling to subside as he dove headfirst into the waters. The memory was encompassed in black for a moment before clearing to show a still obviously scared Frost fighting the fierce currents of the icy water.

It didn't help that his heightened emotions made controlling his winter powers harder, and he had to fight to keep himself from freezing the water around him.

It took far too long, but he finally made it to the child. Her struggles were weak, and she looked to be giving up. "Don't you dare!" He yelled at her. Upon closer inspection, she wasn't quite a young child. She looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years of age; old enough to not believe.

Yet, at the sound of his voice, her blurry eyes focused upon the white-haired spirit. "I know you can't hear me, but!! Don't you dare stop fighting! You can do this! Just... Hold on!" He cried out desperately.

The girl reached out a hand towards the white-haired youth, shocking him for a brief moment before he reached back out. He barely managed to grab her hand, and called the wind again.

"KAZE!" He cried out, as the wind managed to pick him up out of the water. He kept a hold of the girl, and the two of them flew away from the frigid death trap that had nearly claimed her life.

The two landed somewhere that was sheltered and secluded. "You okay? Man! You scared the crap out of me! And... I could... touch you..." He blinked owlishly at the girl, who looked on the brink of passing out.