Rise Of The Guardians - The Life Of A Spirit

Family: Part 1

North was pacing back and forth before the Globe, his yetis watching him warily and waiting for any orders. But there were none forthcoming.

'How are we gonna catch up to them?' Bunny demanded, 'They're moving too fast for the sleigh and my tunnels.'

'I could...' Tooth began, only to be cut off by North who snapped, 'No you will not. Together, Jack and Pitch are more than a match for you and Sandy. We will not be splitting up.'

'Then what do you propose we do?' Tooth retorted angrily, 'They're attacking my fairies and corrupting Sandy's dreams! It's the same thing as last time, but now...'

She couldn't bring herself to finish as they all looked up at the flickering lights of the Globe.

So far, it was stable, with new lights constantly replacing the ones that faded. But every time Jack and Pitch struck somewhere new, there was a mass vanishing of believers. North was just thankful that, unlike Jokul, Jack was refraining from actually targeting people. But his powers combined with Pitch's were a potent combination for the spread of fear and disbelief.

Sandy sighed silently and glanced towards where Jack's staff was resting against the Globe console. Aside from bringing it back to Santoff Clausen with them, none of the Guardians had touched it. It felt wrong, somehow.

'The spirits could help,' Bunny suggested, 'They helped us find him.'

'But it's not like he's doing anything wrong in their eyes,' Tooth sighed, 'For them, all he's doing is spreading an unusually harsh winter.'

'I am sure Pitch is making sure they do not stray outside of their territory,' North growled.

'Who cares!' Bunny snapped, rising to his full height and storming towards North. 'They're supposed to be his family too! They have to care about what happens to him!'

Unnoticed by the other Guardians, Sandy surreptitiously summoned three small Dreamsand birds that quickly shot up through the skylight and away.

'I know that!' North shouted back, 'But what do you want me to do? I cannot order them to help us! Unless they offer, we are on our own.'

A sudden gust of wind filled the room, pulling the squabbling Guardian's attention away from each other as Mabon materialised.

'I'm offering,' he stated sombrely.

'I thought you'd all buggered off after Pitch took Jack,' Bunny muttered.

'Yeah, I suppose we did,' Mabon admitted, 'But we haven't just been going about our daily business. Well I haven't at least. I've been keeping an eye on Jack and the other guy, making sure they don't do anything too extreme. And you're right. They're dangerous, sure, but they're making absolutely sure that they don't interfere with the rest of us.'

'So why are you here then?' North asked, 'Surely now this is not a seasonal matter.'

'True. But Jack is one of us, and I'm not going to just let whatever has happened to him keep happening. What do you want me to do?'

'Can you get the other two involved?' Tooth quickly pressed, 'Together we should be able to catch them.'

'Don't worry,' Mabon assured her, 'I'm pretty sure they're already on their way.'

Sure enough, moments later a warm spring breeze began dancing about the room and Chūntiān materialised, giving the Guardians a sombre nod.

'They're staying over Argentina right now,' she reported quietly, 'But they'll be moving again soon.'

'So what are we going to do about it?' Alsayf asked as she too appeared out of thin air, as if she had been present for the rest of the conversation.