Rise Of The Guardians - The Life Of A Spirit

Family: Part 2

North, Bunny, and Tooth were impatiently waiting against the wall, their eyes fixed on Jack who was lying on the bed, occasionally twitching and muttering incomprehensibly, while Sandy floated next to him, a constant stream of Dreamsand leisurely drifting back and forth between them and circling serenely over his Jack's head. But it didn't take any form like it usually would, remaining indistinct and formless.

North hated waiting. All his life, even before he became a Guardian, he had been constantly busy, always working. But now there was nothing to do but stand there and wait for Sandy to fix whatever was wrong with Jack. He envied the three remaining seasonal spirits who had taken it upon themselves to guard the Workshop in case Pitch tried to make a return. At least they were actively doing something. But this waiting was killing him. And he knew Tooth felt the same. She kept taking a breath as if she were about to say something then stopping herself at the last moment.

Only Bunny seemed to be content to wait, leaning against the wall nonchalantly watching the other Guardian work.

'Could you stop that, Tooth?' he hissed after Tooth once again prepared to talk before stopping.

So much for being the calmest of them.

'Sorry,' she replied quietly, 'It's just... how long should we wait for? Do we know how long this is supposed to take?'

'Of course not,' Bunny replied, 'It's not like this sort of thing has happened before.'

'Can you two be quiet?' North asked, 'I do not want Sandy losing his concentration.'

Bunny shot him a glare and opened his mouth to retort when Sandy abruptly jerked and staggered backwards, the link of Dreamsand dissipating.

'What happened?' Tooth demanded, darting forward to stare anxiously down at Jack, but he remained still, the Dreamsand keeping him asleep but still refusing to take any shape.

Sandy shook his head and gestured to Jack while summoning Dreamsand that took the form of Pitch's silhouette.

'Pitch is controlling him?' North guessed but Sandy shook his head again but seemed to struggle to find the right words. He eventually gave up and held out his hands to them and, bemused, North accepted but that didn't seem to be enough for Sandy, his Dreamsand forming the shape of two grasping hands.

'You... want us all to hold hands?' Bunny guessed and Sandy nodded vehemently.

Bunny sighed but took North's free hand and offered his own to Tooth who rejoined once more with Sandy.

'And what is this supposed to—'

Bunny's words were cut off as the ground seemed to disappear from beneath them and darkness fell around them. North got the uncomfortable feeling that they were falling, but at the same time, rising. He gripped Sandy and Bunny's hands tighter, the only things keeping him from being lost in the darkness.

Then, suddenly, his feet hit solid ground once more and the darkness lifted ever so slightly. It was just enough for him to see the other Guardians around him, but of Jack there was no sign. Or of the room they had been standing in, for that matter.

'Where are we?' Tooth asked and North tried looking around but aside from themselves, there was nothing else there. He tentatively released Sandy and Bunny's hands and peered about them. It was only then that he realised that the only light source was coming from themselves. He raised his hand curiously to see that it seemed to be emanating a warm red glow. He glanced back at the others to see that they too appeared to be glowing, each a different colour.

'Is this snow?' Bunny asked, crouching to run a hand along the surface of the ground, leaving a light trail.

'Sandy, what is going on?' North asked.