RotBTD Book 2: Chapter 11

Pitch stood over his victim with the nastiest of grins. Elsa's entire right arm had been turned gray, and her fingernails turned black. The venom was slowly crawling it's way past her shoulder, and branching up her neck.

“Get up!”, Pitch snarled. He seized Elsa by the arm, and forced her to stand on her feet. “Let me look into those big, beautiful, blue eyes of yours.”, he said staring into her eyes. “I want to see the good in them get sucked out as it happens.”

From out of nowhere, a sharp shot snowball smacked Pitch right in the back of the neck, making him shout in pain.  

“Hey!”, a voice shouted from behind. “You mind getting your paws off of her? Before I make you?”

“Well, it's about time you showed up, Frost.”, Pitch said, smugly as he turned around to face Jack, who was standing on the railing directly across from Pitch. Jack was clad in ice armor, with a sword in each hand. “You make quite the dramatic entrances, don't you?”

Jack jumped, and landed with a slam in front of Pitch, and aimed one of the swords at his throat. “I said, let go of her.”

Pitch glanced back, and smirked as the grayness in Elsa's skin started to spread past her jaw line.

“Oh, but of course.”, he said, releasing Elsa's arm, and putting his hands up. “Far be it from me to keep two ice magi apart.
Without another word, Pitch disappeared into the shadows, letting Elsa drop to her knees, and the room was silent.

Jack surveyed the room with his swords, expecting something to happen. When nothing did, he sheathed his swords, and supported Elsa back onto her feet.

“How did you get here so fast?”, Elsa asked, weakly.

“Well, we were heading here anyway.”, Jack explained. “Plus, they left behind these.”, he said, taking a red cloth bag of snow globes from his pocket. “Psh, rookies.”

“Where's Anna, is she safe?”, she asked him.

Elsa's question was answered by Anna shouting; “Elsa!” Both of them looked up, and saw Anna on the balcony. “Oh, thank goodness you're OK!”, she said, happily.

“Wait, she's here? You're both here?”, Elsa panicked. “Oh, no...”

“Anna, great!”, Jack said happily as Anna ran over to them. “Are the Guardians free?”

“Yep.”, Anna answered. Her hands glowed orange with heat. “I melted those bars, no problem.”
“And the guard?”

“He wasn't there.”, Anna shrugged. “But from the looks of it, someone did a number on him, I mean, that dungeon is destroyed!”

“Jack!”, North's voice came from behind. Everyone turned to look and see the Guardians standing on the edge of the giant whole in the floor coming up from the dungeon. “Oh, thank man in moon you are alive!” He said, quickly wrapping Jack in a tight hug. “Tell me, what is situation?”

“Well, everyone's alive, Rapunzel's been...compromised, and we've got two new seasonal Guardians...these girls, right here.”, Jack relayed, pointing to Anna and Elsa. He suddenly noticed Elsa's condition. “Whoa! What happened to you?”

Elsa groaned, shaking her head. “What? Oh, nothing, I...you two just need to get out of...” she shouted in pain as another black streak singed down the back of her head.

“Don't worry, everyone's getting out of here today.”, Jack assured her. “We'll find Luna, get you fixed up, and then it's Pitch's turn to get the crap beat out of him. North, you guys think you can fight?”

“Pitch took weapons while we were sleeping.”, North said, shaking his head.

“Besides, you and teen Guardians have much more power than...wait...power!” His eyes widened as something entered his mind. “Jack, tell me Pitch does not still have pendants.”

“I wish I could.”, Jack sighed.

“Jack, without pendants, your team does not stand chance.”, North said, urgently. “Anna, Elsa, go with Bunny. He will get you to safety.”, he instructed. “Bunny, take sisters through tunnels to Warren. Then when they are safe, meet us in Scotland. Unless I misheard Pitch, that is where Gothel and Violet are right now. If we can get there before them, there is still chance.”
“Aye.”, Bunny said, nodding. “Alright, yer majesties. Hop on.”

Anna hopped up and wrapped her arms and legs around Bunny from behind.

North chuckled. “What? You think Santa Claus doesn't know name of every child who's ever lived?”

Anna gasped in awe. “You're Santa Claus?” She looked again at Bunny. “And that must make you...”

“The one and only Easter Bunny.”, Bunny said, smugly. “At yer service, Princess.”

Anna squealed in delight, and wrapped her arms tight around Bunny's torso.

“Oh my gosh, you are so cute! And fluffy!”

“Alright, let's not get carried away now.”, Bunny said, trying to loosen her grip on his ribs. “Oy snowflake, looks like I finally got a fan girl that you don't.”, he added to Jack.  

“Well, I can't have 'em all ,now. Can I?”, Jack shrugged.

“Alright, enough of the joking around. Bunny, get girls to safety.”, North ordered.

“Right. Buckle up, ladies.”, Bunny said, tapping his foot on the ground. A hole appeared in the ground in front of them. “Don't fret, sheilas, it's just a straight shot out o' here through the tunnel.”

“Tunnel?”, Anna asked. “Tunnel?”, Elsa echoed.

“Hang on tight!”, Bunny warned, jumping in. The passage filled with the sounds of Anna whooping and Elsa shouting “Wait...no!” before closing, and leaving behind a flower.

“Alright, they're safe...for now.”, Jack said, contently. “Now, you guys,”, he said, tossing North a snow globe from the bag. “get out of here, before things get ugly.”

“What about you?”, Tooth asked.  

“Don't worry, I'll be fine. Especially if I can find my staff.”, Jack answered. “Luna and Merida are upstairs looking for Hiccup. We'll get him, the pendants, and if I can, your weapons.”  

“Wait, who's Luna?”, Tooth asked.

“Long story.”, Jack replied. “You guys just go, we'll clean up here.”

“We will be on call if you need us.”, North said, sincerely.

“Don't worry, we won't.” Jack answered.

Without another word, North nodded, threw the globe on the ground, and jumped through the portal, with Tooth and Sandy following him.  

Jack jumped, and soared up towards the roof, but stopped. North's office door was open, and for some reason, that's where Jack felt he needed to go. He landed just outside the door, and slowly pushed it open with his left hand, fashioning a sword in his right.  

He looked on North's desk, and his jaw nearly dropped. Sitting right there, on the desk, in plain sight, were three of the four power pendants. His, Hiccup's, and Merida's pendants were right there, unguarded, right for the taking.  

He slowly tip-toed toward the desk, looking between it and the roof, ready for any nightmares or shadow scales that might ambush him. If his heart still beat, it would've been pounding right now.

He finally reached the desk, and picked up the pendants by the string. This felt to good to be true. And Jack knew it was. Why would Pitch just leave these pendants that meant his guaranteed demise unguarded? Sure, they'd still be missing Rapunzel's pendant, but it wasn't like Pitch to give his opponents any kind of advantage.  

Whatever Pitch's intentions were, Jack had the pendants now. He quickly put them in his hoody pocket, and turned to leave. But as his eyes glossed over the desk, something else caught them.  

It was a thick leather book with the Guardian's crest on the cover, with symbols of a snowflake, a sun, a bear head, and a curled dragon in the four corners. It looked almost like the book of Legends, but at the same time, it looked different. There was a golden bookmark sticking out of the top. Out of pure curiosity, Jack opened up to the page...but it was blank.  

He just shrugged it off, assuming it was just the default place for it. The bookmark was a reflective gold, and it was easy for Jack to get distracted by it. That's when he noticed something was written on it in a language he didn't recognize. But he did recognize Elsa's name at the end...why, he had no idea.

Something else appeared in the reflection...a pair of green reptilian eyes behind him. He jumped, and turned around, and sighed in relief. “Oh, Toothless, it's just you. Man, I'm glad to see a friendly face.”

But Toothless just stood there, glaring at him. One look at him told Jack that something was wrong. He looked into the dragon's eyes. They weren't the wide, happy, playful eyes he was used to seeing. These eyes were narrow, and stone cold. It seemed Toothless would tear him apart as soon as growl at him.  

“Oh no.”, Jack whispered. “He didn't turn you too, did he?”

Toothless didn't respond, but instead his eyes slightly changed their position to stare at the book Jack had at his side. Whatever the book was, it was obvious Pitch was telling Toothless that Jack wasn't supposed to have it. He silently approached Jack, still staring him down like a hawk. His jaws opened as he went for the book, only to have Jack swipe it away above his own head.  

Toothless snarled at Jack, and pinned him down to the desk with his hind legs, pushing off Jack's chest to leap for the book. Jack instinctively threw the book back, and it landed on the far window sill. Jack and Toothless looked at the book, then each other, and both made a move for the book.  

Jack easily soared over the desk while Toothless clambered over it in a mad scramble. Jack got to the book first, and swiped it up just before Toothless pinned him to the window. The Night Fury was seething with rage. His snout was flaring, his pupils were paper thin, and his fangs were bared.

Jack closed his eyes as Toothless opened his jaws, and his throat turned a bright blue with plasma. Toothless' weight on Jack's chest suddenly disappeared after a deafening blast knocked him off. Jack opened his eyes to see Toothless unconscious on the floor, a hole scorched in the side of his head. Standing at the door, with one hand smoking and a frying pan clenched in the other, was Luna. She was panting, the end of her hair tied around her waist and blood stained, her bangs dangling in her face, and sweat shining on her neck and shoulders.  

“Luna...”,Jack said, looking between her and Toothless. “Thanks.”
“Don't mention it.”, Luna said, breathlessly. “He'll be fine, he's got the healing factor of the Wolverine.”, she said, pointing to Toothless with her pan.
“So...”, she said when her breathing became steady again. “That's twice I've saved your life now?”, she asked, a smile breaking on her face.

Jack chuckled. “Well, look at it this way. Any headaches you gave your mom and I...I'd say we're even now.”

They both had a collective laugh over that for a minute, but then Luna suddenly cringed, and fell onto her left knee, clutching her stomach.

Jack quickly rushed over to her, and slowly helped her sit on the ground.
“Where exactly is all that blood from?”, Jack asked, seriously.

Jack eased Luna onto her back to let her lay on the floor. “Now stay still.”, he ordered. “I need to see this “battle damage”.” He grabbed the loose end of her hair, and quickly but carefully started unraveling it.  

“No, dad, you don't have to...”, Luna begged. She cringed again as Jack finally uncovered her stomach, and stared in horror at the bloody gash torn into her stomach. “What did this to you?”, he asked, aghast.

“Hiccup.”, Luna answered, her voice quivering.  

“Hiccup!?”, Jack asked, still more shocked. “Why would Hiccup...oh, don't tell me.”, he sighed, putting a hand to his head.

“Pitch made him into a...mindless puppet.” Luna said, tears streaming down her face. “Merida and I were up stairs, looking for Hiccup, and when we found him, he just stared at us with these soulless red eyes, and the next thing I know, he's slashing right through my gut.” She cringed again and shouted in pain as her head fell back onto the ground. “I thought I would've healed by now.”  

“So why aren't you?”, Jack panicked.

“I don't know...”, Luna answered, equally as panicked. She lifted her head to look at him. “Wait...where's mom?”

“What?”

“Where's mom, my mom, Rapunzel!?”, she asked, urgently. “She hasn't become Violet Lotus yet, has she?”

“That's not a bad thing, is it?”, Jack asked.

“Aw man.”, Luna groaned, dropping her head back down. “Time must be catching up with me.”

“Wait, slow down. What do you mean time is catching up with you?”, Jack asked, quickly.

“Long story short, if we don't fix mom,”, Luna started, cringing again. “Then I'm not only going to die, but in the future... I won't even exist!”