Yep. I did just make a new story. If you haven't seen Rise of the Guardians, you should! It's a really cute film that will help you to understand some of the characters in this story. At least google them so you can see how they look (unfortunately, my descriptions don't cut it).
Anyway, this chapter is insanely short because, well, 1. it's an introduction and 2. it's 4am and I have exam prep to do tomorrow. So, yeah. Deal.
Hope you all enjoy!
Oh...I always forget to add these things since I feel it's pretty obvious. And I've done it like a million times. Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, the Rise of the Guardians or any holidays/holiday characters. I think that covers it.
Panic. Mayhem. Chaos.
All described Jump City at present. The city was a cacophony of sound. Civilians ran, screaming. Car alarms pierced the air. People cowered in under cars, heads beneath their hands, whimpering. Babies squalled. Horns honked as many desperately tried to leave the city as fast as they could.
Law enforcement was no help—many actually joined in the fray, running from the fires and shadows with the hordes of civilians. The worst part about it was—the Teen Titans had no idea who (or what) was behind it all.
The alarm in the tower had alerted them to the breaking of several store fronts. They had all found it odd that the police weren't the ones to inform them (as per usual), but rather, that they had to show up to make sure everything was okay.
(They then arrived to the scene before them.)
Only, there was no villain in sight.
"Look around, there's got to be something to explain this," Robin ordered.
The team split up but, no matter how long they searched, no explanation presented itself. No villain was nearby. All the local factories had no leaks of hallucinogenic chemicals. A quick call with Batman confirmed Gotham to be in a similar state of hysteria despite the fact that the Scarecrow was still firmly locked away in Arkham Asylum.
So what could it be?
North surveyed his workshop. Even though Christmas was months away, his team of giant, furry beasts was hard at work making the year's creations. He chuckled as two of his foot-tall elves (made taller by their red pointy hats adorned with their musical silver bells on the end), Dingle and Dingle, were messing around with glitter and tree ornaments.
Preparations were going smoothly, to say the least. In fact, they were going better than ever. Ever since the incident with Pitch a year ago, more children believed in him than ever before. And while it kept him incredibly busy, he was grateful to see the globe that was hovering in the centre of his work station glow with millions of golden dots.
Of course, it probably helped that all the guardians made regular appearances to children now, especially to Jaime and his friends. The last believers.
He hummed, considering going into his office to create some new ice sculptures. As he was about to warn no one to bother him, a group of Dingles rushed over to him, their eyes wide. Of course. He wanted to roll his eyes at their antics, however, he felt his stomach twist.
I feel it in my belly. This is no good.
He rushed over to the globe. It was still decorated by strong, glowing golden dots of children who believed. That was good, at least. Still, he watched with growing apprehension as the moon emerged from behind the clouds.
"Round up the Guardians!" he called to his white, shaggy beasts. They were the competent ones. With a nod, the hulking animals used his snow globe to create portals to the domains of the Guardians, bringing them to the North Pole at once.
In moments, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and the Sandman were all rounded up. North cursed the last guardian for insisting against having a "lair". Jack claimed being tied down would take away his carefree nature. He had seen no reason to push the issue at the time, however, it made tracking him down much more difficult.
He examined the faces of his fellow guardians, each also seemed to quiet in the presence of the moon above. The Tooth Fairy stroked her feathers in distress. Her wings flapped more vigorously than usual, another sign of distress. Her entourage of small, hummingbird fairies were moved at the sight, lingering around their large counterpart and trying to calm her.
The Sandman, although he was always silent, wore a frown in place of his usual smile. He rubbed his eyes in an effort to stay awake. His golden hair looked mussed as usual and his small foot tapped the ground impatiently while waiting for the last guardian.
Bunnymund, arriving through his favourite tunnel transport, for once wasn't picking fights with North over the merit of their holidays. In fact, the Easter bunny was the most amusing (had it been a time for smiles). A six foot tall muscular grey rabbit, equipped with boomerangs and a sour temper, was looking up at the sky, his leg thumping (a new habit of his since he'd grown back to full size) with his mouth agape. Bunny wasn't usually one to be easily impressed.
Finally, the wind blew in Jack Frost. The boy, still in his usual vibrant blue hoodie and frayed brown pants (covered in bits of frost, of course), wore a smile as he floated into North's den. His electric blue eyes widened at the scene before him—the Guardians were never this quiet. Nervously, he ran a hand through his white hair. He'd never been good with dealing with stressful situations.
As he discovered only last year, his centre was Fun. Fun did not do well in the presence of anxiety.
Still, most importantly, last year Jack finally believed in listening to the moon. He now understood that the moon always had its reasons. And to believe in it even when there was very little reason to.
(Like now.)
All five Guardians waited expectantly for the moon to communicate with them. As if reading their thoughts, the moon's light intensified.
Silver light filtered down in front of the hovering globe. Using its light, the moon painted the picture of a very odd creature. Its four diamond shape eyes seemed to glow. Its mouth, full of sharpened teeth that nearly gave the Tooth Fairy a fright, was twisted into a malicious grin. Antlers circled its flowing hair, almost like a crown. Its figure was massive. It had a human-esque torso and legs, however, its legs were capped with black hooves and its massive hands had long, black razor sharp nails.
The scene before them changed to the silhouettes of five people. All of them stood (or hovered) side-by-side. There was the figure of a girl—tall with hair that spilled to her waist. Next to her was a silhouette of a boy shorter than she. He was distinguished by his spiky mass of hair. Beside him stood the hulking figure of a man who must've worked out a ton. The rays of light that snaked through his figure indicated that he wasn't entirely human. Something was helping to keep him alive.
(The Tooth Fairy's fairy entourage buzzed in admiration.)
Next to him was a giant shapeless cloak. The cloak hovered, its only feature were two eyes that glowed dangerously white. Finally, there was another boy. His hair was mussed and he had a childish grin on his face, exposing his prominent canine.
Finally, a skyline. One that was completely unlike those they had ever seen. The group turned to North who, every year, distributed presents to every city in the middle of the night (giving him an excellent knowledge of cityscapes). He shook his head. Never had he seen a city with a giant 'T'.
The scene then changed again into a bird with a large beak. Its feathers glowed silver as it hopped around the floor. In a flash, the moon disappeared behind the clouds leaving a very confused group of guardians behind.
"What was that all about?" asked Jack, his brows furrowed.
"Maybe I can ask the other Tooth Fairies," the Tooth Fairy supplied, "There's the European Division. And the Inter-Dimensional Tooth Collection facility. I'll ask around about these kids, maybe they'll know."
After a pause, she added hopefully, "If we find their teeth, maybe we can see some of their memories too."
The group nodded, unsure of what else to do.
"I'll let you know when I get any information on them."
With that, the group of guardians dispersed, all plagued by thoughts the images the moon had just revealed.
She frowned at the days events. She hated thinking about their brief foray into the city that day—the swarm of fear was almost enough to make her choke. Almost. Thankfully, Robin had realised there was nothing he could do. He pulled the team out of the city (just in time too—she was sure any longer and she would have been hurling from the paranoia that gripped the city).
He had spent the remainder of the night researching the cause. All villains that used fear were scrutinised, however, Robin quickly eliminated all of them. Batman, too, was a dead end. Robin and Batman communicated when they had anything to share, however, as the night dragged on they spoke less and less.
The fear was actually palpable in the tower too, she mused, but it wasn't as bad as in the city. The team was used to fighting fears, not running. So it was a bit calmer though she thought she might snap from the constant strain this was putting on her. She already had a terrible migrane.
Not to mention, she could swear that all the fear around her was beginning to manifest in her. She could feel that she was also afraid. The fear that pushed against her psyche was clearly affecting her. It didn't help that she needed to not panic. She didn't want another incident where the tower became a haunted house. She was pretty sure that (given the circumstances) another incident like that would just push her ragged friends over the edge, making them as fearful as the civilians they needed to protect.
Not to mention, Timmy, Melvin and Teether were coming to the tower soon. (She had insisted upon it.) If panic was taking over, she was sure that she was the best option for keeping the kids calm. Of course, this meant that she needed to keep her cool too. She sighed.
Crossing her legs in the lotus position, she attempted to meditate until they arrived. She hoped to restore some of her usual peace. Willed it to be so.
Just what in Azar was going on?
It will get better! Also, I didn't have North talk because, well, I'm not good with conveying accents. Especially thick, Russian ones. (In case you can't tell from this admission, Bunny and North will not play huge roles in this fic.)
Review if you have the chance!