Well, the last chapter didn't get much love in terms of reviews, so I'm a bit disappointed, but the show must go on, and I've been procrastinating on this fic

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Rise of the Guardians.

Chapter Four

"Alright mates, this is gonna be a big year for us. The sky's the limit, that's all I can say! We're going to pull out all the stops so the little ankle biters have the best Easter ever!" My little googies jump up and down with what I can only assume is excitement and a smile spreads across my lips.

The little eggs form their lines and begin running along the path through the fields of the spring flowers, the magic pollen painting them all shades of blues, pinks, yellows, and greens. I gather up some glitter and feathers and beads along with more paint to create even more beautiful eggs this year. Sure, it'll take a tick more time, but I think it'll be well worth it.

Half of the eggs leap into the purple river and the other half line up before me to be painted and decorated.

I tell you mates, I've made some beauties in my time, but I outdid myself in spades this year! Glittering little gems, flourishing feathers, colorful beads, these treasures will be a smash at the Easter egg hunts this year, I'm certain of it!

I take to a bit of quiet humming as I begin to attach some feathers along a red and yellow egg and it honestly caught me off guard when a small hang delicately plucks the egg from my hand.

"Ooh, Aster, it's lovely!" Tooth exclaims, beaming at the fiery egg. He can't help but offer a sheepish grin before going on to work on the next egg in line.

"I thought I'd pull out all the stops and create some new eggs. It takes some extra time, but I'm betting the children will love em."

"Absolutely. You've really outdone yourself," she says, kneeling over the group of completed eggs and admiring them. I can't help but feel a bit of pride well up in my chest at her approval and continue attaching swirls of glitter to the little blue egg in my paw.

"I appreciate that, Toothiana. So how's the hunt for Predias coming along." She sighs and shakes her head.

"We keep hitting dead end after dead end. He hasn't been able to do anything severe, but he also has been impossible to find. Santa's worried he might have moved on to another city and is causing havoc there."

"I doubt that…I'm sure we'd figure it out if something else was happening by now."

"I don't know…it's hard for us to watch over the entire world when we're so focused on that spot. My fairies haven't seen anything unusual yet, but I just have this bad feeling that the worst is yet to come."

"I know what you mean…" I mumble, frowning a bit. She sits on the grass and I set down my egg before scanning out a brilliant turquoise and green one before attaching some pink feathers and some gold and pink beads and glitter before handing it to her.

"What's this?" she asks, blinking in surprise.

"An early Easter present," I state simply with a small smile before going on to decorate another egg. "I'm sure your little fairies might like the colors too." Her sad, worried expression immediately melts away into a smile and she gently hugs the egg to her chest.

"Thank you, Aster. I love it." I nod and she draped one arm over my shoulder for a small hug, which isn't unwelcomed, though slightly unfamiliar. "Would you still like some extra help this year?"

"Of course. You and your little fairies are always welcome here." She claps her hands together happily and hovers off the ground again.

"Great! I'll go and gather up some of my fairies and we'll be back here in no time!"

"Ok, just be sure to be careful on the flight, ok? I don't want anything happening to you." She nods before flying off through one of the tunnels and I resume my work. Well, Toothiana really does have a charming presence about her that can typically raise your spirits.

And I am quite happy she likes the new eggs…especially the one I gave her.

I shake my head a bit and resume adding beads to the little pink and purple egg in my hand.

It's nearing nightfall and Toothiana hasn't come back with her fairies. I can't help but immediately ponder the worst before attempting to reassure myself with the idea that she might have gotten caught up with some extra tooth collecting.

Setting down the last egg for the day, I figure it can't hurt to pay a quick visit and make certain she's alright.

Racing through a tunnel, I arrive at her mountain quickly and tunnel directly into her palace to save some time.

"Tooth? Toothiana?" I call, smelling the air curiously. The castle is eerily quiet, reminiscent of the time her little fairies were kidnapped by Pitch last year and I shudder a bit before bounding forward, my boom-a-rangs at the read. "Toothiana?!"

"So good to see you again…" a familiar, drawling voice purrs from the shadows and I spin to see Predias standing before me, his hands folded behind his back.

"What have you done with her?" I growl, raising one of my boom-a-rangs above my head. "Answer me!"

"You certainly get quite twitchy whenever anything happens to that fairy, don't you?"

"O-of course I do! She's a guardian, as am I! You harm any one of us, and I'll be more than happy to knock a bloke or two!"

"But she's special to you, isn't she? If she were to, say, disappear…you'd be devastated."

"What are you prattling on about?" I growl, gritting my teeth.

"When Pitch destroyed the Sandman, you were distraught, but you were still able to fight. But if the Tooth Fairy were destroyed, you'd be completely crushed. You would feel empty, alone…hopeless."

"That's a poor word to use in front of me, mate. I am hope. I will never give up that feeling, no matter what happens!"

"Words hold little meaning, guardian. Action…"

"If you attempt to harm her or any of the other guardians or children, I'll do more than throw a few eggs at you. No, mate…I'll destroy you!" I swear angrily and my fury only increases when he actually starts to laugh.

"I would genuinely love to see you attempt that, guardian."

"It'll be my pleasure!" I growl, flinging my boom-a-rangs at him and he seems to melt away, the boom-a-rangs passing harmlessly overhead and he appears again behind me, striking before I can turn around and knocking me to the floor.

"Hope is supposed to be the strongest force out there. Hope…love…dreams…but hope can never truly stop one thing."

"And what exactly is that?!"

"Despair…suffering…such powerful feelings that can kill hope from the roots and consumer the heart and the body and mind." I narrow my eyes and stand up shakily, picking up my boom-a-rangs again.

"What exactly are you, Predias?"

"Still can't figure it out, hm? Very well…I suppose I can go ahead and tell you. I am the harbinger of suffering, the monarch of desolation; I am the lord of despair. Thanks to the antics of that fool, Pitch, I have gained so much power from the fear he instilled in all of those children."

"Impossible!" He threw his head back and laughed again, his arms outstretched as a series of shadowy ravens encircled him.

"I will not rest until the world is plunged into an endless void of misery. You and those wretched guardians are the only obstacle in my path. It matters not to me if the children believe in you, so long as they are too miserable to even flash a glimmer of a smile…"

"We will stop you!"

"You cannot even find me or remedy those that fall under the curses of my ravens. How do you intend to stop me at this point?" he asked mockingly, chuckling and I tighten my grip.

"That's the thing…I don't have a bloody clue how we'll do it…but I know we can, because that's the way we work, mate. We are the guardians and we will protect the children, no matter who we're up against! You told me that hope will die, but you can't kill hope! No matter how much despair is born, hope will always exist in the hearts of children, and in the hearts of people in general. And hope is a light that cannot be extinguished, even by the darkest shadows. But I suppose you'll just have to find that out the hard way."

"Hmph. Deluded fool. You will soon learn your days are numbered."

"Funny, Pitch said something similar, and look where that got him!" I retort icily and Predias spreads his arms, the sleeves of his coat almost oozing down like an oil and forming misshapen wings and he flies toward me and I attack him with everything I have, not willing to back down from him again.

I know I struck him in the end and heard a blood curdling scream…but then I found myself back at the Warren, standing in the field with my eggs surrounding me.

"Ah, crickey! Did I dream through that again?!" I grunt furiously, kicking at the ground. My little eggs move around, indicating curiosity and confusion and I gently wave them off. "Don't worry, mates. It's nothing…"

I sit on the grass, sighing slightly as my head swims with the memory. That felt less like a dream and more like an actual confrontation.

This bloody git was worse than Pitch…more arrogant, more infuriating, and more powerful. I get the feeling he's merely toying with us, making us underestimate his brute force.

I considered going to the Pole to tell Santa about what I'd seen, but it didn't seem like it would do a thing to help in the search. But then again…acting like nothing happened wasn't the least bit logical, was it?

"Aster?"

My ears twitch and I turn around in time to see Toothiana fly in with a couple dozen of her fairies, beaming vividly.

"Sorry we took so long! There was the most adorable molar lost in Berlin, so I just had to go and retrieve it!" she gushed excitedly and I chuckled a bit.

"That's fine, Toothy. Are you and your little ones ready to get to work, then?"

"We're ready!" she said, saluting and her fairies followed suit.

"Very good, come along." I hop forward and guide them in the process of decorating the eggs and they all got to work, adding feathers and beads and glitter and paint. I take care to keep an eye out on my cottage where I prepare all the sweets on the off-chance she snaps and tries to sabotage the chocolates and cakes I'd prepared.

But, thankfully, everything went smoothly and, thanks to Toothiana and her fairies, I was able to get all of my beautiful googies ready with time to spare. I prepare us some tea and some (sugar-free) treats to celebrate a job well done.

"Thanks for all of your help, Tooth. I couldn't have done it without you."

"My pleasure, Aster. I mean, it's the least I can do after you helped me out last year."

"No trouble at all." She smiles and sips her tea, the fairies that stayed for the final round eating small bites of a piece of lemon cake happily. "Be sure to take some cake home to the rest of your fairies. Wouldn't be fair to leave em out."

"Of course, thank you, Aster."

"Mm-hmm."

"So are you excited for the big day?" she asks.

"Of course! Five days will feel like an eternity, though. Though…I'm a bit anxious about what Predias might try to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…after you left, I thought I finished preparing eggs for the day and night fell. You hadn't come here, so I went off to check on you. But your palace was empty, like you and all the fairies were captured." She went pale at the memory and I pat her arm. "Sorry, Tooth."

"No, no. Continue."

"So…the place was completely empty, and I heard someone laughing. He appeared in front of me and went on about how he was going to bring about nothing but despair in the world, and that our time was up…he came off as crazier than Pitch! And…I think he might be stronger."

"But how?"

"He says he got his power from the despair of children when Pitch attacked last year. I'm guessing all the fear and nightmares crushed them and brought about misery as well. His ravens, apparently, can curse people and cause this misery. I think that's how he started that fire and caused all those other things to happen."

"Aster, this sounds serious. We need to go to the Pole and tell Santa!"

"If I leave, he might come here and try to destroy Easter again. I have to stay here and protect my home, no matter what."

"Yes…you're right. Well, I'll go to the North Pole and tell Santa, alright?" She begins to fly off and I immediately grab her wrist, visibly startling her.

"S-sorry. But…could you…could you please come by once more after going to the Pole? I'm a bit paranoid now…" I mumble and her expression softens.

"Of course, Aster. If you'd like, you can use a few of my fairies to help you watch over the Warren. They're small, but they can spot just about anything from the air." I smile a bit and nod.

"Alright, that sounds good."

"Did you hear that girls? You'd better keep Aster and the Warren safe, understand?" she says and her little fairies salute and squeak obediently, earning a smile from their mother. "Very good. Well, I'm off. I'll be back as soon as I talk to Santa."

"Thank you, Tooth." She nods and flies off, a couple of fairies following, the rest staying with me. They look over at me and I can't help but smile a bit more. Toothiana's fairies are really adorable, and they are always so amusing to watch.

"Can you all watch over my eggs? I don't want to see them broken again his year." They nod and fly off and I clean up the kitchen quietly.

"You really think that'll save Easter? A couple of little fairies? Heh, you're even more desperate than I thought."

"If you think you can scare me, you're wrong, mate."

"I know that I scare you. I know you are afraid that I will successfully destroy you and what you represent, guardian. Why fight it?"

"Go away," I growl, slamming a plate down onto the counter. "NOW!"

"Hope will die…and it starts with Easter. Just you wait."

I let out a furious shout and fling a plate, causing it to shatter against the wall and fall to the ground uselessly. As expected, I am alone in my kitchen…

Grunting, I go to sweep up the broken plate and toss it in the trash before I finish cleaning the rest of my kitchen. I have five days… Five days to protect all of my work, my holiday…and the hope I bring with it.

I sit down again, grabbing my head with a low sigh as my fears begin to materialize inside of my mind. How do we stop him?

He seems able to appear anywhere at any time and haunts my nightmares… This isn't the lord of fear, it's the lord of despair, so what other tricks can he do?

These questions plague me for hours until I feel a cold chill of wind and turn to see Jack.

"What's the problem, mate?" I ask, immediately noticing his expression.

"Tooth and Sandman are missing." I jump up instantly, eyes widening.

"What?!"

"Come on, we need to go."

"You don't have to tell me twice."

…yeah. Ok, not much more to say other than please review, don't flame. Annnnd that's all I've got.