Plague Knight watched as Seiga fell asleep. He put his head towards face, to check for breathing.
"Did it....work?" he asked, somewhat unsure. He knew whatever concoction he made was not fatal, mostly due to this day people being unable to die. Though it would be a true hallmark of his alchemical skills that he created a poison potent enough to bypass the machinations of an all powerful - wait, hold it, the potion worked, Seiga's awake and fully sober.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Karkat was intoxicated as well. Along with the usual gibberish he spoke, which Plague Knight picked as some sort of romance structure unique to his race, he might have just proposed sex right to Seiga's face. Even someone as socially inept as Plague Knight had enough some to know that one never propose intercourse to a lady's face in a polite setting, unless said lady requested monetary compensation afterwards.
Plague Knight faux coughed in reflex, expecting the situation to decline in Karkat's detriment. The natural curiosity that came to humans when observing disasters waiting to happen won out in the knight's mind.
DAMMIT MARK, STOP HOTTING HELPY!!
I just want to help!
Cole seemed largely bewildered at Sans's seeming scolding, and no less when Caro stepped to their side, offering her own gentle response. For a long moment, it seemed as though he couldn't come up with a response to them, just looking back and forth between their faces, hands twitching a bit, not quite wringing. Finally, he lowered his gaze to the sand, and when he spoke, his voice varied, changing, a seeming mimicry of other people, some of whom Sans and Caro would certainly not recognize.
"Cole's dangerous. Unpredictable. We aren't even sure what he is. Don't know what he might do. I wouldn't turn my back on him."
"Whether Cole is a spirit or a demon is irrelevant. Neither can be trusted, my dear. Remember that."
A last voice, that the two might find not only recognize, but find particularly chilling, given what both had been through the night before, fighting OFB. "You're more like me than you're willing to admit."
He was quiet for a moment at that one, a noticeable shiver running through his frame, before he spoke again, in his own voice. "I don't want to become a demon. B-but...but if I stop helping...if I don't...if I don't act as Compassion...I will. I will...I will become a monster. I will hurt people. I can't stop it, I...I can't. If I am not what I am, I become what I am not."
He shifted his weight a little. "Back home the Inquisitor told me how to help...the others always pointed me where I needed to go. I could scout ahead, I could find hurt, I always had something I had to do. Here, I don't...there is no direction, there is no one...there is no mission. I...I don't know how to best help w-without hurting...e-everything I try is wrong, one way or another..."
He rubbed at one arm, cringing down a little more where he stood, ducking his head more as though to stay hidden under his hat, the slightest quiver in his voice. "I...I'm s-sorry, I just...I just don't...i-if I d-don't know how to help, I just...d-don't want people to b-be hurt because of me...I d-don't...I don't want to be a monster again..."
feeling blue
Sans listened to Caro speak, his eyes widening as he realized what he said probably stung her really badly considering what happened earlier, thankfully she took it well and tried to back him up.
Cole's response was a bit surprising as he began mimicking voices, particularly the demon, which was enough to give Sans some pause. However it wasn't now that he was going to stop.
"nobody is telling you not to help, kid, what we're saying is that you don't need to help others alone. if you need someone to guide you, i'm here, we're here, but you don't need to take it upon yourself to do everything. help us by letting us help you help other people, that's all i'm asking for."
The beach - Pain and tenderness
Hearing Cole's voice suddenly change into those of others, specially the Lord of Change's, was more than a little unsettling. It also filled Caro with indignation at those people and anyone else who had made him felt this horrible way. But more than anything, she felt an unbelievable tenderness at hearing about such terrible and familiar feelings. If there was any one time where she was certain that sharing her pain would help someone, it was this one.
With an expression that was a mixture of sad and tender, she spoke, "Cole ... I don't know exactly what it is that you can do or who most of those people are but ... I'm certain they are wrong about you. Most of all the Lord of Change. You're nothing like it. From what I hear, you want to help people, heal their pain and suffering, while the Lord of Change only seems to want to cause misery and suffering, wants to split people apart and turn them against each other. Don't listen to it says. Manipulation like that is all it does."
The next part was a bit harder to get out and her expression turned much more sadder. "I-I know that kind of pain too ... Far too well. Being terrified of what you are, being made to believe that is supposed by a gift was something terrible that could only hurt others and bring destruction ... I was in that terrible place too. People called me dangerous too and for a long time I was terrified of myself ... I thought that I and my companions, like Fried here," she paused for a moment, reaching out to the small dragon, caressing him as if to comfort herself as well, " ... T-that we could only cause hurt and nothing else too ... "
She paused for a while, her expression becoming more warm and hopeful as she did it, " It took me a few long years and a lot of help of someone now very special and dear to me ... But I have since realized that none of that was true. That I don't have to be scared of myself, that I can use my talent to help and protect people, that it's not a curse but a wonderful gift, that let me connect not only with Fried here but with a lot of other wonderful creatures too ... "
She slowly and gently began to walk up to Cole, until she then attempted to reach to him into an warm embrace, as she tenderly spoke, "You're not alone in that either, Cole. Let me help you, let us help you get through all that too. Let us help you help others in the way you're meant to ... "
edited 11th Aug '16 9:29:59 AM by JamesShields
frustrated artist
The Cinema.
"I'm okay," Sophie replied, her neutral tone completely masking any possible childlike surprise or fear she might have had* .
She looked back at the screen, one ear listening to Miss Tairee's hypothesis on Sandy's 'death'... or, from the looks of it, more like a corruption. Just like Richard... The thought seemed to lower her mood again, but just as quickly her gaze steeled. But he came back. We fought to save him, and we brought him back. She glanced back up at Jack with a look of understanding, then back at the screen again.
The lilac-haired girl watched in silence as the Guardians moved to the Warren to assist Bunny with Easter. She watched as the little girl from earlier appeared, and how Bunny interacted with her while his friends and his stone companions prepared the eggs. Finally, as the screen switched from a yeti crumpling in defeat when told to change some freshly-painted red eggs to blue, she spoke with a pointed finger:
"...She has the same name as me."
Sophie fell silent again as the scene moved to Jack's second confrontation with Pitch, and the ensuing disaster that followed. He made a big mistake, too... She couldn't help but take more concerned glances at Jack sitting beside her; she could see the subdued, pained looks on his face, but this time she didn't say anything, instead gripping his forearm a little tighter.
Their third encounter, with Pitch's attempt to appeal to Jack... it reminded her of Lambda. "People will fear you, but no one will like you," she suddenly spoke out, her tone making it clear that she knew where the on-screen Jack was coming from. "You'll be alone anyway; you'll have nothing but emptiness... nothing but destruction." Once more, her expression fell, thoughts of that fateful battle replaying themselves in her mind. She could almost feel the on-screen Jack's despair - a moment of fear that, maybe, they may not make it; that all their mistakes would come crashing down on them.
But we persevered. Asbel most of all, when he risked himself to save us... our planet...
As if coinciding with the on-screen Jack's discovery of why the Man in the Moon chose him, she looked back up at the screen, her somber countenance gave way to a faint, but nevertheless genuine, smile.
...To save me.
The lilac-haired girl continued watching quietly, her face neutral and steeled once more.
edited 10th Aug '16 1:28:32 PM by Demovere
Peace. Pace. Sanity. Check out my DeviantArt! ^_^
I just want to help!
Cole listened to what the two of them were saying, still keeping his head down, silent. But when Caro moved forward to hug him, he flinched just a bit, eyes going wide. He didn't seem upset or scared by it, just more confused for a second...before he carefully crouched down to return the hug, clearly unsure of whether or not what he was doing was correct.
"I...a-all right. All right." He swallowed hard, trying to bring up a smile for them. "All right, I...I think...I think I can...do that. If...if you want me to help you, then...then I can do that. I'd...I'd like that, I think. If...if it's really...if it's really all right...?"
feeling blue
It didn't come to mind that Caro and Cole actually had rather similar situations, no wonder Caro seemed so affected by everything, culminating in her giving the spirit a hug. At least she didn't cry this time.
"if it wasn't all right we wouldn't have been having this whole thing happening right now, cole," said Sans, sighing and letting go of Cole's soul. "i dunno what the people in your world are like, but if that's how they treat you i can't say i'm very sympathetic towards them, you're not a demon or whatever cole, you're just you."
Jedi of the Old Republic
Library
Ben said that he was forming some kind of crime-fighting group, and asked Twilight if she wanted to join.
"Well, sure. I want to do anything I can to help others."
What is this "signature" of which people speak?
"It's fine" Curly replied as she settled back into her seat in preparation for when the movie resumed. Though Jack and Miss Tairee's discussion about the sandman and the boogyman did little to distract her from remembering her own experiences with loss. Corruption had played an part in that as well. Sorry... Toroko...
She gave a quiet sigh, but the movie was soon going again. In a not particularly uplifting direction as the Guardians held a memorial for the fallen Sandman, even with Jack's assurance that he came back just fine, seeing them all in mourning was a bit disheartening at first. Though she was glad to see North arrive to console film-Jack. It seemed like he always had a way of brightening things up.... Maybe it was that Wonder he was talking about.
Soon enough, the Guardians were headed to help the Bunny with Easter. He seemed quite pleased about that. Curly leaned forward in her seat as they slid through the tunnels, eager to see the warren and it's denizens... She was slightly disappointed that there were no other "Easter Bunnies" Though watching the Guardians react to Sophie's presence was certainly amusing, as was the idea that they were "Too busy helping children to spend time with children", that scene got a chuckle out of her.. "The irony" She said simply as Jack explained the other Guardians had spent too long not actually interacting with the children, And the comment about the Easter Bunny being too serious got an eyebrow raise in live-Jack's direction "A nudge, hm?"
The following was quite surreal and confusing to Curly. She failed to see what the importance was with all the eggs (and their strange little feet), or the colors, though in the wake of the memorial the bright pastel colors and the flowers and the life that was in the Warren was quite uplifting. And Jack returning the small girl to her home. She looked at Jack when he quipped about the entrance being under the rotting frame of a bed. And as the events in Pitch's lair unfolded, she kept alternating between watching the movie and checking on Jack's reactions. It was a little unnerving watching Pitch play his mind games, not attacking or threatening, just poking and prodding and giving voice to what sounded like film-Jack's inner fears and negative thoughts... Trying to figure out just what his game was... And then film-Jack was in the tunnel with the remains of the eggs.
And as predicted, the Guardians didn't take Jack's absence, or the possession of his memory teeth very well. Though at least the Easter Bunny explained what the purpose of the hiding and seeking of eggs was, at least in part to remind the kinds of the hope and joy of the new life of spring. Curly could sort of see that now, vibrantly colored eggs hidden in bushes and grass, reminiscent of buds of flowers. A shame Pitch had to ruin it.
Soon enough film Jack was alone in the frozen south, only for Pitch to return. Along with his ability to give voice to fears, apparently the boogieman had a way with spinning words and tweaking things to make him look pitiable, almost as if he was the wronged good guy and the Guardians were the villains... Almost. For a few moments, Curly was worried Film-Jack might actually take the offer to work together, though by the time she had a chance to remind herself that was ridiculous given the context, he'd already rejected Pitch, who had another offer. This time, ransom. And with it, what certainly looked like victory as the villain went back on his word, only releasing Baby Tooth an an attempt to hurt her for daring to stab at him in his moment of overconfidence.
As Jack's memories of saving his sister played on the screen, Curly found herself tensing up in anticipation of what was going to happen on that frozen lake that looked reminiscent of the one from the start of the movie. Would he be able to save the girl...?
Of course he did, even though he didn't save himself. Though the Man in the Moon took care of that, in a fashion.
"Drowning... That's not a pleasant way to go" Curly said quietly, she'd had more experience with that than she was comfortable with. Though the memory faded to a happier scene of Jack mending his staff and recognizing that he was, in fact, a Guardian. Even before he was Jack Frost.
Curly found herself wishing she'd been at the North Pole while Pitch taunted the Yeti and Elves about the fading lights, just so she could shoot that smug grin off his face. But one light remained, and Film Jack rushed to protect it... The kid they Guardians had woken up during their tooth-hunting. The kid that insisted the Easter Bunny was real even when his friends couldn't believe, the kid now pleading his stuffed bunny for some sort of sign that he hadn't just been dreaming. Only for Jack to provide that sign. And accidentally, provide his own sign. "It's a good thing you guys woke him up after all" Curly said with a smile to Jack in response to film-Jack finally being seen by the child.
THE SLORG!
"Wait a minute... Pitch looks like he's made out of shadows, or nightmare sand, like Sandy is. Do you- do you think there's a connection?" Jack had asked Miss Tairee.
"Well I could just look up everything about your universe and find out, but where's the fun in that?" Miss Tairee responded a bit jokingly. "Though as far as what I think without just looking it up; aren't you all connected? The scripting seems to imply that you all originally gained your powers because you were chosen by the man on the moon; even the Boogeyman. Perhaps your moonman choose Pitch to do the same thing that Sandy does, but instead Pitch decided to use his powers for evil so Sandy became the second choice to fill his place" the librarian theorized, then added, "there's something for you to ask Sandy about too, once you're back there."
The movie went on, with Miss Tairee still seeming to pay only partial attention to it. When the part with the Tooth fairy showing the teeth to the little girl came up, Miss Tairee muttered a quick and quiet, "oh dear." As the scene continued to the making of the Easter eggs, Miss Tairee tilted her head a bit. "So just how did that Earth holiday about the death of a messiah figure eventually become about a rabbit hiding colorful eggs? Or did your universe not have a Jesus?" Miss Tairee asked Jack. Just afterward Sophie made a comment about the movie character, which got Miss Tairee to laugh for a moment. "Well, you're not wrong" she commented simply.
From there Miss Tairee had little to comment on about the movie, only muttering something about 'kicking the dog' when Pitch Black chucked the little fairy away. Later, Curly's comment about Jamie got Miss Tairee to speak up for a moment, saying, "it's amazing how much those little, convenient coincidences and accidents like that end up being crucially important later."
Sir Redring looked at Twilight once she and Ben started speaking, his expression of course unreadable but his body language seemed curious. "A purple colored, winged unicorn? This city brings strange and amazing sights indeed" Sir Redring thought aloud, though seemed like he was not trying to be offensive. "A good day to you lady, or night as it were. I am Sir Redring" the octopode then introduced himself, giving a quick bow.
"Now if I may trouble you with another question; you wouldn't happen to know of anyone willing to take care of this small animal during our time in this city?" Sir Redring asked her, holding up the gerbil.
edited 10th Aug '16 6:53:22 PM by FirockFinion
You are reading this.
"Lord Plague Knight - if I may, who is this female? Is she an ally of ours?" Q10 wondered aloud at the sight of the unconscious woman. After a few moment of silence, whether or not Plague Knight answered, he spoke aloud.
"And, would it be possible for your to lead me to this librarian that was mentioned before? I have some things to discuss with her if that would be alright."
The beach - Embracing the warmth
Caro let out a reliefed sigh as Cole returned the hug and sounded clearly reliefed as well. With a tender smile of her own, she said, "Yeah, it's really alright, Cole. We'll get all through this together. That's what friends are for, after all."
She then took a glance at Sans, more than little surprised that the skeleton was still standing apart from them. So she simply asked, "Come on, Sans. don't you wanna join us here?" while extending an arm out to him to further the invitation.
I think I'm a sofa
Karkat - Rick's Party
If Karkat was fully aware of his surroundings when Seiga turned him down, he would have ranted about how much of an idiot he was. Probably kick some sand around in frustration. But he was not, in fact, fully aware, so the most he could do at the moment was look mildly disappointed. WELL, OKAY, IF YOU'RE SO SURE ABOUT THAT, I'LL JUST LEAVE. I REALLY THOUGHT A MIRACLE WOULD HAPPEN... He turned around and started walking towards the water, gave up, and passed out, falling face first into the sand.
(holds pool noodle threateningly) Do you want to know what we do to artists?
I just want to help!
Cole was quiet for a moment before nodding a little as well. "I...I like that we're friends. Thank you..."
When Caro held out an arm for Sans, Cole looked over to the skeleton as well, glancing back and forth between the other two before hesitantly holding out an arm as well, looking less as though he knew why he was doing it and more like he was simply copying Caro's gesture. He did offer a faint, timid bit of a smile though, a very unsure and tentative thing, but present nonetheless.
Admittedly Plague Knight was slightly disappointed that Karkat merely walked away and then passed out into the sand, expecting the troll to antagonize Seiga to the point of violence. Then he turned to Q10. "Yes, she is an ally," Plague Knight said to robot. Better to make sure his new servant was clear on who were his allies and who were not now than later.
Q10 then requested to meet with the librarian. "Well, as of right now, the librarian is not at the library, but I can certainly take you to the building." He then turned to Seiga and Viola. "I suggest we all go, because at this point I believe the party is starting to die out."
DAMMIT MARK, STOP HOTTING HELPY!!
Just another guy
Viola I Beach (Rick's Party) I Fun Time is Over
"I couldn't agree more," I nodded to Plague Knight, the aftermath of everything that happened now dying down. I was expecting a bit more from Karkat after Seiga rejected him, but the brief moment before then was good enough. And I do think two spectacles were enough for today.
I offhandedly looked at Karkat walking towards the sea before suddenly passing out onto the sand. Huh.
Then, I remembered that I'm still in my swim wear for most of the day. Of course, I still need to change before waiting for the day to end at the library. "You two go on ahead. I still have to retrieve my things from my room,"
"A post per day keeps the GMs away!"
Oh dear, she was sounding positively livid. Seiga took a deep breath, held it in, and let it out slowly. It was going to be a little bit of time before she really got over being gravely insulted like that, but she didn't need to be actively furious.
Plague Knight and his robotic companion (who she noted called him master. Perhaps she wasn't the only one in the market for more servants?) were just about ready to move along to the library, and she shook her head in response. "No, I'm afraid I can't. If Yoshika is trying to help me all by herself, chances are she's scared out of her mind. She expects me to where she left me, and if I wasn't, she'd simply break." Noticing that she was still a little uncomfortably close to Viola, she got up and bowed to the three before her. "I am in your debt for helping me with this embarrassing business...but I must ask, what exactly was I doing?"
Without any further ado, she ran back out to the streets, barreling through the same hole that she had made just seconds ago. Hopefully, she'd hear the sound of a distant sound system, and follow it all the way there...because right now, even she noticed that the street leading to the Library was completely different than the last time she had ran it.
For the Horde!
Ben grinned and clasped his hands together when Twilight accepted his invitation. "Awesome!' said Ben, eagerly. "Now, we're all gonna need some way to talk easier. We can either share phone numbers, or, if we all got a walkie talkie we can use one of those channels," he explained. "If not, anyone else have any other ideas?" he asked, leaning against the table and smiling.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Just another guy
Viola I Beach (Rick's Party) I Re-Clarification
I looked back towards Seiga, who understandably wants to know what happened to her. Since I'm feeling generous today, and the show that she put on, I decided to indulge her. "Remember the syringe that you carried around? You accidentally got some of the powder from it to yourself after someone from the party shoved you. And the rest, well... If you really must know...,"
"Imagine how a drug addict would act like and you wouldn't be that far off. You were..., how should I say this, 'shut down', so to speak. It's like you have no mind of your own, unable to mutter a single coherent word, with your eyes unfocused and your tongue lolling around. You even tried to lick everything within your line of sight. From your servant, Yoshika, to the doctor who saved you, to...," I stopped just then while gazing upon the fallen form of a certain troll, letting her connect the dots on her own. It was obvious enough to see what I was implying, but leaving it like this would leave more of an effect.
"Your miserable condition aside, I instructed your servant to search for the librarian to assist you. And then, Karkat came..." I sigh. "You should consider yourself lucky that the doctor came by and found you while you were left under my care, else who knows what would've happened..."
"And that's the gist of it, really,"
"A post per day keeps the GMs away!"
Seiga's face returned to the same red color as it had when Karkat made his advance as Viola went down the list. Just the thought of it was bad enough but the licking, dear lord, she had licked people! When she made her very unsubtle insinuation that she had licked the same troll that had just tried to make love to her, she held up her hand and tried to get her to stop.
"Okay, then. I did something terrible, just now," she said, looking down at her feet. "I think I've become entirely aware of just how terrible, and that's enough for me. Please, please don't mention this elsewhere."
Tired of givin' up the ghost
Curly didn't much elaborate, only saying it was a long story where she had to destroy something or another. She then went right back to gazing at the movie. Well, it was pretty rude talking over a movie you were ostensibly watching.
"Well. If you ever want to talk about it..." He trailed off as he too once again turned toward the film, in time for Jack to spoil that Sandy ended up just fine. You could sense the breath of relief that swept over everyone in turn.
Jack and Tairee started debating the mechanics of Sandy's death, and how it made sense given that the Guardians were inextricably linked to people's belief in them.
"And the thing with corrupting dreams had been going on for a long time before that, apparently. That may have played a part."
It was a bit striking (ahem), to watch the funeral. The movie itself seemed to have shifted character for it. Then again, joy wasn't really the normal reaction to death, except maybe in cultures where death was just a new beginning (Tempo was close enough to the border that Day of the Dead celebrations lurked less than an hour's drive away, after all), and even they surely still reviled murder.
He wondered if anyone had found—
Okay, no. Ew. Gross. Maybe this wasn't the time to imagine how badly that abandoned mine must smell.
Even though he dwelt on it anyway and ended up visibly shuddering in disgust. See, what did I say about imagining that.
It was endearing, sweet even, that Jack knew the names of at least two of the kids he'd "interacted" with up to that point, on rewatch. Made it seem more personal. That personal touch was only further emphasized by the contrast provided by the embarrassing toothy faux pas and North's subsequent "We are very busy bringing joy to children. We don't have time...for children."
Ah, the irony.
"It's like a parent who spends more time providing for their kids than interacting with them. Good thing mine had a family business, I guess."
That was a verbal smackdown worth a douche award. Damn. Emotional torment really did have quite the way with hurting people. Forget the nasty blood and gore.
He sure hoped they'd never face anything or anyone that could do that...
It was enough to make him flinch back quite a ways, even, enough that his head met the leather of his seat and quickly produced that burning flesh scent from the commercial.
OH NO! he thought to himself as he began trying to swat it out with one hand. He couldn't really tell if it was helping or not, but the seat seemed to grow blacker and blacker by the second. Forgetting he could make water, he dashed out to the counter, ordered a bottle of the stuff, returned in just as much of a hurry, and doused the whole seat.
Way to break the mood, Lew.
Someday, some scientist was gonna find that lovely nightmare sand/ice sculpture and be quite baffled and curious by its existence, perhaps taking off a piece to see the strange grains that lay within, running weather simulations to discern what kind of natural phenomena could have made it, and maybe, just maybe coming to the conclusion that this spiky pillar was made of total bullshit.
Even if that Imagine Spot happened to be interrupted by what was probably the worst way to go ever (as Curly pointed out). Slow, in sight of a loved one, and inherently suffocating. Almost made the impalement seem merciful.
Almost. He swore he could feel it there, somehow.
But hey, Jack didn't seem too hung up about the dying in a frozen lake thing then or now.
Speaking of Jack, the way his face lit up like a kid on way more sweets than any sane parent would allow was in itself enough to carry the whole scene. Curly noted how convenient the earlier scene in that same bedroom ended up being in the long run and was answered by a remark of amazement of how funny little things as such came together in the bigger picture.
"I guess it kinda is funny. The right amount of particles clump together in just the right ways, and make chemicals have just the right reaction that produces life, that evolves just the right features to realize how improbable its existence is, and that they can ponder that fact specifically because they lucked into existence.
"Well, maybe not, but it's a wonder to think about."
moved to Oceanstuck because this handle was starting to bother me my tumblr
Cinema
When Jack suddenly stormed out of the cinema, during what was a particularly tense moment of the movie, it just confirmed Garrett's suspicions that what they were watching was an exact recreation of the boy's past. Which did not explain how did this movie come about to be. Was it made by recording images, much like the Mechanists' wax-cylinder machine recorded sounds? If so, how was this made? Did someone follow Jack around with a device of some kind?
The movie suddenly froze. For a moment Garrett thought that something broke, but then it became apparent Miss Tairee stopped the spectacle as a courtesy to Jack, and as an opportunity to take a break. An opportunity Garrett was thankful for, because the buffet feast began to take its toll on him. He decided he'd take the opportunity to head to the bathroom, and save any questions until after the movie. He had no idea how long it would still last, but presumably they wouldn't be watching it longer than till the day shift.
He kept watching in silence, though he didn't pay that much attention to the story, which was a little too much to take in after all the other multi-layered craziness of this City. Mostly, he was thinking about what this movie meant. Was there a 'movie' about him as well? Come to think of it, wasn't it like these books back at the library... apparently they also contained information about the other's worlds? How did it all—but here Garrett was distracted by Lewis accidentally setting his seat on fire. "Ah... Can't you be careful with that?" he asked, looking at Lewis's flame-hair.
Just another guy
Viola I Beach (Rick's Party) I Oooooh, secrets!
"Worry not. My lips are perfectly sealed." Maybe. Probably. Depends if I still want her around. Being around her has been pretty entertaining so far, so she has no worry on that. "Besides, I kind of liked this feeling of being one of the only few people who knows about this secret of yours. If I were to go around and spread the word, the novelty of it would quickly wear off."
Not to mention its potential as blackmail material, should the need arise. Probably not anytime soon, but it never hurts to be prepared...
"... Of course, that's only me. You still have the troll and the doctor to worry about," At the latter, I quickly turned towards the bird-masked man who's alongside a servant of his own. "Excuse me, but would you consider yourself a gentleman? If so, could you keep a secret or two about this to preserve my companion's dignity?"
edited 11th Aug '16 5:12:52 AM by JustSomeGuy732
"A post per day keeps the GMs away!"
"Ok." Jack accepted Sophie's answer with a smile. She didn't seem scared even slightly, but he thought it best to check anyway.
Her dead-pan declaration about sharing her name with Jamie's sister, over everything else on the screen, made him laugh. "Yeah, she does."
At the raised eyebrow from Curly, Jack shot a cheeky grin her way but said nothing. Truthfully, it had been nothing more than a nudge. His magic could only bring out the joy and fun in a person that was already there. It just brought it to the surface. Of course, that usually led to even more being generated.
The next time the girl spoke, was just after Jamie had see him for the first time. Jack turned to look at her, a big grin on his lips. "Yeah... Yeah it was. It's kind of funny, how much a part Jamie played. Even the movie focused on him."
Jack's forehead creased in thought at Miss Tairee's words. He'd never thought of the possibility that Pitch had been chosen by the Moon, as well. After all, why would he choose some one like Pitch? And then create the Guardians? "I-I don't know. That's... would the Man in the Moon do something like that?" The question seemed more for himself than anyone else. He didn't really know. It brought up too many questions for him to want to think about at the time.
"No, Jesus is a thing." Jack shrugged. "And I dunno. He's been around longer than I can remember, and, well, until recently we weren't exactly on speaking terms. Heh, as you can probably tell. The Moon chose him, so maybe it was his idea?"
On-screen
, Jack and Jamie's moment was interrupted by the sound of a distant storm, and sleigh bells. Out on the street, the cartoon Jack found North and Tooth, both barely able to walk or fly, where they had crashed the sleigh. Jack flushed again slightly as he noticed the look Tooth gave him again after he helped her up. The look, the smile, the little gestures. That was... Well, he didn't know. So he just pushed it from his mind for the moment. Thankfully, the scene moved on and Jamie showed up.
"Jack, he sees you."
Cartoon Jack noticed that Bunny was missing, and asked about it. North was the one to reply.
"Losing Easter took its toll on all of us. Bunny, most of all."
A small, normal rabbit-sized Bunny hopped up onto the edge of the Sleigh, to movie Jack's shock. The only way to describe him was adorable, and the fact that he still sounded the same even so small was amusing. Of course, Jack would never admit that. At the time, it had been serious, but sitting here now knowing how it ended, he couldn't help a small chuckle.
Jamie called Bunny cute, which prompted him to get and attack Jack; Thinking he had been the one to tell him to say that. It went about as effectively as you would expect, and Jack had been too bemused at the time to react. Jamie stepped in before it could escalate.
"No. He told me you were real, just when I started to think, maybe you weren't."
Jack and Bunny shared a moment at that, with the small rabbit looking almost ready to cry. A crack of lightning and thunder startle the group, breaking the moment. Watching from above, on a cloud of nightmare dust, stands Pitch Black. Telling the others to take Jamie, Jack flies up to face Pitch.
"Jack Frost?" Pitch sighs deeply, before dropping towards Jack and spiralling his sand around him. "Let's end this shall we!"
With his attack now ineffective, Jack is knocked from the sky; losing his staff. He begins to fall, back towards the clouds and the buildings far, far below. As the Guardians flee with Jamie, Jack slams into a nearby roof, rolls off it onto a dumpster, and then onto the ground. "That one had hurt."
"He's stronger. I can't beat him."
Cornered, Pitch arrives, lurking in the shadows and taunting them.
"All this fuss over one little boy, and still he refuses to stop believing. Very well. There are other ways to snuff out a light."
And then, as Pitch and his Nightmares closed in, Jamie said three little words.
"Jack. I’m scared"
Those words, identical to the ones his sister had said that fateful day. And as Jack had leaned down to comfort the young boy, to make sure he knew he'd be fine, it clicked.
"We're going to have a little fun "instead. That's it! That's my center!"
Real Jack snorted and laughed at the extremely dumbfounded look Jamie gave him at that. It did make no sense to the kid, after all. He owed him so, so much, though. "Good on you, kiddo."
Pitch, in the middle of asking Jamie if he believes in the Boogeyman, is nailed in the face by a snowball; Causing everyone to laugh and Pitch's Nightmares to be extremely confused. Using the confusion, Jack grabbed a bunch of objects, and got everyone sledding. They flew through the streets, literally for Jack, laughing and shouting as Jack flung them into the air on a track of solid ice, over a building, and safely down the other side to continue twisting and turning through the town. There was even a loop. Along the way, they collected Jamie's friends, Jack using his magic snow to help them believe. Soon, every one of Jamie's friends had joined in their little parade. "Hmm… you know, I wonder how that would turn out here. With the way the city changes. Could be fun to try."
Jack had felt a little silly having taken that long to figure it out. Pitch grew stronger through fear. So, the easiest way to fight him was fight the fear. With fun, and joy. Then came the hitch in Jack's plan.
He had underestimated just how much power Pitch had had. As they watched, the town was swallowed in a sea of black. Waves of the sand rising high above even the tallest building, lightning flickering through them. It was a terrifying sight.
Jack had tried to assure Jamie, telling him they were just bad dreams. Pitch had fired back, asking though they would protect the children, who would protect them. As Jack went to stepped forward to face Pitch, Jamie stepped ahead. "I will."
Then Cupcake had. And slowly, each of the kids had placed themselves in front of the Guardians, facing down the Boogeyman himself. Jack had been blown away by it. They were just children, but they held so much courage. Even when it looked hopeless.
"Still think there's no such thing as the Boogeyman?"
The sea of nightmare sand drove forward, going right for the children. Jamie stared it down.
"I do believe in you. I'm just not afraid of you."
And as the sand came down upon them, the young boy held out his hand. And where it struck, black turned to gold. In an instant, the sea of nightmare sand was gone, and in its place was familiar winding gold tendrils. With nightmares gone, and dreams in their place once again; The Guardians power returned. "Heh, and there we go."
Chaos unfolded.
With their powers returned, they could fight the remaining Nightmares. Quickly, egg golems, yetis, and even elves and toys joined the fray. The children even helped, turning more Nightmares to dream sand. In an instant, Pitch's attack had been routed.
To this day, Jack still was amazed it had gone so well.
Jack had gone after Pitch directly, still angry at everything he had done. Yes, he had been feeling fairly vindictive and looking to take it out on the man. Of course, if it wasn't for Tooth, that would have ended with one of Pitch's spears through his chest.
Together, him and the Guardians had cornered Pitch, and worn him down. Pitch may have been decent with that scythe of his, but four against one was a bit too much for him.
The sudden switch to showing Jamie had Jack blinking in surprise. "Wait… Jamie is the one that brought Sandy back? I… wow. We owe him more than I thought..."
Just as quickly, the scene was back to the Guardians and Pitch. Cornered, the Boogeyman had fled into the shadows, where they couldn't find or touch him. Then, when their backs were turned, he'd come up behind Jack. If it hadn't been for Bunny, and the timely arrival of a certain little man, Jack would have… well, he didn't know what he would have been. "You know, I don't actually know what getting hit by that would have done to me."
He quickly forgot that train of thought, as Pitch was dragged bodily towards a spiralling column of dream sand, by a very familiar whip. Jack smiled at the same time that the Jack on screen did. "Right on time, Sandman."
The sheer look of fear, shock and horror on Pitch's face when Sandy was revealed, will be something the Winter Spirit would cherish forever. It was a shame he hadn't actually gotten to see it at the actual time. Then Sandy punched him hard enough to launch him sky high. "The little guy has a mean punch, huh."
Sweeping music played, as Sandman rose into the air on his little cloud. With his dust, he spread dreams of the Guardians. And almost instantly, the belief returned. With their power back, the tooth fairies in Pitch's lair could use the teeth to give children their most important memories, removing the damage the Boogeyman had done. Thing slowly returned to normal, as waves of dream sand creatures wandered the town.
A snowball fight started soon after. Instigated by a certain spirit, of course. Soon, everyone was having fun.
"Your center?"
Jack turned to North, smiling.
"It took a while, but I figured it out."
In return, The big Russian gave Jack his own little figure.
Pitch woke. Angered, he went for Jamie. And passed straight through him, unseen. Jack flinched slightly. Even with the person Pitch was, he didn't feel anyone deserved that fate. He could only watch sadly, as Pitch fled; Horrified and scared.
He didn't get far. Colliding with North and being knocked down.
"You didn't even say goodbye."
Jack snickered as Tooth tossed Pitch a quarter. He looked at it dumbfounded and a little insulted. Then Tooth punched him hard enough to knock out a tooth.
"And that's for my fairies."
Jack couldn't help but laugh. He could see where Baby Tooth got it from.
"You can't get rid of me! Not forever! There will always be fear!"
The Guardians weren't phased, even as Jack had stood back, still a little unsure of it all.
North waved the threat off.
"So what? As long as one child believes, we will be here to fight fear."
When his Nightmares had shown up, Pitch had been so sure of himself. That he still had an advantage. The funny thing was, he had spent so long being feared by others, he'd forgotten what it was like to feel fear himself. And his Nightmares could smell fear.
The Jack on screen stepped forward.
"It looks like it's your fear they smell."
And as Pitch tried to flee, his Nightmares descended upon him, dragging him screaming down into the depths.
With everything done, they could finally relax. Tooth had flown at him, sweeping him up into a hug powerful enough to lift him up slightly; clutching him close. They hugged for a moment, and- wow, had their faces really been that close?
Groaning, Jack let his head drop back against the seat as his face burned again. How had he not noticed these at the time? "How?" He asked the ceiling.
Tooth, luckily, seemed to realise the position they were in, while Jack just kept smiling ignorantly. Baby Tooth cut in, seeming to tell Tooth off.
Then it was time for Jack to take the oath. North stood before him, book in hand.
"Do you, Jack Frost, vow to watch over the children of the world. To guard them with your life, their hopes, their wishes, their dreams. For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."
"I will."
"Then, congratulations, Jack Frost, for you are now and forevermore, a Guardian."
Jack, having mimed along to the words, grinned. He had taken those words to heart. And that meant, even here in this city, he would be a Guardian. He spoke quietly to himself. "This place needs one, after all."
Soon, it was time for them to go. After talking shortly with Jamie, Jack turned to leave. Jamie, ran at Jack one last time. But this time, he didn't go through him. The shock and happiness on the Winter Spirit's face was apparent, before he hugged the boy back. Then, they left.
"My name is Jack Frost. And I'm a Guardian. How do I know that? Because the moon told me so. So when the moon tells you something. Believe it."
And then Jack realised, the movie was over. Sighing, the spirit slumped in his chair. Then, he started laughing. "Wow. That was something else."
He turned to look at Lewis, only just noticing the charred seat. Blinking, he chose to ignore it. "Thanks, for telling me about this."
The beach - Sharing life lessons
A lot transpired in the next few moments. Cole attempted to go off on his own by turning invisible, but Sans still easily stopped him and use his powers to pull him back, also making him visible again. Cole then frantically argued that he had hide and stay away from everyone to keep others from using his power to hurt everyone.
But what mostly made her stop dead in her tracks was what Sans said in response, specially the part about trying to solve problems alone and ending up hurting yourself for nothing. On some level, she knew that was probably not specifically meant for her or that even meant much in that sense by it , but that didn't stop it from hurting a lot given today's earlier events. She cast her gaze downwards and for a moment her breath hitched like she was about to begin to sob.
But she managed to stop herself before she got carried away with it. She frantically shook her head, trying to chase those thoughts away. It was easy to figure out that Sans must be pretty tired, as well as probably frustated with Cole's antics and that he probably didn't think much about what he said, that he was just venting and didn't mean to hurt either of them. She and Sans had already dealt with that whole incident earlier and the most important thing right now was stopping Cole from going out there alone and putting him in danger like this. The last thing Sans need right now was seeing her like she had been before, crying and apologizing for the whole thing again. So she may as well use what had just come fresh to her mind to help with that situation.
She lifted her gaze to look at Cole somewhat improringly and said, "He's right, Cole. Trying to sacrifice yourself to seemingly spare others like that won't really keep anyone from being hurt. You will just get yourself hurt and the people that care about will also get hurt from seeing you suffer because of that. It's just not worth it. I learnt that the hard way myself and I won't stand to see you suffer from making that kind of decision too. You're not alone and whatever it's that you're dealing with, you don't have to do it by yourself for our sake. We're your friends, so please let us help you ... "
edited 10th Aug '16 11:34:26 AM by JamesShields