lady_phenyx

Yes, I'm posting this here now, the way I was posting it on Tumblr, with links to the AO3 and FF.net versions.

The story begins HERE ON AO3 and HERE on FF.NET

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The throne room was already half destroyed by the time they got there. Sand, both black and gold, was trapped in spikes of ice that thrust violently around the room, though they still looked different from the one Jack and Pitch had created in the Arctic.

It was the ice, Jack decided after a glance at it. This ice had none of the sparkle that his had, and too much menace. Clear still, but dull still, the harsh ice of a long, unforgiving winter.

He tore his eyes away from the spears of ice to the action. The Snow Queen had taken up position by her throne, and though it looked like she was cornered, Jack had spent too much time with her already to believe that.

The other thing that was still hard to believe was that Pitch was still here, and fighting alongside the rest. It made no sense. The urban myth spirits were gone, though what exactly had happened to them and where they were Jack didn't know, (and wasn't sure he wanted to know) and the Guardians and Pitch had some weird feud thing going on that had been going on for centuries now, so there was no real reason for Pitch to still be here.

Yet there he was, waving that ridiculous scythe around like it was an actual weapon and not the awkward thing it was, flinging sand about when the opening arose. Then again, when the scythe was combined with Sandy's whips and the nightmare with the dream sand, it seemed to be doing some sort of decent damage against the ice the Snow Queen was throwing at them.

They seemed to be doing about the best, along with Cupid and his arrows, Nightlight and the beams of light that came from the crystal topping his spear, as most of their attacks were from a distance. But most of the fighters depended upon close hand-to-hand fighting, and the Snow Queen seemed to have no interest in allowing them that close.

Katherine was crouched against the wall behind a pillar, shooting off spell after spell, unable to do more than that. She was the calming force, the one that could talk everyone around, not the fighter, and was keeping out of the way of the battle. Her spells now were for healing and protection, and not unwanted.

The Snow Queen was having no trouble attacking from a distance, and though she preferred the up close and personal approach when it came to Jack, it seemed she was willing to forgo that if it meant getting a Guardian on her side, and the shards, some so tiny they were only visible as a speck of light, flew about the room as easily as snowflakes.

Tooth cried out, dropping to the ground, her hands going to her eyes, covered by North and Puck as Katherine scrambled out of hiding, sliding across the floor to Tooth. Katherine kissed Tooth's face as Tooth's eyes flashed gold, love and warmth melting the tiny, tiny speck of ice before it could do damage.

And Jack saw red.

KEEP GOING ON AO3 // KEEP GOING ON FF.NET