Frozen Heart

Gajeel knew he had more important things to do, but he could not help worrying over Snowie and Bookworm.

Had they been caught in the Anima?

If not, where were they?

Were they safe?

Shoving those thoughts aside, the Iron Dragon Slayer focused on the task at hand.

Not as if anyone else could bust open that damn lacrima but him.

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Jack went still as a wave of screams and shouts passed through the streets below, gaze snapping away from a nearby alley as she watched people rush by.

“What…?”

An exclamation point popped over Sandy’s head as an explosion rocked the buildings closer to the castle, Baby Tooth squeaking as she hid in the winter-girl’s hair.

Looking towards the source, mind racing, Jack felt her heart stutter and race with adrenaline.

Is that…?

A column of light burst into the sky, blinding white against stone and sky, a smile almost as bright coming over Jack’s face.

“Gajeel!”

The dream-weaver spun as she rushed past, arms flailing, before catching himself.

Shaking his head, Sandy took off after the young Winter Spirit, leaving a trail of dream-sand behind that slowly calmed the crowd’s panic as it lingered on their faces.

Swooping into the courtyard, Jack pouted at finding nothing but unconscious guards.

“Damn, where did he go?”

Baby Tooth chirped in her ear, pointing, and the half-Spirit nodded as she swooped down one of the interconnecting streets.

Come on, come on, come on…

The moment she caught sight of the Iron Dragon Slayer’s spiky hair and broad back, Jack felt her heart practically jump for joy.

“GAJEEL!”

That was all the warning he got before a wind-flung winter guardian almost tackled him off his feet and into a brick wall.

“Snowie?” He sputtered, wrapping an arm around her shoulders out of instinct.

“I was so worried…” Jack admitted, voice muffled by his chest. “I had no idea where you were, or if…”

“Hey, do I look like Salamander to you?” Gajeel assured gruffly, petting down her loose braid-

And almost jumping out of his skin when a little bundle of feathers rocketed into his face, wings buzzing as the fairy zipped to and fro, big blue-and-purple eyes studying him curiously.

“Personal bubble, Baby Tooth.” Jack scolded gently, releasing her grip on Gajeel’s cloak to cup both hands around the mini-fairy and pull her back. “Silly fairy.”

“Fairy?!”

Blinking twice at Erza and Grey, the winter-girl smiled, releasing Baby Tooth to tackle the two mages in a hug.

“Erza! Grey! You’re alright!”

“And extremely confused.” The Ice-Make mage admitted, wheezing. “Mind explaining what’s going on?”

“Gajeel said we were sucked into a spell that turned Magnolia into a lacrima, and he freed us from a fragment of it.” Erza added, untroubled by the tight grip thanks to her armor.

Releasing them, Jack bobbed in the air, calming at the reminder of their situation.

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it.” She replied, Baby Tooth landing on her shoulder. “Natsu, Wendy and Lucy are here too, with Happy and Carla. They’re looking for the main lacrima now.”

“Are they close by?” Erza demanded, suddenly serious.

“Should be.”

“We should join up with them.” Grey voiced, arms crossing over his abruptly-bare chest. “What are you gonna do?”

“I’m-”

Jack cut off at the sound of shifting sand, turning to a silently-amused Sandy with a sheepish smile.

“Oh…Hey, buddy…”

The three mages stared at the little golden man, who rolled his eyes and floated down, patting Jack’s head like a father reassuring his child.

“Who’s this?” Gajeel demanded, eyeing the newcomer warily.

“Oh, right.” Jack realized, turning back with a brighter grin. “This is Sanderson Mansnoozie, the Sandman. Everybody just calls him Sandy.”

Said Guardian created a bowler hat to tip in greeting, smile sleepy and pleased.

“The Sandman?” Erza echoed, eyes widening. “You mean…?”

“Yeah, I do.” Jack replied, almost glowing with pride. “He’s a Guardian of Childhood.”

That title certainly meant something to Erza and Grey, who looked at the Sandman in a new light, but Gajeel still recognized the significance.

For someone who cared about children the way she did, it was no surprise Jack would idolize someone who dedicated their life to protecting them.

“Hey, where’s Fubuki?”

Gajeel held back a wince at the innocent question, avoiding those big blue eyes as she peered up at him.

“Fubuki…got yanked up into the Anima.” He admitted, jaw clenched.

“She…”

Jack fell silent, a lump catching in her throat.

Even Erza could not find words to make the situation less painful; the whole guild knew Jack had put her heart into making the snow-cat just for Gajeel, and to think it was likely destroyed…

“But we can’t worry about that now.” Jack insisted, speaking more to herself than anyone else. “I have to help the Guardians, and you have to find the lacrima.”

“Help them with what?” Grey wondered, yelping as Erza smacked him for almost removing his pants.

“Oh, just stopping someone from plunging Edolas into a dark age thanks to this whole mess, that’s all.” She replied, voice purposely light and carefree.

Gajeel stared down at her, deadpan, as he took this in.

“…Ya gotta be kidding me.”

“If only that were true.”

All six of them whirled around the new voice, Jack’s staff glowing as dream-sand dribbled down Sandy’s fingers.

“Unfortunately for you…” Pitch Black continued, smile unapologetic and sharp. “My pretty little snowstorm is telling the truth.”

Gajeel had never looked more like his draconic father than he did at that moment.

“Yours?” He snarled, every protective, possessive instinct engaged.

“Yours?” Jack echoed incredulously, bristling.

“Of course, my dear.” Pitch replied calmly, as if not facing down an enraged dragon or a stirring blizzard. “It’s only a matter of time.”

Grey was about ready to steam, he was so angry, and Erza’s fists clenched, as if to grab the hilts of her swords.

None of them expected Sandy to react the way he did.

A whip lashed out, grabbing Pitch around the wrist and yanking him into the air, only letting go for a moment so the other could wrap around his waist and spin him in a half-circle, bouncing off at least three buildings before being slammed into the ground.

The group stared at the new crater for a moment before looking at the diminutive dream-weaver in awe.

“Remind me to never get on your bad side.” Jack voiced, impressed and touched that the Guardian had jumped so quickly to her defense in his own, silent way.

The fact that his way hurt was just a bonus.

Sandy gave a glance that seemed to say “And you’re just now figuring that out?” before turning a glare on the winded Nightmare King as he stumbled onto even ground.

“Alright, alright…I didn’t mean to upset you, Sandy…” He said lowly, almost intimidated. “It was stupid of me to mess with your dreams…So you know what?”

His grin was razor-sharp, yellow eyes glowing with predatory glee.

“You can have them back.”

Black sand erupted from the ground, as if waiting between the cracks of stone for this very moment, swirling into the shapes of monstrous horses, golden eyes shining with a bloodthirsty hunger as they tossed their heads and pawed the ground.

Jack and Sandy moved to protect the Fairy Tail mages as they were surrounded on all sides by rearing, bucking equine beasts, whips cracking the air and ice spreading over the cobblestones in harsh spikes.

“What are those things?” Grey demanded, instinctively moving to activate his magic.

“Nightmares.” Jack growled, ice shards flashing in her eyes as she scanned the enclosing circle. “They’re made of Sandy’s corrupted dream-sand.”

The nearest Nightmares went still, heads lowering in preparation to charge, and her staff creaked under the pressure of her grip.

“You take the five hundred on the left, and I’ll take the five hundred on the right?” She joked weakly, Sandy giving a grimace in response.

Forcibly removing one hand from her staff, Jack reached into a pocket of her pants, searching…

“Now, my dear, just come quietly-”

“Like hell I will!”

Yanking a glass snow globe out, she threw it on the ground just below her feet, releasing an eruption of light and color that shot up into the sky like a shroud.

The Nightmares shrieked as a wave of cold struck them head-on, freezing and shattering as Sandy whirled his whip around to dispel the closest constructs into golden sand.

Jack leapt into the fray with a battle cry that would have put North to shame, her staff coming around in a hard circle that bashed right through heads and torsos and legs.

Ducking under a kick, she shot one leg back in a vicious kick, bringing both feet around in a wide circle that shattered three more Nightmares as she leapt up into wind’s protective grasp.

Gajeel roared as iron scales took over his skin, slashing at the nearest horse-creatures with claws and blades as Sandy created a ring of dream-sand around the powerless Fairy Tail mages to purify any that drew too close.

Surrounded on all sides, the winter-girl slammed her palm on the ground, a seal activating across the chipped stone.

“Winter Magic: Avalanche!”

Leaping free of the snow and frozen rock, Jack whistled, smirking as every pair of golden sand-eyes swiveled in her direction.

“Come and get me if you can!” She taunted, taking off like a shot with a horde of Nightmares on her heels.

“Snowie!” Gajeel shouted, dragon-scale fist demolishing a Nightmare’s entire body in one blow.

“Gajeel!” Erza ordered, voice projected like a general’s over the battlefield. “Give us the X-Balls!”

Forcing his mind to focus on the matter at hand, the Iron Dragon Slayer dug the pill bottle out of his pocket and chucked it to Grey, already turning back to the battle as the ice mage fumbled with the small glass container.

Twisting and turning through the air, Jack laughed as the Nightmares tripped and smashed into each other in their pursuit, nimble as a dancer.

Dodging a set of snapping teeth, she fell into a dive, smirking at the sound of hoof beats thundering behind her.

Wind shrieked in her ears as the ground raced up to meet her, almost panicking, but Jack held firm.

Not yet…

Not…yet…

Catching sight of her perilous drop, Gajeel felt his great iron heart lurch.

“Snowie!”

Now!

With the sort of timing only brought on by much practice, Jack twisted out of her dive at the last possible moment, laughing as the swarm of Nightmares crashed into the ground instead thanks to their inability to pull out in time.

Sandy let out a huge breath in relief, fist snapping back to strike a Nightmare in the face and turn it into a flock of golden butterflies.

A myriad of blades came down on the unsuspecting constructs, ice-blades slicing through those caught off-guard by the unexpected assault, the tide of battle shifting as a massive red sleigh drawn by eight powerful reindeer swooped over their heads like a bird of prey.

“About time, North!” Jack shouted, rolling under a rearing Nightmare’s hooves and smashing her staff through it’s rear legs.

“Had to make pit stop!”

Gajeel, for one, almost fell over as Jack Frost leapt out of the sleigh and landed on a Nightmare’s back, laughing as he rode the bucking creature into it’s fellows, cold blasting from his crooked staff like shotgun fire.

Bunny dropped down after him, egg-bombs going off in explosions of pastel colors wherever they made contact and boomerangs hurtling through the air with practiced precision.

Tooth was a blur through the battlefield, wings slicing through Nightmares like butter, and North practically cheered as he leapt out of his sleigh to bring his own blades down on the unsuspecting creatures.

Despite this new shift in their favor, there seemed to be no end to the army of black sand, even with Erza’s Heaven’s Wheel armor, Grey’s Ice Make magic, and Gajeel’s liberal application of his own Iron Dragon Slayer attacks.

Whipping around to jab her staff straight through a Nightmare’s open maw, Jack growled at the frightened squeak Baby Tooth gave from her hiding space in the winter-girl’s braid.

Leaping clear of two charging Nightmares, she watched them crash into each other instead, dropping a couple feet to avoid having her head cracked open by diamond-hard sand hooves.

“LOOK OUT!”

Twisting around, time seemed to slow down as she caught sight of Pitch, smile triumphant and predator-sharp, releasing a huge black arrow of nightmare-sand.

Which was aimed right at her.

Wind shrieked as she tried to pull the winter-girl out of the projectile’s path, but it wasn’t fast enough-

A flash of gold, and Jack stared into Sandy’s wide eyes, stunned.

“Sandy…”

Blackness crept over his shoulders and around his sides like a cancer, and her heart cracked.

“SANDY!”

Jack’s scream cut through the combat like a gunshot, all eyes turning as she caught the dream-weaver and held him close, panicked.

“I’ve got you, it’s okay, it’s gonna be okay…”

A sob tore free as the blackness crept further, and Sandy watched tears fill her eyes with a tired sadness.

“No, no, you can’t go, you can’t-”

With the last of his strength, Sandy reaches up and cradles her face, thumbs wiping away wayward tears even as the touch starts to freeze him, and he smiled with all the comfort he can muster before the corruption takes over.

Jack could only stare as the frozen sand broke apart in her hands and fell at her feet, shell-shocked.

He…

The other Guardians staggered as if from a physical blow, wide-eyed.

He…

Pitch’s laughter was the only sound to be heard, vindictive mirth and all, dragging blank blue eyes up from the dark frosted sand.

“That old fool! He’s only made my plans all the easier!” The Nightmare King taunted, secure in the knowledge of his victory. “Without his dreams, there’s no way you can stop me!”

Gajeel watched as ice spread in jagged layers from his snowflake’s slumped form, scales bristling.

“No more wonder, no more hope, and no more fairies that come in the night!”

Jack’s expression morphed into one like thunder, ice shards fracturing her eyes into blades as the temperature dropped like a stone, misting the Dragon Slayer’s breath into a cloud.

“And no more fun!”

A wall of darkness rose up behind Pitch at that, and Jack shot forward, Baby Tooth shrieking her name as she was left behind.

“JACK!”

The nightmare-sand came down on her like a tsunami, black as night-

“SNOWIE!”

White light, a colossal bullet tearing it’s way through the mass, and Pitch only had a moment to realize what was coming when Jack shot through, eyes blazing with cold fire as her fist struck home at full-speed.

The force of their magic colliding was an explosion of light and dark that was almost blinding, but Gajeel did not miss the sight of Jack falling, utterly slack and unresponsive and about to hit the ground-

Blinking starbursts from her eyes, Jack stared up into fiery red eyes, safely cradled in iron-scaled arms against a broad chest.

“Gajeel…”

At that moment, tears misting her eyes and clothes torn by battle, he vowed to get revenge on whoever dared make his snowflake cry.