Chapter Text
The Guardians all stood around, watching the little girl prancing around at their feet playing games with the elves and Easter Eggs. Sophie Bennett was a sweet little girl, and like her, millions of children all over the world were in danger of losing their innocent belief in the wonders all around them, and those things that their parents no longer believed in themselves.
"What are we going to do?" muttered North, stroking his long white beard. "Pitch seems pretty serious to me..."
The Easter Bunny shrugged his shoulders as North glanced at him, floppy ears twitching as he did so. He had no idea what could be done about this situation that they had been dragged into, but the main thing was protecting the children that it would also affect. Pitch Black, the King of Nightmares, was hell-bent on making them believe in him and seeing fear take precedence over wonder and joy.
Bunnymund's warren was nowhere near as frosty and cold as North's workshop, but even so every so often a cool draught would make its way across the room and was enough to make everyone shiver. It was almost like an omen to them, a sign that further trouble was brewing. It would take more than just their four heads (five, including Baby Tooth's) to conjure a brilliant enough idea to stop Pitch in his tracks, and foil whatever plan he had concocted.
He was a formidable opponent, they all had to admit.
Everyone was silent for a good few minutes, trying to find something--anything--to suggest to the others. There were so few things that they could actually do, and fighting back against Pitch was certainly one of them. But perhaps they needed someone to help them, someone who was actually somewhat immune to his powers and spells. But where could they find such a person?
Suddenly, Toothiana's eyes were ablaze and her face lit up with glee. "I think I might know someone who can help us...!" she babbled, whirling around excitedly in the air. "She's an old friend of mine..."
"Really?" said Jack, raising an eyebrow at the Tooth Fairy. "Who is she?"
"I think you'd know her if you saw her..." said Toothiana, smiling happily at him. She was quite pleased with her idea to call upon her friend. "But, we'll have to wait until after midnight..."
"Oh...Is she anything like Pitch himself, then?" said Jack, folding his arms across his chest. He didn't want to think about the possibility of bringing the female counterpart of their enemy into their midst. That could certainly prove catastrophic, and very detrimental to their efforts thus far.
"No, no! She's nothing like Pitch! In fact, she's probably his opposite," said the Tooth Fairy with an even brighter smile. "Plus, her powers aren't like ours. She could potentially withstand his attacks...If he could see his way clear to attack her in the first place,"
"What do you mean by that, Tooth?" said Bunnymund, slouching to one side in scepticism. He had no idea how the woman that Toothiana was talking about could either resist or avoid Pitch's assaults on their group, were she to join them. "And how do we even know that she'll help us?"
"Oh, she'll help as soon as she knows what's going on down here," said Toothiana. "And you'll see what I mean when she pays us a visit. We just have to stay in one place tonight, or she might not be able to find us in time,"
Everyone began to nod, looking at each other and smiling.
"Well, I guess we don't have many other options right now," said Bunnymund, folding his own arms now. "On the other hand, Easter is tomorrow and there are still plenty of preparations that need to be made..." he went on, making sure to add the suggestion of a hint for help with his finishing of the Easter eggs.
"Well then, let's get to work!" North announced, following the Easter Bunny through one of the warren's tunnels. Everyone else grinned and followed suit, ready to help however they could. Sophie, the little sister of a boy who Jack had shown the joys of winter not long before, ran after them.
-
The Guardians sat around in a circle, staring up at the night sky through a skylight in the warren's ceiling. It had already gone midnight, and they all felt the pressure as time ticked steadily away from them. Every minute was crucial in terms of keeping Pitch at bay.
"How much longer, Tooth?" said Jack, glancing over at the fairy.
"She shouldn't be too far away now..." said Toothiana, shaking her head slightly as though to qualify her response. "Not long now..."
"What exactly are we looking for? I can only see the stars," said Jack.
Toothiana didn't reply this time, but the light from those stars reflected in her big eyes as she continued to gaze up at the inky night sky. She knew for a fact that it wouldn't be long now...
Another ten minutes passed, when suddenly there was a bright flash of light as a shooting star streaked across the blanket of darkness above them. Toothiana gasped and made her wish, then closed her eyes tightly.
-
"You all saw that shooting star, right?!" said the Tooth Fairy, turning to her friends and gabbling excitedly.
"Yeah, why...?" said Bunnymund, wondering what had Toothiana all aflutter like this.
"That's exactly what we needed!"
"But why?"
Toothiana grinned at the Easter Bunny and turned back to the night sky. "You'll see in a minute..."
Sure enough, a minute later, a bright light began to shine in the warren around the Guardians, and they all turned to try to look at its source. They were blinded, momentarily, by the dazzling white light before it faded and suddenly there stood a radiantly beautiful woman with (H/L), (H/C) hair and twinkling (E/C) eyes. You.
"Good evening, Toothiana," you said with a beautiful, serene smile. "You called?"
Toothiana leaped up and flung herself at you, hugging you tightly and squealing with delight. "Oh, Wish! It's so good to see you again; I knew you'd come!"
"Of course! How could I resist? It's good to see you too, old friend," you said, hugging her back. You were almost smacked in the face by her rapidly beating sparkly wings but that was alright; you were both thrilled to see each other again, after all. You were surprised that your light wasn't shining bright enough to blind everyone like you had upon arrival.
"Oh, let me introduce you to everyone else," said Toothiana, letting go of you suddenly. "This is Jack Frost, E. Aster Bunnymund and Nicholas St. North. And this is Baby Tooth!"
"A pleasure to meet you all," you said gently, holding out a hand to Baby Tooth who had flown up to you in her excitement. Everyone simply stared at you, but you didn't really notice out of modesty.
"Everyone, this is Wish! At least, that's what people call her...She's a shooting star!" said Toothiana, seemingly thrilled to be able to introduce you to the Guardians. "The Queen of them, actually!"
You blushed a little to hear her say that. You didn't often think about your position or your role; you simply granted the wishes of people who wished upon you and your starlets. Only now did you notice the eyes of the Guardians resting on you with such interest.
"So...You grant people's wishes?" said Bunnymund.
"Yes," you said sweetly. "We stars are in league with the birthday spirits and those of wishing wells and fountains,"
"Really?" said Jack, finding himself slightly enraptured by your beauty and charm. "What about the Genie, the Leprechaun and the Fairy Godmother?"
"We all work together, in a sense," you told him in a kind voice. Your eyes sparkled like the stars themselves and your smile could have lit new ones in the sky. "But I can sense that something is amiss here...Is something the matter, Toothiana?"
The Tooth Fairy turned to you and looked at you with sad, watery eyes, as though she was about to burst into tears. "Pitch Black has returned, and he is destroying children's beliefs, all over the world, in us,"
Your face crumpled slightly, and your (E/C) eyes grew a little wet with tears as well. "Would you care for some assistance, then?" you asked, offering to aid them before they even asked.
"Yes please! I know that you're busy every day and night, granting wishes all the time, but I think that you're the only one who may be invulnerable to Pitch's attacks..."
You stood there in silence for a moment, seriously considering what Toothiana had just told you. You had already offered your help, and you stood by that decision, but you had to really think about the threat that the King of Nightmares could pose to you. You were just a star, after all...
"I will help in any way that I can," you vowed, looking to all of them in turn and nodding resolutely. "Just say the word and I will do everything in my power to either preserve or restore the belief of those children in you,"
"That's the thing, though!" said Toothiana, before anybody else could. "I thought that, if we wish upon a star, you would be able to do exactly what you just said even if Pitch conspires against us all! In theory, your power should outmatch his!"
You didn't smile, because you didn't know if that truly was the case. Something as absolute as fear was not the same as something like one's heart's desire. If anything, they would cancel each other out because they were so different. They were not even the opposite of each other. Fear and darkness was one thing, while desperately wanting something was another.
"I will do my best,"
"Thank you so much, Star..." said the Tooth Fairy, hugging you again. She knew that you would do all that you could, but of course--as with all things--there was no guarantee. Yes, you were powerful, but you were not a Guardian and you were not on Pitch's hit list. Nor were you a foolproof secret weapon; of course there were things that you were afraid of, so you would not be immune to Pitch's ability to sense a person's greatest fear, but at least there were steps that you could take towards remedying the damage to children's beliefs that he had already caused.
You smiled at all of the Guardians, forgetting your worries for now. "So. When, and where, do we begin?"