Secret of Frost and Moon

Pre-emptive Action

Alaia Skyhawk: Here's the next one :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

~(-)~

Chapter 94: Pre-emptive Action

Jack swept down from the sky over southern China, heading for the region where the bomb had gone off. Going to help Kosmotis made sense, and to be honest it was a welcome chance to get out and blow off some steam. But still Jack found himself musing over the immortal who had been targeted. Xiùlán only had a small range, but after her recent efforts to gain adult believers she was adored in that area.

Her believers had been especially vocal in the past couple of weeks, practically bragging about their 'Elegant Lady of the Orchids'. She was synonymous with blossoming flowers and the lush green of summer growth. The graceful gardens of tradition, and good crops for hardworking farmers. He could only imagine her small localised festival had been attacked simply because her believers had talked so much about her.

That and a small festival is easier to sneak a bomb into.

Perhaps it was just a small group of people being idiots, or a test run for an attempt on a larger festival somewhere else. Either way, the bomb itself had raised barely a blip on overall world awareness.

The winds found Kosmotis lurking in the narrow gap between two buildings, the Steward stood in observation of the site where the explosion had taken place. When Jack landed beside him, to likewise gaze upon the ragged hole in the ground, Kosmotis glanced at him wryly.

"Here because you think I need back-up?"

Jack smiled at the joke. That his fellow immortal had used humour at all was a good sign at least.

"Nah, just here to lend a hand." His manner turned serious. "What's the situation?"

Kosmotis turned to face him fully.

"Tracking down the culprits wasn't hard, they radiate Unnatural Fear like a beacon. I could snuff the fear out temporarily, but it would come back within days or even mere hours. It would be best if the local immortal could approach and talk to them. But as I am still not the most popular of individuals, I've not been able to approach her."

Jack grimaced. "Xiùlán high-tailed it out of here once her festival was over and she'd reassured her believers. She's probably lurking at home in the nearby hills, but will be jumpy."

The Steward paced past him.

"'Jumpy' or not, she's needed for this. We need to find her, get her to come with us, and then corner the men who planted the bomb. They obviously believe she's real, or why else leave the device in the middle of her festival. Once we can get them alone with her, seeing and hearing her shouldn't be too much of a problem for them. We just need to arrange for them to be calm enough to be rational when she talks to them. After all, their greatest fear is 'change'. They have let their uncertainties about her affect their better judgement."

Jack hefted his bow, his expression determined.

"Well if they become unreasonable, I'm sure I can get them to lighten up a little."

Kosmotis paused in his pacing, uncertain

"Are you sure about doing that? If the two of us keep doing this, and word of it spread, it could make the uneasiness worse."

The Guardian placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You're thinking like someone from the Old Golden Age, and not like a resident of this planet. If we want to nip this problem in the bud before it turns into some fanatic detonating a massive bomb somewhere that will kill thousands of people, then we need to get our point across first try with every group we confront. Call it a 'War on Stupidity'. You said it yourself, they're radiating Unnatural Fear. That means they're panicking and jumping to conclusions. So, like any reasonable person who sees another person all worked up for nothing, I'm going to proverbially slap some sense into them with this."