I'd literally been gone five minutes before I sensed something was wrong.
Something Angel hadn't told me.
I raced back to her room and threw open the door to find her leaning weakly against a piece of upturned furniture. Blood smeared the walls and it looked like the Tasmanian Devil had had a temper tantrum the size of Hurricane Katrina.
"What happened?!" I exclaimed.
Angel gasped, shaking. "Folie." Then she fainted.
"Angel!" Not that saying her name would do any good. I jumped over various chairs and boxes and slid rather painfully on my knees next to her before grabbing her in my arms.
The Guardians needed to know about this. Summer had the most experience with Pitch and his minions--he was her father, after all--and so she would know what to do.
Wouldn't she?
I picked up Angel and carefully clambered over the mess. I set her down gently by the door and ran to get Griff; I wouldn't be able to carry her alone. I also realized that the other Guardians wouldn't be able to see me, so I jotted down a note on a piece of paper: "She had a run-in by someone she calls 'Folie'. She needs help, NOW."
Satisfied, I carefully put Angel on Griff's back and we took off towards North's workshop.
----
The lights were on in the meeting hall. I couldn't afford to come in that way, so I took the lower entrance and snuck in. Griff blocked the door from closing and complained about being left in the cold.
"Oh shut up," I hissed. "You've got fur as thick as Antarctica's ice sheet. You're fine. Now stay put and make sure no one sees you."
Griff responded with grumbling and sat back heavily in the snow, crossing his forelegs.
I snuck in through the door and quietly made my way to the room reserved for Angel on the side of the hall. The Guardians were talking in low voices about something; I didn't stick around to find out.
I rushed Angel into her room and set her on the bed before setting the note next to her.
As I left, I gave her one last glance.
She'll be okay, I told myself. She'll be okay.
I ran back downstairs and outside, where Griff promptly hooted in my face about how long I was gone.
"I was literally in there for three minutes, you overgrown magpie," I snapped. "Be patient."
Griff snorted and crouched into the snow, beckoning me to hop on.
I did so, and he took off into the snowstorm.
It was silent except for the wind. Griff flapped along lazily and snow built up in the crooks of his antlers.
I yawned. Well, so much for Angel staying at my place for a few days.
I suddenly felt cold. Which should have been normal, considering I was in the Arctic Circle, but this was different.
Griff growled and hovered, his ears twitching in different directions.
Suddenly a dark figured appeared in front of Griff and I drew my sword.
The figure laughed. "Ah, Benny," he chuckled. "So nice to see you again!"
"Wish I could say the same to you," I snarled.
The figure took no notice. "I happen to know someone who deals with your little girlfriend," he drawled.
"She's not my girlfriend, you glorified tar pit," I spat. "I barely know her."
"You interrupted me," he said, shocked and rather insulted that I would do such a thing.
Serves him right, I guess.
"Anyway," he continued, "I heard from her that your...acquaintance got incapacitated. Almost fused back into her complete self but then refused. Is that so?"
I grit my teeth. Even though I barely knew what happened, he didn't know that.
The figure frowned. "Usually I can't get you to shut up," he muttered. "And now you're not even speaking. At least do yourself justice and throw an insult at me."
"I'd love to, but I've realized you are too pathetic even for a meager insult," I snapped.
"Or maybe I am not, as that in itself was an insult, my little friend," he smirked.
I tried and failed to think of a good comeback and instead tightened my grip on my sword.
The figure chuckled. "Ah, rendered you speechless, eh? Never thought I'd ever do that, Benacias."
"That is not my name," I growled.
"Oh, but it was your name," the figure pointed out. "It was also once my name, if you recall."
"And that's one of the reasons I never use it anymore," I countered. "Now let's cut the chit chat and tell me why you're here."
His smile was insane and terrible. "Why don't you go back to the workshop and find out?"
A sense of dread fell over me. "What did you do?" I demanded quietly.
"No, what did YOU do? You should have stayed there, Ben. You should have stayed and maybe you'd be of more assistance."
"They can't even see me!! What did you expect me to do?!!"
"Run," he smiled. "I expected you to run away from your problems like the coward you are."
I lunged at him with my sword, hanging off of Griff's antlers and nearly taking the figure's head off.
He yelped and floated backwards. "Now now, Benny, you must learn self control," he crooned. "You were always the impulsive one. Now go find out what you could have done had you stayed at the workshop like you wanted to."
I grit my teeth again. "Mastermind, what happened?!"
"That's for you to find out, Mister Imaginatio."
And with the wind, he was gone,
I bit my lip and took off on Griff toward the workshop.
----
There was already blood when I got there. Nightmares flooded the shop and skeletal ravens destroyed everything around them.
Summer, Jack, and North held off some of the Mares while Bunnymond and Tooth took on the ravens. Angel was in the center of it all, firing arrows at a dark version of herself who flew in and out of the fray.
That must be Folie.
Pitch cackled from one side of the room and Folie laughed from the other. It was disturbingly in sequence.
Arrow after arrow shot back and forth between Angel and Folie, who would occasionally catch them and shoot them back at her.
I jumped in next to Angel. She started, then fired another arrow. "Ben, what are you doing here?"
"Well, a certain...'friend' of mine prompted me to come back and help." I swung at a raven with my sword.
"Come back?" Angel looked confused.
"I'll explain later," I said, waving her question off. She clearly didn't remember passing out or even being at my house in the first place.
The battle continued for a long while. Both sides were hurting equally. I just wished I'd had my wings with me.
Griff tore apart Nightmares like they were chew toys and he seemed to be having fun--though, to this day it still confuses me as to how the other Guardians didn't see him.
Angel's dark counterpart fired a volley of arrows and Angel dodged all of them with a swiftness I'd only witnessed in small animals. I didn't do too bad a job of it myself, to be honest.
There was just one, slight problem.
I have slower reflexes.
And so, just my luck, I took an arrow--a very deep one--to my side.
I don't remember much of what happened for a while after that.
I remember Angel panicking and Griff pacing, and I remember Angel sneaking away with me in her arms while the others finished the battle and the darkness fled, but it was pretty blurry until I passed out.
And then I woke up some time after in the sick bay. Angel was there, zipping back and forth and fixing certain medicines.
I sat up and immediately regretted it; the arrow was still in my side.
Angel looked over her shoulder when I yelped in pain, and rushed over to make me lay back down.
I rubbed my forehead. "How long have I been out?" I groaned.
"About ten minutes." Her voice was tight and sharp. "Sandy will be in after I fix you up to check on you."
"Sandy?" I asked, incredulous. "But he-"
"Believes in you," Angel finished. "Turns out I wasn't the only one. He's seen you for a while now...he noticed you help the children have longer dreams after he gives them to them. He just never comes to you about it because he likes seeing you do it as if no one was watching."
"Oh." This was new. I'd think about it later. "Well...how do you have all this medical knowledge and stuff?"
She hesitated. There was a slight darkness in her eyes. "I....well, love itself is a great healer," she said. I had a feeling that wasn't all of it. "Being Cupid, I naturally have the abilities needed for healing."
I frowned. "There's something you aren't telling me."
"No there isn't." There it is. Lying again.
"Angel--"
"Shut up, okay?! I'm fine." She went back to grabbing medications and preparing bandages.
I watched her warily. A sore past she didn't like talking about? Probably. If so I could understand that.
She came back over to me, slightly more relaxed. "Now sit up on the edge of the bed, slowly," she ordered. "And..." Her face turned a little red and she looked at the ground. "You're gonna have to take your shirt off for this."
I could feel my face burning down to my neck. Couldn't she take the arrow out without me stripping halfway?
Angel met my eyes and she saw my expression. "I don't want you to have to do this as much as you don't but listen, it's the only way I can safely get the arrow out."
I forced a groan and sat up carefully, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. My heartbeat couldn't possibly have been more erratic and I was pretty sure my entire face and neck, even down to my shoulders, was red.
This was not how I wanted to end my day.
Reluctantly, I pulled my blue button-up shirt off, then my tee. Both were soaked with blood in the one spot.
I glanced up at Angel. Her face was bright red and she wouldn't meet my eyes. She muttered to herself, "I swear Sandy did this just to make fun of me later." The funny (and extremely embarrassing) thing was, she couldn't seem to take her eyes off my torso and her cheeks were beginning to turn a deep violet.
Why me?
I bit my lip and looked really hard at the ground. "J-just get it over with, please," I stammered. "Because, gods this is embarrassing."
"Yeah, y-yeah, sure," she replied hastily. She got on one knee and grabbed the arrow, and she seemed to be trying really hard not to look up. "Now, just take a deep breath, because this is probably going to hurt a lot."
"Thanks, I'm so reassured."
"Just do it. Now on the count of three: one--" Then she pulled it out and I bit my tongue so hard it drew blood to keep from screaming.
"What the F*** HAPPENED TO TWO AND THREE?!!"
Angel grimaced. "Two, three...sorry."
She quickly covered the bleeding wound with cotton and a bandage soaked in magical ointment to stop the flow. I was suddenly very aware that she might notice my scars and I prayed to Zeus that she wouldn't look up.
But, again, just my luck, she glanced upward while wrapping my waist with the bandage and frowned.
Oh my gods. Angel secured the bandage and cocked her head, reaching up to run a finger along the scar.
I have never been more red-faced in my life, to tell you the truth.
I saw something grim click in her mind and--oh gods why--she moved to see the other scar on my back. When she stood back in front of me she had a dark look on her face.
I felt myself holding my breath and she crossed her arms. "Ben, are those...are those why you're here, now?" she asked.
I didn't say anything and avoided eye contact.
"Ben, please."
Still silence. She pulled up a chair and sat across from me.
"Ben..." she said quietly, her voice full of concern. "Who did this to you?"
Her tone of voice forced me to lock eyes with her. I'm not going to tell her, I'm not going to tell her...
Angel's eyes widened as she figured it out. "Ben! You did this?! Why?!"
"Because I...it's nothing, Angel," I insisted.
"Nothing?!" She seemed shocked. "Nothing?! Ben, suicide isn't nothing!!"
"Well, it was to my family!!" I shot back. My eyes stung. I never wanted to talk about this. "It was nothing to everyone I ever knew and it should be nothing to you!!!"
I tore my eyes away and looked at the ground. I was crying now. I didn't care.
Suddenly Angel hugged me. Her hands were cold, I noted, and my skin prickled.
"It isn't nothing to me, Ben," she whispered. "It shouldn't be. You don't have to tell me now, but I'd like to know. It would do you good to get it off your chest.
I sniffed and smirked weakly into her shoulder. It would do me good to get YOU off my chest, I thought, blushing despite the circumstances. I'm burning up over here.
Angel let go and smiled weakly at me. I rubbed my eyes and looked up at her.
"Thanks, for everything," I said quietly.
She grinned, still red. "No problem. Now get your shirt back on. You're distracting me."
I laughed, and slid my shirt back on. I was still burning.
As Angel went to leave the room I called after her, "So, why DO you have this kind of medical expertise?"
Her expression became fragile and she looked over her shoulder at me. "The asylum teaches you things," she said softly before flying to her office.
That sentence bothered me.
----
Everyone was up early that morning.
Well, earlier than me. Which, for them, was a decent time to get up. I tend to sleep in till two in the afternoon.
Sleep is a great thing, by the way. Try to get a lot of it.
Anyway, I could hear Angel. She sounded defiant. Maybe it was some huge pep talk.
I snuck upstairs and watched from the shadows.
North was gesturing vaguely to the moonlight likeness of me that stood on a podium in the center of the room. "But why do we need him? Who is he?" he questioned.
Angel shook her head. "Like I said, his name is Ben and he'll be a serious aid to our forces," she declared. "Even the Moon thinks so."
"But we have no idea who the guy is," Jack pointed out. Summer nodded next to him.
Angel laughed in disbelief. "Are you guys serious right now?" she scoffed. "This is the opposite of that bat-winged freak who calls himself Mastermind. Now, I myself don't know too much about him, but I do know that he is three thousand years old and probably the first Guardian chosen by the Moon itself."
I grinned. This was getting good. And Angel was absolutely right.
"He likes to create things," Angel continued with gusto. "He doesn't care that no one believes in him and yet he continues his job anyway. He makes sure the children believe in you; essentially he keeps you alive. He'd rather die than see your powers fade. From what I know now about him, he's stopped Mastermind more times than you and your dogs can imagine, and then some! He lives in the most remote area of Scotland but was born in Rome and spent most of his previous life in Athens, where he became a Guardian." She stopped to let it sink in.
"And still," she finished, deadly quiet after a moment, "you mean to tell me that you don't believe in the Guardian of Imagination?"
No one responded, and yet...I could feel them starting to consider my existence. It was a strange, emboldening sensation that made me walk into the light. "Rousing speech," I told Angel. She and the rest of Guardians jumped. "Very flattering and indeed factual."
Bunny pointed at me, Sandy smirking in the background like "I tried to tell them but no one listened to ME, did they?"
The rabbit squinted. "That's...him?"
Suddenly the amount of belief flooded over me and it was so empowering that I almost stumbled. I felt...whole. Like I'd found something I never knew was missing.
Angel smiled proudly and cocked her arm on my shoulder. "That's him," she confirmed. "My friend, Ben."

A/N: HOLY CRAP IT'S UPDATED???? THANKS Cbanana19 FOR UPDATING YOURS SO I COULD GET THIS FAR???? LIKE HONESTLY THIS IS A HUGE CHAPTER HOLY FRICK HOPE YOU LIKE. ALSO BEN CAN CURSE THIS IS A NEW DEVELOPMENT XD