Rewritten story of "The End." Teen Titans plot. Song: "Unravel" (Tokyo Ghoul) by Unknown Songbird. T to be safe. I own nothing. Enjoy!:)

Oh can you tell me, can you tell me, the way that this should work.

Just who's inside of me? The monster pulling strings.

They always said that the Man in the Moon was how Jack Frost had been resurrected from the dead. His purpose purpose was to bring Winter and become a Guardian to protect children. However, he was the only spirit to ever be born from death. No other spirit had been created this way. It was unheard of, it had never been done before. The choice of whether the flaw was a miracle or a burden to the winter soul was entirely up to the person who thought about it.

To Jack Frost, it was the latter of the two.

The question was just why? Why was he created this way? Why him? Why the Spirit of Winter who is the bringer of death and to be exiled in a world where no one can see him or care for him? Why was he 'gifted' this way? Why didn't he just die and stay dead? There were others who died in honor, so why him? Why did the Man in the Moon think he was so special?

Well apparently, it wasn't just Mim's decision.

It was also Pitch Black's doing as well.

It was during the Dark Ages. Pitch knew that when the Man in the Moon created the Guardians, he wouldn't last much longer and his reign would fall sooner than later. But Pitch was smart, if he ever wanted to return at full power once more, he needed a power vessel to give him that strength. A being that would sacrifice itself to him when the time came. However, with the Man in the Moon as the ruler of all spirits and the Guardians at large, Pitch needed to be sneaky and subtle. He needed a vessel that was easy to break and manipulate, powerful, and could stay low under the radar. A being that was always cornered in fear and could feed him it as he rested and waited for his return. An infinite power source.

With the Dark Ages still lurking about, Pitch had a variety of options to choose from. But Pitch had to be shrewd and clever, somehow he would have to create this power source right under Mim's nose but without him even knowing it.

Here was a start; both Mim and Pitch took an interest in children.

After some searching, Pitch took an interest in one particular boy. He was in his mid-teens and was part of a struggling family. His father had passed away in war, his mother had no job and had just miraculously recovered from a disease, he had a little sister (whom he loved very much) to watch over and he himself had to balance school and a job. They were very poor and it was quite a struggle, but the boy always put on a fun facade to cheer everyone up during these dark times. He had quite the knack for it. However, a facade does nothing good to a person and rots away a person's true feelings. It was so easy to cast nightmares upon him and fear at times would get the best of him.

His name was Jackson Overland.

However, no matter what, the boy would always find the light. That's what Pitch ironically admired about him. He was a mix of both fear and fun, he was strong. An unbalance of either would be unfitting for Pitch, the boy was perfect. Now how was he going to turn him into his special little 'gem'?

As fate and luck would have it, Mim also saw the great power and potential that Jack contained. Except in a much lighter manner. So when a nasty turn of events occurred where Jack saved his sister and willingly sacrificed himself to the ice cold waters of death, Mim decided to reward him by turning him into an immortal spirit. This could not have been any better for Pitch.

With the last ounce of his strength from the last bit of every believer he still had left, Pitch cast a curse on Jack the moment his hair turned white and his eyes turned blue and ice coursed through his veins. It was a curse that turned Jack Frost into Pitch's ultimate power source. His 'Gem.' From then on, any sort of fear that flowed within Jack would give power to Pitch until he had enough strength to rise again. And once all that power and fear was at it's peak, Jack would vanish and the only thing left would be the Nightmare King. While it would be effective to face Jack and tell him of his birth, Pitch didn't want him running off to spoil his plans or to jeopardize his peak. So he waited patiently.

However, Mim was smart too. He wasn't entirely sure of what had transpired during Jack's birth, but something dark and deadly had occurred. He kept an eye on Jack, even though he never talked to him, he wanted the boy to find his own path and make his own decisions. But Mim made sure that nothing would harm him. But when Pitch arose once more, Mim knew of his plan. He finally understood what had happened. Quickly, he made Jack a Guardian to protect him. Not to mention that the element of Fun was the only thing that could counter the element of Fear. Jack was safe...

For now. Pitch was not done yet. He had made a foolish mistake. He had thought that once he had the strength to control his power once more, he would be ready to face the Guardians (they were fools after all). This was only to find that Jack had been nominated as a Guardian. A smart move on Mim's part. With Jack, the Guardians won the fight. Pitch was still not strong enough. But he could bide more time. It was especially comforting to know that once he was at full strength, there would be no stopping him. Jack was a powerful spirit, as shown when he utterly obliterated an army of his nightmares all at once when they were at their strongest. In fact, this might have played out even better. The Guardians thought he had been demolished for the time being, he had the cover of death.

And just because Jack was a Guardian now didn't mean he was safe. Nobody could be safe or escape Fear. It was always with you, it always found you, it always followed you. Jack's issues of isolation and pain was not going to go away any time soon. But becoming a Guardian did mean some levels of hope for the boy that would render Pitch weak. Jack's fear would slip away over time under the Guardian's wing. Pitch had to make his move now. Sure, Mim would try to warn the Guardians, but it would be too late once his plan was put into motion. It was time for Jack to finally realize what he was made for. Hopefully the poor boy hadn't gotten his mind set on the fact that he was made to just bring winter and become a lousy Guardian. No, there was so much more this boy had to offer.

The precious fear that Jack had become so accustomed to was not going to leave him just yet.

It was a peaceful day at Jack's lake.

Jack was resting his eyes in a nearby tree with a soft smile playing on his lips. It was just yesterday that he and the Guardians had taken down Pitch Black and saved the world from an endless nightmare. The best part was that he too became a Guardian and he even gained some believers!

Jack had never felt this happy in his life, ever. He was so afraid that his life wouldn't amount to anything and that he was some sort of useless fluke. 300 years of being invisible and in solitude was not easy. It came with many nightmares and many tear-filled days. There were times when Jack had even gone off the deep end and considered suicide. But now, he felt like he meant something. He was the Guardian of Fun and the Winter Spirit. People saw him, people cared. He didn't have to be alone anymore, he finally had a family.

But that family was the Guardians, and Jack was never fond of them. Weren't they supposed to be the protectors of children? He was still a child, wasn't he? Where were they when he needed them? He understood that they were all busy, but in 300 years, couldn't they have just dropped by once to say hello and actually acknowledged his existence? There was actually a horrifying period in his life where Jack had thought he was invisible to everyone, including spirits. But Jack put that claim to the test on Easter Sunday in 1968 when he saw E. Aster Bunnymund for the first time. Granted the Pooka was anything but happy and at the time it broke Jack's heart but at least he was alive.

But them being the Guardian legends and all, weren't they supposed to be the good guys? They just left him to fend for himself for all that time and only give him a call when they needed him? Call him up to save their reputations from the Boogie Man. They beat him once, couldn't they do it again? But that wasn't the point. At first, when they announced him as a Guardian, he thought that he was simply going to become their tool. Only use him when they needed him. And that thought scared Jack even more than just being isolated entirely. But Jack was wrong. And while it angered him that the Guardians never really cared for him before, he could forgive them... eventually.

Suddenly, a clap of thunder erupted overhead and Jack's eyes snapped open.

Jack looked up between the tree leaves and frowned at the dark clouds storming over Burgess. Odd, Jack thought as he took the the skies, I've been here this whole time. Why are there storm clouds here?

Jack soared up to the clouds and powerfully swung his staff in command for the clouds to disperse, but it didn't work. Jack tried again but instead, one of the lightning strikes almost took him down. Jack cried out with shock as he watched the bolt fly to the ground where it seemingly caused an earthquake. Suddenly, a cool wind howled around Jack as his attention was brought back upwards once more. Somehow, the black clouds caused a deadly blizzard as snow was raining down upon the earth with no remorse and without Jack's consent. Jack tried to control it but it was as if it weren't his to control. He could only watch in horror as the ground was inked with snow and ice as the earth became a winter wasteland. The power went out, people froze on the spot, everything stopped moving. In less than a minute, the world had seemingly come to an end under his hand. Everything was covered in ice...

Jack had to get to the Guardians. But as soon as Jack poised himself to take to the Pole, a familiar cackle caught his attention as he came to a halt. He recognized that voice anywhere...

No way, he can't be back already!

"Pitch, what have you done?" Jack growled as he frantically looked about, the voice coming in from all different angles.

It was only yesterday when Pitch they had defeated Pitch. While the elves and yetis brought the sleeping children back to their homes, the Guardians threw together a celebration in commendation of their victory and their newest member. After the party was over, Jack had gone back to his lake to mull things over. Nightfall had come and he was just resting in a tree when suddenly this happened out of nowhere. Jack knew Pitch would be back eventually, but surely not this soon!

"Welcome to your nightmare, Jack. This is the world you are destined to create." No doubt about it, it was Pitch Black.

"I-I would never!" Jack cried out in denial, fear building up in his stomach. "What is this, Pitch?"

Another chuckle.

"Your birthday present."

Jack let the words sink into his brain, confusion took over his senses as his muscles became soft and still.

"Remind me again, Jack, what is tomorrow?" Pitch's cool and dark voice asked.

Jack's eyes widened with realization... it was the day he became Jack Frost, when Mim had raised him from his lake. It was his Birthday.

"But why do you care?" Jack spat vehemently to the wind, "And how are you back, anyways? Why don't you show yourself?"

"It's a very, very long story, so why don't you drop back down and allow me to summarize it for you?" Pitch said, his voice still coming from the clouds, but the echo following back down to the earth.

Without a word, Jack descended from the sky and landed back onto his lake, honestly expecting Pitch to be there waiting for him. Before Jack could make any assumptions or grow concerned, Pitch's voice greeted him from the ice underneath Jack's feet. Jack looked down and let out an abrupt yell to find out the voice came from his own shadow. The shadow then began to grow long out from underneath Jack's body, stretching all the way to the circumference of the lake. It then molded into the silhouette of Pitch Black. Jack stood frozen with growing fear.

"During the Dark Ages, I knew the Man in the Moon had created the Guardians to temporarily end my reign. In order for me to return back to power, I needed a power source. And I found one... his name was Jackson Overland."

Jack let out a quiet gasp as he inwardly winced. He did not like where this was going.

"You were a perfect vessel for power. And when you turned into a spirit," Pitch snorted, "well, Mim had played right into my hands-"

"Mim would never be foolish enough to fall for a scheme like that!" Jack cried out coldly in denial, but Pitch only snickered with evil intent. "Besides, I am no vessel! And only yesterday did we ban you to cower in your dungeon for as long as fate allowed it!"

How naive Jack truly was, it was actually quite amusing to the Nightmare King. "You didn't let me finish." Pitch paused, "But you are correct, you did defeat me only yesterday 'to ban me to cower in my dungeon for as long as fate allowed it...' but it doesn't matter, really. Not in the grand scheme of things." Pitch laughed as his shadow wavered across the ice before it began to struggle to actually bend itself out from the ice surface and reach into the open air, molding into an actual figure.

Jack gritted his teeth as he readied his staff and took a careful step backwards.

Pitch continued his monologue as he continued to slowly rip himself from his shadow form, "You see dear Jackie, for the past 300 years of your painful life, I have been feeding off of your fear. Once I had enough power from you to control my army of nightmares did I attack, but with you as a Guardian, that proved to be a far too difficult task. But my time has almost come, thanks to you. You've merely been a bomb that hasn't been set to go off yet."

Pitch then suddenly tore his body from the ice lake floor and with momentum shot up and lunged himself at Jack. Jack flinched and didn't have enough time to stop Pitch from plowing into him and pinning him up against a tree; the molded shadow of the Nightmare King looming over him within very close proximity. Pitch smirked as his spindly black hand reached out and combed through Jack's snow-white hair. Jack choked back a shudder and turned away to the best of his ability, his eyes clamped shut with disgust and fear.

"So when tomorrow comes on your birthday, my curse shall be fulfilled when your fear I have planted within you today has reached it's peek. Your little bomb will finally begin to tick. Within three days time during the eclipse when Mim is unable to help you, you will sacrifice yourself to me and I shall return with the Dark Glory Days of my past." Pitch hissed as he inched even closer to Jack's face, his hot breath running down Jack's neck making him feel very uncomfortable.

Jack bit back a whimper; he felt like crying. But he was not going to give into it so easily. "God, you must like hearing your own voice." Jack pressed on, "By the way, you're lying. I don't believe you."

"You don't have to believe me, because it will happen and you and the Guardians are powerless to stop it." Pitch whispered menacingly as he began to back away, much to the Winter Spirit's relief.

Jack had the opportunity to look around once more. Everything was dead. Snow and ice was all he could see for miles. Black storm clouds covered the sky and nightmares pranced through the air. It was a world made for Pitch to play with. Everyone was dead, including the Guardians. Nobody could stop him. Except for one person...

"Well, if I can't stop you, the Guardians will-" Jack paused and cursed at himself for saying the next part, "and if they cannot, Mim will and all the other spirits!"

Pitch just smiled, "You can't kill fear, Jack. My goal isn't to just conquer, but to dominate and control. Fear is a never-ending and powerful substance of power. Once fear has been planted within you, there is no stopping it from growing until it consumes you whole. The more I control, the more I can gain. Earth is just the first stepping stone, soon, the whole Universe will be mine thanks to you."

Jack couldn't win this fight. He had nothing to say. But while words can be sharp, so can an icicle to the heart. Without warning, Jack fired a beam of ice at Pitch and watched with satisfaction as it pierced him straight through the heart. However, to Jack's horror, the ice simply melted away and phased through Pitch's body. Jack just stood there, scared and horrified.

"Ouch," Pitch mocked. The icicle had not effected him because Pitch wasn't a whole being, this very strange shadow form was not made of choice. After his defeat, he had been banned to the shadows and had not yet had the strength yet to retrieve his physical form yet. While this form of weakness and punishment obviously showed some virtues, Pitch still wanted his body back, something Jack's power would give him within the next three days.

Jack had enough of this. It wasn't even real anyways, it was just a nightmare, Pitch said so himself. "Shut up, this is just a nightmare!" Jack said out loud, he shut his eyes and tried to focus on waking up.

Pitch sighed, "It's such a shame that you've finally found a purpose in life and here I am taking it away from you. On your birthday too. Oh well, at least now you'll serve me well. Your life will finally have meaning... you will become what you were created for. You shall finally fulfill your Destiny."

That struck a nerve within Jack. With a cry of rage, Jack swung his staff violently as a destructive force of an electric shock of ice was sent spiraling towards Pitch. But Pitch simply caught it and sent it spiraling back at it's caster. Jack was knocked off his feet and flung into the air, colliding high up in a tree, feeling faint and ready to fall back down.

Before Jack felt the real world calling back to him and the horrid nightmare slip away, Jack heard Pitch's voice whisper to him one last time, "It's time to wake up now, Jack... my Gem..."

Thud!

Jack's eyes snapped open as he finally crashed onto the ground from the tree. Once he had gathered his bearings, he shot up from the ground, scrambling for himself and pacing around the area. He breathed heavily as he frantically searched for Pitch. Thankfully, there was no Pitch, nor was there any sign of another Ice Age. Jack felt so relieved as he let out a small laugh and he faced towards the morning sun. Perhaps that was all just a really bad nightmare that was really meant to spook him (and it did a good job)...

It was then Jack realized that is was the next morning, it was his birthday. Supposedly, this was the day when the first step to his sacrifice began.

Jack swallowed and shuddered. Jack prayed to Mim that it was just a mere nightmare. However, there was only one person to go to make sure he was right: Sandy. He would know what went on last night, surely he could figure out something. But unbeknownst to Jack, his ever-growing fear of this sparked the Nightmare King's return, for he was to return that day and show Jack that this was no game and that he will die, slowly, painfully, and unwillingly.

With that in mind, Jack flew off to the Dream Castle, praying that it was all just a bad dream.

Please review!:) Thanks for reading, peace!

-SkatingDJ