Disclaimer: I am not the owner of ROTG or Once Upon a Time.
(Today, in New York)
It was a warm day, a day where Jack was powerless to do anything. He had enjoyed flying through the skies, watching silently as people almost began to believe again in this world. They had gathered by a well, all listening to the pleas of a young boy, making wishes and watching as that wish was granted. Jack had been given a brief moment of hope, flying closer and waiting for them to feel the shock of the truth. Instead, it was written off as the trick of some magician, not true magic. Jack had sighed, flying off towards a nearby roof and leaving them alone. Of course they didn't believe. None of them would, not anymore.
Even that boy, the one that had urged them to believe, had not been able to see him. Jack could still remember how long ago he had gained his curse, the ability to use powerful magic at a high cost. He had been living in this world for hundreds of years, watching technology advance and people grow less and less convinced of the existence of magic in the world. As their faith in technology grew, the Guardians had grown weaker and a certain someone came to exploit that very weakness in them all. They had come to Jack for help and now, Jack deeply regretted his decision so many years ago.
Speaking of the King of Nightmares, it did not take him long to find the winter spirit hiding within the city. Jack had given up years ago, letting Pitch do as he pleased with the world. Without his friends, without any support, Jack could do nothing to stand up against the man who had mastered his control over darkness and fear. Jack didn't even look up when Pitch appeared by his side, with a smirk on his face as he saw the sorry state of the once great Jack Frost. "Why, hello there Jack. Here I was thinking you were avoiding me, I suppose I was wrong." he announced, touching Jack's shoulder.
"What do you want?" Jack asked, still glaring at the city below. Pitch laughed at the boy, knowing he had won long ago. He had lost all hope and wasn't even going to try and fight back, regardless of the anger Pitch could hear in his voice. "Nothing at all, just a friendly little chat. I don't know what kind of stunt you pulled down there, but I suggest you back off before I get angry." he commented, remembering the hope and joy that had been here just moments ago. Jack was the only one left who could inspire such feelings, so Pitch knew that he was responsible.
"I did nothing. You know that I haven't resisted, not since Jaimie…" Jack replied, his voice going distant as he thought about the kid. Pitch would not allow him the pleasure of remembering his friend, though. "Enough with the games, Frost! I have won, this world belongs to me. I suggest you grow used to it and learn to accept the fear in the world." Pitch told him, scowling and flying off on one of his nightmares. Jack watched him fly off into the distance, thinking about his words. He had been afraid, afraid of the return of belief in the people here. It had happened for just a moment, so briefly, but it had been enough to frighten the King of Nightmares. Perhaps Jack did have a chance to make up for his past mistakes. Standing up and holding his staff tightly, Jack flew off with the wind, in search of the boy that had made people believe.
(Many years ago, in Burgess)
Jack had been playing with the children, laughing as he threw a snowball at them. "Gotta try harder than that, Jaimie!" he yelled out, knowing that he was invisible but unable to resist taunting him. Jaimie was laughing as well, throwing snow at his friends and having a good time with the snowball fight. Even when he slipped on some ice, Jack was able to make things fun for the boy. He slid through the town, laughing at his own crazy adventure while pedestrians rushed to get out of his way.
It wasn't until the end of that journey that Jack was reminded of the price of his magic, what he payed to bring this much fun to the children. "Check it out! I lost a tooth!" Jaimie had cried, making all his friend rush over and gush over the Tooth Fairy. She didn't have to worry about being invisible, not like Jack. No one believed in the winter spirit, they only saw the Guardians and no one else. Jack flew off, feeling lonely as he watched Sandy work his magic on the children of the city, creating dreams for everyone nearby.
As Jack watched the familiar sight, something began to change. The golden sand began to take on a darker color, turning black in front of his eyes. "What is that?" Jack asked, leaning forward and picking up his staff. As strange as it was, no one else seemed to mind. He flew through the town, trying to find the source of this magic. When he arrived at Cupcake's house, one of Jaimie's friends, he discovered what was happening.
A man was standing inside, dressed completely in black with grey tinted skin and piercing gold eyes. "What a beautiful little nightmare! Finally, my work has paid off. I will be able to rid this world of the Guardians, turning their own magic against them." he was saying, holding a small horse made out of black sand. It was growing quickly and Jack knew he needed to act fast if he wanted to protect his friends. "Get away from her!" he yelled, blasting ice into the dark man standing in the room. Pitch was thrown back against the wall and he stared at Jack in shock, before laughing at the boy he saw. "Jack Frost? Just what do you think you can do against me? Give me a cold?" he commented, shaking his head.
"You are useless, invisible to the world just like me. In time, you will learn to accept my vision and see things my way. The world is always better with just a little bit of fear." he announced, vanishing in what looked like a cloud of black smoke. Jack stared after him, knowing he had to stop him somehow. Then again, it wasn't his job to deal with Pitch. This was the Guardians' problem, not his. Jack shook his head, realizing that he shouldn't have done anything yet. He flew out of the room and back towards the roof he had been on, deciding to leave Pitch to the experts.
(Today in Storybrooke)
It did not take Jack long to find the strange barrier, surrounding an entire town for some strange reason. He grinned, glad for once that he was invisible to everyone. The caster had not believed in him and without that belief, he was as invisible to this barrier as he was to the caster. Jack felt a small amount of pressure as he passed through, just a side-effect of surrounding himself suddenly with magic. As soon as he was inside, Jack felt an immediate difference in himself and the world around him. He lost control of his flight, speeding up beyond what he had planned and tumbling through the air as he lost control.
It took Jack a few moments to steady himself and stop, hovering above what looked like a popular place in this town. Some kind of diner named Granny's. Jack took a moment to calm down before lowering himself to the ground, slowly. He would have to figure out what was going on with his magic later. Right now, he had a kid to find and a boogeyman to fight. He walked inside, following one of the residents of the town in order to see who might be present within.
The boy was there, much to his surprise, and he appeared to be focused on writing something down on a piece of paper. "What do you have there, kid? Is that a good book?" Jack asked him, giving him a small smile like he used to do around kids. It had been so long since he had even attempted to interact with them that he almost forgot how fun it could be. Jack froze as he saw what was written on the page, a story about himself in plain sight. It was the truth, his past and how he had met Pitch Black. Somehow, this boy knew about it and was writing every detail.
"Stop it, kid. They don't need to know about that." Jack said, getting upset. He didn't want to see more, didn't want to get to the end of his own story. Henry, who had been lost in the flow of magic as the story came to him, looked up at the sudden voice by his shoulder. The story stopped coming to him, making him lose his train of thought and forget about what was supposed to happen next. "Hey, is something wrong?" Emma asked, sitting next to him at the table he had been writing at. They had been spending more time together lately, after what he had done in New York. Regina's evil side had been vanquished and together, they had brought their family back together. Henry knew now that magic wasn't always the enemy, even if it came with a price.
Henry looked up at Emma, smiling at her and shaking his head. "Not at all. Just forgot where this story was going. You have no idea how much work there is in being the Author." he replied, glancing around the nearly empty diner. He gasped as he saw who was next to him, the very boy he had just been writing about. His story wasn't supposed to be here, though, not according to what he had written. Jack Frost was not from the Enchanted Forest, so why was he in Storybrooke? "Henry, don't lie to me. You know about my superpower. What's up?" Emma asked, noticing the strange behavior of her son. He was staring into thin air, as if something was there that he hadn't been expecting.
Jack was staring in shock, knowing that it was impossible for the kid to believe but unable to deny it either. "You…can you see me?" he asked, backing up slightly. This was not good, not with Pitch around. This had been a mistake, he never should have come. Involving kids was exactly what had gone wrong before! He couldn't be the one responsible for all that pain, that much loss again. Henry nodded, only frightening Jack further. "Look, I don't know how you know about me or why, but I suggest you just ignore me. My story isn't a happy one and you shouldn't be focused on it, kid." Jack told him, getting ready to walk out of the diner.
Henry stood up, ready to chase after the boy. He had looked like he was so young, but his face looked so haunted. Glancing down at what he had written, Henry decided that this was someone who needed their help. Maybe the Savior could bring him back to his former self, the one that Henry had written about in his book. "Henry, stop! What are you trying to do?" Emma asked, stopping Henry from running out of the diner without a word. "He needs our help, can't you see it?" Henry asked, not understanding what was going on. Why was Emma ignoring Jack?
Jack paused, staring at the argument that was about to begin. He sighed, shaking his head sadly at the boy. "All magic comes with a price, and this is mine. Belief is required to see me, Henry. Keep that in mind next time you see me, because no matter what people say, very few of them actually believe." he told Henry, walking out of the diner. This had been his chance, the one time Jack might be able to fight back. Why couldn't he do it? It was one kid, one boy in the grand scheme of things. Involving him would be worth it, if it saved the whole world from Pitch's fear and darkness. Glancing back at him, his eyes filled with pity and a desire to help, Jack couldn't bring himself to ask. The boy was far to pure, far to willing to believe, to risk for something that he shouldn't even be involved in.
