It wasn't a joke that he was slowly turning. The fearlings were slowly changing him from his past self into this unknown shell of a person. There wasn't much time left. Quickly scribbling down the last few letters, he rushed out into the Antarctic blizzard, caused by him. His deep grey skin and Pitch black hair stood out only slightly in the thick shield of snow and wind. He trudged through, feeling his body weaken as he took every step. But he held onto that note in his hoodie for dear life. The pounding wind soon became too much, and he fell to the thick blanket of snow and ice that soon covered him. The white vision faded to black as he let out a final breath, allowing his body to be taken by the darkness.
A fearless trio pushed their way through the blizzard storm together, huddling close. In front, a skinny, brown haired boy led the group. He wore a fur vest, thick green shirt, brown pants and boots lined with the same fur from his vest. He left all of his other t-shirts and merchandise at home, as his two companions had done similarly. With one gloved hand, he covered the majority of his face and with the other, he held onto his other friend, a girl.
This girl had messy red curls hidden under a brown cloak and hood. Her forest green dress was tucked into a pair of thick green pants given to her by the brown haired boy. Her rounded face was most likely the one that got frosted over the most.
She held onto the third person of the group who was also female. Different from the other, her hair was golden in color and too long to tuck into any sort of hood. Out of the three, she was the least used to this type of weather. She held on tight to her red-haired friend, afraid that even being separated slightly would let the blizzard go wild and seclude them in a white haze. The clothes she wore were too large for her skinny body, but someone very close to her gave them to her.
"How long till we bloody arrive?!" Merida whined; her annoyance clearly expressed. "Almost there," a brown haired Hiccup said. He honestly didn't know how long it would take until they came upon their friend's ice home. This was one of those times he questioned his friend's sanity. Yes, he enjoyed the cold, but this was insane. This was just one of those things that h-.
He stopped in his train of thought. The winds calmed along with the heavy snowfall that drifted away into nothingness. The three teens looked at each other with mild concern and slight curiosity. Nothing that extreme would stop so suddenly like it did. No natural phenomena such as this had occurred before. That was the part that worried Hiccup the most. "We have to find Jack," he stated quickly and bluntly, like an old serrated knife. Before the other two could protest or beg to head back, the boy was already trudging in the snow again, this time, his pace quickened. Merida and Rapunzel looked at each other with slight worry in their eyes. "Don't worry," insisted Rapunzel with seemingly sorrowful tone shrouded in hope. "He'll be alright. Perhaps he even got better."
It was another hour or so before the three came across something that wasn't entirely white. For miles, they trudged between beauteous landscapes of ice and snow, even though the sightseeing was not one of their main goals at the moment. Their main drive for pushing on was because this strange figure was a recognizable one. "Jack!" they called out as they started running towards the grey figure. He was hard to make out, half his body covered in snow. But that was still him.
One of the trio went faster, Hiccup sprinting to the body and kneeling down beside it. "No, no, no. Come on Jack, stay with me here. Just stay with me." He checked pulses, breathing, everything. He wouldn't let his friend die. Not this way. Not because of some stupid fearlings.
Still on the icy ground, Hiccup whipped his head towards Rapunzel who stood above the delusional boy she called her friend. It was a sad scene to behold. A young boy, holding hid long gone friend with tears welling in his eyes. He cared so much. Too much to just let his friend go. Jack was known to be a fighter. He could pull through this. If he just was given a chance…
"Rapunzel!" Hiccup cried to her. "Come on! Help me here! Use your hair! Do something!" With all her heart, Rapunzel wished she could heal him. But this was incurable, even for her. All she did was stare down at the dead body and the crying, begging boy next to it. Brave knelt down, putting a comforting hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Et's too late Hiccup… 'e's gone…"
The willpower it took to say those last two words just broke the three teen's hearts. He was too young, even if he was still considered immortal. 318 years just didn't seem like enough time for Jack, especially since he had really only been given a life so recently. But it was cut short by one little string of sanity snapping, letting in all the darkness and allowing it to consume him. What lay before the three was not their friend, rather a darkened shell of what he once was. He used to be brighter, funnier, and most of all, not dead. The worse part was that he was smiling to the grace, even though his death must have been plenty painful.
In the long moments of grieving, Hiccup noticed something different about his friend. It wasn't the fact he was smiling, it was something else. One hand was placed inside his frosted blue hoodie and the other was out in the open, finally turning blueish from frostbite. It didn't make sense to him. Gently, Hiccup reached into the pocket as the two girls just stared, wondering what he was doing. Inside, Jack's hand was clutched to something. Hiccup pulled it from his deceased friend's clutches carefully, as if dealing with fine china.
"Et's a note," Merida observed, seeing the crumpled envelope and candle wax seal. Even though they all were together to talk, it was always important when one got a letter from another, especially when from Jack. This didn't help the viking's stress at all. Merida and Rapunzel gave him a reassuring look and he broke the seal, taking out the thick parchment and began to read.
Dear Merida, Rapunzel, and Hiccup,
If you are reading this, then I'm most likely dead. They got me. And I wish I could've done something about it. I was weak, like you all told me not to be. Once it was obvious what was happening to me, I stopped trying. I gave in to the fear and I'm sorry. But before I go, I need to clear up some things.
First of all, Rapunzel. You were always so bubbly and happy. Even if I'm gone, I don't want that to change. You're so strong and beautiful and I'm sorry I never really told you that before. Stay strong for me.
Merida. I know that we were usually arguing or fighting, but I always cared. I'll admit, you were always the better shot than me. Take care of Hiccup for me. I know you will.
Finally, Hiccup. There isn't much to say. You were right. My stupidity got the best of me and well…listen. I don't want any of you to mourn over me. I don't want you guys to cry or bring me back or anything. You were my greatest friend Hiccup and I wish I just listened to you more. If I did…maybe none of this would've happened. I'm sorry. Take care of the girls for me, okay? You are…the best friend I could ever ask for. Thank you for everything. I wish I could have said goodbye in person but I don't think the fearlings would've let me.
Take care of yourselves. I'm so sorry for everything, but I know you'll get through it.
Goodbye,
Jack Frost
All of them were dead silent after the final line. That came from Jack. He wasn't know to be that, well, compassionate. It was so hard to take in, especially for Hiccup. He was so close to Jack. How could he have just let this happen to his best friend? The brown haired boy just stayed on the snow blanket, frozen with shock and misery. Slowly, the other two got beside him, keeping their eyes on the body as if it would move again. But they all know he left his final breath long before.
Tightly, they bound their hands together. Hiccup kept his head down, trying to keep the other two from seeing him cry. But it didn't matter. All of them mourned over the body of a friend, companion, and challenge. "I'm sorry…," he mumbled under his breath. "I'm so sorry."
Jack had had enough of this. He wasn't a child, nor was he ever. He was just as strong as everyone else. Equally brave and intelligent, too. Now was his change to prove just how strong and mature he was.
Quietly, he moved down the hallway of an inn where the four were staying. He stayed in the shadows in case someone else was unfortunately awake at this hour. It took a few minutes more to get to this man's room. Constantly, even though he was able to see Jack, this man claimed he wasn't real. And how unfortunate it was for the other three to bring a child along with them. Saying how useless he was compared to the others. And the expanse of dead jokes was not pleasing to the ear. It might not be justifiable for what he was going to do, but it wasn't like anyone could see him anyway to convict him, right?
Thankfully, this man was staying on the same floor as he was. That way, nobody would be able to hear him that already wasn't used to his sneaking and pranking. He sped past the rooms where Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel were staying, hoping that they weren't awake. Last thing he needed was to be caught by one of them. But so far, nobody was following him and this man's room was right there.
He brandished his staff, freezing off the lock and pulling open the door. It creaked a little, making Jack cringe out of slight fear. To his advantage, no trap was set of and more importantly, the other wasn't awoken. Slowly, he stepped into this man's room, avoiding the questionable items on his floor. Hopefully, all the rust colored stairs were from something other than murder. Even though if this man could be a killer, it wouldn't surprise him.
After trying to avoid uncomfortable objects, he saw the man that just lay in his bed, undisturbed and still alive. Jack formed an ice spike from the end of his staff and snapped it off. Finally, he reached the bed, adrenaline rushing as he raised the spike over the sleeping body's chest. He couldn't turn back now. He had to do this. And without another thought, he shut his eyes and stabbed the man in the gut.
"JACK!"
The man screamed in pain as the spike was plunged into his center. But it wasn't the man who called Jack's name. The frost boy spun around, looking at his unfortunate observer. "Jack...w…what the heck?!"
"Hiccup! I…I can explain. I-" He cut himself off before flying away from the scene, leaving a bleeding man and a friend in shock. As he flew, someone spoke to him. Somewhat familiar, but he didn't know from where. And it wasn't a voice from outside his body. It was on the inside.
"Welcome home, Jack."
