The night before Jack died and became the infamous Jack Frost, he had met a young lady who had stolen a piece of his heart. Will she return it, or will he take a part of hers as well?
"Sorry…It looks like slop. But if you close your eyes it tastes better than it appears" a pale, faceless, young woman looked across the crackling fire to the half disgusted jack, who stirred the mushy concoction in the wooden bowl with spoon. "Yeah..I think this might be lethal if I were to eat it" he grins, his snow white teeth glistening. But the joke had still annoyed her.
Angrily she chomped down on the stick brown gray paste she had some how created, her hand holding out for his bowl too. "Den if you're nod go-bba ead ib" her mouth still trying to process and swallow the foreign objects gummed in between her teeth and cheeks. Jack grinned wildly, a slight chuckle leaving his lips before a spoonful of…whatever that ick was…was shoved into his mouth. His chewing had slowed as he attempted to analyze the flavor. "Jo..Jo..Ijs..Ijs rearry gurd?" It may have looked awful, but the blue eyed woman was right, it was tasty.
An attempt to hold back her laughter was futile as it echoed through out the dead snowy landscape that surrounded them. Her laugh chimed like silver bells at his stuffed face, her cheeks beginning to stain rouge "No need to force yourself"
Jack awoke abruptly from this familiar dream. "Her again, huh?" his lips twisted into a sullen smile as he mulled over who she could be. Ever since his memories were returned to him, his life as a mortal had returned in bits and pieces. But one that had always stuck out was the nameless woman who would haunt him in his dreams."Who are you?" he groaned, straightening his back against the body of the tree. It wasn't often he got to rest, being a guardian now had himself busy with work; as well as the constant bothering by Tooth, North an Aster, Jack had little time to himself…Especially now that this girl was in every other thought he had.
Looking up to dark midnight sky his azure irises searched for the moon, and with no prevail did he find it 'A new moon tonight huh?' It wasn't like the man on the moon would speak to him. Even after becoming a guardian and finding his center, Jack still felt alone. There was something hollow in his chest that couldn't be filled, even with all the joys given to him.
Golden sand flitted through the sky, following the calm current of the wind as they split and travelled to the thousands of sleepy children warm in their beds. Leaping from the tree Jack followed the trail to his close friend, "Hey Sandman" he grinned nodding to the golden god of slumber. His own tired eyes followed the flow of sand dancing in the dark of night, his hand would slowly dip in curiously to see the magic and wonder of children's dream. Even with Sandman there, Jack could find peace of mind in other peoples hopes and aspirations. It made him feel- "Jack Frost!" Well that was short lived.
His body tensed at the brute strength coming from behind him, the bear hug squeezing him so tightly that his faith contorted and twisted in exaggerated agony. "Alright!..North!..Hey!…Stop?!" he gasped, North dropping him abruptly into his sleigh while they hovered above the dozens of rooftops in the sky. "Sandy! Lets go, yeah?"
He ushered the sleigh back into the heavens, blending in with the stars. "What's up? You don't normally show your face in December." "Problem" Jack furrowed his brows as the wind whipped at his face as they flew at top speed back to the north pole as North threw open the portal as they were sucked into the next dimension.
Upon arriving at his workshop, North had already gathered both Tooth and Aster before seeking out Jack and Sandman. "Mate what are you doin? Normally you'd have a conniption with a problem this close to Christmas I-" "Calm down Bunny, Man on moon has showed me something very important" North pushed the furry mess aside, walking to the center of an alchemic looking circle. He looked up to the skylight, no sign of the moon at all, but instead a slight outline of a man shaped in the stars.
Jacks draw had dropped several inches as he stared in aw at the true form of the man who granted him this immortal life. "Who?" he whispered, North could only smirk at Jacks disbelief, "Of all people to not believe" he chuckled.
Even without the bright light of the moons rays, a familiar godsend had reached into the center of the room creating a pool in the circle of the guardians. Clearing his throat, Santa began to speak for the silent entity that expressed himself through the moving images below the five.
"We are guardians, our soul duty is to protect the children of this world; naughty or nice. As immortals it is our life duty to carry out this responsibility." His coal black eyes look down to the swirling pool of sand, a clearer image of a young girl brought into focus. Her face is angry and covered in ash, steel blue eyes darken as she begins to scream, attacking a shadow force that beat her down again and again; body beaten and bloody.
"But there's more to just protecting children, there is also the adults. Though they have lost their childlike wonder, they are still susceptible to falling under evil spells that only want to cause harm."
"Like Pitch?" Jack grit his teeth, eyes focused on the girl who struggled against this force. "Isn't she only a human? Why is she fighting someone like this alone?" uncharacteristically he grew worried about the grown girl. She couldn't be any older than he was, at least what he appeared to be.
"I am getting to that!" North grunted, shoving Jacks shoulder, having him stagger slightly. "There are stages to life on earth. There are mortals and immortals, but some fall between the cracks. This girl is one of them." As Jack was about to protest yet again, North forcefully grabbed his neck and had the Snow guardian focus on the images unravelling in the sand.
Taking the blood from one of her many open wounds, the girl drew a similar alchemic circle on her hand, like the one outlined on the floor in the workshop, the blood on her flesh glowed as she finally smacked down the rather large menacing shadow, it being consumed in light before dissipating completely.
"She killed it…"
"Yes"
"But she's only a girl"
"Let me finish, will you?"
The images had finally collapsed in on themselves, retreating back into the sky. The stars that had fallen being placed back into their designated spots as the man on moon disappeared along with it.
"A mortal with such power should not be burdened by the possibility of death."
"So what? You-You want us to make her an immortal?!" Bunnymund bellowed in disbelief. "You can't be serious."
"I'm always serious!" North stretched, before turning back to his workshop, the stained-glass french doors opening up into a sort of toy palace where yetis and elves stumbled over one another in the chaos of 3 weeks before Christmas.
"Now if you'll excuse me" he yawned.
"Woah woah wait! You bring all of us up here just to show us, whatever that was…And we're not going to do anything about it?!"
A sly smirk stretched rosy lips, a rough hand tousled a long white beard, "Well since you offered to go.."
Jack now beyond confused, "Wha-?"
Quickly santa dug through his deep pockets, taking out another of his magic balls, bringing it quickly to his lips he whispered the destination the girl and threw open the portal, and grabbed Jack by the pack of his hoodie. "Thank you, Jack Frost! I expect you to bring her back in a week!"
Without even a second chance to escape, Jack was thrusted through dimensions and arrived where he had priorly seen the girl, but she was no where to be found.
He rolled his icy blue eyes, brushing himself off and straightening his clothes. "Always send the new guy" he kicked the stale snow with his bear foot, it going flying through the air before pit pattering onto the grey pavement.
"Really…she was just here..Where could she have-" his eyes feel back down to where the snow had landed, a dark trail of blood splattered across the ground. "Well there's a start."
Heavy panting could be hear just a little ways further, in between two tall buildings, Ray held her ribs as the sheer fire of pain began to take hold of her consciousness. This was a deep wound, deeper then most she had sustained. That demon was out for more than blood, he wanted souls. It was a good thing that she had purified and killed him, but at what cost? She knew if she blacked out there was a great chance that she would not be waking up.
"Damnit!" she held back a sob, a cold front now coming through, her body shuddering heavily until a calm sense of acceptance washed over.
"You!" Jack yelled, floating over her, his eyes scanning hers for any sense of recognition. "Great..How am I supposed to do anything when she can't even see me…" He sighed "Hey" he nudged her, Ray fell over further, blood now pooling around her body. He now recognized those eyes, she wasn't awake…That was the soul leaving the body. They were beginning to gloss and fog, and once the color faded completely he would lose her…
"Hey!" he panicked, grabbing her gently from under her armpits, her body limp like a doll as he flew higher, Jack searched desperately for any place he could fly to; someplace warm where her wounds could heal.