Hi! This is my first ROTG fic, but hopefully I'll make more of these soon after I finish with the rest of my multi-chapter fics. I've been playing with this idea for a while, but I finally put it down on paper now.
Sorry if it's a bit rushed at the end/beginning/middle. I tried to make it longer and less rushed, but it didn't really work out, so I went with this version instead.
I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians. If I did, the animation would probably be so much worse because a) I can't do animation right at all and b) THE AWESOMENESS THAT IS ROTG ANIMATION IS UNATTAINABLE IN ANY OTHER CIRCUMSTANCE I WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO DESCRIBE HOW AMAZING IT IS
It happened in mid-summer. Summers in Burgess were too hot for Jack to handle for very long, so he had barely seen him at all the past few months before the incident. Jamie was about to begin high school; he had held onto his belief for much longer than the other children, but Jack knew he would stop one day. One day, he would simply forget about Jack, and walk through him like he wasn't even there.
Jack rode the winds until he spotted Jamie walking home from his friends' house. He chuckled, slowly floating down right behind him. "BOO!" Jack cried, waiting for Jamie to turn around, surprised.
But it didn't happen.
Jack frowned. Was he…ignoring him? That had to be it, must be it. He wasn't forgetting. He couldn't be. He wouldn't let him.
"Jamie?" Jack called out warily. Jamie kept walking on, oblivious to the spirit that continued following him. "Jamie, come on. This isn't funny anymore."
He stepped to Jamie's side, walking beside him. "Jamie, please. I…" Jack began to plead. "Tell me you can see me. Tell me you can…hear me. Please."
His voice broke slightly near the end, and he expected a reaction. Nothing happened, and Jamie continued to walk on.
Something seemed to snap in Jack's chest. He shook his head. "No, no…Jamie, come on!"
That's when he made his mistake. He jumped lightly around Jamie and stood directly in front of him. He expected Jamie to bump into him, laugh, maybe punch him if he was angry, it could explain why he was ignoring him…
What he was secretly dreading, what his sub conscious knew would happen but his mind refused to admit as a possibility, occurred.
Jamie walked through him.
Jack felt a shiver run down him, and he landed on his knees, gasping for air. "Jamie…Jamie, no!" he tried to cry out, but ended up as more of a plea as Jamie continued to walk away.
He felt tears prick his tender, icy skin, but he shook them off as he felt his powers rustling. They hadn't been this active since the Blizzard of '68…maybe not ever.
He took off to Antarctica, his entire body filled to the brim with power. He couldn't sustain it for very long…even if he made it to Antarctica, there would be a very large storm. Maybe one that he couldn't stop.
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
Bunny didn't think anything of Jack being ten minutes later. The little bugger was never on time.
He didn't even really think much of him being a half an hour late.
By the time an hour passed, Bunny began to allow himself a bit of worry.
The Guardians had planned this meeting months ago. They needed to go over the new possibility of Pitch returning, as children had been losing belief faster and faster every day. Jack shouldn't be this late, especially when he was supposed to go to a meeting concerning Pitch.
North walked back into their meeting room, sighed, and sat down, rubbing his eyes. " 'as Frostbite showed up yet?" Bunny asked, sitting up straighter and more attentively.
North shook his head. "Not yet. Ee should been here soon, yes? It has been a long time."
Tooth fluttered around, her fairies hovering nearby. "Oh, what if something happened? He knows how important this meeting is, he wouldn't be this late…"
After a few more minutes of Tooth panicking, Bunny stood up suddenly and announced, "That's it! I can't take any more of this bloody waiting. Jack went to go visit Jamie, yeh? I'm gonna go to Burgess and punch that little ankle biter into last week…" He mumbled the last part of his sentence, not truly meaning it, but North gave his a stern glance anyway.
"Just get him here, Bunny. 'Dis waiting has done no good for us." North mumbled, laying back.
None of them suspected what had truly occurred.
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
Miraculously, Jack made it to Antarctica before his powers unleashed. Within seconds of his arrival, he felt his power escape him, ripping out of his chest and into the air above. He screamed as he lifted into the air, his body feeling like it was tearing apart every second. Not just from the power, not just the pain that came with a large storm…for Jamie.
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
It was when Bunny reached Burgess that he realized something was wrong.
His hole opened up right next to the Bennett's house, and Sophie, the youngest Bennett, raced out to meet him, tears in her eyes. She buried her head in his chest, and Bunny gasped, holding onto her after a moment. "Are you alright, 'lil anklebiter? What happened?" he whispered, running his fingers through her hair.
"Jamie…Jamie doesn't believe anymore…" she sniffled. "I talked to him about Jack a-and he told me Jack Frost wasn't real. Or…or any of you!"
Bunny's eyes widened. "Did Jack come at all today?" he asked, releasing her from the hug and instead kneeling on the ground to meet her eyes.
Sophie nodded. "J-Jamie didn't see him. He walked right through him. Jack took off after that. I tried to catch up to him, but I d-don't think he saw me." She hiccupped several times, her eyes still brimming with tears. "Is Jack gonna be okay?"
Bunny nodded, embracing the little girl quickly one last time before he left. "He will be."
JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ
The first place Bunny looked was the lake. Nothing was there.
The second place was the North Pole, in hopes that Jack had returned. He explained the situation to the other Guardians, who at first reacted with shock, and then assigned different places to go for each Guardian. Bunny was given Antarctica.
Almost a day passed before Bunny found him.
"Blimey, it's cold…" Bunny shivered and moved on, as the closer he got to Jack, the colder and harder the snow became. He was constantly being pelted with the white fluff, as well as the occasional hail.
Suddenly, Bunny saw a light. "Jack?" he whispered, stepping closer. The snow was thick and heavy, making it hard to see, but after further inspection, he understood- the light was Jack. His power…it was glowing.
"Jack!" Bunny screamed, running and pouncing to him. Soon, he was inches away from the boy, ice pelting his fur and sinking into his sink. He let out a sharp and quick howl as he continued to reach out to Jack.
"Come on, frostbite, I know you can hear me! Answer me!" he cried, trying to paw the child, but the snow just kept him from reaching his shoulder.
The snow began to fall heavier, and Bunny was beginning to be buried in the white stuff. His face was panicky. "Jack, come on! Stop this! You're…you're not alone anymore. I know Jamie was your first believer, but you've still got Sophie. You've still got us, your family. You…you still have me."
The snowfall pulsed as Jack replied. "You don't understand. You have plenty of believers. Jamie…Jamie is one of only a few."
"It was going to happen anyway. Kids can't believe forever. But their belief gets passed on! You see how Sophie is; she still believes. Her friends believe in you. The belief passes from generation to generation- it doesn't matter how many of them fall, Jack. They're still in your heart. I promise. And you'll always have us. We're your family, and we're not going to let you be alone again."
The snowfall continuously got lighter as Bunny continued speaking, and it stopped as he ended. Jack lowered to the ground, eyes closing as he gripped his stick. "Did you mean it? What you said…you're not going to leave me alone anymore?"
Bunny suddenly wrapped the boy in a hug and whispered, "You never have to be alone again."
That was a promise that he kept. Right up until the day Jack was no longer needed, right up until the day he had eternal peace, a true death…he was never alone.