Jack raced over the trees, helped along by the wind. He could tell it was confused, but it didn't question his urgency. Jack smiled to himself. This was how true friendship should be. The wind respected his decisions as a fellow elemental, even if it didn't always agree. It supported him when something important cropped up, without prying for details. The only thing lacking in their relationship was their one-sided means of communication. They were never able to truly connect because of this.
Jack sadly looked up at the air as it rushed by him, then smirked when he noticed the disapproving moon beams. Why was it already giving off that vibe? It wasn't as if he'd taken action yet. In fact, Jack had no idea what he would actually do once he arrived at his destination. His emotions were in turmoil, and he felt that many of the things he'd once taken for granted were being put into question.
Perhaps his days of loneliness were at an end. Perhaps there was another being he could actually talk to on equal terms. Perhaps he could make humans acknowledge him.
Perhaps…
Perhaps…
Jack shook himself and landed on the sill of Jamie's window, silently thanking the wind as it left him alone. He peered inside the small bedroom, wondering what the final devotee could possibly be doing at this hour. Upon making visual contact, he observed the scene unfolding within.
Jamie sat on his bed, staring intently at a heterochromatic, stuffed bunny. It had obviously seen a good bit of wear and tear over the years, and it seemed that Jamie was now using it as a medium to speak to one of the guardians. Jack laughed at the absurdity of this gesture, but smiled when he realized to what extent Jamie was willing to believe in the impossible.
"Okay, look. You and I are obviously at what they call a crossroads."
Jack shifted on the ledge to better hear Jamie's words.
"So, here's what's going to happen: if it wasn't a dream, and if you are real, then you have to prove it, like, right now."
The plush rabbit didn't respond, to Jamie's disappointment. As his eyes grew disheartened, Jack felt another pang in his heart.
"I've believed in you for a long time, okay? Like, my whole life in fact. So you kind of owe me now."
Jamie picked up the ragged animal to meet its eyes, as if that would prove more effective.
"You don't have to do much, just a little sign so I know."
Jack felt his heart drop, knowing he could save this boy's belief right now. The certainty he had felt at Antarctica seemed as if it were melting away with this one child's whispered desperation.
"Anything. Anything at all."
Jamie waited, staring at the toy with the same hope Bunny once guarded as his center. As the moments passed and the sprite didn't move, the hope seemed to slowly fade away. Jamie grew downcast, and Jack felt guiltier than he had after intending to send a snow day just to cause a major series of accidents on a nearby highway. While it seemed to be a more common occurrence the older he became, that never helped lessen his shame.
Jamie breathed out a sad sigh, his shoulders slumping. The hands clutching the stuffed bunny slowly lowered until he finally released the pathetic creature.
"I knew it."
The rabbit landed on the floor with a soft thump, ringing in Jack's ears with a sense of finality. Looking at it now, he could almost imagine it was Bunny himself, limp and lifeless. He bit his lip and slowly eased the window open. Before Jack could take any action, he felt a feeling of unease overtake him, a new presence invading the boy's room. Jack whirled around to find the face of his recently acquired partner awaiting him.
"Now's your chance, Jack."
The whispered words seemed tangible, as if they were coiling around Jack's very being.
"I was under the impression you wished Jamie to be the first to believe. Was I wrong?"
He wasn't. Jack had often thought about what this boy would do if he saw him. He had tried on multiple occasions to make him understand. This boy of all boys seemed the most likely to accept the improbable, to defy the reality placed in front of him in favor of a more interesting fragment of imagination. Of course Jack wanted him to believe, for if Jamie couldn't, who could? If Jamie couldn't, how could there possibly be another child in the world who would place their faith in the spirit of winter?
"You really don't have to do much, Jack. Just show him you exist. Show him the natural order. Make him realize there are no fairies, or talking rabbits, or fat men who crawl down chimneys. Show him that there is only spring, summer, fall, and winter. Show him the reality of this world. Make him understand what he must face as a human."
Jack was taken aback.
What he must face?
After a moment, he understood. Things like fairies, talking animals, and unrealistic characters were all unnecessary deviations from the course a child must take to grow into a respectable member of society. The world had no need for such fantasies, and they only proved to be a distraction from each adult's contribution to humanity.
They are unnecessary.
Jack tightened his grip on his staff as he backed away from Pitch, his thoughts whirling.
I want what the guardians have.
His mind echoed Pitch's words as if they were scripture.
It's their turn not to be believed in.
Jack's mind raced around in circles, each thought chasing the tail of the next.
The guardians are harmful to children. They give them false hopes and dreams, only to send them crashing down. You've seen it, Jack: that point in every child's life where they dearly wish for something, but it never comes to pass. They want to be accepted at an unachievable college, their grandfather to come back to life, their divorced parents to get back together. They are constantly encouraged to dream big, but it never gets them anywhere. At some point, they must accept the reality in front of them. Spring, summer, fall, winter. Repeat, repeat, repeat. No dragons, no unicorns, no talking animals. Only reality.
And you are winter.
Jack found himself squeezing his eyes shut, opening them again, gripping his staff tightly, backing up one more step. At some point, he had backed himself against the wall, even though Pitch had made no move to pursue him. He spoke no more words, only observed as Jack thought things through. Then, having seen something in Jack's eyes that satisfied him, he faded into the shadows of the room. His presence remained lurking, but pinpointing his exact position was like trying to grab air. With Pitch out of sight, Jack tried to calm himself down and focus on the sad boy sitting on the bed.
Could he really make Jamie believe? The thought sent a thrill through Jack. He cautiously stepped forward, as if making the slightest sound would scare the kid away. Slowly, carefully, Jack touched his staff to the window, frosting it over. This seemed to catch Jamie's attention, and he looked at the strange occurrence with a puzzled look on his face. He watched as the picture of a rabbit appeared on the glass, and then was struck through with an X.
Jamie gasped and glanced at his plush bunny, then realized exactly what was drawn on the window. His face fell, but he still held a sense of confusion at the incident. If not the Easter Bunny, who else could have sent such a sign?
Jack's lip curled upwards, half smug that he was able to diminish Jamie's belief in the rabbit who stuffed him in that sack, and half guilty for disappointing Jamie.
He touched the window above the X'ed out rabbit and drew a snowflake in the resulting fern frost. He then raised his hand and coaxed the shape out of the window, causing it to dance around the room. Jamie laughed despite himself, and watched as it exploded into snow above him.
"Woah! …Snow?"
Jack laughed along with Jamie, feeling satisfied at making it snow indoors. He felt his sense of mischief returning to him. As Jamie watched the snow come down, one flake floated onto the brim of his nose, causing the boy's eyes to widen.
"Jack Frost."
Jack's smile froze in place.
"Did you just say..?"
"Jack Frost?"
Jamie turned around, looking from place to place, as if trying to identify the source of a noise. Jack breathed out, not daring to hope this meant what he wished.
"He said it again… You said…"
"Jack Frost."
"That's right!"
Jamie could have been staring him in the face now, with the angle his face was pointing. Jack took several steps back again, astonished. He felt his voice become choked with a new emotion.
"But, that's me. Jack Frost. That's my name! You said my name..!"
A moment later, he realized Jamie's mouth was gaping open, and his eyes were practically locked on Jack.
"Wait, c-can you hear me?"
Jamie nodded.
"C-can you… Can you see me?"
He nodded again, a smile forming. Jack felt his throat tighten; he couldn't breathe.
"He… He sees me. He sees me."
Jack let out a laugh and backflipped onto the table behind him, disturbing the pages of drawings resting there. He didn't even care. Jamie didn't seem to mind either, his excitement building at the same rate as the sprite's.
"You just made it snow."
"I know."
"In my room!"
"I know!"
"You're real?"
Jack grinned like an idiot, his gestures becoming increasingly animate. Jamie seemed no less excited.
"Yeah, man, who do you think brings you all the blizzards? And the snow days? And remember when you went flying on that sled the other day?"
"That was you?"
"That was me!"
"Cool!"
"Right?"
"But, what about the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy? I mean, what were you trying to say with that drawing?"
Jack's grin froze in place, his body frosting over as that powerful feeling from a moment ago abruptly left him. He lowered his arms and tried to collect his thoughts.
"They…"
Jack hesitated.
"They don't exist. It's just me, along with the wind, darkness, and a handful of other elementals."
Only the natural order.
Jamie's smile faded as well, though he tried not to show his disappointment.
"So all this time I've…"
Jamie shook his head and spoke a little louder.
"At least people like you really do exist. That's something I've always known..!"
"Yeah…"
Just as Jack thought his guilt would overtake him, he heard an authoritative voice float down the hallway.
"Jamie, who are you talking to?"
Jack smiled at the motherly tone and gestured for Jamie to tell the truth. Jamie answered hesitantly at first.
"Um… Jack Frost?"
His mother laughed and answered with a dismissive "Okay." Jamie looked at him and grinned, brightening Jack's spirits a bit. Suddenly, the bedroom window blew open with a bang. Upon glancing out at the street, Jack realized what it meant and quickly herded Jamie under his sheets.
"You go back to sleep, okay Jamie? I'll see you again, so don't forget I was here."
"Of course not! I'd never forget this, not in a bazillion years!"
Jack grimaced and nodded. As he jumped out Jamie's window, he could feel the slippery shadow slithering out behind him. A moment later, he heard that invasive voice prying itself into his ears.
"You did well, Jack."
Ignoring the presence behind him, Jack made his way to the crash site in front of the house. The sleigh in the middle of the road was a complete wreck, and he could hear North shouting Russian curses as he righted himself in his seat. Tooth tried to help him as best she could with her fragile arms.
"North, are you okay?"
"Is official. My powers are kaput."
Indeed, North appeared much weaker than he had the last time Jack saw him. His red-flushed skin had grown pale, and his countenance seemed… older. The same sort of effect seemed to have reached the Toothfairy. Her plumage was thinner than before, as if she was losing too many feathers. As Jack inched closer, he glanced at the globe in the back of the sleigh to confirm the weight of his act. Tooth noticed his approach and smiled.
"Look, Jack!"
She fluttered out of the sleigh, falling halfway through her struggle against her useless wings. Nonetheless, she looked up at him, truly happy to see him. Her reaction bewildered Jack. He was expecting a more accusing look or a reprimand. However, no matter how he searched her face, he found neither. As if sensing something was off, Tooth's smile faded and a worried looked pressed at her brow.
"Jack?"
North climbed out of the sleigh after her and voiced his wonder at Jack's presence.
"What are you doing here?"
After a moment of examining the elemental's face, North also seemed to pick up on the strange air about him. A puzzled expression replaced his previous demeanor.
"The same as you, in a way."
"What do you mean?"
Jack ignored his question and glanced around, looking for his old enemy.
"Wait, but, where's Bunny?"
North gave him a somber look and sighed.
"Losing Easter took its toll on all of us, Bunny most of all."
Jack watched as a fluffy, gray rabbit appeared on the edge of the sleigh. It had wide eyes and looked similar in size to the stuffed animal Jamie had conversed with. Above all, it was adorable. Jack grinned impishly.
"Oh, wow. What happened to you? I suppose I can't call you a kangaroo anymore, can I?"
The furball seemed to take offense to the statement that, under different circumstances, could have been considered a form of acceptance. He hopped off the side of the wooden sled and sprang at Jack with irritation.
"That's it, me and you, come on."
Jack laughed at the sight, amused Bunny thought he could scratch Jack in his condition. He picked up the struggling rabbit and admired him up close.
"Looks like someone's pocket size, now. You trying a new marketing approach?"
"Hey, hey, put me down. You trying to mess with me? Don't think I'll let this slide!"
"As if you could do anything, pipsqueak."
It felt good to pay back the rabbit for his centuries of indifference. North interrupted the two, trying to bring them back to the matter at hand.
"Pust' idet, Jack. We have to find the last light before Pitch figures out who it is belonging to."
Jack looked up from his fun, as if he were a child in the middle of playing with a new toy.
"Hm? Oh, that."
He let go of Bunny and watched as he scampered behind North's leg, glaring. The sight was too amusing not to grin.
"Well, you don't really have to worry about that anymore."
"You found the child?"
"Yeah, that too. But you might want to check your globe."
There were the looks of suspicion Jack had expected. Their true thoughts shined through well enough when their positions were threatened. He logged this observation in the back of his mind and savored the looks on their faces as they glanced back at the orb nestled in the sleigh. North's entire visage fell, Tooth's eyes widened as she despaired, and Bunny looked like he was already expecting this sort of outcome. He even echoed the words that had damaged Jack so badly the last time they spoke.
"I knew you couldn't be trusted. Get stuffed, ya cunt."
Jack's anger flared. He felt the temperature around him lower several degrees.
"There you go again, making me the scapegoat without even asking for my side of the story."
"Wait, Jack, we didn't think-"
Sensing danger, Tooth tried to interject, but neither Bunny nor Jack seemed affected. The air between them crackled as they glared each other down.
"You never cared what I did before. Why should you care now?"
"Reckon I cared when ya ruined my hunt in '68. I should be the one askin' why you always antagonize me."
"I was having some fun. I know it's a concept you're not familiar with, but when you're stuck in some Warren all year, you really lose touch with reality. That goes for all of you. You don't know how to interact with kids, you don't know what's best for them, and you don't even realize the harm you're bringing them! Why you ever thought I'd wish for that sort of life is beyond me."
"You're no guardian. Ya wouldn't understand how important our role is for the little blighters."
"Believe me; I'm thankful I wasn't sucked into your make-believe world. Your 'role', as you call it, is completely worthless."
"Now, Jack, we admit we were in the wrong to jump to the conclusions, but-"
North tried to level the situation, but he didn't fare any better than Tooth before him. He seemed genuinely hurt when Jack hissed back at him.
"Save your apologies for someone who cares!"
Just then, Jack felt the darkness press against him. He looked around, trying to find the source. Before he could, Pitch materialized behind him.
"You see how they are, Jack?"
He vanished and reappeared off to the side of the group.
"You see how their only purpose is to continue existing?"
He disappeared, but Jack felt the shadow's words imprinting themselves on his mind again. Why did they always affect him to this extent?
Pitch appeared above them, still smoothly reciting lines as if from a well-rehearsed script.
"Their power comes from the children they entice into believing, so they desperately keep working to maintain that belief. When it's all gone, they simply fall apart. It won't be long until they begin begging you for forgiveness."
His droll inflection turned to a more mocking tone.
"We're sorry, Jack! We never meant to hurt you, Jack! Please, you're our only hope, Jack!"
He gave them a derisive laugh and sneered.
"It's pathetic."
The guardians all took stances as if to fight, but none of them looked much of a threat. Jack almost pitied them, even after all that had happened. It seemed their glory days had finally come to an end.
"Come on, Jack. We don't need them anymore. Their turn is done, and our time begins now."
Pitch extended a hand for the second time. Tooth looked at Jack questioningly.
"Jack? What's going on?"
Her concerned look only affected him for a moment.
Jack, what have you done?
That had to be her underlying question. The same question from before, when they found him carrying the baby teeth. There was no more doubt in Jack's mind as he floated upward, his tone dismissive.
"Exactly what it looks like. There's no need for you anymore. I'm done with all of you."
He caught Pitch's hand for the second time; this time the gesture felt final.
"By the way, your suspicions this time were correct, Bunny. I did extinguish your last hope, and I gained a believer in the process. To be honest, I don't care what any of you do from now on; go back to your dusty hideouts, go hibernate in a hole, go recruit new believers, I don't really care, just never speak to me again."
North looked up at him seriously.
"So has your center been found?"
Jack faltered a moment, but caught himself, the darkness beside him strengthening his resolve.
"I don't think I need to anymore."
The old man's eyes narrowed, and a look of sorrow passed across his face.
"I see."
There was nothing more they could do, and they knew it. They didn't have the power to fight back, and what little they could do wasn't bound to create many new believers any time soon. Their reign was truly at an end, and Jack was okay with that now. Even as the shadows wrapped themselves around him, he savored the anguished expressions of every one of the former guardians.
And everything went Pitch Black.