Author's Note: Hey there, guys! So, apparently I broke a lot hearts last chapter with North…have a feeling I'm gonna be breaking those hearts even more with the next few chapters...
I also realized I make empty promises of writing…sometimes inspiration just leaves me and I'm sorry for that. I hope this chapter is worth it. I think we're going to be entering the endgame pretty soon.
Thanks to davisboy, likhitata, and DPfruitloop for the favorites!
Thanks to krystalanimeheart, QueenNayura, and likhitata for following!
Thanks to Skye Bloodwillow, Night-Fury1, demonsLOver, RabbitPaols, likhitata, and Fatal Lilly for reviewing/commenting!
Enjoy the story! ^.^
"North?"
Bunny stood in the doorway of Tooth's room, studying the elderly Guardian hunched over her bedside. North's head rested in his hands and indiscernible mutters filled the air.
Bunny slowly made his way into the room and spoke softly, "Sandy, he…uh…told me what happened."
"I know, Bunny," North sighed as he lifted his head enough to look at the other Guardian, "Jack…he…something inside him is very dark."
Bunny gripped North's shoulder as he continued to speak, "He showed me a vision…of Katherine. He blames himself for Jaime's death."
Bunny nodded, "He wasn't in his right mind when that happened, North."
"And he's not in his right mind, now," North sighed, lowering his head once more.
Bunny sighed, "What do we do then?"
North looked down at Tooth, shaking his head as he reached out to brush her feathers, "I truly don't know."
Tooth stirred in her bed, a soft groan escaping her lips. Her expression was pained, and one could only begin to imagine what troubled her.
Bunny chewed his cheek as he watched North. He had always seen the Guardian so strong and confident. Seeing him like this, injured and worried, was unnerving. Sandy was their final hope. He was the only one who might be able to reach Jack.
"Why'd you have to be so stubborn, Jaime?"
Pippa sat on cold dirt of the cemetery. Her legs were folded underneath her as she hugged herself. A lingering winter had settled over Burgess, bring harsh winds. Even so, Pippa would visit Jaime's grave every night. Some nights she stayed for only a few passing moments, whispering sweet nothings. Other nights she would sit for hours, retelling the day's events. This was that kind of night.
She had been there for hours already, laughing as she told about her friends' antics and speaking angrily about the stress of school. The sun had set long ago, but Pippa never ran out of things to talk about. It was like chatting with an old friend, but after so long, Pippa wanted to hear another voice: A voice that would laugh and smile with her; a voice that would whisper in her ear; a voice that would shush her as it met her lips.
She sniffed as the wind whipped her short hair around her face, "If you weren't so damn stubborn," she paused, "you'd be here. You'd be alive."
She leaned forwards as tears formed in her eyes. She reached out and traced the letters of the tombstone, her fingers lingering on the smooth stone. She reached into her pocket and produced a small piece of paper.
"You made this remember?" Pippa whispered, her voice breaking slightly, "In freshman year, you drew a picture of us."
Pippa unfolded the drawing and studied it. She smiled at the two kids, playing happily in the snow. The boy was chasing the girl, his brown hair falling in his face and a smile on his lips. The girl was looking back at him, her white hat holding her hair in place, her cheeks rosy as a laugh escaped her mouth.
"I told you I loved it, and then you made me a picture every month." Slowly, Pippa placed the picture against the tombstone. She put a small rock in front of the paper to hold it in place.
"This one was always the most special, because it was the first," she swallowed hard, "you were my first, Jaime, and you are…were…special."
The wind blew harder now, but Pippa didn't care. She rubbed away the stream of tears as she gathered herself off of the ground. She hugged herself against the wind, oblivious to the fact that she was not alone.
The winter spirit drifted to her side before settling next to her. He matched her stride and flicked his staff, causing the wind to blow harder.
He chuckled as he watched her shiver, "You're guilty too, huh?"
He jogged ahead so that he stood in front of her, his staff waving in her eyes, "It's too bad ya can't see me. I'm sure we could have a rather interesting discussion."
Pippa grumbled and began walking faster. She felt it getting colder and she wanted to get home. Jack wasn't about to let that happen so quickly.
Jack kept up with her, "It's hard, isn't it? Living with the guilt of someone's death," he gripped his staff tighter, "you wish you could've taken his place."
Jack glared at Pippa, flying ahead as dragged his staff across the ground. He smiled at the ice that now lined the path.
Jack's grin grew wider as the girl gasped. Pippa slid forwards as her arms flew out in front of her. She shrieked as her body left the ground, but that shriek was silenced when her head hit the ground.
Jack winced as Pippa hit the ground and drifted over to her. "Poor little Pippa," Jack muttered, "let's hope someone finds you before you freeze over."
With a wave of his staff, Jack was soaring through the sky once more. He didn't look back at the young girl lying motionless on the ground. He had more important things to do. He wouldn't even have to travel very far for his next visit. Tonight, the Sandman had settled himself right over Burgess.
The Sandman was nervous. He was afraid for North; he knew how important Katherine was to him, and he knew how deeply Jack's visions had wounded him. He wondered if Tooth would ever recover from her coma. Nightmares seemed to plague her, but the dream sand didn't seem to help her.
Sandy shook his head as he commanded the sand. Now was not the time to worry like this. Sandy was still a Guardian, and while he had a duty to his friends, he also had a duty to the children of the world.
The golden sand extended in graceful arcs around Sandy's dream cloud, reaching around every corner of Burgess and granting the children good dreams. He was so immersed in his work; he loved to conjure new dreams for children every night. If he had been more attentive, he might have been able to stop Jack.
The winter spirit had observed the Sandman from afar. When he was confident he wouldn't be noticed, Jack drifted up behind the cloud. As he landed on the cloud of sand, Jack struck his staff on the surface, effectively freezing the cloud.
Before the frost could engulf him, Sandy used his powers to stop its advances. While he was successful, his source of power was frozen. If Jack tried to attack him, Sandy would be trapped. He looked over to Jack, but the frost spirit only smiled.
"Having trouble?" Jack questioned as he walked forwards.
Sandy huffed in anger as he shook a fist at the spirit.
Jack held up his hands and smirked, "Don't get hostile, Sandy. I just want to relax and have a nice conversation."
The Sandman huffed once more as Jack sat next to him with his legs crossed. He made a few signs over his head, "I don't want to be civil."
Jack huffed, "Y'know, I always thought you were the kindest one, Sandy. Won't you at least hear me out?"
Sandy quirked his eyebrow, "What do you want, Jack?"
Jack sighed, "To be understood, Sandy."
"So you attacked us?"
"No, I made the others understand," Jack growled, "Tooth lost the memories she was supposed to protect. North remembered the love he had for that little girl."
Sandy shook his head but Jack continued, "You think I'm crazy; you think I'm irrational, evil…whatever," he glared up at the Guardian, "You don't understand. And I know exactly how I'm going to do that."
Jack rose to his feet, ignoring Sandy's vicious glare. Jack sighed and closed his eyes, channeling his power into his staff. The staff surged with a twisting black aura. Jack drifted forwards in front of the cloud as he raised his staff in the air. When Jack opened his eyes, Sandy couldn't help but stare into them. They were a dark, consuming black, but the white specks were still there. Those white specks were proof that the old Jack was still there.
"You look after children's dreams, Sandy," Jack growled, "What would you do if you couldn't protect them?"
Sandy sneered, "Jack, stop it right now."
Jack smiled, "I'm just getting started Sandy."
A crackling noise filled the air as Sandy's cloud collapsed beneath him. The Sandman was barely able to save himself when he noticed Jack flying away with a laugh. Sandy worked quickly and had soon formed another cloud and gave chase to the spirit.
Jack turned to see the Sandman behind him, his face twisted in anger. Jack let out a laugh, "That's the spirit, Sandy!"
The two were flying over Burgess, buildings rushing past them. Windows showed the sleeping children with smiles plastered on their innocent faces. Jack laughed and twirled through the air, dodging buildings and telephone wires. Sandy shook his head. Through all of this, Jack was still having fun. Yet, the line between having fun and acting malicious had blurred considerably. Jack surged forwards and ducked into an open window with Sandy following close behind.
Sandy's eyes widened when the entered the room. This was Sophie's room. Jack had brought him here, but why? Sandy looked around, studying the golden yellow walls. They were decorated with posters of musicians and TV shows, celebrities and artists. The walls were covered in Sophie's artwork: from paints and pastels to pencil and crayon. And on the far wall was Sophie, wrapped up in her sheets and her blonde hair framing her smiling face. Jack was perched on her bedpost with a smirk on his face.
"So sweet, isn't she?" Jack whispered as he looked down at Sophie, "Her world had been turned upside down, but she returns to that childhood innocence every time she goes to sleep."
Sandy shook his head, but Jack kept going, "What if she could stay like this forever? What if she could just know this innocence? She would never have to wake up and see such horrors."
Jack swallowed hard and chewed his lip. At least someone could be happy; at least someone wouldn't be guilty. He swirled the gray sand in his hand and held it over Sophie's head, taunting Sandy. He looked at the Guardian, "Wouldn't it be better that way, Sandy?"
The Sandman was furious. This wasn't Jack; Jack was too far-gone now. Jack had attacked the Guardians, he had killed people: innocent people. He had killed children; he had killed Jaime. And now, now he wanted to put Sophie in a coma, just like he had done with Tooth. The kind and caring Sandman was gone. He clenched his fists as his sand swirled around him. He thrust his arms forwards and the sand followed his command. He wasn't attacking Jack; he was attacking a monster.
Jack's eyes widened. There was no time for him to react as the sand hit him full force. He was knocked off the bedpost and onto the floor, but the assault didn't stop. He began to suffocate beneath the sand. He was choking but Sandy didn't stop; he couldn't stop. This was for everyone: North, Bunny, Tooth, Jaime, and the old Jack; the Jack Frost that cared about the children.
Sophie woke up with a start. She rubbed her eyes and let out a small shout. Why was Sandy attacking Jack? And why were they in her room? She looked to the Sandman for answers, but his eyes pleaded with hers. Something was wrong.
Slowly, Sandy lowered his arms. He looked Sophie in the eyes and signaled over his head, "I'm sorry."
Sophie shook her head, "What's going on, Sandy?"
A small groan drew their attention. Jack was curled up on the floor, his head in his hands. Sophie crawled out of her bed and knelt by Jack's side. Sandy drifted over, nervous that he had hurt the former Guardian too badly.
"Jack?" Sophie whispered, gently tugging at his sweatshirt.
Another groan filled the air as Jack opened his eyes.
Sandy fell back. They were blue. His eyes were blue. They were sparkling like fresh snow; they were the eyes that belonged to the old smiled and shook Jack's shoulder, "Jack, you're better!"
Jack blinked hard before grumbling, "How did I…" he looked between the two beings hovering over him, "Sophie…Sandy…"
Sandy shook his head, "Just rest."
"No, I…" Jack's eyes widened, "No…no I'm so sorry."
Jack bolted upright with a screech, tugging at his hair, "Get out! No voices!"
Sophie backed away and clung to Sandy, "What's wrong with him?"
Jack was on his knees now, still shouting, "I'm sorry! I know I did it! Just go away!" With a final scream, Jack collapsed on the ground.
Sophie bolted forwards again and flipped Jack over. She started to shake his body, and she watched as his eyes cracked open once more.
Black.
Jack scowled and shot up into the air, "No," he growled, "whatever happened…I'm better now.
Jack shoved past Sophie and glared at the Sandman as he picked up his staff, "You did something, but it didn't work. Got that? I'm better. You can't fix what isn't broken."
Jack shook his head and stomped towards the window. He glanced once more at Sophie, "I would've made you forget too, Soph. You could even ask Pippa."
With a smile, Jack flew away.
Sophie chewed her lip and shared a nervous look with the Sandman, "Pippa normally goes to Jaime's grave."
Sandy's eyes widened, "Do you think…"
Sophie shook her head and stood up, "We have to find her."
The Sandman nodded. He went to the window and reformed his golden cloud. He stood and held out his hand.
Sophie smiled and took a hold of his hand, "Very Doctor Who like."
Sandy shrugged and headed towards the cemetery. In the back of his mind, he knew there was still hope. Jack had come back, even if it was only for a moment. There was a way to bring Jack back, and the dream sand was the key.
Author's Note: Say what?! A way to save Jack?! Plot twist! So, guys and girls, what do you have to say? Do you think Jack can be saved? I'm on Easter Break right now guys, so hopefully I'll get a bit of writing done. If you guys want to chat, feel free to PM me. I'll tell you where I am with the next chapter.
Happy Easter ya little ankle-biters! (It's already April where I am, I'm a day late…
I love to read your reviews! Constructive criticism is always helpful too!
Yours till the cup cakes,
SerendipityDreamer
