Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians or Once Upon a Time
Thank you to metz for the review! This is one of my longest chapters so far, though I don't think I'll be able to keep all of them this long. I hope you enjoy!
(Today, in Storybrooke)
It had taken a lot of time and focus, but Henry had finally finished his work. The story of Jack Frost was finished, but even he found it hard to put a positive spin on it. The winter spirit had a hard life before coming here and Henry knew it would be a challenge to find happiness for him again. As he stared down at the final page of the story, he heard the door open and announce the return of his mother and Jack. As Henry turned around, he was surprised to see that only Emma had returned, not Jack.
"Hey, have you had any luck figuring out that guy's story?" Emma asked, glancing at her son. She was worried about what would happen to this town, especially with all of these new magical beings here. It was too much to take in, for her at least. Jack had flown off, saying he was going to try and help Sandy get some belief in the world. Even with his help, Emma doubted much would change. This world was intent on staying the same, without belief in magic or people like them. "Yeah, but it is not looking too good." Henry commented, thinking about the enemy they were up against. Fighting against magic was hard enough, but this was going to be more like fighting against yourself. Fear made him strong, but it was so hard to control your own fear.
"Jack isn't a hero?" Emma asked, growing worried over the winter spirit. If he was their enemy, they would have a lot of work ahead of themselves. He had just gained a new ally, the Sandman, in town. "Well, he sorta is. More like he tried to be one and then gave up." Henry told Emma, thinking about his part in the story. It explained so much about Jack's attitude, why he was desperate to keep all of them out of this mess. He just wanted to protect the people here, even if it meant letting evil win. Jack didn't understand that in this town, good always triumphed over evil and that you just needed to have hope for the future to win.
"Gave up? How can you just give up on helping people?" Emma asked, frustrated with the kid. He seemed far too playful, unable to take anything seriously. If he let people get hurt as a result, that was just as bad as being a villain himself. "That's where the bad part comes in. Pitch…killed his only believer. At least, that's what it looks like to me." Henry said, hesitantly. Jack hadn't wanted them to know this, but Henry didn't have a choice. They needed to know his story, if they wanted to try and find his happy ending. Even without Jaimie, Jack still had a chance to recover and find happiness, they just had to know where to look.
Emma felt sympathetic, knowing how hard it was to lose someone you cared about. "Then it looks like we need to focus on stopping this Pitch." Emma said, patting Henry's back and sitting at the table with him. It was late, but together they would come up with something. They had his story and they knew who they were dealing with. All it would take is a bit of focus and magic to take care of Pitch Black and save their town. "It's not going to be easy. This guy is strong, stronger than anything we've faced before." Henry stated, thinking about the army this man could create with ease. Even if they fought, sheer numbers would overtake them if Pitch was as strong as he looked.
"Then what did Jack do to fight back against him?" Emma asked, pulling Henry's book over to her. She saw the page that was open currently, an image of a tall man with yellow eyes and grey skin staring back at her. She could see the boy in his grip, looking a lot like Henry with his brown hair and eyes. This one looked a bit younger than Henry, with freckles on his cheeks and fear in his eyes. This must be the believer that Henry had mentioned, though Emma did not know why it was so important to Jack. "Well, as I said he kind of gave up. This is his last fight with Pitch, or at least that I've managed to figure out for now. He had help, from these other beings known as Guardians." Henry explained.
Emma nodded, thinking back to Sandy from before. The man had clearly had magic, just like Jack, and both of them had mentioned others like them. While she didn't quite understand the guy's way of explaining who they were, she did know they were out there. "One of them is already here, in Storybrooke." Emma commented, watching Henry glance at her in surprise. "Really? Which one?" he asked, looking curious. "Jack called him Sandy, I think. Gold has him though, so I don't think he's going to be able to help us." she replied, wishing that the Dark One could for once help someone other than himself.
Henry smiled though, glancing down at the book in front of him. "That's how we win, then. We have to get them all together, then we can take Pitch down." Henry told Emma with a smile, watching her close the book and nod. It was better than nothing at least, but for now they had to keep an eye on Pitch. Maybe it was time for someone track him down, while the others focused on getting to this other world where the Guardians were trapped. After Pitch was gone, then she could do her job as the savior and help Jack find his happy ending. It was the least she could do, to make up for treating him like a villain.
Meanwhile, Jack Frost was growing annoyed with this town. They all believed, but none of them understood the danger that was coming. He had been accused of being a villain, by the supposed savior of this town. The Dark One had brought his wife home, taking Sandy with him and preventing him from gaining belief in the easiest way possible. For Sandy, simply spreading good dreams would be enough to gain belief. With Rumple forcing him to stay here, he couldn't spread his golden sand towards children and they had to figure something else out to gain belief. The lack of trust was annoying and Jack was getting sick of it. Maybe he shouldn't protect this town, not with how people here were acting.
He immediately shook his head, knowing that wasn't right. Jaimie had asked him to fight back, begged him to protect children and bring back his friends. Thinking back to the boy who had always been so happy, so willing to believe, Jack stopped his flight and landed in the forest. He missed Jaimie so much and Jack knew he couldn't let the kid down, not now. The boy had wanted Jack to stop Pitch and now, Jack was going to do just that. Glancing around the forest, Jack decided to use this time to find Pitch, instead of spread belief for Sandy. After all, Jack couldn't even get people to believe in himself, let alone the other Guardians.
He walked through the forest, thinking that this was the perfect place for Pitch to hide. He always stayed in the shadows, in dark places that would bring fear to others. This forest would do just that, with noises from animals and trees that looked ominous in the darkness of the night. Jack held his staff tightly, prepared to fight at any moment. As if summoned by his search, Pitch appeared by his side, with a grin on his face as he stared at Jack with his burning yellow eyes.
"Welcome, Jack Frost, to my new domain. I think I rather like it here, it is much roomier than my last lair." he announced grandly, spreading his arms wide in the air to gesture to the forest around him. Pitch needed to stop Jack here, to stop him from finding the cabin where Jaimie was. If Jack found that boy, his plan would be ruined by the renewal of Jack's will to fight. Even if he was acting up now, Jack was still not at his full strength without hope and belief in himself. "I thought I might find you here, Pitch." Jack commented, standing tense with his staff pointed at the Nightmare King.
Pitch laughed, seeing Jack's attempt at scaring him off. "You think I'm afraid of that? Of the twig you call a staff?" he taunted, disappearing into the shadows before reappearing on the other side of Jack. "We both know that there is nothing you can do to stop me, Frost, so stop trying." he added, losing some of his amusement. He was not going to play games with the winter spirit, not when he had work to do. "You don't know anything about me. I'm going to keep fighting you, until the very end Pitch." Jack announced, glaring into the darkness as Pitch vanished again. This guy was getting annoying, with his disappearing trick and ability to become one with the darkness.
"Really? You do remember last time, Jack? Little Jaimie, such a nice boy really, getting involved in matters that should have been left alone. If only he hadn't believed, then maybe he would still be here." Pitch taunted, knowing that the boy was Jack's weakness right now. Jack grew angry at the mention of his old believer, blasting ice randomly into the darkness to try and hit Pitch. "Shut up!" he yelled, wanting Pitch to stop talking about Jaimie.
"Oh? Did I touch a nerve? Well, let me tell you something, Jack Frost. I will not stop with Jaimie, not for you. No one will ever believe in you, not while I'm around. They will all be destroyed, just like him." Pitch threatened, appearing directly in front of the winter spirit this time. Jack saw him, taking the opportunity to try his ice blast one more time. With a laugh, Pitch disappeared into the shadows and let it pass through him and into a tree in the distance. "I will not let that happen! You will fall, Pitch, I will make sure of it." Jack called out, waiting for him to appear once more. "Without the Guardians you are nothing more than a nuisance to me, Frost. You will fall back into despair and nothing will change." Pitch said with a glare, growing angry at his refusal to give in. Something was making his will stronger, which Pitch knew he had to stop.
Pitch was about to play on his fear some more when he sensed his nightmares charging towards him. Something was going on at the cabin, with Jaimie. Perhaps the boy had foolishly tried to escape, but Pitch didn't have time to deal with it, not now. He was so close to breaking Frost once more, he couldn't stop now. Jack noticed the change as well, seeing the nightmares appear in front of him charging after something in the woods. "No…you're just distracting me. That's why you're here, why you showed yourself." Jack whispered, realizing his mistake. It was just like that Easter so long ago, when he spent his time with Pitch instead of helping protect Bunny's holiday.
"This isn't over, Frost. I will be back and you will either join me or be destroyed." Pitch promised, backing away and rushing towards the cabin. Jack had seen through him and was nearly finding the boy. Pitch had to make sure he was still in place, not fleeing from his prison. He had been too focused on Jack, unable to defend that cabin for just a moment. He was surprised that Jaimie had figured it out and managed to run. When he saw the house was empty, Pitch knew that he had lost. The boy was gone and it would only be a matter of minutes before Frost found him. Running deeper into the forest, Pitch decided that it would be best to lie low for a while. After all, the winter spirit would be quite upset with him for a while after he discovered Pitch's little trick.
(Many years ago, in Burgess)
Jaimie had been sitting in his room, waiting to see Jack Frost and hear about the battle with Pitch. He knew that Jack could do it, that he could win. After all, no one was stronger than the winter spirit. The guy was always smiling, never afraid of anything and always willing to have some fun with Jaimie. As he stared out his window, Jaimie was wondering if Jack would show tonight. He might be too busy helping the Guardians, after all. His doubts were erased, however, when he saw the boy tap on his window with his staff. Grinning, Jaimie walked over and let Jack inside, eager to hear about how things went. It was always amazing to see that the winter spirit could fly, especially when he could see how far down the ground was. His apartment was on the fourth floor of this building, making it quite a ways up for Jack to fly.
"How did it go? You guys got rid of Pitch, right?" Jaimie asked, grinning at Jack. He saw the serious look on his face, though, the look that made Jaimie worried. "I'm sorry, Jaimie, I didn't beat him this time. I'm not giving up, though, I still have a promise to keep." Jack said, giving Jaimie his best attempt at a smile. He was worried, especially after what Pitch had promised to do. Jaimie could see right through his fake smile, knowing that something was bothering his friend. "What happened?" he asked softly, seeing the worry in Jack's eyes.
"Nothing much, just a bunch of threats before he vanished in the shadows. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?" Jack said, shaking his head. He was doing his best to keep his tone light and upbeat for the kid, not wanting Jaimie to be scared. Unfortunately, that was when things went wrong for both of them. Jack had been focused on Jaimie, not outside where Pitch was hiding with his nightmares, watching the boys talk.
Jaimie sighed, knowing that Jack would not tell him much more. "Well, did you want to go outside? There's plenty of snow on the ground for a snowball fight!" Jaimie suggested, grinning at his friend. Jack smiled right back, feeling excited about the idea. It was the perfect way to cheer up after his failure to destroy Pitch earlier. He held his hand out to Jaimie, ready to jump out the window and fly to the ground with his believer when he saw the dark shadow outside. His smile vanished and he changed his stance, holding his staff with both hands and keeping it pointed at the window. "Jaimie, stay back. We're going to have to play a little later." Jack told him, feeling tense as he waited for Pitch to show himself.
Jaimie nodded, backing away behind Jack. He could see the shadows, taking the form of horses outside of the windows. These were the nightmares that Jack had told them about, taking form thanks to Pitch's magic. Jaimie watched them scratch at the window, clawing at the glass and trying to get inside. It didn't take them long to succeed, eventually gaining enough force to smash through the glass. As soon as they did so, Jack blasted them back with his magic, sending ice towards the sand creatures.
Jaimie watched helplessly, knowing that he couldn't do anything in this fight. He wanted to help Jack, to keep his friend safe, but he was useless. Jaimie didn't have magic and he didn't know how to fight. All he could do was stand and watch as Jack swung his staff towards the creatures, repeatedly trying to repel their attack. Even as he destroyed many of them, there always seemed to be another ready to take its place. "Jack, I'm scared." Jaimie whispered, feeling like this battle was becoming hopeless. Hearing those words, Jack immediately knew he had to change tactics. If Jaimie got to scared, Pitch would only grow stronger and this battle would be lost.
"Jaimie, it's going to be alright. Take a deep breath and focus on me." Jack began kneeling down by the kid once he had a brief break in the attack. He pulled away briefly to shoot more ice at another nightmare before continuing his speech. "We're going to play a little game, Jaimie. Sounds like fun, right?" Jack suggested, putting a smile on his face as he blasted yet another nightmare in Jaimie's room. Jaimie nodded, giving Jack a small smile as he began to remember that there was still hope to win this battle. Jack was his Guardian, the one that would always protect him when he needed help.
Jack was busy trying to think of some game to make this fight, something to distract Jaimie while he dealt with Pitch. "Uh, how about tag?" Jack suggested, thinking that at least it would get the kid away from this place. Racing over to Jaimie for just a moment, Jack reached out to tag him and start the game. Instead of tapping Jaimie, a person emerged in between the two boys, a tall man dressed completely in black with grey colored skin and yellow eyes. He gave Jack a wicked grin, staring straight into his eyes. "Well, it looks like I'm it then. Shall we begin?" Pitch asked, feeding on the child's fear. It was brilliant, so strong and vibrant. Even as he believed in the other Guardians, this boy could not help but believe in Pitch as well.
"Get away from us!" Jack yelled, sending ice towards Pitch only to watch him vanish into the shadows. As he did so, the blast continued on its path, straight towards Jaimie. Seeing the threat, Jack rushed forward and tackled Jaimie to the ground, just as the ice flew past them and slammed into the wall. "Better be careful, Jack. You don't want to hit Jaimie, do you?" Pitch asked, laughing in the shadows. "Stop playing games! Show yourself!" Jack yelled, standing tense and waiting for Pitch. The nightmares had stopped coming, but their master was now here, a threat to both of them while they were alone.
"Why would I do that? Oh, that's right, I'm supposed to try and tag one of you now. Let's see, who should I pick?" Pitch said from the shadows, his voice echoing throughout the room. "Jaimie, stay close to me." Jack whispered, standing next to his believer. Jaimie nodded, hugging Jack's waist as he waited for Pitch to come. "Now isn't that just precious? The winter spirit and his only believer, huddling together for protection. Too bad that in my world, such things cannot remain." Pitch said, finally emerging and grabbing Jaimie. He screamed, clinging to Jack while the winter spirit reached out to grab him and pull him to safety. Unfortunately, Pitch chose now to call back his nightmares for help. As they arrived, they attacked Jack, biting his arms and legs while he tried so hard to protect Jaimie. Eventually, his strength faded with the pain that came from his injuries and his grip loosened on the boy, sending him straight into the arms of Pitch Black.
Pitch laughed gleefully, stroking Jaimie's chin as he gazed into Frost's eyes. "Well, he sure is a special boy now isn't he? I can see why you care for him so much, Frost, but unfortunately I cannot allow a single shred of belief to remain in my world." Pitch declared, dragging Jaimie towards the window. Jaimie struggled, trying to free himself from Pitch's grip. "Let me go! I get it, your strong, but that doesn't give you the right to control others!" Jaimie yelled, realizing that his struggles were getting him no where. "Oh? Well, we'll just see about that." Pitch said, grinning as he turned around and threw the boy out the window. Jack, who had been involved in fighting off nightmares once more, was able to see it as it happened. "No!" he yelled, watching his only believer plummet to his death.
Pitch had opened his black hole at the last moment, a portal that brought people to other worlds. He wasn't here spreading belief and Jack believed that Jaimie was dead. This mission had been successful, at least that was what he thought before he saw the look on the winter spirit's face. Jack was furious, now wanting nothing other than the destruction of Pitch for what he had done. As his anger grew, so did his power. The temperature in the room dropped as ice began to cover the walls of the room. Snow began to fall outside, building up to a full-on blizzard with winds shaking the trees outside. The entire time, Jack stood silently in the room in front of Pitch, glaring at the King of Nightmares and more prepared than ever for a fight.
This time, even his nightmares were not a match for Jack's strength. He froze them over without a second thought, watching them burst into explosions of sand and snow. Jack continued moving forward, focused on Pitch alone. "Now, now, Frost. This isn't how we play the game." Pitch said, trying to calm him down. Jack would not listen, pointing his staff straight towards Pitch and standing ready to destroy him for what he had done. "Is this what Jaimie would have wanted, Jack?" Pitch asked, trying to find another angle. This one only seemed to make things worse. Now, the blizzard had moved inside, wind throwing papers around the room and snow covering the floor and furniture.
"Jaimie told me to stop you, to protect the other children. That is exactly what I am going to do." Jack said, anger in his voice with no hint of his normal cheerfulness. Pitch knew he needed another approach to save himself, something a bit more secretive for this to work. Perhaps Jack's sole focus on himself could be used against him. Carefully, Pitch began to send one of his nightmares towards the spirit, from behind him in the hopes to catch him off-guard. It was hard for it to approach in this weather, but Pitch had no other options.
Jack sensed the nightmare at the last second, turning to fight it off just as it was about to bite down on the back of his arm. As he turned, the creatures mouth instead wrapped around his staff, snapping it in two as it bit down. Jack gasped, feeling pain surge through him as his connection to winter was lost. The staff fell to the ground, in two halves as Jack collapsed next to it. The storm stopped, everything landing in a mess around the room as the blizzard outside began to calm down. Meanwhile, Pitch watched with interest as he discovered this new weakness of the winter spirit. Now that the boy was broken, both in spirit and his magic, there was no one left who could stop him. "Better luck next time, Jack Frost. Now you know that no one can defeat me, not even you." he called out, getting on top of one of his nightmares to fly away on. He was going to escape while he could, but the look on Jack's face had been priceless. It was the look of a man who had no hope and no will to fight.
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