Yes! Congratulations to those people who noticed that w and x were switched around...you know who you are.


They watched until he left them alone. When he was gone, Serene felt around the sides of the deep pit. "There's gotta be a way out," she said. "Maybe we can climb. Maybe I can find a way out of this spell they put on me and try to use magic or maybe my wings if I can get them back –– "

Jack drew his knees up to his chest and linked his hands around his legs. "It's no use," he whispered dejectedly. "We'll never get out of here. Might as well not try."

Serene spun around. "How could you say that?"

"I've ruined everything," he replied. "I messed everything up again. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Serene replied softly, placing a hand over his and kneeling next to him with her head resting on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine for getting captured in the first place."

Jack couldn't think of a reply, so instead he changed the subject. "You feel hot."

"You feel cold," she replied, but truthfully she didn't mind. He was freezing, but it was a comforting kind of freezing, like an air-conditioned house after a hot day outside.

He looked down ruefully. "I'm sorry. All I can do is keep you cold."

"I don't mind," Serene answered truthfully, fingering his jagged ice pendant idly. "It's not your fault that you were made this way."

"What way?" Jack asked. "Cold and powerful? Fun and mischievous? I just feel… torn. Torn between the two sides. It's as if Jason and I are linked. I can sense his emotions sometimes."

"I don't know which one you're supposed to be," she replied, "or which one Jason wants you to be known as. But to me, you'll always be Jack. The one that's all snowball fights and sledding and snow days. The real Jack. The one that should have been there and should be always."

Jack smiled gratefully and slipped his hands over hers. She closed her eyes and nestled up next to him, tucking her cold bare feet in.

"Do you know where Kirsty is right now?" she whispered.

Jack hesitated, then admitted, "No."

"I wonder if she's safe," Serene said. "I wonder if she's cold."

A long pause stretched between Jack and Serene before he replied, "I don't know."

The silence that followed echoed in their ears as each of them lost themselves in their own thoughts. They could hear the goblins tramping into battle formations above, the clanking of armor and weapons, and the loud curses of captains. It was obvious that the goblins were out of practice in the art of orderly military assembly, judging by the profanity spewed by the officers, and, occasionally, Jason Frost himself.

"Serene," Jack said, breaking the almost palpable quiet between them. Her brown eyes flicked open and she cocked her head, letting him continue. "Remember the image in the ice mirror?"

Serene averted her eyes but said nothing.

"The one with…your mother?"

Still she said nothing.

"What happened to her? And the rest of your family?"

"I'm pretty sure you can do the math yourself."

This time, Jack was the one who didn't reply.

Then Serene sighed. "Fine. But it might better to simply show you." She reached inside her vest, inside an almost-hidden pocket, and pulled out a tiny glass vial with a clear blue liquid inside. "Hold out your hand, Jack." Reluctantly, he did so. Serene pulled the stopper and tilted the vial over Jack's hand, letting a single shining drop fall onto the palm of his hand.

Instantly he felt a tingling sensation in the spot where the drop landed, which spread to his entire body. His surroundings faded into spots of blackness, but as soon as the dark enveloped him completely he saw a glimmer of dim blue light. The light spread and Jack found himself in the hallways of the ice castle dungeons. It was barely light enough to see, but a shaft of moonlight slipped through a grate near the ceiling and illuminated the space. There were two goblins standing guard by a door at the end of the hallway. Jack clenched his fists, preparing to fight, but the goblins showed no sign of noticing him. They didn't even move, other than yawning and fidgeting slightly.

Then, suddenly, the door swung open and let in a cloaked figure. The goblins scrambled for their spears and pointed them at the stranger, but she –– Jack could tell by the shape of the body and the easy, graceful movements that she was a girl –– dispatched them easily and quickly by knocking them both out with the pommel of a dagger in her hand. Then, leaving the unconscious goblins lying on the floor, she continued walking calmly down the hallway towards Jack. The hood covered her face in shadow, so Jack couldn't tell exactly who it was, but he thought he knew anyway. His assumptions were proven correct when the girl unintentionally turned at the right angle, revealing part of her face.

"Serene!" Jack called to her. But she walked right past him, not hearing or even noticing him.

This must be a memory, he concluded. So…maybe she can't see or hear me.

He followed the past version of Serene down the hallways of the dungeons and watched as she bypassed goblin guards efficiently, with help from her dagger. As she sneaked down the hallways silently and quickly, she glanced left and right, quickly scanning each of the cells as she went. Most of them were empty, but the ones that weren't contained snoring goblins.

Then, after some time of searching, Past Serene stopped in front of the cell that held her family and flipped her hood back. Her entire family looked up, and Jack had a sense of déjà vu.

"Serene!" her father cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here," Past Serene replied boldly.

Then, just as it had happened in the ice mirror, Jason materialized in front of her. Even though Jack knew it was just a memory, his fists clenched at the sight of his brother. Just as he had seen already, Past Serene summoned magic and said, "Stay back, Icicle Face. You don't know what you're dealing with."

As had happened before, Past Jason laughed and replied, "You think so? Try me."

Past Serene yelled and threw her silver missile, but Past Jason froze it mid-air and snatched Past Serene's mother.

"Make a single move, and she dies," Past Jason threatened.

"Serene," her mother pleaded, "go."

"Mother!" Serene cried, but this time the image didn't stop. It continued. Past Serene and Past Jason were stuck in a stalemate. If Jason killed her mother, she would probably kill him. But if she tried to kill him, her mother would be caught in the middle and probably also be killed. There was only one thing left to do, and both of them knew it.

"Put down your weapon, girl," Past Jason ordered. Past Serene only scowled, but this caused Past Jason's grip on her mother to tighten. Reluctantly, Past Serene laid her dagger on the ground and stood up, her head lowered in defeat.

"What do you want from me?" Past Serene asked, a hint of defiance still in her voice.

"I want revenge," he spat. "I want you to become my tool. Spy on the pesky fairies. Sabotage their plans. Destroy them from the inside out."

Past Serene's head lifted up and she met Past Jason's eyes, holding them in her steady gaze. "Do you have any idea what you're asking of me?"

Past Jason said nothing.

"You're threatening to kill my family, and if I want to keep them alive, my option is to become your slave. Do you have any idea of what will happen, either way?"

Still Past Jason said nothing.

"If I become your spy, your double agent, then, when the fairies are gone, I can destroy you in the same way you suggest –– from the inside. If not, if you kill my family, then you're talking about infinity of torture from me. I'm immortal now unless I'm killed in battle. I can't die from natural causes or old age. And if I can live forever, I can torment you forever. I'm talking infinity, until you die or are brought to justice, of pranks, stolen possessions, sabotaged battle plans, constant fear that I might be hiding behind a pillar or up in a chandelier and waiting for the perfect chance to strike. Either way, you lose."

But then Past Serene's own tactic backfired on her. Past Jason's lip curled into a snarl and he shot back, "But if you want, we can skip the diplomacy and being friends and I can simply kill your family, and then imprison and torture you. That sounds like where you're going."

Past Serene replied with an equally harsh glare. Then she lowered her head and knelt before Jason. "I am sorry for the defiance. I will take your offer."

Past Jason's snarl turned into a wicked smile. He released Past Serene's mother, who rushed forward and grasped her daughter. Then he unlocked the cell and her father and brother sprinted out, embracing Past Serene.

"You shouldn't have betrayed them," her mother gasped.

"Are you going to get us out of here?" her brother asked in a small voice.

Past Serene hesitated, then ruffled her brother's brown hair. "Yes. I promise. I'll get you all out of here. Don't believe everything you see."

Jack wondered what she meant by this until Past Serene reached out, seemingly to place her hand on her father's shoulder, but her hand reached past him and towards the ceiling above Past Jason. Then the icicles on the ceiling above Past Jason started to shake and rattle. He looked up, panic streaking across his face for a brief moment. Then, as the first icicles started to fall, he reached his hand towards Past Serene's family and magically levitated them towards him. Past Serene screamed, "No!" as her mother, father, and brother were torn away from her and tossed underneath the falling shards of ice. Jason leapt away to safety just as the entire ceiling crashed down on Past Serene's family.

For a moment, Past Serene was frozen. She couldn't move. Then, in a flash of fury, she scooped her dagger off the floor and hurled it at Past Jason, the flashing blade spinning end over end as it streaked towards her enemy. Jack knew immediately that it was going to be a perfect shot, but Jason ducked. The blade grazed the top of his forehead and the ice king fell backwards. But when he got back up, Past Serene was already sprinting down the hallways of the dungeons, a stolen spear in her hand.

Past Serene was a fast runner. Present Serene probably was too. Jack tried to keep up with her as she desperately looked for a way out. He knew that she was going in circles, but didn't think it would help to try and tell her that. Then she stopped. Jack almost crashed into her, but slowed down just in time. She had stopped in a familiar-looking corridor, staring down at a familiar-looking cell, but Jack couldn't place where he had

seen it before. She sprinted down the hallway and peered in through the tiny barred window of the solid door, and Jack looked in over her shoulder. Inside the cell was a skinny, white-haired boy in a short brown cape and white tunic. He was balancing on the hook of an upright staff, his bare feet balancing easily on the hook of the stick. It was Jack Frost himself. He knew, judging by his clothes and the number of frost pictures he had made on the walls, that it couldn't have been more than twenty years after Jason's rise to power.

"It looks that impressive?" Jack asked aloud, knowing that no one could hear him or see him. He had always thought that balancing on the hook of a staff was an easy trick, but now that he could see himself actually doing it he was impressed at his own balance.

"Um, hello, trapeze balancer?" Past Serene called to Past Jack.

Past Jack's blue eyes flicked open in alarm. His gaze settled on Serene and he sighed.

"Hi," Past Serene said. "Listen, do you know how to get out of this maze?"

"Of course I do," Past Jack bragged. "Go straight and turn left at the next intersection. Then go straight until you hit a door. Go through this and you'll find yourself at another intersection. Go right, then left at the next intersection. Then go straight until you find a set of double doors. After these are stairs. I think you can figure out the rest."

"Thanks," Past Serene said. "I'd help you escape, but my dragon doesn't like elves."

"It's all right," Past Jack replied nonchalantly, folding his arms. "I can't leave anyway. Something with a curse that keeps me in. Not fun." As Past Serene smiled sympathetically and left Past Jack alone, he yelled, "Hey wait –– what? I'm not an elf!"

It hit Jack right there and then, as he followed Past Serene down the icy hallways. He now knew why she looked familiar. He had seen her before, two hundred and seventy years before. But then…why hadn't she told him if she knew? Maybe she just didn't remember.

Jack followed her down the exact directions and halls that Past Jack had told her. It was pretty amazing how accurate her memory was. She burst out into the central hall, dispatched a nearby squad of goblins with her new spear, and kept going. Eventually she made it out of the castle and into the gardens. Before the goblins at the front gate could stop her, though, she whistled and a huge, blue dragon with glittering sapphire scales soared down from the sky. Past Serene leapt and landed on a saddle on the dragon's back, steering the magnificent creature towards Fairyland.

Jack couldn't follow her. He literally couldn't move anymore. He closed his eyes, reviewing everything that had just seen, but when he opened them again he was back in the chasm with Serene, the real, present-day Serene.

"Why didn't you tell me?" whispered Jack.

Serene gave a small, rueful smile. "You needed to find out for yourself," she replied. "You're the first person I've shown that to, ever."

"Why did you come back?"

"What do you mean?"

"You saw me once and left me. Then, when you came back three hundred years later, you risked your life to save me. Why?"

"I couldn't bear it any longer," she whispered. "Ever since I had left you, the guilt ate at me. Every time I passed your cell, it got worse. Then, when I realized what Jason had been doing with you, I couldn't take it anymore."

"You knew that I wouldn't be able to leave. I told you about the curse the first time."

"I didn't care about that. I only cared about you."

Jack lifted his head and found that the two pieces of his broken staff lay in front of him. Serene glanced at them, then back at Jack, and nodded. "Try it."

Without saying anything, Jack picked up the two pieces and put them together like a puzzle. He gripped the pieces and closed his eyes, trying to draw on the power that he formerly used easily. Nothing came and the still-broken staff fell from his hands.

"Try again," Serene encouraged.

He gripped them again and closed his eyes tighter. He tapped into the icy power rushing through him and drew from it, channeling it through his hands and into the staff. He could feel himself growing stronger, and almost involuntarily, he opened his eyes.

What he saw, and what both of them saw, was a bluish white glow emanating from the cracked area on the staff. Tendrils of feathery frost raced up and down the length of the weapon and back up into Jack's hands as it was made whole again. Serene's mouth unconsciously fell open. Jack's eyes were wide with surprise and excitement as he smiled in delight.

They shot out of the chasm, Jack holding onto Serene's waist as he carried her on the wind. Several goblin guards had been left behind at the castle to make sure they didn't escape, and they aimed their spears at them as Jack set them both on the ground. Jack lifted his staff and slammed the base down into the ground, sending out a ring of bluish-white magic from the weapon, which spread and froze every goblin in the courtyard.

"That should hold them for a while," he said with a smirk, leisurely twirling his staff. Then he noticed Serene's empty, limp hands, which should have been grasping the shaft of her spear. "They took your weapons?"

"And my shoes," she replied dejectedly. "They sent my weapons off to the blacksmith's to be melted down and used again. As for my shoes, apparently there's a large demand for footwear in the realm of goblins. I'll never see them again."

"I can steal some from Jason's personal treasury if you want…"

"No. It's okay. I placed a spell around myself that prevents me from getting too cold."

"Well, you might be able to survive without shoes," he said, "but not without a weapon. Give me your vial."

"My vial?" she repeated doubtfully. "You mean…the one with my memories?"

"It's time you let go," Jack said. "Let go of the bad memories –– turn them into something new. I can help you."

Slowly she drew her vial from its hidden pocket and handed it to Jack. The liquid showed no sign of ever even being opened. He looked up. A leafless, gnarled tree, the only tree in the Ice Kingdom, stood in front of him, sprouting from a patch of gray dirt in the middle of the courtyard. "Perfect," he said, partially to himself. He got up and scrambled up the tree, seeking out handholds easily and quickly and searching for a branch of just the right thickness and length. He was familiar with this tree. It was from its branches that his weapon of power was found. Finally he found the right branch and snapped it off, holding it in his spare hand and leaping from the tree, letting the wind carry him back to Serene. He handed the stick to her and asked, "Does this feel right?"

She hefted it in her hands. It was about six feet in length, about an inch and a half thick, and made of the same wood as Jack's staff. She nodded and handed it back to Jack. He sat with his legs criss-crossed on the cold cobbles of the courtyard and leaned the stick so that one end was balanced in his lap. He took the vial of Serene's memories and held it high above his own hand, gently tipping it out. The liquid shone like a perfect column of sapphire as it fell towards Jack's outstretched hand, but an inch above his palm it stopped. The liquid started to freeze in the air, and as it froze Jack molded and shaped it into something new, mixing snow crystals in periodically. Serene watched in fascination as Jack froze the memory liquid into a diamond-shaped spearhead made of jagged light blue ice. But he wasn't done. He then attached the frozen diamond to the end of the stick, forming a spear with an icy diamond head. He set the ice weapon into Serene's hands. Her fingers caressed the shaft and slid down the flat side of the spearhead.

"How did you do that?" she asked in wonder.

"Instinct," he replied simply. Her fingers traced the feathery, curling patterns on the glass-like spearhead. "Reinforced with special magic, so as long as you're alive, it'll never break or melt," he explained. "And if you channel magic through the shaft, the tip will freeze anything it touches." As he held her hands, the wounds given to her by the restricting ice cuffs were healed by his magical touch. His fingers drifted up to her face and caressed the bleeding wound on her forehead, channeling magic through his fingertips and knitting the cut together until there was nothing left except flawless skin.

"Wow," she whispered. "Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me," Jack said. "This is my thanks to you."

She lifted her head and met his eyes. "For what?"

"For giving me the motive to heal my power," he replied.

She smiled daringly. "Come on, Icepop," she teased. "Let's go kick Jason's frozen butt all the way to Mexico. See how he likes it then."

They entered the ice castle without any hindrances, other than a few goblin guards, whom they quickly dispatched. As they strode through the icy, empty corridors, Serene explained, "Right before I was captured I cast a spell on Kirsty that turned her fairy size to a fairy. She's small enough to hide behind an icicle."

"But which one, that's the question," Jack pointed out.

"Oh, I know where she is," Serene replied. "The one place no one would ever look. The dungeons."


Serene's song: Ezio's Family by Jesper Kyd, from the soundtrack of Assassin's Creed II

It just came on while I was editing it...and I was like, "No. Way. Awesome!"


Also, cool izzy, can you sign in? You're not in trouble; I just need to talk to you, dear. I don't write these every day; I wrote this all out long before and only upload them every day. But I'm flattered anyway... n_n