Chapter 11 Solutions

After leaving Pitch's lair, Jack didn't bother to keep track of where he was going. He flew for hours, trying to rid himself from the memory of Pitch's blank face and of the guilt pitting at his mind.

As it was, he didn't know what to do next.

Should he seek out Loki?
But he didn't know where to look for.

What about the spirit causing all this chaos among spirits?
He didn't know where they were either.

Then… He could go deal with Asbit now. Proclaim the Wind as his.
…

Some hours later he found himself sitting on an icy cliff, overseeing the wide ocean eating away the ice beneath him. He was sitting cross legged, his staff laid over his legs. He should probably be somewhere spreading snow and fun, but he couldn't make himself move. Instead he was flitting through Jokul's memories that had come crashing back little after he had left Burgess.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, living through memories that weren't his when he was nudged out by a light sound from behind him. Slowly, he turned his head just enough to see a girl with flowing white dress and long hair approach him, holding a sleepy looking fox in her arms. The girl dropped to sit beside him, petting the fox until she closed her eyes contently.

Neither said a word for a long time.

Jack was lost in yet another memory when he heard someone speak to him. He thought it was another voice from a memory, but then realized it was Aurora's voice and Aurora had not even been born yet. The realization pulled him back to the present and he stared at the sleepy looking girl with orange-brown messy hair that was lying on her stomach beside him. Aura had moved to stand at the very edge of the cliff, her arms spread wide.

"Well?" Aurora asked impatiently. Jack just blinked at her, confused. Jokul's memories recoiled, as Aurora had never used that tone with him. Aurora sighed, he fox ears twitching.

"Aura told me you went to river Lethe to forget Jokul's memories. Did you?" Aurora repeated and Jack smiled slightly at her as he shook his head.

"Why not? That's what you wanted, isn't it?" she tilted her head curiously and before Jack could stop himself he reached out to scratch her behind her fox ear, just as he had done so many times before. Aurora's eyelids fluttered, before she frowned and pushed his hand away, blushing. Jack smiled.

"Don't do that, it's creepy", she muttered and patted her hair down in order to get it look less messy.

"Sorry", Jack said mildly, turning his eyes back to the sea. Aurora frowned.

"It doesn't matter anymore", Jack then told her in response to her earlier question. Aurora snorted.

"Yeah right. Aura told me that because you have memories of two lives that both happened partly at the same time, the older memories would eventually win out. She said they would suffocate the memories that don't fit in", Aurora said and Jack turned back to her, startled. But then his expression evened out.

"Wouldn't that be better for you? Jokul would come back", Jack asked and almost flinched afterwards at how harsh he sounded. He was about to apologize when Aurora already answered him.

"No", she said, but his voice held none of the anger Jack had expected to be there. Instead she looked calm and slightly wistful.

"Jokul is dead. What you have is just a copy of his memories", she stated.

"'Memories make the man'", Jack repeated, something he had heard some humans say when he had been inspecting hospitals and come across some amnesiac patient.

"You would never be him", Aurora insisted, "Your mind works differently and your body will remember all your usual reactions. You don't even look alike. You would be a cheap copy. I don't want to see that." Jack stared at her. It sounded like she had put a lot of thought in that, but he figured he couldn't blame her. He was the same as she was, chasing after someone important that they would never reach. The only exception was that while Aurora could have done nothing to stop Jokul from dying, while Jack was the very reason he had drifted so far apart from Pitch.

"What do you suppose I do then?" Jack asked, more to just amuse her than actually considering her words. He just couldn't see how any of that mattered anymore.

"Aura thought of another way you could stop the memories that doesn't involve having to forget them", Aurora told him and the way she turned away her eyes made Jack narrow his eyes suspiciously. When Aurora seemed to be determined to ignore him, he turned to look at Aura.

As if sensing his eyes, she spun around, lowering her arms. Without a word she made her way to Jack sat by his side, leaning on his shoulder. Jack's breath hitched as he was painfully reminded of how his little sister used to curl beside him whenever they had a quiet break.

"I've always been by your side, Jack, you know that right? That we are friends?" she asked after a moment of silence and Jack relaxed slightly. She wasn't his little sister, but… She was something.

"I know", he answered, and he wasn't sure if it was himself or Jokul speaking. But he remembered spending years and years in darkness and when the only way to see colors was through Aura's powers as she had told him. He remembered how the Wind had always been there, guiding him and looking after him. Even making sure he would befriend Pitch.

"And you know I would never want to hurt you and that whatever I do or say… It's up to you what you choose and I'll stay by your side. I will always be by your side", she said and Jack felt himself tense again. This was beginning to sound ominous. Still, he forced himself to relax. Because he trusted her. As she said, the Wind had always been there for him.

"I know", he said quietly. Aura nodded.

"Then you need to find Loki. He can help you. And I think…. You can help him too."

And Jack didn't question her.

-O-

Aura was the Wind, Jack knew. But he had never really bothered to wonder if she could actually fly. She could. Of course. But wow. Jack couldn't be sure if what Aura did defined as flying, but for the lack of better word, that would have to do. And when he saw Aura fly, he realized that Aura really was the Wind. Like… Ugh. There were no words to explain it, but when she flew…

One moment she was visible, but the next moment she wasn't. The dress whirled around her and seemed to be falling in pieces, like flower petals as it kept fading in and out of sight. The same went for her hair, which – against the laws of physics, but hey, who pays attention to those – swirled around her as if she was underwater instead of flying, the tips fading out of view so softly that it was impossible to tell how long her hair actually was.

To say the least, it was beautiful to look at.

The same could be said for Aurora as well. She wasn't flying in the sense that Jack and Aura were, but instead she had the Northern Lights dancing beneath her paws while she ran gracefully as a, well, Jack would have said cat, but since she was a fox, Jack figured she would take offense to that.

It probably went without saying that Jack felt clumsy and helpless next to them.

Not to mention he still had no idea as to where they were headed. Which he voiced out as soon as he got over his awe.

"I'm still looking", Aura told him and Aurora yapped behind them before racing ahead and spreading her colors across the sky.

"Looking?" Jack asked curiously, giving Aurora a small smile when she turned to look at them.

"Listening. Would you like to help?" Aura explained and before Jack had the chance to ask how he suddenly felt dizzy, but the sensation passed as soon as it began. He would have blinked and frowned, but then he realized he couldn't feel his body. A little put off, he tried moving and frowned deeper when he found he couldn't. He was still in his own body, though, he could see Aura flying beside him and Aurora running ahead…

Then he heard the voices. The Wind. But it wasn't just whispering sounds as usual, this time he really heard them.

"…she said she loved him…"
"…by that cave in the mountains…"
"…fairies are acting odd in…"
"…I blew away her papers!"

Jack would have been lying if that wasn't a confusing experience. So many voices and each talking about something different.

"Jack is here!"
"…the stupid purple wine spirit…"
"Jack, let's play!"
"Shush, he's with Mother!"
"…complains about how high the rent is…

Hearing his name helped him tune out some voices, but it was still hard to find something, someone, who was more... present.

"…still building that ice train…"
"…Jack doesn't want to play?"
"…snowstorm for the children…"

Finally finding the source of one of the voices, Jack decided he should try and tell them what he needs. But when he spoke, he didn't form words. Instead it was more like his thoughts just… floated out.

"They're looking for something…"
"Should we help them?"
"…mirrors made of ice…"
"But Mother is looking already, isn't she?"
"…idiotic children running…"
"It'll be faster if we help Jack!"
"What are they looking for?"
"Let's help Jack!"

Suddenly the voices erupted into chatter, more and more voices joining in. The only thing Jack could really make out was his name and… giggles? Had he somehow unknowingly earned himself a fanclub?

"Mother is looking for the green magic dude."
"Loki the trickster?"
"Why are they looking for him?"
"Let's help Jack!"
"I saw him!"
"Loki?"
"Green?"

Jack tried tuning out few of the voices again and focus on the one who claimed to have seen Loki. Again, he tried to speak to ask for location and the thoughts just floated out as they had before.

"He wants to know where?"
"Where?"
"Jack, let's play!"
"Where is where?"
"The place where we saw Loki!"
"Place?"

Jack would have frowned again if he could have and tried to explain to them the concept of "where" and "location".

"Play with us Jack!"
"To the west!"
"We saw him in the land!"
"Where?"
"We'll take you there!"

And suddenly Jack felt a shift in the Wind as it changed course. He could see Aura imitating his change of course at the same time, though Aurora took a while longer to catch up and she let out a confused yip.

"Will you play with us now, Jack?"
"It's not far!"
"It's pretty far."
"He moves around fast."
"Let's play!"

Jack barely had enough time to promise that they would play later when he felt a wave of dizziness pass through him again and found himself back in control of his body.

"My sisters really like you", Aura stated, her voice just a bit too innocent sounding. Jack couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped him. Other than that he figured that particular subject would have to wait. He was more curious about something else.

"What was that?" he asked, earning him a grin from Aura.

"I tuned you in to my powers. It takes a toll on brains, though, even if you are a spirit, so I made your body forget it was connected to your… soul, consciousness, the 'spirit' part of you", Aura explained. Jack blinked, again reminded that despite her looks, Aura was an old spirit, even if she had spent a long time sealed in a rock.

"You can do that?" Jack asked, incredulous. It could be just him, but he thought it should be more complicated than what Aura made it sound like.

"Just with you. It's probably because I've been channeling my powers through you for so long", she said, her tone absent, as if she has thinking about something else already. Which she probably had been as only a second later she sped up to catch up with Aurora to begin a game that seemed to be a mix of playful wrestle and tag. It didn't take much longer until Jack pitched in with a few sloppy frost animals.

-O-

The air was getting gradually warmer the longer they flew and Jack had to finally admit that he had no clue as to where they were headed. The game with Aurora and Aura had stolen his attention and before he knew it, they were flying over huge fields filled with nothing but occasional rocks and scarce trees. Every now and then they did fly over a small town or two, but mostly it was just a large plain. he figured they could be somewhere in Asia, but before he had the time to ponder on it longer, he felt a sudden shift in the wind and a wave of warm air hit against them, making Jack momentarily feel sick.

Suddenly Aura was flying beside him while Aurora settled to run above them, unnaturally quiet, her ears flattened against her neck.

"Uh oh", Jack twisted around in the air to glance at Aura curiously. Aura didn't look at him, her eyes distant, as if she was looking somewhere far away.

"This is not good", she stated and before Jack could question her, she continued: " I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I would suggest you prepare yourself." Jack barely managed to open his mouth to ask what he was supposed to prepare for when he felt another wave of hot air hitting against them and suddenly he remembered what happened when cold and hot air met.

As soon as he thought about that, he felt the pressure in the air and saw Aura spreading her arms as if holding something back. Then she met his eyes, smiled apologetically and disappeared. At the same moment the Wind went wild and whipped Jack from his gentle stream of wind into a whirlwind and for a few seconds Jack lost his direction of where was up and where was down.

Then he was falling and he swore he had felt the wind push him out of the whirlwind, but it didn't comfort him much as he was pretty much freefalling towards the very hard looking ground. He had barely managed to open his mouth to yell when something grabbed a hold of his hood. He stilled for maybe a second. Baring a glance upwards he saw Aurora biting down on his hood and miraculously holding his weight on her colorful… platform? Cloud?

"Thank-" he started but was cut off as a strangled yelp escaped Aurora's throat and then they were both falling, albeit more slowly as Aurora struggled to keep them in air. She finally gave up a couple of meters above the ground and Jack felt her teeth let go of his hood. He managed a yelp before his feet hit against the ground. He landed in a crouch, thanks to his unfortunate experience with falling from places (and the wind dropping him) every now and then.

Aurora stayed in the air, running a bit higher in a circle, before stopping and snarling at something on the ground. Jack used his staff to push him properly on his feet and looked around to see what she had spotted. It didn't take long. Only a few meters before her stood a tan woman in sleek red dress. It was the first time Jack could see her in colors, which is why it took him so long to take in the straight cut hair and glaring eyes.

Asbit.

Jack's breath shuttered as he remembered burning hot sand climbing up his legs and tights, burning, suffocating and suddenly hecouldn'tbreatheandithurt-

Aurora let out a feral growl that Jack would have though was impossible for her to produce. It was enough to snap him from his memories and register the way the ground seemed to be giving in under his feet. At the same moment, he saw something move above him and looked up to see Aurora's small form growing bigger and bigger, the bright orange brown fur darkening. Then there was a monstrous fox like creature standing before him, facing the fire spirit with a feral growl.

Jack stared with wide eyes as Aurora snapped at the air in a clear warning, never having known she could manipulate her shape shifting as she did now. Asbit didn't seem worried though. She approached them confidently, snapping her fingers. Fire sprouted from her hand, like a flower, and she flicked it at the ground before Aurora's feet. Aurora whined and leapt back, her tail brushing against Jack's cheek.

"Your petty magic tricks won't fool me, little fox. The sun is raising, there is no need for you lights now. Go run home with your tail between your legs", Asbit mocked and as if heeding her words, the sun peeked up from the horizon, driving away Aurora's lights. Her form flickered and dissolved in a dim flash of green and purple. Instead of the monstrous creature a small fox was now standing between Jack and the fire spirit. Aurora's ears flattened against her neck and she backed away, but still didn't move from shielding Jack. So it had been an illusion?

Why, Jack wondered, does my little fox think I need protection? And in that bizarre moment Jack realized that it wasn't him thinking, but neither was it Jokul. They were both confused and worried about their little companion, merging their memories together. Feeling surprisingly calm, the winter spirit spread frost over the ground and forcefully lifted him from the ground he had been sinking in. Aurora looked back at him, startled, before making a yapping sound and fleeing, hiding behind his legs.

The winter spirit's eyes followed her moves and only when she had settled on snarling at Asbit from behind his legs, did he lift his gaze to the still approaching fire spirit.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd go through all the trouble to bring the wind spirit to me", Asbit purred as she approached, rings of fire dancing around her fingers.

"Though I would have thought you'd come sooner. When I agreed to harvest flames from the sun for that arrogant nerd, Toth, he told me it wouldn't take long until the Wind would be freed from you", she told him. She was only a couple of meters away now and the ground beneath her feet was withering and burning. The winter spirit stared at her coldly as the words sunk in and pieces clicked together. The fire sword that had cut the bond between him and Pitch, that had been her doing? But he should have figured, the bond had been made by the Moon so what else would break it than the sun? And Asbit was the spirit of fire. As to how she had 'harvested' the flames from the sun, the winter spirit didn't know. Nor did he really care.

Because that was when he realized what she had said about the wind and the winter spirit felt the part of him that was still 'Jack' get buried under hundreds of years of hatred.

"'The Wind would be freed of me', hmm?" he stated blankly.

"But of course", Asbit answered, not noticing the shift, "I would do the freeing part, though. Without your stalker around, they said you would be helpless. Mother Nature would not interfere for a second time." The winter spirit snorted and Asbit turned to glare at him. And she frowned. The winter spirit was staring straight at her, but the last she had seen him he had been blind, hadn't he…?

"And you didn't think they could be lying?" the winter spirit stated lazily and Asbit narrowed her eyes.

"Why would they lie about that? Toth was one of the first spirits to be frozen. Of course he would want revenge. But the coward he is would send someone like me to finish the job, don't you think?" But as she stared at the cold blue eyes she felt a chill running through her frame.

"Except", the winter spirit started and Asbit found herself backing a step at the venomous tone, "Toth doesn't want revenge. Toth wanted to fade", the memory of Jokul told her and after a few seconds of puzzlement her eyes widened. With a small shriek, she leapt backwards, turning away to run as frost raced over the ground. But it was too little too late. She had been arrogant to come here where only cold winds blew. Where frost covered the ground from day to night and where the rain froze as soon as it touched the ground. It wasn't her territory. It wasn't even her season. And even if it was… There were very few spirits who could match up to an enraged Jokul Frosti.

And as Asbit knew from the various fights they had had over the centuries, she was not one of them.

Jokul hit his staff against the ground and a stream of ice leapt across the frosty ground, tying Asbit's feet to the ground. She twisted around and released a blast of fire at her feet, but even as she did, the ice was already racing up her form and in a few seconds her scream was cut off.

In the middle of the plains not too far from the Himalayan mountains, there stood a frozen statue of an ancient fire spirit.

-O-

The winter spirit left as soon as he could, for some reason unable to look at his frozen creation. The little fox was still crouching behind his legs, though now gazing up at him. He could tell the fox was tense, but the reason why escaped him. He assumed it was because of the scare.

"All is fine now, little fox. No need to be scared", he hummed as he crouched to lift Aurora, but the fox slipped from his grasp and barked. The winter spirit could just imagine her narrowing her eyes at him. He frowned.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, he could never get angry at the little pup he had found from the forest, exhausted and freezing. Alone. Aurora's eyes flitted over to the statue and hesitantly, the winter spirit followed her gaze. The glance at the ice block, glowing red from the inside acted as a trigger to memories and suddenly he remembered.

The anger, all-consuming anger and the feeling of betrayal as Thanatos had taken Khione from him. The anger towards humans and their ignorance and flippant minds for giving birth to something immortal and powerful before dismissing them when they changed their minds without even really realizing it. The fury towards the Man in the Moon and other primordial spirits for acting along the humans' whims. They gave and they took with no regard to those who paid the consequences.

But Jokul couldn't just wipe away the humanity. Unable to forget the little boy who had lost his family to Winter and how he had looked up with tired eyes at Jokul when the villagers had come to his rescue and smiled.

No, Jokul knew humans couldn't help their nature. But he had to do something. Maybe it was his center, the center that had caused him so much pain because winter was cruel and gave no space for compassion.

So the best Jokul could do would be to make sure no other spirit would have to suffer like he did. Because despite what the Moon thought, the world did not need spirits. Their elements would not simply cease to be as long as there were humans. But having incarnations, having spirits carry them for humans… It was cruelty.

And Jokul would do his best to put an end to it.

But he had a long way to go and wouldn't be able to do it alone. So he selfishly protected those close to him until it would all be done and they would be the last to go. Even if it took hundreds or thousands of years.

And so he softly caressed over the block of ice holding the fire spirit, before turning to look at Aurora again.

"It will all be alright, little fox", he told her. To his confusion his words didn't have the expected reaction and instead of calming and snuggling up to him, Aurora backed away warily. Jokul frowned, crouching down.

"What's wrong? It's me, no need to be afraid anymore", Jokul stated, stretching his hands out invitingly. And he blinked. Instead of the pale blue tunic he was used to wearing he saw dark blue sleeves covered in frost. And his hands… His hands were smaller and smoother. He stared blankly at his hands and memories flitted through his head. Yes, he could remember growing older and older, his fingers becoming thinner and skin looser. He had grown a beard too… But now he had short hair and no sign of a beard.

…he hadn't gone back in time had he?

No, that couldn't be it since Aurora looked the same age as when he had last seen her, curled to his side while he was lying on snow…

He blinked. He knew he had been lying on snow, but for some reason, looking down at his clothing and appearance, he thought he remembered standing up and looking down on some old man with white beard and…

He felt a headache forming and had a small wave of dizziness washing over him. How could he have been in two places at the same time?

He lifted his hands to cradle his head as he closed his eyes. A frown formed on his head as he tried to make sense of the memories of flying over some valley while knowing that he had been in his palace watching though the ice of his frost imitations, looking for something, someone.

"Having some trouble there?" a voice sounded from somewhere behind him and he spun around, his staff readied for a blast of ice.

Familiar green eyes greeted him, though it had been a while since he had seen the spirit with such a dark look in his eyes.

"Loki", he greeted stiffly.

A/N

Ahaha... ha... I'm so very late, aren't I? I'm so, so, sorry about that. And yes, I am definitely going to use school as my excuse. Granted, I did have some time I could have used for this around Christmas, but ended up not using it for this... Sorry ._.

Even sorrier about the fact that I seriously have close to none free time for the next month or so, at least. School and all that (who knew making games and studying is so time consuming and stressful (*cough*I did*cough*)

SO! I have three more chapters written and at least one more sketched out, but I'm not sure when I'll get around to posting them. I'm going to ask a friend to help me out a bit if they have the time, which would speed out the process remarkably, but don't count on it.

Again, I'm sorry about the delays, when I started the story this was definitely not my plan, but know that this story has not been abandoned and it will NOT be abandoned in the future even if it takes me a while to update.

So for the few reviewers who were wondering when the next chapter is up: here it is! Enjoy! And leave another review if you liked it! (or suggestions how to improve if you didn't like it) And for those who have left me a PM, I'm so sorry, it's been so long and my anxiety won't let me respond to those anymore since you've probs already forgotten those anyway... Sorry!

Next: Back to square one Jack goes~