A/N: omg omg omg my first year of high school is approaching and i know i wont survive ;A;
Chapter Thirty Eight
"No!"
Jack shot through the air like a missile. This couldn't be happening, there's no way any of this is real! This can't happen! They were just starting to become friends!
"Jack!" North yelled after him. Tooth flew out of the sleigh to follow Jack, but didn't make it far due to a wave of nightmare sand that blocked her path.
With an arrow in his back, Sandy glanced up at Pitch. He was smiling triumphantly down at him, both of them knowing what was about to come next. Sandy was just shocked that Pitch was actually going through with killing him. Over all of the centuries they've battled, neither of them have even thought of ending each other's life. It was always a constant clash between light and dark that would never end. As long as there was good in the world, there would be evil to balance it out. This cycle had no end, but now the darkness was finally devouring the light.
Sandy closed his eyes as Pitch's arrow corrupted his glorious dream sand. He had lost, and he could do nothing but accept his fate. Even though he was about to disappear, the sandman did not cry. Instead, he just felt remorse for having to leave so soon. If only he could stay just a little while longer, with Jack and the other guardians...
And then he was gone. The black sand consumed him.
Jack Frost had been too late.
/
Jack bolted upright in his bed, gasping for breath. He shook in a fearful cold sweat while wide awake and alone in his room. His whole body was still trembling when he went down to the bathroom to try to clam his rattled nerves.
The hissing sound of cold water flowing through the faucet drowned out any other noises. With his head pounding, Jack cupped his hands and splashed the water on his face. Eventually he relaxed enough to stop shaking but his mind was still replaying what had gone on in his nightmarish dream.
The first dream he's had in days...and it was about Sandy being shot and killed. Earlier last night Mr. Moon had said something about dreams foreshadowing the future, so did this mean Sandy was in danger?
If all of his other dreams became similar to his actual life, then Jack hoped that this one wouldn't be. He didn't want Sandy to become injured, he couldn't bare it. But to think of losing any of his friends made Jack bury his face in his hands and slouch against the wall. He shouldn't think like this. Overthinking never solves anything. In fact, the chance of Sandy being shot in the back with a bow and arrow was highly unlikely. Even if Sandy went near a sharp object today, Jack's premonition probably meant Sandy would just get pricked; nothing serious. Heck, there might not even be any threats! This dream could just be pointless and random, not everything has to have a meaning to it.
Today is Sunday, so Jack and everyone else would be at the carnival all day. Unless they passed by an archery range, Jack was sure that Sandy would not be impaled and die.
Sandy is strong and determined, just like all of Jack's other friends. They can pull through anything.
His nerves were still rattled when he stood back up. Just because Jack couldn't help Sandy in his dreams, that didn't mean he couldn't protect him today.
More cold water streamed from the faucet while Jack began to brush his teeth. He scrubbed in every book and cranny in his mouth until the minty flavor of the toothpaste faded. There was no use in going back to bed after waking up with a heart attack, so he might as well get ready for the day.
After rinsing and completing his daily morning routine, Jack retreated back to the attic. After all, he had to change out of his underwear if he wanted to go to the carnival today.
He decided to wear the blue and white flannel shirt Tooth bought him last week. Regardless of growing repetitive in wearing the outfit, Jack wanted his appearance to be improved if he planned on doing anything alone with Tooth today. His plan of riding the ferris-wheel with her was still a realistic option.
Jack went down to the kitchen after getting dressed. He wasn't feeling too hungry after dreaming about one of his friends dying, so Jack barely ate anything for breakfast. Since North should be swinging by soon to pick him up, he walked outside and waited by the mailbox.
Any snow outside that could be salvaged was already gone. Even the icicles hanging from the edge of the roof were slowly, dripping away.
Jack didn't want to think about his dream and Sandy. He kept doubting any thoughts of danger just so that he wouldn't feel anxious.
Why wasn't North here yet? If he didn't come soon, Jack would paranoid that disaster had already struck...
Luckily, the red van he's come to know and love came screeching around the corner. If North's reckless driving didn't snap Jack out of his daze, then nothing would.
"Morning, Jack!" North had the windows rolled down and Jack could hear the loud music playing from inside. He waved at his friends as North parked their transportation in front of the orphanage, almost hitting the mailbox.
The van was righting in front of Jack and he could see that Sandy and Tooth were sitting in the back with Aster, leaving the front seat open. "Ready, Jack?" North asked while unlocking the door.
"Let's do this."
"Then come on!"
Jack flung open the door and scampered inside. Once in his seat, he looked behind him to see Aster with...his sister? "Sophie? What are you doing here?"
Sophie was sitting to Aster's left while her brother made sure she was properly strapped in. Jack looked at him, surprised that he had brought his four year old sister with him. Jack didn't even know that Sophie was going to tag along with them. "Aster, you didn't tell me that you were bringing your sister."
"She was basically begging me to bring her along when she found out where I was going today. There's nothing that Sophie loves more than carnivals and all the fun stuff that goes on there."
"I love them!" Sophie chimed in. She was smiling and obviously excited about attending a carnival with her older brother.
"Well, the more the merrier." Jack responded, turning back around. It didn't matter that Sophie was joining them on their trip to the carnival today, he just hoped that nothing unfortunate would happen to anyone.
North put his van into drive and soon he found himself driving everyone down the road. "Are you excited about today, Jack?"
Jack didn't hear North. He was too occupied on the rear view mirror where he could keep and eye on Sandy behind him.
"Jack!" Tooth tapped Jack's shoulder and disrupted his focus. He blinked at first, then turned to Tooth. "Hm? What is it?"
"North asked you if you're excited about e today."
"Oh, yeah! I totally am! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."
"That's okay! I've been to the carnival lots of times, and it's a lot of fun so I'm sure we'll all have a blast!"
"Yeah, me too."
"And I just know that today is going to be a day we'll all remember!"
"Yeah..."
Jack's eyes darted back to the rear view mirror. Sandy was fast asleep in his seat, not knowing that Jack was keeping a watchful eye on him. Neither of them knew what was about to come, or what it was.
/
Jack couldn't relax no matter how hard he tried. With every attempt to reassure himself that Sandy was going to be safe, he was still wary of danger. His eyes would continually shift from Sandy, to his other friends, to their passing surroundings, and then to the mirrors.
"What's eatin at ya, Frosty? You've been looking over your shoulder ever since we picked you up."
"Yeah! Watcha looking for?" Aster and Sophie brought Jack's attention away from his anxiety and to his friends, who were all staring at him as if he had just committed a murder. They must have noticed how he kept glancing at everything from time to time.
"I'm just bored." he dryly lied. Jack turned back to his window and stared at the road. He desperately needed something or distract his mind away from his dream.
Or maybe he didn't need something to distract him, but someone...
Jack moved his eyes back to the rear view mirror. He saw Tooth's beautiful reflection inside of it while she talked and socialized with everyone in the back seats. She was wearing the gold locket that he'd given to her about a week ago. After Gerald had snapped the chain, Tooth had replaced it with one that was sturdier and a silver color. On that same day, Jack was inches away from kissing Tooth in the hallway. Then a few days later on Friday, she had pecked him on the cheek.
Tooth was currently holding a conversation with Aster and Sophie while Sandy watched. Sophie scooted away from Tooth, not wanting to play peek-a-boo with her. It wasn't that she didn't like to play games with her, but Tooth was trying way too hard to be friendly with Sophie. She didn't comprehend that she was actually scaring the child.
North was talking as well. He wasn't actually directing his speech to one person in particular, just to anyone that was listening. In his case, Sandy was paying attention to everything like he always does; even if he has no interest in what North was saying in any way.
Jack leaned back in his seat and focused on the road again. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't find a way to join into the conversations going on around him. Instead, he just relaxed to the hum of the van running over the asphalt road.
/
All of them exited North's van when they stopped in the parking lot. Aster was keeping track of Sophie by holding her hand, not wanting her to run off. "So whaddya guys want to do first? We've got all day to spend here."
Jack had never seen the carnival up close before. They haven't even passed through the entrance gate yet and he could already see the ferris-wheel and the roller coaster. They were real eye-catchers. "The roller coaster looks cool. We can go on that later on in the day."
"Oh no, there is no way I'm goin on a roller coaster. Being driven by North is already enough of a heart attack, I-"
"What's the matter, kangaroo? Scared of a little excitement in your life?"
"Tch, don't even start, Frost." Aster dragged Sophie past Jack. He wasn't about to start one of their infamous arguments with his little sister as a witness, she was only in preschool!
Feeling accomplished about spiting off Aster, Jack slowed his pace so that he could walk besides North. "So what does Aster have against roller coasters?"
"He's just a big baby when it comes to them, no big deal."
"Why? Is he afraid of heights?"
"Who knows? All I know is that he should get over it so that he can enjoy them! Every time I come here, I go on the roller coaster and have a blast every time."
"Does that mean that you've been here before just like Tooth?"
"Absolutely! My first time here was when I was just a little boy in middle school, just like everyone else. We used to come here together."
"Really? All of you came here as kids?"
"All the time."
"How long has everyone here known each other?"
"Well, Sandy and I became friends in fifth grade and then we met Aster when we went to a summer camp. He was so short back then! But then later on, he hit his growth spurt and grew up to be almost as tall as me. After that, we met Tooth in the park a few weeks before school started."
Jack plainly listened to North retell how they all became close friends. While he, Sandy, Aster, and Tooth have known each other for over six years, Jack had only known them for about two weeks. He wasn't exactly sure how long he's been friends with all of them, but he knew that he's gotten close to Tooth during that short period of time. The others seemed to be just as close based off of what North was saying, maybe even closer. the Russian described his bonds with all of his friends something unbreakable, yet Jack felt that his bond was just sprouting.
From what he could tell, Tooth may be the closest friend that Jack has out of all of them. Instead of having just a simple friendship with her, Jack felt like they were more…profound. Additionally, he's told her his whole history with his family and they even visited his father's grave in the middle of a school night. It was risky to have Tooth sneak out of her home, but it was a risk that they had taken together.
When they purchased their tickets at the entrance gate, the group of five friends along with Sophie joined the swarms of people walking into the carnival. Even with it being an early Sunday morning, there were still countless of crowds.
Sophie was consumed with excitement when she followed her brother into the carnival. Everywhere she turned there were games and rides calling out for her to come play. Within seconds she was overwhelmed, and her small hand wriggled out of Aster's grasp. As soon as she broke free, she ran off in her own direction. "Fun! Fun!"
"Sophie, wait!" Aster could not believe that he had just let his sister slip away. She was like an eel when it came to escaping, you could barely keep them in your grasp. He turned to his friends, who were standing right behind him. "I'll catch up with you guys later. Right now, I have to go fetch Sophie before she gets into trouble."
Not waiting for an answer from them, Aster abandoned his group of friends to chase down his sister. The mass of carnival goers here was massive, and he refused to lose Sophie so early in the morning.
Sandy stepped forward to follow Aster but he was paused when Jack put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold on, Sandy, Aster's got this. Besides, I don't think we'll be able to find both of them right now."
Sandy took one last look in the direction that Aster and Sophie had taken. Jack was right, Aster should be able to handle this himself. Aster was tall; he should be able to spot Sophie's bright, blonde head from his height.
Sandy turned back to the remaining members of their group and agreed with Jack, who was relieved that he was able to change Sandy's mind about leaving. He was having mixed feelings about his dream, and he still didn't want to let Sandy out of his sight purely out of fear.
"What should we do now?" Tooth was at the front of the group. "Aster's gone after Sophie, so it's just us right now."
"That over there looks interesting." North pointed to a carnival game with people circling it. The game was a classic strength tester in which you bring a heavy mallet down on a pad and ring a metal bell, nothing but a usual high striker. As long as the game wasn't rigged, you would receive a prize from the gamekeeper if you were strong enough to be successful at the game. North - the strongest out of all of them - seemed intent in checking it out. "What do you guys think?"
"I don't see why not." Jack answered. Tooth and Sandy agreed before they all set off to the high striker together. After penetrating through the wall of bystanders, they saw a young boy step up to the game and place his hand on the mallet's handle. "C-Can I try?"
"Are you sure that you want to try this, kid?" The game keeper asked the boy. "I don't even think you can lift the mallet high enough to swing it."
"Can I try anyways?"
"Alright, go ahead. Just don't strain yourself trying."
"I can do it!" The boy was twelve years old. His sights were set on the prize rack where a stuffed dinosaur toy rested on the top shelf. In order to earn it, he would have to be strong and ring the bell. North and everyone else in the crowd watched as the boy struggled to lift up the hammer. He was short and lanky, making his difficulties not so surprising. Compared to the boy, the hammer was possibly twice his weight and over a foot taller than him. With his arms quivering, the boy lifted the mallet off of the ground. His face was red when he raised it over his head, about to swing it down. Just as he was about to strike the pad, the weight of the heavy mallet pulled him down to the ground and he fell backwards.
The crowd around him laughed, and the boy hung his head at his humiliating failure. Even the game keeper smirked at his lousy attempt. "Better luck next time, kid."
North stepped up to the game. He had seen how the child had eyes for dinosaur prize, and he was set on winning it. "Excuse me, I would like to play."
"Go ahead."
North took the mallet from the twelve year old and held it with ease. With both hands, he raised it over his head without even trying; slamming it down on the pad in one tremendous swoop. He proved to be successful when the bell rang and the gamekeeper announced that North was a winner. "Pick a prize! Anything from the top shelf!"
Bowing to the applause he was given, North picked out the dinosaur prize that the boy from earlier had failed to win. He turned to said boy after being handing the prize. "What's your name?"
"U-Uh, it's Todd."
"Well then, Todd, I guess today is your lucky day!" North handed the prize he had won to Todd, who's eyes lit up when he grasped what was happening. "Are you giving this to me? To keep?"
"It's all yours."
"Really?"
"Just be a good boy, Todd."
"I will! Thanks!"
Todd gladly accepted the present from North. His skinny arms wrapped around the dinosaur prize and he waved goodbye to his hero before running off with gratitude. Knowing that he had been able to make Todd – who was just a random kid - happy made North smile, glad that at the good deed he did.
"Nice going. North." Tooth gave North a well-deserved pat on the back while standing at his side. The audience clapped to him as well. "You've really made that boy happy."
"I know! You know me, Tooth; I love to give presents to all the good children."
While Tooth and North chatted away over what had just happened, Jack and Sandy held their own conversation.
"C'mon, Sandy, I think it'll be cool."
Whatever you say, Jack. Anyway, I'm sure that either we'll end up going.
Sandy put his notepad away when North and Tooth joined with them. He silently pointed to Jack, who had an idea about where they should go next. "Hey guys, so I have a suggestion about what we should do now."
Tooth tilted her head to the side curiously. "What is it?"
"So apparently there's supposed to be this show somewhere in the carnival near where we are. I saw a sign for it while North was playing that strength game."
"What kind of show is it?"
"I don't know that much about it, but I know that it has stuff like magicians and people doing daring tricks like."
"Sounds interesting. How long is it supposed to last?"
"I think about an hour. So are you and North for it? Or should Sandy and I just go alone?"
"We'll come. After Aster ran off to get Sophie, I think it'd be better for us to stick together. And maybe we'll see Aster while on our way there."
"Can't you just call him with your sell phone?"
"Calling Aster while he's busy with Sophie never works. I don't think he'd even be able to hear his phone ring with all the noise going on around here."
"Oh, okay. Then let's go on to the show then."
Now that they had made up their minds, they left the high striker game and headed towards the show Jack had mentioned. He didn't know too much about what kind of performances would be there, but he was sure that nothing bad would happen if they just sat in an audience, safe from harm.
A/N: did you guys miss me? i missed all of you while on my journey away from this fic but here i am, back and alive. working without motivation is something that you have to train yourself to do, and if you guys havent noticed, i took a little break from this fic for a while. during that break, i posted some new stuff. I have a twoshot posted called Thunderstorms and another fic called Her Guardian Angel and i worked hard on them so be sure to check them out!
SunRainNinjaGurl: (i actaully dont remember why im wiring this fic ahaha) i started this story in February, and it is currently August, meaning ive been working on this fic for like, 6 months i think. each chapter is about 2-4,000 words and then theres my author's notes so those count as words too. and basically the reason why it has taken me so long to update was because i was actually rethinking everything about being an author and such ;A;
Chihuahua rocks: yeah, ive been re-reading most of the reviews ive had on any of my fics. i like to read the reviews because they make me feel better than actually reading the fics ive written (i cant even look back on the first fanfiction ive ever written without cringing)
Darkblade 2.0: i tend to have this problem where i would rather read the fic im writing rather than working on it lol. but the reason why i keep working on it is because i know exactly what i want to happen in it and how it should end (sorta). i dont think ill ever put up a fic for adoption, but maybe ill just hand out plots that i dont have enough ideas to create an actual story with. and im glad i could help ease you! its been a few weeks since ive last updated, but this was easing to write too since im getting my muse in order
rats xp: hands down, i think your advice helped me the most. i felt so awesome and free when writing and posting other stories, so it was really what i needed to get out of another one of my many slumps. and im not really forcing myself to do this anymore, i just see it now as something that i choose to do. sometimes i have motivation to do it, and other times i dont.
Mystichawk: no matter how much praise i get, i think my feelings towards my own capabilities will always remain the same. i dont know why, but i think it has something to do with my personality. but, it leaves me with the fact that there is always room for me to improve!
Sol and G'syr: so 'asdfghjkl' is keyboard smashing. it usually occurs when someone is spazzing out and they are too overwhelmed with emotion to create actual words to say. therefore, they dont know how to express themselves. when someone keyboard smashes, they are usually too emotional to describe how they are feeling
TheAngelofIego: OMG REALLY?! Coldest and the Boldest and Project Guardian are the most popular fics ive seen in this fandom ever. they have all sorts of fanart and theyre so popular that its what inspires half of the humanized fanart of the guardians that ive seen. knowing that youve ranked me with those two fics is just...indescribable for me...
so im looking back on this chapter and i dont hate it but i dont love it either...so i guess im improving?