They disappeared from the lair and found themselves back in the surface. It was late winter, with barely any snow on the ground as Pitchiner and Young Jokul were practicing magic spells.
"This is a couple of hundred years after he offered to train me," Jokul explained. "This is the day... our friendship broke."
["So... how am I doing?" Young Jokul asked.]["A little more practice, and you'll be an expert," Pitchiner smiled.]["Yes!" Young Jokul grinned before sighing. "You know... I've been thinking about what to do with my magic abilities,"]["Will you use it to get revenge on that wretched queen and seize the throne?"]["Erm... something like that," Young Jokul took a deep breath. "I was actually thinking that instead of just me, I can... charm the queen into letting me be her king, so my future child could be the ruler,"]["WHAT?!" Pitchiner looked shocked. "CHARM the queen?! That's a horrible idea!"]["I told you even though she did horrible things to me, I never wanted to harm her."]["But to CHARM her?!" Pitchiner snarled. "If you think that charming her would soften her, you would be sorely mistaken!"]["But-"]["She's going to hurt YOU if you try." Pitchiner hissed. "Why don't you listen to me?!"]["If you want me to hurt her, then I don't think our friendship will work out."]["FINE!" Pitchiner growled and turned away. "Don't come crying to ME if she kills you for what you're about to do!"]With that, the Nightmare King disappeared into the darkness.
"Did... your plan work?" AJ asked.
"Not… exactly," Jokul winced and sighed, raising his staff. "Come, let me show you,"
They disappeared once more and reappeared in the Snow Queen's Kingdom. A child's cry echoed through the air as the group saw the Past Jokul holding a Baby Crusher in his tires.
"Aww, you were so CUTE back then, Crusher!" Pickle cooed. "I mean, you're cute now, but you were SUPER CUTE before!"
"Uh... thanks?" Crusher blushed as he turned to his father, confused. "Then... why did you not stay and raise me?"
"Then... why did you not stay and raise me?"
Jokul didn't answer. He simply motioned them to watch. The group complied, and they turned to see the Snow Queen enter the room.
["Aww, how is my little Ina-yuki?"]["Ina-yuki?" Past Jokul glanced at her in bewilderment. "That is a VERY odd name…"]["But a perfect name for my Ice lightning child~" the Snow Queen reached out to get the child. "Now hand over my future heir!"]["You mean 'our' future heir?" Past Jokul frowned. "He is MY child, after all,"]["That's what you think." The Snow Queen smirked. "Guards, GET HIM!"]["But, your highness, he is our king!" The guards opposed.]["Not if I say so, he isn't." The Snow Queen snatched the baby. "He is of no use to me. Take him away. It's an order."][The guards looked unsure but sighed and nodded, taking Past Jokul by the tires. "Yes, your majesty…"]["Please, no! He's my son! You'll never raise him right!"]The Snow Queen huffed as she waved him goodbye. She then glanced down at the now crying child with a smirk.["Shut up now, you pesky child." she spoke to him. "You're in the right hands now…"]
"So, to wrap it up, Grammy shows up, takes Crusher away, sealing his powers, and you freeze yourself into a block of ice?" Darington summarized.
"Yes… and no," Jokul chuckled. "Diana did not know how to seal Crusher's magic without my help,"
"What?"
The group looked confused. Jokul sighed and made them change timeline one more time.They appeared in a dungeon, where Past Jokul was sitting on a chair behind a desk, writing something on a parchment.Suddenly, something echoed from the bars of the dungeon, and Past Jokul turned to see Crusher's Grammy at the dungeon door.["Diana!"]["Jokul," Diana sighed in relief. "Hold on, I'll get you out of here,"]["What about your daughter?" Past Jokul hissed as Diana froze the bars and broke it.]["She is sleeping now. We must take Ina-yuki and leave this place!"]Past Jokul nodded before the two dashed off. They headed up towards Crusher's room, and Past Jokul smiled as he carried the child from his crib and held him close.["Don't worry, my boy... you're going to be safe."]The baby opened his eyes and cooed as he raised his tires up. Diana smiled down at the child, who was flailing snowflakes up from his tires.["He has strong magic, like his father. But we must never let him know who his mother is-- he could be in great danger!"]["If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, I'm not sure how safe that spell is… especially for a child."]["We have to try." Diana insisted.]With a heavy heart, Past Jokul complied. He sighed as he hovered his staff over his newborn child.["I'm sorry, my child,"]His staff gave a glow as it began to drain the powers of Baby Crusher.
The group watched with wide eyes as the baby started to cry, feeling the slight pain to the magic drain. Jokul sighed.
"Removing your powers was the most painful sin I've done, in my opinion, Crusher," he admitted. "Even if it was for your own safety, I… I was still taking part of what makes you… you,"
"I know you were doing it for my safety. I forgive you." Crusher gave him a smile.
Jokul returned it, but before he could say anything, the guards burst into the room, holding their ice spears at Past Jokul and Diana.
["FREEZE!!!"]Past Jokul hissed as they were surrounded. He handed over Baby Crusher and held out his staff.["Take him, Diana! I'll hold them off!"]["Alright," Diana nodded and turned to leave through the window as Past Jokul twirled his staff around.]He blasted the guards, trying to prevent them from following after Diana and Baby Crusher. Suddenly, a blast of ice froze his feet in place, causing him to stumble and fall.And when he glanced up, he was met by an evil smirk.["Well, well, well, trying to escape, are we?"]["Not really, Snow Queen." Past Jokul smirked. "The only thing I care about is getting my son AWAY from you."]["WHAT?!" The Snow Queen snarled.]["He's already long gone. Your mother has already crossed the border with him by now."]["YOU PESKY WENCH!" the Snow Queen glared daggers at him.]Past Jokul smirked before casting a disappearing spell. He vanished from their sight and managed to fly off to his secret workshop inside the palace.There, the group watched as he wrote down letters and placed them into envelopes in a hurry.["Hopefully, when he gets old enough, these will help him find me."]He then flew off and out of the palace, escaping the guards once more. They watched as he spread one letter off before heading to Antarctica. He gave a letter to the elderly penguin then he headed off to the ditch in the Antarctic and placed the letter in the ice before sighing in relief.["There... now for the hardest part..." He raised his staff up. "Hiding out. But how do I assure that I'll stay hidden…?"]["Seems your plan didn't work, did it, Jokul?"]Past Jokul turned to see the Nightmare King tower over him. He backed up.["You..."]["How pathetic." Pitchiner scoffed. "Did you manage to sweeten her? No, I suppose you didn't."]["I may not have been able to sweeten her, but my son is safe, and that's all that matters."]["Really? That's all that matters?" Pitchiner rolled his eyes. "Not even the fact that ALL of the Snow Queen's guards are after YOU? THAT doesn't matter at all?"]["I already have an idea. I'll freeze myself in ice, and when the queen is gone, my son will come and find me."]["There is no way the queen will be gone so easily, but suit yourself," Pitchiner grabbed his staff. "Also, you cannot freeze yourself in ice. Only powerful beings can do that." He smirked. "Like me."]With that, he blasted Past Jokul all the way to the back of the ditch. As soon as the screaming ended, Pitchiner chuckled and threw away the staff before exiting the ditch.Unbeknownst to him, the staff began to float by itself before the wind carried it off. It soon reached where Diana was hiding with Baby Crusher, landing in front of them.["Oh... Jokul..."]Diana sighed and picked up the staff. Baby Crusher began to cry in her tires, causing her to sigh and comfort the child.["Shh... it's all right, dear. Your... father may still be alive. I just hope that's it..."]
"So... that's how it all happened...?" Crusher asked.
"Yes, basically," Jokul nodded.
"Oh, Dad... but Mother is gone now. We're safe." Crusher gave a smile.
"No, we're not," Jokul shook his head. "Pitchiner is still out there, and he still hates me,"
"Maybe... you two could make up?" AJ suggested.
"It's not that simple… but I suppose, I can try," Jokul smiled before raising his staff to disappear from the memories.