Chapter 23 –
A full week after Drago had been defeated found Jack on his beach with Glacialaurora, Baby Tooth, Hiccup, Stoick, the dragon riders, Valka, and all of their dragons as they ate lunch together for the first time in that week. Stoick had been the one to make the plans for it, having wanted to do something quiet that would mark the week passing and to thank Jack properly for his actions during the battle. Jack had flushed with embarrassment when he'd been told that but no amount of assurances from Jack about him not needing to be thanked would stop Stoick from his plans so the winter spirit had been forced to just let him do this. The twins and Snotlout had even been behaving themselves far better than anyone had thought possible for the lunch so far and it was Snotlout who said it was because of Glacialaurora that they were. When Jack had thanked them on behalf of the dragon for their consideration of him, it had been the twins and Snotlout's turn to flush with embarrassment.
"How's everything in the village going now?" Jack asked once the food part of the lunch had been finished. He and Hiccup were sitting close together with the rest of the dragon riders around them while Stoick and Valka were resting side by side, Valka leaning up against Stoick's side. The dragons were playing with Baby Tooth and each other under the watchful and curious eye of Glacialaurora, with the exception of Skullcrusher, who was sleeping behind Stoick and Valka.
"Really good," Hiccup told him when Stoick didn't look like he wanted to speak on the matter. "We've gotten rid of the last of the ice now and we've managed to get enough building materials organised at the same time so the village has been focusing on rebuilding the destroyed homes and other structures for the last two days. We're a bit out of practise since it's been a while since we've had to rebuild after a dragon attack but it shouldn't take long for us to get everything finished and get the village back to how it should be," Hiccup said, a small smile on his face at the thought.
"That sounds great! I'm glad the village won't have been affected for too long," Jack said honestly. The Alpha behind him made a lowing noise of agreement before he went back to watching the playing dragons.
"Speaking of rebuilding things, have you been out to see Frostfire's new haven?" Hiccup asked him. Fishlegs didn't bother hiding his curiousity as he leant forward in interest, eyes watching Jack intently.
Jack nodded. "I went out this morning with Glacialaurora and helped Frostfire put the finishing touches on the ice part of his haven," he told them. "Frostfire plans on having some of his dragons find some plant life that will flourish in the new haven so hopefully in a year or so, the haven will be a complete ecosystem of its own, much like his old one," Jack explained.
Valka gave a nod. "Frostfire had only finished creating his haven a few months before Cloudjumper took me to live with them. From what I've seen of the new one, it shouldn't take it long to be as established as that one was," she said confidently. Her eyes darted up to Glacialaurora before they found Jack again. "Has Glacialaurora made any thoughts on creating a haven of his own?" she asked curiously.
Jack nodded even as he looked up at the dragon. "He wants to start looking for somewhere tomorrow now that he's seen Frostfire's haven and what kinds of things he'd looked for before he chose that spot," Jack told her. "His dragons seem to be excited about helping him find somewhere and set it up as a place just for them," he said, a soft smile on his face.
"That's good," Valka said, giving the watching Alpha a genuine and warm smile.
"It definitely is," Jack agreed before he asked a question of Valka. "How are you settling back into Berk?"
Valka gave him a smile before her found her husband's. "It's like I never left it," she told Jack. "If it weren't for how old Hiccup and the others his age are, the villagers who were alive when I was last here but aren't now, and the fact that Berk is now friends with the dragons rather than enemies, I wouldn't have believed I'd been gone for twenty years. All of the villagers have expressed how happy they are that I hadn't been eaten by a dragon all those years ago and that I was back in the village. There's still a lot that I need to catch up on but I haven't had any problems with anyone yet," she said.
"And you won't," Stoick told her, squeezing her hand. "All of the villagers who knew you are so happy and relieved that you weren't killed. Everyone is making plans to throw a big celebration for your return once we've got the village back up and running, that's how happy they are to have you back," he said.
Valka gave Stoick a loving smile. "It's not all been completely smooth sailing though," she admitted, turning back to Jack. "I've spent twenty years not interacting with other people, with the exception of the dragon trappers, so it's been a big adjustment getting used to the sounds of the village at night and going out in the morning to find dozens of people walking around," she explained. "Even sleeping in a bed again has been a challenge!" she laughed. "I've been sleeping on animal hides and against Cloudjumper for the last twenty years so I spent the first night or two I was here tossing and turning as I got used to a proper bed once more," she told them. "I've found myself missing the routine I had at the haven as well. Accompanying the dragons for feeding time and going on my patrols with Cloudjumper. Thankfully, I've been pretty busy with helping the village so I haven't had many moments like those yet and I imagine that once the village has been rebuilt, I'll have a new routine formed in no time," she added.
"You don't have to stay in the village all the time if you don't want too, Val," Stoick told her. "If you want to stay with Frostfire in his haven and just visit Berk, that would be okay," he said, squeezing her hand, obviously upset to learn his wife hadn't been adjusting to being back in Berk as well as he'd thought she was.
Valka squeezed his hand back as she gave him a loving and thankful smile. "I'm fine, Stoick. I'll adjust soon enough and Frostfire has already promised me that I can visit the haven if I ever do get overwhelmed here or just whenever I feel like it," she said. Jack nodded in confirmation of her words since he had been the one to pass on the message from Frostfire to Valka. He just hadn't known the context surrounding the message until now.
Stoick's silence in response to her words seemed to mark the end of that conversation so Astrid decided to start up a new one. "We're thinking of starting training once the majority of the village has been rebuilt," she announced. "Do you think you'll still be here to join us?" she asked Jack, who shrugged.
Everyone on the beach at that time knew Jack's theory of him having completed whatever task Father Time had sent him to do during the whole saga with Drago. There wasn't any sign that he had and the only things that Jack had based his theory on were his gut feelings and the timing of when he'd turned up. Though he likely would've helped if they'd gone up against Drago a day or two after Jack had met Hiccup, the fight might not have gone the same way it had if he hadn't created as strong as an attachment to the Vikings and their dragons as he had. A couple of the Vikings with him had expressed their disagreement that he'd completed whatever Father Time had wanted him to do, using the fact that it had been several days since Drago died and the ancient spirit hadn't taken Jack back to his home yet but Jack still believed he had done whatever Father Time had wanted him to do. The Spirit of Time hadn't specified when he was going to bring Jack back, he'd just said that he would eventually so Jack wasn't entirely surprised Father Time hadn't snatched him up the moment he'd completed whatever task he'd needed to. In fact, Jack fully believed he would've been more surprised if Father Time had taken him back to his own time right away. He wasn't going to complain about it however since it meant he got more time on Berk with the friends he'd made and he got to help Glacialaurora as much as he'd been able to.
"Who knows?" Jack said with a small sigh as he leaned back on his left arm, his right busy holding onto his staff. "I might be or I might not be. It's not like Father Time gave me a specific day and time that he'd pick me up by," Jack told them. He felt the sadness from Glacialaurora flow through their bond and he sent a wave of warm reassurance back to the dragon. It had been something they'd discussed a fair bit during the last week and Jack knew that it wouldn't just be Glacialaurora who would be upset when Jack left Berk.
Astrid didn't seem happy with the lack of specificity in his response but didn't demand a better answer since she knew Jack just couldn't give her one. "Well they probably won't happen for another week or two so we won't be doing any planning for a few more days yet. If you're still here, we'll plan as though you will be for the training," Astrid told him and Jack nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like a plan to me," the spirit said cheerfully.
"So when you're gone, who's gonna be in charge of looking after Glacialaurora?" Ruffnut asked, looking up at the large dragon in a way that made Jack nervous about what she was thinking.
"He's going to be looking after himself," Jack told her sternly. "You're not allowed to annoy him or ask him to do something to the village. He doesn't need to be put in that kind of position at this time," he warned her.
"I'm going to be keeping an eye on him," Hiccup told the twins and Jack immediately nodded in agreement with that plan. "You are to leave him alone. If he wants to join you in a prank, he'll do so when he's ready and not when you want him to be, got it?" he asked them.
Tuffnut and Ruffnut rolled their eyes. "Duh, Hiccup," Tuffnut said. "It's not like we could make him do anything anyways," he pointed out.
"Yeah, not if we don't wanna end up like Drago!" Ruffnut exclaimed.
"Ruffnut!" Hiccup scolded, causing the female Thorston twin to flinch at the harshness of his tone. "Don't make jokes about that," he told her, getting a nod of agreement from the stunned twins.
"We're sorry," the twins immediately apologised to the Alpha without prompting from anyone, obviously realising that they'd crossed a line they shouldn't have.
"Their apology is accepted," Glacialaurora told Jack after a few moments, just long enough to make the twins look nervous that they might have angered the dragon. Though not often, Glacialaurora's personality did sometimes shine through the numerous walls he'd constructed between himself and anyone else and Jack loved every moment he'd witnessed of those walls disappearing, even if it were only for a moment or two.
"He's accepting your apology this time," Jack told the twins. He hoped his wording would make the twins stay on their toes for a bit longer than they normally would've while around the massive Alpha and would give Hiccup a few more days of where he wouldn't have to run interference between the twins and Glacialaurora. From the looks on their faces, he was successful.
Drago was still a sensitive subject with Glacialaurora and Jack wasn't ashamed to admit that he was probably a bit harsher in his protectiveness when he shut down conversations about him in front of the Alpha than he should've been. The twins were lucky it had been Hiccup to snap at them and not Jack since the winter spirit couldn't be positive of whether they would've walked away with their hair frozen or not.
Jack, of course, encouraged Glacialaurora to talk about Drago whenever he wanted but it was a rare topic and Jack wasn't surprised. The little he'd gleaned of Glacialaurora's time with Drago was enough for Jack to wish the man had suffered much more than he had at the end. Stoick had had Drago's icy tomb moved off of Berk to a place Jack didn't know after the Alphas had moved to the beach and Jack hadn't asked for any further details after being told his corpse was no longer on the island. He'd debated about telling the Alphas, specifically Glacialaurora but eventually had. The mix of emotions he felt from the dark Alpha nearly bowled Jack over and the dragon hadn't spoken much that night as he tried to work through his emotions himself.
Since then, Jack had told Glacialaurora that he didn't have to talk about Drago unless he wanted to but that he or Frostfire – the dragon agreeing vehemently – would be there to listen if he wanted to. Glacialaurora had been thankful but had only taken them up on their offer twice during the last seven days and could only manage talking about what he'd gone through for a few minutes before he became overwhelmed and had to stop. Jack had assured him that it was okay for him to not want to talk about Drago or what happened to him straight away and that he was proud of him for managing to tell them as much as he had. His assurance seemed to have soothed the dragon's self-doubts and to convince Glacialaurora that there wasn't anything wrong with him not telling them every detail of his years of abuse at the hands of Drago in one go. Now, it seemed, Jack was going to have to make sure that none of the villagers ruined his hard work with Glacialaurora once he was back in his own time.
"Alright," Stoick said before Snotlout could say whatever he'd opened his mouth to say. "We've been here long enough. We should get back to the village before someone comes looking for us," he said, standing up and offering his hand to pull Valka to her feet.
Hiccup groaned as he climbed to his own feet, followed closely by Jack and the other dragon riders. "Probably should make sure the villagers haven't killed Eret yet," he said jokingly, thinking of the former trapper who had been left by himself without any of the dragon riders or Stoick there to act as a buffer between himself and the villagers.
"I'm sure he's fine," Stoick said, a dismissive tone in his voice as he started throwing Skullcrusher's saddle back on him. "You should be worried about what Gobber's got in plan for you. All of that armour worn by Glacialaurora's dragons needs to be melted down and repurposed," Stoick warned him, earning another groan from his son that had his eyes twinkling.
"Jack needs me to help him with things this afternoon. Very important things," Hiccup immediately said, turning pleading eyes on the spirit as the dragons came back over to where their riders were standing.
Jack laughed as Baby Tooth landed in his hair. "Don't you try and use –" Jack cut himself off with a gasp as he felt a mass of familiar power form just off to their right, in between Glacialaurora and where the group was standing. "Really? He's decided to come and get me now?!" Jack asked as the familiar portal opened up and a figure stepped out.
The elderly man who appeared immediately held his hands up in a calming gesture when he found himself face-to-face with eight Vikings, all of whom were holding a weapon threateningly at him, seven dragons in front of him and at the backs of the Vikings and Jack, all hissing or snarling protectively, and a dragon far bigger than the other seven put together behind him, eyes watching him warily. In the middle of all it was the spirit whom he was here for. "It's good to see you in one piece, Jack," Father Time said, his aged voice rasping as his portal closed behind him.
"Father Time," Jack greeted tersely, not relaxing his grip on his staff, his eyes flicking around the ancient spirit. Everyone else seemed to stiffen at the name and Father Time eyed them, consideration in his eyes. "Should I expect Pitch Black or his Night-Mares to attack?" he couldn't help but ask, still feeling salty about the fact that Father Time had teamed up with Pitch Black of all spirits.
Father Time chuckled, though it was more like he was amused with Jack rather than the question. "I assure you that my partnership with Pitch Black ended the moment I sent you here," Father Time told him. "Black had served his purpose at that point and I had no further use for him. I believe your fellow Guardians were able to sufficiently deal with him once I left but I do not know the details as I wasn't there," he said casually. "I've decided to fulfill my promise to you and return you home since you've managed to do what I needed you to do and rather remarkably, I might add," Father Time said, something of a mixture of pride and surprise in his voice.
Hiccup scowled at the tone before Jack could do anything. "Why are you taking him back now? Why didn't you come and get him after he'd done whatever you wanted him to do?" the brunette asked, holding the dagger that normally lived in his flight suit.
Father Time looked at him, as though mildly surprised Hiccup was talking to him. "Because I didn't want to until now," Father Time said, as though it was obvious.
His answer seemed to get everyone's hackles up but Jack motioned for them to calm down before he stepped forward, putting himself in front of the group. Toothless cooed in concern as he watched the spirit walk away from him but he didn't let up the protective stance he had around Hiccup and was snarling again when Father Time looked over at him. "What was it you even sent me here to do?" Jack asked Father Time, crossing his arms over his chest. Baby Tooth, unbeknownst to Jack, was doing the exact same thing. "The least you owe us is an explanation for why you sent me here," he said before the ancient spirit could refuse to answer him.
Father Time seemed to consider his words. He was so deep in thought that he didn't seem to notice Glacialaurora shifting so Father Time was in a position where if need be, he could attack the spirit without risking anyone else. "I suppose you may have a point," Father Time sighed. "In the original timeline, everything stayed the same – with the exception of both Alphas surviving – up until your dragon," the spirit gestured to Toothless, "was controlled by this one." He pointed up to Glacialaurora this time. "Without Jack there, the other Alpha would've been killed and the attack from this dragon," another gesture to Toothless, "would've been successful. You," he pointed a knobby, crooked finger at Stoick, "would've been killed," he said. Seemingly oblivious to the reactions he'd gotten, Father Time continued. "Drago wouldn't have been killed by the Alphas either. This one wouldn't have been rescued from him but your dragon," again, another gesture to Toothless, "would've become an Alpha of his own. He would've challenged this Alpha and won, taking all the dragons from him in his efforts to protect you," he said, looking directly at Hiccup. "You would've become chief at that point and your mother would've stayed by your side as you helped the village move on," Father Time said.
"I sent Jack here because I am somewhat of a hopeless romantic," Father Time said, his expression not changing from his usual unperturbed one. "I didn't like that your father had died just after he was reunited with your mother and since changing the timeline so he survived wouldn't actually make a huge difference to the future, I sent Jack by so he could stop his death," he told them, finally answering the question.
Everyone was stunned by what Father Time had said, Hiccup and his parents especially. The news that it would've been Stoick killed if Jack hadn't managed to intervene seemed to shock them all and Jack couldn't believe that the whole reason he'd been thrown at least a thousand years into the past was because Father Time wanted him to save Stoick so that he and Valka could live their lives together. He wasn't mad that he'd gotten to have this adventure since it was an amazing one but he was shocked at the reason for why he was sent on it. For the last twenty-one or so days, Jack had been trying to figure out why he was in the Viking era and none of his guesses had come even close to this. Stoick and Hiccup had both thanked him for making sure neither of them died but for some reason, having Father Time confirm that without Jack's interference Stoick would've been killed seemed to have made them realise just how close Stoick had been to dying that day. And that was saying nothing of the fact that his being here changed the fates of both Frostfire and Glacialaurora.
Father Time seemed to be waiting for everyone to finish processing what he said. His hands were clasped in front of him and he was looking around the area with mild intrigue as he allowed the humans, spirit, and dragons to absorb what they'd just been told. Astrid seemed to be the first one to recover and she decided to repeat an earlier question. "That happened over a week ago so why wait until now to collect Jack?" she asked, blue eyes shining with the same suspicion that had been in her eyes for the first week and a half of Jack's stay in Berk.
"I only checked on his progress this morning," Father Time said. "I hadn't realised he'd already completed his task until I had and before you ask," he eyed Astrid knowingly just as she'd opened her mouth, "I hadn't checked on his progress until this morning because I didn't feel the urge to do so until now," he said, basically repeating his original response just worded differently. Turning to Jack he said, "we've been here long enough. We must get going."
Jack's face fell as he realised that his time in Berk was officially up. He would never see Hiccup or Astrid or Stoick or any of the other people he counted as friends here again and he'd never see another dragon again for however long he lived as a spirit. He would never see Glacialaurora or Frostfire again either and a heavy knot of grief settled in his gut as he felt those thoughts sink in. Baby Tooth chirped in concern from her perch on Jack's head but before he could do anything to reassure her he was fine or say anything to convince Father Time to give him a few minutes, he felt himself being pulled into a rough hug by Hiccup, who was quickly joined by Astrid, Fishlegs, the twins, then – after a couple of moments – Snotlout.
"Sorry," Hiccup said, muffled slightly against Jack's shoulder. "I know you don't like being touched or hugged unexpectedly but…" he trailed off but Jack knew what he'd meant.
The winter spirit managed to wrap his arms around some of the group latched onto him as he said, "I'll let it slide this time," earning himself a chuckle from most of the teenagers hugging him.
Jack was released after a couple of moments, though none of them went far once they let go of him. "You're pretty awesome and I'm glad we got to meet you," Astrid said, apparently taking the lead in the goodbyes.
Jack grinned at her. "You're pretty awesome yourself. Especially once you stopped thinking I was going to turn on Berk," he joked, earning an eyeroll and light hit to his left shoulder from the blonde.
"Yeah, you're pretty cool even if you claim you aren't a god and can't remember meeting Lord Loki," Tuffnut said, arm still slung over Jack's shoulders and Jack not minding the touch for the first time.
Ruffnut nodded in agreement. "I still owe you a life debt for saving me back in that fight. I'll ask Lord Loki to visit you and remind you of your first meeting with him so we're even," she told him decisively.
Jack laughed but nodded in thanks. "I'm looking forward to meeting Lord Loki," he told her.
"I wish you were staying longer," Fishlegs said, looking sad that he wasn't. "I was going to ask you, Frostfire, and Glacialaurora to help me fill in the Bewilderbeast section of the Great Book of Dragons," he told him, "and I was going to convince my mum to cook some of her crab cakes for you so you could taste how good they are for yourself," he added, his voice wobbling slightly as he sniffed to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.
Jack slipped out from under Tuffnut's arm and placed his own around Fishlegs' shoulders. "I wish I could've tasted them and helped you out with the book," he told him. Fishlegs' only response was another sniffle that had Jack squeezing the larger boy's shoulders.
"Boring! Except for eating his mum's crab cakes. They are rather good," Snotlout admitted, scratching his nose, "but I was gonna show you all the cool stuff around Berk! The stuff that Hiccup and Fishlegs wouldn't have shown you because it's "too dangerous to go there, Snotlout" and "you can't take winter spirits into places that are as warm as the underground hot spring"," Snotlout scoffed, glaring at Hiccup, who looked thoroughly unphased or unashamed.
"Can't say that visiting an underground hot spring is my idea of a good time but it would've been interesting to have gone exploring with you, Snotlout," Jack said, giving the teenager an honest smile. They might not have spent a lot of time together without the others around but Jack knew Snotlout was a good person at heart and he was a little upset that he wouldn't get the chance to find out for himself.
Jack noticed Father Time opening his mouth, more than likely to tell Jack they needed to leave once more but the spirit was cut off rather abruptly by Stoick speaking. "It was good getting to know you, Jack. I'm glad you ended up agreeing to stay on Berk and not just because of what you managed to prevent," Stoick told him, clapping a hand on Jack's shoulder once Fishlegs had gotten out of the way. "You're a good person, Jack, and I'm certain Berk is going to be better off for knowing you," he said, eyes shining with a warmth and honesty that had Jack's responding grin trembling slightly.
"Thanks, Stoick," Jack managed to choke out without crying, a feat he was proud of but he almost lost that battle when Valka enveloped him in a warm hug, causing Baby Tooth to chitter irritably as she left her perch and head for Astrid, who had called out to her before Valka could apologise.
"Thank you for everything you did for my family and for the Alphas," Valka said, releasing Jack, though she kept her hands on his shoulders as she looked him in the eyes. "You are a good person with an amazing heart and anyone who can call you one is lucky to call you a friend," she told him, just as much warmth and genuineness in her eyes as had been in her husband's.
Jack felt his eyes tear up but he managed to blink them back. "Thank you, Valka," he said, a little shocked that she could mean what she'd said after knowing him for only a week but he did believe her. Her eyes and tone were too honest for him to think she was being anything but.
Valka gave him a smile before she stepped aside and allowed Hiccup to take her place. The brunette seemed unable to stop himself and drew Jack into another hug. He'd been about to release him and apologise once more since Jack still had an issue with people touching him unexpectantly and had just had several people do so in a short amount of time but he was surprised when Jack hugged him back, his staff pressing against the leather covering Hiccup's back as Jack's grip tightened. "We're not going to see you again, are we?" Hiccup asked once they'd released each other.
Jack shook his head. "Probably not," he said, resisting the urge to glance at Father Time. He didn't want to see the confirming nod Father Time would undoubtedly give at Jack's answer.
Hiccup's eyes flashed with the same sadness that Jack felt but he did an incredible job at hiding those emotions as he smiled at Jack. "Well I'm glad you were the one chosen to be sent here on Father Time's behalf," Hiccup told him. "I never thought I would get to meet the Spirit of Winter, let alone count him as one of my closest friends but here we are," Hiccup laughed.
"I never thought I'd meet a dragon riding teenager who was also next in line to be the chief of an island filled with dragons and Vikings living peacefully together but I'm glad I did and that I get to also call him one of my closest friends," Jack told him, a large grin on his face. "You're going to be an awesome chief, Hiccup. Doesn't matter if you take up the mantle tomorrow or in a couple of months or in a few years. You'll be great!" Jack said confidently. The conviction in his voice had Hiccup blushing slightly but the dragon rider gave him a thankful grin.
"Thanks, Jack," Hiccup said. Toothless decided in that moment that Jack was taking too long to turn his attention to him and forced his way in between them, cooing up at Jack, who laughed at him. "Guess it's his turn for a goodbye," Hiccup chuckles, eyes sparkling with more than amusement.
Jack crouched down and wrapped his arms around Toothless' neck. "Thanks for being as awesome as you are, Toothless, and thanks for looking after Baby Tooth for me when my hoodie was damaged," he said, pressing his forehead against the side of Toothless' neck. Toothless gurgled at him, pressing back against Jack as he returned the hug. "Don't let Hiccup boss you around too much and make sure you keep him safe when he decides to do something stupid and reckless," Jack requested.
"Hey!" Hiccup protested before turning betrayed eyes on Toothless when the dragon rumbled an amused agreement. "Traitor," he hissed, knocking at Toothless playfully only to be sent stumbling backwards when Toothless pushed him back lightly.
Jack was laughing at him when a familiar squawk got his attention and he turned around to find Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch standing there, waiting for their own goodbyes. "Keep yourselves and your riders safe," Jack said, reaching up to scratch Stormfly under her chin, careful to avoid the spot that would knock her out. "I know I haven't spent a lot of time with all of you but I really wish I could've," he said, moving onto Meatlug and giving her a pat. "Don't let your humans blow up the village for at least a month after it's been rebuilt," he requested when he got to Barf and Belch, getting rumbles of agreement that had Ruffnut and Tuffnut whining in protest, "and don't let your human get killed for being hard-headed," he asked Hookfang, whose only response to hiss out some smoke that enveloped Jack's face. The scowl on Snotlout's face told him that the smoke had been Hookfang's agreement.
Jack looked around for Baby Tooth, ready to call her back to him so he could make the final and likely hardest goodbye when he was nudged once more from behind and found Cloudjumper and Skullcrusher waiting for their own goodbyes expectantly. Jack spotted Baby Tooth making her way through the dragon riders and their dragons, chirping things at them that they could only try to translate from her emotions, tone, and behaviour. "I hadn't forgotten about the two of you," Jack said immediately as he reached out for Skullcrusher. "Look after your human. He's gonna need some help with the village over the next few weeks," he told the proud green and red dragon and got a small huff in response that Jack took to mean Skullcrusher would. Turning to the large soft blue and red dragon, Jack reached out a hand and let Cloudjumper meet him for a pat. "Thanks for getting me and Valka to the Alphas as quickly as you did. Try to keep everyone out of trouble. I know it's a big task but I reckon you can do it," he said, giving the dragon a genuine smile that Cloudjumper rumbled at before he pulled away and blinked at Jack.
Father Time's impatience apparently got the better of him in that moment because before Jack could step away from Cloudjumper and Skullcrusher, he asked, "are you finished yet?"
Jack turned to him with a brow raised before he shook his head, earning the first change to Father Time's neutral expression since he'd stepped through the portal in the way of some irritation showing through. "I have one more goodbye to say," Jack told him, glancing over at Glacialaurora, who had been watching the scene in front of him with his emotions flooding Jack's bond with him. Not bothering to see Father Time's reaction, Jack had the wind gather him up and help him hover in front of Glacialaurora, making sure he was far away enough that the large Alpha could still see but was as close as he possibly could. "You are going to be fine," Jack told the dragon, smiling encouragingly at him. "It might take months or years for you to recover but you will and I just wish I could be there to see you when you do," Jack said, a sad smile on his face. "Don't forget that you'll have Frostfire there for support and the dragon riders and villagers of Berk will help you if you need it. All you have to do is reach out for it and I know that can be scary but there is nothing to be ashamed of if you need that support," Jack reminded him.
"I know, Jack," Glacialaurora said softly. "Thank you for saving me from Drago and for being there for me ever since his death. I'm glad I got the chance to get to know you and that you were the one to get through to me," he said, causing Jack to flush at the honesty in his voice. "I'm going to miss you, Spirit of Winter, but I know you can't stay here by my side for the rest of my life. I will be alright without you, though it will be hard for a while, and I will lean on Frostfire and the dragon riders if I need them as you have suggested. You have my word," Glacialaurora swore.
"Thank you," Jack whispered, sniffling a little and coughing to clear his throat of the emotions that burned at the base of it. "Can you tell Frostfire that I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye in person and that I'll miss him and that I wish him well?" Jack asked.
Glacialaurora nodded slowly before he breathed softly, sending a small wave of frost over Jack that the spirit allowed to settle on him. "I will," the Alpha promised. "You'd best go back to your own time before that spirit decides to leave without you," he said, sadness still in his voice that was almost entirely covered by his insistence.
Jack smiled at him before he flew forward enough to touch a palm to the centre of Glacialaurora's forehead. The massive dragon closed his blue eyes at the gentle touch. "I'll miss you too, Glacialaurora," Jack told him before he pulled his hand away and had the wind take him back to the ground before he found himself unable to leave the amazing people and dragons behind. Landing, Jack looked Father Time in the eyes. "Now I'm ready to leave," he told him, voice firm even as the urge to stay was nearly overwhelming. Though he hadn't been accepted by everyone straight away, Berk was the first place he hadn't been ignored or outright told to leave before someone got to know him and he was going to miss it and those who called it home fiercely.
"Good," Father Time said before he nodded to those still gathered on the beach and turned his back to them, holding his wrinkled and aged hands out in front of him, building up the power needed for his portal.
"Jack!" Hiccup called, darting forward with something blue in his hands just as Baby Tooth took up her perch on Jack's shoulder. "Your hoodie," he said with a grin as he shoved the blue material into Jack's hands.
Jack laughed as he accepted it, not even realising he'd almost forgotten it on the beach with everything that was going on. "Thanks," Jack said, giving Hiccup a grin. "I'm sorry I'm gonna be stealing your shirt," Jack told him, picking at the red material he still wore.
"Don't worry about it," Hiccup laughed. "If you ever come back here, you can return it," Hiccup said, meaning it as a joke but there was a hint of seriousness and wistfulness in his tone.
"Deal," Jack said immediately. Maybe he could talk Father Time into letting him have another trip to Berk in the future so he could check on everyone and Glacialaurora but he didn't like his chances.
Hiccup pulled Jack back into a hug, careful not to knock Baby Tooth off of Jack's shoulder and Jack returned the hug once again. "Stay safe. You won't have me or Toothless there to get you out of trouble," Hiccup told him, getting a bark of laughter from Jack as they let go of each other.
"Who was saving who with Toothless' help the most again?" Jack asked, pushing Hiccup's shoulder at the brunette laughed. A glance over to Father Time told Jack that the portal was almost ready and he stepped away from Hiccup, moving towards Father Time. Toothless warbled at him and Jack gave him a smile that trembled slightly. "Bye, Toothless," Jack called, giving the dragon a wave. Hiccup had moved back over to the group and was now giving his dragon comforting scratches as they watched the portal open completely.
Father Time didn't enter first and Jack knew it was because he was planning to go through last to make sure Jack didn't stay behind. Taking in a deep breath as he took another step backwards, feeling the pull of the portal grow stronger, Jack waved to the Vikings and dragons still on the beach one final time before he reached up and grabbed Baby Tooth, holding her close to his chest so she wouldn't get yanked off him from the portal's pull. Letting out the breath he'd been holding, Jack nodded to Father Time before he walked through the portal, staff held tightly in his right hand and left his new friends behind.
Jack gasped when the portal closed and his ties with Frostfire and Glacialaurora were cut. It seemed to be the cue his emotions were waiting for and he felt a couple of tears roll down his cheeks at the loss of the two Alphas and the loss of his new friends. Jack quickly wiped them away when he heard the shuffling footsteps of Father Time, not wanting the ancient spirit to see his tears. He turned to the other spirit, admittedly curious about why he hadn't left Jack alone in what looked like part of North's Workshop the moment he'd dropped him here.
Father Time was watching him with contemplating eyes but before Jack could snap at him, he held something out. Placing Baby Tooth back on his shoulder, Jack reached out for it and found himself holding a silver, long-chained necklace with a pendant in the shape of a 'S' but one that's curves curled in on themselves more than how anyone would normally write it. Jack held it, unsure of why Father Time would give him a necklace but Father Time answered the question before Jack could think about asking it. "I hadn't anticipated that you would be seen while in that era," Father Time told him, getting Jack's attention off of the necklace, "so I hadn't anticipated that you would've made bonds as strong as the ones I just witnessed," he said.
"Okay?" Jack asked when Father Time didn't continue for a few moments. Baby Tooth let out a confused chirp of her own as she flitted down and rested on Jack's inner wrist so she could look at the jewellery in his hand.
"Though they will all disappear or die in their own time, it seems cruel to have been the one to send you there where you could form those bonds and to also not give you a way to visit them, if you should so choose to do," Father Time said casually. Jack's eyes fell back to the necklace as he felt himself drawing his own conclusions on what it was for from the ancient spirit's words. "I do not give you that artifact so you can abuse its use and visit them whenever you wish," Father Time warned him. "You will be able to visit them four times a year for two weeks at most each time until the last one you've bonded with has passed from the living world. Just hold the pendant in your hand and focus on one of them. You'll arrive wherever they are at that moment. The amount of time that has passed between you seeing them before and the next time you go will be the same for both sides," he informed him.
"Once they have all passed, the necklace will lose its power and you must return it to me," he told him. "Should I find that you haven't returned it within an acceptable timeframe and without a good reason, you will not like the consequences," Father Time said, ancient voice serious and resonating with a threatening promise that had Jack nod immediately. "You will not be able to take any passengers bigger than the fairy with you using that necklace and the consequences that would occur if you tried would not be pretty for you or your unfortunate passenger," Father Time said, the warning added almost as though it was an afterthought.
"Thank you, Father Time," Jack whispered, almost unable to believe his luck as he closed his hand around the necklace.
Father Time nodded. "Keep that necklace safe. I shouldn't have to tell you how bad it would be if someone else got their hands on it and tried to use it," Father Time said and Jack bobbed his head in a strong agreement. Father Time almost smirked at the emotions Jack wasn't even bothering to hide as he looked his closed fist with near reverence. "Well, I'll be going now. I don't expect we'll have any reason to see or speak to one another in the near future. Try to remember how important that necklace is to you the next time you think it'd be funny to freeze my home," Father Time warned him.
Before Jack could say anything or even apologise, Father Time was gone, leaving Jack with just Baby Tooth for company in the empty storage room. Opening his hand back up, Jack looked at the necklace again. Shifting his staff so it was leaning against him and placing his hoodie over his shoulder, Jack placed the necklace over his head and tucked the pendent under his borrowed shirt. The sight of the red material had him grinning. "I guess I'll be able to return it after all," Jack chuckled. Baby Tooth chirped at him and Jack grinned at her. "Yeah, I'm good, BT," Jack told her honestly. Though the urge to go back to Berk so he could see everyone's face when he turned up and explained he managed to do so was nearly irresistible, Jack managed to push aside the urge for the moment. "Let's go and see if we can find North. I wanna tell everyone what we've been up to!" Jack said excitedly.
Just as Baby Tooth gave a chirp of agreement, the door to the room opened and Phil walked in, stopping in shock when he spotted the winter spirit and tooth fairy who had been missing for over three weeks. "Oh, hey, Phil," Jack said, giving the stunned yeti a wave. "Baby Tooth and I –" Jack was cut off by the joyous yell Phil gave before the spirit and tooth fairy were scooped up in a massive, furry hug. "Phil… can't breathe," Jack managed to gasp out.
The yeti dropped him and immediately started fussing over him, taking in the different shirt and way Jack was holding his right arm. Phil garbled at Jack, who turned to Baby Tooth for a translation. Though half-decent with the tooth fairy's language, Jack still didn't have a good enough grasp on yeti-speak for him to be able to translate the yetis by himself. Baby Tooth dutifully chirped at Jack, who nodded at Phil. "I'm fine," he told the yeti before he grabbed his hoodie. "My hoodie did get a bit damaged though so I was gonna ask one of you guys whether you could fix it once I found North and told him I was back," Jack explained, handing the hoodie over for Phil to inspect.
Phil let out a shriek of concern when he saw the scorched, sooty material and Jack winced. "Okay, it looks bad but you can ask Baby Tooth! I'm fine! I never even got injured when my hoodie got damaged!" Jack told Phil. He was a little annoyed when Phil immediately looked at Baby Tooth for confirmation but once he got it, the yeti seemed to relax. He gave another garble but Baby Tooth didn't need to translate since it was obvious that Phil was telling Jack to follow him when he headed for the door and looked pointedly back at the winter spirit.
Not bothering to argue, Jack did as he was told and stuck to the yeti like glue as he followed him through the Workshop. The elves and other yetis let out shocked gasps and happy noises when they spotted Jack and the winter spirit did his best to say hello to everyone he could as Phil kept leading him to the large meeting room they normally held their Guardian meetings in. Jack wasn't surprised to find himself being led there but he was curious. Usually North only used that room for reading his books next to the fire when he had a few minutes to spare or for a Guardian meeting. They'd only had their last one a couple of days before they were attacked and they usually didn't have more than one per month and this time of the day, North was generally in his experimenting room. The only reason he could come up with why Phil was bringing him and Baby Tooth to this room was so he could go and get North and bring him there as well.
Jack was shocked to find all of the Guardians in the room once Phil had burst in, an excited garble leaving the yeti as he did so. He laughed at the shocked Guardians and gave them a half-wave. "Hey, guys. How's it going?" he asked before yelping when Tooth nearly bowled him over in her eagerness to give him a hug.
"Jack!" North boomed, grinning widely as he got to his feet and grabbed both Tooth and Jack in a hug of his own. "Where have you been, my boy?" North asked, still holding onto both Jack and Tooth.
"North, mate, give him the chance to speak 'fore you suffocate the poor bugger," Bunny said, an amused but relieved look on his face as he grinned at Jack.
"Thanks, Bunny," Jack rasped out once North had dropped both him and Tooth and he was getting a good amount of airflow back. A loud, delighted chirp put everyone's attention on Baby Tooth as she mimicked her queen and tried to tackle her with a hug of her own that Tooth returned almost as fiercely as her fairy. There were half a dozen excited twitters from the six other tooth fairies who'd been with Tooth when Jack and Baby Tooth had turned up.
"Sorry but I was excited to see you back with us!" North told them and Jack cringed at the noise. It seemed being around dragons for three weeks hadn't been enough for him to get used to North's usual volume yet.
Sandy made himself known by getting right into Jack's face and making four symbols: one of himself, the next one a smiley face, the third was a pair of eyes, and the fourth was a silhouette of Jack. The winter spirit grinned at Sandy and said, "I'm happy to see you as well, Sandy." The Sandman beamed in delight but then made a question mark over his head before he pointed to North. This one took Jack a moment to figure out but he was fairly certain he got it. "You want to know the answer to North's question?" Jack asked, wanting to be certain and Sandy nodded. Toothiana was splitting her attention between her returned fairy and fellow Guardian to try and keep up with what everyone was saying. "BT, take a breath," Jack laughed and continued to do so when Baby Tooth actually stopped to do as he said. "Alright, you guys had better sit down. Baby Tooth and I have one helluva story you," Jack warned them, a smirk on his face as Baby Tooth came back to him while the Guardians moved to sit at the table.
"Let's see what you've got, Snowflake," Bunny challenged, his eyes taking in the red shirt Jack was wearing for the first time and looking at it questioningly.
"That'll get explained in the story," Jack told him. He spotted Phil, still holding his damaged hoodie in his hands, move to sit on the massive four-seater lounger North had in the room, obviously deciding he was going to hear what Jack had to say as well. "So when Father Time sent me and Baby Tooth through that portal, we ended up…"
"… and then Phil found us and led us into the meeting room and yeah, you know what happened after that," Jack said, giving a large sigh as he finished recounting the entirety of his three-week long adventure.
Baby Tooth had helped with some of the storytelling, mainly recounting what had happened when Jack had been unconscious after the avalanche (and hadn't he gotten lectured within an inch of his immortal life by everyone, including Phil, for that!) and the moments where she'd been away from Jack, namely when Toothless was being controlled by Glacialaurora. However the main storyteller had been the winter spirit himself and he'd gone through nearly four large glasses of water in an effort to get through the whole tale without ruining his voice. He'd received another lecture when he'd revealed that he hadn't hesitated to step onto the battlefield at Frostfire's original haven but he'd also gotten another strangling hug from Tooth in thanks for looking out for Baby Tooth the whole time.
Now he'd finished recounting everything and was sitting slumped in a chair as he waited for the Guardians to recover from their stupor as they processed everything he and Baby Tooth had just told them. "So, dragons did exist at one point?" Bunny, it seemed, was the first to recover and Jack snorted in amusement at his first question.
"They definitely did and once I got over my own shock, it kinda made sense to me that they did," Jack admitted, shrugging a shoulder. "Too many cultures have descriptions of dragons and dragon-like creatures dating back to times where there wasn't much of a chance for people to be sailing the ocean and visiting foreign lands," he explained before someone could ask.
Bunny gave him a nod that told him he was conceding to his point. "How bad's your arm?" Bunny asked and that question was what got everyone else out of their thoughts as they looked at Jack expectantly.
Jack winced. "It's not as bad as it was when the injury happened," Jack told them. Knowing that wouldn't have been enough to satisfy them, he added, "it'll probably scar up but it's seriously not as bad as it could've been so it's fine."
"You should get medic-yeti to check out injury," North told him. Jack went to argue, ready to point out that it had been a week and there was nothing anyone or any yeti could to do improve it but closed his mouth when North said, "please, Jack? Just so we can be sure it's fine," and nodded. North beamed. "Thank you," he said, glancing at Phil, who went off to presumably find a medic-yeti.
Sandy waved his arms to get Jack's attention and he looked over to find another silhouette of himself above Sandy's head before an arrow pointed to his neck. Frowning at him, Jack tried to puzzle it out when Sandy changed the symbols and created another Jack before switching it for a necklace and Jack nodded when he figured it out. Pulling out the necklace, he showed Sandy the pendent. "This is what Father Time gave me," he said as he showed them all the necklace.
"You should consider yourself lucky, mate," Bunny said, nodding to the necklace. "Father Time doesn't give those out often or for as long as he's giving that one to you," he informed him.
Jack tucked the pendent away carefully, making sure it didn't catch on Hiccup's shirt. "I know and I do consider myself lucky," he told the Easter Bunny. "I just wish I could take one of you guys or Jamie with me when I visit them next so you guys can meet everyone and see everything I saw," Jack told them with a sigh. "Though," he laughed, "it's probably a good thing I can't since none of you would be able to take two weeks off at a time and there's no way I could take Jamie for two weeks without his mother filing a police report," he said.
"I'll give camera to use when you're next over there. You can take photos for us all!" North told him and Jack beamed.
"That would be great, North!" Jack said before he grimaced. "But I probably shouldn't. I don't think I'd be able to explain what a camera is without revealing that I'm from the future and I can't do that without risking a big change in the timeline and pissing Father Time off again," he explained.
"I didn't think of that," North admitted. "Leave it with me. I may be able to come up with something sneaky for you to take," North told him, giving him a nod.
"Okay, North," Jack agreed, giving him a smile before he addressed everyone as a whole. "So I've told you what happened to me after I was pushed through that portal. What happened to you guys when I disappeared?" he asked.
"Nothing," Bunny told him. "No, seriously," he said in the face of Jack's disbelieving look. "When you went through that portal, Father Time appeared, said he was having you do something for him and that he'd bring you back when you were done before he disappeared again, leaving Pitch to fend for himself," Bunny said.
"We destroyed remaining Night-Mares but Pitch slipped away before we could stop him," North said, taking the story up from Bunny. "We searched for him, tried finding his lair in Burgess but nothing! Was like he disappeared from existence!" North told him.
"Of course, we tried to find you, Sweet Tooth," Toothiana told Jack. "We put out the word that we were looking for you throughout the spirit world but nobody came forward saying that they'd seen you and since it wasn't winter anywhere, Mother Nature couldn't pinpoint you either," she explained.
Jack winced as he imagined Mother Nature's reaction to one of her seasonal spirits being thrown into another time. "I bet the only reason she didn't tear down Father Time's door was because I didn't have to work for three months," Jack said. "If he hadn't brought me back before it was winter in the southern hemisphere then he would've faced a very irate Mother Nature," Jack told them, amusement on his face as he imagined that scene. Father Time would've ended up bringing him back whether he was finished doing what he wanted Jack to do or not.
Sandy made a couple of symbols that Jack didn't understand but North apparently did. "Ah, the wind!" North said, as though that cleared up all of Jack's confusion. When he realised it hadn't, North elaborated. "The wind wasn't worried for some reason. We thought maybe somehow it went with you but we noticed it was still with us. We tried asking it where you were but nothing," North told him.
"Oh," Jack said before shaking his head. "Yeah, it probably couldn't have told you where I was but it knew where, well, when I was because that's when it first met me," Jack told them, earning surprised looks. "Yeah, that's how I felt when I realised the wind has known me for at least three times longer than I've known it," Jack laughed, gesturing to their stunned faces. "It never even hinted that it's known me for so long! I just thought it was a very friendly wind when I first became Jack Frost," he chuckled.
Jack hadn't realised he was fiddling with the chain of his necklace until Tooth nodded to it. "When do you plan on going back?" she asked curiously.
Jack shrugged, letting go of the chain. "Not for a couple of days at least," he told them. "I have to visit Jamie and explain why I seemingly disappeared off the face of the Earth for three weeks first and I want to make sure that everything's fine before I go back," he explained. "I want to let them all know that I'll be able to see them a few times a year soon but how long I'll stay there this time depends on whether everything's good for me to spend a full two weeks when I leave," he told them.
"You'll let us know though, right?" Tooth asked and Jack gave her an immediate nod.
"Yeah, of course," the winter spirit said with a smile.
"Good," Tooth said with a sigh of relief. Phil chose that moment to come back into the room with medic-yeti complete with a first aide kit in tow. "I guess it's time for your check up," she said, smiling widely when Jack groaned at the sight.
"Fine," Jack grumbled, "but after this, I'm heading for Burgess," he warned them, knocking aside the medic-yeti's paws so he could take his own shirt off.
Phil was telling North something and once he was done, the Spirit of Wonder turned to Jack. "Phil says hoodie will be fixed by tomorrow," North told him.
"Thanks, Phil," Jack said, giving the yeti a grin as the medic-yeti inspected the week-old burn. The Guardians had varying degrees of worry on their face as they took in the newly healed wound. "It's fine," he reminded them. "Doesn't hurt and it's healed as good as it's gonna," he said, speaking more to the medic-yeti, who gave him a flat look before they went back to checking his arm.
"Are you sure you should be going to Burgess right away?" Tooth asked, obviously concerned about him travelling so far after just coming back.
"Do you wanna be the one that tells Jamie that I didn't try and see him the moment I could once I was back? Because I don't wanna be that person," Jack told her. "I'll be fine, Tooth. I'm completely rested and it's not like Jamie will be asleep yet. It's like the middle of the day in Burgess!" he told her.
She sighed, conceding to the fact that Jack wouldn't be talked down from seeing his first believer as soon as he could. "As long as you're sure," Tooth said.
"He's over 300 years old, Tooth," Bunny said, rolling his eyes at the fairy queen. "Stop fretting over him."
Tooth glared at the Easter Bunny. "Don't act like you weren't as worried as the rest of us when Jack first disappeared!" Tooth hissed, causing Bunny's ears to go flat against his head in embarrassment.
Jack grinned, leaning around the medic-yeti. "Feel free to expand on that, Tooth," Jack said, smirking when Bunny tried to get Tooth to not say anything.
Jack laughed as Toothiana shot Bunny a vindictive look before she started going into detail on what Bunny had been doing when Jack went through the portal. Sandy was holding back silent laughter as he petted the Guardian of Hope comfortingly on the shoulder while North boomed with laughter at the whole scene. Jack grinned as he watched his found family in front of him teasing Bunny and he chuckled as he imagined the look on Jamie's face when he told his first believer about how he met real life dragons and lived with Vikings for three weeks. Baby Tooth was still sitting on his left shoulder but she was squeaking encouraging words to her queen as Tooth continued ignoring Bunny as she spoke and Jack grinned as he scratched the top of the little fairy's head. "Aw, Bunny," Jack said, a smirk on his face when Tooth paused for a moment. Bunny looked up at him, eyes peering through his paws in narrowed suspicion that had Jack grinning wider, "you do care."
A/N - And that's a wrap, folks! Thank you so much to every single person who has left me a review on this story so far! You guys certainly helped me keep this story going and to post my chapters every week so thank you so much for that! I can't quite believe that my first crossover with these fandoms is over though! 23 weeks seem to have gone so fast! If any of you are fans of my story "Spirit Animals", I will be starting the drabble collection for it today so keep an eye out for it. But seriously, thank you all so much and I truly hope you enjoyed my story :D until next time! FullmetalBitch xx