Hello my dears! Before you read this chap (or afterwards, if you prefer), I have an announcement: Chapter 200 will be the last one shot for this series. It was a hard decision for me to make, and it was one I mulled over for a long while, but I think it's right. This fic has grown so much larger than I thought it ever would, and for the past few years I've been putting as much energy into it as I found myself able to, and I just want to thank all of you for that :)

So, there are 15 requests still left on my list. After I get through them, I'm going to reopen requests again, but once we reach 200 chapters, that'll be it.

This chapter was requested by a number of people, including but not necessarily limited to oceanlights, BlackBandit111, and Fenrir Wylde Razgriz

Fractured

...

Besides his initial awakening within the pond in Burgess, Jack's earliest memories had been of fun. He'd been enthralled with the way he'd been able to create beautiful fern-patterned frost with a mere tap of his staff. And then, as he went through his first year as a spirit, he'd discovered how much fun his element could be: snowball fights, sledding, building snowmen, it was all so exciting and magical, and even more so when the kids he tried to interact with had as much fun as Jack himself did.

But, then, all good things had to come to an end, right?

He was only two years old. By that understanding, he was younger than the kids he played with. And yet, as he stared in horror at the sight laid out before him, he'd never felt so old.

The snow was piled up in heaps indiscriminately, perfect and unmarred by activity – human or otherwise. It would have almost been beautiful had it not been for what was poking out of it. Jack tried to tear his eyes away from the bodies but couldn't. He was stuck, helpless, staring in morbid fascination and repulsion. Even as he felt bile starting to rise in his throat he couldn't so much as close his eyes.

There were kids under all that snow. Adults, too, but it was the kids who really struck him deep. They must have gotten stuck out in the blizzard, unable to find shelter, and instead had tried to huddle together for warmth. But the ice and freezing wind had snatched any and all heat they'd had and now all that was left was this...

Jack shuddered, finally finding the strength to shut his eyes and clench his hands even as his feet still refused to obey him. This was his fault. He'd started that blizzard so that the kids would have something to play in on the morrow. He had killed them. He hadn't meant to, but he'd done it anyway.

Jack felt the wind start to pick up around him. Unwilling and unable to seek comfort from his partner in crime, he turned his face away, feeling like any second he would break. Why hadn't he checked? Why hadn't he made sure there was no one left out in the cold before he'd started that storm? What had happened to that light, fun winter magic that had so enraptured him?

A warm hand was placed on his shoulder and Jack startled, pulling away and spinning around before he'd even realised what had happened. Mother Nature didn't try to stop him, didn't flinch. She was calm, composed, and every bit as ethereally beautiful as she'd been when he'd seen her for the first time about a month after he'd been born. Jack felt his shoulders slacken, and the end of his stuff dug into the hateful snow.

"Mother Nature," he forced his tongue to work, more out of respect for her than any real desire to speak.

"Jack Frost," she returned. Her eyes strayed to the bodies for a long moment before returning focus on him. "I knew this would happen eventually."

Jack felt his heart pang at her words. She'd known? She'd known that he would screw up this badly? Had she been waiting for it? Did she hate him as much as he hated himself?

"Let's take a walk," she said, and Jack glanced up at her in time to see her hold out her hand towards him. Hesitantly, he reached out and, hand in hand, she began to lead him away from the site.

For a long while, neither of them spoke. They simply wove their way through the trees, neither leaving any footprints in their wake. Jack didn't think they could be any more different. Mother Nature stood tall and proud. He, on the other hand, could barely find the strength to place one foot in front of the other.

Eventually, Mother Nature came to a halt at a small grove, and with a mere wave of her free hand, all the snow melted away. Grass grew from nothing, and somehow it seemed like the sun was shining brighter and warmer here than it was in the surrounding area. Without a word, she tugged him forwards and they sat together in this little haven of spring amidst the cruelty of winter. And even then she didn't release his hand.

"Do not forget this day, Jack," Mother Nature began. "It is an important lesson for you to learn, though a cruel way to teach it."

"I don't think I could, even if I wanted to," Jack admitted, voice a mere whisper. "I... It's all my fault, I–"

Mother Nature finally pried her hand free, only for it and her other one to rise and cup Jack's cheeks, forcing his gaze upwards until they were staring each other in the eye. "You are winter, Jack Frost," she said. "You are powerful and free and unrestrained. You are all that is good about this season, all that is fun and beautiful; a winter that this world needs."

Jack stared at her, not knowing where she was going with this but not daring to interrupt.

"But you must understand something," she continued. "You are winter, yes, but winter is not you."

Jack's brows furrowed. "I don't understand."

"There are two sides to winter, Jack. One is what you embody and what you have upheld and demonstrated over these last couple of years. The other is what you have seen today. You have morals and a heart. Winter does not. It is cold and unforgiving. It doesn't care who lives and who dies. This act that you have witnessed was done by winter, not by you."

"But I started the blizzard!" Jack cried, moving backwards so that she lost her grip on him. "If I had checked–"

"You started the blizzard," she agreed. Her hands fell lightly to her lap. "But what did you intend by it?"

"I... I just wanted the kids to be able to have fun."

"Then that is the difference. You would not have hurt those people willingly, and your intentions were pure. This event is not isolated, Jack. You will witness it again. But I want you to remember this: as long as you do all in your power to protect this world and its creatures, then you are never to blame for the atrocities this season commits in spite of your efforts."

"But if I'd just checked–"

"Then that is what you have learned from this. In future, you should be aware of your surroundings, and know that your actions have consequences."

Jack felt something inside of him breaking. Tears welled in his eyes. How could she not see that he was to blame? How could she not hate him for this?

"It is alright to cry, Jack," Mother Nature smiled softly, holding her arms out invitingly.

Shoving aside his pride and the burning embarrassment, Jack allowed himself this one moment of weakness and let his body tilt until he was resting against her. Her arms encircled him and held him close as the first tears began to fall.

"I know that you blame yourself and that nothing I can say will change that, but I hope that in time you will find it within you to forgive yourself. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, even spirits," she whispered. "But it is just as important for us as it is for humans to learn from those mistakes and to not let them define us. Do you understand?"

Jack sniffled, mulling over all she'd said. He thought he understood, and he definitely had learned from it. He wouldn't be making any more spontaneous blizzards like this again, not without being absolutely certain that no one would get caught in the crossfire. Not trusting his voice, he nodded against her shoulder.

"Good."

They lapsed into silence after that, Mother Nature stroking his hair comfortingly and Jack falling to pieces in her arms. Finally, after what felt like centuries, Jack found the strength to start putting himself back together again.

"Thank you," he murmured, pulling away at last.

Mother Nature smiled at him. "You are my winter spirit. And not once have I ever regretted it. Do not forget this, but do not dwell on it, either."

"I'll try."

"That is all I ask."

She left him, then, after one more brief stroke of his hair, and Jack stared after her retreating form. He still felt grief coiled around his heart like a snake, but somehow he knew he would be alright now. There were too many kids out there who needed the fun his winter could bring for him to mourn the loss of these people forever. It would take a while, but he would eventually forgive himself. And in the meantime, he would do his best to ensure that his winter was one that would make both himself and Mother Nature proud.

Guest Review Responses:

StarG4zer: I don't think they intended it to get as far as it did, but yes it definitely did scare him! Thank you so much!