Enjoy!

Randomly, Jamie sprang to mind as Jack lay on the ground, gasping. His entire body felt like it was on fire and the strong, metallic scent of blood was making him nauseous.

The child's face broke into his mind suddenly, smiling with a gap in his teeth. The spirit numbly wondered what had happened to the child now – all of the events he had experienced since he woke up made him push Jamie from his mind, but now he had a burning passion to find out what happened to him. But he couldn't.

He was dying.

No human on earth would be surviving this long, with a hole in their chest – they would be dead in a few seconds flat; however, the gift and curse of being immortal was the fact that it took longer for something to kill you, and it was much harder to die.

Because that is what Jack wanted now. Death. The pain was taking over his entire body, making each second agony. All he wanted to do was close his eyes, and wake up in whatever afterlife he would be in. Though he could feel himself dying now – properly – or what he guessed was dying. And, to be truthful, he was afraid.

Most humans and immortals alike, he noticed, would always brag about his they didn't fear death, and would welcome it. Jack's mind was split in two.

One half wanted to end the pain, and run towards whatever was next.

The other half was terrified of what was to come. It didn't want to leave the world he found, or the life he had been given, or the guardians.

The guardians.

North.

Something clicked into Jack's fogged brain, and his eyes shone a little brighter.

North still isn't saved. He's still in there, chained up.

Something had given the spirit a reason to keep breathing for a few minutes longer, to keep his eyes open and fight the pain.

"N-N…North…" Jack gasped, digging his nails into the rock that now was covered in his and Pitch's blood. Slowly, he moved so he was on his hands and knees, wailing in pain. He used one shaky hand to hold his wound, trying to prevent further blood loss, and the other he used to steady himself. Pushing back the pain that was shrieking from his chest, Jack tried to stand up, but could only get to his knees.

"N-N-no…I…" The spirit reached out with the blood soaked hand, abandoning the thought of stopping the blood flow, and reached out for his staff. Once he got stabbed, it had turned back into his original weapon, his power fading.

Sure enough, when the spirit clutched the crook it gave a weak flicker of light and a small coating of frost.

Jack propped himself up into a slumped stance, leaning heavily on his staff. The blood dropped rhythmically onto the cold stone beneath him, leaving a puddle.

After a few steps forward, the spirit's legs crumpled beneath him, making him gasp, clutching his wound clumsily.

No…no!

"M-Moon…give me strength…" Jack let out the silent prayer, using his staff to pull himself up again. "J-just let m-me f-f-find him…please."

—

North strained his neck, trying to catch sight of the familiar spirit, but could see nothing but a cave wall that had been blasted apart. He had not seen Pitch or Jack since the cave had collapsed, and now he longed to see the younger guardian again.

What terrified him most was the two screams that had echoed down the cave's twisting tunnels and into North's ears. Both screams, though different, sounded full of pain. The second scream however sounded more like an animal or nightmare than anything else, and North had matched it to Pitch Black – he wasn't sure whether the Boogeyman had enough human in him left.

It was the first scream that was making his stomach do somersaults though – it was horrible to listen to. It was full of pain and fear; North had tried to hope that it couldn't be Jack that let out a scream like that, but as the minutes crawled by with no noise, he was slowly seeing the truth.

He himself was fine – the rockfall had only bruised him slightly, as he had been sheltered by the curve of the cave. But, bound in chains, there was no way North could go and find Jack Frost, let alone get out of here.

A gasp pulled him out of his thoughts, followed by a scuffle. North quickly looked around and saw Jack slowly walking over to him, leaning on his staff. North couldn't talk, but he managed to let out a sigh of relief. But that sigh was cut short on closer inspection.

The spirit seemed to be dragging himself rather than walking, using his staff as a cane. All his limbs were shaking with effort, and his hair blocked his eyes, hiding his facial expression. Plus, there was a dripping noise that had begun since his arrival, and it already was getting on the Cossack's nerves.

The dark cave gave nothing else away about Jack, and North hoped that the spirit was exhausted.

The spirit reached out and began to undo one of the chains holding his wrist; he still hadn't spoken yet, which was strange seeing as that was all he could do before the fight began. The dripping was louder now and faster, and North felt his stomach tighten.

The first chain fell to the floor, and North immediately undid the other one himself, pulling it off easily. The sand had definitely weakened – now it just crumbled in his hand, it's sinister glow gone entirely. North pulled off his gag, ready to bombard Jack with questions, but his eyes widened as the spirit swayed alarmingly before falling to the ground.

"Jack!" North gasped, moving over to the fallen guardian. The light had grown stronger, and finally the Cossack could see all of the spirit. A smile twitched on his face as he recognised his old armour, but then turned to a frown as Jack let out a loud gasp of pain, followed by irregular breathing. North, on his hands and knees, crawled closer to the spirit, feeling his hand land on some warm liquid. Confused, he held it to the light.

Blood.

North's words died in his throat as he froze in shock. The dripping, the strange metallic scent – how had he not seen this sooner? Quickly, the Cossack pulled off his coat and moved to Jack's side.

"Jack…stay awake, Okay? Please." North whispered. He now saw the wound, shadowed by the lack of light in the room. It had burnt through the armour into the spirit's body. Out of all the injuries he had seen throughout his long life, though he didn't want to admit it, this was probably the worst. He wasn't even sure how Jack was still alive. Shaking his head, North pressed his coat onto the wound, pulling the spirit onto his lap, cradling him. Jack coughed, blood leaking out of his mouth, and his eyes slid out of focus.

"A-are you o-okay?" Jack asked in barely a whisper, letting his head tilt onto North's lap. The Cossack forced himself to smile, holding back his tears, and nodded.

"I'm okay." He answered, pressing harder on the wound. He could feel the blood seeping through the coat. Jack let out a small sound.

"Good." He muttered, coughing again. North made a soft shushing sound, pulling the spirit tighter in his embrace, not wanting to let go. His mind flicked through possible ways to get back to the pole, but nothing would work without his equipment.

"Just…just hold on. Jack – open your eyes." Sure enough, the spirit's eyes had fluttered shut. With a great effort, Jack opened them again.

"I'm going to die, a-aren't I?" Jack whispered, looking at North directly for the first time. A tear did escape then, though North promised himself that he wouldn't cry. There was no point in trying to lie to the spirit.

"Yes, you are." North said. It was true – unless they could go to the Pole, Jack would die.

The spirit let out a small gasp, his breaths becoming more irregular by the second.

"I-I just wanted t-to s-see all of us t-together again…" a small tear slid down Jack's cheek that time, freezing on the side of his face. His eyes were growing full again, glazing over.

North blinked back the wave of tears that were threatening to spill uncontrollably – he wouldn't cry in front of Jack. The Cossack shushed him gently again, wiping the frost from his cheek.

"It's okay." It wasn't. North had nothing else to say to a dying child. "Don't be afraid." Jack let out a small cry, more blood leaking from his mouth.

"I don't wanna die." He whispered, breaths shortening. "I'm scared."

"Dying is apart of life." North looked down at the spirit, refusing to break eye contact. "There is no need to be afraid. You will be happy there. And one day we will join you – think of it as another adventure." Jack smiled slightly, relaxing in his arms.

"Another…adventure…" Jack breathed. North hugged the spirit harder, hoping for some miracle. But none came. The Cossack nodded, unable to speak.

"Thank you…" Jack whispered before lying completely still. For a moment North froze, waiting for Jack's chest to rise again.

But it didn't.

North let himself cry then, holding the dead guardian in his arms, not wanting to let go. It seemed like the crying would never stop and consume him forever. The Cossack looked down at Jack and gently shut the spirit's eyes that no longer shone with life. The movement caused something to roll out of Jack's pocket, and it took a moment to for North to figure out what it was.

A snow globe.

…

Review please or I'll end it here!

(I can't believe I'm holding my story hostage)