Hey my friends!
Wow, two chapters in two days! I feel so accomplished!
I hope you all enjoy this next one. I'm trying to finish them watching ROTG before Christmas, but no promises :)
Disclaimer: I only own my Emma, Jasper, and Maxine. Everything else either belongs to Disney, or Dreamworks.
Neutral POV
"Something bad is going to happen, right?" Jackson whispered to Em, who slowly nodded.
Jack continues along a long dark tunnel with Baby Tooth close
behind. Eventually the labyrinth opens up to reveal a huge
underground cavern. Baby Tooth continues to tug at Jack's
tunic.
JACK
(waving Baby Tooth off)
Baby Tooth, Baby...come on!
(BEAT)
I have to find out what that is.
Jack can't believe his eyes. Dozens of huge bird cages
hanging from the ceiling, and in them are the mini tooth
fairies. They see Jack, and immediately perk up, tweeting
and flitting like crazy.
Jack jumps up onto one of the cages, then quickly leaps and
holds onto the side of another one.
JACK
(WHISPERS)
Shhhh! keep it down.
(leaps to another cage)
I'm gonna get you out of here, just
as soon as I -
VOICE FROM A MEMORY
Jack...
Jack turns away from the fairies, distracted.
VOICE FROM A MEMORY
Jack...
JACK
(under his breath)
As I can –
"Cares more about himself then other spirits." Tooth huffed, her arms crossed.
"Well, he is looking for his memories, and he knows that the other fairies will be alright." Em said, defending her father.
Jack looks down and sees the tooth drawers from Tooth's
Palace. Mounds of them heaped to the ceiling. And inside
the drawers are the missing baby teeth. He drops down to a
mound and begins rummaging through the drawers, looking at
the names on the boxes.
In an instant he forgets his duties, and the fairies, and the
Guardians and everything except those teeth, and the chance
to finally get his memory back.
The cavern suddenly goes darker than it already was. Jack
finally looks up, as a shadow of Pitch crawls up a nearby
column.
PITCH (O.S.)
Looking for something?
Jack swings around with his staff, shooting off a blast of
ice, but Pitch isn't there. Jack takes off, following the
sound of Pitch's cackle as it echoes throughout the chamber.
Jack rounds a corner as he sees Pitch's shadow glide across
the walls into a shadowed corridor.
PITCH (O.S.)
Don't be afraid, Jack. I'm not
going to hurt you.
"The way that Papa would tell me this part of the story was almost as if you were warning him about the Guardians, like if you knew something would happen." Em said, looking at Pitch, who nodded.
"I had seen the Guardians' selfishness first hand. They separated my daughter and I when I was changed." He replied, and Em sighed, shaking her head sadly.
Jack continues along a shadowed corridor.
JACK
Afraid?
Jack sees Pitch on a bridge across the cavern and heads after
him.
JACK (CONT'D)
I'm not afraid of you!
PITCH
Maybe not. But you are afraid of
something.
Jack steadily approaches, cautious and alert.
JACK
You think so, huh?
PITCH
I know so. It's the one thing I
always know.
Pitch finally turns to face Jack.
PITCH (CONT'D)
People's greatest fears. Yours is
that no one will ever believe in
you.
The other immortals had the decency to look ashamed, except for Bunny. That Easter, he had known how Jack had felt, and it had been terrible. The feeling that you didn't matter, or that no one needed you. He was just happy that his seasonal younger brother had a family that loved him.
Panic flashes in Jack's eyes. As he backs away, the chamber
fills with shadows, and Jack is spun around. He's
disoriented as he thuds into a wall, which flips to reveal
that it's actually the ground.
Pitch, unseen now, chuckles.
Jack's unsure of where he is. He looks back to see the
cavern entrance - he's right back where he started.
PITCH (O.S.)
And worst of all, you're afraid
you'll never know why. Why you?
Why were you chosen...to be like
this?
Jack discovers that the entrance has been blocked with bricks
as Pitch's shadow encroaches on him.
PITCH
Well fear not, for the answer to
that...
Pitch is now directly in front of Jack, holding out a tooth
box.
PITCH (CONT'D)
Is right here.
Jack's eyes widen at the sight - the face of a young boy
etched into the box, and under it is the name "Jack Frost."
Em stole a glance at Jackson, who was staring at the box.
"That's impossible." He muttered, then looked back at Em, who smiled gently at him with a nod. Pippa gasped.
"Oh my gosh!" she said in shock, and Em motioned for her to stay quiet.
PITCH
Do you want them, Jack? Your
memories?
He holds them out to Jack. Jack stares, fighting the impulse
to grab them. He closes his eyes, struggling to make a
decision, but when he opens them again, Pitch has
disappeared.
Pitch's shadow moves across the pillars of the cavern.
Jack heads down a corridor, cast shadows from the Mini Tooth
cages everywhere.
PITCH (O.S.)
Everything you wanted to know...
Pitch's face moves in and out of the shadows over the
following.
PITCH
...in this little box.
Every time Jack turns, Pitch disappears. It's like Jack's
trapped in a fun house.
Multiple Pitch shadows have appeared on the wall around Jack.
They're closing in on him.
PITCH
Why did you end up like this?
Unseen. Unable to reach out to
anyone.
(BEAT)
You want the answers so badly. You
want to grab them, and fly off with
them. But you're afraid of what
the Guardians will think.
"Why would he be afraid of what we think?" North asked, genuine shock on his face.
"Because you were the first people to, for lack of a better word, believe in him. He was starting to see you all as his family. He wanted to prove himself to you." Em said, glaring at him and Tooth.
"Why did he never tell us?" Tooth asked, her voice just above a whisper. Em chuckled emotionlessly.
"After that Easter, you never truly regained his trust back. Bunny did, though, being Papa's brother, and I'm sure he will again, if he's watching." She said, and Bunny smiled sadly at her.
Jack's breath quickens. He's been pushed into a corner.
PITCH
You're afraid of disappointing
them.
(SMILES)
Well let me ease your mind about
one thing. They'll never accept
you. Not really.
The shadows have overcome Jack.
JACK
(trying to scramble away)
Stop it! Stop it!
Almost reluctantly, the shadows back away and Pitch appears
before Jack.
PITCH
After all, you're not one of them.
Jack aims his staff at Pitch.
JACK
You don't know what I am!
PITCH
Of course I do. You're Jack Frost.
You make a mess wherever you go.
Why, you're doing it right now.
"He needed to know." Pitch said at Em's questioning look. She nodded in understanding.
"You were warning him." She said, recognizing what her uncle had done. Tough love, basically. Jack was technically his grandson.
Pitch tosses the box to Jack, who instinctively catches it.
Jack looks up. Terror comes into Jack's eyes, as he
realizes...
JACK
What did you do?
PITCH
More to the point Jack, what did
you do?
Pitch begins to back away, becoming one with the darkness,
laughing as he disappears. Jack charges towards him only to
be swallowed whole by one of Pitch's black holes.
Jack flies out of Pitch's shadow, ready to strike. Suddenly,
Jack realizes he's forgotten something.
JACK
Baby Tooth!
He turns to re-enter the hole in the wall only to find
himself face to face with one of Bunny's stone emblems.
PITCH (O.S.)
Happy Easter, Jack.
"So that's what happened." Tooth whispered, and tears were shimmering in her bright eyes. Pippa glared at her.
"You never thought to ask?" she asked incredulously.
Jack turns around. Suddenly, his eyes fill with dread as he
realizes where he is. Thousands of broken egg shells lay
strewn about, forming a path toward the light at the end of
the tunnel.
JACK
No.
Bunny peaks through the bushes to take in the scene - an
Easter Egg hunt.
BRITISH KIDS
(WALLA)
There are no eggs. There's none
anywhere. I give up. Come on,
let's go. I don't understand.
Bunny checks the eggs in his basket, then looks back toward
the kids.
BRITISH GIRL
Maybe he just hid them really well
this year.
Bunny, egg basket in hand, approaches a group of kids who
seem to be wandering around searching halfheartedly,
disappointed and listless.
"They've completely lost hope." Sophie said sadly, and Bunny nodded, remembering that Easter.
BUNNYMUND (O.S.)
Kids! Oi!
BRITISH BOY
I checked everywhere! There's
nothing!
BUNNYMUND
(steps towards them)
Yes there is! There is! I mean
these aren't my best lookin'
googies, but they'll do in a pinch!
He holds out a broken Easter egg. The kids just stare.
BRITISH GIRL
I can't believe it.
BUNNYMUND
I know.
BRITISH GIRL
There's no such thing as the Easter
Bunny.
The girl turns to leave.
BUNNYMUND
What?
BRITISH KIDS (O.S.)
(WALLA)
Easter's over. Forget this.
The spark of childhood has already been extinguished in all of them.
BUNNYMUND
No! Wrong! Not, not true! I'm
right in front of ya, mate!
BRITISH KIDS
(WALLA)
There's no such thing. I know.
The kids walk through Bunnymund as if he were a ghost.
"I knew how Frostbite felt his entire life, and I didn't want to feel that again. That's why I got angry. I didn't know how he could deal with it for three hundred years." Bunny said with guilt, and Em looked at him with sympathy.
Bunny is stunned by this, and finally realizes...
BRITISH KIDS (O.S.) (CONT'D)
(WALLA)
Now come on. I don't understand.
Why wouldn't he come? Let's get
out of here. Easter Bunny, where
are you? This is the worst Easter
ever.
BUNNYMUND
They don't see me.
(BEAT)
They don't see me.
JACK's watching this all unfold and it's heartbreaking,
because he knows it's his fault. Tooth flies to Bunny's
side. Jack hears a rustle in the bushes behind him.
NORTH (O.S.)
Jack, where were you?
Jack sees North, with his scimitars drawn and having just
come from battle. He's exhausted, wild-eyed, distraught.
NORTH (CONT'D)
The Nightmares attacked the
tunnels. They smashed every egg,
crushed every basket. Nothing made
it to the surface.
"This is going to sound familiar." Bunny told Em gently, and she looked at him in confusion.
TOOTH (O.S.)
Jack!
Tooth rejoins the group from off screen.
TOOTH (CONT'D)
(GASPS)
Where did you get that?
Jack looks down at the tooth box in his hand, then back to
Tooth.
JACK
I was...it's...
TOOTH
Where's Baby Tooth?
(FEELING BETRAYED)
Oh Jack, what have you done?
"Oh my gosh. You thought he exchanged Baby Tooth for his memories?" Em exclaimed, her eyes wide with tears filling them.
"How could you think he was that selfish? What is wrong with you?" Pippa asked.
NORTH
That is why you weren't here?
North steps forward to confront Jack.
NORTH (CONT'D)
You were with Pitch?
Em pressed her hands over her mouth, and tears began to fall from her eyes.
"This is exactly what happened before Mama and Papa met. Oh my MiM, did you ever even like my father?" she asked in shock, and anger. Bunny stood from his spot, and walked across the room, kneeling down in front of Em.
"He was my little brother, Emma. I was angry that I had lost so many believers. After he ran off, I realized that I had nothing to be angry about. None of this was his fault." Bunny said, and Em gave him a small smile, and hugged him.
"Thank you, Bunny." She whispered.
JACK
No, listen, listen...I'm sorry. I
didn't mean for this to happen.
BUNNYMUND (O.S.)
(TO OTHERS)
He has to go.
Jack turns to see Bunny, disheartened.
JACK
(STUNNED BEAT)
What?
BUNNYMUND
We should never have trusted you!
(FORLORN)
Easter is new beginnings, new life.
Easter is about hope.
(BEAT)
And now it's gone.
Bunny turns away and moves toward the park, looking at the
sign that reads, `Easter Egg Hunt.'
This is like a punch in Jack's gut. He looks back to Tooth
and North, both of whom look away, too hurt by Jack. He
looks at them with a pained expression. This is exactly what
Pitch said would happen.
Jack reaches into his pocket, pulls out the tiny Russian
nesting doll that North had given him, drops the doll to the
ground, and takes off.
Em glared at the immortals across from her, and Pippa shook her head, angered at what her childhood heroes had done to her favorite Guardian.
"You guys didn't actually do that, right? This is all just a story?" Jamie asked slowly in shock, staring at North and Tooth, who remained quiet.
"Your precious Guardians aren't so perfect, are they Jamie." Jackson said angrily, hugging Emma tighter as she snuggled into her older brother's embrace.
"You broke him. How and why Manny ever choose you both, I'll never know." Bunny said, standing behind Em. "What would Katherine say, North?" Immediately, North froze, his gemstone eyes widening with guilt.
As Jack leaves, carried off by the wind, we see the tiny
Russian nesting doll laying on the ground.
EXT. JAMIE'S HOUSE - DUSK
Jamie, atop a ladder, strains for what looks like an Easter
egg, hiding in the rain gutter. The ladder totters and Jamie
loses his balance, beginning to fall.
JAMIE
Whoaaa, whoa, whoa...aaaah!
Jamie grabs the gutter but it breaks loose, sending Jamie
crashing down into a mound of snow.
All the kids let out a wince and groan for their friend's fall.
"I was hoping that there were a few eggs." Jamie said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck.
As Jamie gets up off the ground, he sees that the Easter egg
was in fact a dirty old tennis ball. Jamie stands up,
bewildered, and dusts himself off as his friends LAUGH. A
few have empty EASTER BASKETS.
JAMIE
Let's check the park again.
CALEB
Really?
CLAUDE
(ANNOYED)
For what, the Easter Bunny?
JAMIE
Guys, I told you - I saw him! He's
way bigger than I thought, and he's
got these cool boomerang-things-
CALEB
Grow up, Jamie.
CLAUDE
(SIGHS)
Ah man, seriously.
JAMIE
What's happened to you guys?
CALEB
It was a dream. You should be
happy you still get dreams like
that and not...
They begin to turn away from him.
CUPCAKE
(HAUNTED)
Nightmares.
"How can he be your uncle, Emma? After what he's done." Sophie asked Em.
"I've explained this so many times, Sophie. Pitch isn't bad, technically he's my great-grandfather, and he's a Guardian." Em replied, rolling her eyes. Sophie huffed.
"That doesn't justify what he's done in the past." She shot back. Em bristled.
"Listen to me, Sophie Bennet. Stop insulting my family. It's bad enough you don't believe in my father, but once you start to insult the others in my family, I'm not going to stand for it." She said in a cold voice, and her hands began to glow blue.
"Sophie, you need to leave Em alone. You don't know what she's going through. Just, leave her alone." Pippa told the young blonde, who looked at her in shock.
"She keeps insulting the Guardians, and she's siding with Pitch. She's turned Bunny and Sandy, what else is she going to do?" Sophie asked.
"Sophie, she hasn't turned me or Sandy. I've just realized that North and Tooth weren't the best Guardians, and that I was wrong, and Sandy realized that a long time ago." Bunny said, attempting to soothe the angered human blonde.
"How do we know that?" Sophie exclaimed, and Em sighed, sitting back down on the couch.
"I really don't care anymore, Sophie. Think what you want about me, about Pitch, about my family. It's not going to change anything." She said in exasperation. Sophie crossed her arms, huffing.
Pippa's the lone straggler. She looks tired, depressed, and
hands Jamie her basket as she leaves.
PIPPA
Forget it, Jamie. There's just no
Easter this year.
CALEB (O.S.)
I can't believe this.
JAMIE
He really is real!
Pippa walks away, trailing the others. Jamie doesn't know
what to believe. He hangs his head and looks into the Easter
basket, it's empty.
JAMIE (CONT'D)
I know he is.
As the scene ended, something strange happened. There was a burst of sparkling blue light in front of Jamie's face, and he blinked his eyes multiple times. This happened with the others, except for Sophie, and they all began to smile. Em noticed this, and she began to grin, relaxing. Pippa looked at her.
"Is this…" she began, and Em nodded, and Bunny put a hand on her shoulder. Jamie shook his head, and looked over at North and Tooth.
"Oh my gosh." He muttered, realization appearing in his eyes. "How could you?" The other teens gasped, and stared at the immortals.
"Please say that Jack will be alright, Emma. Please!" Cupcake said, almost pleadingly. Em was quiet for a moment, but her necklace grew warm, and she smiled brightly.
"I have a feeling that my Papa will be just fine." She replied.
Please review!
Have a great weekend, readers!
Stay awesome, Guardians, kings, and queens
Love,
Enchantress