Author's Note: Whew! This chapter turned out much longer than I thought it would be. Thanks to the Anonymous guest reviewer on The HP Child of Spring, they spurred me into writing this chapter. I was planning on it and thinking about how it would all go down all week, but just didn't find the time to write it. Since I have an extra, extra long weekend (took a couple vacation days to stretch it out, hehe) I figured now would be the perfect time. I was planning a major update on ALL the Child of Spring fics, (plus Opposite Stephanie, for those that care) but I think for now it's safe to say that this and the HP one will be updated.
Reviews:
I already thanked CrossoverJunkie in a guest review, but thanks again for reminding me that I still actually have a ton of plot left to talk about, and this chapter just leaves me with so much mooore plot, so. Yeah. Fic's not ending anytime soon!
Lady Syndra: Whoo! Go you. :) Thanks for your review.
101: Sorry I made you cry so much. Sometimes I don't realize how angsty this fic can get. I tend to view the whole of it as mostly sunshine and rainbows. I don't know why, since I always have chapters like this one, which are somewhat depressing. I'm not sure what Jamie did to make you want Gethen to off him, but Gethen won't ever use his powers on humans. His powers are horrific enough, and him using them on mortals would be crossing the line. Gethen will limit his power abuse to things that fade away. I haven't decided if he'll use them on other spirits or not, or even if he'll be able to be redeemed. I'm aware that everyone's relationship with Mother Nature is pretty messed up right now, and eventually they WILL get things sorted out. But right now, we do have a major blizzard going on, etc.
So that's it for reviews. I love it when people do reviews as they read through the fic, since it totally inspires me to write more for it. (The guilt, the guilt!) Anywho, thanks to all the faves and follows too. Now on with the story!
Chapter Fifty-Six: Frozen
Very reluctantly, Jack pointed his staff at Lillian. He really didn't want to do this, but Lillian wasn't listening to him and he wasn't sure how else to get her to stop shooting lightning at him from the storm.
Even as he was thinking that, another bolt of lightning nearly hit him and without another thought, Jack's staff glowed as he shot a blast of winter magic at Lillian.
With mounting horror however, Jack realized that the small blast he had sent was far too strong.
All Lillian could do was stare in absolute shock and horror at the blue bolt of pure winter magic that was headed her way. Even if she wanted to move out of the way, it was too late. She didn't have time to get completely out of the way.
How could you do this to me?! her soul cried out, but before the blast could hit her, Mother Nature suddenly appeared with the other Seasonals.
August, Marin and Jasper appeared off to the side, but Mother Nature had somehow miscalculated her own appearance and was much closer to the fight. She quickly saw that Jack had fired winter magic at Lillian, and knew that it would spell the Child of Spring's demise, if the blast should hit her. Lillian was a much newer spirit after all, and she wasn't as strong as Jack.
So without another thought, Mother Nature disappeared in a shower of petals and leaves and reappeared right by Lillian. She roughly shoved Lillian aside seconds before the blast was to hit, but it was too late.
The blast wound up hitting both the spirits just as Lillian was pushed aside. She screamed as she felt the icy cold magic hit her, and she fell over in the snow from Mother Nature shoving her.
Lillian lay there in the snow, feeling colder than she ever felt in her life. She could hear people shouting, but all she could think about was how cold she was.
She felt hands turning her over, so she wasn't laying face down in the snow. She opened her eyes to see a frantic Jasper staring down at her.
"Y-you're alive," he gasped in surprise. He thought for certain that both Mother Nature and the Child of Spring had perished.
"I'm cold," Lillian said in a small, trembling voice. As she said that, she realized she was shivering uncontrollably.
Jasper helped her sit up and started checking her over, to make sure she was alright. Lillian might not be his favorite spirit, but even he wouldn't want her to die from Jack's winter magic.
He gasped in horror when he got to her legs. Everything else had been fine, so he was hoping the blast had missed Lillian, but no such luck. What he could see of her right leg, looked very blue and frozen. He tried to get her foot out of her boot, but her foot wouldn't bend at all to slip it out. When he touched the blue part of her leg, his hand felt a deep, penetrating cold and he had to pull his hand away.
No wonder she was cold!
Lillian had been watching this with growing hysteria and now she tried to move her own foot, with no success.
"I can't feel my leg!" Lillian shrieked with wide eyes. "I can't move my foot! I can't feel anything!"
Jack, who had been hovering nearby uncertainly, winced as a huge surge of guilt hit him.
So naturally, it was at that time that Pitch had to show up, appearing from the shadow of the nearby cameraman, as the weatherman who was completely oblivious to anything but the storm, continued to report the weather.
Pitch took in the scene as he appeared. He could see Jack, looking terribly guilty, while Jasper was kneeling down by Lillian, and August was standing with some girl by Mother Nature..
Wait.
Wait a moment.
Pitch's eyes widened as he saw Mother Nature, who apppeared frozen like a statue.
Surely, she wasn't..
"I can't feel my leg!" Lillian shrieked hysterically. "I can't move my foot! I can't feel anything!"
Pitch's eyes widened at this and he rushed over to them all.
He stopped first at Mother Nature, and touched her. She appeared to be in the act of pushing something. Pitch winced when he felt her, ice cold to the touch. It was a pure cold, colder than anything he had ever felt.
"..Emily Jane.." he whispered brokenly, as he realized that Mother Nature was completely frozen solid.
"P-Pitch..!" Lillian cried out when she spotted him. "Help!"
At Lillian's cry, Pitch was jerked out of his stupor and he hurried over to her, with one last glance at his precious daughter.
He looked down at Lillian as he drew near and Jasper hastily stood and moved aside for Pitch as he remembered their last encounter, where he nearly lost his head.
Pitch knelt down by Lillian and gathered her in his arms, as Lillian began to cry.
Pitch's eyes felt moist too, as he held her. One child frozen solid and another partially frozen. And it was all because..
Pitch stood with Lillian in his arms and he glared at Jack. Jack flinched from the look, and he began to babble.
"I didn't mean to!" he said desperately to Pitch. "I-It's my staff!" he held it out so they could all see how strange it was now. "It got disintegrated and partially regrown and now I can't control it!"
Pitch stared at Jack's staff, which did look very.. odd.
"You fix them," he said harshly to Jack. "You fix them and make them right."
Jack hugged his staff to himself and his eyes looked so sad.
"I can't," he said quietly to Pitch. "I can't control it. I can't stop the storm.." Jack's vision grew blurry as he saw Pitch continuing to glare at him. "I can't do anything!"
Lillian had her face buried in Pitch's robes as she sobbed hysterically. She desperately wished that this day had never happened and that they could go back to a happier, more simpler time.
It was as this desperate wish formed, that a golden plane being buffeted by the strong winds, landed nearby them.
The plane disappeared and Sandy floated over to them. A golden exclamation point appeared over his head as he saw Mother Nature frozen solid. He took in the scene to see August and Marin examining Mother Nature, while Jasper hesitantly was watching Pitch, Lillian and Jack.
Pitch was about to reply to Jack, when a concerned Sandy made his way over to them. Golden symbols appeared rapidly over his head as he questioned Pitch and Jack.
"I didn't mean to!" Jack said, his voice getting higher pitched and more hysterical. Wasn't anyone going to believe him?!
Pitch took a deep breath as he held Lillian close to himself. Now was not the time to lose his temper, and he knew that if he did, he would say some very hurtful things that he would regret later.
"Something has happened to Jack's staff, and apparently it.. it froze.." Pitch trailed off, his voice breaking.
He couldn't do this.. He couldn't. Not when it seemed like he and Emily Jane were finally getting along.
He couldn't lose her.
Not now.
And Lillian! He gazed down at her sadly, looking concerned. What was to become of her? Would she lose her leg? Would she ever be the same?
"I think," August interrupted as he walked over by them, Marin in tow, "I can unthaw Mother Nature. If Marin and I use all our power, it should be enough to help Mother Nature."
Pitch's heart rose with those words and his hope soared. Mother Nature might be saved!
Jack lifted his head hopefully at that. Maybe the damage he did could be undone after all.
Pitch's hope fell however, when he took in the still raging storm. It was very cold, and still the middle of the night. He looked around as he realized just how many people, children included, were in danger.
Emily Jane had to be saved, but.. all those others.
He sighed and gave Lillian a squeeze. He hoped he was doing the right thing.
"No," Pitch said to August, whose eyes widened at that. "You have to stop this storm first. It's what she would want. Jack can't help with his powers, so you and the others must combat this cold. You are the only ones who can do so."
Jasper and August gaped at Pitch.
This was Pitch Black, right?
Pitch walked over to Jasper and handed Lillian over to him.
"Sandy and I can give the children dreams and nightmares, warning them to stay inside for now. You look after Lillian and take care of this weather. She can help you once she's settled down, but you will probably have to carry her for now."
Pitch walked over to Sandy, who looked suprised for a moment, but then smiled. He should have known that this Pitch would be different. Before, Pitch might have become dangerously angry, or even disowned Jack for his actions. But this Pitch was willing to set aside his feelings to help out all the people and children who were in danger.
Sandy nodded at Pitch and formed his golden plane again. The weather was too unpredictable for his cloud. He put on his golden goggles and soon had taken off again into the storm.
Pitch didn't look at poor Mother Nature as he made his way to the nearest shadow. He glanced back at Jack and saw how distraught the boy was, but Pitch didn't have time for reassurances.
"I trust you all to do the right thing," Pitch said as the Seasonals stared at him in suprise.
Before August and Jasper could say anything, Pitch had disappeared into the shadow. What Pitch hadn't realized of course, was the stubbornness of one Seasonal in particular, and the stubbornness of one Easter Bunny. For shortly after Pitch's and Sandy's departure, North and Bunny arrived on the sleigh, crash landing spectacularly on camera, having just avoided the cameraman and crew.
"Oi!" Bunny said as he climbed out from the sleigh. "Watch yer landings, ya dingo!" He stretched his back with a groan.
"Is very difficult with all this wind!" North retorted as he too got out from the sleigh. "Where is Sandy and Tooth?"
Bunny rolled his eyes. "You didn't set off the aurora, so I doubt they know where ta go."
North looked sheepish at that. "We were in such a hurry, I did not think to do so."
"Looks like it's just us then," Bunny said as he looked around. He frowned when he saw August, something other spirit (Marin) Jack and.. why was Jasper holding Lillian?
Then he saw Mother Nature, and his eyes widened. His frown deepened and he marched right over by them.
"Alright, what happened here?!" Bunny demanded, his harsh tone making Jack flinch and look more guilty than ever.
"Ask Mr. Freeze over there," August said with a frown. "He almost killed the Spring Spirit, and who knows what condition Mother Nature will be in when she's unfrozen. Both of them could have irreperable damage."
Bunny looked suprised at this and gave Jack a look. It was the sort of look that said that Jack had better start explaining.
So Jack explained yet again about his staff, as North made his way over. Bunny and North exchanged a look at that. How did Jack's staff get disintegrated in the first place? And regrown? This was very strange.
"I should be able to unthaw Mother Nature with Marin's help, and I think we can do something about Lillian's leg as well," August explained.
Bunny was going to nod, but then he paused.
"Wait a minute," he said, "What about the storm? Ya gotta stop that first! It's outta control and a lot of people are gonna get hurt."
August frowned right back at that.
"Frost can't help with his staff like that, and if Mother Nature dies, it would be a worldwide disaster. We should help her first."
"But - " Bunny said.
Jack hugged his staff closer and he cautiously approached Jasper and Lillian as the fight between Bunny and August began to get louder and escalate.
"Lillian?" Jack said hesitantly, as the fight raged on in the background. Distantly, Jack's mind registered shouts of "I can unfreeze her now!" and "What about the kids, ya dingo?!"
"..I.. I'm sorry.. I really didn't mean it," Jack continued as he watched her, his eyes filled with worry.
Lillian had finally stopped sobbing hysterically, but her cheeks were wet with tears, and she couldn't stop shivering uncontrollably. She looked over at Jack with sad eyes.
"..You hurt me." she said softly to him.
Jack bowed his head, his mop of white hair covering his eyes.
"You wouldn't listen to me.. I tried to explain. You were shooting lightning at me."
Jasper had raised eyebrows at this and he looked at Lillian, whom he was still holding in his arms, bridal style.
"You were trying to hit Jack with lightning?" he asked, as he looked around at the raging storm. "Good grief, no wonder the storm is so bad! It has both winter and spring magic in it."
Lillian blushed in embarrassment and looked down at her hands, which were in her lap.
"..Um.." was all she could say. So yeah, she contributed to the storm. But it was for a good reason!
Right?
"Look," Jack said brandishing his staff at her, so she could see it up close. "It's a long story, but my staff got kind of wrecked, and I can't use it to stop the storm. If you would've listened to me in the first place, none of this would have happened."
Lillian looked up at that, her eyes flashing in anger despite her continued shivering.
"YOU were the one who started this storm in the first place! Why would you do that, if your staff isn't working right?!"
Jack flinched back at that, and opened his mouth to reply, but just then they heard August shouting.
"Listen you overgrown rabbit, I can do it right NOW!" August shouted as he grabbed Marin and dragged her over to Mother Nature.
Both of them placed their hands on her and began to glow brightly with the power of summer.
The snow around them began to melt, despite the freezing temperatures.
North, who was trying to get both Bunny and August to see reason and get along, had given up and was watching August try to unfreeze Mother Nature.
"Is going to be difficult for them with all this snow, no?" North said conversationally to Bunny.
Bunny threw up his hands in frustration.
"We should be helpin' out anyone caught in the storm! Or tryin' to get the storm to stop! This is a waste of their magic! They'll probably be too tired to do anythin' to help out now!"
North frowned at that. It was something he hadn't thought of.
Jack, Lillian and Jasper watched as Mother Nature slowly went from looking like a frozen statue, to more like herself.
It took a long time, but eventually all the ice surrounding her melted and she collapsed into August's arms.
Surprised, August caught her and scooped her up into his arms.
"M-Mother..?" he asked, as he gazed down at her.
Surely she wasn't..
Mother Nature was very cold to the touch, and even August's natural warmth wasn't enough for her. She trembled as her body was wracked with shivers.
"..A..August.." she said weakly. She looked around to see the storm was still raging on. Normally she could have tried to help stop it, but now she wasn't in any condition to do much of anything.
She laid her head against August's shoulder.
"..Jack.. has to stop this.." she said quietly to August.
August could only hear her over the storm, because she was speaking close by his ear.
"It won't be that easy," August said to her. "Frost's staff is.. weird," he finished after a pause. "He can't control it anymore."
Mother Nature frowned at this.
"Let me see it," she said, a hint of her former authoratative voice appearing.
Instead of demanding that Frost come over, he simply carried Mother Nature over to him.
Marin, meanwhile, was looking very tired and very cold. She used a good portion of her energy up trying to help Mother Nature. She didn't know how August could have the strength to carry Mother Nature at all.
Marin wrapped her arms around herself and she shivered. Summer spirits were not meant to be in all this cold! Not to mention she was still in her flimsy summer dress and sandals. She simply didn't have any winter attire she could change into, and she knew before long she would be looking pretty blue too.
She was surprised when a heavy blanket was draped around her shoulders and a very Russian hat was plunked down on her head.
She looked around to see who did that and saw North smiling at her. She hadn't even heard him walk over, but then again, they did have a huge blizzard raging all around them.
"Is not good to have a Summer spirit popscicle, da?" he said kindly to her.
Marin gave the Guardian a gratetful smile as she drew the blanket closer around her shoulders.
Mother Nature gently held out her hands towards Jack.
"Let me see your staff, Jack," she said to him, her voice betraying how weak she felt.
Jack handed her his staff, the guilt practically radiating off of him.
"..I'm.. I'm sorry.." Jack said to her.
Mother Nature however, was carefully looking over the staff. She recognized the magic that was used on it.
Decay..
Gethen.
She looked sharply over at Jack.
"What were you doing with the spirit of decay, Jack?" she asked him, trying to inject some strength into her voice.
Jack flinched again and looked down at the snow. It was better than looking at what surely would be Mother Nature's accusing eyes.
"..He had two Spring Spirits take me there.." Jack said to the snow. "He's keeping all kinds of spirits and sprites captive. He threatened to destroy my staff and kill all the Winter Sprites and Spirits if I didn't do what he wanted."
"What?!" Lillian yelped in surprise and anger. "He.. he..! That.. Ohhh, when I get my hands on him," she said as she clenched her fists.
Mother Nature frowned deeply at this and looked down at Jack's staff.
"I think we can repair your staff, but it will take all of our Seasonal magic combined to do so. The Man in the Moon cannot help you this time, since the moon is obscured with all this snow."
She looked around at the gathered Seasonals.
"Jasper, August. Place your hands on the staff and concentrate your powers into it. Focus on the magic in the staff, and reach out to it with your powers. Jack and Lillian, I ask you to do the same. Even if you are tired or hurt, you must do this. It is the only way we can save the staff and combat this storm."
August and Jasper exchanged an uneasy look, but both of them placed their hands on the staff. Jack and Lillian followed suit, and soon Lillian's bracelet was glowing with her spring powers, as she tried with all her might to focus on the staff and not on her poor, frozen foot. She really hoped August wouldn't be too tired afterwards to unfreeze it.
Jack squeezed his eyes shut as he held onto his staff for dear life.
Please...
Please work..
The staff began to glow with all the different magic combined, being poured into it.
August concentrated hard, knowing that they weren't doing this just to help out Frost, but also to help end this terrible blizzard. He already felt pretty drained from saving Mother Nature, and he knew that even after all this, they still had a lot of work to do. He wasn't sure he would be up for it.
Jasper poured all the essence of Fall into the staff, while thinking of the fall trees and how they managed to stay strong, despite losing all their leaves after they changed colors.
Lillian thought very hard about trees in the spring, and how they grew and poured all of that into her concentration on the staff.
Mother Nature, who was still holding Jack's staff, began to concentrate as well.
Once all of their magic was combined into the staff, it began to glow even more brightly than before.
"What are they doin'?" Bunny asked in a huff.
Marin, who was standing by Bunny and North blinked in surprise.
"They're using all their Seasonal magic on the staff," she said as they continued to watch. "Jack did keep saying it was broken. Maybe their magic can fix it."
She tilted her head in confusion.
"But all the Seasonal magic contradicts one another. Winter doesn't get along with Summer or Spring, so the magic combined would be volatile.." she trailed off as she continued to watch. "Oh! But Mother Nature balances it all out, so her powers must stop them from being too.." she paused, trying and failing to think of a word for this. "..Clashy."
Bunny exchanged a look with North at this, and both refrained from saying anything on Marin's choice of words.
As all the Seasonals and Mother Nature concentrated on the staff, the glowing grew very bright, and then ceased.
When they all looked at the staff, they were surprised to see that their symbols were all etched onto the front of it now, just below the crook.
In a diamond pattern, there was a spring flower, a sun, a leaf and a snowflake. And behind it all, was the Earth, Mother Nature's symbol, as she stood for all the seasons and the well being of the world.
Tears welled up in Jack's eyes as he saw that his staff was as good as new. Their powers seeped into the wood and made it whole again, and strong. It was no longer two halves fighting one another - it was whole.
Jack received his staff from Mother Nature and hugged it to himself.
"..Thank you.." he said to the other Seasonals. He never thought that they would do such a thing for him. Maybe they could all get along after all.
Mother Nature rested her head back against August's shoulder, feeling more drained than she ever had.
"..Now.. you must all work together to stop the storm.. Lillian and August.. You two must pair up. Concentrate on raising the temperature. Jack.. I want you to focus on dissipating the storm. Jasper, use your fall magic to raise the temperature as well. After the storm has ended and the snow melted, you must all go to the other areas of the world and make the temperature as it should.."
Mother Nature trailed off. She felt her eyes closing, as she struggled to stay awake.
"I should.. return home..." she murmured. She felt herself being passed off to someone, and she was gently set down somewhere, where something heavy and warm was draped over her.
Unbeknownst to her, she was passed off by August to North, and North had set her down in the sleigh, since he wasn't sure where else to put her. He had draped his own heavy coat after her, since Marin had use of their spare blanket at the moment. It was a good thing North was so used to these cold temperatures.
"Alright, you heard Mother," August said as he eyed Lillian.
Lillian still looked upset and tried moving her frozen leg to no avail.
"Can you fix my foot first?" she asked August. "I don't think I can stand on it."
August sighed, since he was already feeling very weary. But instead of arguing as he usually would, he just walked over and placed a hand on her leg.
He winced at the deep cold he felt, but poured his hot summer magic into it quickly, hoping to get this over with as soon as he could.
They were very lucky that they had access to such magic and that Spirits were a lot harder to kill than normal humans, he mused to himself as he watched the blue leave Lillian's leg, and it turned mostly back to normal.
Lillian winced as her leg started tingling badly. Was this how Mother Nature felt? Ugh.
Once Lillian's leg looked mostly normal, Jasper gently set her down on her feet.
Lillian wobbled and nearly fell over. She lifted her foot off the ground and rotated her ankle with a wince. At least she could move it now. It would probably be alright with a few days of rest, she thought.
But she still remembered who was behind this all. The spirit of decay.
Gethen.
She looked up at August seriously.
"I'll help with the temperatures, but there's something I have to do first," she said to him.
August started to protest, but a big flower magically grew out of the snow and ate Lillian, and then disappeared back down into the ground.
"Seriously?!" August complained as he saw the flower shrink down.
Author's Note: Sorry, sorry for the cliffhanger, but I stopped there and realized the chapter was getting on in length. When I realized how much longer the next part was going to be, I decided to cut it off there. If the next part goes as planned, it should actually be quite long and FINALLY have a resolution to all this angst/Gethen stuff. At least for now! After that, we'll have some fluff, I promise. And toy making! Gotta have the rest of that. Plus Mother Nature still has to talk it out with Jack and Lillian, since she's totally been avoiding them up until now.
As always, let me know what you thought of the chapter and if you have any ideas for future things you'd like to see. I have my own ideas on what's coming up, but it couldn't hurt to have more.
Edit: Fixed some errors. Ugh.
