A single streetlight illuminated a room cast in shadows. The wind pounded against the window, providing the only source of sound in the area. It bucked and punched, slamming repeatedly into the hard pane of glass. Closed windows were there to keep nature out, not let it in. However, this fact did not stop the gusts from ramming into the iridescent surface blocking them from the individuals within the abode. The wind was absolutely frantic and the only one who could understand its worry was currently traumatized with his own problems.
Brows scrunched in discomfort as rhythmic beats registered in dazed eardrums. A slender finger twitched as a groan escaped from parted lips. Who in the world was making that noise and why? Didn't they know it was the middle of the night? Couldn't they be courteous and let their neighbors sleep?
Wait…what neighbors? The only neighbors the palace possessed were the clouds, mountains, and wind. The open hallways of each pillar sang every time the wind passed through, they didn't create cacophonous bangs. Also, it was much too stuffy to be Tooth Palace. Birds, let alone hummingbird-hybrids, were not fond of being packed into a confined area. The palace was a merely a perch, a storage unit for the teeth. It was vast, exposed to the elements yet it provided shelter from the monsoons and lesser storms. It smelled of fresh rain and minty floss. It did not smell like a greyhound in need of a bath.
Vibrant amethyst eyes blinked cautiously, adjusting to the dimness now refracting against small pupils. They blinked once, twice, widening as the image was clarified. Wings were crunched against a wall, undamaged but in a highly uncomfortable position. Feathers were ruffled, some scattered around the point of impact with the plaster wall. Eyes lazily drifted towards the only window in the room where the wind howled and reared. The pane appeared to shudder with every collision. Artificial light from the outside seeped through the translucent glass, its beam chasing the shadows away. The sallow glow directed its attention to something on the other side of the room.
Hesitantly, Tooth rubbed at her eyes. They felt irritated, possibly slightly puffy, as if dirt had crawled its way between her lashes. Rolling from her side and onto her stomach, lucid dainty-looking wings buzzed to life. Now that she was hovering, Tooth could get a clear view of the area. She couldn't hold back a gasp.
Overturned furniture and broken glass littered the floor. Black sand and white stuffing was strewn across the floor, tainting both hardwood and carpet. Behind the capsized couch, two figures were visible. One was deathly still. The other was deathly pale. Both were deathly cold.
"Jack!" she whispered in worry. Darting over to the crouched teen, she noticed his downcast features. As she cupped his face with her hands, she kneeled before the boy. Tooth tried to look him in the eye. "Jack, please talk to me." The teen gently swatted her away, a horrified expression creeping through his visage. He gripped his staff; frost coating the worn wood farther than his hands could reach in their current position.
"No, no…" he whispered, shaking his head as he did. "You need to stay away. You don't understand…I…something…Jamie…"
"Jack," she spoke softly, calmly, "What happened?"
"Please Tooth, I-I never wanted…it shouldn't have!"
"I want to help you, but you're not making sense," Tooth explained, slowly rising to her feet. Jack shook his head faster.
"You-you're going to remember," he stammered. "You're going to remember and it'll still be my fault."
"What am I supposed to remember?" There was a horrible dampness under her foot. Morbid curiosity poked at Tooth's brain and, despite Jack's pleading expression, she looked down. Red. Red and a body.
There was shouting and an icicle. There was crying and rage and hatred and so many unresolved issues bubbling under the surface of a supposedly frozen lake. There was a child, a sweet innocent child, and blood. There were nightmares and curses, tears and apologies…and then there was darkness.
She remembered everything.
"I...I..." Jack stuttered. His staff clattered to the ground as he slowly stepped backwards, away from Jamie's body. Pale hand gripped tufts of white hair in shock and horror. Bright blue irises darted about the room, widened and pleading. They finally rested a patch of the rug. It wasn't stained red, but it was a darker shade than the dry portion of the material. In the center laid a melting piece of ice, now indistinguishable from the shape it previously held. But Jack knew. Jack knew what it had been and how it had been used. The perfect murder…
An icicle leaves no trace when its purpose has been fulfilled.
He backed against a wall, a hand on his chest as he hyperventilated. His other hand had also dropped from his head to his side. Meeting Tooth's expressionless gaze, his lips began to tremble. "I did this..." he stated breathlessly. Dilated pupils focused on the body of a child. "I did this."
"Jack..." Tooth started, unsure of how to continue. "Just...we'll figure something out." It was all she could offer. The teen looked at her with disbelief plastered across his features.
"What?" he scoffed. "Do you think this'll fix itself?" He turned his head away, obscuring his face in the shadows. "I killed Jamie. I killed a kid. I broke the oath by killing my best friend!" He shouted the last part at her, anger and pain flashing across his eyes. Just as quickly, he focused his gaze on the ground. "I don't deserve to be a Guardian."
Tooth cautiously stepped towards him. What was she supposed to say? Her oath, duty, and morality were all mixing and combining into an untamed monster. She wanted to comfort her child, to whisper those soothing nothings into his ears, but she was a witness to a crime. As a witness, there was no room for bias.
The cold hard facts were right in front of her: Jack murdered Jamie and broke his oath. Taking a life, especially one so young, was a crime punishable by death. But she couldn't bear the thought of Jack's death. He'd simply lost control of his power. He mistook Jamie for Pitch in his blind rage. It wasn't entirely his fault.
The memory of the event would forever haunt Toothiana. She would always remember the raw fear she felt as Jamie was ripped away from her grasp. She'd remember as it anchored her in place, restricting her mind to thoughts only. She'd remember screaming at Jack as a force greater than herself held her away from the carnage. She was a Guardian for the Moon's sake! Why couldn't she protect Jamie?
In a twisted sense, she was just as guilty as Jack was for Jamie's death. How could she just let something like that happen?
But…but memories were still memories, right? Memories didn't lie. Memories revealed the truth and were the most dependable source of information. Memories didn't cloud the mind; they helped it recall important events in a time of need. Wonder, hope, dreams, and fun obscured judgment and confused imagination with reality. Memories were facts. Memories grounded one to reality.
Memories condemned Jack Frost.
Toothiana really wished she had Father Time's powers.
As much as she wanted to rush over and comfort Jack in a feathered embrace, she stood her ground. She had a duty to uphold. Toothiana was a Guardian of Childhood, offering protection to the children of the world. It was part of her job to shield as many kids as she could from potential harm. Tonight, she had failed. But only one of the two Guardians had broken their oath.
The Oath of the Guardian was sacred. It was taboo to violate. Jack committed two of the most odious actions in the same night. Tooth didn't know whether to be fearful or saddened by the information. But the facts remained over personal judgment. The memories would always ring true. As much as it pained her, a simple scolding would not fix this. Jack ended the life of a child. He wasn't a Guardian. He couldn't be treated as a Guardian.
He was no longer family.
Swallowing down her cries, she straightened her posture. She ignored the voice in the back of her mind that screamed maybe, just maybe, this was all a huge misunderstanding. One glance at the claret-stained rug shut it up. Fierce violet met petrified cobalt. In this mindset, she was no longer the bubbly Tooth. No, she was Toothiana: Queen of the Tooth Fairy Armies. Right now, she had to strengthen her resolve and show no mercy to an enemy.
So why, after centuries of practice, was it so hard to do?
"Jack Frost," she said sternly, "You…you are correct." The hurt flickering on Jack's face made a dent in her apathy. She had to continue before she lost it. "I…you're not a Guardian anymore." Off like a band-aid. The quicker it was, there was less pain to experience.
The lamppost dimmed, casting the two spirits in the shadows. Jack's hood was up, hiding his face from view. The crackling and popping of ice made Tooth's feather's stand on end. After a few seconds, the noise abruptly stopped.
The image of an icicle came to mind.
"I'm not a Guardian," Jack whispered, barely audible to Tooth. "I-I never should've been one to begin with." An empty cackle followed. "I knew that I never could be one. I always mess things up and I never learn from mistakes. But…I think I know how to stop them from happening in the future." The hood fell away when Jack's head jerked upwards. Crystal tears threatened to leave his eyes as he smiled sadly at the Tooth Fairy.
"Jack, what are you doing?" The indifferent demeanor fell away only to be replaced by pure panic. There was an icicle in his left hand. The response she received chilled her heart.
"What I should have done a long time ago."
This never happened. This wasn't supposed to happen!
Tooth found herself rooted to the floor yet again. She could only watch as the icicle buried its way deep beneath the dark blue hoodie it penetrated. Its base was soon stained red as Jack screamed. His staff, his only source of comfort for three hundred long years, lay abandoned at his feet. The wind wailed and shrieked, finally breaking through its man-made barrier and swirling throughout the house. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, Tooth's eyes were trained on Jack's chest.
Something fell to the ground with a soft clinking noise. A heavier object was soon on its way.
"No…please MiM, no…" she whispered, hands covering her mouth.
Jack's body was dead before it hit the floor.
"NO!"
Tooth shot out of her bed, wings pulsating in time with her frantically beating heart. Sunlight harshly met violet irises and a feathered arm was raised to block the intrusive rays. Sweat beaded across her forehead and tear tracks decorated her cheeks. Why did she have to dream of that awful night? It was so hard to believe that it had been less than thirty six hours ago…
With a sigh, the Guardian managed to calm her racing heart and wings. Now hovering at a normal height above the ground, she turned away from the cheerful daylight. She couldn't find it in herself to greet the day as she always did after a refreshing night's sleep. Instead, she felt lethargic and so very saddened and she just couldn't stop thinking about that.
"No, I am going to focus on my work," she told herself. "I am not going to think about last night and I am not going to think about-"
"What I should have done a long time ago."
Why did her conscience need to wage a war against itself?
Without further hesitation, Tooth grabbed the handle of her bedroom door and thrust it open. Entering the hallway, she heard thousands of tiny conversations taking place throughout the palace. Mini fairies shuttled themselves from continent to continent, collecting and sorting teeth as they went. At the moment, Baby Tooth and her friend had taken charge in Tooth's place. It was time to reclaim her position.
As she flew across the palace, she felt millions of tiny eyes on the back of her head. Some of them were fearful, others were angered, and a few were mournful. For a moment, Tooth regretted telling them about the fate of the youngest Guardian. She quickly remembered that keeping the information from them would have been wrong and resulted in more consequences in the future. Her fairies deserved to know what was happening, even if it meant being the recipient of many cold shoulders. Even so, it didn't prevent the fairies from performing their tasks.
The fairies would never stop doing their job. Like any family, they loved their mother with every fiber of their beings. However, children often have huge disagreements with their parents and the fairies were no exception. All of her fairies loved Jack Frost, mischief and all. More than once, Tooth caught her fairies gossiping about the teen and his antics. One girl would boast that he winked at her. Another would pipe up and say that he allowed her to rest in the pouch of his hoodie from Burgess to Takikawa. After multiple stories and cries of jealousy, Baby Tooth would flutter by and remind everyone of her friendship with the winter spirit. The swarms usually dissipated after that, a few shooting envious glares towards the beaming mini fairy. She wouldn't dare remind them of the fact that Jack would let her tag along on his snow-making outings. Oh, Baby Tooth...
Tooth let a hand rest on her forehead, a sigh escaping from her lips. She ran her hand through the feathers of her headdress. The fairies had not taken the news well. Baby Tooth outright exploded with rage.
She chirped and twittered, chastising her mother for making such a horrible assumption. Memory?! Who gave a crap about that? Tooth had made a mental note to discover who taught her child that word.
Baby Tooth didn't stop. Did her mother bother to look at details? Why was she so quick to assume? Why didn't she try to help Jack? Couldn't she see that the teen was just as distraught as her? Did she realize that she'd never get that trust back? Didn't she realize that memories could be warped and corrupted by one's thoughts and feelings? Memories were like opinions, easily affected by emotions and trauma. An argument from one person could look like friendly banter to the other. Memories showed the perspective of a person, not the full-blown truth. That's why people liked getting opinions and asking for both sides of a story: one perspective could be wrong.
After giving a sister fairy directions to a tooth in Venezuela, Baby Tooth spotted her matron figure flying towards her. Part of her wanted to continue throwing hissy fits at her mother in honor of Jack. The other (more mature) half wanted to just leave the palace and go find Jack. It had been at least ten hours since the branding had happened and the teen had to be lonely. Maybe she could cheer him up with a visit! Oh, maybe she could give him something special…like floss! Yes! People with really white teeth liked floss! Or…did they like whitening strips better? Whatever it was, Jack would definitely appreciate a present right now!
Her excited musings were cut short when a large finger lightly tapped her feathers. With an indignant chirp, she spun to face whoever dared to mess up her plumage. The annoyance bled out of her face when she realized it was Toothiana. Like any good soldier to their superior, Baby Tooth straightened her posture and gave a small salute. Perhaps this show of courtesy would get her out faster. If she was lucky, there'd be a tooth under a pillow somewhere cold and snowy and…
"Baby Tooth, there's a lateral incisor in Sydney," Tooth reported to the mini fairy. "Nobody's stopped by to pick it up yet and the sun's already starting to rise. If you fly fast, you'll be able to catch it just in time." The statement carried far less enthusiasm than it had in the Tooth Fairy's entire existence. The miniature version almost pitied her creator. Almost. "Can you take care of that?" Baby Tooth nodded slowly at first before realization dawned upon her. Her gesture became far more animated and, within seconds, she was gone.
The mini fairy always enjoyed flying through the clouds. They were cool and refreshing and they looked so puffy and deceiving! Had they been more like cotton balls, Baby Tooth would happily spend a free day bouncing on the floating pillow, drifting playfully from one to the other. Unfortunately, science doesn't work like that so she resolved to just darting through them at full speed.
Sometimes, upon exiting the condensed water, small crystalline droplets would cling to her feathers. She would feel like a princess and indulge a bit in her inner girly-ness. She'd twirl and waltz as she'd seen the snowflakes do with Jack. She'd let the water sparkle on her wings, making colorful feathers even more vibrant and beautiful than before. As the water hit her face time and time again, she'd laugh and dance until she ran out of breath and stamina. In that moment, she'd remember that she actually had a job to do and hustle to it. The distractions improved her flying, making her one of the fastest mini fairies. Clouds prevented her from getting caught in Pitch's initial strike against the palace. Who knew procrastination could pay off so well?
But today was different. Today, Baby Tooth had an important job in mind. Sydney was in Australia and, if she remembered the way, it meant that she could visit the Warren. From what her mother said, Bunnymund had been the one to stick up for Jack. She'd have to give him an extra shiny quarter for talking back to her mother. Toothiana was right about a lot of things, but not this time. Baby Tooth could feel it…in her (extremely tiny) belly.
Of course, she'd get the tooth first.
One tooth and two close calls with a demon iguana later, Baby Tooth found herself fluttering towards the outback. She giggled slightly as she passed some kangaroos. Oh, there was a wallaby down there too! She would have to tell Jack about that! Wallabies were like tiny kangaroos, right? Well, close enough! It'll work for Jack.
Surprisingly enough, she found the Pooka lounging against a tree. His eyes surveyed the landscape as his paws twitched. His nose caught her scent within a ten meter radius. Noticing that green eyes were staring intently at her, Baby Tooth took it as an invitation. She carefully strapped the incisor to her waist strap before darting over to the Guardian. Normally, the mini fairies would only use the strap for coins in fear of losing the tooth overseas. For now, Baby Tooth needed to be hands free as she reached top speed and slammed into the Pooka's furry chest. The blow did nothing more than earn her a soft chortled. Ruffling her feathers, she took to the air once again, opting to hover in front of Bunny's snout.
"Hey little Sheila," Bunnymund greeted, a warm smile gracing his features. He extended a paw towards the hummingbird fairy and caressed the tiny feathers of her natural headdress. "How're you doing?" Baby Tooth let out a series of angry chirps and saddened whistles. Ducking away from the paw, she darted around the Pooka's head. Her frantic motions began to make him a little nauseous. He never did well with motion, hence his unadulterated loathing towards the sleigh.
His smile feel and a sigh escaped his lungs. "I know, I wasn't much better back there either." Leaning back on his haunches, Bunny collapsed into a sitting position. The small fairy landed on his shoulder, softly cooing into his ear. Taking the hint to continue, Bunny met her mismatched eyes. "Yeah, I knew something sounded fishy. The story…it didn't sound right." He gave a somber laugh. "But none of us bothered to stick up for him. He just…he gave up. He didn't try to defend himself at all. All he did was stand there and nod. To be honest, I think he was shell shocked…" His eyes fell to the ground. "Any of us would have been."
Baby Tooth chirped once and nuzzled against Bunny's cheek. She needed to show him that he'd done his job. Unlike the others, Bunny hadn't forgotten that Jack was still considered a kid. Ok, maybe being eternally eighteen was the cusp of childhood, but it didn't matter with Jack. The winter spirit was a kid in mind, body, and spirit. He wasn't even close to being considered an adult.
Receiving the message, Bunny let himself smile at the display of affection. "I'm assuming the rest of you didn't like the news?" A quick shaking of the head supplied the answer. "Thought so. You all adore Frostbite so much, it's a wonder Tooth doesn't have a mutiny on her hands. Glad she doesn't though. The last thing any of us need right now is more trouble." Turning his attention to the fairy still on his shoulder, he asked, "Now why'd you come to find me? I can see you got what you came for," he gestured slightly at the incisor, "so why'd you come all the way out here?"
Oh, how could she explain this to him in a way he could understand? She needed a new perspective and her mother couldn't provide it? She wanted to visit Jack? She wanted to just talk to him and..and…what was she saying? Drat, she lost it!
She shrugged.
"Well then, you better get yourself home," Bunny stated, making a small move to leave. "I should be heading back to the Warren as well. Can never tell what my googies will do when I'm gone. Sometimes, everything's fine. More often than not, they like to play a Warren-wide version of paint Twister." Baby Tooth chirped rapidly and loudly, shaking her head just as fast. She pushed off the Pooka's shoulder, hovering around his head again. "You do that any more and you'll be seeing carrots," he warned lightly.
No, don't leave! Ugh, she just wanted to know more! She wanted to find out where Jack was and if he could help her find him! Ha! She remembered what she came here for! Oh, the joys of-
Suddenly, a low rumble filled the air. There was a "Fwoop!" sound followed by the most uncomfortable feeling in the world. Both fur and feathers stood on-edge as an invisible shockwave knocked into the stunned spirits. The energy was light and barely made Baby Tooth falter in the air, but something was completely off. It felt as though somebody decided to play a disastrous game of jump rope with nature and then forgot to untangle it when they were done. A shiver crawled up Bunny's spine and the image of a blizzard flitted through his thoughts. Within milliseconds, the feeling was gone and time seemed to catch up again.
"Did-did you feel that?" Bunny asked the mini fairy. Baby Tooth nodded slowly. Where had she felt such raw energy before? The answer hit her faster than she ever thought possible.
She darted in front of Bunny's eyes, twittering madly as she did so. She used her tiny arms to exaggerate her actions. They were first drawn apart at arm's length, drawn together, and then released again. She even added a "whoosh!" for effect. Bunny only got irritated at her actions.
"Not now Baby Tooth," he grumbled, swatting at her gently, "I'm trying to figure out where I've felt that before." Baby Tooth facepalmed. She was jittery, wracking her brain for anything that could convey her message. Looking up, she noticed that the tree they were under had thin branches. As they stretched out, they narrowed out into widths that could barely be considered twig-sized. Perfect!
Hurriedly, she flew to the end of a branch a snapped a rather crooked-looking piece off. Bunny heard the nearly inaudible crack of wood. "What d'you think you're doing?! That is protected wildlife right there (of course, protected by me) and you have no business just destroying it like that!" Geez, Jack was right! Bunny took his plants very seriously.
Zooming back into Bunny's vision, Baby Tooth replicated her actions with her newfound "staff". Her hands were drawn apart once again (one hand holding the staff), slammed together, and brought out again. The Pooka's expression morphed from one of irritation to realization to depp-rooted concern.
"Jack!" he gasped, quickly tapping twice on the ground. Residual magic still hung in the air, allowing Bunny to sniff it out and locate its source. Jack was somewhere in the northernmost part of Maine. "Baby Tooth, go back to the palace!" he managed to shout just before the hole was replaced by a bright red posy.
Despite his speed, Bunny felt as though he weren't running fast enough. He knew they shouldn't have left Frostbite alone! He was emotionally unstable, reckless, and branded! Why they ever thought it was a good idea to leave him alone was beyond him.
Jack was not only a danger to himself, but was also at the mercy of others. Jack didn't like to fight, especially with other spirits since they had all ignored him for centuries. He just wanted to have friends and a family. Apparently, that was asking the universe of too much!
Other spirits didn't take kindly to anyone who threatened the Guardians. With Jack being the first Guardian to break the oath, well, things wouldn't end well. If he felt winter magic all the way in the outback, Jack had to be completely desperate or not thinking straight…or a mixture of both.
Either way, things wouldn't be pretty. All Bunny could do at the moment was sprint and hope that Jack was in one piece.
He didn't arrive at his destination quickly enough. With a frustrated huff, Bunny opened a tunnel. Stars twinkled through spindly tree branches and a soft breeze wafted through the area. If Bunny didn't smell Jack's magic, it would have been a perfect night to star gaze. Maybe a tad bit too cold, but perfect nonetheless.
Hopping out of his tunnel, the Pooka raise his nose to the breeze. He could smell pine needles and flowers (odd for the time of year). He could smell frozen water and decaying leaves. He smelled sap and some tiny mammals scurrying about and maybe a wolf pack far away from him…
Bunny froze, realization dawning upon him. He couldn't smell Jack. He couldn't hear Jack. He just couldn't sense Jack. That scared Bunny more than he cared to admit, especially after that previous display of power. Maybe he'd been wrong in his tracking. Maybe Jack was farther up north in Canada or perhaps in the lower part of New England.
And then, it was as if the entire world stopped for a minute. Not a real minute, but a metaphorical heart-stopping universe-crushing millisecond. Everything just came to a screeching all-encompassing halt. No chickadees twittered, no trees whispered, and not even the wind blew. Everything was still, but far from calm. No, this silence, this crushing quietness, was unnatural and unholy and it put Bunnymund on edge.
And then everything came rushing back.
It was as if a dam had been demolished as the wind raced by the frozen Pooka, stealing his breath as sped by. Bunny stumbled in surprise before seizing up once again. The temperature dropped critically, causing him to suppress a shudder crawling through his body. He could barely feel the aftershock of an enormous magic release. Just as quickly, the sensation of potentially freezing to death vanished and nature returned to its original thrum of post-autumn life. Everything settled back into its own rhythm.
But Bunny realized that this was the disturbance that first drew him out of the Warren. This was where Jack was and, if the enchanted shockwave was anything to go by, he was in trouble.
The zephyr brought a scent with it, one that Bunny wanted to erase from his olfactory sensors. The smell filled highly sensitive nostrils, forcing the warrior to hold back a gag. Eyes widened in disbelief, mind wanting to forget the refulgent odor. But it stayed and created a knot of worry within his stomach.
Noticing a potential ally, the Wind wisped around the Pooka's large ears. It tried talking to the Guardian, ignoring the fact that only its rider could understand the cryptic language of the breeze. Realizing that explanations would take too long, the Wind created an air stream. Woven through various trees (temperates and conifers alike), the current served as a path for Bunny to follow. Wind wished it didn't need to carry the heavy reek of coppery blood, but it had to save its family. They'd been together for centuries. It wasn't ending because some idiotic spirits decided to throw a poorly directed hissy fit.
Without hesitation, Bunny bounded across the hardened earth of the forest, darting to and fro as he avoided colliding with rough tree bark. As the smell of blood became stronger, he picked up speed. Brown blurs passed by his peripheral vision as a blue splotch came into view. Careening to a stop, Bunny skidded across the disturbed soil in front of the bleary-eyed teen. With only one quick glance over the boy's body, Bunny's heart sank. Why did everything terrible have to happen to Jack? It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair.
Bunny's ear lowered as he kneeled closer to the prone child. Shaking paws were guided towards burgundy-stained hair, carefully cradling the head it belonged to. Jack's eyes glanced up to meet pure green irises, a trickle of blood running out of his mouth and down his chin.
"…Bunny?" he stuttered. His breathing began to hitch in fear and complete disbelief. Could…could Bunny really be here, trying to comfort him? Did Bunny truly care about what happened to him now, now after he killed a kid? Was…was he still considered part of the Pooka's family?
Was there still hope?
Bunny's posture sunk as he watched so many emotions flicker across the eternally youthful face. Nobody deserved this. Anger boiled inside of him at the injustice of the universe. A deep longing replaced rage moments later. He wanted to right the wrongs done to the benevolent mischief maker. He wanted to fix what had been done. Adjusting his grip on the child, he promised to never let go of Jack. He'd never let Jack go back to being the spirit forever alone in the world. He would always be there for him like any and every older brother to a younger brother.
As long as there was hope, he would always stand by the kid. Always.
"Jack…" he started, trying to reign in his emotions. "What have we done?"
A/N: Evil cliffhangers are evil. :) Dear MiM, I am such a troll! Yes, next chapter focuses on what happened to Jack between the (somewhat) joint nightmare and Bunny finding him. It's not going to be pretty. The Jack Frost Torture is about to become very physical.
Anyways, remember that thing I said last chapter? You know, the whole sad ending thing? Apparently, quite a few people were not on board with that idea so I'm giving you the chance to choose your ending. There's a poll on my profile, so I want you guys to vote on how you want this story to end. Please do because I've been getting mixed answers and I really need some more input on this!
Thanks for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing! :D