"Wind, take me home."

It sounded more like a heartbroken man after a long day, rather than a request for Jack Frost to ride the Wind back to Burgess. The Wind itself could sense his pain, though it chose not to say anything about it (it reminded the winter spirit of Sandy, in a way), and just took him away from the rural area he was in. Snow combined with already poor and sick families left the vicinity in worse conditions than before, when the world was at real peace, when the Moon was a white pearly orb in the sky and when Nightlight and Katherine were still alive—

Jack blinked back frozen tears. It hurt too much.

When he touched down in Burgess, Jack looked around and saw the same snow, and then he realized that he could no longer enjoy travelling enjoying the world when all he saw was this damn snow and frozen water. People had to carve holes in ice now just to get clean water to drink. Suddenly even fireplaces in the home weren't enough to keep anyone warm anymore. He cursed the shadow inside of him, and he cursed that he was the spirit of frost. Please, any other ability than this, he begged in his mind.

The Wind's cries whipped through the landscape, and Jack felt a jolt of sickness. He frowned, gripped his staff tighter, and walked on, down to a house of which he knew the inhabitants very well.

When he got there, he didn't expect to see two small, bundled-up children waiting there for him.

"Jack," Jamie breathed a white puff of relief, while his little sister Sophie smiled. "Jack's home!" she said.

"Jamie! Sophie!" Jack exclaimed, running over to them. "What're you doing out here?! You could freeze to death!" Jamie looked down at his boots. "I know." "We were waitin' for you!" Sophie added.

Jack sighed. "Please go back inside your house, you two. You need to stay warm. The weather out here is getting worse and worse."

Jamie sneezed, and then asked, "What's waiting inside for us?" Jack looked at the boy's expression, and then realized what he meant. Oh. The sniffling that followed the sneeze sounded more like the 13-year old* was about to cry.

"Well, kids," Jack tried to console him, "you should go someplace warmer. How about one of your friend's houses?" Jamie shook his head. "Most of them are gone. Pippa is barely getting by, and Monty is travelling in search of someplace where there isn't any snow – or at least, less snow than here."

Jack was the one to look down this time. "…I'm sorry, Jamie," he apologized. "I wish I could fix this. But something's happened to me, and…I-I'm not well."

"Where's Bunny?" Sophie looked around, shivering. "I wanna see Bunny." Jack shook his head. "Sorry, Soph, but Bunny can't come around here. He's not feeling well either."

That statement alone, though, gave Jack an idea.

"Though maybe if you come with me, I can bring you to Bunny, and the other Guardians!" he said, a look of enlightenment blossoming on his face. "I mean, it's only a bit warmer there than here, but at least it's safer for you two." Jamie looked back up at Jack, before looking back down again. "…Do you think we'll make it? I mean, Jack, I want to go, but…you're cold…and I don't think we can stand much more cold." Here the boy absentmindedly stroked his little sister's hair. She sneezed as well.

"Look, Jamie," Jack said, switching his staff from one hand to the other. "I'll never let anything happen to you, or to Sophie. I'll never let you freeze to death, I promise. You and Sophie…you're gonna be fine, alright? You have to believe in me."

Silence ensued between them, with the Wind blowing across the desolate town of Burgess.

"…We believe in you, Jack," Sophie answered, looking to her older brother. "Right, Jamie?"

The boy cleared his throat, gathering his courage and trust. "Yes."

"Come on, then." Jack extended his hands, and picked the two of them up, despite being heavier than they used to be.

"It's alright," the winter spirit thought to himself. "They're gonna be alright. They're gonna be alright. Nothing will happen to them…"

"…right?"

He sucked in a deep breath, then released it as he silently asked the Wind to carry him to the North Pole.

The Wind complied, and soon he was taking off like a jet, holding Jamie and Sophie closer to him than he ever had in his entire life. He felt their warmth through their clothes, and begged them in his mind to stay warm until they got back to North, and everything would be alright. They would be fine.

On the way, Jack suddenly felt jittery. A presence was overwhelming him, and then vertigo attacked.

"No!" he thought, "Not now!"

"Jack?" Jamie asked, sensing the winter spirit's unease. "Are you alright?"

He got the answer when he heard inhuman growling coming from Jack.

"…Jack?" Sophie asked quietly. Jack brought his tongue across his lips and smiled widely.

"Are you afraid…" he looked at Sophie with bright yellow eyes, "…little girl?"

Sophie screamed as his touch became colder than ice, and Jamie gasped. "Jack! Snap out of it!" he exclaimed, grabbing on to his arm, trying to shake it and somehow bring Jack back to reality, to no avail.

"Don't worry about the cold, children…" Jack grinned even wider than before, almost literally ear-to-ear, "…because we're going to have a little fun."

In a completely white landscape, there lay three bodies, broken and bruised and cold.

Or rather, two if you didn't believe in one of them.

The blowing Wind finally got Jack to wake up, muttering a curse groggily as he tried to support himself with his arms, only to realize that he was missing his staff. He felt around for it, looking around the landscape for the only piece of wood that would ever be around here.

He finally found it in the hands of a pale, unconscious thirteen-year old boy.

"JAMIE!" Jack screamed, forgetting all about his staff – in fact, he even ripped it out of Jamie's hands and threw it somewhere else, favouring the thought of picking up the boy. "Jamie! Jamie, are you alright? Answer me! Jamie!"

He looked around. Sophie. Where was Sophie? Last he remembered, they were in his arms…and then the madness took a hold of him again. He searched the endless plain of snow for her, any sign of her.

"Jack…" Jamie moaned, "…hurts…so…cold…"

The winter spirit looked down at Jamie, then sighed. What was the point? They were struck by his insanity and cold. They would be dead by the time they got to the Guardians. All he wanted was to help them, but now was reminded of the fact that he would, and always would be, winter. The deadliest of the four seasons, the one that never gave any mercy, that froze over ponds and yet couldn't stop a boy, barely out of his youth, from falling in and drowning.

The Wind howled, blowing as hard as it could, bringing to Jack's attention a streak of yellow and green in the snow. He gasped. "SOPHIE!" he called, getting to his feet and trudging through the seven-inch layer of snow over to her. He stumbled and tripped, but it did not deter him; instead choosing to crawl as much as he could while still cradling Jamie.

"Jamie…Sophie…" he muttered, pulling Sophie close to him, and checking her pulse. For the first time, Jack Frost shivered. "Please…" he begged, "…please be alive…don't go…please…"

His blue eyes widened.

"Jack…" Jamie groaned. The winter spirit sighed. "I'm sorry, Jamie…I'm so sorry…"

"…Did Sophie…make it?" the boy asked slowly, his voice cracked, and Jack's heart stung with each word.

"…No…" he finally choked out, frozen tears starting to fall.

Jamie quivered, clinging to Jack. Jack wanted to shove Jamie off, because all he would do would freeze him to death; but stopped himself, because really, what else did Jamie have to hang on to?

"I'm sorry." Jack apologized again.

"Me too," Jamie muttered, and then he felt warm as his pulse faded.

No.

NO, NO, NO, NO!

Jack shook Jamie, but it was no use.

The last lights had been snuffed out.

All that was left now was for him to die.

But as Jack expected, death would come for him slowly, leaving him to suffer in his mistakes; why did he throw his staff away? Why didn't he fly off with Jamie the moment they figured out Sophie died?

The answer was simple.

They would never have made it. They were human, after all; they were simply kids. They couldn't have handled what his evil side had dished out. They couldn't handle the cold like he did.

And now that they were gone…

Jack lay Jamie in the snow, the same way he had done with his sister, and continued to cry frozen tears, until he vanished along with the other Guardians.

The last thing Jack saw was endless white, the white that he caused, and then the black that he was forever subject to.

(…I do not like writing death scenes. I'm sorry.

* - This probably takes place 5 years after the movie. I suppose that would be appropriate.)