Jack was flying towards Santoff Claussen at lightning speed. A new light was shimmering in his eyes. The Guardian in his heart was working double time. He wanted to save Arendelle. For the first time in centuries, he felt selfish, truly selfish. Nothing mattered to him, only Elsa and Anna's safety.
"Aren't you flying mighty quick, Jack." A voice whispered. Jack took a hard stop. He was frantically looking around him for where the voice had come from. "Why are you in such a hurry?" The voice was familiar. He could recognize it but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Where are you hiding?" The nervous Guardian questioned. He couldn't find the source of the voice. He could only see the forest and the night sky.
"Jack, Jack, Jack, you seem confused. Don't you know who I am? I'm hurt." The voice sounded disappointed. Jack tried to recall anyone that could see him. However, there weren't many people that could possibly know him. He was from the future, only Ombric knew his true identity.
"Show yourself! Where are you?" Jack clutched his staff in both his hands.
"Enough joking around. It's time for the fun stuff." A figure in black emerged from behind him. "Hello Jack."
Jack flew away from the figure. "Pitch!" he yelled out. He shot a wave of frost towards Pitch. A veil of black sand draped over him and blocked the blast.
"Rest easy, I come to you with no ill will." Pitched spoke. He was trying to reassure the disgruntled boy.
"Liar! You're the one, aren't you? You're the one that changed the past! You are the one that caused the storm in Arendelle!" Jack hissed. He fired another bolt of ice at him. The shot was blocked once again.
"Calm yourself, Jack! You know me and you know what I'm capable of. I have no powers over winter." Pitch explained, slowly making his way over to the winter spirit. "Look at me. I came back to the past to save Arendelle. Don't you get it? I was going to stop the storm! However, you interrupted me."
"No! No… Arendelle was lost. The book said that Arendelle was swept up by the storm years after Elsa was born." He looked perplexed. It wasn't making sense.
"I have no idea what you're talking about but, from what you're saying, it means I did save Arendelle, didn't I?" Pitched smirked. Jack went silent. He glared at Pitch with doubt.
"Why are you here, Pitch. There has to be a reason. You tried to take over the world with fear! You're the bad guy!" Jack roared.
"Ouch... That really hurt. You and I both know that there is no good or bad, only the different ways you look at things. Besides, I told you already, I didn't come here to fight. I actually want to give you a gift." Pitch walked closer and closer towards him.
"How… how did you get here, Pitch? How did you come back in time?!" Jack took a defensive stance. Pitch paused for a moment. He had yet to defuse the situation.
"Seems you're a bit feisty. The gift can wait." Pitch pulled out a black globe. "Have you ever heard of the princess born of the golden flower?" He looked over to Jack. The guardian still looked confused. "Quite dense aren't you. Then again, you weren't born yet, not for a few hundred years, give or take. Anyways, this particular princess was gifted with an extraordinary gift, the gift of the sun. Quite powerful magic, really. So much so it only took a single tooth to return to the past." Pitch tapped the black globe. The globe became transparent, revealing a lone tooth in the center.
"You stole her tooth?" Jack was slightly disturbed.
"Acquisitioned is a much nicer term for it. It was a nice souvenir from the Tooth Palace. It's amazing, actually. A power that can pass through all of time. Lovely coincidence too, Jack. The girl gifted by the sun and the girl gifted by the snow?" He grinned.
"Elsa! What do you want with her?!" Jack growled, his staff was at the ready.
"Relax, now. I am only pointing out something that you've yet to notice."
"What're you talking about?" Jack went quiet.
"Wow, you really don't know. Don't you see? You're the reason she's cursed by her powers!" Pitch sneered. "You! You are why she is isolated in a world of nightmares! It is because of you that she is the child of fear!"
Jack was startled. What did he mean by that? He looked to his memory to recall the events of that night. He recalled the night of the storm, taking the winter into himself and transferring it into Elsa. His arm fell to his side.
"Judging from your face, you seem to be getting the picture. Don't worry, though. I'm sure the other Guardians will let it slide. I'm not here to punish you. Like I said, I wanted to give you a gift." Pitched reached into his pocket and tossed a small black globe to Jack.
"What is this?" The guardian looked at the black orb, quizzically.
"The gift, Jack. Have you ever wanted to know what your life would be like if you got to be with your family? Imagine how your life would be, had you never been chosen by the moon."
"Why are you doing this?" He looked at Pitch, still doubtful of his intentions.
"You screwed up, we all have. However, I think we all need it." Pitch walked over to Jack. "A second chance." Pitch tapped on the black globe. Black sand burst from the globe and formed around Jack. In shock, he dropped his staff. He attempted to fly towards it but the sand had already surrounded him
"What's going on?!" Jack gasped. The wave of black sand slowly engulfed him. "Pitch, what's happening?!"
"Relax. You'll be taking a ride into your past. The future, technically. Sit back and relax. Also, make it a good one. I'm rooting for you." Pitch's smile slowly faded behind the torrent of sand.
Jack's world became progressively darker and darker. The wave of sand was closing in on him. His eyes were becoming heavy, his thoughts were drifting. "Pitch… wait…" his voice was fading, he was growing weaker. The light of the moon slowly disappeared. Everything faded into blackness.
"Jack." a female voice cried out. "Jack!" the voice called out again. Jack started opening his eyes.
"What, what? What's up?" he mumbled.
"Come on, Jack! Wake up. Come on, you promised!" The little girl's voice cheered. She started shaking the sleeping boy awake.
"Mmm, come on, gimme a little bit to wake up, jeez." Jack smirked at the little girl.
"Settle down, Pippa, your big brother will wake up eventually. He was busy last night fixing his little prank on the neighbors. Isn't that right, Jack?" the older female voice chuckled.
"Ugh, give me a break, I said I was sorry. I also cleaned up the eggs." Jack laughed. He rolled over to the side, facing the wall.
"Come on, Jack! Let's go! You promised you would take me ice skating!"
His eyes were wide. A playful smirk was on his face. In one fell swoop, he turned his body to the little girl and lifted her from the ground into the air.
"Jaaaaack! Put me down!" his sister shrieked.
"Not unless you let me sleep for a little while longer." He laughed wildly.
"Jack, put your sister down. Pippa, go play with your friends a bit until Jack wakes up." Their mom scolded. Jack set the pouty girl down and gave a victorious look. Pippa glared back at him and a staring contest ensued. It ended in Jack's victory when their mom kissed her daughter on the cheek and shooed her away.
"I win!" Jack shouted. He heard the little girl reply negatively from outside.
"No, you didn't, Jack. I'll give you five more minutes and then you have to run some errands for me." His mom smiled.
"What! But—"
"That's why neither of you won. I did." She giggled. "Now go deliver these fruits to the neighbors. I'll get both your ice skates ready when you're done."
After a long day of doing various chores his mom had planned out for him. He was finally delivered to his little sister. He couldn't really complain, though. He was begging to go skating after all the work he'd done.
"Be careful." Jack's mother said lovingly. He chuckled at the comment. His little sister, Pippa, was tugging at his arm.
"We will!" Jack assured her. He looked over to his little sister tugging at his arm, then back to his mom. Finally, he let his sister take the lead.
"Come on, Jack! To the lake, to the lake!" Pippa giggled.
"Alright, alright! No need to rush. We have all winter."
"Not when you spend all day sleeping!" she mocked, shooting him a look.
"Hey, come on, are we still on that? I'm here aren't I? And you can barely call what I was doing all day 'sleeping'." Jack laughed. He looked over to his little sister tugging him through the forest. "Okay, arm pulling isn't getting us anywhere. Up we go!" The cheerful boy grabbed his little sister's waist and put her on his shoulders. Pippa shrieked
"Jack! Let me know when you're about to do that."
"Nope! It's way more fun this way." he smirked. He started picking up the pace, hopping over the roots of the trees. The lake was in sight.
"Jack, the lake! We're almost there." The little girl smiled, gripping his hair. Jack leapt in the air and slid his way down the hill, parking himself at the edge of the frozen lake.
"Alright, we're here! Down we go." He picked up his sister off his shoulder and they started putting on their ice skates. Before Jack could finish putting on his first skate, his little sister was gliding over the lake.
"Come on, slowpoke! The ice is great!" The excited girl gracefully maneuvered over the ice.
"Okay, okay! I just got my skates on!" Jack bolted over to his sister. He lifted his sister in the air and started spinning on the ice. He let her down slowly and they both skated over the ice together. As they made their way closer to the center of the lake, Pippa paused for a moment.
"Jack, wait. We shouldn't go so close to the middle. The ice might still be thin." Pippa looked distressed.
"Don't worry, it's perfectly fine. Here, look." He grabbed a branch that had fallen from the tree. He started skating around the center, tapping the ice. "Totally fine!"
"Okay! Let's go." Pippa started skating over to her big brother. Jack reached the branch over to his sister. She grabbed the hook end of the branch and let him take the lead. They started spinning on the ice. As they were gliding through the ice, his sister let go of the branch. Jack lost his footing and fell on his back.
"Ouch! That was a bit painful." he exhaled. His little sister was laughing at her brother lying on the ground.
*Crack*
Jack shot up, looking all around himself. The ice looked perfectly fine.
"Jack you look so lame." Pippa giggled. He shot a glance at his little sister. A small crack had formed beneath her feet.
Oh no. He thought to himself. This was bad, very bad. Pippa was still laughing at her older brother. She had yet to notice the cracked ice.
"Hey Pippa, hold still for a sec, okay?" Jack said softly, trying not to alarm her. He started to slowly take off his skates.
"Jack, what's up?" his sister asked in confusion. "Why are you taking off your skates?"
"No reason, just keep looking at me, okay?"
"Jack, you're starting to sca—" she paused. She heard the ice cracking beneath her. As she glanced down, she gasped when she saw the cracks.
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't look down just look at me." Her brother attempted to reassure her. He placed his skates to the right of him as he looked over to his sister. His eyes were wide, his thoughts were clouded. This felt oddly familiar to him.
"Jack… I'm scared…" she whispered. The cracks in the ice grew larger. Jack snapped out of his trance and looked over to Pippa.
"I know, I know…" Jack took a step forward. The ice slowly cracked beneath him as well. He paused for a moment to look down and then back at his sister. "But, you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in. Uh… we're gonna have a little fun instead!" He smiled, opening his hands to calm his sister.
"No we're not!" she cried out. The cracks started growing larger.
"Would I trick you?"
"Yes! You always play tricks!" she yelled again. Jack slowly tip toed his way towards his frightened sister.
"No… alright, well not… not, not this time." Jack gestured his hands for her to stay still. "I promise. I promise… You're gonna be…" he paused for a moment, looking to his sister. "… you're gonna be fine. You have to believe in me."
He looked over to his sister for a reply. However, she only looked more concerned.
"You wanna play a game? We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play every day. It's as easy as… uh… one…" The ice cracked beneath his feet as he took a step over. To cheer up his sister, he started pretending he was slipping over, balancing on one foot. She giggled at the gesture. "Two…" He took another step over. His mind was at ease when the ice didn't crack. "Three!" He hopped over the ice and towards the hooked branch on the ground.
"Alright… Now it's your turn." Jack exclaimed. He looked over to his sister, picking the branch up and reaching out to her. "One…" he spoke softly. His sister started taking a step. The ice cracked a little more. She gasped. "That's it, that's it… two…" Jack attempted to reassure her again. She took another step forward and the ice cracked further. "Three!" In one quick motion, he hooked the branch around her waist and pulled her away from the cracked ice, launching her behind him. As he was pulling her away, he fell back down and landed edges away from the cracked ice. He looked at his sister in joy. She smiled back at him. He gave a light chuckle seeing that his sister was safe. Something felt strange, though. He wasn't sure what.
Jump. Jack's eyes shot open. He leapt from the spot he was standing on. The ice crumbled just beneath him. It took down the hooked branch he used to save his sister. He looked back to the hole in the lake. As he thought to himself that he almost died, his sister jumped towards him and embraced him in the tightest hug of his life.
"Jack, I was so scared…" she mumbled in his chest. He wrapped his arms around his little sister. He could feel the tears through his shirt. He pat her head and let out a sigh of relief. This time, they were both safe.
"Come on, let's go home." Jack smiled. He lifted her from the ice and held her in her arms. She wrapped her arms around him, almost squeezing the life out of him. He couldn't say to her that it hurt. She was just as scared as he was. The embrace was comforting for both of them. "Let's stick with tree climbing for a bit. I think we've had enough ice skating fun for one winter."
"Okay…" Pippa whimpered. Jack started walking over the iced lake and towards the path they came from. This was going to be one hell of a story to tell. He could only imagine the hell he was going to get from his mother after she heard about this. He didn't care, though. He saved his sister and that's all that mattered.
However, something was lingering in his mind. He felt that something was still off. He couldn't seem to figure out what felt wrong even though everything went so right. As he thought to himself, he looked over to his sister. She had finally stopped crying. Jack smiled again, it didn't matter what he was thinking. Everything was okay and that's all that counts.