He was losing his mind. Absolutely going insane from not knowing. The thought of it would continue to run through his head with every passing hour. Jack groaned loudly with his face buried beneath his hands as he sat himself on the roof of the castle. It was haunting to seemingly be outsmarted at every turn.
It started with when he left the king's presence and noticed something from the corner of his eye. It was subtle but there. Most would wave it off as simply a bird flying by but this was different… somehow. It felt alluring to say the least. It was as if whatever passed by him that day wanted him to see, wanted his attention. Though he wasn't one to bend to curiosity, the event had repeated itself.
He'd simply be sitting on a tree or slowly gliding alongside the 'royal three' as he soon dubbed the group of girls. The original title was 'royal three and pets' but was soon redacted after it was discovered that the title of 'pets' wasn't actually referring to Olaf or Sven. Mischief at its subtle finest. However, while enjoying the company of the group, from the corner of his eyes, a flash. Both impossibly quick and seemingly untraceable, this ghostlike figure taunted him relentlessly these passing days.
After the fifth time this thing had escaped his vision, he finally bore the task of discovering who or what was possibly taunting him. Maybe it was a spirit of the land or a fae of the forest that was interested by his peculiar presence. He was, in fact, Jack Frost so there was a chance there could be some taking interest in him from the more supernatural side of things. Granted, if Pitch's words held true, then there was no way anyone could have known who he was just yet; he was at least a few decades before his time.
The guardian let out another dissatisfied groan. The groan was met with a growl from the side.
"Olaf, mind if I borrowed this?" Anna stated as she took Olaf's left leg from him. The snowman nodded eagerly with a look of curiosity, the expression shared by the rest of the people at the table. Suddenly and without hesitation, she cocked her arm back and whipped the snow ball leg into Jack's direction, planting firmly into his midsection at alarming speeds. The next moment was met with a loud cry of pain and a thud into the bushes below as the blue hooded boy crashed down.
"Ow!" Jack yelled out again except louder. "What was that for?!" His head comically popped out and above the leaves.
As Elsa reformed a snowball to replace the missing leg, Anna looked towards Kristoff expectantly and was returned with a dropped expression.
Why? The blonde man mouthed.
Do you want it to look like you're with a crazy person? She mouthed back. He knew she had her crazy moments, they all did, but having everyone else know it was something no one wanted. Whenever they were in a public area when Jack started talking with them, it was impossible for the redhead to not respond. As a solution, she used the Ice Master and Deliverer to be the medium for the winter spirit, mainly so people wouldn't simply see the princess or anyone else in the group talking to air. It was also tasked to Kristoff because the group was already aware of his rather odd habit of delivering the dialogue of his reindeer friend. This was another thing that some of the townsfolk picked up on with the passing days.
After a momentary pause of defiance, he sighed in defeat and finally began speaking. "What was that for…?" The voice was both dry and void of any emotion, almost exasperated.
"Because you won't stop groaning!" She looked towards Jack, furrowing her brows and staring menacingly.
"You have been a bit distracted for a while." Rapunzel chimed in and a nod of agreements were followed.
"It's just this stupid… stupid… thing! It won't stop bugging me! It keeps flying past me like it's making fun of me. Worst of all, I can't catch it! I can't even see it because it's gone so fast! I'd be flying by and enjoying the wind when, suddenly, zoom!" Jack pulled his hand back before shooting it forward. "There it goes!"
"It won't leave me alone." Kristoff reinterpreted in the same dry manner as before.
"It's probably nothing. Just a bird or a leaf. It's becoming autumn soon." Elsa tried to reassure him but to no avail.
"I thought so too. But it keeps happening! At this point, I am sure it wants me to see it and look for it. I know the games you're playing at! I'm the Guardian of Fun! I know games!" He shouted out angrily to the air as he clutched at his staff.
Kristoff looked at him quizzically and awkwardly before he turned to Elsa and Anna. "It's not a bird." He said while shrugging his shoulders, voice distilled of the emotional outburst and in a more matter-of-factly manner. A loud snort was heard from the once quiet man sitting next to Rapunzel. That interpretation was a little too much for Eugene to handle. It was followed by several giggles from the other girls, minus Anna.
"Any idea what it could be?" The redhead asked in a less hostile, more curious manner. Jack leaned himself against the bark of the tree and began massaging his forehead as he pondered to himself his various theories on the matter.
"It could be anything. I can't think of anything off the top of my head that would be interested in me here. I just got here. I want to say it's a fairy. Many of those like to play tri-"
"FAIR- Mph!" Before Anna could shout cast her visible insanity to the rest of the people around them, Elsa had already foreseen the event that would transpire the moment the guardian mentioned the word. With cat-like reflexes, she had already positioned herself to lunge towards her sister and silence her the moment she was about to have her outburst. It proved successful as she did a quick scan of the area to see that no one had taken notice.
With a final look around, she released her sister and pat the ginger head gently several times. The little sister had an extremely flustered and embarrassed expression, her cheeks full blown red from the thought that, had Elsa not stopped her, people might have a slightly different outlook on her. Granted, her claims were totally legitimate as they have met with trolls, spirits, an ice maker, a talking snowman and a giant. Regardless, much of the world was still unfamiliar with such creatures, at least outside of fairytales and folklore.
"So… fairies exist?" She whispered under her breath, keeping her voice low so she could ask her question without Kristoff's interpretation.
"Don't be fooled. Only Tooth's fairies are the good ones. Every other one enjoys messing with people."
"Like you?" Kristoff commented before sipping on his beverage.
"Mine aren't malicious! They're funny." Jack smiled. "And, okay, maybe not every single one. But a lot of them enjoy playing with peoples desires, some a lot more devious than others." He crossed his arms and nodded affirmatively. He shuddered at the thought of one of his first encounters with them.
After losing track of where the conversation had begun, the group finally returned to their meal that had been put on hold due to Anna's confrontation. They were getting closer and closer to the floating lights celebration and no one wanted to go into that event on an empty stomach.
Suddenly, Jack's head whipped up to the skies. He looked frantically in several directions. "Alright! It's back and, this time, I'm coming fo-" His words were cut off by a sudden gust of wind that befell him. This was the first time to have happened to him.
Elsa tensed at the sudden pressure that seemed to have hit her as well.
"Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna asked worriedly. She also took notice of her sister's sudden uneasiness.
"It was just the wind. Nothing to worry about." She reassured, returning a kind glance to Anna.
"What wind?" The redhead asked, a bit perplexed as to what she was referring to. This was brought to Jack's attention for a moment before he began scanning the skies again.
"You didn't-"
"Gotcha!" Jack interrupted as he quickly launched into the skies and darted towards the castle at lightning speeds. The ascension caused a breeze felt by all the patrons that knew of him.
Anna groaned again, annoyed by a lot of Jack's antics in the recent days. She was mostly annoyed that he hadn't been spending time with the group at all recently aside from the occasional visits. She was doubly annoyed that he wasn't spending more time with Elsa. She went through a lot to get over him and give them some alo… Idea!
"Hey, Elsa! You should totally help him!" The girl's eyes were sparkling. It was matchmaking time and all she needed to do was give her sister a little push.
"Find the mysterious flying thing?" The blonde cocked an eyebrow at the suggestion. How was she supposed to help him when she had no capabilities of flight or even the ability to see something she was already having a hard time believing such as fairies?
Anna let out a single laugh before placing her hand on Elsa's knee. "Oh, come on, you're the Snow Queen! You can use your ice powers or something to find it. Also, let's be honest, you're way better with them than dumb ol' Jack. Ice castle! Remember? Snowman? Remember? I'm sure you'll find a way." She was clearly very confident in her older sister's capabilities.
"I still don't see how…" She paused as she looked at Anna's glistening eyes. She had already determined what Anna's ulterior motives were behind sending her away. Unable to deny the damnable eyes, she took a deep breath and exhaled. "Alright… fine."
"I knew I could count on you! Make sure to catch me a fairy!" The girl shouted in glee, now completely unfiltered due to her excitement. The announcement was both loud and the group quickly looked around but it seemed that the statement wasn't taken too seriously as most people simply wore smiles all around. They must have thought it was all in jest.
"He went towards the castle, right?" Elsa asked her bubbly sister. She was met with a very eager nodding. With a semi sheepish smile, she looked to Kristoff and the others. "Think you'll be able to handle my sister?"
Rapunzel, Sven, and Olaf answered with an affirmative yes. Eugene simply shrugged at the question. Kristoff gave a hard no while blatantly looking at the girl in question practically bouncing in her seat. Elsa simply giggled at Kristoff's honesty before nodding to the group and saying her goodbyes for the moment. As she was walking away, she twirled her fingers to cast a small ball of snow that slowly formed itself into the shape of a bird. As the little sparrow sat on her finger, she lifted it into the sky and watched as it flew away in search of Jack or this mysterious being. Time to play detective, she thought to herself. She could use a little time away with her thoughts. She had plenty to think about.
At the top balcony where the group had reunited with Nightlight, he let out a groan that turned into a roar. He was foiled again, losing all traces of the mysterious flying ghost. He felt dejected and defeated by the event as he perched himself on top of the railings that lined the edge of the balcony.
Why was this thing taunting him? Where could it have gone? The last place he picked up on anything was at the top of the balcony where he stood. He was so close too. He felt that when the blur vanished around the corners of the castle, he'd be sure to finally learn of what it could have possibly been. What he found was the empty platform and no clue as to where it went.
Lying himself on the rails with his arm holding onto his staff and hanging over the edge and his other arm over his eyes, he wondered to himself what the group below was doing. He really did want to hang out with them more but he did not like being taunted. It was like when Bunny would always try to compete with him. Of course he had to show him up. Pfft! He did show him up! But, right now, he had a competitor and he was losing without even knowing who or what he was up against.
"There you are!" a voice called out from his side. The older voice immediately clicked in his mind as he whipped up to be greeted with a thwack to the head.
"Ow! What in the world are you doing here, Ombric?!" Jack shouted, rubbing his partially throbbing head as he wondered why the grumpy wizard was standing before him. Though, it was nice to see the guy in his wizard getup as opposed to his suit and bowtie.
"That boy sure took his sweet time in bringing you here! I had to show up here myself! Good thing one of North's inventions came in handy." He expelled some air through his nose and wiggled his mustache that seemed to subtly curl in on itself before returning to its previous state.
"Boy? You mean Nightlight? Was that Nightlight messing with me?" He felt a tinge of relief in knowing who was teasing him but why was he doing it? Also, what did Ombric need him for? Before he could ask, the wizard was already ready to answer.
"I've been trying to get him to bring you to the castle for several hours now!"
"Wait… hours? You mean he wasn't-"
"Enough chitchat! Do you have the gem with you? Show me!" Ombric overtly demanded. Whipping to attention, Jack began frantically searching his sweater pocket to finally pop out the deep blue gem in his hand.
"Here." Jack extended his hands to the old man. Ombric nodded approvingly.
"Good. Good. Alright, time to-"
"Sir Ombric?" Another voice called out from behind them. The pair of eyes looked to their new guest to see Elsa standing at the doorway leading inside. "Ombric, what are you-"
"No time to explain! Also, it's good to see you, Queen Elsa." He bowed politely. "Again, no time! The stupid Lamas' aren't gonna give us any more time with this!" The old wizard shouted again before gripping at Jack's hoodie. "Alright Jacky boy, time to go!"
Without a moment of hesitation, he took out a small globe and tossed it on the ground next to them. Jack immediately knew where this was going, absolutely dreading the moments to follow.
"Oh no. No, no, no, no. We are not- wha-!" Before he could finish his protest, Ombric had already tugged on his hoodie, launching him into the swirling portal that was about to take him who knows where. The wizard took one final graceful bow to Elsa before strolling into the portal himself.
Elsa, on the other hand, was still trying to process what had just happened. She had only just arrived to see Jack and Ombric suddenly jump into a magical swirling mass of light. Without any context to the situation, she was simply left dumbfounded.
The bewilderment didn't last when she suddenly felt a powerful bump that sent her tumbling towards the still-open portal. Unable to catch herself, as she was about to be sent in, she turned to face what could have possibly nudged her. All she caught in her sightlines was the small bird she had created resting peacefully on slender fingers. As her eyes began to rise to see the person's face, the only thing she saw before being taken is was the playful smile that graced the porcelain face. Elsa was enveloped in a blinding light thereafter.
On the other side of the magical tunnel, Jack went sailing out a bright and spiraling portal that had magically appeared in a palace. As Ombric hopped out of the portal behind the winter spirit, he began dusting off his knees.
"Alright, Jack. Welcome to the Lunar Lamadary." A smile was obvious, buried under the facial hair of the old wizard. The place they stood was truly spectacular, absolutely astounding, and annoyed the living daylights out of Ombric knowing that it belonged to the snooty group of Lunar Lamas. He simply hated their 'no rush' attitude to everything. He hated it even more when they were the ones putting him in a rush, this moment for instance.
Jack, on the other hand, was absolutely stupefied as he finally began taking in the scenery. The architecture was modest and simple but this did not take away from its magnificence. It was interlaced with lapis lazuli and grand opal mosaics that lined the walls. If there was a castle that was built in a way to resemble the night sky, this was the one. What was really daunting was that, even with the sun still up, he felt the coolness that Jack had commonly associated with the light of the moon.
Ombric quickly picked up on Jacks amazement and found a bit of pride in seeing Jack's expression. This was the first time he'd seen the young man so awestruck. "Again, welcome to the Lunar Lamadary. Home of the Lunar Lamas, the loyal followers of the Man in the Moon, much like you and I… only much more uptight."
"And you're not?" The winter guardian retorted. The retort was met with a hit to the head and a loud 'harumph!'
"Unlike them, I have some personality and charisma to me!" He boasted while beating his hand on his chest in a very proud manner. Jack snorted at the comment and gave him a sarcastic nod with pursed lips as he made his way to the old man before Ombric speedily passed by him. The sarcasm was ignored by the wizard. Turning his head to face Jack, he noticed the portal behind them had yet to close. Odd.
Almost on cue, Elsa suddenly came tumbling out of the portal. Slamming into Jack, the two went sailing to the ground, much of the Elsa's fall cushioned by the guardian in blue beneath her. Lifting herself slightly, she looked around both frantically and quizzically, wondering to herself where she was and how she got here. She noticed the portal suddenly grow louder and, as she turned her head, the portal closed in on itself and vanish.
"Um… where am I?" She looked to the Ombric for a reply.
"On top of me. Mind getting up?" Not that he was totally against it. It was just a bit painful with one of her knees on his abdomen. When she finally took notice that she was lying on top of him, she quickly assisted him off the ground followed by a series of apologies. Ombric began scratching his head worriedly.
"Okay… this won't sit well with the Lamas…" His distressed expression suddenly lightened up. "But, who cares what they think! You're already here and we have no time to send you back." He clasped his hands together. "Elsa, welcome to the Lunar Lamadary in the Himalayas. One of the many outposts for the Guardians as well as communication links to the Man in the Moon." He smiled brightly, a little glad he was defying the annoying group of men that taunted him with their nonchalant refusals of everything, no matter the urgency.
Elsa was still trying to take in what had just happened, let alone trying to decipher what in the world he was talking about. Himalayas? Man in the Moon? Outpost? A lot of this had completely gone over her head. Picking up on her confusion, he tried to alleviate them.
"You have a lot of questions, I'm sure. But, right now, we have little time for it-"
"Time for what?!" Jack finally let out his frustration. "You've been going on and on about not having time to explain this stuff. Now that we're here, mind explaining why you brought us here?" He was starting to feel pretty heated not being told anything.
The old man glared at him before taking a deep breath. He knew the frustrations of being left in the dark and still dragged along. "Right… I'll try to slow down a bit. For now, follow me and I'll explain on the way. We aren't there yet." He nodded his head to the two before walking at a much more leisurely pace. This caused Jack to let out a single, quiet laugh. This was a first for the grumpy guy. A nice change of pace.
"Well, that's a surprise." Jack perched a hand on his hip before whirling his staff in the air, much of his frustration dissipated by Ombric's humble nature. Turning to face Elsa, removing his hand from his side and extending it to her. "Would you like to come along?" He asked with a reserved smile. He was a bit worried about her trip through the portal. Jack had many experiences with it but this was her first time.
Elsa returned the smile before taking his hand. "I don't think I can go anywhere else. Besides, we don't have time, right?" She giggled a little mockingly at his outburst before.
"Har, har, come on Snow Queen. Let's enjoy the sightseeing while we get the grand tour from grumpy-stiltskin."
"Are you coming or do I have to drag you." Ombric called out from down the hall, both hands on his hip and rapidly tapping his foot. Jack shrugged his shoulders before looking to Elsa and nudging his head in the wizard's direction. She nodded, signaling him to lead the way.
As the made their way down the hall, Ombric went on to tell them the basic history of the Lunar Lamadary and the Lunar Lamas. A race dating back to the Golden Age. Apparently, the group of Lamas consisted of the very same people since the Golden Age as well. None to have died out and none to have reproduced. A select and dedicated group that only followed the Man in the Moon. Truly a crazy concept to fathom but that was the story and he was sticking with it, not that the two were questioning him. They were too busy admiring the scenery of the beautiful works of art that laced the walls and the floor tiles that resembled stars.
Jack was particularly enjoying the company of the lovely lady next to him, considering how little time he had to spend with her before. Maybe Ombric's kidnapping wasn't so bad after all. Why is it that most of his kidnappings went so well? Here they were, hand in hand and in an incredibly amazing palace all to themselves. Subtract the annoying wizard and this would have been a pretty good date.
As the old man went on about his first encounter with the Lamas and their first contact with the Man in the Moon, the group finally reached a room that far exceeded the grandness of anything they had previously encountered. In the center of the room stood one of the largest clocks anyone had ever seen. Standing more than thirty feet tall, the large and round clock was made up of dozens of interlocking rings that spun and rotated inside of one another. The center stood a column of round clock faces of various sizes that slowly ticked down.
"Feast your eyes on one of the greatest devices of all time." Ombric spread his arms wide to emphasize the grandness of what they were looking at. "One of the very few possessions the Lamas would save before Pitch had destroyed their home planet."
"He could do that? The Boogeyman?" Jack questioned as he recalled the man shrouded in black that he had recently booted.
"Long ago, he was an entity most feared across all the galaxies. He had the power to devour stars and blanket planets whole in nightmares." A truly frightening thing for Jack to think about. Then again, when he thought back to it, had he and the other Guardians not stopped him, Pitch would have taken Earth in one fell swoop. He snapped back to reality when Elsa's hand began shaking. Her expression filled with anxiety and fear just thinking back to the man who haunted her.
Without any hesitation, he swiftly moved himself behind her. Quickly releasing his hand from hers, he wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his head firmly on her left shoulder. "You don't have to be afraid. I'm right here."
All of her fears and worries vanished as it was replaced by both surprise and a bit of comfort being in his arms. A small smile graced her red cheeks as she placed her hands over his. She could feel the victorious grin that formed on his face.
Ombric was oblivious to the little exchange as he went on. "Yes, they were truly dark times. I know. I've seen it happen with my very own eyes…" He noted grimly, unaware of the much lighter atmosphere behind him. However, something Ombric said had caught Jack's attention.
"Wait, wait, wait, you were there?" He peered at Ombric's white beard. He knew the guy was old but… Golden Age old? He had heard about how long ago the Golden Age was from Sandy and Bunny. However, he couldn't believe that Ombric was this old as well.
"I can guess what you're thinking and, no, I was not alive when it happened. I was born and raised here. However, that is why we are here." Ombric approached the clock and began winding the clock hands on the difference faces in the center. "I went back in time to see it, but we won't be going there. We have another destination."
"I'm sorry but…" Elsa finally broke her silence. This was a lot to take in in general but this pushed her over the edge. "We're going back in time? Sir Ombric, exactly what's going on?" She was filled with question.
"Like I said before, we don't have a lot of time for explanations. The Lunar Lamas have only given me enough of a window to finish this and they were already against letting Jack in the Lunar Lamadary without properly consulting the Man in the Moon, even though I insisted it was him that told me to bring you." Ombric did not look away from the clock faces as he continued to wind down the hands on each of them meticulously.
Before Jack could interject in the conversation, Ombric clapped his hands together and the room suddenly brimmed in a luminescent light. The space around them was suddenly turned into a tunnel in an almost gelatin-like coating that reverberated from end to end; the palace they were just standing in was barely visible in the waving light. There seemed to be a pathway being created that directly led towards the 30ft tall clock. The clock, however, was now completely open without a trace of the 'clock' aspect, simply looking like a large opening you could walk through.
"Jack, Elsa, if you would follow me. We'll be changing history."