Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Rise of the Guardians or Frozen.
Thank you to KanameTwilight for following my story! Also, thank you to Julia K and DontMindMe1234! To answer your question, I originally planned on having no pairing in this story but now I am leaning towards JackXAnna. Sorry Jelsa fans, I love that pairing too but I can't seem to write it believably so I'm trying something else instead. Also, thank you for all the support Julia K! I was super happy when I woke up and saw all those reviews and I'm glad that you like the story!
While Jack and Elsa helped Anna recover, the other Guardians had been trying to protect the Easter egg hunts. It had been a struggle, one they were losing terribly. Pitch's nightmares were everywhere and the Guardians were spread thin, each of them having their own section of the park to protect. As hard as they fought, exhaustion slowly won over them and they watched the nightmares reach the main egg hunting area.
North ran forward, his swords ablaze and ready to destroy all the nightmares in front of him. He swung madly, slicing through each of the black sand creatures, but for every one he destroyed, another one took its place. Bunny joined him, throwing his boomerangs at the horses, but the army was endless. Tooth tried to help as well, but they were all too tired at this point to make much of a difference. The horses began smashing eggs and they watched Bunny's face turn into one of anger.
"Hey, you leave my googies alone!" he yelled, throwing his boomerang again at the nightmare that had found some. It was too late to save that section of eggs, but maybe some of the others could be salvaged. He ran through the park, trying to find another area to protect but he discovered there were no eggs left. They were all gone, destroyed by Pitch's creations.
Bunny watched the kids arrive, trying to find eggs but slowly giving up as time went on. "No, I'm right here, kids. Please don't give up!" Bunny yelled, but none of them heard him. He felt one of them walk straight through him, making him feel cold and empty. He was nothing but air to these kids, nothing at all. None of them believed and Pitch had won. Easter was gone as was the hope Bunny had tried to protect.
Jack, Anna, and Elsa arrived, just moments after the fight had ended. Anna was blushing, still refusing to tell them about her dream. Jack couldn't hear about it, that was certain. He probably didn't even like her, he was just happy to have a friend. It was hard for her to adjust to knowing how she felt, though. She kept finding herself staring at Jack, admiring his hair or his smile. It took a bit of focus for Anna to pay attention to what had actually happened here, to the destruction of all the eggs around her.
"Oh no." she said, holding her arms around herself. This had been her fault, for not recovering sooner. If she had been stronger, if she had been able to see that it was just a dream, maybe Jack and Elsa could have stopped this. Bunny was clearly upset and he was in agreement with Anna. Those two didn't care about their job, not like the rest of the Guardians. They just took off and did whatever they wanted, satisfying their own needs first. "They have to go." he told the others, standing up and watching the three of them turn to him in surprise.
"What?" Jack asked, feeling pain at his rejection. They had asked him to be a Guardian, and he was starting to actually kind of like the idea. Yes, he had refused at first, but this had been important. It felt right to protect the children, like it was what he had been meant to do. "You and your selfish friends! We never should have trusted you! Easter is new beginnings, new life. Easter's about hope, and now it's gone." he told them, whispering at the end. "Bunny, you can't just…they were helping a friend." Tooth tried, flying off after him.
Jack heard her words too, but Bunny's words hit him harder. He was finally beginning to feel like he had found what he was meant to do, but now it was being taken away from him. Jack loved helping Anna, keeping her safe and searching for her sister. This was an answer for him, an answer for why the moon made him like this. Now, Bunny was saying it was not the answer, that this wasn't the reason he was forced to live like this. It didn't matter if Tooth disagreed, the look of hurt and anger on Bunny's face said otherwise. Jack was not wanted here, not by him or any of the other Guardians. He knew that Bunny was right, that he should have been here to help fight back against the Nightmares. Distraction had led to this failure, and it was all his fault.
He was backing away already, staring at the destruction of the eggs in horror. Anna looked over at him, concern on her face but Jack did not want to see it. He had to get away, away from her and everyone else before they saw the truth too. Holding his staff tight, Jack turned around and flew off on his own, not bothering to look back down at the people he had thought were his friends. He had failed them, just like he failed everyone else. The world was better off without him, with him being invisible and hiding within the clouds as he brought blizzards throughout the world.
On the ground, Anna watched him fly away, staying close to Elsa as she thought about the pained look on Jack's face before he left. "How could you say that to him? You need his help now, more than ever! You are just a big….dummy!" she yelled, glaring at Bunny for hurting her friend. The Guardian was not in the mood for her attitude right now, standing up tall and glaring right back at her. "Frost has been nothing but a pain since he was chosen! I knew he would mess this up, that he wouldn't bother to take it seriously! You are just as bad, sheila, encouraging him to misbehave and relax when we need to focus on stopping Pitch." he yelled, while Tooth and North watched in the background. Both of his allies looked stunned at Bunny's words, understanding his pain but knowing that this was wrong.
"Fine, you go ahead and blame everyone but yourself. I'm going to find Jack." Anna told them, turning around and walking off on her own. She saw Elsa reach out to grab her arm, but Anna moved quicker to avoid her sister. She didn't want to be stopped right now, not when her friend needed her. She would not abandon Jack, not now or ever in the future. "Anna, Jack flew away. Do you really think you can go to where he is now?" Elsa asked quietly, making Anna pause for a moment. Her sister had a point, but she couldn't worry about that now. "I won't know unless I try, will I? I'll be fine, Elsa, just relax and try to help these ungrateful Guardians here." she replied, giving them a smile and waving as she walked away.
It was rather quiet out here, all by herself just beyond a park that had been abandoned by children. She had seen the remains of the eggs on the ground, the ones that children had given up on finding in the park. Hope really was fading in all of them, something she could see as she walked by a house where a child was crying on the porch. He had dark circles under his eyes, a sign of exhaustion as he stared at an empty basket in his lap. With a sigh, the boy threw it aside and walked inside, shaking his head. It was heartbreaking for Anna to see, but she had other things to deal with right now. Jack would be far away from Burgess by now, so she had to keep moving. She knew she would find him where there was snow, so she decided to stop at home and look for any strange weather going on nearby.
Somewhere between that house and Jaimie's, she made a mistake. Anna hadn't been paying attention, lost in thought about Jack and her nightmare from earlier. She had hummed under her breath as she walked, trying to keep her mood bright but her mind kept being crowded by images of Jack's blood on her lap and Elsa's harsh glare as she tried to attack. None of it had been real, but it had felt real. Anna knew that this wasn't like herself, so she fought to keep it away. "Ahhh, there you are. I knew I'd find you, if I followed the sweet scent of fear." a voice called out, making Anna freeze where she was. It was ominous, echoing around her even though she could see no one on the street. This must be Pitch, the one who had caused that dream in the first place.
"I'm not listening to you! In fact, I'm not even talking to you, not now or ever again you big meanie!" Anna yelled out, covering her ears with her hands as she continued walking. Even so, she could hear the muffled sounds of laughter echoing in the streets around her. "Is that so? Well, that makes this so much easier. I hate tedious conversations with annoying children like yourself." Pitch replied, making Anna stop and glare into the street, hoping to find him. "Hey! That's not nice, and I am not a child!" she insisted, this time making Pitch sigh. "I thought you said you weren't going to talk. I suppose I should have expected this, from someone who always lies to everyone, even to herself." he replied, this time coming out of the shadows in front of her.
Anna stepped back, startled and confused by his comment. She never lied, or at least not intentionally. "Ah, don't understand yet, do you? Let me enlighten you, for just a moment. You insist that you love your sister, that she is oh so precious to you and that you will never abandon her." he began. Anna nodded in agreement, crossing her arms over her chest. "That's right. That is not a lie, and you can't make it one." she told him, feeling her hair begin to stand up on her arm. This guy was creepy, with his golden yellow eyes and grey skin. The way he seemed to glide over the ground was just as bad, sometimes even vanishing and reappearing in a different spot.
"Ah, but it is. You see, how can you love her so much when she is one of your greatest fears?" Pitch added, this time appearing right behind her and leaning in to speak directly into her ear. Anna jumped forward, trying to get away from him and his words. Her dream came back to her mind, images of Elsa's attack swarming her at his words. She couldn't deny her fear of Elsa, but that was her being afraid of losing her sister, wasn't it? Anna didn't want Elsa to go away, even if it kept her safe from her powers. Her body was feeling cold as she tried to deny it, but Pitch continued on.
"You see, that is something I always know, Anna. People's greatest fears. Despite how hard you try to insist otherwise, you are afraid of your sister." Pitch told her, grinning as he now stood in front of her. "Please, stop it." Anna begged, covering her ears again as she tried to block out his voice. "What's this? Are you also afraid of Jack Frost? You are worried that he will abandon you, that he will never come back again. This is coming from the girl that insists that she will always believe in him, that she will always stay by his side. Yet another lie, it seems." he added, fading away into shadows again as Anna began crying on the ground. It was too much, hearing him play with her emotions like this. She wanted him to leave her alone, to go away and bother someone else. Anna didn't care if it was selfish anymore, she just wanted to keep living with the lies she told herself.
"Tell you what, how about I help you? Jack truly has abandoned all of you, but that doesn't have to last forever. I can bring you to him, if you'd like." Pitch offered, appearing directly in front of her with his hand held out. Anna knew that this might be a trick, that he was trying to manipulate her somehow. At the same time, she had to do whatever it took to find Jack. He was out there, alone and in pain. Even if Anna was afraid of losing him, even if doing this only proved that she was insecure about his friendship with her, she had to go through with it. Pitch was powerful, probably the only person she knew that could track down the winter spirit. Anna stood up, grabbing his hand nervously as she did so. Pitch smiled widely at her, his white teeth gleaming as he helped her stand. "Excellent, my dear. You have made the right decision. I suggest you get comfortable now. We have a long ways to go before we reach the arctic."
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