Anime: Here's chapter 2 of Frozen Butterfly Wings! Yay! Sorry for the long wait (I think it was long) but I got stumped writing some parts and I was busy with schoolwork and got slightly sick. In fact, I'm supposed to be doing my math homework right now . . .
Sora: Thank you to LadyRavenCrow for being the first review and to Scorpiofreak for giving us critique! It was really helpful! We appreciated the review a lot! We need it to learn! The chapter is also dedicated to ZacKriel!
Jaden: You made Anime's day with that really sweet review! You made her smile!
Jack: Anime has attempted to write more Jalice, again. She also warns readers that the characters might be OOC despite the fact that she tried her hardest writing in-character.
Anime: FanFiction and original stories are hard to write at the same time! I nearly give the characters I don't own a different personality! I don't like when I make the characters terribly OOC so I ask for forgiveness in advance.
Alice: At least you don't have me as a lovesick girl they portray in other female characters.
Anime: *shivers* Can anyone imagine our lovely Alice being like that? Because I can't.
Tyson: This chapter has a little more info on Aster and, of course, slight Jalice! Well, we think. Sorry if it might not satisfy you guys! This chapter could be accompanied by several songs. One is Slipped Away by Avril Lavinge. Other songs would be Kiss Me (Japanese), Belly Dance (Japanese) and Koshitantan (Japanese). They gave Anime inspiration.
Anime: The disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except Aster and the six other OC's I'm introducing. If I did, I'd make this shipping canon. And make sure lots of people shipped this. End of story.
**Edited May 2019 and May 2020**
~~~FBW~~~
2: Distortion Of Reality And Dreams
December 14, 2014
Aster stayed asleep for three days. In all of those three days, not once did he move. Tooth had said that it wasn't because of his wounds. Alice confirmed those words, after she had neutralized the initial curse the boy had been under.
Aster was recovering from whatever had happened to him that led to the events of him coming to the workshop. He was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. Due to this, Alice didn't let anyone disturb him as he slept. She even told Sandy to give the boy good dreams as he often screamed in his sleep, fear in his voice.
For whatever reason, Jack was often in Aster's room. The young Guardian kept the sleeping boy company and always alerted them when Aster had a nightmare. Since he was constantly in Aster's room, Jack was the first who saw when Aster finally woke up.
"Ngh. . ." Aster moaned, his eyes moving behind his closed eyelids.
Aster tossed to one side, making Jack turn to him from his perch in the windowsill. It was the biggest movement Aster had done in the three days he slept. It was progress. Jack walked to stand by Aster's bedside. He kneeled down, observing the frown on the boy's face.
"Aster? Aster?"
"Eli . . . Elizabeth . . ." Aster mumbled, turning his side violently to one side.
Jack instantly knew what was going on. Aster was having a nightmare about his family. Aster began screaming, thrashing violently in the bed. "FATHER! MOTHER! WAKE UP! PLEASE, WAKE UP! WAKE UP! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME!"
"Aster!"
Jack began to shake his shoulders as the boy continued to scream. The temperature of the room seemed to have dropped about ten degrees, much to Jack's surprise. Wind howled around him and slammed the door shut. The furniture began to move with the force of the winds, much to Jack's shock.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Aster yelled to whatever was plaguing him in his dream, the bed floating. Jack got onto the bed, so he couldn't get that far away from the nightmare-plagued Aster. "STOP IT! STOP! I-" He screamed loudly, a bloodcurdling scream of pain and terror.
Jack shook him, "Aster, wake up! It's a dream! Aster, wake up!"
Aster's eyes shot open, revealing brilliant green eyes that turned golden while his white hair turned black. He sat up as if he had been electrocuted. The wind died down, making all the weird occurrences stop. The bed dropped to the ground loudly, almost startling Jack. Aster's eyes searched the room, looking frantic.
"Where am I? Is he here?" He whispered, drawing his knees closer to his body and wrapping his arms around them.
Jack placed a hand on his shoulder and watched as the boy flinched and tensed at the contact. When he saw Jack's face, his shoulders relaxed but the color of his eyes and hair did not change like the other times.
"No . . . whoever he is." Jack responded.
Aster took deep breaths, "Did I . . . go nuts with my powers again?"
When Jack raised a questioning eyebrow, Aster sighed. The tip of his black hair began to turn navy blue. Aster grabbed a lock of hair, twisting it while the navy blue spread further up his hair.
"I can't help it, I'm sorry," Aster admitted, "My center is imagination so I can do anything that you believe is possible. I might even do impossible things. At least I didn't create mini elephants this time."
"It's okay," Jack smiled, "It would've been funny if you had created small elephants. Nothing stops tension like elephants."
Aster's eyes turned from golden to yellow, his hair slowly turning yellow. The boy gave a soft smile, even though he stared at Jack with something that looked like longing.
Jack frowned and pointed at him, "How can you do that?"
Aster blinked, turning his head to one side in confusion as his hair and eyes turned orange, "Do what?"
"Your hair and eyes!" Jack told him.
Aster blinked and then grinned, his hair and eyes turning yellow, "Oh! You sound a lot like my father! He got confused when this happened to me too! Ha! Sorry about that. I guess my hair and eyes constantly changing confuse people."
Aster shook his head, "My hair and eyes didn't always change color. It started when my mother gave me a necklace two years ago."
Aster reached for his neck and, suddenly, Jack saw a necklace materialize. A necklace, he noted, had not been there three days ago when they had checked Aster's wound.
Aster showed him the necklace. A small stone the size of a baby's palm hung from the cord was pale like the moon. A small fraction of the stone, in the middle and not even covering the surface of the stone, was glowing with several colors. The most prominent was yellow.
"This is a Moonstone, a part of the moon itself." Aster told Jack, who stared at the stone in wonder.
Aster continued, smiling as he looked at the small stone, "As soon as I put it on two years ago, my hair and eyes changed color to yellow, because I was overwhelmed with happiness when I got it for my birthday. Father freaked out when it happened and Mother laughed at him. She loved to tease him a lot. Father didn't even complain about it."
"So your hair and eyes change color depending on your mood because of this stone?" Jack asked.
Aster nodded, "It's like one of those mood rings. Yellow is happiness, dark blues are sadness, red is anger, brown is suffering either physically or mentally or emotionally, black is scared, light blue is calm . . . the list is endless!"
"And white?" Jack asked.
Aster shrugged, staring at Jack's pale hair, "I don't know. Haven't figured it out. My parents said that it was the color that my hair has when I fall asleep. It once turned white when I was meditating, or so I heard. I think that my hair turns white when I'm not thinking."
"That's cool." Jack said.
Jack grinned, a mischievous grin. Aster raised an eyebrow as his hair and eyes turned back to orange that Jack knew meant that Aster was confused.
"So," Jack asked, "when you're in love, does your hair and eyes turn pink or something?"
Aster's hair turned pink and so did his eyes. He looked down, glaring at Jack. Half of his hair turned red and his right eye turned completely red, "It turns pink when I'm in love or when I'm embarrassed, okay? It's embarrassing how I found that out. Why would you ask me something like that?"
"How did you find out?" Jack asked.
Aster's entire hair turned a hot pink as he buried his face into his hands, "I'm not telling you! I'll never be able to live it down to this day!"
Jack grinned evilly, "Come on . . . you can tell me. It's not like I'm telling anyone. Maybe."
Aster's hair hot pink hair turned teal as he peaked from his fingers to look at Jack. Jack motioned at the new hair color and eye color, waiting for Aster to explain.
"Teal," he asked, "what does that mean?"
"I'm hesitating." Aster replied, his hands falling to his sides as he stared at Jack's face, "Whenever I feel like that, it turns teal. I don't know if I should tell you . . . You'd probably laugh at me. I know you would. You're Jack Frost, after all. Your center is fun."
"How do you even know me?"
"You're a Guardian. Your name is becoming more popular by the day, Frost." Aster replied, his hair and eyes flashing yellow before becoming teal again.
"Oh. So . . ." Jack nudged Aster, who turned to stare at him, "Are you going to tell me how you realized your hair and eyes could turn pink?"
Aster's hair and eyes turned hot pink again and he looked down, twiddling his fingers as if contemplating what he had to say.
"It was about seven months ago, actually." Aster mumbled, "My mother and her best friend had this crazy idea to play dress up, wanting to practice making girl's clothing because they had figured out my mother was going to have a daughter. My father had gone out with his friends and colleagues so they were gone. I was home practicing controlling my powers when my mother and her friend came in.
"They tied me up in minutes and dragged me to the room that was going to be my sister's. Once inside, I noticed with horror that there were several dresses and skirts and a lot of girly things in the room. I tried to escape but my mother had a tight grip on me. Word of advice, don't fight with a pregnant woman. She will beat you.
"Anyways, I don't remember how they did it but the next thing I knew, I was in one of the dresses my mother had made. Her friend even put bows on my hair! I was blushing and my hair and eyes turned pink. What made my hair turn hot pink was that my father and his friends decided to walk in that moment. They all started laughing at me and took pictures- You're laughing at me!"
Jack was laughing at him and Aster blushed, pushing Jack away from him, "You said you weren't going to laugh at me!"
Jack shook his head and, between laughs, responded, "I never promised anything!"
Aster turned away, "Honestly! That's the last time I ever tell anyone something that personal! How mean! Even Father wouldn't be like that! He'd laugh and then get over it. If Father was still alive-"
He stopped dead in his tracks. He turned quiet and his hair turned navy blue, signaling his sadness. His bangs covered his eyes and Jack stopped laughing, sensing his sadness.
"Aster?" He asked, softly, the way one would speak to a person who was hurt.
Considering what Tooth had told them, and the nightmares that often-plagued Aster that Sandy always needed to replace with good dreams, it was possible that Aster was emotionally damaged.
"What happened to your parents? Did they- How did . . . they die?"
Aster sighed. Immediately, the room seemed to become colder. The windows were covered in a thin layer of frost.
"They were murdered by a spirit named Black Ruins, whose center is death. I . . ." Aster hesitated, drawing himself closer into a ball, "It was all my fault. I was away. Mother couldn't do anything. She was-She was pregnant and had to take care of herself and my unborn little sister. My father stayed home to be with Mother, since he was hardly with her as he was doing both of their jobs. He was exhausted and my mother vulnerable due to her pregnancy. That's why they were killed by him."
Aster's hands created a fist as a tinge of red covered his eyes, "He couldn't take them otherwise. Mother and Father were powerful! A spirit like him couldn't even have injured them! But he knew they were weak and that I was not on my guard. That's when he attacked: the day after my birthday.
"I left my room that day when I heard the screams of my mother downstairs. When I ran down, I," He choked on his words, as if recalling that night, "There was blood everywhere. . . Black Ruins was choking my father, who looked so defeated. Mother was telling me to run away. But I didn't. I just stared in horror as Black Ruins stabbed my father and slashed off his head."
Jack tried to put a comforting hand on Aster's hand, but Aster flinched at the contact. Jack pulled away as Aster continued his remembrance of that terrible day.
"When he tried to reach me and take me, my mother stood in between us. I couldn't do anything as he killed my mother by ripping out her heart and taking away my mother's necklace. I let my anger get to me and we had a brief fight before I ran away, wanting to escape the terrible scene that surrounded me. I ran like a coward . . . We had another brief 'battle' before I came here."
"He was the one who gave you that wound, didn't he?" Jack asked.
Aster looked down, his hair turning into midnight blue, "Yes . . . He did so in an attempt to weaken me. So far, what I know about him is that he goes by the name 'Black Ruins' and his center is death. He was killed his previous life and he was a terrible person who hurt others. That man hasn't told me why he seems so hell-bent on . . ."
"On what?" Jack asked, curiously.
Aster's hair turned red, and he looked down, "For some unknown reason, he wants me. He wants me the way a child wishes for a toy that his parents will never give him. He wants to own me, as if I'm a doll! I'm not letting that creep get me and take my freedom!"
"Take away your freedom?"
Aster nodded, his hair turning light blue as he tried to calm himself, "Yes. It's something that we all have and were born with but it can be taken away so quickly, if you're not careful with it. My parents loved their freedom and I got their same love for being free. For someone to own me like an object isn't fun."
"I bet it's not." Jack said, "It's horrible. I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone."
Aster met his gaze, his currently light blue eyes meeting Jack's own pair of blue eyes. Jack smiled at him and Aster returned it, his hair and eyes turning yellow. Their smiles almost seemed to mirror each other.
Suddenly, in that moment where they seemed to be mirror-images of the other, Jack heard voices coming from his head, voices that he somewhat recognized but, at the same time, were completely alien to him.
"Aster! Remember to not tease the nightmares or they're going to give you bad dreams! And don't follow any stray animals or you'll get strayed from the path yourself, okay?" It was a woman's voice.
"Oh-kay, Mum! I'll be extra careful around them!"
That was Aster's voice, although his voice sounded as if the teenager was younger, perhaps around the age of ten or so. The voice also sounded cheery and happy, something that Aster's voice now lacked as his parents had been killed.
"Try controlling your powers too and check if any kids can see you. You need to have some believers if you're chosen to be a Guardian when you're older. And don't pick a fight with those other spirits that are also in that area. They're bound to have more experience with controlling them." That voice was a man's: Aster's father.
Jack shook his head and Aster blinked, his hair and eyes turning light brown, "Jack? Hey, are you alright? You spaced out for a moment."
Jack stared at Aster's new hair and eye color. Aster grabbed a strand of hair, noticing the color, "Light brown is worry. So . . . are you okay?"
Jack nodded and Aster's hair and eyes changed back to yellow in relief. Jack thought about the voices he had heard that had not been from his memories but Aster's. But why had he heard those voices? He had no possible way to hear them. And Aster's mother's voice was very familiar.
But why had it sounded so familiar?
~~~FBW~~~
The Guardians and Alice were all by the globe that glowed with golden dots. They had gotten worried when they heard Aster's screams and that the door had slammed shut but relaxed when Sandy gave them the 'OK' sign: Aster was no longer having nightmares and both he and Jack were okay.
Alice was leaning on the wall, watching the door as if that would tell her what was happening inside the room. Tooth was flying just two feet away from her, interrupting the silence when she spoke to her fairies.
Alice crossed her arms in front of her chest and finally spoke, making the Guardians turn to her, "North, you saw that too, didn't you? The boy's wrists."
North nodded, a brooding expression on his face as he stroked his beard, "Yes, I did, Alice. Pitch's dark sand and Sandy's Dreamsand. How was he able to get some of that, especially when Pitch is locked away and Sandy is here? Not to mention that he called Jack by his nickname, as if he knows him, even though this is the first time we have ever seen him."
"I bet he's allied with Pitch." Bunny inputted.
Sandy looking at all of them, shaking his head. He tried to get their attention, but no one listened to the ever-silent dream spirit. Even while his Dreamsand attempted to explain his stance on the strange new spirit.
Tooth sighed, looking anxious, "But Pitch is gone. He's been locked away for two years and there's no way he was allied with this spirit because Aster looks too young to have any-"
"Looks." Bunny emphasized as he interrupted her, "The boy could be like Alice or Jack: chosen to be a spirit at an age that makes others think that he's a teenager. He could be as old as us and we wouldn't be able to know."
Tooth rolled her eyes in frustration, flying around rapidly with her hummingbird-like wings as Sandy and Alice watched the events unfold in silence, "That's not the only thing bothering me. What bothers me is that Aster has no memory archives. I don't have any of his teeth! Unless he came from the Moon or another world, he should have his teeth."
At this, all of the spirits in the room turned to Tooth. She looked back at the door where Aster and Jack were at. She stopped flying, crossing her arms. It was one of the few times in recent years that they had seen her act serious.
"That's what's bothering me," Tooth said, "It's as if he appeared out of nowhere! As if he was never human or he hasn't lost any of his baby teeth, which I doubt as I saw the whole adult set of teeth when we checked his injuries. And, may I add, his teeth are as beautiful as Jack's!"
"We have in our hands some kid who appeared out of nowhere, injured, who has no teeth under Tooth's care and has some of Pitch and Sandy's sand?" Bunny recapped.
They nodded, allowing the silence to surround them. It was so silent that they could almost hear the conversation between Aster and Jack. Almost. The rooms in North's workshop did not have thin walls.
Alice broke the silence once again as she spoke, "Not only that but I sensed something about him that seems oddly familiar."
"What do you mean, Alice?" North questioned.
Alice frowned, green eyes turning to the other occupants of the room, "I don't know why but, when I first saw him, he reminded me a lot of Jack. Of course, there are slight differences in physical features between the two but their resemblance is uncanny. Not only that but he seemed distant from everyone else but Jack."
Sandy shook his arms in front of him to try to catch the other spirits' attention, his Dreamsand making several shapes. One of those shapes was a baby and two people holding it. Alas, no one paid him any attention again as they continued to ponder about Aster.
"Alright, so the kid looks and reminds us of Frostbite, he's got some of Sandy and Pitch's sand, even though we have no idea how he has some, Tooth doesn't have any of his teeth and he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Not to mention that none of us have heard of him even though he seems to know us. Who else sees that something is wrong with this kid?" Bunny asked.
"I definitely do. We have to be careful." Alice said.
Sandy gave up catching their attention and huffed.
"What's wrong?"
All the heads of the room turned to the now open door where Jack and Aster stared at them. Standing side by side, they all agreed that the two did share similar facial features, although their hair and eye color were different. For example, Jack's hair was white and Aster's was now orange. The both boys were roughly around the same height, although Jack was taller for about two more inches or so. Also, Jack's eyes were blue while Aster's eyes were orange.
Aster scratched his head, looking at the occupants when his hair and eyes turned pink, "Um . . . do any of you have, perchance, my hoodie?"
It was then that they noticed that the boy was wearing nothing to cover his chest but a blanket. He bit his lower lip, looking down. Tooth smiled nicely at him, noticing that the poor boy was embarrassed. It made her relax, briefly forgetting Alice's words.
"We finished fixing it up some time ago, about two days ago," Tooth said, flying closer to Jack and Aster, "but you were still sleeping and we didn't want to wake you up. You seemed exhausted. We're sorry we didn't have it delivered to your room, Aster."
"It's okay, Au- Lady Toothiana." Aster said with a smile.
Alice frowned at how he had fumbled with his words, almost calling Tooth something else. Alice had to keep an eye out on him. She wasn't going to just allow him to be here without watching him, in case he did anything bad. She was not trusting this boy.
Some of Tooth's mini fairies appeared, holding Aster's red hoodie. The boy smiled when he grabbed it, hugging it close to his chest before slipping it on himself. He twirled when he did so, clearly amazed.
"Wow, it even feels nicer than ever!" Aster said, "Thank you for everything! I don't know how to thank you for it!"
His pink hair and eyes had flashed bright yellow, causing Sandy to look at his own golden hair as if to see that his hair wasn't as bright.
Aster bowed, a wide grin on his face, "How rude of me! My name is Aster Nick Frell, the imagination spirit! It's a pleasure to be in the presence of the Guardians and Alice Liddell herself!"
"Aster Nick Frell?" Bunny repeated.
Aster nodded, a warm smile playing on his lips, "I'm named after you, Bunnymund! That and my name conveniently means 'star', something that shares the night sky with the Man on the Moon! And my middle name Nick comes from Nicholas, North's name. My parents respected the Guardians. I was named after you."
Jack grinned, "What kind of last name is Frell?"
Aster's hair and eyes turned pink at the statement and quickly looked down, eyes looking everywhere but at Jack. He looked away, pouting and frowning although he was more embarrassed than anything as his hair hadn't even turned red in the slightest.
"Well- Uh. . . You see. Um," Aster coughed, shaking his head, "T-t-that's not nice, Frost! You're a big tease, you know that?"
Jack ruffled Aster's current pink hair affectionately, who tried to swat Jack's hand away, "I left you speechless and made you stutter! And I thought I couldn't do that with anyone! Guess there's a first for everything after all."
Alice looked away, a frown in her features. Why was Jack speaking with that boy as if they knew each other for a long time? They had met three days ago when Aster collapsed on Jack. Why did Jack talk to him as if they were good friends, but stuttered and hardly talked with her and they had known each other for two years? Alice didn't like the feeling she got as she thought about it. It was too foreign a feeling.
Aster glanced briefly at Alice and noticed her slightly jealous look. He smiled fondly at her. That smile didn't go unnoticed by Sandy, who stared at the boy with sympathy. Aster caught the golden Guardian's gaze and shook his head. The sad smile remained on his lips. Sandy nodded and Aster moved his hands rapidly. Sandy's eyes widened as he recognized what Aster was doing.
"What are ya doing with your hands, mate?" Bunny asked, noticing the rapid hand movement, and Aster stopped just as quickly.
He turned to the large Pooka and smiled, "Practicing my sign language! I don't want to forget it! It's a good language to know. It's incredibly handy- Er, helpful."
While Bunny groaned at the accidental pun, Aster shot Sandy a meaningful look and the dream spirit gave him a brief nod.
Jack grinned, "So, Aster, your center is imagination, right?"
At Aster's nod, Jack's eyes shined, "That's great! You're connected to my center!"
"That's cool!" Aster smiled.
Jack wrapped an arm around his shoulder, "Come on! I know this might be sudden but we should head off and have some fun! These last three days have been somewhat boring because we were worried about you. Besides, I'm in the mood for a snowball fight. As the King of Snowball Fights, I'll take it easy on you."
Aster grinned, his hair and eyes turning silver as his confidence grew, "Snowball fight, eh? Unfortunately for you, Frost, I have been trained in the ancient arts of snow-jitsu. Today, I'm going to dethrone the king. The title of King of Snowball Fights shall be mine!"
Jack raised an eyebrow at Aster's sudden confidence and smirked, his own ego swelling, "Ha! You shall never defeat me! I shall retain my title! You'll see!"
Both boys grinned widely, revealing similar pearly white teeth. It almost made Tooth's fairies swoon. Tooth herself frowned, still thinking about the boy's disappeared baby teeth. It didn't make sense. Unless he was not from here, Aster should have his baby teeth.
Aster narrowed his eyes in mock seriousness, "Let's dance, Jack Frost, and decide who is the true King of Snowball Fights once and for all."
Both of them flew out, looking almost identical. The only differences were their clothing, hair and eyes and the fact that Jack still held his staff while Aster left empty-handed. If one who hadn't known them had seen them now, they could've been mistaken for siblings.
Alice watched them go and smiled briefly when she saw Jack's smiling face. Since she had met the spirit two years ago, she had loved his innocent and carefree smile. He represented the happiness, fun and innocence Alice had lost centuries ago when she was a human. He represented her life before the fire Bumby caused and the death of her family.
Jack Frost's happiness was something she treasured more than anything, as it allowed her to see that there was a chance for her to be happy. Maybe that's why Alice harbored small feelings for the winter spirit.
"Alice, go."
Alice turned to North, who had spoken. At her unspoken question, the jolly man smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Even if I was blind, I wouldn't miss the looks you give him from time to time, Alice. Be with Jack and be happy. You still have the chance to gain your happiness with him. If you don't do it, you'll regret it if he leaves your life."
Alice looked to where her precious light and symbol of happiness Jack had left, along with the other boy.
She nodded at North, walking away and heading outside, "I won't live my life with regrets. I won't have any regrets."
And I know I'll regret not being with Jack if he ever leaves my life.
~~~FBW~~~
After the fun snowball fight which resulted with Jack as the winner to Aster's dismay, Aster walked alone in the workshop. He was smiling. He didn't think he would ever stop smiling now. He was really happy. His hair and eyes were so yellow, it even hurt his own eyes to stare at his hair.
"Alice and Jack, eh?" He said and chuckled.
Aster looked over shoulder, checking if anyone had heard him but no one had. The Yetis were too busy working on toys to pay him any attention. He leaned on the wall and took out his necklace, the Moonstone glowing brightly in his palm. He sighed and hid it under his hoodie again. The smile he had before was already gone.
His eyes turned to the left, "Hey, Sandy."
Sandy appeared, looking serious as he floated towards the teenager. He started moving his hands and Aster read the hand movements with ease, having practiced the art when he was a child.
Aster looked down, "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. Being asleep for three days might have been a bad idea considering the spirit of dreams is here. So, will you tell them?"
Sandy moved his hands again and Aster nodded, looking grim and his hair and eyes turned light brown-light blue, worrying but attempting to be calm.
"Yes, they're gone," Aster crossed his arms, looking up before looking back at Sandy, "And I'm afraid he's still after me. He won't stop until he does have me in his possession. I'm afraid he'll chase me down here too and hurt you guys. He'll do anything to capture me."
Sandy asked something in sign language and Aster bit his lower lip, his whole hair turning midnight blue, along with his eyes.
"I only survived that day because Black Ruins wanted me alive and because I was a coward and ran away. Without my parents, I'm just a scared little kid," Aster's voice trembled as he blinked back tears, "And I did nothing as he killed them. I was utterly useless! I can never forgive myself for that."
Sandy read the boy's feelings quickly. To avoid another sobbing fit and attracting the attention of the other Guardians, Sandy moved the topic of conversation. He motioned at Aster's wrists, his Dreamsand forming a question mark.
Aster blinked, wiping his eyes, "That? Ah, they were gifts, of course. No need to tell North or Bunny about that. They'd think I'm in Pitch's side. They don't even know about the real evil that wishes to not only destroy us but the children too."
Sandy moved his hands faster.
Aster shook his head, "They won't trust me, Sandy. Jack might and you would too, of course. But I'm not as oblivious as I look. I saw how North, Bunny and Alice saw me. I don't blame them. I would've been like they are in their shoes. How can they believe my word without me revealing who I really am?"
Sandy created a version of Tooth using his Dreamsand, followed by a question mark, and Aster groaned, hitting his forehead with the palm of his hand.
"I forgot all about that!" Aster said, pushing himself away from the wall, "If Tooth does manage to find my memories, I'm done for! I would be an open book to her!"
Aster reached into his hoodie pocket and out from it materialized the standard tooth box. He held it tightly to his chest.
"If she did find this, boy, would I be in for it!" Aster stage-whispered to Sandy, "I just know it! Maybe if Manny told them the situation, they'd understand but it's not like he's going do so. Dad told me that it doesn't work like that."
He ran a hand through his now light brown hair, "What am I going to do? Maybe I should have stayed home. Maybe even let Black Ruins take me. By coming here, I'm risking your lives as well as the life of children! I can't do that. It's not in my place. I don't want more people suffering because of me."
Sandy walked towards him and patted him in the arm. Aster took a deep breath, "At least Manny won't let him come here. I know he won't. Unless . . ."
At this, Aster paled, his hair turning black and his eyes golden. Aster gave out an exasperated yell, "I'm so stupid! He'll go after them!"
He hit his head on the wall, "Damn! I've just put my friends in danger!"
~~~FBW~~~
It was a cool, chilly night, the snowflakes falling from the sky slowly, dancing as they made their descent. The delicate snow was falling in the small town of Burgess, the hometown of the beloved Guardian Jack Frost. It was in this city that a young teen was standing on one of the rooftops, staring at the people.
The boy looked to be around seventeen years old and wore dark blue jeans and a simple long-sleeved red shirt. He had a black vest that reached up to his waist, making the boy look ominous. His hair was black with light blue-green eyes and tan skin. He wore dark shoes and had his arms crossed in front of his chest. Strapped on the boy's back was a black and silver scythe.
The teenager looked up at the Moon, "Where is he? Answer me, please! He's been missing for three days already! We're all worried sick! Does Black Ruins have him?! Tell me, where is Aster?!"
"Scream louder, will ya? You might even attract the attention of some kids." A new voice inputted.
The boy turned to see a female standing across from the roof he was in. He narrowed his eyes, "If it isn't Rowan, the spirit who's center is respect. In other words, a spirit who kids will never see or believe in."
She snorted, rolling her eyes at his words that stung her but she didn't allow it to show, "Charming as ever, Arwyn, friendship spirit. Now that's what I find ironic. The friendship spirit being not so friendly. Wonder how that sweet kid Aster got tangled up with you as a best friend."
Rowan was a fairly normal looking teenage girl, with a physical appearance of a fifteen year old girl. Her flaming red hair with golden streaks reached up to her shoulders and her eyes were amethyst. She was wearing a simple light purple dress that reached up to her knees. She was barefoot and, on her hands, was a fan that was dangerous when used.
Arwyn looked down, "He's still missing and no one has yet to have heard about him. I'm worried. Is it possible that the creep Black Ruins has him? And his parents were both killed. Damn it! Everything was finally right in their lives! Our lives, too! We were safe, all of us!"
Rowan crossed her arms in front of her, jumping from the current rooftop and standing next to Arwyn, "That Black Ruins has been catching spirits in a frenzy. If he's doing this, that means he hasn't gotten his prize yet. You know what that means, don't you, Arwyn?"
"That means that Aster's okay." He replied.
She nodded, "Exactly! So stop worrying about him, will ya? He's his mother's son and you know she was tough both physically and mentally! Aster's going to be alright."
"You guys haven't caught wind of Aster either?"
Arwyn turned to see a small girl around ten years old coming towards them. She was jumping on the rooftops. Her light brown hair with green streaks was up in two ponytails. Her eyes were emerald green and she wore a light green dress that reached up to her ankles, showing her thin barefooted feet.
Rowan blinked, "Aria? I thought you were in Japan!"
Aria landed on Arwyn's left, her ponytails floating in the air for a brief moment until gravity reclaimed them and they slowly descended. She patted her dress, before answering, "I was in Japan. That is until Zayden told me that our friend Aster was missing, his parents were both murdered and Black Ruins has been in a rampage kidnapping spirits!"
"Zayden called you? The patience spirit called you?" Rowan asked, blinking.
Aria nodded, "Yup! He was right behind me but I got excited when I saw you guys here! So I might have left him behind. . ."
"Patience is a virtue, Aria. I knew that these two weren't going anywhere anytime soon." A deep voice stated.
They all turned to face the newcomer. The boy seemed to be around eighteen and had curly blonde hair with light blue streaks and golden eyes. He was dressed in a light blue shirt and black pants. Like the others, he was barefooted.
Aria grinned at him, a wide grin plastered on her face, "Sorry, Zay! I was really excited! I haven't seen you guys in ages, is all!"
Zayden shook his head, sighing deeply, "I could've told you something nasty in response to that but, because you're the kindness spirit, I won't do that."
"Love you too, Zay!" Aria said and Zayden patted her head, smiling at her.
He turned serious and crossed his arms in front of him, "Aster is missing and has been missing for three days. His parents are dead; Black Ruins is capturing spirits and doing who knows what with them. And the Guardians . . ."
"Can't we get Pitch to help?" Aria asked.
Arwyn raised an eyebrow, "In all honesty, do you really think Pitch will help us? He's the one who told us to hide! But I refuse to hide. Aster needs us and we have no idea where he is and whether or not he's alive!"
"I heard honesty. I am here, guys." A new voice said.
They looked up to see two girls flying above them. The one that had spoken had light green hair with pink highlights and pink eyes. The girl next to her had pink hair with light green highlights and green eyes. Both of them wore red shirts and blue skirts. Unlike the others, the two girls wore black boots.
"Rayne! Sariya!" Aria launched herself at them.
Rayne caught the small spirit and placed her down when both spirits landed on the rooftop to stand with the other teenage-looking spirits. Sariya patted the smaller girl's head, causing her grin to expand.
"The gang's all here. Well, with the exception of Aster." Arwyn noted, nodding at the honesty spirit and the perseverance spirit, who looked at their surroundings.
Sariya, the perseverance spirit, sighed, "Three days and no sign of him. And the other spirits have gone into hiding. Like how we should be doing. . ."
"But Aster," Aria sighed, "We were fools, blinded by our own problems. As soon as that psychotic Black Ruins started stalking Aster, we should've told the Guardians. Then again, how could we have known that his obsession for Aster would go this far? I just wish . . ."
"Wishful thinking will get us nowhere." Zayden interrupted her.
Zayden looked up at the sky, at the Moon. "Only he knows the answers. Unfortunately for us, he will not answer, despite the urgency. We have to find Aster on our own. And for us to do that, we need to figure out where he was before he escaped."
"That worried about my precious frozen butterfly, little dolls? Like me, you won't be able to ever find him. Especially because he's gone to a place where none of us can ever find him."
All six of the spirits gasped and went back-to-back as the dreaded spirit Black Ruins appeared before them.
"Black Ruins." Arwyn growled.
Arwyn took out his scythe and held it protectively in front of him with both hands. The scythe glinted with the moonlight, reflecting Arwyn on one side and Black Ruins. It was one of the only defenses the spirits had against the new threat.
"What do you mean by that?" Sariya asked behind Arwyn, "Where is Aster?! Wait, an even better question, what have you done to him?"
Black Ruins smirked and held out a necklace, making it swing hypnotically in front of them, "Don't worry, little dolls. Aster has just been sent away to a time different from our own, an era where he'll be safe from me. But we're going to pay them a visit and take what belongs to us."
Aria gasped, recognizing the necklace, "That's-"
Arwyn screamed, jumping into the air. His scythe glowed as he swung it down on Black Ruins. The older spirit moved out of the way before materializing a dark staff to block Arwyn's next strike.
"Why did you do it?!" Arwyn asked, angry tears escaping, "Why?! You were supposed to be Aster's friend! Our friend! So why did you kill . . . Why?!"
"I never sought friendship from any of you. That's not in my nature." Black Ruins replied.
Arwyn yelled again, swinging the blade and having it be blocked. He returned back to the other spirits. They looked guilty as they looked at the tearful eyes of Arwyn. They knew that the pain of betrayal hurt Arwyn more because of his center. They were also guilty because they were defensive spirits.
"You believe you are so brave, Arwyn," Black Ruins taunted, "when you are merely just a terrified spirit who has no memory of his old self and just wants to be as good as the Guardians. But you are nothing like them. You will never be as good as a Guardian."
"Shut up!" Arwyn yelled.
Arwyn was about to attack when Black Ruins took out the key again, swinging it in again. Arwyn froze, eyes wide. He trembled, his scythe disappearing. He looked terrified as Black Ruins moved closer to them.
Rowan tried to jump but found that her legs were being unresponsive, "What have you done to us? Why can't we move?!"
Black Ruins smirked, continuing to swing the key in front of their faces. "I have control over you. And you shall lead me straight to my little doll. Now sleep, little ones."
Rowan and Aria immediately fell forward. Zayden tried to shake his head to stop himself from sleeping before falling. Sariya and Rayne fell asleep shortly after, holding hands. Arwyn fell to his knees, shaking his head. He looked up at the looming Black Ruins with a sleepy glare before falling asleep.
Black Ruins grinned at what he had done and looked up at the Moon, "No matter where and when you send him, I shall always find him. He belongs to me. And I'm going to possess him, no matter what."
~~~FBW~~~
**EDIT: Updated dialogue, updated timelines, added fight between Arwyn and Black Ruins**
Anime: Did I do good? I hope I did. Black Ruins is such a creepy dude, ain't he? My poor little Aster being stalked by him. Also, if anyone wants to know what happened in that snowball fight (Jack Vs. Aster Vs. Alice), I can make a one-shot for it. And Alice isn't in love with Jack like Jack is with her. She only has feelings for him.
Alice: *raises eyebrow* 'her precious light and symbol of happiness Jack'?
Anime: I had to do it! Don't kill me! You see, I'm also showing my reasons for shipping this. I could've easily shipped Jelsa (which I don't) or Jackunzel (Don't ship that either) but this shipping called to me. First, they're not your typical lovey-dovey couple. Second, they can both protect themselves. Third, they complete each other. Jack is fun and everything but I don't peg him as serious or mature like the way Alice is. Alice, on the other hand, has lost everything, including her carefree self. Jack's happy demeanor represents what she's lost and what she could get. That's my story.
Jaden: Is there a deep history for all of your shippings?
Anime: Ah . . . no, just for this one.
Jehu: And just when we were starting to respect you . . .
Jack: So, Haou has yanked out Bumby's toe nails and cut his toes. Are we throwing alcohol on him now?
Haou: Yes!
Alice: You can torture Bumby but not Pitch?
Anime: Nope. I actually like Pitch. He represents the darkness and I think it's cool. Besides, I feel sorry for what happened to him. I like stories where he shows up!
Pitch: I'm honored.
Aster: You know the drill! Review, please. When we get at least two reviews, we're gonna gut Bumby like a fish and then dunk him in that tub of alcohol Anime prepared for this day! And check out chapter three when it shows up.