Rating: T+

Pairings: Jack x Alice (Jalice/Ice-Tea/The Real OTP)

Disclaimer: Whims of Anime does not own Rise of the Guardians or American McGee's Alice. Their characters and plots belong to their respective owners. OCs are all owned by Whims of Anime.

Warnings: Grammatical errors, implied sexual content, rantings of a mad author, OCs, OOC characters, confusing plot, bouts of insanity for characters, no beta, etc.

Anime: I'm back with chapter7 of FBW: Words of the Devil. I don't know what to say about this chapter, other than it's dedicated to the great THE TATTOO ARTIST because of his support for this story. I'm impressed that people like him like my story. So, thank you! Oh, also it's Christmas (if any of you celebrate it, that is) in real time and in this chapter so here is my gift to you. Go ahead and read the chapter. Hope you enjoy!

~~~FBW~~~

7: Words of the Devil

(December 25, Present time, North's Workshop, North Pole)

"I'm going to be leaving." Aster told his reflection, trying to keep a happy expression on his face as he smiled widely, "I won't be gone for long. There are somethings that need to be taken care of and I . . ." He sighed, making the ice mirror disappear. He couldn't deceive himself with that happy expression; how would he deceive his mother, Bunny and North? Hell, he probably wouldn't even be able to deceive his father.

"This is hopeless." He muttered, sitting down on the rail. He sighed again, looking dejected. North had left already and wouldn't be back until probably five in the morning. It was one in the morning and Aster couldn't sleep. Not when today was the day he was leaving.

"What can I do?" He muttered, holding the Moonstone on his hand while the other held James. He wanted to ask advice from the stuffed rabbit but decided against it. Who else could he talk to, however? Besides, James didn't need to hear the internal angst of a teenager like him.

"Frell?"

Aster nearly fell off the railing he was sitting on, as the voice of his mother had spoken right behind him. Dammit! I'm not wearing the Moonstone! He turned around and he could see the shock in his mother's face, especially when she noticed that the Moonstone was in his hands and not around his neck. Crapcrapcrapcrap.

"Frell . . .?" Alice asked once more, her voice softer than normal. Aster looked just like he did in her dreams. The same white hair that looked identical to Jack and with green eyes that she often saw whenever she looked in the mirror. He wasn't wearing the Moonstone, which caused him to have ever-changing hair and eye color. This meant that this was his true form.

Aster was frozen like a deer caught in headlights. His mother was looking at him with something he recognized as shock and surprise. He shouldn't be so surprised over her reaction. He knew he'd feel the same way. His eyes softened when he recalled his current predicament. What could he do now, anyways? This was his last day of freedom. He might as well admit who he was to the person that he loved a lot. "Frost. My real name is Aster Nick Frost."

"Frost?" Alice whispered, remembering her dreams where Aster looked like this. It was impossible, wasn't it? She knew that the impossible could be achieved but, if this was possible, then that meant that Aster was her . . . was their son.

Aster nodded, getting off the railing he had been sitting down on. He walked towards her and Alice was surprised how serious and calm he was when she hardly saw him act this way. He stopped three feet away from her, their eye contact never destroyed.

"Yes," Aster smiled and Alice was shocked because, now that she was paying attention to it, the smile was identical to the one she used, "I am the only son of Alice Liddell and Jack Frost. You know what that means, don't you, Mother?"

Alice was quiet for a long time processing what Aster had said. After a while, she got over her shock and narrowed her eyes. When she crossed in front of her chest, Aster internally yelled. This was the stance his mother took when she was going to ask a question and, if you lied, there was the possibility of her killing you. "Why tell me this now?"

Because I want you to know before I'm gone, Aster wanted to say but refrained from doing so as he knew that would make him spill what he was going to do. He didn't want his mother to judge him on the course of action he was going to take. Would she think he was brave or stupid for submitting to the enemy? Probably stupid. "Why?" He whispered before leaning forward, "because I won't be here anymore."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked, taking a step back as Aster neared her. He smiled in a way that made him look like Jack before kissing her on the forehead. She frowned, "What was that for-?"

"I love you, Mom. Goodbye."

Aster threw the Dreamsand he always carried at her and Alice fell asleep as soon as it fell on her. Before she fell to the ground, Aster caught her. He sighed, setting Alice down on the floor carefully, "I'm so glad she's the past version of Mom. If I had done that to her in my time, she would've killed me and grounded me for life."

He looked at the clock and he felt himself screaming on the inside. Why? Why did this happen to him? What had he done to deserve this? He shook his head, "No use crying over it, you idiot. You made your decision; stick to it." He looked at his sleeping mother and moved a stray hair away from her face, "I'm sorry for that, Mom. I'll miss you, Father, Uncle Pitch, North, Bunny, Sandy and Aunt Tooth. All of you are so precious to me. That's why I have to do this, after all."

He placed James on his mother's left hand and wrapped the Moonstone chain around her neck. He took out his tooth box and placed in her right hand. He smiled, "Take care of these for me, okay? I want them to be safe and away from him."

He looked at the bright lights coming from the globe and then looked away when he felt his eyes tearing up. He wiped away the stray tear and cleared his throat, "This is goodbye, alright?" He began to hum, resisting the urge to look at his mother one last time before he was taken away. From now on, he was nothing. Aster was gone. He was now dead.

In front of him, a black portal appeared and Black Ruins stepped out of it, smiling the way a cat would once it caught its prey. Silly Aster, a voice inside his head spoke, cats don't smile. That is something impossible, don't you think? There's only one place where cats can smile and it's a place you can't ever hope to go to.

"Ready to come with me?" The death spirit asked, holding out his hand towards Aster. The white haired teen glanced down at Alice for a moment and his companion noticed, seeing where his gaze lay. He smirked, "I'm glad to see that this wench isn't around to stop me. It would be a shame if she or Jack decided to help save you, don't you think?"

"We made a deal. If you don't honor it, I won't honor my side of the bargain." The imagination replied, hiding the fear and sadness from his voice. His mother would be proud if she saw how well he was currently hiding his feelings. Black narrowed his eyes at him when he spoke but did nothing to hurt the sleeping Alice. The teenager internally smiled because he hadn't noticed that the Moonstone was hanging around Alice's neck.

"Alright. Then let's go." The psychotic spirit grabbed Aster from his forearm and pulled him towards the portal. The younger spirit did nothing to protest.

Goodbye.

"Aster? Alice? Are you guys here?" A voice asked and Aster's eyes widened when Jack appeared, smiling as he was followed by several animals that seemed to be made out of ice. Jack stopped in his tracks when he noticed Alice's sleeping form, the portal, Aster's white hair and green eyes and the intruder. He brandished his staff, "Who are you-?"

"Aira, come to me." Black replied and someone came out of the black portal. The father and son duo were both shocked when they saw the girl Black called Aira. Jack was shocked because of how crazy and demented this girl looked like. Aster was shocked because he knew the girl.

"Aria?!" The spirit in Black's grasp started struggling, staring at the girl that had once been one of his best friends in his past. "What did you do to her?! Black Ruins, tell me what you did to Aria!"

"Kill him."

"No!"

Aira smirked and attacked Jack with her black whip. Jack yelled when it hit him across the face, leaving a small cut on his left cheek. Black Ruins smirked when the darkness-driven spirit and the spirit of fun began to fight, ignoring Aster's yells and kicks. He grabbed the teen from the throat, "Sorry about your father. It seems he has to die."

"Dad, run!" Aster yelled before he was thrown into the portal.

"Aster!" Jack yelled before dodging the next attack of Aira. Black Ruins waved goodbye to the fighting Guardian before jumping into the portal after Aster, laughing cruelly at Jack's distress.

Aira gave out a triumphant yell when her whip wrapped itself around the Guardian's ankle. Jack yelled when he felt the whip burning his skin. He launched an icicle at the cruelty spirit, making her release her grip on the whip. Jack hissed when he saw the burn marks of where the whip had been moments ago but jumped back when Aira threw black orbs at him that disintegrated things with a touch.

"Stop running, little one. I only want to play." Aira giggled, her voice sounding distorted, "The other spirit isn't as fun as you are. Come on, keep still. I want to hear you scream." She threw another ball of darkness at Jack, who was able to dodge it in time. She pouted, "You're no fun. I guess she'll do."

When she turned to the sleeping Alice, she was shocked to see that the female was gone. She turned to look at Jack and growled when she noticed that the sleeping target she had been about to attack was in his hands. Jack brandished his staff, a fire glowing behind his eyes that no one had ever seen before, "I'm afraid you'll have to kill me to get to her."

Aira chuckled, "Aw, the puppy's gotten agitated. You don't want me to hurt your darling master, would you?" She began to laugh and calmed down after a while. She picked up her fallen whip and pointed it at him, "Does she give you a treat if you wag your tail and are a good boy?"

"I'm no one's pup." Jack replied, holding Alice closer to him, "But know this: if you hurt her, you'll have to pay."

Aira smirked, "Sounds like fun."

~~~FBW~~~

(March 7, 80 years into the future, Unknown place)

Black Ruins was met with a punch to the face, followed by Aster yelling, "You son of a bitch!" He held his injured cheek and turned to Aster, who's hair was floating as if he was underwater. His usually white hair was grey and he could see the one of his eyes was crying blood. This was interesting. Aster had said that he could achieve a state he had inherited from his mother called Hysteria but he had never shown because he couldn't control it.

"Why are you so angry?" He asked and dodged an icicle the enraged teen had thrown at him.

"You broke our deal by telling Aria to kill my father. I have no reason to be so compliant." The teen replied before he completely entered Hysteria mode. He created a scythe made out of ice and launched himself at Black Ruins.

"Ayiras, Enyar, protect me." He said and two females jumped in front of him, each girl holding shields. Both girls were dressed in matching black sweaters with white vests, black skirts and knee-high long white socks. Around their neck, the darkness that possessed them moved around in a snake-like pattern. They wore black eyeliner and black eyeshadow that made them appear paler than what they already were.

In some part of Aster's rational mind, he recognized the two girls as Sariya and Rayne, his two dear friends that he would have never dared to hurt. As he was now in Hysteria Mode, however, the fact was irrelevant. They were only enemies that needed to be taken down before he murdered his intended target.

He attacked Ayiras, who backflipped out of harm's way while Enyar turned her shield into a spear. Before it could hit Hysteria-Aster, a barrier of ice was created that shielded him from harm's way. Ayiras turned her shield into a katana and launched herself at Hysteria-Aster. He turned into a swarm of butterflies and they flew upwards until they shifted back into Hysteria-Aster.

"You're enjoying yourself." Black Ruins turned around to face a smirking female who was dressed in a black shirt, dark blue jeans and wore fingerless black gloves. Like Ayiras and Enyar, she wore black eyeliner and eyeshadow. The darkness that had corrupted this spirit was visible in her arms rather than in her neck.

"Nawor, you should know that I am." He replied and didn't even flinch when Ayiras was sent flying, a piece of ice lodged into her abdomen. He smirked, "Isn't it amusing watching someone who loves life lose control and kill? My frozen butterfly never ceases to amuse me."

Nawor snorted, watching with uncaring eyes as Enyar was impaled in the chest, her voice open as if to scream in pain before she went limp. She shrugged as Hysteria-Aster began to fight against the still-bleeding Ayiras, "I suppose it is fun, though. In an odd sort of way. After all, you have a thing for turning beautiful things into something ugly. We're perfect examples of it."

Black Ruins looked at Hysteria-Aster stab Ayiras on the knee with his ice scythe, making her fall to the ground and sighed, staring at the scene with uncaring eyes, "An angel reaping justice against those that deserve it. He is very similar to his mother in that manner. However, I have the tendency of wanting to watch those beautiful angels become demons."

"That is what you did to both of them." Nawor replied.

Hysteria-Aster stabbed Ayiras in the chest and she screamed, must to the surprise of the spectators. When he had corrupted Sariya and Rayne, Black had taken away their voices – their voices made him remember the songs they used to sing – so hearing what used to be Sariya scream shocked him.

"A . . . Aster!" She screamed, voice laced with pain.

Hysteria-Aster paused when he heard her voice and Nawor raised an eyebrow when she saw that his soulless black eyes were now green and his hair had turned white again. She sighed and pouted like a child who hadn't gotten her way, "Oh well, party's over, I guess. It seems he's become the angel again."

"An angel," Black Ruins whispered with something that Nawor recognized as glee, "who finally committed its first sin."

"This'll be interesting to watch." Nawor laughed.

Aster blinked, having come out of Hysteria Mode. He was horrified when he saw Sariya laying underneath him, an icicle embedded on her chest, knee and in her abdomen. He fell to his knees, feeling sick to his stomach. Had he done this? No, he couldn't have . . . could he?

"S-Sariya?" He whispered, wishing that it was all a lie. It had to be! He wouldn't have hurt his friend, even if he was in danger! He knew that he was dangerous in Hysteria Mode but he hadn't ever killed anyone. Why had he killed? Why had he hurt her? He shook his head, holding the bleeding spirit in his arms, "No, no, no. Sariya! Please don't go. Sariya!"

"Hey, Aster." She said in a weak voice that sounded hoarse, as if she had screamed a lot. She smiled weakly and reached out a bleeding hand to touch his face where tears were falling out from. She let her hand drop slowly before she spoke again, "It's been a while since we last met. I missed you, you know." Her body went limp. Her eyes were unfocused and she wore a smile on her face.

Aster was frozen, cradling the corpse of Sariya. He looked around and gave out a weak cry when he saw Rayne impaled by an icicle that he had obviously created. He choked back a sob, trying to deny what was in front of his eyes. No. He hadn't killed two of his friends. This had to be an illusion. It had to be!

"You killed Sariya and Rayne." Aster didn't even flinch when he heard the devil's cruel voice next to his ear. He was just trembling, not letting go of his hold on Sariya's body. He began to shake his head to deny that he had but the devil chuckled, "Don't deny it. You were the one who killed them both."

"I didn't mean to."

Nawor watched in amusement as Black Ruins wrapped his tendrils around the trembling teen's body. "Yes you did," He replied with a smirk, enjoying the tormented look on his face, "Just like you killed your mother, your father and your sister. Oh, not to mention Arwyn. He died because of you. Jack will kill Aria to save himself or she will kill him. Either way, their death will have been caused by you."

Aster tried to cover his ears but his personal devil caught his hands before they covered them. "All of these deaths have been caused by you. Not only have your parents, unborn sister and Arwyn died for you, so did Tooth, North, Bunny and Sandy. That's right. They died trying to fight me. Don't you think you've killed enough?"

The tortured scream that Aster produced was probably the best thing Black Ruins had ever heard coming from the teen's mouth.

~~~FBW~~~

Somewhere close by but far away, Arwyn looked up at the blue sky in puzzlement. Aster blinked when he saw his friend look up and tapped his shoulder. Arwyn turned to him, questioning him with a look. Arwyn looked around for a moment, forgetting where he was for a brief moment.

He was in a clear field filled with beautiful flowers but, to his amazement, it was snowing. He guessed that was Jack's doing, as he loved to do that for them. Green and red birds flew in the sky while a cat floated above their heads, along with a clock that wasn't working and had stopped at the time 3:06. Tea cups were floating around, some of the people sitting around him taking a sip.

Aster stared at him, worry evident in his expressive green eyes when Arwyn didn't say anything and continued to look around as if he had never seen this scenery before, "Hey, Arwyn, what's wrong? It's not like you to start looking up at the sky. You tend to look at us more."

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. It was nothing, after all." He replied, dusting snow of the top hat Aria was wearing. This caused the female spirit to giggle happily and put the top hat on Sariya's head, much to the other girl's amusement. He looked up at the sky again, "It's just that I just could've sworn I heard you scream, Aster."

"Why would he scream?" Zayden asked as he gave a cup of ice tea to Alice who was wearing a crown on her head while Rayne happily brushed her hair. Zayden nudged Aster, who blinked in surprise at Zayden's jab, "Hey, why would you feel the need to scream for?"

"Cut it out, Zayden." Rowan laughed as she brushed Jack's hair, much to his obvious displeasure and Alice's jealousy, "It's obvious that Arwyn just imagined it."

"Maybe you're not feeling well, Arwyn. You have been acting oddly these past few days." Black Ruins suggested as he created a flower crown that he placed on Aster's head. The white-haired teen yelled out in protest upon being crowned as the prince of flowers and pushed the older spirit away.

"He's got a point. You should lay down and rest. I guess even us immortal spirits can get sickly." Sariya said and both Jack and Aster pushed him so he was laying down on his back, staring at the clear blue sky and white clouds, along with the other floating objects. He frowned, still hearing the scream echoing across his mind.

"You feeling better?" Aster asked, the flower crown almost slipping off his head. He immediately fixed it before grinning down at Arwyn, "Don't worry, Arwyn! The only reason I'd scream if is I'm extremely happy or I can't express my pain with words. It can't be the second option because I'm not in pain. So you might have been imagining things."

"You're right." Arwyn smiled, ruffling the boy's hair and sitting up. He smiled at everyone that was gathered around him and sighed happily, "It must have just been my imagination."

~~~FBW~~~

(December 25, Present Time, North's Workshop)

Jack and Aira clashed weapons as her whip wrapped itself around Jack's staff. She glared and tried to yank it away from him so he could be weaponless but Jack smiled mischievously and Aira had no choice but to drop her weapon as it was encased in a thick layer of ice.

"Damn you." She hissed. She launched herself at Jack but both were surprised by the appearance of a nightmare. She yelled and the Nightmare sand wrapped itself around her neck, waist, wrists and ankles. She growled again, "Pitch Black, where are you?! Show yourself!"

Jack jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder before Pitch's voice interjected, "You're too jumpy, Frost. I don't if I should laugh at that matter or not. Even if your son has been taken, I will honor the alliance I have with him and the Guardians. Besides, this young lady has to be stopped."

"Son? Aster is not-." Jack didn't get to finish his sentence because Bunny, Tooth and Sandy appeared in the scene, followed by several Yetis. He stared at them in disbelief, "How did it take so long to get here?"

"There was a barrier preventing us from crossing." Pitch replied as he approached the struggling Aira, who glared as the Nightmare King approached her, "I think it was the infamous Black Ruins who created it. It was probably dropped when Aster was taken. He was the intended target."

"Clever but you're all too late." Aira laughed, stopping her struggling to grin, "The frozen butterfly has been taken back to where he belongs. I'll go back as well, after a while."

"Go back where?" Bunny asked.

"To their time." Tooth whispered and Jack and Bunny turned around to see how serious she looked. She wasn't even flying, her wings drooping in her sadness. She placed her hands on her chest where her heart was at, "Black Ruins has taken Aster back to the future where he and Aster are originally from."

"How do you guys know that?" Jack asked. Sandy, Pitch and Tooth stayed silent and the youngest Guardian stared at them in disbelief, "You guys knew? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Aster said to keep it a secret." Tooth mumbled while Sandy looked away, ignoring Jack and Bunny's stares. She sighed, "Besides, there were several clues about his true identity, starting with the first thing he spoke when he saw Jack."

"Father. Jack is Aster's father." Jack looked down to see Alice was awake, her light blue eyes staring up at him. Wait a minute, Alice had green eyes. Jack finally realized that the Moonstone was hanging around her neck and her raven hair had turned light blue as well. She looked away from Jack to hide the blush from her cheeks, "If you don't mind, Jack, will you let me go?"

The winter spirit blushed as well and let go of Alice after making sure that she wouldn't fall. She looked at the two objects in her hands, "Before making me sleep with the Dreamsand he had, Aster confessed to me that his true name was Aster Frost. He is the only son of Jack and myself."

"What?" Jack looked extremely confused, "That can't be possible. You guys are implying that-." That Alice and I had finally gotten together and we had a son. A son who has Alice's eyes that looked just as tormented as his mother's eyes when Jack had first met the raven-haired female. Aster. Aster was their son!

"Believe what you want, Jack," Alice responded before her hair and eyes turned fiery red while she clenched her fists, glaring at Aira who smirked at her, "but Aster is our son and I'm going to murder Black Ruins for taking him away and making him suffer."

"So you finally show your maternal instincts, Alice Liddell. Who knew you had it in you?" Aira laughed, enjoying the emotions that crossed the faces of her captors, "But don't you think it's too late for that?"

Alice handed Aster's tooth box to Tooth and gave Jack the bunny she held. She removed the Moonstone and gave it to Sandy, who held it with his Dreamsand. She took out the Vorpal Blade, approaching Aira slowly. She stopped in front of her and stabbed the wall next to her face, "It's never too late."

Aira was stiff, eyes staring at Alice with shock and fear, making Pitch grin in delight. Alice smiled darkly at her, her eyes cold and dangerous, "I know you're the one who hurt Jack, allowing Black Ruins to escape with Aster. You will lead us to him, understand? If not, we will have to get rid of you."

"How do you think I'll do that, genius?" Aira retorted angrily, glaring at Alice but Jack could see that she was trembling in fear. He was so glad that he had never angered the spirit of courage. She scoffed, "I don't know how to create a portal and transport you towards his stronghold. Unless you know how to create one, there's no way in hell that I'll help you."

"She's got a point, Alice." Bunny interjected, frowning. Jack knew that the Pooka wouldn't show it but he had grown attached to Aster and wanted to rescue him as badly as Alice did. Jack briefly wondered if Bunny liked the teenage spirit more when it was revealed he was his son along with Alice's

"The Moonstone." Pitch turned to the object Sandy was holding, making all of the spirits turn to it, "Aster informed me that, with the help of Man in the Moon, he created a portal that transported him here. In other words, we have the means to create a portal. Perhaps that's one of the reasons Aster left the Moonstone here."

"So we're going to rescue Aster!" Tooth happily grinned, her wings fluttering in happiness. Bunny smiled and Aira groaned. She blinked, "Should we wait for North to come back or do we go now?"

"Pitch, Alice, Bunny and I can go on ahead while you and Sandy stay here with the Moonstone to wait for North." Jack suggested. Alice smiled at the white haired Guardian's plan, slightly amazed at what he was capable of. He looked at Aira, "After all, I think we need to get to Aster as soon as possible. I have a bad feeling about this, you know?"

"Let's hope that your bad feeling is wrong." Bunny replied before they all looked up at the skylight where they could all see the Moon. He took a deep breath and exhaled, "We have a mini Frostbite to save."

~~~FBW~~~

Anime: Well, I hope North visits you guys. For my Christmas gift, send me a review, okay? Merry Christmas and see you guys in New Year's. It seems the conclusion of this story is just around the corner. A shame, really. I'll miss this terribly. Also, sorry for the lack of Jack x Alice. I did try to include it, though.