Rating: T+

Pairings: Jack x Alice (Jalice/Ice-Tea/The Real OTP), onesided!Black Ruins x Aster, Arwyn x Rowan

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, inconsistent updates, implied sexual content, rantings of a mad author, OCs, OOC characters, confusing plot, bouts of insanity for characters, no beta, etc.

Dedication: To the people who are still around despite how long the updates take.

Anime: Excuse my language but fuck. I didn't update this story in almost a year. What the hell? I am awful, aren't I? I live in a very hot environment so I wasn't really able to relate to the cold things in this story so I tend to write this during times of cold. That shouldn't be an excuse, though. So, sorry. Kill me if you wish.

Aster: We can do that later. We'd like to thank the amazing readers, followers and people who favorited. Big thanks to THE TATTOO ARTIST, chessiesbloodstainedsmile, blackhellbutterfly and Guest for reviewing.

Anime: The end for this fic will be coming soon so hurray (*sobbing internally*) for that. I think Aster has suffered enough. He's been through hell. Well, time for me to stop talking and start the chapter!

~~~FBW~~~

9: Wings of Freedom

"The train is coming with its shiny cars. With comfy seats and wheels of stars. So hush my little ones have no fear. The man in the moon is the engineer."

The last time Alice had heard those words, she had been trying to save her Wonderland from being destroyed. The last person that had sung it had been the Dollmaker, the Wonderland equivalent of Doctor Angus Bumby, the man that had ruined Alice's life. Those words had been said to her when she had been a human, almost two centuries ago.

Now, those same words have been spoken by a young man that was under the influence of the man that had ruined her son's life. What was the connection? How was Black Ruins connected to Angus Bumby?

All of the containers that had been dropped were standing in front of them and Jack tensed when he saw the door to one of them open. Everyone but Black Ruins and his two minions were surprised when the person that came out of the container was a young man with gray skin, white hair matted with blood and had a black blindfold around his eyes. They could see stitches on his neck and he was wearing a black hoodie and dark brown breeches.

Aster and Alice broke the silence when, at the same time, they spoke:

"Father?"

"Jack?"

Black Ruins smirked, "Correct yet wrong, my dear Liddell's. This used to be Jack Frost. Now, this shade is under my every command. It was quite easy to revive this corpse. All I had to do was sew his head back to his body."

"You're a monster! How dare you do that to my father!" Aster yelled, looking at the walking corpse of his father. He looked away, not knowing when this nightmare known as reality would end. It was horrific, seeing his father's corpse being used in such a way. He could imagine how horrified Alice and the others were at this development.

"He's not Jack Frost. He's my shade, aptly named Jokul Frosti, like Jack's unstable side," Black Ruins announced, looking at his shade with something akin to pride. At first, he had stitched the spirit back together for Aster's sake – he had been desperate to snap the boy out of his insanity –but, after seeing how unstable it was, he decided that Jokul was better off as a fighter.

They couldn't say anything else as another shade came out of its container. This shade had long black hair that covered most of its face as it walked awkwardly towards Jokul. It was wearing a black dress that cut off at the knees that was bleeding in the place where it's heart should have been located. When she lifted her head, Aster was horrified by the stitches that covered her mouth because that woman was none other than his mother.

"Say hello to Wonder-Alice, one of my favorite dolls," Black Ruins said, the two shades turning to face their living counterparts. Alice looked disgusted while Jack's expression mirrored his son's.

"You killed my parents then desecrated their bodies?!" Aster cried out, his eyes flickering black before glaring up at his captor, "You bastard! I'm going to kill you! For my parents, for the Guardians, for Pitch, for our friends and for myself."

"Why will you avenge people that you have no power to help?" Black Ruins asked, dark wisps covering Aster's eyes, "My poor blind frozen butterfly, you've been dead to the world for too long. Perhaps it was better when you were a hollow shell."

Aster shook his head, the wisps vanishing, before glaring at his kidnaper with dangerous eyes that promised to kill Black Ruins for what he had done.

Jokul and Wonder-Alice brandished their weapons, said weapons looking like their old weapons except with slight differences. Jokul's staff looked as if it had been broken then hastily put back together while Wonder-Alice's Vorpal Blade's hilt was longer and darker. Jack and Alice did the same thing, Alice glancing back to look at Aster.

The other containers opened and something black and fast shot out of one, heading straight for Alice. Arwyn pushed her out of the way, his scythe stopping who had attacked the raven-haired woman. They all paused, Jack's eyes widening, "Tooth?"

"That's not my name anymore." The fairy queen said with a mirthless laugh, flying back to join the others that had crawled out of their containers, people that the time travelers recognized.

If the Guardians ever decided to become goths, Jack supposed they'd look just like these dark versions Black Ruins had corrupted. The brightly colored Tooth was now black and several shades of gray while Bunnymund was completely black, his eyes a dark shade of green. North's white hair and beard was gray and his clothes were a darker shade of red while Sandy looked like a smaller, stouter version of Pitch Black. They were all glaring at the intruders, looking as if they had crawled out some sick nightmare.

"No." Aster whispered. He focused on the binds that kept him on the chair and began to slowly freeze them. He looked up before Black Ruins could notice what he was doing, the horrible monster happily looking at the horror the others had upon seeing his dark, twisted minions.

"I can take on Nedyaz and Nawor." Arwyn said, glancing at Pitch Black, Alice, Jack and Bunnymund before tightening his grip on his scythe, "I have a score to settle with them. They're friends to save, my damsels in distress."

"Jack and I can handle our counterparts," Alice glanced at Jack – the spirit who she had married and had a child with, though that shouldn't be the issue she should be thinking about – before nodding at Bunny and Pitch, "You two take on North, Tooth, Sandy and Bunny."

"Can we eliminate them, sir?" Nawor asked, grinning and Black Ruins could see how excited the others were for a fight. He nodded and then had to dodge an icicle that Jack and Jokul had definitely not thrown.

He glared down at Aster, whose hands were free, "You're not behaving well."

Aster responded by aiming an icicle at his neck. Black Ruins dodged, Aster jumping out of his wheelchair and conjuring up a sword made from ice. The white haired imaginary spirit gave out a yell, aiming a thrust at Black's unprotected stomach. The spirit turned into a dark mist that materialized behind Aster, pinning the boy's hands behind him.

"What are you waiting for?" He asked his puppets, "Attack!" He cried out as he felt something sharp had stabbed him on his shoulder. He looked down to see that Aster's fallen ice sword had curved upwards, no doubt Aster using his power over the center of imagination.

"How dare you hurt me, my Aster! That's not how you should treat me!" He yelled and black tentacle tendrils of darkness sprouted from his back. They wrapped themselves around Aster's neck, the male gasping for breath.

Meanwhile, Alice and Jack had begun to fight Wonder-Alice and Jokul Frosti. Alice dodged the dark snow Jokul had launched at her while Jack countered Wonder-Alice's blade with his staff. After that, the two switched partners after Jokul threw a large ball of dark ice to Jack, the fun spirit having no choice but to fight his dark counterpart. It was harder than it seemed because Jokul's attacks were similar to his own.

While the two young-looking spirits battled their future counterparts, Nedyaz and Nawor launched themselves at Arwyn. Arwyn blocked their attacks with his scythe while dodging attacks left and right. He twirled his scythe for a brief moment before bringing it down, hitting Nedyaz right on the leg. The possessed male cried out in pain before Nawor headed straight for Arwyn.

"A fighting doll is better than an immobile one!" Nawor said with a laugh, her fan sending Arwyn flying before he crashed into the wall. She smirked, "Now, I'll make sure you never go back to your Wonderland."

Bunny and Pitch were the ones that had gotten the short end of the stick as they battled against the Destroyers, who had all of the attacks of the Guardians. Bunny's boomerangs were stopped by Namdnas's Nightmare Sand while the Pooka fought against his corrupted future counterpart and Pitch's Nightmare Sand was failing to keep Anaihtoot and Htron at bay. Things weren't looking so well for them.

Aster was still choking, his feet trying in vain to kick free. He closed his eyes, focusing, before he turned into a swarm of butterflies that flew up to the ceiling before Alice and Jack's child reformed himself. He grinned and shot out Nightmare Sand from his wrists, forming a warrior. The Knightmare brandished a weapon and headed straight for Black Ruins, who cursed and his tentacles reached out for Aster.

"Not today." Aster muttered, once again turning into a butterfly swarm that surrounded the Knightmare before the swarm released Dream Sand, the golden sand taking the form of another warrior.

"Clever, my frozen butterfly." Black Ruins praised the male before half of the swarm headed for him from above him, the other half going straight for him. He noticed that the two warriors were still being protected by some butterflies. Those were probably important for the imagination spirit to function, probably his organs. If he destroyed one, perhaps the pain would cause Aster to reform.

Having a plan in motion, he dodged the two warriors and his hand shot out, grabbing one of the core butterflies. The swarm seemed to scream before Black Ruins squashed the fluttering butterfly that rested in his hand.

The swarm reformed, Aster crying out in pain while holding his chest. He glanced at his warriors that left their creator, heading to aid Pitch and Bunny. He got to his feet, breathing heavily, while one hand kept holding on to his chest.

"Was this part of your heart, Aster?" The death spirit asked, as if taunting the white haired teenager. Green eyes narrowed at him, making Aster look a lot like his fiery and headstrong mother. It was a better look than the hollow one he'd been wearing for weeks.

"Yes," Aster panted, "Keep destroying my butterflies and I'll end up dead and you'll be powerless to completely bring me back." He smirked deviously and it was obvious who his parents were at that moment.

"Using yourself as leverage, Aster?" Black Ruins frowned. He couldn't afford to destroy Aster and the white haired boy was aware of this. He was too clever for his own good.

"Having leverage over you is fun." Aster answered before throwing three icicles at his enemy and their battle commenced, one ready for the kill and the other prepared to only subdue the other.

Alice felt Wonder-Alice's Vorpal Blade stab her from the back and she cried out. The shade stabbed the blade deeper into the young spirit's flesh, Alice gritting her teeth to keep herself from crumpling from the pain. Seeing this, the shade got closer to her to dig the blade deeper.

"Alice!" Jack gasped out as he saw the predicament that Alice was in and was thrown back by Jokul's wind for the distraction.

"Focus on yourself, Jack." Alice managed to say before she brandished her own blade and stabbed the shade on the head. It reeled back and would've cried out in pain had her lips not been sewn together. Alice turned and yanked the blade off her back, grimacing. Without much preamble, she used the longer Vorpal Blade to lop off Wonder-Alice's head.

The head rolled away and stopped on Jokul's feet. The shade glanced at it and then it launched itself at Alice as if angered. Jack rushed to Alice's side, moving her and forming an ice shield that Jokul collided with. The shade recovered quickly and began to viciously attack Jack and Alice.

Arwyn was on the ceiling, hanging upside down, fighting against Nawor and Nedyaz with his quick maneuvers with his scythe. He dodged the fan and then narrowly missed Nedyaz's spear. His scythe managed to tear a gash on Nawor's shoulder, who hissed in pain before a gust from her fan sent Arwyn to the ground.

"It's not fun beating you up, you know." Nawor muttered.

Arwyn got to his feet and he clenched his scythe in a death grip. The scythe glowed a dark red before he jumped up to meet Nedyaz's attack. He stabbed the boy in the chest, Nawor caught off-guard by the way Arwyn had just mercilessly killed Nedyaz.

Arwyn pushed the blade further into Nedyaz, who screamed as something black oozed out of his blood. The dark markings on his body that showed Black Ruins had corrupted him vanished before he fell to the ground, the wound Arwyn had dealt him disappearing. Nawor's eyes widened, realizing that Arwyn had somehow expelled Black Ruins' darkness and Zayden was finally back.

"H-How?" She whispered, in awe and in horror.

Arwyn tossed his scythe in the air as if it was a baton and caught it just as effectively, "The Man in the Moon gives us spirits gifts. Mine just happen to purify darkness. Isn't this convenient?"

Nawor gripped her fan tightly, "Time to get serious."

"Bring it on." Arwyn said.

While the two continued their battle and Jack and Alice tried to defend themselves against Jokul, Pitch and Bunny were still doing rather poorly against the Destroyers. Even with the aid of Pitch's Nightmares and Aster's knights, they were no match against the dark Guardians that wished to kill them with all their might.

"Little help over here?" Pitch wondered aloud.

"In a moment, Pitch!" Jack yelled back, scooping Alice into his arms and taking flight, Jokul following. Alice took out a weapon that looked a lot like a pepper grinder and tried to hit Jokul while Jack carefully flew them around the room.

"I will too!" Arwyn said, dodging the fan that nearly cut off his head. Pitch didn't bother to ask Aster for help, as the male had dissolved into a swarm of butterflies again and was fighting against a black mist that was most likely Black Ruins. As such, he continued to fight, knowing that this could be his last.

With a slash from his swords, Htron cut down the sand knights, who became part of the sand that Namdnas used. Anaihtoot disarmed Bunny and the two were surrounded by the Destroyers. Htron smiled down at Pitch and Bunny and lifted his sword.

"Pitch! Bunnymund!" Arwyn yelled before he felt a sharp pain on his head. He fell forward and felt Nawor put her foot on top of his head. His scythe was kicked out of his reach while he struggled to reach it.

"Man in the Moon has failed you." Nawor stated before turning to stare at the two that were about to be executed, "Now die,"

Htron brought down his sword.

"No!"

At that moment, the doors were thrown open and Tooth flew towards Htron, knocking him down. Bunny shook his head, "What took so long? Did ya get lost or something?"

"No. We were just having a hard time locating you with the Moonstone." Tooth answered as Sandy and North followed her inside, the two ready for battle. The Destroyers nodded and Htron, Namdnas and Anaihtoot rushed to face North, Sandy and Tooth, leaving Bunny and Pitch to battle Dnumynnub.

"We're getting nowhere with this, Jack. He's too fast," Alice told Jack as Jokul evaded all her attacks. She frowned, "Can you toss me to him?"

"Are you insane?" Jack hissed back as they lost altitude in order to evade Jokul's attack before Jack regained it.

Alice smiled back at him, "I thought you would have noticed that by now." Jack rolled his eyes at her. She was something else and that's why he loved her. Still, he wondered what she was up to.

"Yes, I can toss you to him. Why?"

"You'll see." Alice replied and readied the Vorpal Blade. She looked at Jokul, her keen eyes taking everything in, before nodding at Jack. The winter spirit seemed reluctant to go along with her plan but he still threw the girl he loved towards his unstable, reanimated future self.

Jokul stopped flying and readied his staff to hurt Alice but, before he could start his attack, Alice turned into a swarm of butterflies the same way her son had, reforming on Jokul's back. She sliced the shade's neck, most of the stitches being ripped out, before throwing herself of the reanimated corpse, "Now's your chance, Jack!"

"She really is insane." Jack muttered to himself before a wave of cold air blasted the distracted Jokul – who had tried to stitch his neck back – and froze him. The corpse plummeted to the floor and shattered upon having contact with the ground. The fun spirit grimaced at that – it was him, after all – before flying and taking Alice into his arms before she fell. No doubt she had slowed down her descent with her powers, as if she had been waiting for Jack to get to her in time.

"Crazy plan. It worked, though, so who am I to question your methods?" Jack laughed before the two landed on the floor. Alice winked before the duo turned to see how the others were doing.

The arrival of the Guardians sure had helped as they were winning against the Destroyers. Arwyn had gotten out of Nawor's hold and had managed to stab her right in the neck – not a very good image, Jack thought – to release Black Ruins' influence on her. As the darkness poured out, Rowan fell to knees before falling flat on her face, obviously unconscious.

"I did it." Arwyn said before falling on one knee, seeing that the Frost couple – they weren't one yet – was approaching them, "Zayden and Rowan will be okay, luckily."

"Great," Alice said, stopping in front of him, "Then help us help the Guardians."

Arwyn laughed, "No rest for the wicked, eh?" He stood and then the three rushed to the aid of the Guardians. While Alice and Jack helped the Guardians battle against their dark sides, Arwyn hit the Destroyers in the back, expelling the darkness that controlled them.

When the last Destroyer was converted back into a Guardian, Arwyn fell on both his knees, looking as exhausted as everyone else. Then again, he had been tortured mercilessly before going to his Wonderland for weeks and had immediately begun to battle two people at the same time after waking up. Aster had gotten a powerful ally by his side, Alice thought to herself before realization dawned on her.

"Aster!" She yelled, turning around just in time to see him crash onto the wall next to them. His neck had hand marking around them and blood oozed out from the side of his head and from the corner of his lips. He looked like he had just gotten the beat-down of a lifetime.

"I'm fine, Mother," He muttered, getting out of the wall with some difficulty, "I have to kill him. I have to-." He fell forward, Jack catching him before he fell on his face. Green eyes fluttered shut and Jack set him down on the floor gently. They all looked up to see how Black Ruins looked like now.

The maniac that had hurt Aster had black hair that was slowly turning brown. His eyes were glowing red with golden spots on them, as usual, but black tar was coming out of them the way blood came out of Aster and Alice's eyes when they went into Hysteria Mode. His sweeping robes were ripped and six black tentacles had sprouted from his back. Around his neck was the key to Elizabeth's bedroom, Alice's eyes widening with realization.

"It can't be." She muttered, shaking her head as if to deny the truth, "Man in the Moon wouldn't have brought you back." No matter how much she denied it, there was no doubt. Black Ruins was-.

Black Ruins laughed, eyes glinting with insane mirth. "Ah, the mad bitch remembers at last. I am aware that I look different than my human self but I had been hit by a train before I died." His hands gestured at her, "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Alice Liddell?"

Alice frowned, clenching her fists angrily. Jack could sense how angry she was and whispered, "Alice?" He stood next to her and his cold hand grabbed her warm one, "What is he talking about? Do you know him?"

Alice nodded, "I knew him, long before I was reborn as a spirit. He is the cause of my family's demise, the cause of my descent into madness. Now, he's the cause for my son's sorrow. This despicable spirit was a despicable human before I killed him. Black Ruins was the human known as Angus Bumby."

~~~FBW~~~

Anime: We are so close to the end. As such, I will try hard to update this fic. No matter how long it takes to update, just know that this fic won't be abandoned. See you guys later! Hopefully.