AN: Thanks so much for the reviews! Helpful criticism is always appreciated. I can't believe I actually have followers for this story. I never expected it to be any good, so thanks for your faith in me! I'm really looking forward to the next chapter because that's when the story will really start, so hopefully there will be another update soon.
AN2: If you didn't catch on from the last chapter, I had a huge time skip (~200 years) to get to this chapter. Also, the Guardians will be coming into the story in the next chapter. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my own characters.
Chapter 2: The Blizzard of '68
Jack was having a bad day. It had started out fantastic, having been playing with the children of Burgess in a park on the outskirts of the town. But all good things must come to an end in his life, unfortunately, and now here he was. He had completely lost control of his icy powers and the raging blizzard around him showed no signs of letting up. Normally being walked through wouldn't have brought this level of grief and desperation to the surface, but everything that had happened that day had added up into an internal storm rampaging in Jack's heart until it finally broke free.
Earlier that day:
Winter was starting to turn into spring, but Jack wanted to stay an extra few days at his pond on the outskirts of the town now known as Burgess. The town had grown in the nearly two centuries since he became the Spirit of Winter. What once was a village with only a few log cabins for the few dozen villagers living there was now a decent sized town with all the wonders modern technology had come up with. The number of locals had also increased, meaning more children for Jack and the wind to play with.
Which is exactly why the frost spirit wanted to stay.
Now that the weather was starting to warm up, the parents of the town were more lenient about the time their kids spent outdoors. Meaning Jack could play with more kids for a longer period of time.
But with the warmer weather came the onset of spring, and Hanako, the Spirit of Spring. Jack did his best to avoid the other immortals, especially the other Spirits of the Seasons, since his initial run-in with Adeen. His painful meetings with Adeen were few and far between because summer was so dangerous for him, the heat making him weak and ill. Hanako and Taima he saw much more frequently as there seasons bordered his own. If he arrived to an area too early or stayed too late, they would come by and run him off. Although much less volatile in temperament than their fiery counterpart, neither truly liked the frost spirit.
Hanako, being the Spirit of Spring, had a deep connection with all things living and could heal both plants and animals. She was a bit of a loner and could frequently be found beneath the cherry blossom trees native to her homeland conversing with the local wildlife. Although docile and even-tempered, she was also fiercely protective of the plants and animals that made the world their home and would attack any who threatened her friends. She viewed winter as only destruction, an evil time of year that killed those of her friends unused to the cold or unprepared for the harshness that winter brought. Hanako downright hated winter, and by extension Jack himself. Although she never truly aimed to harm the Spirit of Winter, she would run him off as soon as she saw him without so much as a word of greeting.
Taima was much different from her colleagues. Both Adeen and Hanako were ruled by their emotions whereas the Spirit of Autumn was more logical and patient. Although she was deeply connected to nature like Hanako, a remnant of her past life as one of the natives that roamed the forests of North America, she viewed winter as a necessary evil, understanding the need for the land to rest before spring. She had no qualms with Jack personally, as long as the winter spirit kept his winter to himself when he was outside his season. However, being the youngest of the three original seasonals, Taima's views of Jack were also greatly skewed by the words of Adeen and Hanako. She would tolerate the frost child's presence in her realm for only a few days before telling him to leave.
Jack, over the years, had grown to appreciate Taima's tolerance. When he desperately needed to know that there were people out there who could see him, he would run to her so long as he didn't have to cross Adeen's territory.
As the winter spirit sat watching the children play in the park in the outskirts of Burgess, he felt that need approaching. He hadn't seen Taima, or any of the other Spirits of the Seasons, for at least a decade. Although a short amount of time in the life of an immortal, the isolation was not good for the fun loving frost child. Jack had developed the habit of talking to himself, having entire conversations with the wind adding its thoughts by ruffling his hair or tugging on his clothing.
A sigh escaped Jack's lips, thinking of a way to get to his almost-but-not-really friend without crossing paths with Adeen. Taima was in the south of the world now with Adeen between them.
A child's squeal of joy brought Jack out of his musings, bringing his attention to a developing snowball fight between the dozen or so kids that had just arrived at the park. One of the older boys had just shoved snow down the back of a girls coat, making her retaliate by throwing a snowball in his face.
"Come back here Jonathan!" The boy, Jonathan, began running away from the girl laughing hysterically.
Suddenly, the girl was knocked flat by another snowball coming from one of the boy's friends.
"Snowball fight!" All the kids in the park soon became interested in the snow under their feet, trying to make the largest snowball to throw at their friends.
Jack laughed, sliding off his perch on a nearby tree to join the battle. He was glad that the extra effort he put into making this snow last night wasn't going to waste. His power over fun and joy was radiating off the snow and into the kids, making the snowball fight one of the most epic he had ever been a part of.
As the sun started going down and the kids' energy dwindled, parents came to the park, dragging their child home for dinner and warmth. This was Jack's least favorite part of the day. After the fun and games under the sun's rays, the winter sprite would be left alone to stare at the moon wondering why he had to live in such isolation.
Perching on top of his staff in the middle of his pond, Jack tipped his head back to keep the rising moon in view.
"Why?" Jack always began his one-sided discussion with the Man in the Moon with this question, never to be answered. "Why can't I be seen? Did I do something wrong?"
Frowning, Jack looked back down at the ice on his pond. Deciding he could have some fun before the sun rose again, he started skating around, drawing frost patterns with his staff as he went.
No one ever saw his drawings on his pond. After decades of never-thawing ice covering the water's surface, the villagers developed the myth of the spirit of an old man who had died in the water during winter, waiting to trap any wayward traveler in his icy grave. Where this idea came from, Jack didn't know. He suspected Adeen somehow gave this idea to the villagers to spite him.
Whether it was Adeen's doing or not, the damage had been done. No one from the town of Burgess ever came to his pond. Some of the teenagers, looking for a fright, would make their way into the forest only to be frightened away by the chunks of ice and frost ferns sticking to and out of the surrounding trees and ground.
Jack didn't mean to make his home look so frightening, but he couldn't help it sometimes. Even after centuries, his extreme mood swings could sometimes manifest with spikes of ice coming from the ground or hoarfrost sticking to the local plant life. He had gotten better at controlling himself, but when he got too depressed or angry he would lose control of his powers. It was at those times he truly believed the words of his colleagues. He really did destroy everything around him.
Tonight, though, Jack was releasing his excess frustration by drawing across the icy surface of his home. He was almost enjoying himself when a gust of wind smelling of dew and blooming flowers came through the glade, making him turn around and look for his visitor.
Hanako came into view not seconds later, landing on the shore of the pond. She was scowling and looked ready to run him off, the wind ruffling her traditional pink kimono around her bare feet agitatedly.
Smiling, Jack stood straight, swinging his staff to balance across his shoulders, and greeted the Spirit of Spring.
"Hanako. Nice to see you on such a fine evening. What can I do for you?" Jack added a little smirk after his question for effect. It was easier to deal with the spring spirit if she got straight to the point.
Hanako's scowl darkened further with Jack's attitude. "It is practically spring Jack. Why haven't you left yet? The land needs to recover from your presence so the plants and animals can heal and grow again."
Rolling his eyes, Jack said dryly, "Well spring isn't here yet, so I can still be here. I do live here during the winter, after all. And, besides, I wanted to stay and play with the local children for a few more days."
The winter sprite swung his staff down off his shoulders, his grin never faltering, so he could lean on it to appear even more disrespectful. If they couldn't be nice to him, why did he have to be nice to them?
"I'll be out of your hair in less than a week," he continued.
By this point, the spring spirit looked like she wanted to growl. Jack almost laughed, until he heard actual growling behind him.
Spinning around, the frost child came eye to eye with slitted orbs that practically glowed they were such a bright yellow. Jack had met Hanako's wolf friend before. Mizu Ookami was a vicious beast that could have been beautiful if it didn't always look like it wanted to eat him. The grey wolf was big, big enough that it would be eye to eye with Jack with barely any bending over on the winter spirit's part. His yellow eyes showed an intelligence that was astounding coming from and animal and gave the impression that he should have been able to speak.
Hanako wasn't usually the one to run Jack off. Mizu Ookami did.
As the wolf continued to growl, Jack began backing away, holding his hands out as if to ward off an attack. Behind him, Hanako laughed at his obvious fear of the large beast in front of him.
Eyes wide, never leaving the eyes of the great wolf in front of him, and knees bent, ready to jump into the wind's embrace and fly away, Jack tried placating the angry Spirit of Spring.
"You know what? Maybe it is time for me to leave. You're right. Spring has started claiming this land. Winter is still going strong farther north. So I'll just get going and leave you to clean up around here." As he said this, the wind swarmed around him to pick him up.
"I knew you would see reason," said Hanako, her face spreading into a smug smile. "Now get going."
Mizu Ookami punctuated that last sentence with another growl and Jack started flying away, cautious eyes keeping tabs on the wolf. Apparently he wasn't going fast enough, though, because the wolf leapt up into the air and started chasing after him.
Speeding up, Jack took off up into the upper air currents, those that were too cold for the other seasonal spirits but perfect for the already cold Spirit of Winter. He refused to let his tears fall. This certainly wasn't the first time he had been chased from his home, so he should be used to it by now, but it still hurt.
When he landed, Jack wasn't at first aware of where he was. All he knew was that the sun was out, so he had to be on the other side of the world.
Looking around, he saw some houses nearby where parents were dressing their kids warmly for the cold outside their front door, bringing a slow smile to the frost child's face.
One of the children, a little girl, was too eager and started running outside before being properly dressed.
"Can I go now Mommy?" The child's grin was infectious, but her mother kept her face stern, even though her eyes smiled to see her daughter so happy.
"Now you don't want to catch a cold for Easter, do you? It's only a few days away." The woman had finally wrangled her child into a coat and was starting to tie a scarf around her neck.
"Mom," the child whined, trying to pull out of her mother's grasp.
"Now you don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose do you?"
Jack's heart stopped as he heard that last line, his face freezing in surprise. Jack Frost?! Could it be that the people here knew him? Believed in him? Hope bloomed in his chest like the sun rising after a dark storm.
Coming out of his dazed state, the excited winter sprite dove down into the path of the young girl who had finally managed to free herself from her mother's grasp.
Laughing in his excitement, Jack almost couldn't vocalize his hope.
"Hi! Can you see me?! Can you hear me?" Jack could barely contain himself. He was nearly floating away. The wind had caught on to his enthusiasm and was swirling around him.
The young girl was nearing him, a smile on her face and her eyes bright with joy. Jack bent down to pick her up, and …
…she ran through him, calling to her friends behind him.
Jack's breath caught in his throat. The pain never lessened. It felt almost like something had been ripped away from him as the girl went through him, like something vital to his body was now missing. Emotionally, it was even worse. It was rejection, desperation, and hopelessness all at once. The hope that had soared not five minutes ago had been dashed to pieces as the little girl trampled through Jack's desperate yet invisible embrace.
Terrified of what he might do if he stayed, Jack soared straight up until he reached the highest jet currents, not caring where he ended up. The wind, having picked up on his distress, decided to take its charge to the one place it knew its frost child drew comfort from. Only minutes later, it was gently placing its charge on the icy surface of the child's home, even if the spring spirit had just run him off. The wind was sure that this was where the sprite needed to be to recover.
Jack hadn't cried in years, but he couldn't keep the tears back this time. His emotions were getting the best of him and he knew that there would be more hoarfrost covering the trees come morning, but he couldn't bring himself to care.
Little did he know, that his pain had begun to fuel a storm the likes of which he had never made before. He began to feel the tug on his power, but he thought it was only more ice forming around the area.
The winter spirit had dropped to his knees at the center of the ice gripping his hair with one hand and his staff with the other, his hold on both so strong as to turn the white skin over his knuckles nearly see through. His eyes were tightly shut and his mouth open in a silent scream that he could barely hold in.
As the storm grew overhead, the wind began picking up reaching levels that scared the townsfolk. Nearby, the people of Burgess watched out their windows as the storm formed, the black clouds forming out of nothing and the wind screaming past their homes, tearing limbs from trees and siding from buildings. The children were cowering under tables while their parents tried to soothe them, even as their own fear overtook them.
Back at the pond, the scream that Jack had been holding in had finally torn through his throat. His eyes opened marginally to reveal eyes that were glowing blue with power. At his side, his staff began to glow a faint blue, the same shade as his eyes.
The strong wind began to pick him up, bringing him to the center of the growing storm over Burgess. The storm continued to grow, beginning to cover more and more area, the wind tearing trees apart and destroying weak buildings.
And then the snow started falling. It fell in waves, coming down fast and hard. The wind was sweeping it around into a frenzy, creating small snow vortexes in open areas. In one hour, the snow accumulation had already reached almost two inches with no sign of slowing down. If anything, it looked like the storm was worsening.
Jack screamed and screamed until his voice gave out, the winds caring his voice to the town underneath him. He was scared of the force of the storm around him, but he couldn't calm it down. The more he tried to stop it, the worse it got. Eventually he stopped caring, planning on showing the world his pain.
The storm continued and the snow kept coming. Up in the clouds, the lone glowing figure was being batted about by the force of the wind and ice howling through the atmosphere. The frost and ice that had always covered Jack began thickening, covering him in chunks of ice. His hair became solid, clumps of ice covered snow sticking out in every direction. The frost on his skin slowly grew to become chunks of ice, obscuring his youthful face. Ice coated his eyelashes and eyebrows, giving the appearance of having eyes frozen shut.
Jack's colonial clothing, that he hadn't switched out since he was raised out of the ice by the Moon, was being torn apart by wind and ice. What little of his shirt was left, his vest having been ripped off at some point, was steadily being covered in ice, becoming a solid sheet that stuck to him in places. His cloak was being torn apart piece by piece, frost covering it to change it from brown to white. His pants, faring better than his shirt or cloak, were getting small tears but instantly being covered in ice due to the close proximity to his skin.
The staff gripped tightly in Jack's hand was also being battered, increasing the pain he already felt from the storm and events from earlier in the day. To protect it, ice began to crawl its way from the sprite's hand across the wood, covering every inch of it in a thick layer of ice and frost. The ice was so thick it hid the dark wood of the staff from sight, appearing as a staff of ice instead of wood.
Jack could barely open his eyes anymore due to the ice covering them. However, he didn't need to see to feel the despair growing in his chest and taking residence next to his hopelessness. He couldn't believe that it had come to this. He could feel the storm growing and growing to cover most of North America. It reached from just west of Illinois to past the eastern coast and just north of Georgia to the Arctic Circle.
Jack curled up into a ball, trying to hold himself together. He had lost track of time and didn't know how long the storm had been raging for. He just hoped it didn't last much longer.
As a tear started making its way down his cheek, freezing as it went, he thought to himself, How could I have let this happen? He closed his eyes and went into a semi-conscious state to wait until his power would be used up and the storm's rage depleted. Hopefully it's over before Easter.