Chapter Three: Twisted Time
"What do I desire?" Jack asked, caught slightly off guard. Without Sandy's lights, the winter spirit felt trapped, confused, and slightly terrified being with the Keeper of Time alone in the dark. Yes, the man was close to death, but the impression he had made on Jack was not a good one.
"Yes, Jack Frost. What would you like to see? Your past, present, or future?" Father Time asked, growing short with the boy.
Jack didn't waste a moment to answer. "The past, please."
It was obvious; Jack would have given anything to see more of his past. The memories stored in his baby teeth only gave him so much, and jack wanted to know more. What was he like when he was human? What were his parents like? His sister? Did they miss him? And what happened to his family once he became the spirit of winter? There was so much Jack wanted to know, and he wasn't going to pass by this opportunity.
"Any particular time in the past?" Father Time ask, his voice growing softer, yet the grip on Jack's hand grew firmer. There was sound of clothes ruffling, but Jack couldn't tell what the Time Keeper was doing. "Tell me the specifics, Jack Frost."
"I . . . I want to see my sister, after I died." Jack spoke softly, his voice cracking halfway through. He paused as the sound of his sister's voice rang through his ears, calling his name. Jack knew he was imagining it, but it felt real enough to make him suck in a sharp breath of surprise. "I want to see her; I want to see what happened to her."
There was a click, and then a white light brightened the domed room. Jack moved to cover his eyes with his free hand, shielding them from the bright light. The light dimmed slightly after a few seconds, and Jack let his arm drop back down to his side.
The source of the bright light had been Father Time's pocket watch, which the man held in his open, wrinkly hand. Father Time brought the open pocket watch over the large bowl, and then turned it over. The light fell in, and Jack barely got a glance at what was making it. However, Jack could tell it was sand, just like Sandy's golden glowing sand. Just as half of the light entered the bowl, Father time closed the watch, sealing off the rest of the sand.
As for the sand that entered the bowl, it began to swirl around, acting more like a liquid than a solid. The sand dispersed until Jack couldn't see the bottom of the bowl. Father Time held his free hand over the bowl, and then began to move it in a circular motion. The glowing silver sand followed his movements, going counterclockwise in motion.
Father Time muttered some words in a language that Jack couldn't identify, and then the silver sand began to ripple. And then the sand began to change color. Before Jack's eyes, his sister's face, Pippa, appeared in the mirage of sand. Jack let out a gasp as his Pippa's face writhed with horror as the picture came alive.
"Jack!" Her voice shouted, the sound of her fear making Jack's neck hairs stand up.
The sound of cracking ice filled the air, and Jack couldn't help but suck in a breath. This was when he fell through the ice and died. He was going to watch his sister watch his own death. This was not what Jack had had in mind.
"Woah!" The sound of his own voice reached Jack's ears, but it was soon covered by his Pippa calling his name a second time, this time more desperate.
Through the bowl, Pippa screamed as she watched Jack fall through the ice. Her face was soon covered with tears, growing red as it did so, and Pippa fell to the ice. She called Jack's name another time and then began begging for him to come up, but he never did.
"Jack? Please Jack, please come up!" Pippa begged through her loud sobs. "I don't want you to leave me! You said you would never leave me! You promised!"
Pippa began crawling towards the hole Jack had fallen through, bringing her close to her own death. Jack watched this with horror, knowing that Pippa could have met the same fate if she didn't back away. Jack grabbed the sides of the bowl, clenching onto it until his knuckles turned whiter than usual.
"No, no!" Jack called out at Pippa through the bowl. Pippa couldn't hear him though, as this was just a picture of her, and not his real sister. But that didn't cross Jack's mind, he just instinctively wanted Pippa to get away from the thin ice. "Get back, now!"
Pippa didn't stop, and she kept crawling towards the hole, determined to find and help her brother. However, just when she was getting close enough to break through the ice, a woman picked the sobbing child up and rushed away, holding onto Pippa for dear life.
"No! We have to get Jack! We have to get Jack!" Pippa screamed, protesting against the woman holding her. Pippa tried ever so hard to break free from the woman's hold, but the most she did was mess up the woman's bun. "I won't leave him!"
"It's too late, Pippa!" The woman said as she put the child down, but still kept a firm hold on the child's shoulders. The woman looked right into Pippa, her brown eyes watering with tears that stung her face, and Jack could see the similarities the two held. Then it hit Jack; that was his mother. "Our Jackson is gone! Taken away from us. There's nothing we can do!"
Pippa shook her head in disbelief, her face now red from her tears. He tried to force herself from their mother's grip, and after a second, broke free. As soon as Pippa was free, she ran to the edge of the Pond. Jack expected her to run back to the whole, but rather she stopped before her feet hit the ice.
"You promised you wouldn't leave me, Jack!" Pippa yelled at the whole, speaking to Jack. She must have known that enough time passed for Jack to die, but still she didn't give up hope. "You promised!"
"I didn't mean to!" Jack yelled back at the bowl, his eyes growing wet as almost frozen tears began to form. It didn't cross his mind that Pippa couldn't hear him; he wasn't thinking rationally at the moment. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"
And to Jack's horror, the sand lost its luminescence, and the image disappeared before his eyes. Pippa's cries for her brother grew fainter before vanishing altogether. All that was left was Jack's sniveling, and Father Time's knowing stare at the winter spirit. Jack couldn't look at the elderly man for a long time, knowing that he had already known what the boy was going to witness.
"Please, show me more." Jack asked, almost too low for the other to hear. "Don't stop there."
"I can't, Jack." Father Time stated in a weak voice. "The active sand is my life support. The only surviving active sand is in this very pocket watch. I've already shortened my time here by showing you that much. I will die if I use anymore."
"I thought you wanted to die." Jack retorted, now in a foul mood from witnessing the aftermath of his death.
"No one wants to die, Jackson Overland Frost." Father Time snapped, his voice like a sharp knife as it cut through the air. "Do not confuse my acceptance for death with welcoming death."
Jack didn't respond, he just stared down at the no longer active silver sand in the bowl. It just sat there, unmoving just like any other sand you could find on the beach. For some reason, Jack felt like that was just insulting him. Jack stood there for a long while, unable to do anything other than think about how horrified Pippa had been. How devastated she had looked.
Jack had the sudden urge to get away from here. He just wanted to be anywhere but here.
"Tell me Jack, is that the Pond were the Man in the Moon gave you a second existence?" Father Time asked randomly, a hint of curiosity seeping through his voice.
"Yeah, what of it?" Jack asked, raising a depressed eyebrow at the old man.
Father Time swore, surprising Jack, and then grabbed the winter spirit's wrist. Before Jack knew what was happening, Father Time mustered up his strength and forced their way to the other side of the room. Jack tried to lessen the Time Keeper's grip, but the wrinkly hands were stronger than they looked. Soon, Jack found himself sanding alone with Father Time in the dark, holding onto his staff for what felt like dear life..
"I should have seen this coming. Why was I so ignorant?" Father Time muttered to himself as he stopped, but Jack was able to catch it. Then the man continued as he pulled Jack further away from the other Guardians. "I should have seen the signs, prepared for this."
"Prepared for what?" Jack asked, still trying to resist Father Time's strength. "What are you talking about?"
"We have no time to answer your questions, Jack. Just for orders." Father Time snapped, growing short with both himself and with Jack. Father Time continued to pull Jack forwards until they finally stopped in front of something Jack couldn't make out clearly. "Listen to me, listen very closely. You are to retrieve the white vial. The white vial was housed under a roaring waterfall before the collapse. Search for it there, Jack. Once you have it, take it to the Waters of Life and fill it up. You'll only have a short amount of time to do this, so act quickly."
"What? Retrieve what? Why? I don't understand." Jack said, growing more frustrated with Father Time the more he spoke without giving him answers. "The Waters of Life?"
"I said no time for questions, Jackson!" Father Time snapped, tightening his grip on Jack's hand until he cried out in pain. Father Time brought his face within inches of Jack, and the winter spirit felt the man's hot breath on his chilled skin. "Whatever you do, Jack, don't look for the other Guardians. Don't seek them out; don't even let them see you."
Before Jack could ask why he couldn't look for the other Guardians, and point out that they were still here in Father Time's Keep, something was forced into Jack's hand. Jack felt it, discovering that it was round and metallic: Father Time's pocket watch.
"Put that on, it will protect you." Father Time ordered with so much fierceness that Jack didn't hesitate to obey. Jack put the watch in his hoodie's pocket while listening to the older man continue on. "Whatever you do, don't lose that. That's your only ticket back, and it will be a long wait if you do lose it."
"Back where—"
Jack couldn't finish his last question. Father Time banged the ground with his own staff twice and the sound echoed ominously through the Keep. The two bangs opened a giant door right behind Jack, and the place was filled with bright, silver light. The light encased the two beings, and Jack was forced to close his eyes in fear of going blind.
Suddenly, a hand pushed backwards, towards the source of the light. Jack made a sound of shock as the light seemed to pull him in after the push. He fought against the force, but it was too strong, and he finally lost his footing. His feet left the floor, and Jack was sucked into the light like a dust bunny into a vacuum.
Just as quickly did the light swallow Jack, it spat him back out. Jack fell back to the ground, hitting a hard surface with a thud. Whatever Jack had been forced through, it was enough to make his body tingle as if it had fallen asleep. Not only that, but Jack had the wind knocked out of him and was too busy trying to suck enough air back into his lungs to notice a rather tall figure standing in front of him.
Jack was almost done recovering when a booming voice brought him back into reality.
"I do not treat trespassers with kindness, stranger. This is your only warning." A confidant, loud voice echoed, shaking through Jack's body.
"What?" Jack asked, dumfounded, as he continued to recover.
"I will only say it once more. Leave, you foolish boy. Or meet the consequences."
Jack looked up then, finally recognizing the voice, and saw Father Time standing ominously in front of him. Something was different about him, Jack caught onto that quickly. While Father Time wore the same cloak, carried the same staff, he was no longer the weak old man that had held onto Jack's hand for dear life. No, now he was a very powerful, intimidating old man; there was no hint of fragility in his body.
"Father Time?" Jack stated as a question as he picked himself up while using his staff as support. He leaned against the staff, still feeling how weak his body still felt. He looked right into the old man's eyes, feeling them staring right into him and shaking his whole self. "Wha—"
"It seems you know who I am." Father time quickly interrupted, his menacing behavior faltering slightly. His boasting, stiff posture that he had held himself loosened up, and there was a small gleam in those eyes of his. "You are no straggler, are you?"
"What are you talking about? We were just talking to each other two minutes ago." Jack said as his voice rose in volume. His confusion was turning into frustration and anger. The longer that Father Time talked in riddles and in circles, the more Jack was becoming irritated with him. "You were blabbering on about something and then shoved me through, what was that, a glowing portal?"
Father Time took a second before responding, his eyes pensive and mouth set into a thin line. He eyed Jack further this time, taking in every detail he could. The scrutiny was making Jack not only self conscious, but more infuriated with this confusing old man. Jack wanted nothing more than to head back to the other Guardians and leave this place. Surly the other wondered why the scrying was taking so long?
"Did I now?" The older man finally asked, toying with Jack.
"Yes!" Jack yelled, exasperated. He clenched his wooden staff tighter as he continued, "Shouldn't you know all of this? You were with me, for god's sake!"
"Don't get short with me, boy. Even an omniscient being forgets things from time to time." Father Time snapped at Jack, reminding the winter spirit of an old cat who would claw at anyone who dares to come near it. Father Time's retort was met with silence as Jack took a few steps away, giving him more time to think. Jack waited in silence as the old man stared him down. "From what I see, this does not bode well. Come, boy."
With that, Father Time turned around and started walking down the hall. Jack hesitated before finally following the old man, but he kept a safe distance away from him, still wary. As they walked down the hall, Jack finally noticed something that should have very well been obvious to him. The hall was lit, unlike before. The ceiling above the two beings held the silver sand behind a glass casing, much like the columns. However, unlike the columns, the sand was what Father Time had called "active sand". And it was active enough to lighten the hall that they were walking through.
With a more observant mindset now, Jack looked around and noticed a lot of changes. The columns in this hall were also active, with the sand travelling upwards towards the ceiling. Just like Tooth said beforehand. The glowing silver sand lit up the hall even more so, acting like a series of bright beacons as they travelled through the columns.
Jack looked at his environment with awe, taking in the beauty of this place, but stopped when they reached a familiar dome shaped room. Jack stopped at the entrance of the room, watching as Father Time quickly made his way to the bowl. He watched as Father Time stared straight down at the bowl, and then Jack glanced to the large glass doors to see if his friends were still there waiting for him
They weren't. Jack didn't think that much of it. Most likely they grew tired of waiting and left him, knowing that he was fully capable of returning back to his home or the North Pole by himself. With that in mind, Jack returned his attention back to Father Time.
After a few minutes, Father Time looked up at Jack. "Tell me boy, what is your name?"
"Jack Frost?" Jack stated, his inflection turning it into a question. Jack hesitantly stepped forward towards the old man, wondering why all these strange questions.
"Jack Frost." Father Time said, as if testing the name. He made a face as he said it, so Jack's name must have failed the old man's test. Father Time shook his head, shaking away any remarks he had against Jack's name and continued. "Jack Frost, do you know exactly what happened to you before I found you?"
"You mean when you started yelling at me?" Jack pointed out, frowning slightly. Jack put the bottom of his staff down on the ground and then hopped on top of it, balancing on top of the staff with ease. "Yeah. You told me to find a white vial and pushed me into a bright doorway." Jack paused for a second. "That was a portal, wasn't it?"
Father Time swore loudly before nodding his head at Jack. "Yes it was, Jack Frost. But not the type of portal you're thinking of."
Jack was about to ask what kind of portal it was then, but he stopped when Father Time waved his question away with a wave of his hand. Jack frowned at that, but said nothing. Father Time took in a deep, slow breath and then turned to face Jack squarely, almost rolling his eyes as he saw Jack's balancing act.
"Jack. Listen to me very carefully. This is not the same year as you remember it." Father Time said slowly. Jack's face grew from frustrated to confused, and Father Time squinted his eyes at the boy. He would have to explain further for Jack. "What I apparently shoved you through is a very powerful, dangerous portal. A time portal. And it's one of the only ones in existence."
Jack finally caught on.
"Wait. Are you telling me that you sent me back through time?" Jack said, slightly alarmed. He jumped off of the staff and back onto solid ground. The jump was messy, and the staff fell to the floor with a clatter. "I'm in the past!"
"Well, I did not say clearly if you are in the past or the future. Do not jump to conclusions, Jack Frost." Father Time said with an exasperated sigh and a shake of his head.
"But you asked for my name. That means we haven't met each other yet." Jack pointed out as he bent down and picked up his staff. "So, I have to be in the past."
"I'm a very old man, Jack. As I said before, even an omniscient being forgets things." Father Time said before returning to the podium bowl. "However, there is a great chance that you are, indeed, in the past."
Father Time stepped forward, directly into Jack's personal space. Jack had the urge to step away from the old man, but the scrutiny in the other's eyes held him in place. Before Jack could realize what Father Time was doing, the man plucked a single white hair off of Jack's head and examined it in the light. Jack let out a complaint as he rubbed his head, but was then shushed by Father Time.
Without further adieu, Father Time returned to the bowl and dropped the single white hair he plucked off of the winter spirit's head. Out of one of Father Time's large sleeves, he pulled out a capsule and opened it up. He tipped the capsule over, and out came glowing silver sand into the bowl.
The bowl lit up, and Jack's curiosity got the better of him. Jack moved forward, peering into the bowl, and was surprised to see himself back in the dark hallway with Father Time. This time it was his and Father Time's previous conversation that was being played.
"Listen to me, listen very closely. You are to retrieve the white vial. The white vial was housed under a roaring waterfall before the collapse. Search for it there, Jack." Father Time's feeble voice came from bowl. The old man watched himself with pensive eyes, mouth frowning. "Once you have it, take it to the Waters of Life and fill it up. You'll only have a short amount of time to do this, so act quickly."
"What? Retrieve what? Why? I don't understand." Jack's voice called out, loud and confused. "The Waters of Life?"
The two watched the conversation unfold. They watched in silence: Father Time because he was focusing too much on the scene before them to ask questions and Jack because he had been there to see this. The only sound Father Time made was when he saw his self give Jack the pocket watch. The older man clenched the side of the bowl as he saw it, and then muffled a hmmm as he thought. He did not speak his mind, but rather waited as the rest of the scene.
It ended shortly after, stopping just as Father Time pushed Jack into the bright light, or the Time Portal. The light faded away, and the bowl returned to normal with only a few inactive sands to tell of the scene the two had just witnessed.
Father Time looked up at Jack Frost as soon as the scene faded away. His eyes were wide with curiosity and, oddly, benevolence.
"Show me the pocket watch, Jack Frost." Father Time ordered in a soft voice. Jack did so without hesitation. He pulled the pocket watch out from his hoodie's pocket and held it in front of Father Time. Father Time fingered it, and then let it go after a few seconds. "I have only entrusted my pocket watch to three other people. And you were not them. You are, indeed in the past."
"But why?" Jack asked, feeling more comfortable now that Father Time's softer side was showing. He put the pocket watch back in his pocket before continuing. "Why did you send me into the past?"
"Did you not listen to why I said? Retrieve the white vial and fill it up with the Waters of Life." Father Time stated matter of factly. "By the way it sounds, as soon as you do it, you will be brought back to your own time."
"Why is this white vial so important that you had to send me back in time?" Jack asked. He still needed answers, and no one was giving them. He needed to know. "What is it?"
"If I wanted you to know, Jack, I would have most likely told you why when I gave you my pocket watch." Father Time said, growing sharp again. "No, it was not important why I wanted it, but just that you retrieved it for me. So go, find the white vial; search for the right waterfall. Finish your task before your time runs out."
"Alright, alright, I go search for it." Jack finally submitted as he picked up his staff and headed to the glass doors, his only exit. "But can you at least tell me how long I have before my time runs out?"
Father Time stared at the bowl when he answered Jack's final question. He was too deep in thought to pay much attention to the winter spirit. No, he was now too focused on the future to care about Jack.
"The sand in my pocket watch will keep you connected to the Time Portal. When your deed is done, the active sand will transfer you back through the portal and back to your original time. However, the sand only stays active in my Keep; it will slowly die once you leave." Father Time muttered at a low volume. He paused for a long while before continuing. "If the active sand dies, then you will be trapped in the past, forced to relive the years until you catch up with your own time."
"Not only that, but the Father Time from my time will die." Jack's inner voice told him.
With that, Jack quietly approached the glass doors. The doors slid open and Jack flew out of the Keep, thoughts of being trapped how many years in the past horrifying him. He was just starting to be believed in a eight months ago; he did not want to go through any more years of being invisible to everyone. No, the faster he finished this assignment, the faster he could get back to Burgess and Jamie.
However, Jack left before Father Time could finish his instructions, and he did not hear the old man's warning. Father Time, who was clueless of Jack's silent escape, continued to speak aloud.
"I must advise you Jack, spend a couple hours resting before you begin your search. Time travel is very dangerous, even to an immortal being like you and myself. If you leave before resting Jack, you'll tire yourself out, maybe even cause yourself to fall ill."
Of course, Father Time received no response from the winter spirit.
"Jack?" Father Time asked, finally noticing how quiet his Keep suddenly was. He looked up and saw no sign of Jack Frost. The old man frowned before calling out again, this time with more volume. "Jack?!"