Hello, readers~!
Sorry about these updates slowing down; school has swallowed up most of my time that I was using for writing and I now only have study hall every day to work on anything. So I think updates might be like this for awhile, since I have two other fics to work on right now, assuming I won't get writer's block and go to a side project in order to come out of it. Just bear with me here, please?
Anyway, I know at least one of you was worried about why Jack wasn't there to help Hiccup last chapter and that will be explained in full this time around. Don't worry; I wasn't gonna leave you all hanging there. :P Jack had his reasons.
And thanks for the follows, favorites and reviews especially. They always make me smile and giggle in my bedroom like an idiot.
The Guardians searched the village all that afternoon and found no trace of the Nightmare King, besides the teens already given nightmares still emanating small bits of fear in their psyches. They had to find him and stop him before he had a chance to get even stronger; it wasn't an option for them to leave more to risk. But with nothing to go off of in the village, the defenders of childhood all agreed on scouring the forest for any signs of his presence. After all, his old hideout was in a wooded area too.
While Tooth, Sandy and Jack separated and searched from the air, while Bunny and North split up on the ground. Jack followed the Guardian of Hope as he hopped through the forest as fast as he could; searching under bushes and anxiously waiting for some of the snow-covered ground to give out under his weight and reveal a tunnel that Pitch could call home for the time being. Every now and then, he'd find North in his sights, scouring the area for hidden caves and passages. They didn't want to leave anything unexamined because he wasn't only threatening the children with his growing power… but the order of the timeline itself. Pitch could not change the course of history; not without each Guardian making the ultimate sacrifice first.
Jack eventually went off to look for any clues on his own and turned up with nothing, just like the other four defenders of childhood. Wherever Pitch was hiding, it surely wasn't in the wooded area of the island.
"We must find where he is hiding!" North paced in front of the other Guardians, raking his brain for any other ideas. Then, he seemed to get one as he stuck up a finger and his eyes widened "Are there any places he could hide on the beach?"
"I'd be surprised if there weren't." Tooth claimed "The people here know how to use their land. They've probably hidden treasure and who knows what else all over the place. Or maybe even hidden weapons in case of an ambush."
Sandy nodded in confirmation, golden eyes moving from one Guardian to the next, to ensure each received his subtle assurance.
"Then let's go!" Jack called, immediately taking to the sky with the others in pursuit. He glanced at the horizon and noted the setting sun. Man, they spent way too much time in the forest. "We have to move!" He shouted back to them. Pitch would surely go after Hiccup in no time; he had to stop that from happening. He had to. And, right now, finding his lair was the best bet they had.
The Guardian of Fun was the first to touchdown on the sand of the island's beach. He pivoted his head from one setting of rock to another, eyes peeled for any slight deformity or crevice that the Nightmare King could slip inside. Nothing in his sight yet.
"Let's split up." Bunny ordered "Cover as much ground as possible."
Just like that, they all went in different directions. Jack let them fall out of his sights very quickly, as the falling sun and slow brightening of the moon were now his timers. Once the sky was dark, Pitch could saunter around the shadows without any problems at all; he could hide from the five of them without even trying. Not another nightmare would happen in this village if Jack could help it.
More than an hour ticked on by and the winter sprite still hadn't found a thing. He looked at the sky again and acknowledged the moon staring down at him, stars starting to illuminate just as brightly around the Man in the Moon. He'd done enough of this stupid searching for one day; he had to get to Hiccup and protect him himself. Just like that, he took off and soared back to the village as swiftly as he could. The lanterns now their only light source, Jack realized that there were countless places for Pitch to be lurking in. He had to be light on his feet (or, lighter than normal) and prepared for a fight. After everything he went through trying to subdue the guy a year ago, he knew never to trust the darkness when looking for him.
He got to the town square and found it completely barren of life. Well, absent of life excluding the blacksmith's shop, which was still all light up. Jack heard the faint sound of clanking metal and some guy signing a song about… something with a mace and a woman with an ugly face…? He didn't quite catch it, but he was too focused to really divert his attention anyway.
Now came the hard part: figuring out which house Hiccup lived in. Jack knew nothing about the kid, besides his name, what he looks like and that the guy's dragon probably wants to eat him. He nervously glimpsed from house to house, slipping a section of his finger between his teeth at some point. He started on the ones closest to him and worked his way back. He'd found most of the boy's friends, but Hiccup wasn't anywhere to be found. He floated up into a tree and peeked down at the homes in the village, counting them off to see if he'd accidentally missed one.
But his worries of miscount were silenced when an all-too familiar evil laugh met his ears. Jack gazed up the direction of the noise and saw his target soaring away from a large home on a hill, sounding way too pleased with himself. How could Jack have missed that?! It was right in front of his face the whole time! He climbed down from his branch and growled, angrier with himself than he was with the Nightmare King. He raised his staff to attack… but froze as he watched Pitch's vanishing form. He should at least warn the other Guardians that he was out and about... and that he had, in fact, given Hiccup the nightmare they worked so hard to prevent in all the wrong ways. He ran back to the square and shot a line of frost into the sky as a beacon, before taking to the air and riding the wind as fast as he could to catch up with Pitch.
He followed the embodiment of fear at a distance until he closed in and shot another trail of ice at him. The element of surprise, though, was not on his side as Pitch pivoted and avoided the attack with ease.
"You honestly thought that trick would work on me, Frost?" He barked, floating closer to his attacker "Surely not after that warning shot." He gestured to the sky "Pathetic."
"You're gonna pay, Pitch." Jack growled "I'll make you pay for hurting those kids."
Pitch let out the start of another laugh, his corrupt smile showing his jagged teeth "We'll see about that." A scythe was conjured into his hand as nightmare sand slipped from under his sleeve.
Pitch gripped it firmly with both hands and prepared to strike. Jack took the invitation without resistance, shooting forward with a battle cry. Their weapons clashed and the two wrestled with their grips and the other's strength, little particles of black sand and flakes of snow sputtering from their respective sources. Jack started to struggle against Pitch within a minute of their little stalemate. He had gotten stronger in this time, that was for sure. Strong arms with gray skin began to extend, pushing Jack further away no matter how hard he tried to fight back. Then, a final shove sent the Guardians of Fun faltering back a few yards. Okay, not the best way to start a fight. Jack had to come up with another plan until back-up arrived.
Little time came to formulate a plan when Pitch swooped in front of Jack and swung his scythe at the boy's neck, Jack's ducking the only reason he didn't receive the attack. Cold and darkness continued to mix and an array of blows, Jack growing more desperate to fight for his cause and his life and Pitch simply enjoying the entertainment, from the look in his horrid golden eyes. Whoever said that gold was pure was clearly wrong at that moment. Jack changed his strategy, deciding to keep Pitch moving rather than containing the fight. The Guardians had to find him and help him out. Pitch was stronger at this point than they thought; he couldn't take the guy down on his own.
He didn't make it very far when Pitch swung his scythe and the back of Jack's hoodie was snagged on the point. He heard a laugh before he was thrown onto the ground, toppling some stray supplies that he landed into over. He lifted a bucket from his head and noticed that they were back where the chase started; Hiccup's house. Great. So much for an unnoticed battle.
Pitch began to descend at a rapid pace but his feet never touched the ground as Jack made a swifter kick and he was sent into a small snow bank. Jack leapt over to him and loomed over him, putting the end of his staff to the other's neck.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" Jack interrogated.
"I believe you already know." Pitch rolled his eyes and vanished into the shadow touching the snow bank. Jack stared at the spot in confusion until he heard a step behind him, finding Pitch was there "I've told you before, there will always be fear. And fear is the greatest power."
"Fear may exist." Jack countered "But we will always be around to fight fear."
"You mean the Guardians?" Pitch piped "The Guardians who aren't here? Such a great system, Jack; I admire it."
Jack took another swing at the Nightmare King and was met with another empty shadow. A resonating laugh chimed around him and he turned to find the being of fear preparing to make a blow with his scythe. Their weapons clashed once more and another struggle of strength between fun and fear began.
"You give up yet, Jokul Frosti?" Pitch's sinister smirk only grew with Jack's eyes at the sound of that name and the Nightmare King began to overpower him again. "You honestly think I don't know that name by now, Jack?" He chuckled "I should have known that's what you'd think. After all, you weren't him."
Jack jumped back, still wide-eyed "What do you mean?"
"They never told you?" Pitch let his scythe turn back into sand, which retreated back under his coat, and paced slowly in front of him "He was The Man in the Moon's little winter spirit before you. But as time went on, apparently, he somehow… stepped out of line." He smirked, lifting a finger to his chin "So he had his little personal guard get rid of him." He stopped in front of Jack "That's when he created you." He jabbed a long finger into Jack's chest just in time to feel the boy's breath hitch. He smiled again "You're just as weak as he was."
Jack didn't register what had happened next. One moment, he was only inches from Pitch, hearing more about his creation than he thought was there and the next he's against the outside wall of Hiccup's house, his staff has escaped his grip and his head began to hurt. Through blurry vision, he saw Pitch retreat into the shadows and disappear. At that moment, he wondered where the other Guardians were. They must have heard the fight he'd just been in, even if they didn't see his call for help. His world slowly became black as he lied there on the frozen ground, drifting somewhere between awake and asleep.
"…ack… Ja… Jack!" was heard through ringing ears when the winter sprite finally awakened. Tooth was hovering over him, glowing purple eyes scanning over him until they met his fluttering eyelids. She called something else that the ringing tuned out and the remaining three Guardians rushed over to them.
Jack's vision began to clear and he saw an exclamation point over Sandy's head. Someone lifted his head and he glanced around to see North as he one to do so.
"Jack," North's voice echoed in his head "How are you feeling?"
The dazed Guardian managed to sit himself up and hold his head in his hands "Like a truck hit me…" he grumbled. He rubbed his eyes, his sights finally going back to normal, and saw that he was back at the hideout. "When did I get back here…?"
"We found ye passed out." Bunny explained "Sandy saw yer frost shootin' through the sky and came to warn us all... ye can guess it took awhile to give us the message." He chuckled and looked down at the small man, who sent a fume of sand from each of his ears in anger.
"So we brought you back here so you could rest." Tooth continued "North and Sandy went back to look for Pitch but didn't find him. They came back a little while before you came to."
"I found him too late." Jack sighed "He did it again and he's stronger than we thought."
"He must be using the nightmares to siphon power for himself." North guessed "Going to the children must have been him testing the village."
"And I only let him get stronger last night." Jack announced.
"You did what you could, Jack." Tooth encouraged "We just underestimated him; it won't happen again."
Sandy gave a thumbs up at Jack, who grinned in response.
"What's our next move?" Jack asked.
"We go back tonight and we stay together." North answered "We won't let anyone else be overpowered."
"We think it might be better if ye stay here though, Frostbite." Bunny added.
"What? No way!" Jack defended "I'm not sitting around here twiddling my thumbs while Pitch is doing who knows what out there."
There was a small pause before Tooth gave a concerned look "You should rest, Jack. We just don't want you to hurt yourself even more."
"I can handle it this time." Jack declared.
The elder Guardians exchanged looks and gestures before a nod from Sandy convinced Jack he'd won. It was confirmed when The Guardian of Hope assured "Alright, mate. Just try to be a little less careless, eh?"
Jack chuckled "I'll do my best." He took his staff from the place on the wall that it was resting on and twirled it between his fingers "I think I'll go see what Pitch did this time."
"Wait, you're talkin' to them?" Bunny asked. Jack nodded "You'd better have a good reason-"
"I do." Jack stated "One of them can see me and he doesn't suspect a thing. But maybe, if I ask him about the nightmares he and his friends are having, we can find out what's going on. There has to be a hint somewhere that we're not seeing."
"Tread with care, Jack." North warned.
"I know." At that, Jack turned and walked out of the cave, flying above the line of trees and back to the island. The trip was slowly becoming shorter as he went back and forth so many times. He'd even found a few shortcuts, believe it or not, and some great places to catch a great breeze to ride on.
He landed in front of Hiccup's house at the crack of dawn and sat in the snow to wait for the boy to come outside, assuming that he hadn't already left to do something else. He sat in silence for a few minutes before he heard some stomping on the roof of the building. Jack stood in an effort to see what was causing the noise. It couldn't have been Pitch, could it? Jack had never seen him attack twice in one night, much less by way of the roof. He floated up to and stood on the shingles and found the next worst thing as the source of the sounds.
The dragon was outside?! Since when?! Jack didn't see or hear the thing at all the night before. Then again, it was as black as the night; it could have easily just not caught the young spirit's eye. At first, the creature didn't notice that Jack was there. Then, Jack made the mistake of trying to level out his feet and making a small creak in the process. Fast as lightning, the dragon prepped for attack and leapt towards Jack. And, just as fast, Jack jumped off the roof and ran as fast as he could, then flying even faster, as the monster chased him from very close behind.
Hiccup woke up early the next morning in a cold sweat, with tear stains painted on his cheeks. He wiped his damp brow with his sleeve and took deep breaths. What a nightmare… He gasped and let his leg dangle over the edge of the bed while he attached his other one with shaky, clammy hands. He got his prosthetic on after a few fruitless efforts and stumbled down the stairs, throwing on his vest as he went. Maybe going flying would clear his head…
He stepped outside and peered around for Toothless, finding barrels knocked over, indents in the snow that weren't there the night before and weird patterns of frost blanketing one wall of the house. What happened here? Hiccup pondered This couldn't have been Toothless- where is Toothless, anyway?
As if on cue, he heard a roar sound from the forest, followed by a shout that was almost too familiar to the Viking. On the lightest feet he'd ever seen, Jack came bolting out of the wall of trees with the black dragon close behind, eyes emanating attack and pointed teeth formed into a snarling grimace. The white-haired weirdo's blue eyes landed on Hiccup and he sprinted to the boy, leaping and hiding behind the boy's much smaller form and cowering.
"H-help…!" Jack squealed at a pitch that Hiccup didn't think was possible to reach "He's gonna eat me!"
The dragon crept forward and reached the pair, teeth bared and pupils no more than thin slits of pure rage. Hiccup felt Jack flinch, as he was now gripping the brunet's shoulders for dear life, while he stayed unfazed by Toothless' behavior. His expression stayed blank and he put out a steady hand for his dragon. A small growl sounded from his throat but he nonetheless bowed his head and touched it to his trainer's palm. The eyes that were slits when he closed them opened to a more relaxed state. He sat in front of Hiccup and looked at him expectantly.
"How do you even…?" Jack breathed "He was about to…"
The boy turned to the ghost boy with the same neutral demeanor "I'd stay calm; he can smell your fear." He turned around and crossed his arms "What is it about you that he doesn't like? He doesn't behave like that around anyone else."
Jack shrugged "Beats me. I didn't do anything to him." Toothless let out another growl, making Jack jump and grip Hiccup again.
"What are you following me for?" The Viking interrogated.
"You had one last night, didn't you?" The spirit asked.
Hiccup's plain face began to show slight signs of fear and sadness. "Yeah." He nodded "I did." He paused for a moment and stared at the other boy quizzically. "How did you know that was going to happen?" Jack gave his own confused look "You warned me yesterday and you know I had one."
"Oh, that, uh…" Jack shuffled his toes through the snow "Just… intuition…?"
"Yeah, sure." Hiccup remarked "That's obviously why a ghost knows what's going on with me."
Jack perused his lips "How do you know I'm a-"
"You don't think I saw you fly when Toothless scared you the other day?" Hiccup questioned, looking Jack over "And it would explain why your stick is glowing right now."
"It's a staff." Jack corrected, clearly offended by the other boy's comment "Do you see shepherd's herding sheep with sticks? No, they use staffs."
"So… you're the ghost of a shepherd who is haunting me because…?" Hiccup questioned.
"I'm not haunting you." The apparition clarified "I'm trying to help you, whether you realize it or not."
"Yeah, by warning me about a nightmare." Hiccup commented "Gee, that sure was helpful, ever-powerful spirit. Thank you for telling me I was going to have a bad dream; how could I ever have gone on without knowing that?"
Jack scoffed "You'll realize that just maybe you'll need me around. Those aren't just bad dreams, kid." He stepped closer "Not even close." Toothless growled again, but it must have fallen on deaf ears to Jack.
"Then what are they?" The Viking remarked, calming Toothless with a scratch "A bad omen? Is something terrible gonna happen to me and my friends unless I abide by what you tell me to do?"
"Maybe." Jack got out of Hiccup's face and stroked his chin "Did you see the eyes too?" Hiccup nodded again "They must mean something…" Jack muttered, unaware Hiccup heard him "I promise, I'll find a way to make sure they don't come back."
Then, just as fast as he seemed to appear, Jack flew off "What does that mean?!" Hiccup shouted into the sky at Jack's retreating form "Great," he stroked Toothless behind the ear "He warns me about stuff and doesn't give details… how is that supposed to help anyone?" Toothless made a gurgling noise as if to go along with what Hiccup said "Alright, bud. What do you say we go flying?" Toothless bowed his head and his rider climbed on, securing his prosthetic in the stirrup before taking off into the morning air. Hopefully the chill in the wind would wake him up from his haze and clear his head.