A/N: And here is the fight! or well A fight!
Chapter 30 – When Plans go Wrong.
3rd POV
Jack's feet touched the ground silently, his face mixed with disbelief, regret and horror as he saw North's shrunken in pale face and Tooth with feathers lacking vibrancy and on two feet as they made their way out of the sleigh.
"Are you okay?" he asked, now that the memories are back he was struggling with English and trying not to revert back to his native tongue.
"Jack!" Tooth gasped in surprised as she fluttered and stumbled her way to the winter spirit.
"What are you doing here?" North asked curious, causing Jack to smile and jerk his head to behind him as he heard the sound of Jamie's footsteps.
"Same as you," He chuckled with a wide smile as Jamie came to a stop and stared wide eyed at his hero's.
"It's you, it really is you! I didn't dream you up, you're really here!" Jamie cried out in disbelief and joy before looking over at Jack. "I just knew it!"
North looked on in awe as Jack just smiled and ruffled the last lights hair. Tooth was squealing inside at the fact her Sweet Tooth had a believer. "Jack, he sees you!" North whispered in pride, his lips pulling up into a wide smile.
"Where's Bunny?" Jack asked as he finally realised there was no Pooka. His heart clenched as he saw the guardian's faces turned into ones of sadness as they looked down. No, no, no! Jack screamed in his mind, the white tinting his vision with rage.
"Losing Easter took its toll on all of us. Bunny… most of all…" North whispered before both he and Tooth moved to reveal the sleigh. Jack blinked away the white rage before horror and humour filled him as a little baby grey kit jumped out of the sleigh sniffing the air.
"Oh… no… As'tearr." Jack whispered painfully, no one not even Aster himself heard the way his name changed from English to Pookan.
Jamie chuckled as he moved towards the sleigh, "That's the Easter Bunny?"
Aster grumbled as he looked at the kid, he hated being this small. "Now somebody sees me! I mean… where were ya'bout an hour ago, mate?" he asked as he stood up on his hind legs and pointed wildly around him.
Jamie frowned before facing the others, "What happened to him? He used to be huge and cool! Now he's all fluffy and adorable…" Jamie asked sadly and confused as he scratched Bunny's chin causing him to thump his foot repeatedly in pleasure which made Jack to laugh and to remember to call him Peter Rabbit more often.
Aster growled softly as he dashed over to Frost, he was surprised to see him at first but now he was just glad. Glad for reasons unknown but he knew he needed to apologise for many things as he stared up at the haunted eyes masked with joy.
"Oi! Did you tell him to say that? Alright you and me ya showpony!" he grumbled as he kicked his feet against Frostbites leg.
"No!" Jamie yelled causing the Pooka and guardians to look at him. "Actually he told me you were real…" He trailed off slightly embarrassed about the next part. "Just when I started to think that maybe you… weren't."
Aster stared up at the Winter Sprite in something akin to pride and something he couldn't quite remember, "He made you believe… in me?" he asked slowly looking at the child before looking up at Jack who had squatted to look at Bunny.
"I am sorry Aster; this is my entire fault…" Jack trailed off, tears brimming in his eyes. "You shouldn't have ever had to feel the sensation of being walked through and it wouldn't have happed because of me." He trailed off and Aster couldn't do anything but shake his head before another loud clap of thunder shot across the sky drawing their attention.
Jack could see Pitch stand on one of his clouds looking down at the town, "Get Jamie out of here!" He yelled before pushing himself off the ground and into the sky. He could hear someone yell something but his mind was focused on Pitch Black.
At the blast of frost, Pitch turned and narrowed his eyes in surprise. "Jack Frost!" He thought for once and for all he got rid of the menace only to be proven wrong again. "Let's end this, shall we?" he snarled before letting his sand swirl around him as he charged.
Hellebores snarled while sending another jolt of frost only to be stopped by Pitch's sand, his laughter ringing over the loud claps of thunder causing Jack to curse. "Your little trick doesn't work against me anymore Frost; I am too strong for even you!" Pitch laughed darkly before letting his sand unleashed upon him, smiling in satisfaction as he watched the winter sprite fall to the ground, making an impact on a bin.
"A'ben." Jack cursed as he hit the ground, very thankful he didn't break anything.
Jamie spun at the noise and saw Jack lying on the ground staring dazed up at the sky, "Jack!"
At the sound of his name the others spun and rushed to his side as they saw Jamie try to help him up. North lifted him off the ground and placed him on his feet while Tooth handed him his staff.
"He's stronger, there's too much fear here." He grunted before stretching, his back popping with the movement.
"It waz a good try, Jack. A for effort." North said before spinning at the dark chuckle filling the alley.
Pitch smirked as he gazed down at the child from the shadows. "All this for one boy? And yet he still refuses to stop believing in you when he knows you can't protect him." He hissed out in a chuckle.
The guardians all moved closer to Jamie who clutched onto Jack's hoodie. His eyes wide and heart racing in fear as he wildly looked at the moving shadows.
Pitch smiled at the taste of fear in the air, though the others were afraid, it was that winter spirit who shared no ounce of his delicious fear. Something has changed and it just pissed him off all the more, "Very well. There are other ways… to snuff out a light." He laughed, swiping his shadowed hand across the bulbs in the alley to prove his point.
Aster hopped down angrily from his perch in North's coat and pointed around the darkness, "You'll have to go through me first if you want him!" he yelled causing Pitch to laugh.
Jack tensed as he watched the shadow move towards Aster, his hands grasping his staff tightly ready to strike if need be. "Look how fluffy you are! Would you wike a widdle scwatch behind the ears?" Pitch cooed before laughing.
"Don't you even think about it!" Aster yelled as he panicked and jumped back into North's arms.
Pitch laughed again before moving into the light on top of his main nightmare, his teeth gleaming in the light as he stared manically at them. "You don't know how much it pleases me to see you all so weak and defenceless for a change." He cooed darkly.
"Jack, I'm scared." Jack whipped his head down to Jamie, his eyes wide and lip quivering that for a second he was looking at Pippa once again.
"I know, I know...but you're gonna be alright." He breathed out slowly, automatically. He kneeled before Jamie and smiled. "We're gonna have some fun instead."
Jamie looked at Jack confused, fun? How can they have fun when the boogieman was closing in on them?
Jack stood and clenched his fist before opening it slowly, a smirk on his face as he felt the magic and snow swirl around his hand to form a snowball. The nightmare king laughed at the words as he moved closer, "So what do you think now, Jamie? Do you believe in the Boogiema..."
Pitch blinked as he felt the snow collide with his face, he could feel the magic sink into his skin and he could feel the almost uncontrollable feeling to laugh and play. To grab snow and throw it back with the same amount of enthusiasm; to laugh freely and forget all about this idea of taking over the world with darkness once more.
"FROST!" Pitch snarled as he shook the magic away and into the ally. His rage doubled as he saw the guardians gone and in their place a line of frost leading out through them. He let out a snarl and moved to the top of a building that overlooked the main centre of the town.
"You will suffer Frost for mocking me." He snarled as he raised his hands and let the nightmare sands begin to raise like dark looming waves and begin to swallow the town, trapping them inside.
He stared down at the Guardians and children in amusement and disgust; did they really think seven children could help them? Could destroy him?
"You think that these mere children can help you? Against me? Against my power?" He asked while summoning the nightmare sand closer, pleased with the fear it caused them and yet there was still no fear from the winter child.
"You are all so afraid… except you Frost…" Pitch hissed causing Jack to smirk.
"I do not fear you any longer Pitch, you once did in another time, but now not." Jack told him, his anger coursing through his very veins. He turned to Jamie and smiled softly, "they're just bad dreams, Jamie. They can only hurt you if you let them."
Pitch snarled and let lose one wave of sand towards the children, he was not going to waste more time talking. Jamie looked down before looking back up at Jack; he knew the words were true. The nightmares can only harm you if you let them, if you let their fear rule you.
All the guardians besides Jack grabbed the children and moved in a way that they would take the brunt of the sand. Jack stood by Jamie's side, his eyes never leaving Pitches as he grasped the arm of his believer.
The sand grew closer and closer, swirling like a vortex before it burst into brilliant gold dream sand as it touched the palm Jamie held up, his eyes closed and brows pulled down in concentration. Jamie let out a holler of joy as he saw the sand causing the others to look up and cheer.
The guardians one by one began to grow in strength as they felt their believers start to believe once more. Pitch screamed as he saw the sand fly past and around him, commanding the rest of his army to attack as the others began to call in for reinforcements.
And yet Jack doesn't move, his eyes still locked onto the dark form of Pitch Black. He could tell by the sounds around him that the others were back to normal. He could hear the boomerangs of Blackhaw's cut through the air with each throw Aster threw and the sound of Yeti's yelling instructions to one another as North's swords cut through the air.
The dream sand itself began to twist and twirl together in a vortex away from the others as it shone brilliantly. No one noticing the little man forming in the middle.
"S'Motis." Jack hissed before running and pushing himself into the air, his staff swinging down and releasing shards of ice at the nightmare king.
"Frost! Come to meet your end?" Pitch laughed as he formed his scythe, but he could sense something about the child that was familiar. So very familiar yet so old that he couldn't recall where he had sensed the magic before.
"No Pitch, tonight you're freedom on this land will end and I will send you back to the dark depths you came from." Jack muttered as they begin to circle one another, it was a scene that brought up memories as they had done this once before.
"Give up child! You cannot beat me!" S'motis laughed as they circled, what was left of the Winter Clan's warren now was a burning mass of death.
"No, you killed my family, my sisters and brother, my dam!" Hellebore yelled before striking.
Except this time there was no smell of burning fur and bodies, no crackling of fire and Jack wasn't going to make the same mistake he had before.
Pitch snarled and lunged, his scythe slicing through the air causing Jack to smirk as he flipped over it and spun in the air before landing a spinning hook kick to Pitch's jaw and then a spinning axe kick in the same movement causing Pitch to crash to the ground.
Shaking his head of the fuzzy pain he shot up swinging his scythe once again, connecting it with the middle of Jack's staff as he blocked the blow before bringing it up and blocking the counter strike from Jack.
"Give up Jack!" Pitch laughed as he connected the butt of his scythe to the winter spirits head.
"Never!" Jack spat back before striking quicker, mixing his strikes with blows from his staff before adding a mix of the Pookan fighting style and then earth martial arts that were based off his races style.
Spinning axe kick. Strike with staff. Push kick. Dodge. Block. Frost burst and ice. Spin and jab with elbow to ribs, throwing head back and side kick to sternum.
A cry pierced through the air that sent fear down Jack's spine as he whipped his head in the direction where Aster was fighting. His arm clutching his leg as he scuttled away from the nightmare horse advancing on while he protected Jamie who was behind him.
"Oh... oh, this is just too perfect. The one thing that you fear is losing the Pooka. I wonder why that is?" Pitch laughed out through pants as he felt the sharp spike of fear in the frost child, though he was truly honestly curious as to why losing the Pooka caused that reaction. "But never mind that, I have the perfect plan to destroy you now… after all I have your weakness. Say goodbye to the rabbit and child Jack." Pitch laughed before disappearing into the darkness, just as the sand blanketed over Aster and Jamie and dragging them into the shadows.
"EVERGREEN!" Jack screamed as he flew to where the nightmares had taken them. "ASTER!"
Everything froze as Jack's scream pierced the night. The nightmares that had stayed burst into dream sand as two gold whips shot out from an alley way.
"Sandy!" Tooth gasped as she took in the wishing star whose wide eyes were locked on Jack's heaving form.
At hearing the sound of sand shifting, Jack spun around ready to attack, his eyes blazing in rage. Pitch had taken Aster, he had taken Jamie all because he couldn't hold back his fear.
"Man of Sand?" Jack grunted out in shock, causing the wishing star to nod slowly.
"You were dead; fear had taken you old friend…" Jack breathed out harshly, his eyes still scanning the darkness for any form of a nightmare.
Sandy moved and placed his hand on Jack's head and used the technique he hadn't used a long time, it was just much more fun to use sand and make people guessing.
You speak of old, you speak of times when the golden age were upon us… just who are you Jack Frost, who are you to speak of the native tongue of Pooka?
Jack cocked his head to the side at the soft alluring voice of the wishing star. He knew now why Sandy did not speak for the voice itself was compelling, making you want to sleep and yet not at the same time.
"I am Hellebores Jack Frost of the Winter Clans…" Jack whispered before falling to his knees as everything sunk in. "He took them Man of Sand, he took them because of me…"
Sandy stared at the boy and just pulled his head into his stomach, patting back his hair in comfort as he looked at the gobsmacked children and Guardians.
"What is it Sandy?" North asked softly as the other kids look around.
"Where are Jamie and the Easter Bunny?" Cupcake asked causing North and Tooth to inhale as they locked their eyes back on the winter child.
"Pitch took them… Jamie! Aster!" Jack moaned out while burrowing his face into the Sandman.
"We will get him back, but we need a plan. Children cannot go to boogieman lair, we need weapons, need more arms." North stated seriously as he pulled his swords up once more.
Jack jerked his head back; eyes alight as he stared at North. "That's it! We need more arms! Tooth, I know this will pain you but I need you to get chocolate, as pure to coco as you can. Ask Joy or go to the warren if you can't find any here. North have Yeti here to look after the children, gather more. Hurry, hurry we don't have time!" He ordered quickly while standing up.
Tooth looked ready to argue about the effects of chocolate on his teeth but shook her head and quickly went in search for his request, she could do this. Whatever he needed it for she didn't know but she had to trust him.
"Jack, what iz your plan?" North asked, "What do you need more chocolate for?" He asked as the Yeti escorted the reluctant children away from the scene and back to their homes.
Jack just smirked and looked at the Cossack, "you said we needed more arms right. I agree, do you want to see why I wouldn't eat the chocolate Aster offered. It gives me an advantage in a fight with the oddest reaction."
A/N: *GASP* what did I just do? Leave you on a cliffy? Gave you a recap on Aster's name? Oh my!
Hope you enjoyed it so far :)
The next chapter is saving Aster and Jamie.