Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D I'm back from my trip to Seattle (which was really fun by the way. We saw family, rode a ferry, and went to the Space Needle...but I didn't love it all too much since I'm afraid of heights ='D). Sorry for the late update; we were out of the house for a few hours. But I'm back now, so I happily present to you guys the next part of the "We Are Family" arc! =D

I hope you guys enjoy it!

~ LXXXIX ~

We Are Family, Part Five

The final stand

The final fight

The final answers

The final light

Pitch wasted no time launching his attack. In just mere seconds the entire army of Fearlings and Nightmares was upon the Guardians and the Lunar army. Everyone launched into battle, swords slashing and shields clashing. The noise was a cacophonous swirl of chaos, determination, and rage.

There could be only one winner. And neither side was planning on losing.

Jack sent a bolt of ice at the first nightmare he saw and charged alongside everyone else in the fight. He quickly lost sight of the Guardians, but squashed down his fear and recalled everything he had practiced with Aster and North. Stay light. Read your opponent's moves. Don't hesitate. Always be the first to act.

Jack cut and slashed his staff through the shadows and marauders, ice carving their way through them. His eyes flashed with power as he spun around, blasting a flurry of daggers toward a group of Nightmare charging over him. They did some damage, but the horses didn't disintegrate. Jack called on the wind and he flipped over them, then summoned shards of ice to raise from the ground, puncturing them all.

Jack smiled wryly; the trick had finally been perfected. But he didn't wallow in his pride for too long—getting distracted, North had told him, was one of the many things that could get you killed in battle.

From behind him, Jack could hear the soldiers setting up the canons of stardust that they had brought along with them Jack had only seen small portions in jars whenever his classmates did chemistry back at Santoff Claussen. But these canons were designed to hold copious amounts of the glittering dust. Stardust was a very rare resource to find, and only a few ever dropped down on Earth every few years. But it was a decisive element against Fearlings and Nightmares, which is why the canons had been brought along.

BAM! The ground shook with the firing of the stardust. The glowing ball soared through the air and slammed into a large hoard of Fearlings that had surrounded a group of soldiers. They vanished immediately but were quickly replaced by several others.

The battle drew on, and Jack soon lost track of time for how long they had been fighting. He caught a glimpse of North's red coat, Tooth's feathers, Aster's fur, and Sandy's glow amid the chaos. The men fought their very hardest, but many were beginning to fall, wounded, or in terror of what was around them. The medical team went in and out for the battle, Jack tried to focus on the fight but couldn't help but watch as injured or fear-struck men were carried back to the camp on stretchers.

Pitch, the one who had initiated the fight, still hadn't revealed himself. Jack knew he was there, he could feel his presence. But no one had caught a glimpse of him since the fight began. The Guardians, Jack, and Tsar Luanr were supposed to keep him distracted, but how could you distract something that you couldn't see?

Jack slashed through another Nightmare and pivoted around just in time to slice a dagger of ice through the face of a Fearling. He let out an exhausted breath—he had never fought for this long before, and the attacks of the Nightmare Army were becoming more and more unhinged. They didn't hesitate at all. They were hungry for fear. And it was this lust that drive them crazy enough to begin to possess or corrupt some of the men on the field.

Jack was grateful to have the uncanny snow sprite ability to sense nearing darkness. Not only that but he by no means wanted to be possessed by a Fearling again. He kept on moving, making himself a difficult target as he fought through. Other men weren't so lucky, and they were seized by the Fearlings and forced to fight against their own, adding to the confusion.

Jack looked away and the Wind swirled around him concerningly. "I'm fine," he wheezed. "This is just getting tiring…"

"It is tiring."

Jack's senses spiked and he whirled around, aiming his staff at Pitch Black, who had suddenly appeared behind him. The Boogeyman's eyes flashed with contempt, but his voice was smooth as water, which only made Jack feel even more wary.

The pitch was holding a large scythe, which peeked out from beneath his long, black cloak. He looked around the battle and said, "They fight so bravely, and yet I can feel the waves of fear rolling off from every one of them."

"You have some nerve showing up here," Jack growled.

"At your birthplace? Your home? Why, it's perfect," said Pitch. Jack kept his eyes on Pitch. "You were born here, yet you don't recognize it. You long to know of your parents, but the only person who holds the information, you're about to blast with ice."

Jack gritted his teeth. "Stop talking."

"If you want to know what happened to them, call off the fight. I swear that no one will get hurt."

Jack let out a dry laugh. "Are you seriously trying to blackmail me? You've hurt thousands. I'd have to be a fool to let you go so easily."

"You don't have to be a fool," said Pitch. His calm expression shifted into one that made Jack want to go run and hide. The Boogeyman pulled out his scythe, amber eyes flickering. "You already are one."

Pitch rushed forward, and Jack quickly summoned a wall of ice and block his blow. The Boogeyman shattered it, and Jack rolled to the side. Pitch turned around, teeth curled in a snarl as he lunged for Jack again, scythe raised at his side. Jack's heart pounded against his chest and he dived out of the way as Pitch brought it down. He shot several shards of ice in the Boogeyma's direction, but he lifted his cloak, and they bounced off of it like pins.

Jack's eyes widened. That thing's solid?! The child within him would've deemed it as astounding, but he was in the middle of the fight, so that would've been inappropriate.

It didn't take long to notice that Pitch had finally revealed himself on the field, and the Guardians and Tsar Lunar were quick to rush in to help. Jack felt a little braver knowing that they were fighting alongside him now, but he knew that they were already tired from fighting off the other Nightmares and Fearligns, and the stardust bombs were beginning to lose their effect.

The Nightmare King was one being with the power of a thousand. He swatted Tooth and Sandy as if they were bugs, and defeated North and Aster as if they were nothing. Tsar Lunar was at a disadvantage due to his height, but he was able to parry many of Pitch's blows. But the Boogeyman deflected his blows as well, and soon, even Tsar Lunar was beaten down.

Jack was the only one remaining, and he tried his best to keep up with Pitch's attacks, but he had been fighting for so long now…He was slipping, and his attacks were becoming less and less calculated. The Guardians were on the ground, and Jack didn't know if they had any injuries. His fear slowly began to return, and Pitch used it against him.

The wind was knocked out of Jack when Pitch bashed the end of his scythe into Jack's chest. The snow sprite collapsed into the snow, gasping for air and breathing heavily. Several bruises and scratches littered his bottom from the several skirmishes that he had with the Nightmares and Fearlings before. His cloak was torn, and his hood had long fallen off in the middle of the battle. Pitch stood over him like a tower. His scythe sparkled at his side.

"You fought well," the Boogeyman remarked. His gaze shadowed. "But not well enough."

Jack wanted to get up. To move, escape, or do anything. But his body wouldn't listen to him. His fear paralyzed him in place.

"You would've made a wonderful Darkling Prince," Pitch mused. "But you've become more a threat than an asset. I should've done this the moment I found you. Oh, but don't worry…your death will be quick."

He raised the scythe to strike, and Jack finally found his voice. "You had a family!"

Pitch froze, and his eyes flicked to Jack's. The snow sprite was trembling in the snow, but he forced his eyes to meet with the Nightmare Kings as he stared at him with an inscrutable expression.

"You had a family," Jack repeated. He gripped his staff. "You had a daughter, a wife, a home, a life better than this. You had a connection with them—one that I never got to have with mine.

"So before you kill me. Before you stab my heart with that scythe and end my life, just please…" Jack's eyes glittered. "Just tell me what happened to my parents."

Pitch's shocked expression remained for a few moments, then shifted into one of pure fury. "You want to know what happened to your mother and father?!" he snarled. The Boogeyman lunged, and Jack tried to escape, but the man's fingers had already pressed against his head.

And what he thought to be a nightmare was a memory—Memories of his parents.

…

He lived in a small village, one that didn't have a name, but still felt like home. His mother and father treated him kindly and loved him with everything he had. He had always been small and little, but both of his parents believed that he'd grow up to be strong. If he could've spoken at the time, he would've said he believed them both.

They lived a quiet, but happy life together. His mother doted upon him and his father was strong and protective. But their pleasant life was cut short when Pitch and his Fearlings attacked the village.

They had heard of his attacks already and knew that he would eventually come for their village. They didn't know what triggered the genocide but knew they didn't want their newborn son to be slaughtered.

They raced from the village, into the forest where they were pursued by Fearlings. They brought with them a thin blanket—it was the only one they could grab on short notice.

They reached a dipping slope at the farthest edge of their village. The mother wrapped the boy tightly and caressed his cheek, tears slipping from her eyes. The father placed a kiss on the little boy's forehead. He cooed quietly in his sleep.

"He'll be safe so long as she watches him," the father whispered.

The mother nodded. "Please…take our son to safety," she croaked to the Wind. Her pointed ears twitched as the Wind swirled around them, whistling her promise that she'd take care of him to the both of them.

The mother placed the child down in the snow, and the Wind gently lifted him. The boy stirred and he opened his eyes, looking down at his two parents, who were growing further and further away as the Wind pulled him down. Dark, black shadows were billowing up behind them. They dove into them, and the boy could hear the two's screams echo through the woods. They were gone, and the boy began to cry.

The Wind carried the baby boy down the slope and carried him to the closest region: Norsurberian. She nestled him in the crook of a knotted tree root, and watched over him day and night. The boy slept and cried, slept and cried, and the Wind knew that any longer, he would eventually freeze and die.

Then she heard the sound of sleigh bells one night. The boy had woken up and began to cry again, so she carried his cries toward the oncoming human. He wore a red coat and a black furry hat. He heard the cries of the boy and immediately got off the sleigh.

Jack knew that man. And he knew that little boy. He knew what happened next. He didn't need to see anymore.

…

Jack snapped back to reality, in disbelief of what he had just seen. The pitch was still standing above him.

"Your parents are gone. Dead! They've been turned into Fearlings, just like the rest of the snow sprites!" Pitch snapped. " They can't be reversed and never will be. And who knows…you may have destroyed them here in this battle already."

Jack felt something break inside of him. No. He refused to believe it, it couldn't be true.

But he should've known. He should've known. But instead, he had given the hope that his parents could've been alive. All that wishing, all the hoping and praying had been for nothing.

They were gone. Both of them, are gone.

And it was all his fault.

Jack's grip on his staff was so tight that his knuckles turned white. The snow sprite's eyes flashed a bright blue, and his staff crackled with the energy being activated by his emotions. Suddenly, Jack was attacking Pitch again, but this time, he was the unhinged one.

Whatever boundaries he had created for himself suddenly disappeared as he was now fighting Pitch with everything he had. The Wind roared in his ears, and Jack shot bolts and daggers of ice at the Bogoeyman that he had trouble deflecting. Jack's eyes glowed with fury; he quickly overpowered Pitch. Now it was the Boogeyman who was on the ground instead of him.

Everything around him was tuned out. All that went through Jack's head at that moment was kill him, kill him, kill him! He formed a dagger of ice, sharp and pointed, ready to drive it into the Boogeyman's heart.

He didn't notice the flicker of fear that flashed across Pitch's face.

Jack was about to bring the dagger down, buts suddenly, he heard, "JACK!"

The snow sprite turned around, spotting the Guardians and Tsar Lunar standing behind him. Their expression was shocked, and Jack felt himself slip from the craze he had fallen into.

"Don't do it, moy mal'chik," North said slowly. "We know you are upset, but this isn't the right way. Put the dagger down."

Jack froze, knowing that North was right. But before the snow sprite could put the dagger down, Pitch seized his chance and drove a dagger of his own into Jack's abdomen. The Nightmare King snatched his staff and broke it in two.

Jack screamed, and everything became pitch black.