Time felt as though it had frozen along with the winter spirit's hand that Bunny could not manage to tear his gaze away from, only stare in horror. Hesitantly, he reached out to examine it, to feel for himself the truth of the innocent gleam of transparent ice as though his eyes were not giving him proof enough. In front of him, Jack was completely still, arm still presented to them, gaze fixed on his hand encased in the ice, cerulean eyes round with shock which was the only emotion to show in his worriedly blank face, and in that moment Bunny had never seen the boy look so young and frail.
His paw was still hovering near the frozen limb, too fearful to touch it, and even from there he could feel the frigid cold that emanated from the ice, not the winter spirit's usual cool encompassing cold that was welcoming and refreshing- despite Bunny's vocal irritation to Jack's frostiness- but one that promised malice and death. He hesitated before recoiling away from the chill.
"Jack?" He asked quietly in a gentle voice he reserved for these delicate moments where the boy looked so fragile and gently probing for any reaction or information when it had been proven how reluctant Jack was when it came to admitting his own problems or pain. When Jack didn't answer but kept staring at his hand, Bunny continued in the hope that Jack was still listening. "Does it hurt?"
Numbly, as though answering from so far away that the message took time to hear, Jack shook his head, still not able to tear his eyes away from his hand.
Taking the response as a good sign, Bunny considered the possibility of getting more answers from the young Guardian, even if it wasn't in the greatest detail. His thoughts turned to the brief questioning that had spread some unknown light on their illusive winter spirit that they have previously thought they knew so well. They assumed from rumours and what they had seen from him that they knew all there was to know about Jack but now Bunny could see quite clearly how mistaken they had been, only beginning to scrape off the layer of falsities that Jack tried to shroud himself in. His mind immediately fell on Pitch and anger rose up inside him, thinking of the malicious spirit that could have done this to Jack before realising that Pitch hadn't had the chance to touch Jack at their confrontation, which left one last culprit. "Was it that spirit who attacked you? Did he do this to ya?"
There was an almost imperceptibly nod from the boy in reply and Bunny seethed at how anyone would ever harm Jack like this.
"Will ya let us look after ya now? Have a look at all those injuries?" Bunny asked, trying to keep his voice calm so Jack wouldn't back out when they were so close to being able to help- if Jack had really been exposed to violence then getting angry would not help him open up in any way. There was another weak nod. "And will ya tell us what happened then?" Another nod. Bunny almost smiled at the cooperation. Almost.
He went to grab Jack's shoulders before remembering the way he had shrunk away from Tooth's touch the night before when she had reached to do the same and the reluctant admission of a bruised shoulder and withdrew his hand once more. Instead, he placed a gentle paw on his back and carefully guided the young boy out of the room and down the maze of hallways to the infirmary. From the heavy stomp of footsteps and buzz from rapid wings, he took it that the other Guardians were following him. He didn't turn to look at them, too focused on the compliant Jack who was yet to look up from his frozen hand, but he could already picture the mix of shock and concern on their faces.
He led Jack into a large room that was a sterile white, so clean that it would hurt your eyes to look at it for too long. Single white beds lined the wall, three on each side, barren of any patients, unappealing to the free winter spirit if he had been able to register any of it. As it so happened, Jack's paralysed mind was only able to focus on one thing: his frozen hand, mind half processing what he was seeing, half trapped in a distressing past he did not want to see. So when Bunny led him over to the nearest bed, he dazedly obliged to jump up and scoot back so his back was resting against the soft pillows without moving his gaze away or registering what he was doing.
The Guardians gathered around the bed, studying their youngest member with frowns of concern at his unresponsiveness other than the occasional nod. They had never seen Jack like this before. Usually he was carefree and the first to make a joke or find the perfect way to break the tension, to bring a bit of light-heartedness to a serious situation, but now it seemed that Jack was finally beginning to crumble, breaking away his outer shell like the cracked ice of a glacier and his true damaged spirit of three hundred years of solitude was finally coming through. None of them liked seeing this side of him. They wanted more than anything to get their Jack back, that none of this had happened so they never would have seen this Jack. The only problem with that was that then they may never have witnessed the true Jack, the one that lay hidden under all the false smiles and joking laughter, the one that had seen too much for a child and been abused for too long by spirits that wanted nothing to do with him. Of course the Guardians never knew this, never thought to ask, too content to remain oblivious to the hardships or the dark parts of Jack's life so that they never would have to deal with it and could continue to live in blissful ignorance. They never even considered the consequences.
Jack was still hiding, still pretending, not trusting those who called themselves his friends, coping with his own hurts and damage as he must have for so long. Even after being commissioned a Guardian, he still was alone, and they had allowed that, turned blind eyes to his suffering and their part in it. Never once had they considered looking up the spirit themselves, to see if the vicious rumours of the wayward troublemaker were really true. They had buried themselves in their work and now here was Jack, the outcome of so many mistakes.
"Jack," Bunny tried again when it became apparent that no one else appeared to have the capability of speaking through shock. "Tell us what's happening mate?" His voice was light and quiet as though speaking to a small child (which technically he still is, Bunny considered morosely for the first time and gnawing guilt arose at the thought that only at Easter had they bullied and blackmailed a child into fighting their battles).
Jack didn't acknowledge his voice; only remained in the same position, knees drawn up, left arm still held out and cerulean eyes fixed on it. Bunny huffed in annoyance, patience beginning to wear thin and empathy only taking him so far.
"Jack," he said more forcefully, snapping his paw in front of the winter spirit's face to grab his attention. The loud click cracked like thunder in the silence of the room, causing everyone to jump and Jack to flinch and finally tear his gaze away from the frozen hand, drawing further back and hunching more over his knees. After a few moments of tense expectant silence, Jack looked up at Bunny timidly.
He was ashamed. Never had he ever let anyone see this side of him, seen him weak and damaged but the shock of the sight of the clear ice spreading over his hand had taken more of his senses and mind away, bombarding him with painful memories that left him paralysed with terror. No one was meant to see him that way.
"Jack? Did ya hear me?" Bunny's voice broke him from his thought as he realised his eyes must have grown misty once more.
"Are ya gonna tell us what's happenin' to ya?" Bunny repeated, more of his accent creeping in now that Jack was finally showing positive signs of recovering from his initial reaction. Then of course, the boy's eyes only widened in alarm and he could already see the mental barriers going up, closing them off and refusing access to what was going on in the spirit's mind.
"Jack, ya said you would tell us," Bunny growled more forcefully, desperate to prevent Jack completely setting up defences when he had been so compliant moments before. They needed to know what was going on. If not, then how could they find a way to help him?
Jack hunched further into the pillows, head lowering so that his snow white hair hid his eyes from view. "I'm fine," he mumbled to his knees.
"You are not bloody fine," Bunny snapped that only resulted in a flinch from the now timid boy and made him lower his voice once more. "Just tell us what's going on. How else are w' supposed to help ya?"
"You can't!" Jack shouted, glaring up defiantly at the Easter Bunny which was spoilt from its true effect by the sparkle of tears swimming in those vulnerable eyes that made Bunny's heart clench.
"What d'ya mean we can't?" Bunny asked carefully.
"I mean you can't," Jack sighed, releasing the pent up emotion and stress so he could hide it away once more.
"Jack you can't mean that," Tooth cut in, latching onto some hope that Jack may be wrong, that the hard acceptance and pain in his voice wasn't really there, that it was only their imagination that he was giving up so quickly, that this wasn't really their Jack speaking. "There has to be some way. There always is. Just at least tell us what it is that is happening. At least do that for us, Sweet tooth?"
Jack scrunched his eyes closed in reluctance. He owed them an explanation, at least that. They worried about him and he could see that clearly on all their faces but telling them would only make it worse and he didn't think he was ready for them to know, not all of it anyway. Permitting to at least tell them the main part of what was happening to him right now; Jack forced his eyes back open.
"I'm icing over," Jack said again, voice heavy as though burdened with something that was beyond the knowledge of the surrounding Guardians.
"Yeah, we got that part," Bunny interrupted shortly, "But what exactly does that mean?"
"Well, it means this," Jack said irritably, waving the ice coated hand around in the air for them all to see clearly then sighed, his shoulders slumping as though all the energy had been drained from him, none left keep the stubbornness in his answers and he continued to explain dejectedly. "It's powerful magic, magic borne from pure ice." He ran a hand through his messy white hair agitatedly as though this was something that he shouldn't be saying. "The magic infiltrates you, more accurately, it enters your heart. It's transported through the rest of your body as the blood carries the fragments of the spell with it, spreading it to each cell and efficiently infecting you with ice. Literally, my own body is working against me here," he uttered with a dark laugh as though his apparent oncoming death was just the punch line to some bad joke. At this all the Guardians exchanged looks of terror as the distressed winter spirit continued.
"Soon this ice is going to take over," he looked back to his ice-coated hand and the other Guardians found their own gazes drawn to it as well, glinting so much more cruelly in the fluorescent light of the infirmary now that they knew the truth. "I can't control it and soon it will make its way up my arm and across the rest of my body, slowly encasing me in ice until it covers my head, and my eyes and my nose and my mouth and after that…I don't know…" he broke off, mournful eyes growing misty for a moment before he seemed to wrench himself back to them forcefully, "but I'll be covered and even if there was some way that I can breathe through the ice, it can't be broken or melted, I will be dead, or might as well be." Though his breathing had become erratic, his voice was filled with a strange accepting finality and the Guardians could only stare at him blankly, uncomprehending until the words finally sank in.
"Well…th-there's got to be some way to reverse all this?" Bunny stuttered at the winter spirit's admission. He was the Guardian of Hope, it was impossible for there to be none; it always existed, even in the smallest spark, which was all that was needed to make anything possible, to light the fuse of the improbable and illuminate the oncoming darkness. Bunny knew that and stood for its every meaning. So the fact that here was a child- indeed an immortal child but with Jack stuck eternally in this form, he was always a child- that they were supposed to protect and care for who had lost all hope, it was only another failure Bunny could toll up this day. "If you say its ice, you're a winter spirit, right? Can't you do anything?"
"Technically I already am," Jack admitted, playing with a lose thread on the cuff of his hoodie, "This should have happened ages ago and right now I should probably be in the final stages. My magic is slowing it down as much as it can, like antibodies reacting to the infection but it can't hold it off forever. It still shouldn't have had this much of an effect…" his voice trailed off and Bunny came to the idea that he was more talking out loud to himself than to them.
"Jamie!" Jack suddenly breathed in understanding, eyes wide and holding some of the light that they had previously been lacking and something akin to awed gratitude and disbelief flickered across his young face before he seemed to realise the Guardians all staring at him, breaking off his deductions and withdrawing once more. None of his words had made any sense to Bunny, he was curious as to what Jamie had to do with it but pressed on with the more important question.
"That still doesn't answer how we stop it," Bunny pointed out, "There has to be a way."
Jack laughed bitterly, a sound which took the Guardians by surprise at the coldness and lack of emotion behind it. "There can't be," he muttered so low that they almost missed. Bunny stiffened. It was almost as though Jack didn't want there to be any hope.
"What d'ya mean mate?" He asked cautiously, "How can't there be a way?"
Jack didn't answer but the hunch of his shoulders told them that they were never meant to have heard that. Bunny went for a change of tact.
"Who was it Jack? Who did this to ya?" If anyone was to know how to reverse this, it was the spirit who caused it. Jack didn't reply but shrugged his shoulders half-heartedly.
"Come on, Jack. You have to have some idea. Obviously you saw him and attackers tend to leave an impression. Just tell us who it was, just a name."
"I don't know which one it was," Jack snapped, shooting the overbearing Pooka a furious glare. There was still a lot that Jack was yet to tell them and now was not how he had imagined enlightening them.
Bunny frowned for a moment then raised an eyebrow, "What do ya mean 'which one'?"
Jack's eyes widened in sudden shock, realising the mistake in his words, before his attention flicked back to his knees.
"Jack?" Bunny warned slowly but with a clearly troubled edge to his harsh voice. Jack refused to look up, avoiding making eye contact, all of a sudden becoming very interested in the white bed sheet.
"Jack," Bunny almost didn't want to know the answer, "Jack, how many times has stuff like this happened? Do ya…do ya get attacked often?" The winter spirit only hunched more into himself but that was answer enough. There was a sharp intake of breath from behind him and Bunny shot a look at the other assembled Guardian that clearly asked if they had any idea about this. Evidently they didn't.
"Who are they?" North suddenly boomed wrathfully, outraged that anyone would ever dare to harm their young Guardian, let alone a whole group of them to the extent that Jack could not even remember all of his attackers. There was an obvious flinch from the teen at the sudden loud and dangerous voice. Bunny sent the large man a warning glare to keep quiet as his usual bellowing voice was not doing anything to reassure the boy in his current sensitive exposed state.
"Jack, please…just give us something," Tooth spoke up, hoping her more gentle voice out of the group may have an effect of the winter spirit. "We only want to help…even if you say we can't…just-just let us try…please."
There was a beat of silence in which the Guardians waited in anticipation before Jack heaved a sigh, shoulders slumping as he gave in once more to their persistent questioning.
"Winter spirit," Jack muttered reluctantly with his eyes firmly closed so that he wouldn't have to look at any of them. No one spoke for one long moment.
"A winter spirit?!" Bunny exclaimed that elicited another flinch from the boy who still had his eyes clenched closed, almost as though he expected a blow for his accusation, for snitching on his tormentors, "What d'ya mean a winter spirit? How could it be one of ya own?" Jack didn't answer, though his brow was creased as though holding in some outburst or reaction to his words. Bunny continued his rant. "Surely there's some sorta rule against it? You're supposed to work together aren't ya? Don't you all fall under the head seasonal? We should go talk to The Spirit of Winter, they should be able to sort this out and protect ya."
This finally got a response from the winter spirit, whose head shot up, fixing him with a hard glare and spoke in a dangerous voice, "I am The Spirit of Winter."
"Bu-bu-You're…how- no, you're a winter spirit," Bunny gaped. Sure, he hadn't been as informed about the seasonal spirits in a while but no doubt he should have known if there had been some massive event such as the changing of a head seasonal. How could he not know? He used to make sure that he was still kept up to date with the spring seasonal at least as he half crossed their field in his deliverance of Easter. Maybe it had been longer than he realised.
"No," Jack said calmly as though forcing himself not to be angry at their ignorance, resigned to accept their lack of knowledge in any field that involved him. "I am the head seasonal."
"But you're-"
"The youngest- yes," Jack supplied for him, a bitter tone creeping into his voice, "Why do you think they all hate me so much," he was muttering to his knees now, too ashamed to see the expression on the Guardian's faces. "I'm too young, inexperienced, can't take anything seriously if my life depended on it," he listed of each point as though well memorised from years of repetition with a horrible certainty that had been drilled into him to make him believe every word, "And I somehow end up with this great respectful job that I never wanted, nor asked for- hell, I didn't even know anything about it until the first spirits cornered me about it- when there were all these other spirits who at least had an idea what was going on. How could they ever accept me? I was just some immature kid that was chosen by the moon, no ties to seasons to begin with. I didn't deserve the title but I had no choice."
"Oh, you don't mean that, Jack," Tooth almost begged, "You don't believe any of that stuff, do you? You're one of the most deserving spirits we have ever met. It was our own faults that it took us so long to see that."
Jack continued to stare mournfully at his knees, hands twisting at the bed sheets, reaching for a comfort that was normally brought by his staff that was currently standing back in the Globe room.
"We really don't know anything about ya, do we, kid?" Bunny concluded softly. Jack didn't reply.
"Jack, just tell us who is responsible for this?" North urged, managing not make the room shudder from his usual booming voice.
The next words were so quiet that only Bunny's sensitive hearing picked it out as his ears twitched at the voice below even a whisper. "I am." He didn't like the ominous aura of those two words and more out of trepidation to know what it meant, Bunny decided that he had learnt enough about their young Guardian today and didn't think he wanted to unlock the torment of the weight of blame and acceptance that lay in those two words just yet.
"Okay, I think that's enough questioning for now," Bunny cut through the tense atmosphere, "But don't think that this is over," he warned Jack.
"It never is with you guys," Jack murmured.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Bunny asked, a hint of teasing in his voice with the hope that Jack would latch onto it and return to his usual joking self. To his disappointment, Jack remained as withdrawn as he had been before, apparently meaning every word he said.
Bunny sighed. "Let's have a look a' the rest of these injuries then."
Jack turned a frown at him, "What?" he asked blankly.
"Ya said you would let us see them," Bunny told him plainly.
"No, I didn't," Jack argued defensively, "When did I say anything like that? Besides I'm fine, like I keep telling you if you'd bother to listen."
"We do listen, mate," he replied as calmly as his rising anger would allow him. Jack was beginning to regain control of his usual stronger outer appearance which also meant that he wasn't going to agree to anything easily, at least anything that involved his personal health by the looks of it. Bunny was angrier at the way the boy seemed unable to accept when he needed help and would rather suffer in silence than admit to the rest of them- his friends- that he may not be completely okay. "And yes you did say we could check out those injuries just before we came to the infirmary."
"Just before we came here?" Jack questioned sceptically then scoffed, "Well of course I would have agreed then. I wasn't exactly coherent so anything I agreed to then can't really count."
"Well tough," Bunny growled, reaching out to grab Jack's head so he could get a closer look at the bruises and scratch without touching any of them. Nevertheless Jack hissed in pain when a firm paw grabbed the back of his head. "I hardly touched yer," he rolled his eyes at the teen.
"Not that," Jack breathed, clenching his eyes closed once more but this time to combat the pain, "Think I found another injury to tell you about," he sucked in a few more pained breaths, "Must've bashed the back of my head at some point."
Bunny's paw immediately flew away from his hold on Jack's head as though burned and he apologised profusely. "Ah, Jack, I'm so sorry. Ah didn't know."
"S'okay, s'okay," Jack muttered through clenched teeth, still battling the pain that had engulfed him and was now pulsing a steady thread through his head. "Not your fault."
More carefully this time, Bunny held Jack's head, not finding much room where he wouldn't disturb any of the multiple bruises. He brushed some of the starlight white hair away to reveal a small bump at the back of his skull. He grimaced at it, releasing his hold.
"No wonder you've been so tired lately," he commented casually with a nod at the bump he had just seen, "Yer could have concussion. Good job Sandy didn't give yer any dream sand otherwise ya may have slept too deeply. Been… nearly two days now?" At Jack's nod he relaxed, "Good then it shouldn't be too dangerous now. Ya should get some rest but first wha' about those ribs?"
"None broken," Jack reported, wrapping an arm around his abdomen and fixed his sight on Bunny so that he didn't have to watch the concern of the others. It was easier this way. If he just focused on one then it didn't seem as hard. "Just bruised I think…"
"We'll get the yetis ta take a look. No complainin'" He warned when Jack opened his mouth to protest, "Ah've let ya get away with a lot of it but if it makes ya feel any better ya don't have to get examined with us here."
"What?" Jack asked though he relaxed in relief at not having to appear any weaker in front of the Guardians, "Where are you going?"
"Ta get some answers," Bunny replied stiffly, turning to leave.
He paused at the door and looked back at him, his harsh demeanour softening into a look of utmost affection and faint –almost brotherly- fondness, "Take care Jack." He left before Jack could say anything else.
The rest of the Guardians began to file out of the room, offering him reassuring words and supporting glances. Jack was about to leap out of bed, not liking the idea of how they planned 'to get some answers' but Sandy lay a small golden hand on his shoulder with a stern glare and Jack sank back into the pillows, resigned to his fate.
"But North," he called worryingly after the large man who was last to leave, "What about Christmas? It's less than a month away. You can't just abandon preparations to chase after trivial little problems, especially since we have Pitch to deal with."
The Russian fixed pale blue eyes on him empathetically, holding a strange ounce of pity and fondness that made Jack shuffle uncomfortably, "Nothing is trivial matter where you are concerned, Jack. We will all do whatever it takes for family and I believe we have much work to do to make up to you. Christmas can wait, Jack. You come first."
The door closed with finality on a stunned and disbelieving Jack Frost whose eyes appeared suspiciously wet, and it shattered the already broken hearts of the Guardians after finally seeing beneath the cracked mask of their youngest member and it set them more resolute in what they were to do next. They would save Jack and then they would make sure he understood that he was loved and accepted and they were never going to leave him again. If only it were that easy.
"What are we doing?" Tooth asked determinedly, a hard fury in her lilac eyes.
"We," Bunny spoke steadily, "are going ta confront every winter spirit out there 'til we find the culprit who did this ta Jack…and we'll make him tell us tha' cure ta this."
The rest all agreed resolutely and this time, Tooth didn't say anything against his aggressive tactics.
I'm back! I am so sorry for the wait and the bad chapter that I return with but I've been kept so busy I barely have time to sit and write. There's also a short one-shot that I distracted myself with and hope to have out soon but again apologies for disappearing for a couple of months.
Anyway, that was chapter 8, more of an explanation chapter than anything else. I'm having worries that a lot of action has been taken out of this story and its not as exciting as the first few chapters so if there are any more delays its because I've probably tried to rewrite most of the pre-written chapters I already have. But please let me know what you think so far and if its okay. Also, May has developed a larger part than initially planned so I hope that people like her and next chapter will bring her more into the picture and hopefully give her more likes. I also know I may be a bit harsh on the Guardians in some points in this chapter and there's no promises that it won't return with a vengeance through the rest of this.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed and the PM's. It really makes my day when I hear them so thank you! It also got me back to this story and more encouraged to continue it. Please review and hope this was okay.
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