Posting this one today too because the last one was so short! Enjoy it!

Read, relax, review!

~o0o~

11.

Jack was furious.

He wanted to strangle Pitch and kill him.

But that wasn't the reason Jack was angry. Not even close.

Jack had killed Hiccup and Rapunzel.

Or, almost had. It was his fault the dam exploded, his fault Hiccup and Rapunzel had gotten trapped inside the cave, his fault they almost hadn't made it out.

It didn't matter that Pitch had provoked him into shooting the triggering blast. It didn't matter.

It was still Jack's fault. He was furious with himself.

So naturally, he looked for someone else to blame.

He blamed North. He blamed the Guardians.

He'd never asked to be a Guardian. He'd never wanted it. He'd spent his whole life away from this part of his family and this part of his life to avoid getting involved altogether and still here he was, clearly not cut out for the job, clearly a bad choice.

You failed, was all that Jack could think. The phrase repeated itself over and over again in his head, without cease. It fueled his anger, fueled his remorse.

By now word had gotten out to the rulers of the Four Kingdoms about the battle the Guardians had fought at the quarry, how they had failed to capture or subdue Pitch, and how two of the Guardians had almost not made it out alive.

Unable to cope, Jack flew. He liked flying. He felt free from pressure and burdens when he soared through the air. It was just him and the sound of the wind.

Flying helped to lessen his emotions. Soon he just felt dull: no happiness, but no pain either. Just... nothing.

It was dark now, night had fallen. His first day as a Guardian had come to an end... for better or for worse.

He flew in the starlit darkness, wondering what would happen if he didn't return to Corinthia and instead went home... his real home.

But his mother would worry. His mother would ask questions Jack wouldn't want to give answers to. Emma would see he was afraid to go back to the Guardian Palace. He couldn't let Emma think he was afraid... No, he couldn't go home.

But how could he return to Corinthia? How could he face Hiccup and Rapunzel after what he'd done? Would they blame him? But didn't he deserve it?

The bitter thought made him angry all over again. That's their problem then, he told himself, they picked me for all of this. Whatever happens is their own fault for choosing someone like me...

Lights up ahead. Was it Corinthia? Jack wasn't used to flying, and in the darkness he couldn't be exactly sure where he was. As he approached the building however, he recognized the old towers and columns of Council. Hearing voices from the throne room due to the giant open-windows, Jack's curiosity got the better of him. He circled downwards and perched on the top ledge of one of the windows, causing frost to spread across the stones lazily, before he turned upside-down, his hood over his head, and peeked into the room.

The rulers of the Four Kingdoms were gathered at their large table in the room, a small contained fire blazing in the table's center to provide warmth and light. His fellow Guardians were nowhere in sight- this meeting was clearly not meant for their ears. For a moment Jack felt a surge of smugness for eavesdropping before he heard what they were talking about. Or rather, who they were talking about.

"-reckless and irresponsible, just like I said!" came the easily recognizable voice of Bunnymund.

Jack jumped down and landed softly in the shadows on the edge of the windowsill so he could better observe the meeting.

"And just what do you propose to do about it Aster?" Merida's mother cut in, her voice commanding control and respect. "Ye cannot change what has already been done. He is young. He has had a difficult few days. He does not fully understand what he is capable of-"

"That is exactly my point," Bunnymund interrupted Eleanor, waving her off as if she couldn't possibly understand. "We all agreed the candidates for the Guardianship would be people who were experienced, who would make the transition into their new role with ease, who understood and wanted the responsibility, not someone who-"

Jack had heard enough. Feeling bitterness and resentment wash over him in fresh waves, he flew off, away from Council, unsure where he was going, just going far, far, away.

...

A few hours later, Jack finally returned to Corinthia. He stormed into the palace, heading for the common room, where he knew the other Guardians were gathered, even though it was incredibly late at night. It was the only room in the building with lights on, after all.

"I quit." He said, pushing the doors open with a bang to the warm and comfortable room. "I-"

He stopped. North was standing by the fireplace, apparently in the middle of a conversation with Hiccup before Jack had arrived. The girls were on the couches, looking up startled at the sudden commotion. Jack swallowed, refusing to meet Rapunzel's eyes. "I... I'm done," he said again, suddenly unsure what to do. He'd been so angry a minute before... now he just felt confused and afraid.

North studied him, crossing his arms in his place by the fireplace mantel. Rapunzel stood up and walked over to him. "Oh Jack," she said, her eyes soft. "Where did you go?" she said, reaching out to take his hands. "We were so worried-"

"I said I'm done," Jack interrupted, shaking away her touch. Rapunzel bit her lip.

"You can't quit," Hiccup said from across the room beside North.

Jack started to protest but the other boy stopped him. "No, I'm not just saying that as a confidence booster to make you stay. The Guardian Oath is binding."

"But Pitch-" Jack retorted.

"Pitch made a serious infraction to the Oath, and the rest of us made a unanimous vote to replace him," Hiccup explained.

Jack rolled his eyes, tired of Hiccup's rules and oaths and formalities. "Ok, fine. Let me just run out really fast to make a 'serious infraction' and I'll be back in a jiffy. Meanwhile you all can cast your unanimous vote-"

"Jack, this is not a joke," North's voice boomed as he cut him off as Hiccup threw his hands up to his head in frustration.

The younger boy glared up at the man. "Yeah, like you nominating me for the Guardianship wasn't one either!"

North sighed tiredly. "You are better than this, Jack."

"Better than what Uncle?" Jack demanded, stepping past Rapunzel's outstretched hand and walking toward the man. "Hiccup and Rapunzel almost died today," he yelled, his voice cracking on the word, "and it is entirely my fault! Who's to say something like that won't happen again? What's so wrong about me wanting to quit to prevent that?"

"No one said being a Guardian was easy-" North tried to reason.

"Yeah, no one ever said that I was the best man for the job, either!" Jack countered. "No one has ever said I was 'responsible', that I was 'not reckless', or 'a leader', or a..." he stopped, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "They say just the opposite! And they're right! I didn't want this!" He near-screamed. "I'm not good enough, ok? I said from the beginning it was a bad idea-"

Rapunzel ran to his side and enveloped him in her arms. She held him close and tight, trying to calm him down. "Jack, none of that is true," she comforted, "You're absolutely the right person, of course you are good enough. You are more than what you seem, you are special-"

But Jack pushed her away again.

"How?" he demanded, looking at her now. She just looked at him.

Jack gazed around the room at Rapunzel, Merida, Hiccup, and North.

"You put me here," he said to all of them, desperate now for a clear answer. "The least you can do is tell me... tell me why."

But none of them seemed to have any specific reason to give.

Jack ran from the room, racing through the hallways, half walking, half flying, never wanting to be alone more in his entire life.

...

They tried to find him. Jack had heard Rapunzel's light footsteps follow him when he raced out of the common room. But he had run, and eventually managed to loose her. Jack could hear them later, calling his name as they searched the grounds of Corinthia.

No one found him.

He'd discovered a small courtyard towards the back of the palace, fenced in by stone walls but filled with the most beautiful flowers and plants imaginable. A maze of white cobblestone walkways meandered through the courtyard, as well as small white stone benches that were scattered throughout.

It was easy to hide in the shadows of the plants, comforted by their moonlit-colors and scents, and the soft breeze that flew amongst the garden. Jack had no energy left to fly, and was content for the time being to sit and just be.

Twice someone had entered the courtyard garden, looking for him. First Merida, and later Rapunzel. Both times they had left, and he could hear them call out to the others from the hallways that he wasn't there.

Jack was surprised he'd managed to stay hidden, to be honest. He'd always choose the worst hiding spots as a child in hide-and-seek, but perhaps that was because he'd always found it more fun to do the seeking rather than the hiding. Rapunzel had looked harder than Merida had, as if she knew all the nooks and crannies of the garden better than anyone, and she had come up right beside him in her search. Jack had held his breath, and her eyes had passed right over him, like he wasn't there.

For once, Jack thanked the darkness and shadows for keeping him out of sight.

"Where are you Jack?" came Hiccup's voice in his head, and Jack jumped, startled, still not used to the form of contact. "Sorry if I scared you," he added knowingly, and Jack shook his head, trying to get the feeling out. Hiccup's voice sounded concerned, but also half-hearted, as if he knew Jack didn't want to be found.

Footsteps.

Jack cautiously turned his head to gaze down at the other end of the courtyard, where the archway to the palace corridors where. He saw Hiccup leaning in the doorway to the courtyard, a pensive look on his face.

"I know you're in here Jack," came his voice, soft and whispered. He walked further into the garden, shivering slightly at the chill. He took a seat on one of the benches towards the center, leaning forwards and clasping his hands between his knees. "Wanna know how I know?" he asked into open air. "Other than the fact my mind-power is telling me you are, of course," he added dryly. "It's very cold."

Hiccup's mouth turned into a small grin. "I know what you're thinking, you sarcastic idiot, I'm outside at night, of course it's cold."

Jack half-smiled at the boy's jest. I'm not an idiot, he said to himself.

"Oh yes you are," Hiccup argued, as if he knew what he'd been thinking. "You're an idiot to believe any word that comes out of that rabbit's mouth. Bunnymund is a fool when it comes to his pride. You're also an idiot to take Pitch's words to heart on top of that. Basic battle strategy 101. Lessen the confidence of your opponent. Make them vulnerable."

Hiccup paused for a long time. So long, Jack thought he'd left. He carefully turned again to see if the boy was still sitting on the bench. In doing so however, Jack brushed up against a particularly leafy plant, making a rustling sound. Hiccup's head turned to the direction of the sound, a small grin on his face. He stood up.

"The point is, Jack" he continued as he walked nearer to Jack's hiding place, "you are different. You are not anything like what those two men say about you. You are so much more. See, I have this theory," he said, stopping a few feet away, fiddling with one of the straps on his suit. "Each of us, the Guardians, have something... different about us. We aren't what we are expected to be. I was never the perfect Berk Viking. I went against tradition after tradition, because I always saw things differently. The dragons especially. Did you know that before I 'trained' them, they were the enemies of Berk people? Everyone wanted to prove themselves by killing the biggest and the best... but... I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill a dragon. So I befriended one. I was different.

"Take Merida. Stubbon redheaded Scottish woman. Full of spirit and energy. Can't be told 'no' by anyone. Preferred riding and shooting things with arrows to the calm princess activities of needlepoint and etiquette lessons. Her mother tried to... for lack of a better word... 'domesticate' her into a proper princess... and you can imagine how that went. She kept insisting on 'choosing her own fate' or something like that.

"And Rapunzel... she had a sheltered childhood. Raised mostly by her aunt who claimed her at her birth because she believed her parents didn't have time to raise a second child and run the kingdom. But Rapunzel always wanted more from life than what her aunt told her and gave her. She actually ran away with her brother once... then her aunt disappeared... Rapunzel came home afterwards different. She refused to be contained any longer 'for her own good', and wanted to see everything for herself and live her life.

"I guess that's what connects us. We don't like to be told no. Everyone expects us to do certain things, believe certain things, live certain lives. And in a way, we do, because we have to as Guardians. But how you choose to act, to carry out that role you've been assigned... we all do it differently than how they want us to. Jack, I know you grew up away from... this life. And I understand why. But I think that's why you were chosen."

Hiccup looked up and walked over to Jack's hiding spot. "You were chosen because you were different from everyone else, because you defied all expectations of you so that you could just be yourself. That's what being a Guardian is all about. Liking to play games and goof off doesn't make you irresponsible. You saved your sister's life and kept her from being afraid. Being laid back doesn't mean you aren't leader, either. North's told me how the other Burgess children would follow you to the ends of the earth. And as for being reckless..." here Hiccup paused. "Toothless could have just as easily set off those rock pillars as your ice did. Any one of us could have. You aren't reckless, you're just-"

Hiccup had reached where Jack sat hiding in the shadows, but his face now looked confused. "Jack?" he asked, calling softly into the darkness. "I don't understand," he muttered to himself, eyes still searching. Then, "Please don't tell me I just said that whole dramatic monologue to nobody," he complained, apparently annoyed with himself. "Great," he said, standing up. "There isn't even anyone here," he said, pressing a hand to his head like he had a headache. "I thought for sure I sensed him here, I can't believe it..."

Jack, who had not idea how to react to Hiccup's impromptu speech, now felt nothing but confusion. He was sitting right there! Hiccup had to have been blind not to notice him!

Jack jumped up from his hiding spot and stepped cautiously into the moonlit walkway, rustling the leaves again.

The brunette boy's ears focused in on the sound, but his eyes couldn't seem to locate Jack.

I'm right in front of you! Jack thought to himself, amazed. He quietly stepped so that he stood directly in front of Hiccup and waved his hands in the other boy's face. Hiccup didn't react.

"Jack?" he asked into the night, looking around the courtyard. "Are you here or have I finally lost my mind?"

Now Jack was trying hard not to laugh. It was like he was invisible. Completely invisible. It was kinda fun.

Or could be fun... if he wasn't feeling so put out. But Hiccup's 'dramatic monologue' had certainly made him feel better. He couldn't put into words the feeling he had towards the boy now, he felt so close to him... as if they'd been friends for a very, very, very long time.

"I'm right here, Hic," Jack said into the darkness. Hiccup's eyes looked right at Jack... but they still weren't truly looking at him. Jack reached out, grabbed Hiccup's hand, and put it on his shoulder.

"H-how are you doing that?" Hiccup asked, both amazed and a little freaked out, pulling his hand away quickly. "I can touch you, and hear you, but I can't see you."

Jack laughed. "I dunno... I guess we just discovered another one of my powers?" Now he understood why Rapunzel hadn't found him earlier. He paused then added quietly. "It's kinda fitting, now that I think about it. I've been invisible my whole life."

"Invisibility," Hiccup mused to himself. "That's interesting... might come in handy later..." Then he shrugged. "Like I said though. You were different then, and you're different now. You have to do things your way if you want to succeed. And if being invisible gets the job done..."

Jack ran a hand through his hair, then laughed because he knew anything he did the other boy wouldn't be able to see.

"What's so funny?" Hiccup asked, curious.

"Nothing," Jack shrugged, and then remembered Hiccup couldn't see the shrug. He laughed again. This would take getting used too. "The thing is Hiccup..." he started, more serious, "I don't want to be invisible anymore... at least, not in the way I was. Being a Guardian... I want to do something useful and important with my life. I want to be seen. I just..."

"Don't want to screw it up. You don't want to hurt anyone," Hiccup finished, sensing how Jack was feeling.

Jack nodded.

"I'm assuming you're nodding, because you didn't respond?" Hiccup asked with a smirk.

"Oh, right," Jack laughed.

"Alright, so be seen. Make a difference," Hiccup urged. "Stop being invisible. I also mean that literally, because not being able to see you is getting a little annoying..."

Jack grinned. "Right... and... how do I do that? Turn off the invisibility power, I mean."

Hiccup face palmed. "It's your own power, Jack!"

Jack's grin widened. Ok, he thought. He closed his eyes and willed himself to be visible.

He opened his eyes. He felt no different. But Hiccup was looking at him, really looking at him.

"There you go," the brunette boy said, throwing his arm around Jack's shoulder and patting him on the back. Hiccup began to lead them down the cobblestone walkway out of the courtyard. "Let's get some sleep now, ok? You've completely worn me out."

Jack smiled. "Thanks Hiccup," he said, "For what you said before."

"For when I called you an idiot?" Hiccup asked with a smirk equal to Jack's. "No problem."

Jack rolled his eyes, pointed his staff, and caused Hiccup, thanks in partial to his metal leg, to slip on a patch of ice and tumble to the ground with a surprised yelp. Jack innocently threw his staff over his shoulder and shoved his free hand in his pocket as he walked away. "Yup!" he said, "For that too!" he said smugly, whistling as he walked away. Hiccup rolled his eyes with a laugh and pushed himself up to his feet.

Yay bromance... love their heart to heart lol.. let me know what you guys think!

Also- I told you guys to to assume anything... what do you think of Jack's new power? I have a few more tricks up my sleeve...

Iceprincess