Ayyyeee guys!
Back from a longgggg but AMAZING trip... I must say however I am somehow more tired now than I was before I left... sightseeing will do that to a person I suppose... Can't wait to head to the beach this weekend and soak up some warm summer sun! (Sorry Jack, can't love the cold all the time :/ )
So ANOTHER SUPER LONG chapter! This one I probably could have split but... why not just throw it all together, ya know?! More for you all!
See you all again really soon!
Read, Relax, Review!
~o0o~
20.
Jack stared at the school from above, watching as sheets of ice exploded from his staff and rained down on the burning flames below, watching as the ice quickly melted into water that would quench the blaze. Jack covered his mouth as he flew around the building, trying not to breathe in the smoke and finding it incredibly difficult.
Pitch had gone too far, in Jack's opinion. The white-haired Guardian had heard about how sometimes in the dead of night Pitch's entourage of Nightmare horses would rampage towns and villages, breaking into homes and stores and sometimes setting buildings on fire. Anything to disturb the peace, to send people into fits of terror and disarray, to magnify their fear and turn them against each other.
But this had been in broad daylight, and in a school. Full of children. Ordinary, innocent, children. The whole building had been ablaze, and the Nightmares had fled the moment Jack and Rapunzel had arrived. Rapunzel had immediately run to where people were evacuating to see how she could help. Even from a distance Jack could tell many were injured.
Jack had stood rooted in place for a few moments, unsure what to do, before realizing he could put the fire out.
"There's gonna be a lot more smoke," he muttered to himself.
He took a running start and threw himself into the air, carrying with him a harsh blowing wind. Jack spun as he flew up- higher and higher into the air, his heart pounding with adrenaline. Faster than what seemed humanly possible, he changed directions and dove back down towards the streets, landing on bent knee and slamming the tail end of his staff into the pavement.
A satisfying boom echoed throughout the town. Jack looked up to see ice and frost rapidly moving away from him in all directions, covering every surface. The ice melted instantly upon contact with the fiery building, but the water residue began to put out the flames. More smoke engulfed the air as the fire died. Jack scowled however, when some of the water failed to quench the flames, and instead instantly evaporated from the heat.
The people already outside the building stood frozen in awe, staring at him in wonder. Then as one the kids cheered. Jack tore his eyes away from them, smiling a little to himself, and quickly surveyed the school.
"We're gonna need a lot more ice!" he said, and with a yell, launched himself back into the sky. This time he sped over the flaming roof, using the force of the wind to help blow out and contain the building fire. He shot sheets of ice from his staff, coating the entire building with melted water. As he circled from the air, he heard the distinct sound of applause from the streets below- the children, and even some adults, cheering him on.
This was the first time the people of Warren had truly seen Jack as a Guardian. The Burgess people had seen him, of course, the day the big announcement was made and his new role was publicized, but all they had seen was a young boy waving a timid arm to the crowds. Now they witnessed him for what he was and meant to be- a protector of the people.
And this gave them hope.
Jack could hear the wail of sirens as the police and fire departments at last arrived at the scene, but by then there wasn't much for them to do. He had put out most of the flames, and was busy using his winds to gather and contain the smoke. Jack circled the sky, using the winds to gather up all the smoke as best as he could and blow it out to sea. Finally he flew down from the air and landed clumsily on the streets, completely exhausted, but wearing a goofy smile of pleasure on his face as kids ran towards him in gratitude and excitement.
It took Jack a few rather long minutes to push his way through the crowds of kids and teachers alike, all the while searching for Rapunzel. He finally found her kneeling beside a little boy with messy hair, quivering where he lay on the ground. He managed to break away from the overwhelming mass of people and make his way towards her.
"Hey," Jack spoke softly so as not to startle her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he knelt down beside her, before hastily removing it when he saw it was covered in soot.
He stared at the boy on the ground in horror- he was covered in nasty burns, his eyes shut and softy moaning from the pain.
"What, "Jack swallowed when his voice came our hoarse. "…What happened?"
Rapunzel herself was shaking, and Jack didn't understand why. "He… he went back to find his sister I think… afraid she wouldn't make it out."
Jack nodded in understanding, briefly picturing Emma trapped inside a burning school and himself braving the fire to rescue her.
"She's fine though… he just lost her in the chaos and assumed she was still inside…"
"Are you going to heal him?" Jack asked, growing impatient and fearful for the boy's steadily worsening condition.
Rapunzel looked up at him frantically. To Jack she appeared frightened to death. "My powers!" she hissed.
The white-haired Guardian just stared at her, not understanding.
"What if they… don't work?" she asked him softly, her eyebrows scrunched together in worry.
Jack's heart dropped. "Hey," he said softly, reaching out squeezing her hand, no longer caring about the ash and soot. "We got the crown, right? Pitch can't touch you. You'll be able to heal him, no problem."
She nodded as if to reassure herself, briefly glancing down at the boy.
"No problem…" she repeated, glancing at the boy again. "But what if you're wrong?" he head turned back to his.
Jack looked into her wide green eyes. "You can't be afraid, Punz," he encouraged. "This is what Pitch wants. You have to trust yourself. Believe."
Rapunzel swallowed and squeezed back on his hand. "You're right, of course you're right," she murmured, releasing his hand and turning back to the boy.
Jack stared, a little surprised by her statement, as she began layering her long hair over the boy's injuries. When she finished, Rapunzel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Without moving from her side, Jack glanced up and saw the crowd of people that encircled them. Slightly annoyed by the audience, he shifted and crouched even closer to her for support.
And then she began to sing.
"Flower, gleam and glow.
Let you power shine.
Make the clock reverse…"
Golden light poured through her hair until it shone brighter than the sun. Jack was amazed at the intensity of the fierce glow, noticing how much stronger it was compared to when she had tried to heal Merida. He briefly wondered if this was the hair's normal glow, or if somehow having possession of the crown had strengthened it…
"Save what has been lost,
Bring back what once was mine,
What once was mine."
And then the song ended, and the light faded away. Everyone remained still and silent, waiting. Rapunzel opened her eyes, shot Jack a nervous smile, as if she had knew there had been a difference, and gently removed the hair from around the boy.
Jack knew the kid was healed before Rapunzel even finished, because the boy had sat up and was helping her remove the hair, all while staring at her in awe. As if on cue, the gathered people began to applaud the moment the boy stood up. All these people do is clap, Jack thought to himself. Being a celebrity is... weird.
Jack helped the boy stand up. "What's your name, kid?"
"Jamie," the boy answered, staring at Jack in awe. "Why's your hair white? You don't look old. You're Jack, aren't you? Burgess's new Guardian? You saved the school! Like, with ice! That's so awesome! Do you think I could make magic ice with your staff?" The boy's questions came at a million miles a second, too quick for Jack to comprehend, much less answer. Jack was both surprised and impressed how much energy he filled the words with, as if he hadn't just been lying on the pavement mortally wounded. Suddenly Jamie's eyes grew wide.
"Sophie! Where is she? Have you seen her? My sister?" he asked frantically, looking around for the little girl.
That question Jack could answer. "She's fine, kid. You both are." Jamie's face visibly relaxed.
"Let's go find her," Rapunzel said gently, taking the boy's hand and leading him through the crowd. Jack watched them go with interest, leaning on his staff. Suddenly a dark shape passed above them, as if a dark cloud had abruptly blocked out the sun. Jack tensed and grasped his staff, but a second later recognized Toothless as the large dragon landed beside him with Hiccup and Merida on his back.
"I thought you guys were going to Berk," he asked, noticing how the Burgess people, who were not as used to dragons as those of Berk were, hastily backed away from the Guardians to give the ferocious-looking Toothless as wide a berth as possible.
"We were," Hiccup called in response, dismounting and helping Merida do the same. "But it didn't feel right. Too much of a coincidence." He didn't elaborate, and Jack thought he understood why: it was too risky saying anything specific in front of so many people, even though those that were gathered had begun talking amongst themselves now and probably wouldn't have overheard anyway. The arrival of the other two Guardians combined with both Jack and Rapunzel's heroic acts certainly gave cause for excited conversation and gossip amongst the Burgessians.
"Where's Punzie?" Merida asked as they joined him.
"Helping a kid find his sister," Jack explained. "She used her powers- they're fine. Completely fine. Better even, I think."
"That's good," Hiccup sighed, relieved at the news. He glanced around them warily, as if waiting for Pitch or Nightmares to pop out any moment.
"But what about the Hoffersons?" Jack whispered so only Hiccup could hear.
"Let's worry about that later," Hiccup muttered, tensing up. "I have a really bad feeling…"
Jack felt it too. The sky was darkening for real this time, and the world was slowly turning to shadow.
"This isn't over… They're in danger," Merida said, nodding to the masses of people still gathered.
Hiccup broke away from their little circle and walked over to where the majority of the Burgess people were gathered. They immediately began shouting his name in excitement as he approached, pushing and shoving each other to get closer to him. It was more than just students and teachers now, Jack noticed, but other people as well who had come to see what all the excitement was about.
"Excuse me- can I have everyone's attention please!" Hiccup shouted, and immediately the crowd was silent. Jack's hand flew to his temple in surprise- not only had Hiccup been speaking aloud, but Jack had heard the Guardian's voice echoing inside his head as well. He still wasn't used to the sensation.
"So everyone can hear him," Merida muttered beside Jack, noticing his confusion.
"There is no need for anyone to panic, but after today's events, we are asking that everyone please return to their homes, as quickly as possible. My fellow Guardians and I will need to examine the school and the surrounding area for… further signs of danger, and we would like everyone to please return home for their own safety. Again, if everyone could please…"
"Smooth," Jack noted, crossing his arms and watching Hiccup in amazement as he spoke to people and ushered them away with the help of Rapunzel. Getting people out of danger quickly and efficiently without causing panic and fear- Jack knew he wouldn't have had that much tact had he been alone. He glanced at the sky again, shuddering from how dark it was becoming, and wondered if other people noticed as well. Sure enough, when he glanced at the slowly retreating crowds, he noticed some faces betrayed confusion and others fear. Thankfully though, most simply pouted and sadly turned away from the excitement brought by the Guardians to make their way home.
The sooner they get away, the better, Jack thought with a frown, gripping his staff and eyeing the streets worriedly.
Merida decided to join Rapunzel, and Jack watched as the two girls disappeared around a corner as they helped lead the people away from the school and towards the neighborhoods on the other side of the town. Hiccup walked up to stand beside him, the world still getting increasingly darker all the while. It was as if the sun had sped up in its measured path across the sky, and evening had decided to come early.
Then Jack noticed something in the distance. Or rather, two somethings.
"Um, Hiccup?" Jack asked, "You know that funny feeling we were talking about?" Jack pointed in the distance.
A pair of Nightmare horses were approaching them from one of the streets up ahead. But Hiccup wasn't looking where Jack had pointed. Hiccup was too busy staring in the opposite direction, where another set of Nightmares were casually trotting.
And still the world grew darker.
Jack spotted more Nightmares coming up from a third direction before meeting up with and joining the two he had seen originally. Then the Guardian did a complete one-eighty, turning to see a complete circle of Nightmare horses slowly closing in on himself, Hiccup and Toothless. The dragon shifted uneasily from foot to foot, but crouched low to ground, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Jack's heart dropped when he saw that there were waves of Nightmares approaching, not just a single circle. It seemed they were trapped.
"Duh-duh-duh, we're dead," Hiccup muttered sourly beside him. Jack couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. Toothless growled at the slowly approaching monsters.
"Uh… you take the ones on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?" Jack offered weakly. He craned his neck to try to see down the darkened streets, trying to judge exactly how many horses there were. But the darkness kept increasing, and it seemed as if night had overtaken the town, making it impossible to judge.
"Well, that hardly seems fair," Hiccup answered, his tone deceivingly light. "There's two of us and one of you. Wouldn't you rather we split it sixty-forty?" Hiccup asked with a roll of his eyes, at last unclipping his sword from its holster on his leg.
Jack laughed shakily, glad he wasn't alone in his growing fear and apprehension. "And let you have all the fun? I don't think so."
"Fine then," Hiccup shrugged, taking a small sidestep closer to his dragon. The horses had stopped moving, but they were formed in a tight circle, with nowhere for Jack and Hiccup to escape. Except…
"Fifty-fifty it is," Hiccup grinned feebly.
Jack narrowed his eyes and returned the grin. "You're on!"
Hiccup blinked and Jack was gone, making use of his invisibility power. Hiccup stood cautiously rooted in place, ready for fight or flight. It was as if all the tension he'd been feeling had reached a climax, and any minute now the world would explode in his face-
The explosion came in the form of blue ice, raining down fifty feet in front of Hiccup, behind the lines of shadowy Nightmares. Horses fled in all directions like startled sheep, ensuing utter chaos.
"Well done, Jack," Hiccup muttered sarcastically, trying to mount Toothless and at the same time avoid getting trampled. "Thanks a lot." Toothless roared and shot his deep purple plasma blasts into the chaotic fray, both scattering and angering the demonic creatures. Hiccup hooked himself into place in the saddle, clicking his metal foot into the contraption that controlled Toothless's tail, and held on tight as the Nightfury launched himself into the sky.
And so battle commenced. Hiccup attacked mostly from the air, slicing through the shadow horses with his flame sword as Toothless dove through the streets. The blaze of the flaming weapon cast a powerful light over the creatures and the city, reflecting off surfaces with an orange glare. Jack was nowhere to be seen…per say. But his triumphant laughs and trails of frost kept the brunette Guardian reassured. When the boy and dragon circled back to where they'd first landed, an arrow whizzed past and narrowly missed his face before hitting its target and ensnaring three Nightmares in a metallic net several yards away. Hiccup touched his cheek and turned to see Merida grinning at him and restringing her bow with another missile.
"Cutting it a little close there, don't you think?" Hiccup remarked as Toothless landed at her side, relieved at unrealized worry that she was ok.
Merida crossed her arms. "What wee faith yew have in me!"
That didn't calm Hiccup's quick-beating heart. "Where's Rapunzel?" he asked before the girl herself appeared next to Merida.
"Good as gold," Rapunzel grinned in greeting. Then Merida inclined her head and gazed over Hiccup's shoulder. "Look who's finally showed up."
The boy turned to see Flynn Rider cantering on his horse through the darkened streets towards them.
"Tell me Pitch is messing with the lights," he called as he approached. "The day can't possibly be over yet."
Rapunzel grimaced. "He is. You haven't gone crazy yet," she promised. It was then Hiccup noticed what she held in her hand.
"Where'd you get that pan?" he asked the blonde girl.
Rapunzel sheepishly hid the frying pan behind her back. "I may have… borrowed it from a nice family's home."
Flynn whistled as he dismounted. "My baby sister has finally embraced the life of a thief. I'm so proud-"
"Eugene, look out!" Rapunzel cried frantically just as a Nightmare cantered threateningly in the prince's direction. Flynn drew the sword strapped to his horse's saddle, but the Nightmare violently ripped it from his grasp. Flynn's horse reared back in fear and fled in the opposite direction.
"No!" Merida cried, sprinting after it.
"Merida!" Hiccup protested, but she was already gone.
Meanwhile, the Nightmare grasped Flynn's sword tightly between its ashen teeth, pawing the ground, its fearsome yellow eyes locked on the man who was slowly backing away, his hands raised in surrender. Hiccup gripped his own sword ready to interfere before-
"Eugene!" Rapunzel called, tossing him her stolen frying pan. Flynn caught the pan in one hand and stared at it in silent disbelief before warily brandishing it in the Nightmare's face. The horse seemed stunned for the briefest of moments, before recovering and swiftly slashing at Flynn with the sword in its mouth. He retaliated with the frying pan, and the two were suddenly locked in a bizarre display of swordsmanship- or pansmanship… swordshorseship?
"You should know," Flynn cried between breaths as he wrestled against the Nightmare, "that this is the strangest thing I've ever done!"
"Ok then," Hiccup said with wide eyes, unsure how to react to what he was watching. Toothless snorted in laughter. Then, with a well-aimed swing, Flynn knocked the horse upside the head, causing it to stumble and come crashing towards the ground where it promptly disintegrated. Flynn turned to see another Nightmare appear in its fallen comrade's place, and with a second glance at the frying pan, the man shrugged and confidently began the duel once more.
Hiccup shook his head and mounted Toothless, deciding Flynn could handle himself on his own and that his own efforts would be better spent elsewhere.
"Give me a lift?" Rapunzel asked, swinging her leg easily over Toothless's saddle.
The three lifted off into the sky, soaring through the darkened streets to find their next opponents.
They found Merida riding Flynn's horse and racing through the streets, shooting down Nightmares with accurate precision.
Toothless landed on the pavement and Rapunzel hopped off.
"Here," Hiccup said, drawing his knife and offering it to the girl. "Since you gave away your pan."
But Rapunzel shook her head stubbornly, gathering the long strands of her hair into her hands. "No thanks, I'll make do with my hair until I can find another one."
Hiccup sighed in frustration. "Give it to Merida for me then. She's gonna run out of arrows soon," he said, warily eyeing the girl fighting fiercely further down the street.
"Alright," Rapunzel nodded, clasping the weapon's handle gingerly in her hand.
"I'm going to help Jack," Hiccup said with a final gaze towards Merida, preparing to take off again.
"Where is he?" Rapunzel asked, eyes narrowed.
Hiccup shrugged. "Invisible."
"Good luck."
Toothless leapt into the sky, leaving Rapunzel and Merida behind down below. Then, a strangled yell surprised them, a yell that sounded like someone… falling, right in front of the them. Toothless hovered in the sky as a cloud of frost rained around them. Hiccup leaned over Toothless to see Jack, no longer invisible, sprawled on the ground covered in a dusting of blue and silver ice, and Merida and Rapunzel racing to his side. Toothless dove back down towards the ground and landed beside them.
Rapunzel helped Jack to his feet, looking anxiously into his face for signs of injury. "Oh god… are you ok… what happened… are you sure…" she began fussing as Hiccup and Toothless landed. Hiccup could see Jack, though not physically injured despite the fall, wasn't at all ok, even if he claimed to be so.
"Um…we have company," Merida cut in, drawing one of her last three arrows in her bow. The shadowy Nightmares were upon them once more, and at their helm, Pitch Black, his yellow eyes glistening. The man rode upon one of the horses in front of the others, clearly their leader and commander. They paused only a few yards away, allowing the four Guardians to gather themselves and line up side by side, nervously and yet fearlessly, ready to fight the man who betrayed their cause.
Pitch stared at them, taking in their silent resistance and determination almost hungrily, before raising his hands and mockingly declaring "Boo!"
On cue, the masses of Nightmares assembled rushed at the four so fast the Guardians were completely at their mercy. Pitch laughed as the horses overwhelmed the four heroes, collecting what they needed, and swiftly dispersing.
Jack dropped his hands away from shielding his head the minute the horses cantered away, a little rattled from the attack and confused at why he hadn't been hurt… or truthfully even touched. He looked up and around at the others, who all wore similar expressions of confusion on their faces, all except-
"Rapunzel?" Jack called out in a panic. The girl had disappeared. He looked up to see the horses cantering their retreat through the sky above as if they were dancing, and the long golden hair that trailed behind…
"NO!" he yelled in rage, jumping onto the waiting wind and flying after her.
"Jack! Wait! Don't-"
But he didn't pay any attention. He kept his gaze on Rapunzel, bravely struggling to free herself, whipping her hair around and managing to slice a horse or two and scatter them into shadowy dust. Try though she might however, there where just too many for her to overtake them.
"Don't fight the fear, girl!" Pitch cried out from above on a cloud of darkness seemingly made of the same material as the Nightmares with cackling glee, not yet noticing Jack's swift approach on the winds. "Surrender and give to me what I want! What I know you have!"
"LET HER GO!" Jack yelled fiercely over the wind, raising his staff as he rose to the dark man's level. Pitch turned his head towards Jack and, with a smirk, lifted his arms upwards to the sky. Jack stared in shock as a wave of the darkness rolled up behind Pitch and above over his head. He watched as it aimed to come cascading down upon him-
Jack didn't know what happened next exactly. He could feel himself falling backwards, pushed by the wave's current, and all he could think was Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Rapunzel…
Out of the corner of his eye he saw his staff light up with powerful blue energy, energy that glowed and outstretched itself towards the dark wave, whereupon contact it exploded in a burst of light, ice, and pure electricity. Jack yelled as his body absorbed the energy, and he brought his staff slamming down into the dark wave, sending tendrils of the blue electricity and ice pulsing through it and lighting up the night-like sky. The concussion of energy caused the wave to explode and crumble, knocking Pitch backwards with an incredible force. The Nightmares scattered in panic, and Rapunzel fell…
Her screams brought Jack wearily back to his senses, and he dove after her, catching her in his arms. He relaxed- she was safe-
They both looked up to see the regrouped Nightmares diving after them, causing bitter dread to cumulate in Jack's stomach once more. There was no way they'd get out of this one. He'd never be able to fight the black monsters while holding and shielding Rapunzel, who could not fly on her own. He drew her close to his chest and shut his eyes to wait for-
"No! Let her go!" Pitch's voice rang out, causing all the horses to skid to a halt in the air. The man had regained composure as well, and was floating once more on another, albeit smaller, cloud of shadowy darkness. "It's not her we need…" he said, looking pointedly at Jack with an expression of both anger and amazement, as if Jack was an astonishing mystery that had yet to be solved but also a toy he wanted to break.
A tremor ran down Jack's spine at the intensity of way his uncle gazed at him, and to say he was relieved when he and the Nightmares finally melted into the shadows would be an understatement. Jack shakily returned Rapunzel to solid ground, where Hiccup, Merida, and now Flynn, were waiting, all three wearing similar expressions of stunned disbelief and fear.
The moment his feet touched the pavement, Jack collapsed, bringing Rapunzel down with him. Merida rushed forward to help the girl stand up, and Hiccup knelt down beside Jack.
"Woah, don't get up just yet," the brunette urged when the other boy tried to move.
"Jack… how did ye do that?" Merida asked.
Jack looked up at her, breathing hard and shaking his head, just as much at a loss as the rest of them were.
"I… I didn't know I could."
A NOTE TO ALL!
Can I just say how happy it makes me reading your reviews? You all are incredible readers, because you NOTICE THINGS! You notice the little details I toss in for fun, you notice my movie references, you THINK about the story and try to predict things, you try to understand the way I present certain characters, ugh I can't even describe all the things you do that make me so happy!
In short, thanks for being the best group of readers an author could ever ask for!
Guest reviews:
Orange Cat: heh heh heh... sorrryyyyyy. ish. not. um... sorry! I have a thing for cliff hangers... its a nasty habit that I can't seem to break... hehe... and YES ok- thank you- you pay attention to details! Very good orange cat... very good. Stoicks hammer indeed... everything has its origins... now understand that because this is an AU story the hammer is not necessarily "Stoick's hammer" in this story... but as far as movie references go... I applaud you for being the only one to notice that! And um yes, the uh, parents, right, important ant characters off doing... important... things. haha just kidding. They're there, I just can only focus on so much at a time. The parents will/should come back in soon. OOOooo that fic sounds good! I'll check it out! I love hearing recommendations of other stories! Thanks! And wow, an "evil-good" writer. I like it! My new title haha.. and haha I missed you too! I missed hearing from everyone! It's been wayyyyyy too long! And yeah, you have a way with words my commenting friend! Thanks so much friend- iceprincess
Wolf girl916: Glad Eugene made you day! And yeah see, I did appreciate (and love!) your ideas for relics, but I already had a couple planned out (like the crown). Still trying to work some of your ideas in, we'll see how it goes... Jack is definitely one of my favorites as well. I could see him as a son of Hermes...I would without a doubt make Rapunzel a daughter of Apollo and Hiccup a son of Hephaestus. And Merida could definitely be the daughter of someone else and still be good at archery! Just like Frank Zhang! So happy to make your day! (And I honestly don't blame you when it comes to Thor's hammer... you aren't alone hahaha). If you want to post your own story, which you totally should, you need to first create an account. It's absolutely free, and worth every second. With an account you can post stories, favorite stories and authors, and follow stories and authors. Its really helpful because you can get email notifications when your favorite stories have been updated, or when your favorite author posted a new story, etc! Make an account- it only takes a minute! And yeah... its been awhile since we've seen Bunny. He'll have to come back soon. I'll work him in somehow. He's overdo for a chapter anyway. And yes, Her Father's Daughter is currently on hold. I have a lot of it already written but there are some things I'm fixing in it. Also, my main focus is on this story, and I prefer to only work on one story at a time, for the sake of my sanity. Thanks for your multitudes of reviews (haha)- iceprincess
Alrighty guys, hugs and kisses to you all!
Its good to be home :)