Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" I don't have much to say this time around, so I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. X)


~ LXVI ~

Drowning in Darkness, Part Seven

What had to be done didn't want to bed done

But North knew it was the only way

They removed the seal

And the Fearlings took hold

And Jack was again under their control

...

When Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny explained to North what had to be done, he objected immediately. He couldn't let that …that thing take control of Jack again! It had nearly destroyed his house and injured Jack. North shook his head.

"No, there has to be another way," North said.

"This is the only thing we found," said Tooth, her expression despondent. We flipped through the entire book, and we could've spent hours searching the library for another spell, but the longer that Fearlings stays inside Jack, the higher the risk becomes."

"We need ta get those things out as soon as possible," said Aster. "Otherwise, a lot of people might get hurt."

North pursed his lips, knowing that they were right. The risk was high, but Jack would be restrained and kept indoors. The spell was quick and simple, Sandy had reassured. There wouldn't be much room for anything to go wrong.

And this was for Jack more than anyone else. North really didn't want that Fearling to hurt him any further. It had to go, and it had to go now.

North sighed. "Alright…I will go and get Jack."

"Come get me for what?"

The Guardians turned around; Jack had come in perfect timing. The snow sprite was rubbing his eyes as he came down the stairs, using his staff to balance himself. He was still a little dizzy and felt as if his legs would give way if he let go of his support. The glowing dreamland seal thumped against his chest, glowing brightly.

"Jack? You're up already?" asked North. He had thought that Jack would sleep at least a few hours before waking up, but it had hardly been one.

Jack shrugged. "I woke up and my room just felt…off. I assumed that I was just feeling cooped up, so I came down here for some space." Jack looked at the Guardians, noticing the book that Tooth held in her hands. "What's going on?"

"We found the spell to remove the Fearling inside of you," Sandy answered, dreamland flashing over his head.

Jack's eyes widened. "Really? You did? Wow, you all are fast."

A small smile tugged at Tooth's lips. "Well, given the situation we are in a bit of a rush."

"I was just about to come and get you so we can get started," said North. "But you came just as I was about to head upstairs."

"Then we might as well get started," said Jack eagerly. He fingered the golden seal around his neck. "As cool as this thing looks, I don't want to make it a permanent accessory."

Jack's statement amused them all, but the Guardians couldn't help but send anxious glances in each other's direction. Jack took note of their sudden discomfort, and he tilted his head. "What's wrong? You guys think I should wear this thing every day?"

Tooth let out a small laugh and shook her head. "No, no, it's not that, Sweet Tooth." The Sister of Flight squeezed the book in her hands. "It's just…in order for Sandy to remove the Fearling inside you…um…"

"You're going to have to be under its control," Sandy finished for her. "Which means…"

Jack's hand squeezed the seal around his neck. "I'll have to take this off." Though he tried to hide it, his voice wavered with fear.

North softened. "Unfortunately."

"B-But…but what if I hurt someone?" Jack exclaimed. The house was still a mess when he was last under the Fearling's control, and he grimaced. "What if I end up destroying something? I don't…I don't want to hurt any of you…"

"We won't let that happen," Tooth reassured. "Sandy will have you tied up in dreamsand so you won't escape."

Jack hesitated. Even if the Guardians did have him restrained, he feared that he would still end up hurting someone. After what happened earlier, Jack didn't want to risk allowing the Fearling inside him to take hold again. Being under its control was…terrifying. He felt as if he could destroy anything and anyone. He had never used his powers any higher than snowfalls and tricks and conjured. Using so much energy left him exhausted, but at the same time, Jack wondered what else he could do.

The snow sprite chewed his lower lip, wondering if he should play it safe or go along with the Guardians' plan. He knew that the Fearling residing within him wouldn't rest, even though it was being held at bay with the seal on his neck. Not only that, but Pitch could be spying on him through it. And Jack didn't want the Boogeyman to know his every location.

Jack gripped his staff and he fingered the seal around his neck once again.

"...Okay," he said at last. He looked up at the Guardians. "Just…try to make this quick."

Sandy nodded. "I'll try."

In the middle of the room, Jack was seated in a chair and tied up with multiple strands of dreamland. The several bindings ensured that he wouldn't be able to escape. In fact, every time he moved their hold tightened around him further. Jack hoped that this would be enough to keep him restrained.

The Guardians stood in front of him, and Sandy already had his dreamsand swirling around his fingertips, ready to perform the spell. They had already hidden his staff so if—by the slimmest chance—he did escape, Jack wouldn't have a weapon in hand.

North checked the bindings once again, and he looked at Jack. "Are you ready, moy mal'chik?"

Jack gulped. "Um…I-I think so." He shifted nervously, Sandy's dreamsand tightened around him, so the snow sprite stopped moving. "I really hope this works."

"It will," said Aster. None of the Guardians had thought about what would happen if this didn't work. But they all trusted Sandy, and they knew that he wouldn't let anyone down.

Still, the room was thick with tension as Sandy stepped forward, taking hold of the seal around Jack's neck. His golden eyes locked with Jack's blue ones, and he asked one more time, "Are you ready?"

Jack nodded, and his breathing shuddered as Sandy slowly removed the seal. For a few moments, nothing happened, and Jack looked perfectly normal.

Then, the snow sprite twitched, and his eyes began to glaze over, becoming a dull, lifeless blue. Jack's skin turned pale, seething as he fought against his bindings, and frost crawled out where his feet touched the ground. Jack's eyes met with the Guardians, flashing with malice. If he had been unbound, the Guardians knew that he would've surely attacked them.

"Ya should get started on that spell before he finds a way out of there," Aster insisted.

Sandy began immediately, his dreamland glowing brightly as it approached Jack. But before he could begin to extract the Fearling, all of a sudden, another burst forth from the shadows, screeching like a siren. It caught the Guardians off guard, and before Sandy to destroy it, the Fearling had already wrapped around Jack and seized him, corrupting the boy even further.

Jack screamed as he tried to block the invading Fearling out, but this one was much stronger than the last.

"Sandy, do something!" Tooth cried.

The Sandman sent his dreamsand to try and remove both at once, but Jack had already fallen under their control. Now possessed by two Fearlings instead of one, Jack was able to break through Sandy's bindings. Jack's eyes flashed a sharp amber, and dark circles appeared under his eyes. His skin was now tinted a light shade of grey, and his hair had specks of black within the white.

The Guardians hardly had any time to react when Jack suddenly unleashed a gust of ice and snow toward them, knocking the Guardians to the ground. The snow sprite didn't even pause to search for his staff as he stepped outside into the open, bringing his frigid aura with him.

The Guardians quickly sat up and looked out the door, where the air was already beginning to turn white with Jack's snow.

The Guardians wasted no time and grabbed their weapons and followed after him.

The Guardians of Childhood ran outside, and all around them was chaos. In such little time, Jack had already caused a raging blizzard of ice and hail. The snow beat against the ground and pounded against the roofs of homes. Plants had been crushed and destroyed. The air was thick with a chill so freezing that not even North's coat could keep him warm enough.

The blizzard swept through the village, destroying everything in its path. The wind howled and screeched. The residents of Santoff Claussen were in a frenzy, running around and trying to escape. In the midst of the chaos was Jack himself, who unleashed his winter fury upon the little village.

When Jack opened his mouth and spoke, his voice was not the one the Guardians had come to be familiar with. His voice was mixed with his and overlapped with the ancient begins inside of him.

"WHERE ARE THE SPELLBOOKS!?" Jack—no, the Fearlings— yelled, the winds amplifying his voice. "BRING FORTH THE BOOKS OR YOU'LL PERISH IN THIS STORM!"

"We have ta stop him!" Aster shouted.

"But first we need to get everyone out of harm's way!" Tooth exclaimed.

"Bunny, Tooth, you go and get everyone else away. Sandy and I will go after Jack," North instructed. The Tooth Fairy and Pokka nodded, then ran off to help some villagers. North and Sandy went after Jack.

Neither had a clear plan in mind, but North knew that before they could do anything, they needed to subdue Jack. But in order for that to happen, he'd need to be distracted, so North charged, head-on to face Jack while Sandy went around from behind.

Jack sensed North and he whirled around. He had no weapon to parry with North's swords, but with his ice, he fashioned a scabbard and with North's blows. This time, the ex-Cossack didn't hold back, knowing that Jack could hurt someone if he didn't beat him down.

But it was still difficult to fight against his own son.

The cold was biting through North's coat, making his limbs stiff and numb but he kept on fighting. Jack parried his blows and shot bolts of ice in moments where North stumbled. Aster and Tooth soon arrived to back him up, but even then, Jack was too powerful. Tooth's arm was still injured, so she couldn't quickly block off Jack's blows, and she was soon knocked to the ground, shivering in the cold. Jack whacked Aster out of the way, and he pivoted around, blasting a bolt of ice at Sandy that sent him tumbling. Deja vu hit North when he realized that, once again, was the last one remaining.

Jack approached North, his hair caked with frost, his sword clutched in his grip. North gripped his swords in his hands, but he couldn't bring himself to swing them.

There has to be another way.

"Jack…" North started. The snow sprite stared at him, his expression is unwavering. North approached him slowly. "I know you're still in there. You need to stop this, moy mal'chik. You have to fight it."

Jack looked as if he were about to swing his sword, but he hesitated, his eyes flickering. But then the Fearlings took over once again, and Jack's expression once again grew hard, and he lifted his sword. Despite this clear threat, North kept going.

"You are strong than them, moy mal'chik. I believe you can fight this, you have to fight this. Don't let them take you, my boy."

Jack's movements were more strained, and his face tightened as the Fearlings tried to force him to deliver the final blow.

North set down his swords. "I love you, moy mal'chik. And I know that you would never hurt me."

Jack froze. The sword in his hand was heavy, and he couldn't bring it down. The Fearlings within him screamed at him to strike, but he wouldn't. Something held them back.

Jack was holding them back.

But the Fearlings were relentless, and what little control Jack had over himself vanished as the Fearlings used the last of their energy to seize him once again. Jack's eyes flashed with rage as he brought down the sword. North's eyes widened, and he braced himself for the final strike.

Suddenly, there was a flash of golden light. Jack gasped sharply as two back shadows burst forth from his chest. The snow sprite teetered on his feet. The storm around him froze.

And the snow sprite collapsed to the ground.


Author's Note: YAY, JACKIE ISN'T POSSESSED ANYMORE!

Now, this has nothing to do with this chapter, but I created my NaNoWriMo account yesterday! Now I'm really diving into this original project of mine. XD I'm still trying to figure things out and plan out my writing schedule, but so far, things are going pretty well. I can't wait to start writing it in July! ^u^

Annnnnd, that's all I've got. Sadly. ='D I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all in the next on. X)

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203