Everything had gone wrong, and Jake didn't know what to do.

He stared blankly ahead, feeling like it was impossible to do something as simple as breathing. His hands were shaking, and he couldn't make them stop. His ears were ringing, and he didn't know how much of it was because his blood seemed to be rushing in his ears, and how much of it was the echo of the Jabberwocky's roar.

He's made a mistake. That was nothing new, but he didn't know how to even begin coming back from this. His plan had succeeded, but it had worked too well. The barrier had come down, just for a minute. Goldilocks had gotten out, with Hank right behind her. They were free. But they weren't the only ones.

Jake had heard a loud roar just as Goldilocks and Henry had stepped past the borders of the town. He hadn't known what the source of the roar was. All he knew was that they weren't alone here. He'd reacted quickly and reversed the reversal spell, bringing the barrier back up. Whoever was there, it might be an Everafter. If they knew about the barrier, it was not going to be very pretty.

Jake thought for a moment that he would have to do some sweet-talking, but then he saw a large shadow fly away from the asylum.

Jake had done his research. He knew that the asylum had the same spell over it that surrounded the entire town. He just hadn't considered that it was literally the same spell, and tearing one down would tear down the other.

Jake knew this was his fault. The flying creature, who could only be the Jabberwocky, was free. He didn't know a lot about jabberwockies, but he knew that they were dangerous, and now he'd accidentally set it on the town.

He and his family had a responsibility. The Grimms were not just responsible for keeping the world safe from the magic of Everafters, but they were also in charge of keeping the Everafters safe. It would be so easy to run away with Hank and Goldilocks, and hope that things would sort themselves out, but how could he betray his duty like that?

But at the same time, he couldn't force Henry to risk his life just to clean up his mistakes. So Jake told his brother and Goldilocks to leave. He'd opened the barrier for them. It was already closed again. If Goldilocks came back through, she would be stuck again, and this nonsense with the Jabberwocky would be for nothing.

He didn't stop to see if they went to safety and freedom. He had run off after the Jabberwocky. He hadn't known what he would do when he found it, but he'd never let that stop him before.

The Jabberwocky had flown towards town. Finding the monster wasn't the problem. He just needed to figure out how to stop it.

He ran into town, and there was already a panic going on. The Jabberwocky was causing havoc. He tried to follow it and keep up, but everywhere he looked he saw people hurt, crying, and completely breaking down. Everafters and mortals alike. His neighbors. His classmates. People he had known his whole life. They were scared for their lives, and it was all because of him.

In an instant his adrenalin gave out on him. He fell to the ground and watched the chaos around him. He couldn't move. He couldn't figure out how to help people. He'd messed up, and now it felt like everything was falling apart because of it.

Jake hadn't really seen his life as a game. He'd considered it an adventure. For so long he'd convinced himself there was an important distinction. Sitting on the ground, seeing the consequences of his carefully thought through choices, he now wasn't so sure.

He'd spent years trying to prove himself. He would mess around with magic, regardless of whether it affected just him, or those around him too. He thought that even if he messed up, he could just undo it and use forgetful dust to make it like it had never happened at all. This time, he didn't feel like he could. This was one mistake too big.

"-cob? Jacob?!" He jolted when he felt a grip on his arm and he was pulled to his feet. He looked with wide eyes at his father. "What are you doing just sitting there? It's not safe."

"I-I'm sorry." Jake's eyes were wet, making his vision blurry. "Dad, I'm sorry. I didn't think…I just…I never meant for this to happen."

His dad looked confused and concerned for a long moment, but a moment later realization came to his eyes. There was a familiar mix of disappointment and frustration in his gaze.

"Jacob, what have you done?" Basil asked urgently. His grip on Jake's arm tightened.

"I'm sorry." Jake's throat tightened. "I-I just wanted to help Henry. I didn't know the barriers were connected. I didn't know."

"You let down the barrier?!" Basil hissed. He looked around urgently. Jake didn't think they'd been overheard. The people were too busy worrying about the Jabberwocky to listen in on a conversation between the Grimms.

"It was just for a second!" Jake said urgently. He needed his dad to understand that while he'd made a mistake. "It's already back up, I swear."

His dad looked like he wanted to yell at him, but he held his tongue. Basil sighed and put his hand on Jake's shoulder. "Let's get you home, and then I'll come back and figure out what to do about the Jabberwocky."

"I can help." Jake said.

"I think you've helped enough." Basil said harshly. Jake flinched and drew back. His dad gave him a regretful look, but he didn't apologize. He hadn't meant to say it out loud, or in this way, but that didn't make it any less true for him.

The Jabberwocky roared, and Jake felt his need to prove himself grow stronger. He couldn't always hide behind his parents. He needed to clean up his own messes.

"I-I need to fix this." Jake pulled away from his dad and ran towards the Jabberwocky. He had no idea what he was doing, but he needed to try. If he didn't try, what good was he?

"Jacob!" He heard his dad's panicked voice, but he didn't stop . He couldn't.

He ran through the town, chasing after the Jabberwocky's destruction. He couldn't really think. His thoughts were scrambled. His legs were shaking, and he felt like his body was going to give out on him, but he kept going, because he didn't know what else to do. He was running on nothing but desperation at this point.

The Jabberwocky felt like it was miles away, but whether it was because the monster flew to meet him, or because his mind was so jumbled that he mentally skipped to the important part, he suddenly found himself face to face with the monster.

The Jabberwocky didn't seem to know or care who he was. He was nothing more than a bug to be swatted away, and it looked like the Jabberwocky was about to do just that. It roared and lifted it's claw to lazily, but harshly, swipe at him.

Jake was frozen where he stood. All of his energy and determination fled from him, leaving him with nothing but fear. He couldn't flee. He couldn't fight. He could do nothing but stand there. He squeezed his eyes shut tight, bracing himself for the blow.

There was a harsh hit at his side that pushed him to the ground. It took his frazzled mind a long time that while he was a little breathless, he didn't feel a lot of pain.

Jake laid there on the ground for a long time, still feeling unable to move. He heard the Jabberwocky roar and start to shift around, and then it started to walk away. It was leaving. It really couldn't care enough about him to bother finishing the job. It had attacked because it was convenient. There was nothing more to it.

Several minutes passed before Jake could bring himself to sit up. He took a deep breath and finally let himself look around. The first thing he saw was his dad on the ground, right in front of him. He wasn't moving. Jake felt his chest tighten.

"Dad?" He pushed himself to his knees and went to his dad. He nudged his shoulder, though he quickly pulled back when he felt blood. A lot of blood.

Far too much.

"Dad!" Jake choked on a sob as he shook his dad's shoulders. "Dad, get up! P-please." His dad didn't move. He was still. Jake tried to feel for a pulse or something, but his hands were shaking so much. He couldn't focus. All he could do was cry and hope.

His dad couldn't be gone. He was the strongest man that Jake knew. He wouldn't go down without a fight. He wouldn't fade away from just a single hit, without even the chance to say goodbye. He just…he couldn't. It wasn't fair.

"Please." Jake leaned forward and rested his head on his dad's shoulder. "Please.