Chapter 5: Death

The scene changed again, showing the seasons cycling through another Easter, Pippa's fifth birthday in the early spring, Jackson holding up antlers to his head on summer nights, making the children of the village laugh, and back to autumn.

"Whoo! That's a doozie!" Bunny shook his head, feeling a migraine starting up.

"Ma? Why isn't Pa home yet?" Jackson asked, a worried tone to his voice. He kept an eye on Pippa, who was busy playing with her doll in the living room.

The question brought the attention of the guardians to the memory, and North hoped the bad feeling in his belly was wrong.

Jackson's mother shifted nervously. "I'm not sure, Jackson, but I'm sure he's fine. You know how rowdy the sheep get this time of year. He likely just had to go chase down another runaway." She busied herself with dinner again, but Jackson didn't seem convinced.

A howling wind blew against the windows, and the boy looked up sharply, alarm on his features. "Relax, Jackson. It's just the wind." His mother told him. But he wasn't listening to her. He was listening to whatever the Wind had to say.

Without a second thought, he grabbed his cloak and ran for the door, not even bothering to put on shoes. "Pip! Stay with Ma! I'll be back!" He grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows from beside the door—presumably his own—and ran out.

"Jackson!" His mother called after him, but he didn't stop. Something was wrong, and the Wind had told him so.

"Where is he, Wind?" He asked as he ran. The Wind howled again, gently pushing him in the right direction. The boy obeyed instantly, changing course accordingly.

The Guardians, on the other hand, were pulled along with memory-Jack, gliding along the ground without the need to move. Several guardians nearly lost their balance when they looked down, and Sandy and Tooth decided that hovering was their best option. "Mate, this is almost worse than the sleigh." Bunny muttered under his breath.

Before they knew it, they were in a dark clearing with Jackson's father. "Pa!" Jackson cried out in relief, seeing his dad alive and well. "Pa, we need to go! Now! Something's here, and we need to get home before—!"

"Hey, hey! Calm down, Jackson! What're you doing here? I thought you were at home with your mother and sister?" His father seemed very calm, and was holding a small sheep in his arms.

"Well you were taking so long, and I was worried, and..."

"I'm fine. This little one wondered off, so I had to go and find him." His father smiled fondly at the little sheep. "Late birth." He said when he saw Jackson's questioning gaze.

"W-we don't have time to talk! Something's out here! We need to get back home, now!" Jackson tried pulling his father's arm in the direction of the house, where the wind was urging them to go, but his father shook his head.

"Jack, we need to get this little guy back to the flock. Come on, you can join me. Then we'll walk home together." He smiled, picking up his shepherd's staff—which the Guardians noted looked identical to Jack's own—and guided them back to the herd. Jackson was eyeing their surroundings suspiciously, watching for anything that may be lurking in the shadows.

They'd just returned the sheep to the flock and started to make their way back through the forest to the house when Jackson heard an eerie laugh echo throughout the trees. His father didn't seem to hear anything, though. But the Guardians stiffened.

"Smart boy. Too bad he won't listen to you." Pitch materialized out of the shadows in front of the two, but only Jackson reacted.

"Pitch!" North drew his swords in anger, before Bunny's paw on his shoulder reminded him that they could do nothing. This had already happened. Jack, who still had his hood pulled up, turned away. He didn't want to see this again. Twice was enough.

As if hearing his mental distress, a flash of light appeared above the Winter Spirit's head, letting a somewhat heavy object fall into his outstretched hand. He looked to find an iPod with earbuds. Thank you MiM. He smiled as he put the earbuds in and hit shuffle.

He had a soft spot for music, and loved crashing concerts. Rock was always a good one for him when he wanted to dwell on his down moods or anger, and so he was able to recognize Breaking Benjamin when they came on. He smirked, turned up the music, and proceeded to completely ignore the memory unfolding behind him. He knew he couldn't do this every time, but if he could save himself some extra grief and heartache even just this once, then he was grateful. (And he did not grin like a loon when he saw Panic! At the Disco on there, either.)

"W-who are you?" Jackson asked, scared. His father looked at him oddly.

"Jack? Who're you talking to?"

"That man! In the shadows! You... can't see him? He's right there!" Jackson pointed towards Pitch, and the Guardians' hearts clenched.

"Jackson, there's nobody there." He tried, but Pitch laughed, pulling out a wicked looking dagger. It seemed warped, and covered in shadows.

"Oh, but you can see me, young Jackson. I wonder... Is it possible to make an adult believe? What can I do to force him to believe? I think I'll try... this." With a swift movement, Pitch struck out at Jackson, a cut forming on his left cheek. He winced as it stung, and the Guardians all took an involuntary step forward at the action.

"How dare he!?" Bunny was furious! How could anyone, even Pitch attack a human child like that?! His mind flashed to the genocide of his own people, giving him the answer. He just can.

"Jackson?!" His father flinched back in alarm, looking around for the cause of the cut.

"Tell him, Jackson." Pitch purred, making another slice on the fearful child's face. "Tell him that the Boogeyman is standing right in front of him." He paused for a moment, holding the knife to Jackson's neck, enraging the Guardians further. "Go on, before I lose my patience."

"T-the b-boogeyman is here, Pa. He says you've gotta believe in him to see him. Please believe me!" Jackson had tears running down his face. He was terrified! Sure, he'd believed in Pitch, but... he'd never expected to meet him!

Jackson's father stood there for a moment, before he blinked and gasped in surprise, his gaze fixated on the Nightmare King.

"Oh, wonderful! My theory is correct. You can see me, can't you?" Pitch grinned gleefully. Jackson's father only nodded in shock, before his features became very hard.

"Let my son go." He stated firmly.

The Guardians, on the other hand were shocked. They'd believed it impossible for an adult to believe enough to see them! Yet Pitch had forced an adult to believe in him enough to clearly see him! It was both incredible and terrifying. Tooth wasn't the only one to notice Jack's adamant ignorance of the entire memory. She wasn't about to drag him into it, especially when his past self was likely very traumatized by the entire endeavor.

"Very well. My little experiment was a success, after all. Oh, but I can't just let you run around and do as you wish. While I wanted to see if an adult could believe, I certainly don't want to draw any unwanted attention. Especially from those blasted Guardians. So I'm afraid, you'll have to go." Pitch smiled darkly as he vanished for a moment, only to reappear behind Jackson's father. "Watch closely, dear Jackson. This is fear." Pitch slit the man's throat with practiced precision.

"NO! PA!" Jackson cried out, running to his fallen father as Pitch vanished off into the night, laughter echoing throughout the trees. The Guardians stood stock still, trying to process what had happened as the memory faded out into the Break Room from before.

Jack, noticing the change in scenery, removed his earbuds and lowered his hood, putting the iPod in his pocket for later use. He turned to look at the tear-stained guardians, only to get an armful of sobbing Tooth.

"Oh, Jack! I didn't know Pitch could be so, so, so awful!" She sobbed. "I should've punched him harder!"

"Whoa, whoa, Tooth! Calm down, would'ya? I'm okay. It's in the past." Jack tried to console her.

"Naw, mate. That's not okay. What Pitch did ta ya was wrong on so many levels." Bunny gently placed a paw on Jack's shoulder, trying to comfort him. After all, they did have something in common, now. Pitch stole part of Jack's family away, just like he took all of the Pooka's family.

"I mean I've come to terms with it. Yeah, I was traumatized for a while, but I've been through a lot of stuff since then. It really doesn't bother me anymore. It was just the first time I'd seen someone die." Jack tried again, but realized belatedly that that may not have been the best thing to say.

"You mean you've seen other people die?" Tooth asked in despair.

Jack didn't quite know how to answer that. "Tooth... Of course I have. I am Winter, after all. You know my season kills, right?" He spoke slowly, gauging the reactions of those in the room.

"You mean you're a winter spirit, right?" Tooth blinked, not understanding what Jack was getting at.

Jack gave a long-suffering sigh. "No, Tooth. I'm not just a winter spirit. I'm The Spirit of Winter. You may recognize one of my other titles... King of Winter?"

"Wait, you're one of the Four Seasons?!" Bunny choked in surprise. The four seasons were the strongest of the seasonal spirits, and acted as kings or queens of the other spirits of their seasons. They were rumored to be very powerful and extremely hard to kill. They say the last one who died was winter, and that caused an ice age. Since then, everyone had just assumed that there was no need for another Winter King or Queen. He never realized that Jack was the King of Winter! No wonder the bloke could speak to the wind!

"Yeah. I mean, there really aren't any winter spirits or anything around, so I'm the only one who spreads winter, and—"

"Jack?" North interrupted. "What do you mean there are no more winter spirits?"

"There aren't any. Or if there are, I've never met one in all my three hundred years. As far as I can tell, I'm the only winter spirit out there. So spreading snow and blizzards and everything falls to me." Jack shrugged. Was there supposed to be someone to help him? It would be nice, but he could handle it just fine on his own. He'd managed quite nicely for 300 years.

They were about to say something when the next memory began. "Hey! I thought we weren't supposed to get dragged into another memory until we open the door!" Bunny protested. Sorry Bunny. Thanks Wind. Jack smiled secretly to himself, mentally applauding himself and the Wind for opening the door without anyone noticing.

The memory showed a montage of Jackson working over several months on something. "What are you working on, Jack?" Pippa asked, bouncing up behind him one night. They both seemed older.

"Jack is eleven in this memory." MiM supplied.

"I'm working on a present for someone." He smiled, looking down at his sister.

"But you're not supposed to work on gifts on your own birthday, silly!" Pippa laughed, and the Guardians saw a thick layer of snow outside.

"Yeah, but this is for someone very special. It's for one of the Guardians!" Jackson chuckled. "I promised him I'd finish it by Christmas. It's a bit early, but I've finally done it!" He held up a breathtaking wooden snowflake. It was carved so finely in some areas that it was partially see-through, and it looked like if it was handled too roughly, it'd break.

"You're very good with carving!" North admired. "Maybe you can help with toys?"

"Really?! Aw, yeah!" Jack pumped his fist in the air in excitement. His head was swarming with all sorts of fun ideas for Christmas toys.

In the memory, Pippa admired the snowflake with childlike wonder. "Wow! It looks like a real snowflake! Only bigger!!"

"It's supposed to be a real snowflake, Pips." Jackson laughed, ruffling his sister's hair. She laughed as her brother gently set the snowflake down and tickle-attacked his sibling.

Sandy smiled, bringing to the surface the same snowflake that Jack had made for him. The only twin snowflakes in the world. He sent Jack a quick thank you in ASL, which was returned with a you're welcome from Jack.

Jackson fell asleep after putting the snowflake in a carefully wrapped box that he set down on the couch where North wouldn't miss it. He labeled it 'To: The Sandman. From: Jackson Overland (that kid from last year)' The Guardians chuckled at his label.

When they woke the next morning, the box was gone, and in its place was a small pouch filled with Dreamsand and a small note that read Thank you, Jack in very neat, flowy cursive.

The memory quickly faded. "That was it? I expected something... longer." Bunny sighed.

"Where is Tooth? Did Jack not meet her?" North wondered aloud.

"I didn't." Jack spoke up, amused. "Just because I met some of you guys, doesn't mean I have to meet all of you." He pointed out.

"Well, is true..." North relented.

"I feel kinda left out. Everyone else met Sweet Tooth as a mortal, but I never did." She sighed.

"Hey, it's all right, Tooth." Jack sent her a bright smile, knowing the sight of his teeth would cheer her up. "I know you now, and that's what matters, right?"

Tooth swooned a bit at the sight of his teeth. She gathered herself quickly, shaking her head and willing her blush down.

The memory changed again, this time showing Pippa, now older, opening her Christmas gifts. Jack stiffened when he saw her pull out a pair of ice skates.

"... Jack is fourteen in this memory." MiM sounded almost apologetic, which confused the other guardians. They looked to their youngest to see his hood lifted up. A sure sign Jack was upset. He never thought to grab the iPod from his pocket.

"Jack? What is matter?" North asked, concerned.

"This is... It's an emotional memory for me. Not like my Pa, but... Still not a favorite memory." Jack answered, clenching his staff harder, causing more frost to spread.

"Yay! I got the ice skates I wanted! Can we go skating today?! Pleeeeeease?!" Pippa begged, looking at Jackson with the most irresistible puppy-dog eyes.

"Pips... We probably shouldn't go skating just yet. Winter came a bit late this year, and the sun's been beating down on that lake all day..." Jackson trailed off.

"I'll be careful! Besides, you'll be there with me!" She grinned, showing a missing tooth. The eight-year-old looked into her older brother's eyes with so much adoration.

"Tomorrow, okay?" Jackson finally relented, causing modern-day Jack to wince. Maybe if I hadn't... He shook his head, the other guardians oblivious to his inner struggle.

The memory sped up again, and North rubbed at his belly. "I have bad feeling." He muttered, wondering why he felt so guilty for giving the girl those skates.

The next day dawned cold and crisp, and though the Guardians couldn't feel it, they shivered. They watched as Pippa struggled to get Jackson out of bed. He looked off, like he was detached. Even as they sped through breakfast, Jackson never lost that odd air about him. Like he was living in a dream and not quite seeing everything as he should. Even the memory seemed a little hazy.

"What's wrong, Jack? You looked out of it." Tooth asked their Jack, worried.

"I guess... I guess that some part of me could sense what was coming." He sighed. "You're going to see how I became an immortal."

"Oh? So this is when MiM chose you? He normally waits until adulthood...?" Tooth puzzled over this information.

"Wait! You mean ta tell me, that you were chosen at 14?! No wonder you're so immature!" Bunny felt like pulling on his ears in frustration. It was a well-known fact that whatever your base age was—meaning however old you were physically when you became an immortal—was your emotional age, too. Most people were adults when they became immortals, and simply chose to take a younger form. He'd assumed that Jack had done the same. Apparently not. He mentally smacked himself. That made a lot more sense.

"You are child... You are immortal child." North mused aloud. He'd figured that something like this had happened. After all, only children were on his Lists, and if Jack held the record on the Naughty List, then that meant he was still a child. He'd never given it much thought before, though. How could he have missed this? He ignored a child... One he was sworn to protect.

"Why would Manny take you away from all this?" Tooth wondered, looking at the family of three.

"He didn't." Jack replied, pulling up his hood again. Death did.

Before they could press him for further answers, they heard Jackson's mother call out to her kids. "Be careful!"

"We will!" Jackson's smile was hesitant and unsure, even as Pippa dragged him away towards the lake.

Once they arrived, Pippa wasted no time in donning her new skates and slipping out onto the ice. "Pips, wait! I've gotta check to make sure the ice is safe!" Jackson quickly put on his own skates and gracefully, almost effortlessly, glided out after her, steering her away from what he perceived was the more dangerous ice.

They watched as Jackson showed her how to move and stop safely. Pippa seemed to be getting the hang of it, when Jackson heard a branch snap on the edge of the lake. Cautious, he made his way over to check it out. Though Jackson missed it, the Guardians saw what looked like a shadowy figure flit through the trees.

"Pitch!?" North realized, his fists balling up in anger. If he hurt Jack's sister, he was going to track down the Nightmare King and show him just how powerful the Guardians were!

Jack, who noticed the figure this go around, smiled softly. "Not quite, North." He muttered under his breath as he caught a glimpse of unnaturally bright green eyes. No, this wasn't Pitch. This was a sort-of friend of his. Death.

Pippa, who'd heard none of this, continued to skate on her own. Jackson had been making his way back to her when he heard a loud and terrifying crack.

The memory abruptly came into very sharp focus. The silent forest around them suddenly seemed so loud as the wind moaned through the trees, like it was crying. The guardians feared the worst for poor Pippa.

"Oh, no..." Tooth looked at Jack with sorrow. "Jack, I'm so sorry..."

Pippa looked down at the fragile ice beneath her, terrified. Jackson was scared too, but he took a deep breath and carefully kneeled down. He slowly took off his skates as he crept as close to his sister as he dared, setting his footwear aside, leaving him barefoot on the ice.

"It's okay, it's okay!" He reached out a hand towards her in reassurance. "Don't look down, just... look at me." His tone was steady and comforting.

"Jack! I'm scared!" Pippa's voice shook, making the Guardians wince. The ice beneath her cracked a little more.

"I know, I know." Jackson tried to reassure her, taking a step closer, only for the ice under his foot to crack, too. He looked down, frightened, though he didn't show it. He smiled. "But, you're gonna be all right." He tried to think of something to reassure her with. "You're not gonna fall in." He looked around for an idea. "Uhh... we're gonna have a little fun, instead!" He grinned.

"Your center..." North realized.

"No, we're not!" Pippa cried, distressed.

"Would I trick you?" Jackson asked, making Bunny wince.

"Maybe not the best thing to say, mate."

"YES! You always play tricks!" Pippa was close to tears, now. And the Guardians were hoping against hope that she'd make it out okay.

"Oh, well... well not-not-not this time." Jackson stuttered, trying to fix his slip up. "I promise, I promise, you're gonna be— You're gonna be fine." Jack smiled as he watched his past self reassure his sister. He had no regrets, and he'd do it all over again if he was placed in the same situation. Pippa was worth it.

"You have to believe in me." Jackson said, willing his sister to trust him. The words made the Guardians wince. "You wanna play a game?" He suddenly asked, confusing the Guardians. "We're gonna play hopscotch! Like we play every day." Jackson suddenly seemed to gain his composure. "I-it's as easy as one..." He took a step towards a fallen branch, but the ice cracked and groaned under his foot. He winced, but quickly faked losing his balance in an overly dramatic manner, making his sister laugh.

Her laughter fueled him as he took the next step, this time onto thicker ice. "Two... three!" He jumped onto the safe ice next to the branch, which they now recognized as his staff.

Jackson bent down, grasping the staff without taking his eyes off his sister. "All right." He breathed, hardly daring to blink. "Now it's your turn." Pippa looked down at her feet, her earlier fear returning even as Jackson counted. "One, that's it, that's it." The ice cracked badly under her skates as she shifted her weight forward.

The Guardians were amazed at how calm Jackson was, and how hard he was trying to save his sister.

"Two..." The ice cracked even more, and Jackson realized he didn't have any more time. "Three!" He hooked her with the staff and threw her across the ice into the safe territory. He regained his footing, looking at his sister in relief.

The Guardians all let out sighs of relief as they realized that Pippa was safe. "You did it, Jack!" North congratulated.

"Yeah. I did. I saved her." Jack smiled softly, leaning on his staff. He regretted nothing. Sandy formed a question mark over his head. "You'll see, Sandy. The memory isn't over yet." At that, the others turned back towards Jackson with a growing feeling of dread.

The brown-haired boy gave a small laugh of relief as he straightened up, only to hear a crackling sound a split moment before the ice beneath his feet—precisely where Pippa had been standing before—gave out. The Guardians were dragged under the surface alongside Jackson, making them all panic for a moment before realizing that they were neither wet, nor cold, nor unable to breathe.

They watched in horror as Jackson, disorientated from the fall and unable to move because of the cold, slowly drowned.

"You... died?" Bunny spoke first, unable to tear his eyes away from the floating child whose chest no longer moved. He'd just watched the spark of life fizzle out in the eyes of someone he thought of as a brother.

"Yeah. I died. It's why I'm scared of water." Jack shrugged nonchalantly.

"You... you realize that nobody's ever died before becoming a guardian, right?" Tooth asked gently. "As far as I know, no immortal has died before..."

"I've heard of a few immortals nearly dyin' before becoming what they are, but they were all chosen by Mother Nature. Manny doesn't usually interfere with things like death, not like that." Bunny interjected. "I suppose it'd be more accurate to say that they were saved a moment before they would'a died. I don't think they actually... ya know..."

"So, none of you have died?" Jack asked, a little startled. Why was he different?

"No," Tooth shook her head. "I got a choice. I could've said no and stayed mortal."

"Da. I was also given choice, as was Bunny." North chipped in. Sandy nodded, too, remembering when he was asked.

"So I'm the only one who didn't get a choice?" Jack huffed, mildly offended. He would've chosen this option, regardless, mind you. He loved the children of the world, and he would protect them even if they didn't know he was there. But he was still miffed that MiM had given everyone a choice but him.

They didn't know how to respond to that. As it turned out, they didn't have to.

"Look." Bunny pointed in awe to the shafts of moonlight that fell upon the brown locks of Jackson Overland, bleaching them a familiar silvery-white. His dead eyes regained a fierce spark as they turned an icy-blue color.

"This," Jack spoke. "Is my immortal birth day. December 26th."

"Jack... I am sorry. If I'd known that those skates—"

"Don't." Jack cut off North as they watched Jackson's body rise up above the surface of the lake. "There was no way you could've known." The ice re-froze beneath his bare feet as he looked at the world around him in awe and wonder. "I don't blame you, North. All you did was give her what she'd wanted for Christmas." Jack smiled softly as he gazed at his past self discovering his staff. "And I'd die all over again to save her. I don't regret it. I was just scared that you guys would overreact."

"Over- overreact?! Frostbite, mate, death is serious! Traumatic!" Bunny was horrified at how easily Jack could disregard his own death.

"Well, I didn't know that I'd died until I got my memories back." He shrugged, thinking of the close calls he'd had as an immortal. He paled a little. "Er... maybe you should save the worrying for some of the other memories."

"Wait, it gets worse than watching you die?!" Tooth choked out.

"Well..." Best to be blunt. "Yeah...?" They flinched. "A lot of stuff happened to me during my 300 years, okay? I'm not exactly the 'crowd favorite' among the spirits, you know. Nobody likes winter." Bunny flinched a little at that. He was sure he hadn't helped any.

A laugh drew their attention back to memory Jack, who was creating designs on the lake with his newfound powers. He laughed as he skated around without a care in the world. Even the Wind joined in by picking him up to show off his artwork from the sky. The Guardians were lifted up alongside the memory version of their friend, startling Bunny and North.

"Wow..." Bunny breathed out as he saw the beauty in the frost for the first time. "It's incredible." How could Jack create such beauty using only white? For a moment, he became slightly jealous—he needed colors to make white beautiful, while Jack only needed frost.

Suddenly, the Wind dropped Memory Jack, who hit a tree branch rather hard, causing the group to wince. "Were you okay?" North asked, only to hear Memory Jack laugh.

"You... had no memories at all?" It really started to click for Tooth. Jack was an amnesiac for three centuries!

"None. I knew what things were called and what they did, for the most part. And I remembered how to speak. But beyond that... Even the Moon had to tell me my name. Jack Frost. And that was all he ever told me." Jack said bitterly. He still hadn't fully forgiven MiM.

They watched as he flew into town, and tried to greet people, only for a child to run straight through him. The new immortal gasped in shock as the shockwave of cold and pain rippled through his being, terrifying him. But before he could move, two more people walked through him as well, and no matter how loudly or desperately he called out, nobody heard him. He staggered off into the forest, alone and scared, as the memory faded again.

A/N: Happy New Year~! I wanted to commemorate this new year (hopefully of productivity) by updating at least two stories. ^^ So here we are! This chapter got rather dark. I always thought to myself, what was Pitch up to back then? I also always wondered if an adult could be made to believe under extreme circumstances. I suppose we now have our answer. Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know, please!

We also finally get to Jack's Death! I'm sorry if you wanted a bit more of a reaction from the Guardians, but rest assured, there will be plenty more opportunities for them to fawn over their 'baby' later on in his immortal memories.

Also~! I had someone comment on the name I used on some random kid in a previous chapter. I know it's not time-period researched, that's why I'm mostly trying to avoid talking about specifics. I usually do my research, but this story is more written for fun. I've posted it to share said fun with anyone who wants to read it. So happy 2019, everybody~! (God, I feel old!!)

Words: 4,702

Pages: 9

Posted: 01/01/2019