Winter Moon (Jelsa)

Chapter 22: Jack

Rapunzel. Dying. The words didn't seem to fit together in Jack's head. On the other side of the bond, he could sense Elsa's numb confusion. 

Jack had to force his legs to work. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Elsa's hand, pulling her along with him as they followed Neren. 

Elsa's fingers were cold in his, the bond coated with fear.

Rapunzel. Dying.

It couldn't be. Not the Rapunzel Jack had grown up with. Who had scolded him for doing stupid stunts and laughed when he did something clumsy. 

Jack and Elsa burst into the infirmary after Neren. Rapunzel was lying on a bed, screaming in pain as a healer desperately tried to save her. Hiccup and Astrid stood at the foot of the bed, pale and horrified. Kayla was behind them, stony-faced. 

A whimper escaped Elsa's throat. Jack felt as if he were falling. Rapunzel couldn't be dying. No. She was his family. The closest person he might have to a sister. This was like the Black War all over again. He remembered Theo bleeding into the snow. The day Kayden left on a mission and never came back. There was Ray, the bright-eyed boy who sacrificed himself so Jack and Theia could escape. Theia had ended up dying that day too, leaving Jack alone. 

Jack felt himself sink into his memories. Friends from centuries ago — all dead. 

He was drowning in it. The sea of death. 

"Jack," Elsa whispered shakily. "Stay with me."

She squeezed his hand, and Jack let that ground him. Let her center him. Elsa was still here. Her soul still burned alongside his. She would always be here, their souls linked. 

Together, they made it the rest of the way to Rapunzel's bed. Her golden hair spilled over the sheets and across the floor. Jack examined the bare skin of her arm. To his horror, it looked as if it were transforming into... scales?

"What the f—" Jack began.

"What's happening to her?" Elsa demanded, cutting him off.

The healer shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

Elsa whirled on Bunnymund. "Get Flynn and Merida. They deserve to be here."

Jack watched her out of the corner of his eye. It was as if hardship made Elsa focus. Death seemed to make her fiercer. He admired her for it. It took a certain type of strength to be strong when others couldn't.

Bunnymund didn't argue. Instead, he nodded resolutely and hopped off. 

"I can ease the pain, but I can't do anything about this," the healer concluded. He held his hand over Rapunzel, and a soft light began to pulse from it, wrapping around her. Rapunzel stopped screaming, her breath coming in ragged pants.

"You may want to make your peace. I'm not sure what will happen to her next," the healer murmured to them. 

They did no such thing. Instead Astrid knelt next to Rapunzel and asked in a quiet but clear voice, "Punzie, what happened? We're going to fix this, but we need to know what happened."

Rapunzel took a shuddering breath. "The Broken Light. The Father. Snake." She forced the words out, her voice hoarse.

Jack and Elsa exchanged a glance. Neither of them had any clue about what Rapunzel was talking about.

"Punzie," Jack said softly. "What is the Broken Light? Do you know how to fix this?"

Rapunzel took another shaky breath, and Jack watched as a little more light left her eyes. "Moana will know."