Raised by Fear//Rise of the Guardians Fanfiction

5: Antarctica

Jack fled. He fled to Antarctica. He didn't plan to go to the other winter spirits. And neither the little camp of death sprites. No, he wants to be left alone. Well, he has Baby Tooth still with him. Soaring though the cold of antarctica, he didn't know what to do next. He soon landed, out in the cold nowhere. He sensed something.

Turning around, he was greeted by Pitch Black.

"Hello, Jackie.", said Pitch, approaching Jack, who aimed his staff on Pitch. "Did you regret joining them now?"

"Well, I..."

"Oh my, oh my, I was right.", chuckled Pitch.

Jack got annoyed, "What do you want, Pitch?"

"Simple, Jackie. I want you to rejoin me, fulfill the ritual and help me against the Guardians.", explained Pitch. "I can help you to be believed in, Jackie."

"Believed in? I would be feared.", countered Jack.

Pitch rolled his eyes, "Don't tell me you prefer being a figure of speech over being known."

"And if I would prefer that?"

"You would lie to yourself."

"Oh, what do you know about me."

"I've known you since you became a spirit.", replied Pitch.

Pitch turned into a misty shadow. This mist approached Jack, who started to shot Pitch with his ice magic.

"Oh, you don't use your shadow powers anymore? I'm hurt.", stated Pitch coldly. "You would be so much stronger using them."

Jack stopped using them to not scare other spirits, a subconscious extension of his deal with the other winter elementals. Especially when the guardians sacked him. But now he is alone, not counting Pitch. He has no reasons to hide them, he can use them to fight Pitch.

So it be.

Both spirits engaged in combat, stated by Jack. They exchanged blasts of ice and shadows, Jack using both. Pitch's weapon of choice was a scythe with a long staff, Jack the while used his staff.

Pitch was wielding his scythe, aiming to cut Jack in one way or another, or so it seems. In truth he tried to knock out the staff out of Jack'shands to disarm him. He actually doesn't want to fight Jack, but Jack does not know this.

Jack was blocking Pitch's slashes, pushing back the hits and blasting ice and weaker darkness at Pitch. Pitch seemed to be humored by Jack whenever he used his darker abilities.

"Jacky, now you're using them? Your full potential?"

"Only we're here.", replied Jack, "I don't have to hide them."

Jack charged his staff with a hybrid of ice and dark. He shot at Pitch, who dodged the blast, turning into shadow and manifesting behind Jack in on smooth motion.

The ice hit the ground, resulting in ice shards erupting from the ground, infused with nightmare sand.

Jack was shocked with this, while Pitch was impressed.

"As cold as frost and pitch black.", mused Pitch, "You could be so strong if you just make the right choices, Jack."

"I..."

Pitch snatched Jack's staff out of his hands while Jack's mind mas elsewhere. Jack was surprised by this. Even more when Pitch snapped the staff, snapping it on his knee. A burning pain sparked in Jack, spreading though his veins to other parts of his bodies. Pitch threw the broken staff into a rift and approached Jack. He told a nightmare to carry Jack into the rift.

In the rift, Jack saw up to Pitch.

"Now, you can't ruin my plans any further. I will return for you after I'm done.", stated Pitch, "In the meantime, you can think about your choice,"

Pitch left, leaving Jack on hi own.

Baby Tooth was climbing on his shoulder, somewhat hugging him. Jack was still in utter pain, and grabbed onto his staff. He had no idea what to do now. He had no idea how to do anything.

But he knew he couldn't let Pitch win.

He felt Baby Tooth climb down into his hoodie pocket, pulling out the tooth box. Grabbing it, he made a decision.

"If I'm stuckhere, I at least could do something and remember."

The fairy activated the box and Jack, for Baby Tooth, spaced out. But for himself, he saw himself, with brown eyes and hair, other clothes, surrounded by family and friends. Like Toothiana said, he had a life, a family.

He saw how he entertained children, played with his sister and died.

He saw how they were ice skating one Christmas, how the ice cracked under her and he saved her, tricking her out of her fear with fun.

He realized his core, his core is fun.

He snapped out of it and grabbed his staff. He directed his magic into it, thinking about his newly discovered core, his purpose and his decision. The staff mended and Jack realized something. It was gone.

He always felt weird, broken, something heavy pushing him down, at the same time, he felt empty. He conspired that he senses his broken core.

Pitch's hellish ritual did not fix it, if anything, it made him worse. He felt so conflicted, so contrasting. Thinking about his sister and his death, he realizes why. His core and the darkness Pitch was forcing into him are opposites. Opposites or at the very least very contrasting. He does not know if Pitch understood this and ignored it intentionally, or if he was as unaware as he was.

He looked at the tooth box. He has a feeling that it was the key to fix him, or at least a push into the right direction. Who knows. But now, he has to stop Pitch and maybe mend his relationship with the guardians.

With the box and Baby Tooth safely in his hoodie, he soared into the sky.