Rise Of The Guardians - The Life Of A Spirit

The Plan

Jack clung tightly to Jamie as Phil hurried them through the bustling Workshop, partly for the foreign need for warmth, and partly because the boy, despite the situation he was just in, was constantly being distracted by the magic occurring around him.

"I can't believe we're in Santa's Workshop!" Jamie whispered to him excitedly as they entered one of the wooden elevators. "This is so cool!"

"Good idea sending us here instead of Burgess," Jack commended him, and Jamie grinned with pride.

Jack abruptly shuddered as he fought off the now uncomfortable sensation of cold, and Jamie's grin faded into a frown of concern.

"What happened to you?"

Jack grimaced as another bout of shivering overcame him and muttered, "It's a really, really long story. I'll tell you once I finish getting yelled at."

"Huh?"

The elevator stopped and Phil led them out of the small hallway into the Globe Room. Jack shrank back from the eyes of the five figures, avoiding their gazes and wishing more than anything to just melt back into the shadows like Pitch could.

"You didn't..." Tooth breathed, slowly descending to the ground in shock.

"I'm sorry," Jack muttered, trying and failing to resist the crashing guilt.

North took a deep breath and said, "You are human? He took all of your power?"

Jack nodded, his fist clenching tightly as he looked away. Jamie's gloved hand clutching at his wrist drew his attention away from his internal discord, and he glanced down.

"I'm cold..."

He immediately shoved away his own problems and led him further into the room towards the roaring hearth, keeping his distance out of habit while Jamie settled down as close as he could to the flames. The Guardians stared at him in surprise.

"That's..."

"Jamie," Jack finished for Bunny, "Jokul used him to draw me out. He gave me an ultimatum: my powers, or Jamie's life. It's pretty obvious which one I picked."

"Well if that's the case, you made the right choice," Tooth assured him, "You saved his life. We all would have done the same. This is why you're a Guardian."

"I was," he corrected her, "Just like I was the Spirit of Winter. But I kept pushing that side of me away and look what happened? Now Jokul's gonna completely destroy the world and it's my fault."

"Jack, this isn't-"

"Yes it is! I was the one who summoned Jokul in the first place, I went to go fight him alone and lost, I led him to Burgess where he learned about Jamie. Everything would have been so much easier if I had just stayed in that lake."

Another bout of shivering wracked his body and his face twisted and he glanced at the fire. His gaze lowered to the staff still held in his hand like it always had been, the only possession he ever truly cared about. But now it was just a remnant of another life. He let it drop to the ground with a loud clatter and limped over to where Jamie sat beside the fire, warily settling down next to him and watching the flames like he would a dangerous animal.

"So what do we do now?" Tooth asked quietly.

"The plan will remain the same," North assured them, "Jack will still be able to reclaim his power from Jokul. He must have some remaining, otherwise he would not be here."

"I hate to break it to you, North, but there's nothing left. The only reason I'm still here is because I'm human again. That's it."

North sighed, and turned to stare pensively down at the Workshop.