Possession of Jack Frost

Epilogue: Cold and Dark

It has been a year since the guardians last saw Jack, since the day he joined Pitch, since the day they lost their family, since the day they betrayed him and lost the trust of the one person most important to them. They always hoped that they would run into Jack, be able to tell him they were sorry for everything, and that they just wanted him back.

However, Jack never appeared, or if he did, he avoided them.

They knew that he was around. He was still spreading 'snowballs and fun times', but he was also helping Pitch collect fear. After all, he fed on it as well. That stopped them from looking, knowing that even if they ran into him, they would never be able to convince him to leave.

He was in love with Pitch. And surprisingly, was loved in return.

Even when Jack left, they still couldn't believe it. No way was a creature of darkness like Pitch able to love. But then they heard rumors from the other spirits. Rumors of how Pitch was under control never overstepped his boundaries, only fed on fear when necessary and almost never causing it, and never left his cave without a certain frost spirit by his side.

It wasn't until they saw it with their own eyes that they knew they made a mistake,  knew that they should have given Jack a chance to explain, knew they should have listened when he asked to go back. But their pride was too great, and they paid the price.

Bunny looked over at the Guardians - North looked ready to give up on everything, Tooth was silently crying, trying not to show Jamie any weakness, and Sandy was just standing with his eyes closed, his way of blocking out the pain - before looking back at Jamie, "Jamie. Jack is..." Bunny began but didn't know what to say. Bunny regretted everything that happened that day and wished he could take it back. He hated how he regarded Jack. He hated that he didn't trust him. He hated that he never believed in Jack. However, more than anything, he hoped. Hoped that he would be able to tell Jack that he was sorry. For everything. "Jack is no longer with us," He whispered.

Jamie gasped and began panicking as he looked over at Bunny, "What do you mean he is no longer with you? What happened?"

Sandy began frantically signing once again, trying to answer all of Jamie's questions at once, but was unable to get his point across, Bunny was really the only one that understood the complex symbols.

North spoke loudly, "Jack resigned as Guardian." North's voice was shaky. He had the roughest time out of all of them. Jack was like a son to North, the son he always wanted, but the son he could never have. So, when Jack was taken, he lost control. That caused him to harm Jack, and he would never be able to forgive himself for that. He shut himself out after that day. Never really returned.

By this point, Jamie was frozen, not knowing what to do. If Jack was no longer a guardian, then what would happen if Jamie stopped believing in him? Would he, would he disappear?

"Jamie," Tooth called out, noticing the panic on Jamie's face, "I know that this is hard to believe, but it's true. We haven't seen Jack in over a year."

"NO! I don't believe you, Jack has to be a Guardian. It's what he always wanted, right? He would never just quit!" Jamie shouted at the four, "What if I stop believing eventually? What if I die! He'll have no one to believe in him." Jamie knew that Jack had many believers now, but he always felt like they had a stronger bond then him just being a simple believer, that maybe he was a key in making sure Jack stayed believed in. Jamie didn't know what to do. He frantically started calling out Jack's name. They were at HIS lake. He had to come if he called. "Jack... Jack please. I know you can hear me. Come out, please! Jack! JACK!" Jamie called into the forest.

The other Guardians hung their heads, knowing that this was their fault, "Jamie, he won't come." Tooth stated with tears starting to form in her eyes. "This is our fault," she sobbed. "We caused him to leave.