Back at North's palace, everything is beautifully decorated and there are toys and yetis everywhere even though it's summer time in Burgess. North likes to start Christmas early.
"Alright comrades! Let's start this celebration!" He lifts his hands in the air and immediately the elves start playing tiny instruments.
The yetis come closer to the group of guardians and smile with... Their beards, I guess. The elves who weren't playing an instrument were smiling with missing teeth or huge gaps. Cute, but Tooth probably went bat-crazy by now.
Jack brings out a big book and hands it to North. I could have sworn Jack was sitting between Hiccup and I.
After Jack hands North the book, he stands right beside North and just smirks. I mouth to Jack, What's this about?
Jack mouths back, You'll have to see. I promise you'll like it. I give him a face that says 'really?'
"'Tis time you took oath to be guardian." North says as he opens the book and flips through the pages, I look at Jack. He puts a hand in his pocket and smirks.
North speaks up as he reads the oath, "Do you, Jacklene Frost, vow to protect the children of the world? For they are all that we are and will ever be?"
I look to all the guardians and they nod approvingly, even Bunny. I shake my head viciously, "Of course I will."
North slams the book shut, "Then it 'tis official, you are guardian!" He hands the book to Phil, the yeti, and picks me up. "Congratulations!" He kisses both cheeks and puts me down. Jack chuckles.
Toothless let's out a roar of excitement and wiggles his tail while knocking things to the floor. Hiccup hurries to pick them up as Jack flies over to help.
Tooth and Sandy fly over to me, "Congratulations Jacklene, we're both really happy you're a guardian now!" Tooth hugs me while Sandy tips a hat. They both wave as they fly to North.
I float over to Jack and Hiccup and pick up toys and paint that fell over. "You don't have to help Jacklene, it's okay."
I shake my head, "No, I can help." We continue to pick up the toys and paint until it's all off the floor. Some of the paint spilled onto the floor so now it's stained in a few spots.
"Hey North, some paint spilled on the floor. Sorry about that." I say even though I have nothing to be sorry about. North turns to face me, "'Tis alright, Yetis can clean it up.
One of the yetis raises an eyebrow, North gives the yeti a funny look and turns back to me.
"So, a few moments being guardian, how does it feel? Good, no?"
I nod, "I feel great! Thank you North." He laughs, "Do not thank me, my friend, thank man in moon." I look to the gaping hole in the ceiling, "Thank you." I say to the man in the moon.
Only the guardians know I'm not crazy for talking to the moon. If I were you, I'd think I was crazy. But sometimes he talks back, so you can't call me crazy.
"Hey, come on! It's a party!" Hiccup says and pats my back, "No need to get all sappy on us. Let's celebrate!"
Just our luck, we hear a loud thud from around the corner. Everyone turns their heads that direction. Toothless pops his head up and looks around.
"Toothless, buddy, what is it?" Hiccup asks.
Toothless looks at Hiccup a split second then turns back to the noise. He jumps up and runs around the corner. "Toothless!" Hiccup yells and hobbles after him since he can't run correctly.
Jack grabs Hiccup and keeps him in place. He whispers into his ear for a moment then walks to the corner where Toothless dissapeared too.
Jack looks around the corner and draws his staff. Before he can say what he sees, he flies backwards over the railing. Tooth and I simultaneously raise a hand to our mouths.
"Jack!" Hiccup shouts as he hobbles to the rail. Hiccup sits there leaning over the rail, "Jack!" He shouts once more.
I fly to the wall where Toothless dissapeared behind, I look carefully around the corner. I'm shocked to see Pitch behind the very wall I lean against. He looks different with darkness swirling around him.
"Hello, Jacki. Glad to see me?" He smiles his infamous smile and strikes his powers in my direction. I duck back behind the wall and yell to the guardians, "Pitch is out!"
They all look shocked, Hiccup turns around and gives me the weirdest look. His weird look turns into a shocked expression, so do the guardians. I look down, I'm surrounded by darkness and I'm sure it's not mine.
As if to answer my question, it closes as if a giant black hand was grabbing me. It squeezes me hard and I can't move.
Sandy throws golden sand at the hand-like figure; it hits straight at the spot holding my hand and staff. Surprisingly it has no effect.
Hiccup runs toward me, pulling my hands and arms trying to free me. Pitch's laugh can be heard, "What a show, really, it's entertaining."
The hand figure flicks Hiccup into another hand-like figure and as a result, both Hiccup and I are sucked into the darkness casted onto the floor.
The hand drops me and I'm free to move as I'm falling to who knows where.
Eventually I see a small light, then I realize I'm no longer falling but sitting instead. I don't remember when I stopped falling...
I decide to crawl towards the light and as I do, it gets bigger and bigger; it gets so big I fit my whole body through.
As I look around, I see huge trees and a small dirt path. Seeing no point, but it's there, I follow it. It was a short walk but I made it to the lake where I drowned. It's always this place I end up.
The lake is different today, as I look around I see nothing out of the ordinary. I look behind me, nothing seems wrong.
I turn back to the lake and see two bodies that appeared out of nowhere. Being me, I fly over to them.
I find a boy in a blue hoodie and another boy in brown armor-like clothes. Jack and Hiccup. "Here we are once again." Says an all too familiar voice from the shadows. "Pitch! What are you doing? What are you planning now?"
He steps out of the treeline directly in front of me. "You see, you like to have fun right? So why don't we play a little game?"
"If it's your games, I don't want anything to do with them!" I shout in defense. I try to pick Jack up but he won't budge. It's like he's glued to the ice. I try to pull Hiccup but he's stuck to the ice just like Jack.
"Jacki, that's not how the game is played. You have to agree to play the game to save them." He smiles and clasps his hands together.
I look at both of them, they look relatively unharmed... Although Jack's scraped up from the fall... "What kind of game?" I ask reluctantly.
Pitch's smile widens. "You see, the rules are simple. You just have to choose whom to save." I give him a confused look, "What?"
He loses his smile. "Oh Jacki, it's simple! Jack, or Hiccup? Who will live?" I look back and forth between them. I can't choose, Jack loves Hiccup, and vice versa. If one of them lost the other... They'd be devastated.
"Tick tock! Once you choose, the other will die a horrible death. I'm sure you wouldn't want that. But, if you don't choose in ten seconds, they both die. Ten."
I look at Jack, as I look closer, his head is bleeding. He must have not caught himself when he fell.
"Nine."
I look at Hiccup, he lies there without a cut or a single scrape. He is mortal, he could die at any point right?
"Eight."
Jack is immortal right? He can't die. Or can he? Oh god, do I have to choose?!
"Seven... Six... Five..."
He's counting faster... What do I do?!
"Here, I'll choose for you." Without hesitation, he drops Hiccup into the water. I crawl to the waters edge. "Hiccup!" I scream repeatedly as Pitch slips into the shadows.
From behind me I hear a large gasp. I quickly turn around to see Jack sitting straight up and gasping for air. "Jack! Hiccup's down there! He can't swim, he's unconscious! I'm so sorry! I didn't know what to do!"
Jack looks at me with a horrified expression. "Hiccup?" He crawls over to me with his staff in hand. He hands me his staff and dives right in. "Jack you idiot!" I yell after him.
After about thirty seconds, two heads reach the surface. One with white hair and the other brown. I pull Hiccup up first then Jack. I look at Hiccup and instantly begin to cry. "God, Jack I am so sorry. Words cannot express how bad I feel."
"It wasn't your fault." I look at him with tear filled eyes. "It was Pitch's fault. He did this. He will pay. I swear I will not let Hiccup's death be for nothing."
I set Jack's staff to my left between us and my own to my right. I notice something peculiar, further to my right is a line dividing what should be daylight and the moon's light.
I look all around where we sit, a few feet in all directions, we are surrounded by a circle of sunlight. Or what I thought was sunlight.
I look straight up and see the moon glows brightly only where we sit. Jack looks up too and is stunned. "My guardians." A voice says. After that one sentence, the moon dims to the soft glow of night.
Jack and I look to each other and our expressions are so similar we could be twins.
We both look back to Hiccup and find and unexpected surprise.