Chapter 2: Fury (Jack Frost x Reader)

The sun is rising: deep orange, trembling at the horizon. You sit on a snow-covered field at the top of a hill facing a quiet little town, as you always do when you needed time to slow down, when you needed to figure things out. Beyond the town is the sea, a seemingly brilliant sand of amber at dawn. You’ve always loved watching the sun’s ascend at the break of dawn; seeing the sun’s rays caress the sleepy town, you could almost hear life stirring awake as the early risers started their morning routines. This winter morning, though, it appears that most residents of the town decided that a little more sleep is the best way to battle the morning chillness. There are times when, watching the sun rise, it felt as though the new day at the break of dawn could truly offer a fresh start, free from the troubles of yesterday.

You find your mind straying back to the kiss from yesterday; touching your lips, you could still feel Jack’s cold lips on yours. You laugh at yourself at how ridiculously much you’ve already missed Jack. Cautiously, as though tiptoeing through a mine field, you let your mind thread further back, to the years before Jack. Memories, simmering like rekindled embers of a flame long dead, bite and burn at your conscience. You bite your lip, and try to think of the best way to tell Jack. You mentally rehearse the parts to gloss over, and the parts to emphasise, in your story.

A soft rustling breaks your train of thoughts as you spring up, tense. An unpleasant, sinking feeling is spreading through your body. Is it him, after all these years? Could it be–

A pair of ice-cold arms wrap around your body from behind as Jack hugs you, pressing his cold body against yours. It’s amazing how, in an instant, all your fears and anxieties are replaced by joy and comfort with the presence of Jack.

“Morning,” he whispers into your ear as he pulls his face beside yours.

“I didn’t think you’d find me,” you reply, caressing his face, pulling it closer to yours. You lean in and kiss Jack, turning your body so that you now face him. You place your hand on his chest, feeling his heart beating as you lick and suck at his cold lips. You run your other hand up Jack’s back, stopping at the base of his neck to tug at his snow-white hair. Jack’s hands run through your hair, sending waves of electric through your body, and you bite Jack’s lip as he moaned softly.

As you pull away from Jack, your lips curl to form a small smile and you whisper, “Morning, Jack.”

“Nice view,” Jack says while caressing your right hand with his cold hands, “do you come here everyday?”

“Not everyday, but it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.” You gesture for Jack to sit on the snow-covered field beside you.

Jack places his staff down, but instead of sitting down, he lies on the snow, placing his hands behind his head. With a gentle smile, he gestures for you to lie down beside him.

Lying on your side and facing Jack, you place your head on his chest. You can feel his chest moving up and down as he breathes, and as you softly place your hand on his chest, you can feel his heart beating.

“Jack, after you told me your story about your past yesterday, I’ve thought about a lot of things.”

“A lot of things?”

“I’ve thought about my past.” You pause, uncertain of how to continue. “Jack,” you said softly, feeling glad that you can’t look into his eyes, “I want to share about my past, too.”

“I’d be glad to know more about your past.” Jack says, gently stroking your hair.

“The day after I became Fire Spirit, I met a man. But he was no ordinary man; he had disproportionally large fists that seemed to glow at times. He showed me how, like me, he had powers beyond the imagination of normal humans. And he seemed really helpful then. He warned about the dangers of the world, now that I wasn’t human anymore; he taught me how, in order to survive, one has to leverage on one’s abilities and make the best out of it.

“His name was,” you could feel your heart racing at the thought of his name, “his name was Fury. His power feeds on the anger and hatred of people around the world, so he can be almost unstoppable at times. And my powers have a strange effect on his; they seem to augment and enhance it. As long as I was around him, the fuel of fury within him seemed to grow. To the people around us, one small spark of conflict would quickly escalate into fury due to my influence on others’ inner desires and passions. And this would then make Fury even more powerful. In other words, I seemed to be the central catalyst that ensures Fury’s formidability, and that made me invaluable to him.

“There were periods of times when everyday seemed to be passed in violence, when Fury’s rampage wouldn’t stop. Those days, I kept telling myself… I kept telling myself that it was for survival.” You pause to fight back tears of fear that are fighting their way through your eyes. Jack takes hold of your hand, gently but firmly squeezing it. Taking a deep breath, you try to steady your nerves as you continue your story.

“But the truth became clear one day. We met a little Water Spirit along our way. He’s just a little child, and I was really happy to meet someone else like me. Fury, on the other hand, was enraged. Perhaps he thought that, if I were to meet such a friendly spirit, I’d be able to see past the lies he had fed me about the dangers of the world. Perhaps he feared that I’d leave him.

“And so he–” you gasp as tears start spilling and you start sobbing uncontrollably. Jack wipes your tears away with his thumb and holds you closer to his body. He lifts your chin so he can look at you. Looking into his electric blue eyes that are filled with pain in seeing your sadness, you seem to gain an immeasurable amount of strength and comfort.

“He destroyed the Water Spirit,” you say, almost whispering, “he just kept punching and beating him. And there was blood everywhere – the ground turned a deep red – but his glowing fists just kept going – and every time I went nearer to Fury to stop him, his strength grew exponentially because of my influence on him. I mean, the Spirit is just a little child!” you pause as your voice trembles, and tears splatter onto Jack’s hoodie to form a small damp patch.

Jack wraps his arms around your body and hugs you closer, bringing his face to your forehead. With one hand he squeezes your shoulder, and with another he wipes the tears from your face. For a few moments you sob in Jack’s embrace as the memories flash before your eyes.

Finally, as your tears dry, you continue, “Of course, that got the attention of the Guardians. This was way before Pitch’s attempt at destroying the Guardians’ power, so you probably wouldn't have known that it happened. And so one day, North, Tooth, Bunnymund and Sandy confronted Fury. Fury saw it as a challenge of power, and sought to destroy the Guardians once and for all.

“The tricky part is that Fury’s power feeds off his and others’ anger, so when the Guardians came with anger at the murder of a Spirit, they theoretically couldn't stand a chance of winning, simply because Fury couldn't be destroyed. And so I came to a conclusion; if I was the central catalyst of Fury’s power, and Fury’s power came from anger, there was actually one plausible solution to the conflict.

“I left.” You pause to catch your breath, and reach out to hold Jack’s hand. “I ‘broke up’ with him, if that’s what it meant. I succeeded in turning Fury’s anger into sorrow, and it devastated him. He broke down, and then he disappeared. No one knows where he went, or if he still has his powers. I wonder if the Guardians still see me as the source of Fury’s destructive powers.”

“You did the right thing,” Jack says softly, “and I’m sure the Guardians will be able to see that in you.” He kisses your forehead softly.

“I’m scared, Jack.” You say as you squeeze Jack’s hand. “I’ve no idea if he’s still out there, or if he’s tracking me down to seek revenge on me.”

“Don’t be.” Jack squeezes your hand in return. “I’m here to protect you from that bastard.”

“And who will that bastard be?” a familiar voice that sends shivers down your spine booms from across the field.

“Fury?” you ask softly, standing up as fear creeping into your nerves. Jack quickly rises from his back and stands in front of you, putting himself between Fury and you.

Across the snow-covered field, a figure is slowly approaching; slightly taller than Jack, and much bulkier, he has disproportionally large fists that appear to glow red from the distance.

“It’s been a long while, eh?” Fury says with a cold sneer. “And who’s that? Your new boyfriend?” You notice a rise in volume and anger in his voice.

“What are you doing here?” Jack shouts at Fury, a hint of anger in his voice, too.

“Jack, remember what I said about how Fury’s power works?” you nervously whisper as you tug at his hand.

“There’s no way I couldn’t feel angry at someone who has hurt you so deeply!”

“I’m here for (name),” Fury grunts at Jack, “so step aside. I want her back, and I know she wants me back, too.”

“I don’t want you,” you say in a disgusted tone.

“It’s over between the both of you, Fury! She’s with me now!” Jack shouts, taking a step towards him.

“I SAID, STEP ASIDE!” Fury exclaims, sprinting towards Jack.

Jack lifts his staff from the ground using his feet, preparing to attack Fury–

But Fury is already swinging his huge fist at Jack, landing a punch at his jaw.

“Oomph!” Jack groans as the impact throws him off the ground. You can see Jack’s body, limp and in shock, flying through the air in an arc, finally landing on the snow with a thud. From the corner of your eye you see the faint flicker of reflection that indicates that Jack’s staff has flown off the field and down the hill. Blood splatters onto the snow-white field as Jack struggles to get onto his feet again.

“Fury, stop! Jack hasn’t done anything to you!” you shout at Fury, feeling helpless as you back away from the fight to prevent your powers from enhancing Fury’s.

Jack slowly stands up to face Fury, and wipes away the trail of blood that is flowing slowly from his mouth. Jack is shaking in anger, and he shifts his weight unsteadily as he tries to regain his balance.

Fury stomps towards a powerless Jack, raising his fist for another blow–

The punch makes a soft crunch as Jack tumbles down with a muffled groan. You can hear the splatter of more blood as Jack fell.

For a few moments, Fury stands over Jack’s slumped body, his body heaving in fury as he clenches his fists tightly.

“Fury, please!” you plead as tears well up in your eyes.

“Without your pathetic staff, you’re powerless,” Fury observes with a menacing tone as though he can’t hear you, “and your anger makes me not only stronger, but also more furious.”

A heavy sense of dread fills you up as you sense history repeating itself. Your mind sizzles in a frenzy as you try to come up with a solution, just as you did decades ago. How can you stop Fury without getting closer to him? How can you get rid of the anger within him and Jack? Would repeating the same stunt work a second time, especially now that Fury has evidently gotten over it? Should you get help? Who can you go to – the Guardians?

Fury kicks Jack, and he slides a few inches from the impact while a crack indicates a broken rib. Jack props himself up with his arm, body trembling with pain and effort. His chest heaves heavily, and he winces with every breath due to his broken rib.

Fury grabs Jack by the front of his hoodie with one hand, lifting him up.

“Let’s see how tough you are, shall we?” Fury sneers, pulling his face up close.

Jack grabs Fury’s fist weakly, as if trying to make him let go. With his free fist, Fury punches Jack’s face. Jack let out a deep groan as blood and spittle spurts from his mouth. Jack’s snow-white teeth are stained red by his blood.

“You’re a tough one. Our little torture here is going to last some time, isn’t it?” Fury punches Jack in the face again as more blood splatters onto the ground. Before Jack has time to recover from the blow, however, Fury lands another punch on Jack, who groans loudly. Jack stares angrily at Fury. Fury throws Jack like a rag doll against a large rock near the perimeter of the field, careful to ensure his head lands first onto the hard surface.

“Argh!” Jack cries as blood slowly trickles from the back of his head, staining his snow-white hair with streaks of red. Jack tries to get up, but fails and slumps onto the rock, chest heaving up and down.

“Fury, stop now. I’ll come with you. Just leave Jack alone!”

Fury chuckles as he turns to face you. His eyes are a bright red and he looks more demonic than you can ever remember.

“You will come back to me,” Fury exclaims, “and I will destroy this little tough guy here. Just wait there patiently, my girl, or you could come closer if you’re feeling a little impatient.”

Fury walks over to Jack and straddles his heaving chest, and Jack winces with the pressure on his ribs. Fury pins Jack’s arms with his knees, sneering down at the weak Guardian. Fury places his large hand on Jack’s neck in a chokehold, slowly crushing his neck. Jack gasps silently as he watches Fury raise his other hand in a fist that is glowing red. In a flash of red, Fury swings his fist at Jack’s jaw.

“Ugh!” Jack cries as he takes the punch and even more blood spills from his mouth.

Tears spilling from your eyes, you try to ignore the biting guilt, the burning anger and the crippling fear as you frantically search your brain for a way out of the situation.

Fury strikes Jack again, and you can sense that Jack is slowly losing consciousness.

And then it hit you.

A plausible solution.

It’s a little crazy, and it might not work. But it’s all you’ve got now.

*To be continued*