A oneshot and, at the end, an announcement.

A portal tore through reality, opening up its white mouth, leading into a dark hallway.

Liberty stepped out of the portal in a black dress that dragged along the ground. Her black hair was tied back neatly in an updo, and her four sisters followed her like ducklings. She held her hands clasped together, staring at the ground as she walked.

"Liberty."

She looked up at the sound of her name. It was none other than Pitch Black, in his usual black robes. He wore a melancholy expression.

"It's been a long time," he said.

"Pitch," Liberty smiled as her sisters rushed past her to embrace the Boogeyman. He hugged them back, patting each of their heads affectionately before moving to hug Liberty. She accepted his hug gently.

"Have you seen Jack lately?" Liberty asked, releasing Pitch.

"I saw him this morning, but I had to go back and pick up the Guardians from Earth," he said.

"They're all here?" Liberty breathed.

"I'm sure more would be, but-"

"Jack wanted it small," Liberty nodded. "I know. Can I see him?"

"I wouldn't know where he is right now. I would assume the Knights would," he looked at the Fearies surrounding him.

"We had to get dressed in Resembia with Liberty," Dark said.

"Never mind, I know where to find him," Liberty walked past everyone. "Pitch, would you watch them for me?"

"Of course," he rubbed Risk's head. Liberty smiled gratefully and lifted up her skirt to rush down the hall. She knew where Jack's room was located in this castle, she was like an unofficial Knight. She was welcomed by every person on Jack's staff she passed, eventually coming to a large brown door. She knocked.

"Jack, dear? It's Liberty." There was no response. "I'm gonna come in."

When she opened the door, she saw a grand but empty bedroom.

Well, it wasn't empty.

A baby in a cradle was stirred from its sleep when the door open. It whined.

"Oh, no," Liberty rushed over and picked up the child, bouncing her in her arms. "Shhhh, sweetie, Aunt Liberty's here."

The baby cooed. Liberty was a familiar face to the baby. And the baby looked rather familiar to Liberty, as well, with curly white hair and freckles across her pale nose. Her little hands reached up for Liberty's face.

"Liberty," Jack stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in a fluttering white cloak, the crown perched on his head. His face held no emotion.

"Sorry to burst in, your highness," Liberty turned to Jack, who walked over and took his child, Serafina, from her arms. "I figured you needed some company."

"I have Sera," Jack said, turning his back to her. Liberty sighed and followed after him.

"You can't hide up here forever, the ceremony will start soon."

"There will be another one later today," Jack said without looking at her. "One that'll be broadcasted. I have to make a speech."

"I know. I helped prepare it," Liberty stated. Jack was silent. "Dearest, you need to-"

"Can we cut it out with the dearest?" Jack snapped. Liberty sighed.

"Dea- Jack, everyone here needs you. Being around people will do you some good, you haven't left the room in three days."

"I don't need to. I have staff who come in here to help me with Sera, and I have Pitch visiting me," Jack said, sitting on the bed. Liberty sat beside him and put her hand on his knee. Jack sighed and looked down at Sera, who was dozing off in his arms. "She'll never remember her, will she?"

"She's just a baby."

"Her mother loved her so much," Jack said. "But Sera will never get the chance to love her back."

"Let's not think like that, Jack," Liberty whispered. "Shine was hurt badly...she-"

"If you say she's in a better place, I will freeze you," Jack growled, glaring up at Liberty. She flinched, watching as the black faded out of his eyes. A look of fear crossed over his face. "Did I just-?"

"It's fine."

"I was doing so well at holding him back, Fear!" Jack choked, looking away from her. She didn't bother to correct him on her name. She just rubbed his leg.

"Don't let your grief weaken you to him. You are still strong."

"I was strong when Shine was alive!" Jack groaned. "Even in the end, when she was hurt...why do mortals have to get so hurt?"

"She sacrificed her life in the Gateway, remember?" Liberty pointed out. "She knew that she would die because of that choice. You were lucky that you got to spend more time with her before-"

"Don't," Jack whispered. Liberty fell silent. She watched as Jack stood up. "Will you hold Sera during my speech?"

A speech. A speech is where it all went wrong for Jack. It was just two days ago, and Jack stood at a podium in front of his castle. His Knights stood behind him, growing more and more restless.

Shine stood behind him as well, clutching a bundled up baby.

She was never happy to stand up on a stage with Jack, he remembered. Despite time passing, crowds still made her nervous. She would feel out of place, she wasn't used to the positive attention. A sleeping baby Serafina would be her comfort.

"People of Atherion," Jack announced. "I'm proud to celebrate the second anniversary of my crowning as King, and the start of the liberation of mortals and immortals alike."

The crowd cheered. Jack glanced over at Shine, a smile tugging at his lips. His queen winked back at him.

"It is an honor to have this day be celebrated with a festival," Jack continued. "This is a celebration of freedom, and the sacrifice of many to get us here."

The crowd cheered again. They were a rowdy bunch, which only made Jack smile more.

The gleeful screams of the crowd muffled the sound of a gunshot.

It was from up close, someone nearly at the front of the crowd. In the chaos, Jack couldn't see a hooded figure push through the crowd.

The front of the crowd were the first to notice, gasping, yelling, and breaking apart at the sound. Jack's eyes widened, and he spun around.

Shine collapsed. Sera started to cry.

It happened so suddenly. The Fearies rushed to Shine's side. One of them picked up the baby, the rest rolled Shine onto her back and were saying something to her.

Jack did nothing. Jack stared at Shine, her hand gripping the wound on her stomach, her eyes wild with pain.

Jack spun back to the audience and his eyes fell on the suspicious hooded figure. Jack snapped into action, shooting off into the air, his crown flying off and clattering on stage. His audience broke apart as he zipped through the crowd, chasing after the person.

"Take her inside!" someone had said. Maybe Dark. The crowd had started to run in a thousand different directions. Jack hissed and shot directly upwards. He hovered high above the crowd, his eyes searching with panic.

The hooded figure had disappeared.

"JACK!" Liberty had climbed onto the stage and motioned for him to retreat into the castle. Jack looked around one more time and zipped past Liberty, towards his wife, who was being carried to her bed.

There was a private funeral for SunShine. She died on October 25th, 2 years after she became a mortal. The private funeral had all of Jack's friends, and his staff. They had a visitation right before it, however, held in Adrion, so she could be with her father and uncle. A long line stretched towards an open casket, where Sun, Manny, and Jack all stood and accepted hugs from supportive friends. Sun and Manny would speak with the visitors. Jack would stand there silently, looking out into space. His face held no emotion.

The funeral happened after. Shine was buried behind the castle. A small crowd of people who knew Shine personally watched the casket be lowered into the ground. Jack finally cried there. He didn't sob. Tears barely rolled out of his eyes, but his face turned red for the first time in his life. He clutched limp tissues in his hands. They froze in his grip.

The small crowd started to break apart in preparation for the public funeral. Jack stood in front of the gravestone of his queen. Liberty stayed behind him.

"Go," she encouraged the Fearies, who rushed after Pitch. Liberty turned back to Jack.

"I'm still in shock," Jack's voice came out as barely a whisper.

"If you need to cancel the speech, if you're not ready...we can cancel," Liberty said. Jack shook his head, his back still to her.

"The people deserve a speech."

Liberty nodded grimly. Jack slowly lowered to one knee in front of the gravestone, running his hand down it. "SunShine," he read off of the gravestone. "A beacon of light for everyone-," he choked back a sob, cutting himself off. His shoulders trembled.

Liberty bowed her head, feeling tears forming in her eyes. She wiped them off with her sleeve. "We should go, Jack."

The public one was broadcasted on tv. A crowd had formed in front of the castle, and Jack had to stand in front of them all, just like he had the day Shine was shot.

"Shine was the final life lost during the revolution," he had said. "Unlike the rest of the victims, however, she had a chance to tell us how she felt." He looked around at the crowd. These people didn't know Shine personally. "She's proud of what she did. She's proud of the sacrifice she made, because thanks to her, the realms will never again be under the threat of the Golden Gateway. She was proud, and I have never been prouder."

A gentle snow started to fall on the crowd. It was way too early in the year for it to be snowing naturally.

"Shine was my best friend." A flicker of a smile appeared on Jack's face. "Well, if you need specifics, she was my worst enemy first. Then, my best friend. Then, the love of my life."

Jamie and Pippa stood at the front of the crowd, their daughter Sophie Jr. and the adopted Atherion Jamie were with a babysitter today. They smiled sadly.

"She wasn't a mortal for long. She wasn't my wife for long," Jack shrugged. "We were both still kids, but what can you do when you don't age? She wasn't a mother for long," he motioned behind him, where Liberty stood, cradling Serafina in her arms. The baby was sleeping. "But she loved Serafina more than anyone. Shine wasn't Queen for long, but she was the best partner I could ask for," he sighed. "I am thankful that I was granted more time with her. That she was given time to see how the realms would grow after her sacrifice.

"But even with the extra time given to us, I can't help but be selfish and wish I had more," Jack continued. "More time to rule beside her. More time to raise our child."

Sera started to whimper in Liberty's arms, waking up. Liberty turned her back to the audience, and to the cameras, bouncing the baby gently and shushing her.

"I knew our perfect ending was to be over eventually," Jack said. "But I hope that these realms will stay strong, and help me carry out Shine's vision to the end."

The broadcast crackled on a small tv screen, in an unknown realm. A man sat in front of the tv, his hood falling over his shoulders. He watched the King on the screen intensely.

A cat padded up to the man and rubbed against his leg. Sleek and black, the cat eerily resembled Lilith.

The man reached down and picked up the cat, setting her on his lap. "I know," the man mumbled. "You're hungry, aren't you?" the man glanced back up at the tv. "Or are you just trying to remind me of what I already know?"

The cat yawned and curled up on the man's lap.

"No King is followed by everyone," the man pointed out. "There will always be people against you."

Jack continued to talk on screen. A boy, a ruler.

The man snarled. "No matter the King, there will always be a revolution."

The cat meowed quietly. The man sighed and picked up a sketchbook, opening up to a page with a detailed gun on it.

"A mortal was no fit to rule the realms," the man said. "The girl had to die eventually. It's only payback."

The man glanced up at the screen, which reflected in his mean eyes. "I had warned them both that this wasn't over. They killed everyone I ever loved," he glared down at the cat. "Somehow, those Earthling brats and an escaped Oblivion convict destroyed centuries of June's hard work! I had my moments of doubt, sure, but..." the man trailed off and sighed, stroking the cat. "They say she survived only a few more hours before she died. That she laid in her bed, the castle doctors trying everything, but a mortal is so weak, she had no chance against a bullet meant for an immortal." He rose to his feet, the cat jumping down. Angrily, he approached the tv.

"They say she was surrounded when she died. The Earthling Guardians, the Fear Sprites, her baby, Liberty, and Jack Frost were all at her side." The man snickered. "A part of me wishes they knew it was I that killed her," he turned and knelt to pet the cat on its sleek black head. The cat purred. "That they knew this wasn't just a rogue civilian, that it was revenge for taking them all away from me!" he threw his sketchbook across the room, startling the cat. The man closed his eyes and sighed.

"Not yet. They don't need to know yet," Martin turned around and pulled out a gun, shooting the tv screen and causing it to go black.

Did you think this would be a happy oneshot? :) oops n.n

Now I wouldn't say this is necessary "canon" but eh I wanted to cathartically indulge in sadness.

So, announcement. I have been working on an original version of this story! Complete with an entirely new "first book" of the set, so it connects more to the original plot. Please let me know if you wish to see it, and in what form. Just post the original story here on fanfiction? Wattpad? Inkitt? It's most likely gonna end up on inkitt, so I'll let you guys know when it's up with another update and possibly another one shot? :)

Sorry for making this one really sad, I'll make the next one happier n.n

I miss getting to talk to you guys all the time! I'll let you know about the original version of Identical Staffs soon!