Disclaimer: All characters and places of both Frozen and Rise of the Guardians belong to their respective owners.

Beyond the Freezing Point

Chapter 7

There were 30 of them: towering blockades of ice, snow, rocks and twisted branches—and magic—come to life. And bared were their claws, their ridges and horns of ice, lining the great expanse of their bodies and glinting in the Dreamlight; ready for battle, ready for threat. They carried in their centers—for they did not have hearts—the cold, cold, bitter wrath of Winter. What little conscience they possessed was reserved to the orders of their little general and their creator, both sitting on the shoulder of the most savage of them all.

Under the great howling—eternal—winter gales and the heavy pelting snow, their footsteps were slow, dull thuds. They were silent, and by the orders of their general (he was like them, but not like them at the same time for there was a warmth in him that they did not understand), they followed the flitting fairy flying before them. She was a tiny thing, no bigger than the palm of a human hand, but her orders were strict and concise; a stern, chirping rainbow buzz against the tangible darkness.

The forest was thinning and they had come so far without incident… for the time being at least. The lantern on their creator's staff, perched deep into the shoulder of the Snowman that carried him, dangled with every step and shadows in the forest shifted sharply around them. They could feel the stinging ice of Nightmare dust in the air, between the trees and on the very snow they trudged on. They could feel the nerves of the tiny fairy (for they knew that she knew of the darkness waiting in and all around them) as she hovered hesitantly before one of their own shuffled closely beside it.

They, who awaited her directions, did not miss the fleeting glance she made towards the Snowman beside her, and to their resting creator after. Strength must have instilled itself in her heart because she nodded to herself and tweeted to carry on. The Snowmen would ponder on the tiny fairy's momentary hesitance but they figured quickly that they would never know. Fear was not ingrained in their centers—they only knew of a chilling, stormy rage and an intuitive urge to protect—and so they did not feel fear.

But they were wary.

They knew the enemy. And if the enemy (who still bade their time in the darkness and had so far allowed them to pass through unharmed) started moving, their response would be automatic: a reflex, either as shield or sword. And they shall test—they shall test—the so-called prowess of Nightmare sand.

But their orders were to march for now. And march they would, heaving stomp by heaving stomp, towards the kingdom beyond the thinning trees and the frozen waters.

Arendelle glowed a foul-ish grey; a kingdom of stained silver against the moonless black. The angry winds were replaced by weaker, occasionally howling, gusts and a thin, greying fog had fallen on the kingdom and the fjord, coiling itself tightly, eerily, on everything it touched. The air itself was tinged; there was a repulsively sweet stench with an underlying scent of putrid sourness and rot hanging about the kingdom. A little farther north of the town, thorny gates congest before the castle entrance, sealed shut once more. The snow continued to fall, relentless and cruel.

And the town; buried under thick blankets of snow, the sunny demeanor of the humble houses and shops were dulled to fading hues and wart-like, lumpy white hills paved the streets under the fog. Serrated stalactites of ice hung down from roofs and lamp-posts, not unlike the teeth and nails of menacing creatures waiting to pounce on any mortal flesh to come their way. The desolate streets were indistinguishable amidst the fog and the ruins of collapsed structures, no doubt the work of the Nightmares. Broken wagons and crates, abandoned stalls and a child's solitary doll on the snowy ground cast an image of Arendelle in a way Jack had never considered it to be before: a ghost town. Like the waning pictures in Jamie's history books. A dead town. A memory.

It was so quiet.

Jack swallowed his discomfort as they advanced through the streets slowly, heeding Tooth's warnings of the magnificent cluster of Nightmares ravaging the kingdom. The moment they had set foot in Arendelle's boundaries, an uncomfortable weight settled in his chest, slithering itself, in snake-like slowness, continuously between his heart and his stomach. Judging from Olaf's fidgeting look of unease and Baby Tooth's feathers standing on edge, hands clasped tight to her chest, Jack knew they felt it too. The Snowmen, in turn, did not react. They felt nothing, but they waited as Jack treaded cautiously before them, scrutinizing the area for an ambush. The yellow light of his Dreamsand lantern shifted dully against the fog.

"Where do we go, Jack?" It was unnerving to hear the tiny lilt of worry in Olaf's voice. The little Snowman had raised his head on his twig arms and had squabbled his own way around the area, inspecting broken things and the occasional pile of snow. "Can't see a thing in this fog," the little Snowman said, failing to notice he had walked straight through the broken beam of a busted wagon. "Hmm," he said, fingering the wood that impaled him. "This humor feels oddly forced now."

Jack, senses in high alert, tapped the snowy ground with his staff and like a sigh, the fog diminished considerably, leaving only smoky trails on the edges of dark alleyways and street corners. At least he could do that; stopping the snow from falling, and changing the weather in general, required too much energy and he needed to reserve all he can if he was going up against Elsa's full power. The rest he had on the shoulder of Marshmallow II had replenished him and he would rather not waste it. And at least, the streets were clearer now, even if it was still dark. The stench, though, remained.

But what was hidden in the fog had been brought into the light of the Dreamsand. And if he had known, Jack would have never cleared the fog.

For under the truthful light of Dreams—and Wonder, and Memory, and Hope, and Fun—the little mounds of white visibly transformed into forms of pallid blue flesh; two hands, two feet, a tuft full of hair, dusted in hard flecks of white and black, a whole lot frostbit, a little bit fleshy but also a little bit solid, and a little bit buried in the snow. And a whole lot dead. And Jack Frost remembers that the streets of Arendelle were paved with lumpy white hills under the fog.

Swearing under his breath and forcing down the bile quickly rising up his throat, Jack turned away quickly, forcing the cold, mangled… dead thing back into the darkness. He refused to look at its face for fear of knowing just who it was that laid there. He could not. He would not.

Winter's child, shallow-breathed, weak-kneed and eyes tightly shut, leaned his forehead against the staff in his white-knuckled hands, willing the nightmare away. Three hundred years of roaming—in this world, in that world, and all the worlds in between—meant that seeing dead things was not anything new to him. But that does not change the commencing horror and the grieving dread that came along with the brief stirrings and passings of mortality. Everything dies. Even gods die.

And to whatever gods above—to the Man in the Moon himself, if need be—Jack prayed and pleaded, head hanging low against the strong wood of his shepherd's crook and knees giving in to bury themselves in white powdered dust, that Arendelle's beloved queen and her darling sister would never have to witness any of this.

Baby Tooth cooed sadly, pulling his hair softly, before proceeding to wipe the hot tears that he did not even realize had escaped with her tiny hands. He noticed too that the little rainbow fairy had shed her own tears, but she was not crying anymore and a little bit of pride bloomed in him to know that she was such a tough little thing. Maybe even tougher than he was at the moment. He should remember to commend her to Tooth when he meets her again.

Quiet, waddling footsteps behind him had Jack's heart constricting in his throat once more. He turned his gaze slowly, miserably, only to meet the back of the head of the little Snowman as he looked over the corpse. Jack could not imagine how Olaf would take the scene.

"Olaf," Jack started. "I'm so sorry you have to see this."

Olaf was quiet for a long time. The little magical Snowman, now looking as faded and wrecked as the kingdom he loved so much, continued to stare at the frozen, frostbit corpse, while Jack waited, on his knees beside him. The little Snowman was exactly that; little and not as impressively built as the hulking figures that consisted Jack's army. But Olaf possessed a heart—something Jack knew Elsa had too much of; too much that she had to give them away through her little creations—and a heart after all, for all its glories and resplendences, was still a heavy burden.

After a while longer, the little Snowman sighed. Baby Tooth chirped in that soft, woeful tone at him before placing a comforting hand on the side of his head, making him turn to look at her and Jack. To say the least, Jack was surprised at Olaf's expression: the Snowman had a small smile at him. Small, yes. Even a little bit goofy. But Jack was most surprised at the hope he found in Olaf's expression.

"We gotta keep moving, right?" Olaf said, waving his arms that funny way he does. Jack could not stop the slight grin coming onto his face even if he wanted to. He shook his head in mild disbelief; Olaf was an anchor. And a strong one at that. Baby Tooth had also seemed to have caught Olaf's infectious optimism for she chirped cheerily at Olaf, buzzing around him. Olaf let out that merry laugh of his and Jack was more than a little relieved to hear it again.

"Yeah, Olaf," Jack said, to both Tooth and Olaf. "We keep moving. And we're gonna make things right." The pair responded with a merry whoop, before Baby Tooth zipped back towards the army of Snowmen waiting for them for their new instructions. Jack was mid-stride as he started back towards the army as well, crook on his shoulders and feeling reasonably lighter since they had gotten to Arendelle, when he caught Olaf staring at the corpse again.

"Jack," Olaf said, not quite sounding as merry as he did just a few seconds ago and not meeting Jack's gaze. He also missed Jack gulping down that renewed lump in his throat the moment Olaf called him back. "We're not going to let Elsa and Anna see this, are we?"

Jack released the breath he did not know he was holding. Ah, so they shared the same sentiments. Sighing, Jack replied, "No. We're not." Jack strode back towards Olaf, understanding why the Snowman was still staring at the corpse. Calming himself and making sure the vomit in him stayed down, Jack forced himself to look at the cold, blue heap of flesh and bones once more as he stood beside Olaf. This was going to be a reminder.

"They won't ever see anything like this. Ever. Not if we can help it." Jack made sure that he was looking into Olaf's eyes when he promised this, and was even vaguely aware of the smile on his face as he said it. Olaf rewarded him with a giant grin. Turning back to the corpse, Jack waved his staff gently and the surrounding flurries of fallen snow made a graceful curl in the air before settling softly on the rotting corpse. That'll do for a burial mound for the moment. They would come back for the others after everything, definitely.

They were on their way back towards Baby Tooth and the other Snowmen when Baby Tooth dashed in a mad rumble of colors and high-pitched twittering at Jack's face."Woah! Baby Tooth!" Jack exclaimed at the colorful blur buzzing around him. "Hold on! What's going on?" She was excited and impatient at something and Jack's alert peaked almost instantly, preparing for the worst. Was it an ambush? Have the Nightmares come for them now? He brandished his staff defensively and started whipping his head around, searching for signs of a shrilly neigh or the smokey wisp of black sand.

"Wow, she's really agitated about something," Olaf said as Baby Tooth's shrieks became louder at the sight of Jack preparing for defense. "Hold on, Jack. Maybe I can understand her." Baby Tooth merely continued to warble and trill loudly, tugging at Jack's sweatshirt and pointing towards the sky.

"What is it, Baby Tooth?" Jack exclaimed, frustrated now that he could not find any hint or hoof of Nightmare anywhere but that the little fairy was still chirping loudly at something he did not even know what.

"Yeah, I got nothing," Olaf said, shrugging and calm despite the raving rants of the little fairy and the now-distressed Guardian of Fun.

"Baby Tooth!" Jack exclaimed, cupping her in his hands to keep her from flying around. "You have to calm down! I can't understand you when you're talking that fast. Now tell me what's going on. Calmly." Baby Tooth made a series of gestures with her hands, twittering and still pointing towards the sky. Jack peered up at the black skies and nodded at Baby Tooth, finally beginning to catch her drift.

"Okay, Baby Tooth," he replied, jumping into the air and riding the winds up. Once he got to a certain level as high as the rooftops of the houses in Arendelle, Jack turned in the air, looking around and searching for something while Baby Tooth flew about beside him, mimicking his scrutinizing gaze as she too eyed the inky horizons. She chirped and pointed again somewhere behind him. Turning, Jack nearly lost his control and balance when something blazing bright and fast whizzed by him, straight towards Arendelle and missing him by just a good few inches.

"WOAHSHIT! WHAT THE—!" Jack felt the accompanying wind of the unidentified whizzing object propel him into fast, dizzying somersaults in the air to the point he almost crashed onto one of the chimneys. Once he was barely able to get his bearings, Jack shook the stars and the vertigo off from his eyes and was prepared to raise hell on this new threat, undoubtedly from Pitch, when he heard—

"Crikey, North! You bloody missed the bugger! That was a bloody good shot you had, you lousy fat man!"

What followed next was the unmistakable thunderous boom of North's laugh as the Sleigh made a direct flight course towards the thorny bridge. Baby Tooth, who had flown beside Jack before Jack could even feel the giant grin forming in his face, was already twittering excitedly again.

"Alright! They're here!" Jack made gleeful curl in the air, before swooping down to scoop up a confused Olaf and placing him on Marshmallow II's shoulder once more. "You saw them, right, Olaf?" Jack could barely keep his excitement in line, knowing that soon, all of them would be fighting alongside together once more. And judging from the thrilled chipping coming from Baby Tooth, Jack knew he was not the only one looking forward to meeting up with everyone. Olaf nodded enthusiastically; this would mean meeting Anna, Kristoff and Sven again too. And before Jack could excitedly exclaim his next instruction, Olaf had already beat him to it.

"I know! I know, Jack!" He declared, breaking into laughter as he animatedly got the attention of the Snowmen waiting. "To the bridge, you guys! And let's make it quick, alright?" When the Snowmen grunted their response, Olaf quickly directed his excited rambling towards Marshmallow II ("Oh, I'm so excited! All of you finally get to meet Anna and Kristoff and Sven and then you guys could just see how nice they are…") to which Marshmallow II would respond with a series of hoarse groans that could be somewhat classified as laughter.

And with the complementing sound of thudding ice as the Snowmen began their march once more, Jack and Baby Tooth launched into the air, flying ahead, following the red Sleigh and knowing that soon, with all of them reunited once more along with the Snowmen army Jack made, they had now evened the odds against the Nightmare King.

Soon, Elsa, Jack thought through the rush of the icy winds of flight. I'm coming, Elsa.

A/N: This has been way too long overdue :(( Sorry guys.

Consider that bit with the Snowmen in the beginning some sort of intermission. I actually made several drafts for this chapter because I had the worst writers block (yet) and huff this chapter just would not come out right, and then I wrote little bit about the uh... frost giants (HHHHAAAHAHAHA) and ended up liking it that I just had to like... sorta squeeze it in there. :S

I hope you guys like it, even if I'm having sooo much doubts about this chapter here.

Thanks (for always!) for all the new reviews and faves and follows :') I am not abandoning this story and I'm so thankful that y'all have been so patient :')