Make Up Your Mind.

“Jaaaaack!” The sound of someone calling his name woke Jack Frost up from the light sleep he had fallen into.

 Blue eyes snapped open to look around, seeing nothing be darkness. 

Jack shook his head; he could’ve sworn that he’d heard someone call his name. Before he could brush it off as his mind playing tricks on him the voice sounded again, this time closer and more mocking. “Oh, Jaaack!” 

The voice wasn't one that Jack recognized and his first instinct was to grab for his staff and shoot ice at the unknown being. However, considering the circumstances, he settled for maneuvering his body into a slightly defensive crouch. “Hello?” he called, voice a little raspy, “Who’s there?” 

Jack felt like a child, calling out to the dark, but he banished the feeling as soon as it came. A long moment followed, the silence dragging on even after the last echoes of Jack’s voice faded into nothingness. 

Then, “Well,” drawled the voice, “Let’s just say…” The tone of the voice had shifted from mocking to almost condescending as it trailed off, letting the words hang in the air before finishing. “A friend.” 

Jack highly doubted that. 

Eyes squinted; the challenge left his cold lips before he could stop it.

 “If you were a friend you’d untie me.” 

A pause, then, “Fair point.” 

Jack really didn’t like talking to the dark. “Come out of the shadows so I can see you.” 

A humorless laugh filled the cave. “Be careful what you wish for…” When the figure relieved itself Jack scrambled back in shock, catching himself with his hands before he could fall back completely. 

The floor of the cave scraped the skin on his hands, drawing blood, but if Jack felt the pain he didn’t show it. 

“You're me?” he gasped out before his brain could fully process what he was seeing.

 “Wait, no. You have green eyes…” An image of Aster with glowing green eyes flashed though Jack’s mind, the last time he had seen any of the other Guardians, and Jack glared at the green-eyes him. “You’re no friend,” he spat, “You’re that Shifter!” 

It was his fault that Jack was tied up, that he was alone in the cold and dark for the second time in his life.

 “Where am I? What have you done to the real Bunny?” His flood of demands stopped, tone turning accusatory. “If you've harmed him I’ll-” 

“Patience, patience, all in good time.” 

Jack huffed at being cut off and settled for glaring. “So Jack, can I call you Jack?” 

The teenage Spirit wanted to tell him that no, he couldn't,  but the Shifter carried on without waiting for a reply.

 “I have a proposition for you.” Green eyes stared at the glowering teen as white hair turned an inky black and a dark green jacket and long cream scarf replaced the hoodie. 

“And, for the record, my name isn't ‘that Shifter’, it’s Mori.” 

Unfazed by what Jack was sure was meant to be a jeer, he raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear what the shift-no, Mori- had to say. 

Getting the hint, Mori spoke.

 “Okay, here’s the deal, Frosty; I need you to lay low for two days, that’s all. I need you to give me your word that you will be in that little tree-hole of yours for 48 hours, and that you won’t come out.” Mori let his words sink in before adding, “If you do this, I’ll not only let you go, but I’ll also release the rabbit and your little golden friend.”

 Jack’s lips twitched and he had opened his mouth to remind Mori that Aster was a bunny, not a rabbit, when that last part of what he had said clicked. 

Jack gasped.

 “You have Sandy too? Are they safe?”

 Mori laughed. “Of course they are. I can hardly bargain with them if they weren't ” Jack looked down at his knees and flopped back against the cave wall. 

“Hmmm…” The Spirit of Winter weighed his options.

 If he took Mori up on his offer, he’d be free to do as he pleased after two days and Bunny and Sandy would be released. But why did he have to stay out of the way? What was Mori planning? And, more importantly, how would he know if Jack left his tree?

If he turned it down, he’d stay stuck in a dark cave with his hands bound until someone found him.

 Decision made, Jack took a deep breath and really hoped that he wasn't making the biggest mistake of his immoral life. 

But, he didn’t really have the means to make a counter-proposal. He was tied up in the dark, no one but Mori knew where he was, and he didn’t even have his staff.

 He was powerless and Mori knew it. 

Besides, if this Mori was a threat he would have hurt Jack by now.

 “Fine, you have a deal. If you let me and my friends go, I’ll keep out of your way for two days. You have my word.” 

Then again, Pitch Black didn't hurt him either and look how that turned out. 

Mori’s eyes flashed, glowing brighter as something menacing was lit underneath the surface. He sighed and shook his head like he was scolding a child.

 “You know, you should have taken my offer. That way, you could have gotten through this without getting hurt.”

 Jack’s eyes widened and his skin paled. “What? But I did! I agreed to your deal!” 

Mori scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I've lived a long time Jack, long enough to know when someone’s lying to me.” He narrowed his eyes and lowered his tone. Jack scooted back a little when the Sifter stepped closer. 

“You and your friends are going to suffer the decision you just made. If you could have stayed out of my way, you could have all gone home safely, but now you’re in my way. Next time, think twice before lying to me.”

 Jack's stomach dropped to somewhere around his knees. This wasn't how it was supposed to go at all. 

 Mori reached into his pocket and pulled out what Jack quickly recognized as an Orb. 

 “I was going to give this back to you, but I guess you won’t be needing it now.” Giving the device a look of disinterest, Mori threw it down. 

“No!” Jack went to lunge for it, remembering too late that his hands were still bound, and rolled. His shoulder hit the ground hard, his pained grunt mixed with the sound of the Orb shattering as it crashed to the ground.

 A blue mist rose from the mangled pieces before fading altogether. Ignoring the pain, Jack leaned  against the wall, tucking into to himself slightly. 

For the first time since that day in the ravine, Jack considered that the Boogieman was right. And with Mori’s glowing green eyes glaring down at him, he couldn't help but believe that he really did make a mess of everything.