2 The Man In White

Jack slowly opened his bright blue eyes and pushed himself into a sitting position, his head throbbing like crazy but it was to be expected. Whenever Jack overdid it with his magic, unless he focused and willed himself to stay awake, he would always pass out within moments after he ran out of magic.

The first thing that Jack noticed after waking up was that his ice prison had completely disappeared into a big puddle which he was currently sitting in. The second thing was that his sister was gone, which was actually a pretty big deal if you knew the siblings and their habits and what they were like.

Emily was almost always close beside Jack, and even when she wasnt, she would always inform him where she was going BEFORE making a move. The same went for when Jack went anywhere as he would always let his sister know what was up so she wouldn't worry about him. The fact that she wasn't right next to him currently have him an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, making him feel rather uneasy.

Pushing himself onto his feet, Jack took his first looks at his surroundings. What he saw completely stopped him from making a single sound, let alone breathing. He felt like he wasn't seeing things from his own eyes, unable to believe or even comprehend what he was seeing. He knew it what it was but it was just hard to swallow and even harder to fully accept.

The village! The village that he had been born in and raised up as a baby. The village that had brought him so many memories of both joy and sorrow, giving him precious things to look back on. The village that had contained kind and generous people who were just looking to live peaceful lives. Everything from the people to the the village in general had been decimated.

The once run down houses were nearly completely obliterated as if by some sort of explosion, leaving only a large black indentation where the house itself used to be. Bodies were strewn out across the land, bloody, burned, and some were even still alive, moaning in agony. The whole village had been leveled into a heaping mess of bodies and a scorched ground. The only spot untouched was the large square spot that Jack was currently sitting in.

Jack blinked and every emotion ranging from shock all the way to disgust hit him and hit him hard. He ended up once again on his ass as his mind spun out of control, unable to grasp anything sensible from his racing train of thought. He could feel his heart speeding up and and his breath quickening, a panic attack about to take hold. Unconsciously, he reached out to pull his sister closer to him, only to reach out to thin air.

"My...sister," Jack said, his mind regaining som semblence of sanity. "I need to find my sister. She's alive, I know she is...gotta find her." He grit his teeth and ended up rising back onto feet.

Scanning the horizon, Jack searched for any signs of bright white hair, hair that he could easily spot from a mile away. After a few minutes, his eyes spotted movement in the corner of his eyes, a fast moving object bolting out of his line of sight.

Turning his head, Jack saw something that made him feel cold with rage. A guy dressed in all white riding along on a black horse carrying an unconscious Emily in his arms. He didn't even seem to notice Jack as he rode rapidly along the trail, heading to the forest which had been remarkably left untouched.

Without even thinking about it, Jack took off running, completely forgetting that what lay before him was 500 feet of scorching hot ground. The pain didn't even register with him though as he sprinted along, his mind completely blank with rage, magical energy that was once gone crackling through him once again. This was a rare phenomenon where a single pure emotion would fully restore ones magic with a rather painful backlash once the emotion wore off.

Raising his hand as he sprinted, Jack swung his arm, his eyes glowing a powerful blue as 20 foot wall shaped like a crescent appeared in front of the rider, blocking his path. The rider fell off as the horse reared up in shock from the ice suddenly appearing.

Jack slid to a stop, letting the horse run past him as he then proceeded to slowly approach the man. His eyes were radiating a cold blue and his rage made him want to kill, but the safety of his sister kept his mind clear and his eyes sharp.

"Give my sister back to me and I promise to let you go," Jack said as stopped some twenty feet away from the man. "I may be angry enough to kill but unlike you, I'm a man of my word. Of course, that said, if you so much as even attempt an escape, your life is forfeit. I'll hunt you down and kill you and your entire family without mercy." Flicking his wrist, a 3 foot long sharp icicle appeared in his hand.

The man said nothing, his face obscured by the white mask he was wearing. He held Emily underneath his right arm and was holding onto her pretty tightly, making it clear which way the man was going to go.

"Before you make any decisions, lets set the field," Jack said, a smile spreading across his face, one filled with bloodlust and rage.

Stomping his foot onto the ground, a wave of ice surrounded them and froze the ground, turning it into something similar to a frozen lake. The ice reduced friction to almost nothing and made it near impossible to move unless you had proper shoes on or other objects that helped with this situation.

"Impressive," The man in white muttered as he stood up straight, his mask tilting from side to side, making it clear that he was observing the field. "Such exceptional power for one so young. Power equal to that of a noble or even a royal. Against anyone else, you might actually pose a threat."

The man in white kneeled down and touched the floor with his index finger. All the ice that had been procured so far, including the ice floor and the ice wall, began melting at a rapid pace, turning into nothing but water before soaking into the ground.

"However all magic before me is rendered useless," The man in white said. "I also have an offer for you. If you let me leave here peacefully and not try to attack me, I promise that no harm will come to the girl. She will be treated greatly and wont be forced into breeding or slavery."

"Breeding? What a cute way of saying ****," Jack shot back, his glare intensifying.

"I take it then that we don't have a deal," The man in white asked as he set Emily down.

"What kind of brother would I be if I accepted?" Jack took a fighting stance with his icicle spear at the ready. "Would I even be worthy of living if I let the one person I care about be taken away with no guarentee of safety? Your not leaving here...and even if you do, you'd only be a dead man walking."

"Your loyalty to your sister is commendable and you are indeed brave, but I have to urge you to reconsider." The man in white also to a fighting stance, one where his hands were open instead of closed into fists. "I'd hate to accidentally kill such a promising young mage. Ice types are rare, even by magic standards. May I at least have your name?"

"The names Jack Frost," Jack responded as he broke into a run. "Remember it when I claim your life from your very being."

Jack and the man met in the middle, and immediately exchanged blows. The two started off slow to gauge each others abilities, but the outcome was clear from the very start as Jacks icicle melted the moment the man touched it.

The man allowed Jack to attack him, clearly letting down his guard as Jack assaulted him with various techniques. However, each technique missed the target as the man dodged every one with ease.

The man didnt counterattack once, simply letting Jack attack as much as he wanted, dodging everything that was thrown at him. Even when Jack froze his one of his feet, preventing him from moving, he merely ducked underneath the follow up strike and touched the ice holding him down.

This small game went on for about 5 minutes before the man in white finally retaliated, sending out a lethal punch straight towards Jacks throat. Jack was forced to jump backwards in order to avoid dying from the attack. He narrowly avoided it, rolling along the ground before jumping back to his feet.

"Your pretty quick on your feet and your reaction time is actually quite impressive," the man in white said as he stood there with his hand extended. "Given time and battle experience, you could easily become a strong capable man even if you are a peasant. I urge you to cease this fight that you have no hope of winning."

Jack grit his teeth and pushed off the ground once again, charging to meet the man head on. "Not a chance in hell!! She's my sister and you WILL give her back."

"Such a shame," The man in white stated, a hint of disappointment in his tone.

Waiting until Jack was close enough, thr man in white jumped up and, akin to a flash of lightning, swung his leg around and sent Jack flying with a solid kick to the chest. He then landed back down onto the floor as Jack alos landed around twenty feet away, almost back to the spot where he had first cornered him.

"Your strong, but you have much to learn," The man said as he walked back to the girl, lifting her unconscious body into his arms. "I shall make sure no harm befalls the girl despite you attacking me. If you ever hope to rescue her then become strong, stronger then anyone who bars your path. Only then can you hope to reach her."

With those words, he turned and ran off, leaving an unconscious Jack in the middle of the field.