MK turned in her bed and looked at Andy, or JJ. She still referred to him as Andy, even though everyone else knew him as JJ, and Jamie called him dad, of course. He didn’t seem to mind, but she thought that she should get used to calling him JJ too. She had time now to do that, now that she got him back. She pushed a lock of hair out of his face very gently. His eyelids fluttered open, and he smiled upon seeing her. Her own mouth curled into a bright smile.
“Good morning,” she whispered softly as she snuggled up closer to him.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Good morning, sweetheart.” They kissed. “What do you say we stay in bed for a little while?”
“Hmm, OK, until Jamie comes in.”
JJ sighed. “Deal.” MK snorted as she buried her face into his chest. She breathed in the cool, brisk autumn scents she had come to associate with him. It only made sense that he would the alter persona of Jack O’Lantern. It was a comforting smell.
“Mom, Dad!”
JJ groaned. “Well that was quick.”
MK chuckled. She gave him a quick kiss before she sat up in bed. “What is it, Jamie?” She saw the worried look on Jamie’s face and quickly got out of bed. “Jamie, what’s wrong?” She walked towards him, JJ now sitting up in bed.
“All of my grandparents are here. Something’s wrong!”
“Did they say what exactly was wrong?”
Jamie shook his head. “They just said they had to talk to you right away!”
MK and JJ shared a look. MK turned back to Jamie. “Alright, you go tell them we’ll be out in a minute.”
Jamie nodded and took off, MK closing the door behind him. JJ was already up and getting changed when MK got to the closet.
“Do you have any idea what it could be?” he asked as he pulled on a shirt.
MK shook her head. “No clue, and I wonder why they didn’t tell Jamie.”
“Well, guess there’s only one way to find out.”
MK nodded and the two quickly finished getting dressed. They dashed out to the living room and found two couples looking rather perturbed, and Jamie was on the floor looking at them with worry and curiosity. Jack and Rapunzel were huddled together on the sofa, while Hiccup and Merida sat in the adjoining chairs and held hands. Hiccup stood up when he noticed MK and JJ coming into the room.
MK hugged him. “Dad! Mom! What’s wrong?”
JJ embraced his parents as well. “Is it Pitch?” he asked as he pulled back from their hug.
Jack glanced at Hiccup. “Well, it has more to do with our attempts with getting back to our world. Something, or well, someone, seems intent on keeping us from doing so.”
“And isn’t Mavis,” Merida quickly added upon seeing Jamie’s shocked face. He relaxed as he shot his grandmother a look of gratitude, but there was still worry creased on his face.
Jack nodded. “Definitely not Mavis, she’s actually been working hard, trying to help us.”
JJ glanced between the four. “But, who wouldn’t want to head back home?”
“That’s why we came here,” said Hiccup, crossing his arms, “we need you to help us figure it out.”
Jack sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. “Though the only reason why we came now is, it seems to have gotten worse.”
“What do you mean by that?” asked JJ as he sat down. MK sat down next to him while the other four returned to their seats.
Jack let out a huff as he glanced between Hiccup, Merida, and Rapunzel. “Oh man, where do we begin?”
Hiccup shrugged. “How about when the two Sandy’s really got started working on figuring out a way back home with the Onceler?”
“”Which was New Year’s Day.”
MK and JJ shared a look. “Wait,” said JJ, “since New Year’s Day?”
“That was only a few weeks ago!” blurted MK.
“Yeah, we’ve been having problems ever since,” said Jack.
“At first they were minor nuisances,” said Merida, “or at least we thought so. Then, things got worse and worse. Instead of things being misplaced, or a crack in glass here and there, there were big messes, some ingredients were stolen, and some things were broken.”
Rapunzel shivered. “But now, someone just tried to kill Jack!”
JJ leaned forward, eyes wide. “What?” He glanced at Jack. “Someone actually tried to . . .”
Jack waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it. Right now, we need to find out who is behind all of this to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“Isn’t Sheriff Woody on the case?” asked MK.
“He was, but there’s only so much a doll can do,” said Jack with a shrug. “And it is just him and Jessie keeping the peace. We need an expert on the case.” He looked pointedly at MK. “And I know we promised to let you have a few months to be with JJ and Jamie, but we need you, MK.”
JJ and Jamie glanced at MK. She let out a breath. “Alright, I’ll see what I can do.”
“We,” said JJ, “we’ll see what we can do.” He shot a smile at MK. MK really didn’t want to get JJ caught up in it, but she realized that not only would she appreciate the extra help, she would get to spend time with him. She loved him so much.
She grinned back. “Yes, we.”
“And me too!!” blurted Jamie.
MK pointed at him. “Once you’re finished with your homework young man.”
“Oh fine.” Jamie huffed and crossed his arms.
MK nodded. “Good.” She turned to her parents and in-laws. “I’m on the case.” MK was surprised by their reaction as the four smiled wanly.
“I really wish we didn’t have to rely on you for this,” said Hiccup, “but you seem to be the only one who can handle this.”
JJ leaned forward. “Is there another reason?”
Jack clenched his staff tightly. “I think Pitch is somehow behind this.” He glanced at the two pointedly and worriedly. “Please be very careful.”
JJ shot him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ve been practicing a bit with my powers. If Pitch is behind this, it will just give me a reason to try them out.”
“You’re still not strong enough to handle him though,” mumbled Jack.
“I can always send MK and Jamie to find you. I’ll be fine.”
Rapunzel patted Jack’s shoulder. “Jack, he’s an adult now, we should trust him.”
Jack sighed. “I know, but he hasn’t had much training.”
“Then teach him,” said Rapunzel.
“Then teach me,” said JJ at the same time.
Jack ran his hand through his hair. “Well, it’s kinda hard to at the moment since I’m helping the Sandy’s find a way home.”
Rapunzel took his hand. “I’m sure they’ll understand if you want to take a few minutes, or even a few hours to train our son. The more help we have defeating Pitch the better.”
Jack sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I’ll talk to them about it when I see them later.”
Rapunzel pecked his cheek. “Thank you.”
He pulled her closer. “You’re welcome.”
MK let out a breath as she stood up. “Alright, if I’m going to take this case, I’m going to need all the information you can give me.”
Hiccup leaned forward and rubbed his chin. “Well, I think we gave you all the information we could give you. Things seemed to be lost or misplaced at first, but then the next week we found phials broken, ingredients stolen, and things spilled all over the place. Then, just last night . . .” Hiccup paused and glanced at Jack, apparently waiting for him to finish the story.
Jack sighed. “Last night, I was on my way home when arrows were shot at me.”
“What?” blurted JJ and Jamie.
Jack nodded. “I was able to put up a shield of ice just in time.” He shivered. “It was way too close.”
MK blinked. “But I thought you can’t die!”
“You’re right, I can’t, but these weren’t your typical arrows. They had been dipped in nightmare sand! If one of those had pierced me, Pitch would have been able to control me.” JJ gasped and his eyes widened in horror. Jack continued. “When the arrows stopped coming, I went off in search of my attacker, but I couldn’t find anyone. So I grabbed the arrows and took them back to the Sandy’s. The Sandman was able to turn the nightmare sand back into dream sand, but that’s the only good news from that entire incident.”
JJ let out a soft hiss. “So, someone in the town is working with Pitch.”
Hiccup nodded. “And we have no clue who it is.”
MK rubbed her chin. “Well, looks like it’s time for a visit to town hall and take a look at Mavis’s collection of information on each person. Maybe someone will pop out.” She turned to Jack. “Speaking of, you’re sure it wasn’t Justin either?”
Jack nodded firmly. “Positive. He’s been helping us too.”
“Well then,” said MK as she strode towards the phone, “let’s see if there are any bad guys who made it into Cedar Grove.” She picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Hello, Mavis? We need to look at the info you have on the townsfolk. How soon can we look at them?” Her eyes widened. “Now?” She glanced at everyone in the room with determination. “That will be perfect. We’re on our way.”
A Faraway Land 