North looked at Jack and hated the feeling in his belly. The winter-child who had become like a son to him…well, he supposed even children hated their parents at times. Of course, Jack also might not have seen the Guardians as his family.

“The twins have a home,” North said, pulling a snow globe from his coat. He threw the snowball over to opposite side of the room and a portal opened. He moved across the room, getting ready to heft up the twins and toss them through—gently, of course. No need to wake them prematurely.

Sandy was to the twins at the same time and put a hand up to stop him. North was confused for a moment. Did the dreamgiver really think he could heft ONE of these twins, let alone both?

Sandy reached down to Trick and pulled the lollipop out of her mouth. He wasn’t going to let them just get away with that weapon. Manny’s gift was just that—a gift. And he was taking it back. Manny may scold him later, but unless he was going to get his glowy butt down here and protect the Guardians—and Pitch—from these two, he was going to take matters into his own hands.

North blinked at Sandy. He might have forgotten about the lollipop, actually. Treat and Trick looked so much like Hallow and Hain when they were asleep that he didn’t even see it as weapon. A mistake he wouldn’t make again. He lifted both twins and walked through the portal, laying them down on the other side and making it back through just in time before the portal closed.

Well that took care of that he guessed. The brief glimpse he had gotten of the place the Twins lived looked...well almost like home.Or at least the home he had when he was human. A small looking log cabin in the middle of a forest.though it was dark and the dead grass around the house made him think that there was never any sunlight there.He didn't see much.Though he did feel a little better with that demon lollipop in Sandy's hand rather then Treat's.

Jack may have been mad at the guardians but he knew that if that weapon was safe with anyone it was one of the big four.He seemed to be the only person that shouldn't trust them. He had thought that things were better that they cared about him. He didn't remember much of his family but he knew that you didn't keep something so big from some one you cared about.

Tipping his staff forward he froze the edge of Bunnymund's nose. Startling the pooka awake. Eye the color of freshly grown grass popped open and took in the room as the large rabbit jumped to his feet."Crikey what the...Frostbite why you little." The look on the winter spirit's face stopped him from continuing the threat." What did I miss?"

Sophie giggled a little at Bunny before hugging him. She hadn’t seen him in weeks. She did feel bad though. She couldn’t find a way to approach Jack, no matter how much she wanted to. She wanted to pull him aside and have him explain everything, away from the Guardians.

“Trick and Treat are at their home,” Tooth said simply, glancing at Jack. The lost boy didn’t believe them. Of course not. She wouldn’t in his shoes—or lack of shoes—either. They hadn’t lied to him. And he never asked either. But they didn’t tell him that someone came before him.

Sandy walked over to the pooka, the lollipop thrown over his shoulder. He looked up at Bunny and wiggled his eyebrows, like he was bragging about how much he scored.

North glanced at Jack. Did he want to continue talking about this in front of Sophie? North would tell him. North would tell him everything—well, maybe not EVERYTHING. There were some things about that story that North didn’t even like to know.

Furry arms wrapped around Sophie returning her hug.It felt like ages since he had seen the little ankle biter. He could swear she was taller. He had planned to stop by to say happy birthday to Jamie and leave some early Easter eggs for the two.he had been working on a new pattern and always loved to hear their opinions on them. This wasn't how he wanted the visit to go.At least those two Wobbly twins were out of the picture for now. Though Sandy was not stashing that crazy lollipop at the Warren.

Still it didn't explain why Jack looked like he was going to go into one of his teenage moody fits.Unless...Green eyes moved to North. There was an almost defeated looked behind the Jolly mans eyes. Great so they had told him. He had been on the side of never telling Jack. It's not like they had much to do with the old Jack Frost anyway.



He didn't want to be here right now. Really he wanted answers for question t hat made him sick just thinking about. Shifting on his feet Jack sent another longing look out the window. He didn't want to be around them and yet he wanted answer that only they could give. Well them and the twins but he wasn't stupid enough to go and try to find their home. " I should go...Other places to spread winter to and all." Jack shifted again this time a little closer towards the window. He never looked up at any other the guardians. For the first time since he had taken the oath he didn't feel like part of them.


(( God he is so emo it hurts me.))

Sophie quickly pulled from Bunny’s arms and reached out for Jack, even though he was far too far away. “Jack,” she said, feeling completely useless. “Will you come back?”

Sandy twirled the lollipop, playing with it. He could understand Treat’s fascination with it. Maybe he needed to get a prop. Tooth had her fairies. North had his coat, sleigh, and snow globes. Bunny had his eggs. Jack had his staff. Why shouldn’t he have something? But what? A pillow? Who cared? He was having too much fun impersonating the twins. So what if Manny might be mad at him?

Honestly, Sandy knew he should have been more concerned with Jack’s leaving, and he was upset that the wakeful-child was upset, but he also knew that this was coming. No one ever listened to what he never said.

He wondered if any of the other Guardians had realized that they had left Pitch alone and unguarded.

He let the little sheila go giving the frost brat a slightly disproving glare. Just cause he was upset didn't mean he had to upset Sophie as well. He got it. Really if he found out that some bloke had been the Easter bunny before him and no one told him he'd be pretty freaked.Still he should break this habit of running away from everything.

he would go to the lake or maybe that nice little spot in Antarctica. Destroy the statue he had made with Pitch or call up a blizzard. Something big and completely him. Maybe go freeze the Warren he always got a kick out of that.Or he could go back and visit those kids in Iceland tell him he was spreading their snow bath thing. Anything as long as it got him away. The wind, a constant friend, picked up and he was crouched on the windowsill before he had time to realize it. Turning he locked eyes with Sophie, " Yeah soph I'll be back." and with that he jumped out the window and took to the air. Antarctica seemed like a good choice right now. It was too soon for the snow storm he wanted to create in most places. And the less people around the better.

Resting a comforting paw on Sophie's shoulder he cast a look towards the other three. Rolling his eyes at Sandy. " Well that went bloody well."

Tooth stared at the open window, as if staring at it would make the lost-boy come back. She could tell him everything. Her memory was good enough that she could recite the entire dialogue of the trial that led to the last Jack Frost’s execution. If he would just come back. It was that moment she realized that he had made off with Baby Tooth. She hoped she would be okay.

North hadn’t looked up. His heart was breaking. The winter-child, his surrogate-son, was off like a rocket. Jack officially hated him.

Sophie looked up at Bunny, expectantly. “So what is he upset about?”

Bunny covered his green eyes with one large paw rubbing it over his face.How to explain this to Sophie. Should they even tell her? He wasn't sure it was their place. Not only that but they hadn't really told Jack the full story, if he knew Frost the kid had run off before he got the whole story, and it didn't feel right. No if they were going to tell anyone it should be Jack first. Bloody Twins. He could have gone a couple of more centuries before he thought about telling their Jack. His annoying little brother. At the best of times, most of the time the brat just liked to mess with his holiday.

Still he looked towards North. Then regretted it. he knew the big guy had taken Jack in like a son. Crikey this was a mess. Looking back to meet a pair of green eyes Bunny felt his resolve slip. He couldn't imagine those eyes looking at him how Jack had looked at North. " Jack just found out somethings. He'll calm down."

Sophie looked confused for a second—Bunny wasn’t telling her?—but then blinked and nodded. “Oh, okay.” That answer hadn’t made her feel even the tiniest bit better. In fact, it made her feel worse. He’d come back. But that might not be until November, or even December, if she interpreted it loosely. The thought made her sad, but it also frightened her. She had kind of hoped he would stay at the house tonight, just in case the twins came back.

Tooth flew over to North, frowning. Looking at the Russian was heartbreaking. He didn’t even look up at her. “North,” she said, tapping his shoulder. He glanced at her for a second before looking back down at the ground. “North, I think we should get you back to the workshop.” Sandy looked over at this, and floated over to North, holding up the lollipop. He imagined keeping the lollipop on his island, but so rarely was he ever at his island. North would be the better choice.

Sophie looked over North. He took the lollipop from Sandy, scarcely looking up. Sophie couldn’t help herself from saying something. “North, he’ll come around. Whatever he found out can’t be so bad that he’d give up you guys. You’re his family.”

For a moment Jamie had stood on the stairs and stared at Sophie's door. Today had been a great birthday, it hadn't ended so well bu it had been great none the less. He new She would be okay up there. Jack had already shown that he would put himself between Sophie and the twins. Not that Jamie had ever doubted the winter spirit. Shaking his head the dark brown haired young man made his way down the rest of the stairs. The living room was empty but he figure his parents had went to bed a little while ago anyway. The lack of his girlfriend was a little unnerving. The noises from the kitchen, as well as the smell, suggested that grilled chess was being made. That was one of the things that he had come to love about Joyce. The girl could eat.


" Yeah ,mate, Frostbite will find his way back to the workshop. He just need to go create another snow storm in the arctic tundra." He was sure the immortal teen would get over what ever he was feeling and come back to hear the rest of the story. Then he would throw another fit before he calmed down. It was the was all things worked with the winter child. Bunny couldn't really blame him. Three hundred years alone, all he had ever known was being alone.


Everything around him blurred. Bits of hail and snow mixed in with the north wind as it carried him south.Their words kept playing though his mind. The guardians the twins the ones he had been wondering since the twins had called him new jack.He wasn't the first. Had Manny ignored the first Jack as well or was he just that special.

Tooth's hand flew to her mouth. "We left Pitch at the workshop!"

Sandy hit his forehead. Of course Tooth was the one to realize it.

North nearly roared, but thought better of it. "Not only did those twins threaten children and leave their posts, but they let the Nightmare King go!" A string of Russian curses flew out of his mouth.

Sophie eyes widened as she grabbed for Bunnymund's paw. "You mean he's loose?" Sophie didn't like that. She didn't want Pitch dead, but she definitely didn't want him out terrorizing children.

"Why haven't those two bloody drongo been on trial yet?" Bunny hissed out while running a paw over his face. Of course they had left Pitch unsupervised alone in the workshop as well. But they had a reason. The twins had threatened their children. The two little humans that they had watched grow up from stumbling little ankle biters to half grown adults. No the guardians had no choice but to leave and they wouldn't have if the twins had just stayed were they were suppose to. In fact none of this would have happened if Pitch hadn't gone off the deep end.


Looking down at the little human girl he rested a large paw on top of her head. " No need to worry sheila. Pitch won't get anywhere near you or Jamie." He wouldn't be stupid enough to hang around the Bennett's with the twins taking an interest in them.

((Sorry it's so short. I'll post for Jack again when they reach the work shop.))

Sophie looked up at Bunny with a distraught look on her face. “But what about the—children?” It had taken her a moment to stop herself before she said “other children.” She had to remind herself that she wasn’t one of those children anymore. Growing up with the Guardians and Jack definitely made her feel like one. And, of course, her older brother too.

North sighed and looked at little Sophie. “You do not need to worry about the children. That is Guardian’s job.”

Tooth was mumbling and counting on her fingers. She darted over to the window and stared outside, looking for a sign of any of her fairies. “Should we get back to the workshop and see if he’s still there?”

He wasn't fully comfortable with leaving the two humans alone. Pitch wasn't stupid enough to mess with the Bennett children but the twins were.Still they couldn't let Pitch wander around in the world, or the workshop. Oh the damage the nightmare king could do. though last time Bunny saw him he did have a large chunk of himself missing so he couldn't have gotten too far. " I agree Tooth we need to head back to the workshop." Looking back at the blond human Bunnymund smiled through the tinge of worry. " Why don't you go see what Jamie is up too. One of us will be by later to check on both of you." Either himself or Jack if the winter spirit ever got over his angst fest. Running off on the guardians when he was upset was something that Bunny would almost call predictable behavior. Leaving the Bennett's after something like the twins wasn't.

Sophie looked around at the Guardians for some sort of sign that it would be okay. That the world wasn’t rapidly falling apart around them. Seeing nothing, she put on her best smile and looked at them again. “Okay. We’ll be fine.”

North looked at little Sophie, or rather, mostly-grown Sophie. The little toddler that had run around the Warren with the Guardians was no longer a child. No longer supposed to be under their protection. He tried to remember how old she was. Thirteen? Fourteen? He never was so good with human years. A thought crossed his mind. “Sophie. You still have snowglobe I gave you, yes?”

Sophie stopped and flipped through her memories. A snowglobe from North. She thought she remembered one. She was seven when she got it, and it was hidden away in a drawer packed between sweaters and scarves. She nodded.

“If you shake it, your light will glow brighter on my globe. If anything happens, shake it.” With that North walked out of the room. He was certain he had given one to Jamie as well; however, it was highly possible that the boy had gotten rid of it. North had almost forgotten the trick of the glow, because it didn’t seem necessary. The Bennett children never needed to be protected, so the snowglobe was really only a prototype. A safeguard. A just-in-case. It looked like the just-in-case was upon them.

Tooth glanced back at Sophie, smiling sadly as she flew after North. She should try to come up with something for the Bennett’s. But now was not the time to think about it.

Sandy, lollipop in tow, glided out the window, bowing a little to Sophie before shooing upward to the roof, she supposed.

Grass green eyes watched the others leave out the window, he still wasn't going to take that bloody death trap. He'd stick to the his faster and safer tunnels.Plus Bunny wasn't ready to just leave the little human alone. His ankle biter was strong but the twins unnerved immortals so it was reasonable to guess that she was more freaked out then she was letting on.

"You sure you are okay?" He crouched a little so that he was her height. Large furry paws resting on her shoulders.His duty was too all the children of the world but Sophie and Jamie held a special place in his heart.If she needed him to stay he was should he would stay. The others could handle Pitch till Jack got over himself.

Sophie reached up to Bunnymund’s shoulder, pulling him down a little and stood on her tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. His fur tickled a little, but after years of being mothered by Bunny, she was used to it. She pulled back and smiled. “I’m fine, Bunny.”

Sandy sat in the sleigh, reclining with the lollipop across his lap. He hadn’t decided what to do with it. He knew there would be consequences to him taking it. But Manny had yet to actually say anything to him. Of course, that was Manny’s way. He had been extremely sociable already today.

North threw a snowglobe and drove through the portal created. But he was certain Pitch was already gone. If he wasn’t, North might have let him go based on that alone.

Tooth was calculating the likelihood of when and if Baby Tooth came back if she would be an icicle. The odds seemed to be against Tooth today, so she was also contemplating funeral arrangements for her precious Baby Tooth.

He wished he had carried some of his egg bombs with him to the meeting but he had thought that the twins would keep things settled. You know that they would do their job. The pooka would have felt better knowing that he had at least given the human a way to escape. Not that he didn't trust North to come running the second one of those snow globes was shaken. Maybe he'd some back later with a basket for her, something to ease his mind. " Okay Sophie." Standing to his full height he tapped the floor of the her bed room with his foot. The tunnel was just big enough for him to slip through and take him to the pole. " Stay with Jamie and don't hesitate to shake that bloody snow globe."


(( I cut it short. sorry it took so long. A bath for stitches turned into a bath for srg then I figured hell I'm already wet and braved giving lockeheed a bath....I think my arm might be bleeding.))

“I won’t. And don’t worry. We’ll be fine. Jamie and I aren’t scared of Pitch.” She didn’t mention the twins. She wasn’t scared of Pitch right now. But that may have just been because all she could think of was the twins emerging from her closet and…

She had to stop thinking about that. “I love you, Bunny.”


“He’s not here,” Tooth said, her wings flapping faster, raising her up higher, throwing glances around the room.

“Shostakovich!” North exclaimed. A few of the Yetis turned and looked at the Russian, but some just continued working, cleaning. They were used to his outbursts.

Tooth’s voice became shrill. “North, he could be after my fairies again. North, he could hurt my girls.”

Sandy shook his head. Pitch wasn’t stupid enough for that.


Pitch heard the voices dying down in the room next door. Curious, he appeared in the room, under the bed, careful not to darken the room. There was a slightly damp towel underneath with him, and he rolled his eyes. There was a teen-girl next to Bunnymund, and she obviously was the source of that towel. Honestly, teens had no sense of respect. But this must have been the little girl. Oh, what was her name? Sally? Sonja? Sophie? Sophie. That was it. But that wasn’t the little one who destroyed it all. That was the other one. Jamie.

It's dark most of the day this time of year in the frozen wasteland of Antarctica. The moon light dances off of snow and ice and that's about it. He missed the few hours of dim sunlight by hours. Jack really doesn't care. He just wants to..to... A large blast of snow explodes off to his right in a world wind of white glitter around the large ice figure that now jutted out of the ground. Swinging his staff he smashed the newly made formation to pieces. No one could get hurt here, he could let out all of his frustration and feelings of betrayal.



" Love you too ankle biter." He gave the girl a quick kiss on her head before jumping into his tunnel. The smell of peppermint and pine tress filled his nose as he raced off towards the workshop. He hadn't fought the twins, not that there would have been much of a fight. He let North handle talking to the twins ever since their trip down insanity lane. The Russian just seemed better at vague threats then the pooka was.Bunny would have just knocked Trick in the face and that wouldn't have turned out good. The light at the end of his tunnel let him know he was there, nothing was faster then a bunny. Jumping out of the tunnel he took in the lack of Pitch. Just great another drongo out and about with a history of not being completely in control of his sanity. Great.

Sophie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as soon as the rabbit hole closed. She moved over to her bed and sat down, burying her face in her hands. She needed to try and think about what had just happened.

Pitch found himself looking directly at the girl’s bare feet. Probably the Frost-boy’s influence. He wouldn’t be surprised. She was apparently sitting on the bed. Briefly he considered grabbing for her foot, but dismissed the idea. He did have his shadows reach out a little, just to retreat when she started talking. Did he miss someone in the room? No, it was empty. The girl was talking to herself.

“So Jamie and I have a set of psychotic twins with a tragic backstory after us. And Pitch is probably out planning on terrorizing children.”

Wrong. He was hiding under her bed with zero plans to scare anyone again. Well. Maybe one last hurrah before his death/murder/execution, but only the worst need apply. He was not about to scare someone on the nice list three months before Christmas. North on a rampage was not a pretty sight.

“And all of the Guardians are upset. And something upset Jack enough that he ran away and I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

Pitch extended his consciousness and moved from under the bed to a nice shadowy corner. All of the movement didn’t feel great on his shoulder, but his curiosity got the better of him. He stared at the blonde girl as she spoke, wondering how old she was. She was staring out the window, like it was her saving grace.

“And I really don’t want him to get hurt anymore.”

Pitch saw the girl reach for the window, standing up. He wondered if prolonged exposure to the Guardians—and spirits in general—could cause a human to lose their mind.

“He’s been through a lot. All of the Guardians have, I know, but he’s still so much younger than all of them.”

Yes, she was definitely crazy. She was almost o her open window. Distantly, he was concerned that she might throw herself out of it. He was sure that he would be blamed for it somehow.

“I know that North, Bunny, and Tooth talk with you. Sandy, too, probably. If he does speak. I’ve tried it a few times…but, you know that.”

Oh. The girl was talking to Manny. It made sense now. The moon was shining brightly through the open window, which probably meant he was listening. Or that Manny knew he was in here.

“I know that Jack talks to you a lot. But you don’t answer him.”

That was new information to Pitch. He figured all of the Guardians had constant communication with Manny. So the angsty teen wasn’t humored by Manny. That at least amused him a little.

“You don’t have to answer me either. But if you could just listen, I’d be really grateful.”

Good chance of that. Manny always listened. Pitch wasn’t sure that Manny could ignore someone if they were speaking directly to him.

“Just this once…whatever it is that Jack wants…can he have it?”

Pitch was floored. The girl was asking for something for the Frost-boy. He would have to keep his eye on this one. She would at least be some sort of entertainment.

The wind picked up scattering the loose snow around in small whirl winds. There was no snow falling from the sky but the wind was fierce. It had always picked up on his mood and reacted accordingly. However the immortal teen paid little attention to the arctic tundra surrounding him.

The moon glowed bright and inviting in the sky. Inviting but silent.Always so damn silent.

He wants to be angry, hell he is angry, but the rough looking terrain has taken the brunt of most of his rage.There's a crater that may or may not have been there before he landed. And the remnants of of ice statues littering the ground could have come from anywhere.

" Why? I've asked you for over three hundred year why me? Why don't you ever say anything thing?"
He can never seem to get angry at Manny, or at least not stay that way.

"Is it because...because I'm not the original?

Under the anger he felt at the guardians, his family, for not telling him is hurt. Raw unadulterated anguish that he thought he had left behind him.

The moon shines down but Jack only hears the buzzing going on somewhere behind his head. He's not to focused on it at the moment though.

thin legs give out under the hopelessness that settled around his shoulders.
" You could have just not brought me back."


(( for whatever reason I'm ending this post here.))

Sophie shivered and closed the window. A steady stream of cold wind came through the cracks that Jack had left in it. She’d have to ask her father to fix that. But that would have to be tomorrow. She turned and stared at her closet.

The turn Sophie made nearly had Pitch convinced she had heard him, even though he hadn’t made any noise, until she stayed staring at a door. It wasn’t the door to the hallway, so it must have been her closet. Of course. Teenage girls were always obsessed with their looks and clothes, even back when he was in full power. Funny how a girl could go from a selfless wish to contemplating her wardrobe in just a few seconds.

Sophie started walking toward the closet, her steps faltering. Fear gripped her.

Pitch felt the fear radiating from the girl. Not a normal “what if I don’t chose the right outfit fear.” This was the kind of fear he used to induce. The kind of fear that gave him strength.

Sophie took a deep breath. “Okay, Sophie, you can do this. You can do this.”

Okay, maybe the talking to herself thing was something that was constant. But it definitely didn’t catch him as off-guard this time. The girl was giving herself a pep talk.

Sophie threw open the doors to her closet and held her breath. Nothing happened. She exhaled, staring into the darkness of the closet. “Come on, they’re not in there. They’re knocked out with dreamsand.” She walked to the closet and began pulling boxes of her drawings out, followed by several clothes on hangers. Enough to get her through a week, she thought. She closed the door to her closet, and glanced around the room.

The process was odd enough to watch, although, he guessed he understood what was happening. The twins probably appeared from her closet. After following the Frost-boy here. When he saw her pushing her desk in front of the closet doors, he knew he was right. She followed the desk up with the boxes she had pulled out and a few random things from around her room. The poor, foolish girl. She had to know that that wouldn’t protect her.

" Is that why I was alone." There's no one around, and he is sure Manny isn't even listening to him anymore, so no one hears he voice catch on the last word. He thought all of those feelings had been chased away. Replaced with days spent at the North Pole and games of tag in the Warren. Snow ball fights with Jamie and watching Sophie paint.
[COLOR="MediumTurquoise"]

" Was I not a good enough copy?" Those memories are tainted now. A wrongness in them that is all in his mind. He wasn't to be mad again. All he feels now is broken.

"Say something!" The wind carries his voice but an echo is the only reply he gets. It feels like a confirmation to him.




The pole is empty, well as empty as the home fore a ton of elves and yetis can be.
There is no sign of any of the other spirits but more importantly there is no sign of Pitch. This day just keeps getting better.Green eyes glance out the window for the third time in thirty minutes. They need Jack to get over it and come back to the pole. They have bigger things to worry about. He doesn't think Pitch is stupid enough to go causing problems with the twins involved but....well the bogey man hadn't been making smart decisions lately. To top off the missing Pitch problem they had those two psycho's taking not only an interest in their kids but Jack.

Baby Tooth could not put up with hearing Jack’s words anymore. She couldn’t bear hearing him put himself down one more time. She flitted out from Jack’s hood and stared at him, blinking three times before flying forward and hugging his cheek and giving it a kiss.


North rubbed his forehead. “Guardians, our first priority has to be to find Pitch.”

Sandy looked at North as if to say “are you serious?” The dream-giver knew that this would be their response, but somewhere in his mind, he really just wanted to smack them all. Pitch wasn’t a threat at the moment.

Tooth nodded, solemnly. “He is injured.” Her hand flew to her mouth. She was surprised at how concerned she sounded. “That is to say, he can’t be just running around.”


Sophie glanced at her broken window and then quickly grabbed her pajamas out of the stack of clothes. Sure, she could probably handle sleeping in the room with all that cold air. But she was not about to change in a room that was rapidly approaching a temperature below fifty. That was just stupid. She left the room—almost forgetting to grab the towel under her bed to throw in the hamper—heading for the bathroom to change, deciding to grab another comforter on her way back to her room.


Pitch moved from the shadows, fully forming. The pain in his shoulder caused him to hit his knees. Leaving the shadows was not a smart idea. He should have known that. It had been a very, very long time since he was last injured, though, so maybe his age was to blame. Retreating back into the shadows, he thought he might want to find the other Bennett sibling.