Summary: After decades of being a Guardian, Jack is more powerful than ever before until he disappears without a trace. 17 years later, the Guardians find a human teen who can see them but wants nothing to do with them. Problem is that he's Jack Frost.

Setting: Takes place almost a century after the events of Rise of the Guardians.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 1 – Not Forgotten

A blur of rainbow colors raced through the blizzard at top speed. The fairy's breaths came in short gasps, and her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

Under her breath, the fairy muttered something like a chant, or maybe it was a prayer.

Her destination came into sight, and she zipped up the side of the building and through an open window. Warmth hit her as soon as she exited the frigid North Pole air, but for once she did not stop to enjoy it.

Her gaze swept frantically over the assembled figures. Her friends had all arrived before her. All but one that is.

The fairy queen tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, and she descended at a much slower pace. Around her head, her entourage of fairies voiced the distress that was most likely written all over her face.

Bunny was the first one to catch sight of her.

"Tooth," he grunted gruffly.

The tooth fairy nodded, trying not to take the Easter Bunny's rather curt greeting to heart. He was probably just as worried as she was.

"Nothing?" she asked.

Tooth scanned the faces of her friends, hoping that one of them had at least found a clue.

Her heart fell as one by one each one of her fellow Guardians shook their heads.

"Could be an elaborate prank," Bunny suggested. He tried to make his voice annoyed, but Tooth knew him too well. None of the others seemed to buy it either

When his comment was met with silence, the rabbit tried again, a little more desperately. "He could just want some time alone. He does that from time to time."

"Pranks never this elaborate. Never this long," North spoke up. "And even if boy does not visit us, other spirits would have caught sight of him. No one I have talked to have seen boy for months."

"Hate to say it, but it's been quiet on my end to," Bunny sighed, his ears falling in defeat.

Golden sand flew into the air. Images of little tooth fairies fluttered around a golden globe.

"I'm sorry, Sandy," Tooth sighed. "My girls have been nearly all over and haven't caught sight of him."

Golden sand shifted into a moon and then an arrow pointing skyward.

Four pairs of eyes turned towards the opening in the roof where the moon was clearly visible in the night sky.

"Man in Moon," North began respectfully. "Do you have any guidance to offer us in this time?"

Silence.

"So the ol' bloke doesn't know anythin' or won't say. Helpful," Bunny snorted.

The sandman gave the rabbit a reproachful look, but it went unnoticed.

"But storms are still goin'. He's got to be out there," Bunny all but protested.

North shook his head. "Storms can still go without him. Child is more like shepherd, not sole master."

If possible, the rabbit warrior's ears flattened even harder against his skull. The dream weaver's eyes widened, pain and disbelief written in them.

"He can't be—" Bunny started and then stopped, unsure how to say it.

"No!" Tooth exclaimed.

The other three startled at her shout, surprised at their gentlest member's outburst.

"No," Tooth repeated more softly. She pointed to the large globe in North's workshop where the little lights of belief winked down on them. "Those represent the children's belief in all of us. Can't you feel it? They still believe in him, and they wouldn't do that if there isn't someone to believe in. He's still out there somewhere."

The queen stared fiercely at the little, twinkling lights, trying to draw strength from their warmth.

"There's still hope. Our winter child's still out there," she finished in a soft but firm voice.

"Tooth is right," North declared. "Children have not given up on him, so neither will we. No matter how long it takes."

Around the circle of friends, nods and affirmative murmurs were given in response.

"We won't abandon him again," Bunny announced. "It's a mistake we can't afford to make again."

Tooth left North's workshop at least feeling encouraged by her friends determination, but as soon as she once again reached the winter landscape that surrounded the workshop in all directions, her eyes stung with unshed tears.

Her little fairies buzzed around her head, twittering their comforts and support.

She swiped a hand delicately across her face and took in the scene with clear vision.

Six months to this night, the guardians had noticed one of there number missing. How much longer he had been gone before that, no one knew. Four months ago began the worldwide search with no sight or sign of their Guardian of Fun.

"Oh, Jack," she whispered to the quiet of the night. "Where have you gone?"

17 years later

The wind whipped against anything it could find—the walls of houses, tree branches, and a certain little fairy.

Baby Tooth trilled defiantly at the storm, pushing her head into the wind and beating her wings even faster.

Her queen had chosen her specifically for this mission, and she would not fail her queen nor would she fail the child.

Tonight, a violent storm battered the town of Burgess relentlessly. When the queen had gotten the alert that a tooth was waiting for them in Burgess, she had hesitated.

The queen never faltered in her work, but for that one moment, the queen worried that storm would be too much for her girls.

But the queen and her troops have not missed a tooth since the Nightmare King's attack almost a century ago, and she was not going to break that streak now, especially now.

In the past decade, the world had been plunged into a time of violent storms. Without its winter child, the wind howled its rage at the world and searched desperately its long time companion.

The Guardians had tried to calm the wind's fury, but its rage could not be tempered, and it had only gotten worse over the years.

No, the fairy queen could not let this tooth go unanswered, not when the world needed even the smallest of lights.

So the queen had squared her shoulder and chose her little fighter to brave the storm.

She placed her blessing on the little fairy, but even with all her queen's strength, Baby Tooth was losing.

Please, Baby Tooth called to the wind. Let me through.

The wind did not listen.

Despite her exhaustion, Baby Tooth began to talk, soothing the wind.

She spoke of her memories of the frost child and how she too loved and missed him. The wind calmed for a moment, and the little fighter took her chance and sped through the snow.

She managed to reach the window before the wind began to howl its rage again, but it sounded more like a moan now as if Baby Tooth's stories had saddened it. She wrestled with the lock, and with a gust of wind, the window blew open with a loud bang.

Baby Tooth shrieked as wind and ice drove into her face. With more strength than one would expect from the tiny fairy, she shoved the window close again and the lock fell back into place.

The little fairy panted into the silence.

After a moment, the fairy's eyes widened, and she whirled, expecting to see an awakened child. But the room was empty.

Confused, Baby Tooth flew over to the bed and hovered over the vacant pillow. This was the place—she could sense that—but she could also sense that no tooth was in the immediate facility. Taking a breath, the fairy extended her senses. Baby Tooth released a sigh of relief after a moment. She was in the right house, just not the right room.

She slipped out of the room and headed to where she felt the tooth calling her.

She found the child. He was about ten and slept with his mouth slightly open so that the fairy could clearly see the new gap in his mouth.

The sight of teeth sent a shock of excitement through her body. The tooth was so close! Baby Tooth hesitated though.

There was a teenager in the room, definitely too old to still believe and therefore would not be able to see her, but teenagers and adults always made her nervous.

The teen was obviously the boy's older brother if the twin messes of brown locks where anything to go by. The teen also had an arm thrown over the younger boy in a protective gesture.

The smaller boy sighed in his sleep and snuggled closer to the teen. The sight made Baby Tooth soften ever so slightly, and she approached the bed carefully.

She easily wiggled her way under the boy's pillow and—oh!

Baby Tooth held back a coo of delight. The tooth seemed to shine with its own light. It had obviously been well taken care of, and when she laid her hands on the tooth, she could feel the good memories thrumming underneath its pearly surface.

She quickly unlatched the coin attached to her belt and placed it gently onto the bed. Taking hold of the tooth—the queen is going to love it!—she snuck her way back up to the surface.

Baby Tooth observed the tooth out of the darkness of the pillow's underside, wondering how to secure it to her person so the winds would not whisk it away when she went back out.

She shuddered, dreading the journey back out into the storm.

Suddenly, a six sense tingled to life, and her back felt like it was heating up. The fairy whirled, almost dropping the tooth in the process, and came face-to-face with the teenager.

Baby Tooth almost wished she was back out in the storm.

"I knew you would come," the teenager whispered.

How could he see her?

"James was afraid you wouldn't come because of the storm," the teenager continued, rubbing his little brother's arm absent-mindedly.

She needed to run, fly, anything! But she was frozen. She had never dealt with teenagers before. There had never been a real need to.

The teen reached towards her, and she flinched away, but he only flicked on a lamp that sat on his nightstand.

In the soft light of the lamp, Baby Tooth got a good look at the teen for the first time.

She nearly screamed.

Those eyes! Even brown instead blue, she recognized them.

And there was no mistaking that face.

That night, Baby Tooth did something she had never done in all her time of service.

She dropped the tooth.

Jack, she whispered.

So maybe I should finish my other stories first, but this one has brought out of my writer's block, and I thought I might as well publish it. Enjoy!

~playing-in-the-mud