Hey y'all! I'm back! So much has happened since I last updated, I got a job and just today I got promoted to manger and I will start to take manager classes this Wednesday and my real birthday is this weekend. So this has so far been a big week. I haven't written a lot because I work almost every day and I just am exhausted and unmotivated at the end of the day. Yet given what happened today I had inspiration hit me and I had to finish this chapter, also you can thank icy_evergreen over on AO3 for writing a comment and adding to my motivation. So this chapter is dedicated to them.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dreamworks Rise of the Guardians or William Joyce's characters. I only own my characters and plot.

Aster rushed through his tunnels until he reached the edge of Nature's realm, knowing that she protects her realm from anyone just walking in, the only ones that can enter freely are the Spirits of the Seasons. Aster has known Nature since before she came to this planet, though she was only a child then, and was still known as Emily Jane. But once she came to Earth, she abandoned that name and only a very small group were allowed to use her name. He was not one of them. In fact, of the Guardians only Tooth and Sandy were allowed to call her Emily, though she prefers Tooth to call her that, Sandy's more dependent on her mood.

He looked around the clearing he arrived in, he was looking for the oldest tree around, that would be his way into the realm. The clearing was around 12 feet in diameter and surrounded by large, tall trees. All of the trees appeared to be the same age but if you had enough magic knowledge as well as power, you would be able to look over the glamour that surrounded a particular tree.

The tree looked like an ordinary tree but Aster could see the age that radiated from its bark, if he had to guess, it was over 4,000 years old. Nature choose this tree as her guardian because of what they had gone through, throughout their long lifespan. They had gone through wildfires, devastating winters, flooding, and droughts. They have been through many hardships, but have survived and persevered. Just like Nature. Now all he had to do was knock.

Aster knocked three times on the rough bark and waited for a response. If Nature was in a good mood, she may let him in and answer his questions. If she was in a bad mood, she may transport him to the Arctic. By the stars I hope she's in a good mood.

After a bit of waiting and no response, Aster started to turn away already thinking of another way to find answers. But just as he was going to open a tunnel to leave a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Leaving so soon Bunnymund? And here I thought you wanted to see me." Aster turned back and saw who the voice belonged to, after all there was only one person that called him by his last name. Mother Nature. She was a willowy woman with pitch black hair that surrounded her like a black cloud. Her current dress was dark green on the bottom and it got lighter as it went up, she had long bell shaped sleeves which were embroidered with symbols of the different seasons. Her dress really gave off the feeling of Renaissance and drama. She really looked like her father especially within her face. She had a severe face, high cheekbones, thin lips, and bright silver-gold eyes, just like her father. But unlike her father, there was no malice, no hate. Just indifference. Because she is neutral. And though they all hoped she would choose their side and fight her father with them, she has refused. She still believed her father was there within the monster, deep down she was still the little girl looking for her daddy.

" 'llo Nature, I figured you weren't in the mood to talk." Aster replied. His response got a small smile from her, which was practically a grin for her.

"I was just busy reprimanding some sprites. Please, do come in. I'm sure my children have been dying to say hello." She stated, waving a hand at the old tree and opening a rainbow portal. She stepped into the portal, knowing he'll follow. "Though if your looking for Jack, he isn't here. Hasn't been for a few weeks. Says he's been working on getting believers." She continued once she was out of the portal, Aster barely able to catch what she was saying as he rushed through. She continued to chatter on as they walked toward her home. Aster though was thinking about what she had said about Jack. He hadn't been in her realm for weeks. So he wasn't coming to see Nature like he said he was, and he said he spared with Osiris in her grove but if he was here, she would know. Why lie about where he spared Osiris?

"Now Groundhog has been having such a hard time trying to let my predictions known and with his own coming up soon, he's been in a tizzy. He really hates doing that silly ceremony." She mentioned as they walked past a few sprites that were working on some hybrid plants.

"Very nice my dear, make sure to write down how the process was done. What do you think Bunnymund?" Nature asked, turning away from a young sprite.

"I'm sorry Nature. What did you ask?" Aster replied having been distracted by his thoughts.

"Hmm, you're not usually so distracted Bunnymund. You usually are trying to steal some of my plant secrets. What is on your mind? I'm sure this isn't a social call." She asked moving them away from the snooping sprites.

"Do you mind if we talk about this in your home? Too many eyes and ears." He asked looking around at the sprites that surrounded them, most pretended not to be listening while some were not as polite. Nature narrowed her eyes at Aster before turning to the sprites.

"Please go back to your jobs, we don't need another failed experiment, now do we?" She stated narrowing her eyes at the sprites who jumped and quickly went back to working, knowing they'll face her wrath if they don't.

"Right this way Bunnymund." She stated moving down a path that was almost completely covered by brush but once they got close, it moved away and once they passed it, it closed behind them. Ahead of them was a large manor. It was absolutely stunning, and intimidating. Various types of foliage covered the manor, from flowers and vines, to icicles and frost. The front door was surrounded by Autumn leaves giving off an aura of mystery and calm.

They step inside the large manor and Aster is surprised by how homey the manor feels. There are paintings everywhere, some just showing depictions of the different seasons, and some showing Nature with various Spirits. There was even a small one almost hidden behind a large vase, of her as a little girl next to a handsome tan man. Kozmotis Pitchner, aka, Pitch Black. She still loves him, and still wants him back. Even after everything he's done. She still has hope.

"We can talk in here Bunnymund. No one should bother us." She stated gesturing toward a set of dark wood doors. She opened one of the doors revealing the room that laid ahead.

The room was large and dimly lit. There was a large obsidian fireplace on the far-side of the room, the mantle was covered in picture frames and knickknacks. In front of the fireplace were two plush, modern armchairs, colored a deep purple. In front of the chairs was a beautiful silver ornate table. Several bookcases lined the walls, their wood a dark walnut stain, which contrasted well with the lighter walnut floor. There was also a large fluffy white rug that had hints of silver and blue throughout it, laid out on floor in the center of the room. Really most of the things in the room didn't seem to fit together yet they oddly did. A bit like the Guardians, if he thought about it.

Nature sat down in one of the chairs and gestured for Aster to take the other once she saw that he was done looking around the room. Once he sat down, she began to speak.

"You know, this is Jack's favorite room. Whenever he comes here, this is the first place he goes to. And if he ever wants to be alone, he comes here. My other children greatly dislike this room. Say its too clashing. But not Jack. He loves how different it is." Nature told him with a loving smile. It seems that Jack was her favorite child. Aster gave a small smile and looked around the room once more. The more he thought about it, the more that he saw that it suited him.

"Well, the kid seems to have strange tastes. Last time I saw him before the Easter disaster, he was wearing those leather pants with a fluffy blue winter coat. Kid looked like a child," Aster told her.

"Ah, yes. Easter of '68. Where you yelled at my child for doing nothing wrong." Nature replied curtly, sending a glare at Aster. Causing him to tense.

"An unscheduled blizzard hit several towns which canceled several hunts. I lost quite a few believers, from that show pony's stunt. I figured you would have gotten upset over that. You are about balance after all." Aster replied.

"I am about balance and that blizzard was naturally formed. And if you lost believers over that, then you were already in the process of losing them, but really whats a few believers to the billion you have? Besides, I sent him a message to get it under control when I heard about it, he was able to confine it. What you saw was control, not a stunt." She stated right as the door opened and a regal looking elf entered holding a serving tray with two glasses filled with a dark liquid. They placed the tray on the table in front of them and after bowing at Nature, they left the room, as silent as ever.

"Very well, you have a point. I'll make sure to apologize to Jack the next time I see him." Aster said giving her a small nod.

"Good, he deserves it. Now please, have a drink. I recall you liked this vintage the last time you visited me. Which was, what? About 400 years ago, I believe? I recall you in clothes." Nature told him as she took one of the glasses and took a sip.

"Yes I believe it was. I was wearing clothes back then, that was before the chocolate consumption was more common." Aster replied grabbing the last glass and also taking a sip. It was a delightful vintage of whiskey that he had always appreciated but it was not commonly found.

"Nature, if I may ask. Whats with the elf that came in? Last time I came here, you didn't have servants." Aster asked, curious about the elf.

"Sylvar is not my servant. This is a punishment that their mentor asked for. Apparently they were getting a bit, how do they say, 'big for their britches'. They wanted to teach them some humility, so I agreed." Nature explained setting down her glass.

"Now that the small talk is over how about you tell me why you're here Bunnymund." She asked crossing one of her legs over the other.

"Blunt as always Nature. Very well, I'm here to talk to you about Jack. I'm worried about him." Aster stated ready to tell Nature his concerns.

"Why are you worried about him? He seemed fine the last time I saw him. Very excited to be a Guardian." Nature stated keeping her face neutral.

"You know that I was recovering from this past Easter but around the same time, Jack went missing and we searched for him until Sandy found him asleep. He freaked when Tooth touched him and he said that he had a nightmare and was a light sleeper. When we asked where he had been he said that he was hibernating and recovering from being magically exhausted. That seemed strange to me because he should be at the peak of his powers right now and a spirit as powerful as him should not take that long to recover.

"Then, there was what happened today. He came late with a black eye and bruised neck. Which he explained was from some sprites fighting and a spar with Osiris that went wrong. So that wasn't the odd thing. I asked again if he would tell us why he was missing for those months, he said no and suddenly left after saying that he had to update you on the sprites and talk to you about Osiris. Hope you weren't too tough on Osiris, you know he goes rough when he spars. So do you know where Jack was?" Aster explained hoping Nature can answer some of his questions. Yet as he looked into Nature's face, what he say worried him. Her usually neutral face was in a deep frown as well as a look of worry in her eyes.

"Aster, I know that Jack was missing but he told us that he was with his believers not that he was recovering. He only needed to hibernate for about a month. When North told us that he was found, we figured he just forgot to tell you he was with his believers, we had just been so busy...

'What did you mean by the bruises? No sprites got in a fight this morning. At least none that I know of and Osiris was with his girlfriend today. Let me call him. He should be here right now." Nature told him, showing how concern she was by her calling him by his first name.

"Why would Jack lie about the bruises? Did you even summon him today with the Wind?" Aster asked knowing becoming even more concern.

"Osiris is on his way. I don't know why Jack would lie, he's usually very honest. And no, I don't use the Wind to send a message. I have no need. I can talk to my children telepathically, why did you think that? The Wind doesn't send messages unless Jack says its okay, they are highly devoted to him." Nature answered getting up to start pacing.

"I saw that a piece of wind move some of his bangs, that's when he said he had to come and talk to you. But, his expression was a bit weird, he seemed kind of scared or worried. I figured he was worried about you getting mad at his sibling for his bruise." Aster told her, watching her as she paced.

"How could I have missed all of this?" Nature asked out loud, obviously distressed.

"Nature, he tried very hard to hide it. Do you know why he would hide his injuries? Does he have any enemies?" Aster asked hoping to calm her.

"I don't know why he would hide it. He isn't one to take a hit without hitting back. He always stands up for himself, I just don't understand. He doesn't really have any enemies, at least none that I know of." Nature answered. Before Aster can ask for more information, the doors opened once more and three people entered.

The first person that Aster noticed was Osiris, the Spring Spirit. He still looked how Aster remembered him a few years ago, though his clothes had changed. He was a tall man, around 6 feet tall, though that may not be so significant now, when he was alive, it was very uncommon. Osiris was darkly tan with dark curly hair and dark green eyes. He looked to be in his mid 30's and was currently wearing a tight dark green v-neck and black slacks that ended right over his sandal covered feet. Next to him was a young slender woman wearing a summer yukata which was white with blue/gray flowers covering it along with a dark blue wrap around her waist. She was also wearing a traditional Japanese sandal called zori. She had long black hair that was currently tied up with a white Japanese rose pinned on the side of her head. She had friendly chocolate brown eyes that exuded kindness and warmth. She was the Summer Spirit, Amaterasu.

Behind them was another woman who appeared in her late 30's and was long and lean. She had long wavy golden hair, similar to the color of wheat. She had a very sheer veil flowing over her hair and she was wearing a simple robe the color of pale gold with a belt of grain wrapped around her waist. She wore dark brown slippers with light gold embellishments decorating the shoes. Actually if Aster looked closer at her robe, she had dark brown embellishments flowing down looking like falling leaves. The embellishments made sense since this woman was Demeter, the Autumn Spirit.

"Mother? Whats going on? You sounded very worried in your call. I hope you don't mind that Demer and Amaterasu came with me, it was just very concerning. I thought you may be in trouble." Osiris stated closing the door once the women had entered the room.

"It is fine Osiris, I'm glad that you are all here my children. I need to ask you all some questions." Mother told them inviting them to take a seat. Demeter gave Aster a look of confusion and suspicion. Nature saw the look that Demeter gave him.

"Its alright my darling, Aster is a part of this and has brought something to my attention that we must solve." Nature reassured her.

"What exactly has the Easter Bunny brought to your attention Mother? Last I heard you two weren't on speaking terms." Amaterasu asked.

"Its about Jack." Aster stated wanting answers more than being polite.

"What about our little sibling? Don't tell me you all chased him off. Because if you did, you may want to run rabbit. Haven't had a good hunt in ages." Osiris told him tapping his fingers on the armrest of the chair he sat in. Before Aster could retort some choice words, Nature interrupted them.

"None of that now. Aster has just informed me that Jack has been hiding injuries."

"What kind of injures Mother?" Demeter asked in concern.

"What injures we know about are a black eye and bruised neck which he claims are from a fight with some sprites and a sparing session with you, Osiris. He also lied about where he was when he went missing. He told a different story each time he was asked . We don't know what other injuries he could be hiding or did hide.

That is why I called you here Osiris, I wanted to check on his story." Nature explained, keeping her emotions in check.

"I haven't seen Jack for days. I was at the Gathering. I didn't even hear about any sprite fights." Osiris stated concerned over what he had heard.

"None of my sprites reported any fights." Amaterasu stated also concern.

"My sprites also reported no fights." Demeter told them.

"I also had no reports of sprites fighting. Nothing that could explain Jack's injures." Nature stated.

"Which is why Nature asked you here. Do you know if Jack has any enemies?" Aster asked getting impatient.

"The only enemy that we know of is of you Easter Bunny. You were the only one he had conflict with. Well you and now Pitch Black, though I doubt that he would harm Mother's children." Amaterasu answered with a small narrowing of her eyes. Aster's ears went down in guilt at hearing that. He hadn't realized that he was Jack's only real adversary.

"Fath-Pitch, wouldn't dare touch one of my children. Especially Jack." Nature retorted barely biting back the word father. Not everyone knows that Pitch Black was her father and from the look of Osiris's sympathetic glance, he was the only one that knew and caught her slip up.

"Why wouldn't Pitch dare touch Jack? From what I saw during our battle, he was more than willing to hurt Jack. Tossed him into a dumpster. Who knows what else happened when he was alone with him." Aster replied.

"I've...spoken with Pitch and I've let him known what would happen if he touches my child ever again. He would not make the mistake of incurring my wrath." Nature stated.

"Are you positive that there are no other enemies? Jack could be hiding the fact that he has enemies. He was alone for over 300 years, he may have had you but you couldn't have been with him all the time. It had to have affected him." Aster asked once more, finding it hard to believe Jack had no enemies. Hell, he had a bunch of enemies and he rarely left his home.

"While we may not have been with our young brother all the time, that did not mean we left him alone. He could come to us whenever he wanted, we never told him no and he had no reason not to trust us with any issues he was having." Amaterasu stated delicately folding her hands in her lap.

"Yeah, Jackie could always come to us, he just never took our offer. He would tell us if he had a problem." Osiris insisted.

"Obviously not dear brother, if he is hiding injures. And I highly doubt that these are the only injures he's had." Demeter stated leaning back in her seat.

"What do you mean sister?" Osiris asked.

"If Jack is being hurt by someone and we are just now discovering injuries then that means that they no longer care to hide it. When someone is being first abused, the abuser takes care to hide the injures because they don't want to be caught or feel guilty. But if the abuse carries on for a significant amount of time then they no longer feel guilt, they enjoy it more and are less careful with the injuries because they know that no one will stop them, especially not their victim. And if their victim wont talk, no one finds out and if no one finds out then the abuse continues. Its a cycle, all that ends it is either the victim becomes brave enough or they die. I wonder how long Jack has been abused. We are fools for never realizing it." Demeter explained, showing no emotion but if one watched her hands they would see tightly closed fists of barely controlled rage.

"You believe he is being abused Demeter?" Nature asked.

"Yes."

"You have no real evidence Demeter and you all just said he has no enemies. So who would abuse him?" Aster asked not wanting to consider that Jack may be getting abused.

"Who says that his abuser is an enemy?" She replied with a shrug of a shoulder.

"You think the abuser is a friend?" Osiris asked.

"An enemy feels no shame or guilt for hurting someone they hate. Someone that loves him would. Or at the very least had some care for the boy."

"I thought he had no one that really cared for him except you four." Aster stated.

"There are many spirits that care for Jack. He is one of the youngest spirits in our world. As well as one of the most powerful. Even some of the darkest creatures show some level of care for him. Even the old Gods have a soft spot for him. Once again the only one that really had an issue with him was you.

At least we know you aren't abusing him, since you never cared about him till the moon told you to." Osiris said with a jab at Aster. Aster gave out a quiet growl. True he never really got along with Jack, but he didn't hate him. Yet he also never realized how the rest of the spirit world saw Jack. Were him and the Guardians so out of touch with the world?

"Do you know if he was particularly close with anyone and now doesn't mention them?" Nature asked sending a reprimanding glare at Osiris.

"I remember that he mentioned meeting some new spirits that had invited him to their home but then he never mentioned them again. I think I even asked him about it but all he said was that it went okay and then he left. I didn't really think anything about it." Amaterasu told them trying to remember that day.

"You don't remember the names of the spirits he mentioned?"Demeter asked.

"Hm, I don't remember. It was so many years ago, though he did mention that one of the spirits had somethings in common with him. I think he mentioned that they were of similar nature. I don't know about the others." She answered with regret.

"Exactly how many years ago was this?"Demeter asked.

"It was around the 1900's I believe. At least over 40 years ago."

"It was 1968."

"What makes you think that Aster?" Nature asked seeing Aster with a horrified face.

"On Easter 1968, a massive blizzard happened. Twelve people died and thousands of dollars of damage happened. I went and looked for the source of the blizzard because there was no report of any possible blizzard. I found Jack in the middle of the eye. I told him off and he just looked at me...and took off. Thinking back, something was off about him. He wasn't as playful as he usually was. Something had to had happened with those spirits Amaterasu, something traumatic." Aster explained with guilt in his voice.

"But that blizzard was naturally made, he couldn't have created it. His magical signature would have been all over it. He doesn't know enough about magic to hide his signature." Nature stated not wanting to believe that something had caused her child to create a dangerous blizzard because of the trauma.

"Unless, he didn't create it but helped facilitate it and he had a trusty friend be the catalyst." Demeter offered.

"What do you mean sister?" Amaterasu asked.

"The Wind help. They created the current needed to make a blizzard. Obviously Wind sensed or saw how distressed Jack was and responded in their own way to protect him. They were his first caretaker after all." She explained.

"If Wind does truly know about what is going on, why not tell one of us about it. Why hide that Jack, someone they care about, is being hurt." Osiris asked not understanding why Wind would go along with it.

"Wind may be very ancient and care for Jack deeply, but I doubt that they understand what is going on with Jack, at most they understand the very basic emotions. Jack probably convinced them that he was fine and to not tell anyone. He might have had them think it was a game or even made sure to never show how hurt he really was." Nature explained, knowing that Wind's devotion to Jack was great.

"So what do we do now? Confront Jack? We have no real evidence. All we know is that he has some bruises and went missing for a few months. And that something happened to cause the blizzard of '68." Osiris stated with frustration. While the others discussed what to do, Aster was think of what other evidence they may have. When he suddenly remembered something.

"You said that Jack may be having Wind hide what is going on right?" Aster interrupted.

"Yes, Wind could be helping to cover-up his injuries." Nature answered curios about where Aster was going with this.

"What if they are doing more than that. What if Jack is so scared of upsetting his abuser that he made sure that if they wanted to see him, he would know instantly and go to them?" Aster suggested.

"Are you saying that Wind is sending messages from Jack's abuser to him?" Osiris asked.

"Exactly, earlier today a piece of wind brushed through Jack's bangs, in a room with no natural breeze. After that piece of wind went through his bangs, Jack said that Nature was calling him and he looked scared and worried. Nature said that she doesn't send messages through the Wind, in fact no one does because Wind only sends messages to Jack if Jack wishes to receive messages.

So if Nature didn't send the message, maybe his abuser did. And maybe those months he was missing he was with his abuser or hell maybe even hiding from them."Aster explained his theory, now fearing the worst. If Jack was willing to make sure he was always available to his abuser, just how much control did his abuser have over him.

"This is worst than we thought. He could have been getting abused for over 40 years and we had no idea and one of closest friends is helping to keep in contact with the abuser. Bless the stars, how could I have missed all of this." Nature exclaimed covering her eyes with a shaky sigh.

"Mother, Jack is very independent and good had hiding things. He doesn't like to make others worry. Not if he can make them smile and have fun." Amaterasu told her putting a comforting hand on her back.

"He's a child. My child, I should have been there for him. I should have given him more love, I should have given him more attention. I should have done more. This is my fault." Nature stammered, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

"You did all you could Nature. This isn't your fault." Aster told her.

"Mother, Aster is right. You did all you could. Now we just have to focus on helping Jack get some help. We have to find Jack. We have to help him." Demeter stated.

"Now we just have to find out where he is and hope that our suspicions are true." Osiris said ready to help Jack and destroy whoever dared harm his little brother.

"We have to get Wind to tell us. They're our only hope of finding evidence to what is happening to Jack and finding where he is." Amaterasu exclaimed.

"And how do we convince them to tell us where he is. Jack must've told them not to tell anyone where he was or what was going on." Osiris asked.

"We tell them our suspicions and pray that they believe us." Nature answered having calmed down.

"And if they don't?" Demeter asked.

"I don't know." Nature stated not knowing what else to tell them.

Aster prayed to the stars that they found Jack before it was too late and that Jack was willing to receive their help. May the stars be by their side.

0000000000

"Oh, Jackie. I'm so happy you came. You have no idea how much we have missed you." A soft voice whispered causing a shiver to run down Jack's back. He could feel his body begin to tremble and his breathe begin to pick up.

"Oh, don't be scared Jackie. You know you enjoy our time together, or you wouldn't be coming back every time." A second voice whispered with a chuckle as he jumped.

"Aw, is little Jackie still scared? You would think after all of this time you wouldn't be so nervous, but you know I love how inexperienced you are. It gets me so excited." A third voice appeared making Jack shaking even harder before he was suddenly pushed, falling back onto a soft bed. It might have well have been a a bed of nails.

"Now, should we start where we left off?" The first voice asked with a chuckle.

"Ooh yes, make sure to have the collar be a bit tighter, I like hearing him gasp for air." The third voice exclaimed running a finger down Jack's heaving chest.

"Now, now. It's my turn to go first and I've been dying to try some new toys. Wouldn't you like that Jackie?" The second voice stated causing Jack to whimper in fear.

"Let's get started, shall we?" That was the last thing he heard before his world vanished into a cloud of pain.

So we are starting to learn more about what Jack is going through, there will be about two or three more chapters left. The next chapter will get into more detail, not too much, of exactly what he was going through all of these years. Anyone have any ideas of who is involved or what exactly he had been going through?

Please leave any reviews or comments, it really is helpful and motivating. Also you can check out my other stories if you haven't already by clicking on my profile.

Okay until next time! Bye!

Reviews:

Demi clayton: Thank you so much for your review and I hope that you like this new chapter!

Camhopsmith: Thank you so much for your review and I hope you like this new chapter, and yes you will be finding out what exactly Jack is hiding.

Banana Bird: Thank you for reviewing and I hope that you like this new chapter!