"Guardians, we are gathered here today to mourn the loss of a spirit."

North gazed solemnly at the glowing crystal as he spoke. The Moon shined through the crystal, seemingly dimmer than usual. Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy silently looked at the ground as North recited the speech for the funeral tradition.

"Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter, child of the Man in the Moon, faded from existence yesterday afternoon. He has returned to the snow and winter he created. May he be at peace."

North concluded the speech and moved on to the next part of the ritual. Stepping up to the crystal, North carved a symbol at it's base – a small snowflake contained in a hexagon. The symbol was surrounded by many others. The Moon shined brightly, the moonlight seeming almost liquid, almost tear like. Then it faded.

After the funeral, the Guardians met in the common room. They were all uncharacteristically quiet. Even Sandy, who would have normally made some shapes by now, was instead staring out the window. Bunny was the first to break the silence.

"How did this happen?" His voice was gruff but quiet, as he continued to glare at the floor. Tooth looked at him with surprise, North looked at him with sadness. Sandy continued staring out the window, as if he hadn't heard anything at all.

"What do you mean?" Tooth asked softly. "You know how these things happen. He-"

"HE'S JUST A KID," Bunny interrupted loudly, making Tooth and North jump. "He was just a kid. He was, what, three hundred, four hundred years old? How did this happen?" Bunny's voice broke on the last word and he finally looked up, staring at Tooth and North intensely, as if they had the answers that could end this nightmare. Nobody liked it when children died, but for the Guardians it was a personal failure. They had failed to protect a child they could have helped.

"He was invisible, Bunny," Tooth said cautiously, kindly, as if talking any louder would cause Bunny to break. "He needed believers." Her voice wavered as her eyes watered again. "And he didn't have any."

"Well why didn't he then!?" Bunny snapped, his words mangling on his accent, or on the lump in his throat. No one could tell. "Why was he created with no believers? Why didn't anybody know him? Why didn't anybody help him?" Bunny was shaking with rage, angry at the Man in the Moon for bringing Jack back alone, angry at the children for not believing in Jack, angry at himself for not noticing, not doing anything.

All of the Guardians and, as far as they knew, all other spirits, had believers when MiM first made them immortal. Their first believers were their friends, the people that were with them when they went on the adventure that inevitably led to a conversation with MiM. Nobody knew that Jack had lost his memories. Nobody knew that Jack had died alone, had been brought back without his consent or knowledge. It was unheard of. All the other spirits knew what they were getting into when they agreed to become immortal. All the other spirits had known what their purpose was.

Jack knew none of that. Jack never asked to be brought back. And the Guardians were unaware that Jack was any different from the other spirits.

"Bunny…" North sighed heavily, as if he didn't know what to say. "We couldn't have known. From what we heard, he was happy. He was a seasonal spirit, they don't… They aren't…"

"They don't need believers and they don't want friends," Bunny deadpans, as if reciting a mantra. "They're solitary. But seasonal spirits are different from us. They're created from the ground. They aren't brought back by MiM, they didn't have to sacrifice, they… Why was he different? Why was he brought back, just for this?" Bunny mimicked Sandy and stared out the window. The Moon hadn't looked so dim in a long time.

"Sometimes things don't work out as we wish," North said, following Bunny's gaze. "We made mistake. Grave mistake. But there is no fixing it now." North began walking away, towards the door to exit the common room. "Now, we must move on. And try again." North left the room.

The meeting was over.

Jack was an anomaly. The Man in the Moon did not make children immortal, until Jack. A spirit did not lose their memories when they were made immortal, until Jack. Spirits knew what they were getting into when they agreed to become immortal, until Jack. Jack didn't even agree to become immortal, because he had never been asked.

Jack was an anomaly. Spirits did not fade and die until they had their surge in popularity and eventually faded from the minds of children, faded from the culture they were born into. Jack had never been seen and had certainly never been popular. In another time, in another place, maybe Jack would have been known. Maybe one of the other spirits would have offered him help. Maybe he wouldn't have been unseen, unheard, unable to reach out to anyone, until he faded.

Instead he served as a cautionary tale. The Guardians would be more careful from now on, would make sure to talk to the new spirits. They would offer their help, see if it was needed. They would not write off spirits based on legends, when legends could be so painfully, painfully wrong.

The Guardians learned their lesson. But it was too late for Jack.

I kind of love the idea of alternate timelines and alternate scenarios. In the movie, the only reason the Guardians contacted Jack was because Pitch was back and MiM told them to. There are so many ways this could have not happened. Pitch could have waited longer to return. MiM could have told the Guardians to contact someone else. Based on their reaction when MiM chose Jack, it looks like none of them had thought of him in a long time.
Also, I feel like a few headcanons slipped in. Probably headcanons I got from other stories, so sorry if I accidentally stole your idea. At this point, I'm just accepting a lot of this stuff as fanon. I'm kind of really irritated by how short this story is. Without the a/n, it's under 1,000 words.