Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians. That, and characters recognizable from it, belong to William Joyce and DreamWorks Animation. Any OCs present, though, are naturally mine.

Author's Note: I apologize for my lengthy absence, but between personal and professional issues, I simply had no time - or inspiration - to work on any of my stories. Things aren't exactly back to normal yet, but they have calmed down enough to let me start getting back into the swing of things. I'll certainly try not to let it be so long before the next update. ;)

Jacqueline was at something of a loss as to what she was supposed to do, now.

After all, she had, technically, done what she'd said she would: investigated the unknown disturbance at the Tooth Palace. (When she'd told North one ride, she'd meant it.) They hadn't actually stopped Pitch, true, but that wasn't really her fight.

Yet, the world of darkness and fear he was after sounded like no fun at all.

She didn't really believe it would be that easy - he hadn't even fully demolished the Tooth Fairy's belief base, and she was only one of four (the A-hole in the Moon didn't count) - but whether the Guardians would pull themselves together in time to figure out and thwart his next move...

It was just as well they could only feed on the belief of children, because they'd be getting precious little from her.

Still... As much as Winter might be cold and merciless, Jacqueline wasn't, so while North and Bunny were discussing things - she thought; she really wasn't paying them any attention - she crouched down near where a dejected Tooth was sitting, and offered, "I'm sorry about the fairies."

"You should have seen them. They put up such a fight." Baby Tooth, buzzing about them, let out a series of chirps and squeaks, no doubt providing her own take on events.

Unfortunately, no one but Tooth seemed to be able to understand her. Jacqueline certainly couldn't. "Why would Pitch take the teeth?" she asked. That was the one part of it that she simply didn't get. The children who had lost those teeth already believed, after all. Or they had, before they'd grown up, anyway.

"It's not the teeth he wanted," Tooth explained. "It's the memories inside them."

"Say what, now?"

"That's why we collect the teeth, Jacqueline. They hold the most important memories of childhood." Wings buzzing into near invisibility, she rose into the air, leading Jacqueline across a pool of water - which Jackie crossed by the simple expedient of icing over the surface where she stepped - to a nearby mural depicting a group of children offering up their (oversized) teeth to the Tooth Fairy herself, mini-fairies painted here and there in the background. Who had painted it, and why, Jacqueline had no idea. "My fairies and I watch over them. And when someone needs to remember what's important, we help them." She sighed sadly. "We had everyone's here. Yours, too."

Jacqueline gave her an odd look. "What are you talking about?"

"From when you were young." Tooth looked at her as if that was supposed to explain anything. "Before you became Jacqueline Frost."

What? "There IS no 'before'," she insisted. "I'm Jacqueline Frost, the Spirit of Winter. That's it. That's how it works, for us."

"Maybe for the others, but... We were all someone before we were Chosen."

This... This was just too much. "Are you saying... That night at the pond, when... I wasn't just..." She shook her head wildly, trying to focus her thoughts. "I had a home? A family?"

Tooth peered at her intently. "You really don't remember?" she asked, genuinely surprised.

"All this time, the answers to so many of my questions were right here? Everything..." Her expression darkened. "Everything that he took away from me?"

And she was beginning to understand why. She was a seasonal spirit, after all. Outside of the Man in the Moon's sphere of influence, especially after Gaia's revisions. He would have needed something to hold over her, to get her to cooperate. Just in case.

Tooth obviously understood her silent implications, and just as obviously didn't like them. However, before she could object (if she was actually going to), she gasped in a mix of pain and shock, and several feathers drifted down from her body. "Oh, no!" She looked back at the mural, which was slowly being erased. "The children! We're too late!"

"No!" North exploded. "No! No such thing as 'too late'!" He began pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. Jackie, still trying to work through her anger, watched him warily. "Hmm... Wait... Wait, wait, wait, wait!" After another moment or two, he pointed his sword right at Bunny's head and exclaimed, "Idea!"

Despite everything, Jackie's lips twitched. The Guardian of Wonder, she presumed, was also evidently the Guardian of Being Childish in a Positive Way.

Really, little wonder he only used the first title.

"We will collect the teeth!" North continued exuberantly, sword excitedly flicking from Guardian to Guardian and back as he spoke.

"What?" Tooth asked, incredulous.

"We collect teeth, children keep believing in you!"

"We're talking seven continents, millions of kids..."

"Give me break," North said, waving off her concerns. "You know how many toys I deliver in one night?"

"And eggs I hide in one day?" Bunny chimed in.

Sandy, who worked globally on a daily basis, didn't even bother drawing attention to that fact. They all knew it.

"And Jacqueline..." North fixed her with a look. "If you help us, we will get you your memories."

Her lips thinned, not even caring about Sandy's thumbs up (though it was nice that he cared, really), and completely ignoring Bunny's quiet, disgruntled noise. "I'm not sure I like who I'd have to thank for that," she commented, directing a coldly furious glare skyward. She let the Guardians stew in sudden anxiety and concern for several moments, before continuing, "but I like the thought of Pitch winning even less, and this sounds like it could be fun, so what the hell. I'm in."

A collective sigh of relief went through the group... even Bunny.

Not that he would have ever admitted it.

She was right, too. Collecting teeth did turn out to be surprisingly fun.

Even if it did end up being more about getting the teeth before the others did.

Oh, it didn't start out that way. They were taking it seriously enough, in the beginning. Having fun with it - because she wouldn't have settled for anything less - but still, focused on the goal.

Right up until Bunny made the mistake of using the word 'race'.

It was actually North that latched onto it first, deciding that, "This is going to be epic!" (He was, Jackie had to admit, much faster than his size and bulk suggested he should be. The chimney teleporting didn't seem entirely fair, though.)

And so maybe she had been the one to escalate things by zapping Bunny with her staff. But he'd totally been asking for it!

Well, after that, all bets were off. Magic ice, rabbit tunnels, tendrils of sand plucking teeth away before anyone could stop them... The only one not participating in the competition was Tooth herself, and that seemed mainly due to her giddy excitedness at being in the field for the first time in four hundred and forty years. She was acting like a hummingbird on crack, frankly, which was alternately worrying and hilarious.

Baby Tooth just seemed somewhat embarrassed by her 'parent'.

There was just one tiny, tiny little problem.

Jackie and the guys had been so caught up in competing to collect the most teeth (North seemed to be winning), that they'd accidentally forgotten to leave any gifts behind.

Really, it was a good thing that, despite how scatterbrained she'd been acting all night, Tooth had a killer memory, and, once they'd acquired sufficient money (having to do in every country was just embarrassing, but it wasn't like kids in China could spend American coins, or vice versa), could direct them to all the kids they'd unintentionally shafted the first time.

Amazingly, even with that, they were making surprisingly good time. She was pretty sure North and Bunny must have had some kind of time-manipulation ability, given how much territory they had to cover (even if that was restricted to those of Christian belief and the like; religion really wasn't her thing). If so, one or both must have been making use of it. Despite how long they'd been at it - her enthusiasm was beginning to ebb, somewhat - it was somehow still dark by the time they reached her "hometown" of Burgess. Even following the time zones didn't quite seem to allow for that.

She didn't pay much attention to where the others went, once the sled had drawn to a stop, letting the wind carry her right to Jamie's house. It was, after all, the one place she already knew she'd find a tooth.

And maybe she was curious as to what he'd gotten up to while she'd been away. Maybe.

Tooth went with her, possibly knowing just how strongly the boy believed in her. Or not; Jackie hadn't mentioned it, after all. "Left central incisor. Knocked out in a freak sledding accident," she noted, giving Jackie an dry look. "I wonder how that might have happened... Jacqueline."

She chuckled softly. "Kids, huh?"

Tooth's quietly amused expression said she wasn't fooled in the slightest. After gingerly placing the coin, she hovered over Jamie, just looking at him. "This was always the part I liked most," she finally whispered. "Seeing the kids." She was silent for a long moment. "Why did I ever stop doing this?"

As given as she was to glib statements, Jackie did know how to be serious, if the moment called for it. "It's a little different up close, huh?" So help her, she would get through to one of them why they shouldn't always take the corporate approach.

Tooth smiled. "Thanks for being here, Jacqueline." She rested a hand on the Winter Spirit's shoulder. "I wish I'd known about your memory. I could have helped you."

Knowing all too well that could and would were two very different words, no matter how much the Guardian of Memory might have liked her just then, Jackie didn't comment on that. "Look, let's just get you taken care of. Then it's Pitch's turn."

Before Tooth could reply - if she was going to - they were interrupted by a grunting at the window. "Here you are!" North exclaimed as he struggled to force his way through the narrow opening, Sandy floating in behind him.

Tooth hurriedly shushed him, pointing to the sleeping Jamie. Not looking at all chastised - though he did drop his voice down to a whisper - North continued, "What gives, slowpokes?" Not even waiting for an answer, he asked, "How you feeling, Toothy?"

Well, Jackie mused, I guess there are worse nicknames than just 'Jack'.

"Believed in," Tooth assured him.

With a triumphant - albeit very quiet - laugh, North replied, "That's what I want to hear."

"Oh, I see how it is."

This was just getting ridiculous.

"All working together to make sure the rabbit gets last place," Bunny griped as he emerged from one of his tunnels. The other Guardians collectively shushed him.

"Oh, sure, because this is just soooooooo hard," Jackie countered, holding up a bag of teeth as evidence. Translation: even the one with the least work ethic here can do this.

Bunny must have been hearing something else; that, or he was still in competition mode. "You call that a bag of choppers?" He held up his own, larger sack. "That's a bag of choppers."

"Now, now, this is about Tooth. It's not a competition," North interrupted. "But if it was... I win!" He plunked down a sack easily twice as large as Bunny's with a triumphant - and loud - laugh, then... began dancing, crying out, "Yee-haw!"

Jackie stared, because she'd seen a lot of things in her time, but she hadn't ever seen that.

There was a soft click, and a bright light was suddenly illuminating the group.

"Oh, no..." North winced, and Jackie facepalmed, because it seemed she and the Guardians weren't the only one who'd seen it.

Jamie was awake.

"Santa Claus?" The question was barely audible, his expression one of astonishment... and perhaps a bit of confusion as to what Santa would be doing there. That confusion only got worse when he shifted the flashlight beam. "The Easter Bunny? Sandman?" Sandy waved politely. Then, finally, "The Tooth Fairy! I knew you'd come!"

"Surprise!" Tooth said, laughing nervously. "We came."

Jackie, only used to children not noticing her - or running through her - had to make certain. "He can see us?"

Bunny winced. "...most of us."

Since it hadn't been intended as an insult, merely an honest clarification (and even then, Bunny hadn't seemed happy about it), Jackie was willing to let that go. "And we're letting him do this because...?"

"She's right." She was willing to bet real money that that was a sentence he'd never expected to be saying regarding her. "Sandy, knock him out."

Sandman started walking toward Jamie, punching one hand a few times. Jamie (and Jacqueline) blinked at him.

"With the dream sand, ya gumby!" Sandy shrugged agreeably, and Jackie hid a smile.

Then - because obviously things weren't yet complicated enough - a growl sounded as the lump that had been laying unnoticed at the foot of Jamie's bed rose to its feet, advancing on Bunnymund.

Oh, right, he did have a dog, didn't he? Jackie mused, studying the scene. And not just any dog, either...

Her smile got harder to hide.

"No, stop! That's the Easter Bunny!" Jamie exclaimed, trying to restrain his dog. "What are you doing, Abbey? Down!"

"All right, nobody panic," Bunny insisted, clearly doing his best to project calmness.

Well, that was no fun. "But, um, that's a greyhound," she observed sweetly. "Do you know what greyhounds do to rabbits?"

"I think it's a pretty safe bet she's never met a rabbit like me," he returned, which she supposed was true enough. He didn't notice Sandy preparing a glowing ball of dream sand... though she did. "Six-foot-one, nerves of steel, master of tai chi, and the ancient art of-"

Jackie 'accidentally' tapped Jamie's old fashioned alarm clock with her staff, and the bell began ringing shrilly.

Abbey seemed to take that as a cue, growling fiercely, then pouncing. "Crikey!"

And they're off! Jackie thought gleefully, watching Bunny hop around the room, bouncing off walls and the floor as he evaded the greyhound, which was completely ignoring Jamie's calls to stop.

Then it got even better.

Sandy, about to throw the dream sand, got knocked over by the dog. The ball of sand missed wildly, bouncing off of this and that, and smacked into Tooth. She and Baby Tooth dropped to the floor, tiny sand teeth dancing about their heads. The ball didn't stop there, though, continuing to careen through the room, bouncing off of pictures and walls, smacking Bunny in the face - fortunately for him, the next victim was the intended target, Abbey - ricocheting off the ceiling and walls a few more times, until it got North, who collapsed onto the bed. Jamie was propelled into the air, landing safely in Sandman's arms, who promptly did what he'd been told to do before, and knocked him out with a burst of dream sand.

Jackie surveyed the destruction she'd 'unwittingly' caused. "Whoops," she remarked with gleeful cheer. Oh, this totally made the whole trip worth it. She pulled something out of one of her pockets and held it up, clicking it several times. "And Aviva wonders why I always try to have a camera on me," she remarked to Sandy. Really, it was a shame there was no spirit version of the internet, she thought as she snapped a picture of one of Bunny's dream carrots sprouting arms and legs, snagging one of North's dream candy canes, and dancing. These would so belong there.

Sandy gave her a vaguely chiding - though still plenty amused - look, then froze, gaze darting to the window. Jackie turned to see one of Pitch's Nightmares there... right before it bolted.

She was after it in a flash. "I got it, I got it!" Really, she'd understand if Sandy wanted to try and wake his fellow Guardians up. She didn't think she needed any help to take care of one horse.

Then she saw the second one.

Okay... Slight challenge. Still, she could totally do this. She altered course to pursue one, noticing out of the corner of her eye a golden glow chasing the other. Sandy had evidently decided that his slumbering friends were safe enough where they were. That, or he'd woken them a lot faster than Jackie would have guessed possible. But, hey, it was his dream sand, right? If anyone would be able to counter it, he would.

Setting the thought aside, she focused on her pursuit. The Nightmare was a nimble thing, she'd give it that, zooming along and changing direction in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately for it, the wind was hers to control, which meant while it propelled her along after it, the horse was knocked into buildings repeatedly, often having to fight against a severe headwind... and Jackie had far more experience knowing just when to bounce off of a wall or street than it did, allowing her to change direction almost as quickly as it could. Almost, almost... She snapped off an ice shot as it fled onto a roof, and whooped as she was rewarded with a crack and a thud. "Ha! Got it!"

She let the wind carry her onto the roof, landing near the bizarre-looking horse. "You are one weird little whatsit, you know that?" she told it, tapping it a few times with her staff. Having never frozen animate sand before, she had no idea if it was dead or not, so resolved to wait for Sandy to catch up.

"Frost?!"

She started at the unexpected voice... though she supposed it shouldn't have been. If she'd had a plan in chasing the Nightmare, beyond not letting it report back to Pitch, it might well have included using it to find the Boogeyman himself. Somehow.

Maybe Sandy could have tracked it back to him. The point was moot now, anyway.

Just for the hell of it, she took a shot at him. As she'd expected, he effortlessly dodged it, melding back into the shadows. "You know, for a neutral party, you spend an awful lot of time with those weirdos," Pitch commented from atop the roof of penthouse.

"Gotta say, I find the idea of you calling someone else a weirdo hilarious," she replied.

"How droll." He rolled his eyes. "This isn't your fight, Jacqueline."

She shrugged one shoulder. "Maybe I just don't like you." Her gaze drifted behind him. "And I daresay I'm not alone in that."

He spun to find Sandy standing right behind him. "Well, now this is a bit more like it." Then he had to dodge extremely quickly as Sandy lashed out with twin sand whips, counterattacking with a huge scythe made of the nightmare sand... and failing. Sandy smacked that aside, wrapped a whip around one of his wrists, and smashed him against the roof and walls repeatedly, before finally flinging him over the edge, to crash to the street below.

Jackie blinked. Yeesh... "Remind me to stay on your good side," she remarked to Sandy, who smirked. The two floated quickly down to the street.

"Okay, easy. You can't blame me for trying, Sandy," Pitch said hurriedly, scrambling backwards. "You don't know what it's like to be weak, and hated." He got to his feet. "It was stupid of me to mess with your dreams."

He didn't look as afraid as he should have, though, Jackie noted with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"So, I'll tell you what..."

Nightmares began bursting forth from shadows, manholes, sewer drains, and bushes. In seconds, they were surrounded.

"...you can have them back."